Showing posts with label Kaaba. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Kaaba. Show all posts

5.4.13

A Point Of You

Surah 94 Ash.Sharh (The Splitting, Slicing, Opening Up...)
أَلَمْ نَشْرَحْ لَكَ صَدْرَكَ (94:1
وَوَضَعْنَا عَنكَ وِزْرَكَ (94:2
الَّذِي أَنقَضَ ظَهْرَكَ (94:3
وَرَفَعْنَا لَكَ ذِكْرَكَ (94:4
فَإِنَّ مَعَ الْعُسْرِ يُسْرًا (94:5
إِنَّ مَعَ الْعُسْرِ يُسْرًا (94:6
فَإِذَا فَرَغْتَ فَانصَبْ (94:7
وَإِلَى رَبِّكَ فَارْغَبْ (94:8

94:1) Did We not Expound upon your feelings/perceptions (literally, Had We Not Opened Up Your Breast/Chest)
94:2) And removed your burden
94:3) That weighed heavily on your back
94:4) And amplified your remembrance
94:5) For with every hardship comes ease
94:6)  Indeed, with every hardship comes ease
94:7) So, once you are free (of burdens), remain steadfast
94:8) And turn your attention to your Lord's Desires


What else could have prompted the long drive? Did you get lost on the green?

34.05116, -118.419851 bene NNE (I mistook for ENE)
34.047836, -118.430409 selby N
34.040244, -118.463253 santa monica NNE (I mistook for ENE)

The problem is what could cause such an error?

A question for a mavin in the field of applied mathematics (as if there is such a thing).



Shamrock (3-leaf clover)
Trefoil knot 3-1 (arithmetic), Tri-star (wheel arrangement)

Alhambra Motif, Rosette (4-leaf Clover)
Knot  , Romanesque Cross

Unfolding


Unfolding, Inversion, Rewrapping

5-Point Star, Cinquefoil Knot (Prime Knot D_5, or 5_1),
Solomon's Seal Knot (Link)

Star of David, Abraham's Shield,
The Secret I'm In

Surah 4 An.Nissa (Women)
الَّذِينَ يَتَرَبَّصُونَ بِكُمْ فَإِن كَانَ لَكُمْ فَتْحٌ مِّنَ اللّهِ
قَالُواْ أَلَمْ نَكُن مَّعَكُمْ وَإِن كَانَ لِلْكَافِرِينَ نَصِيبٌ قَالُواْ أَلَمْ نَسْتَحْوِذْ عَلَيْكُمْ
وَنَمْنَعْكُم مِّنَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ فَاللّهُ يَحْكُمُ بَيْنَكُمْ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ
  وَلَن يَجْعَلَ اللّهُ لِلْكَافِرِينَ عَلَى الْمُؤْمِنِينَ سَبِيلاً (4:141
4:141  ....And never does Allah (God) allow the unfaithful an advantage (a pathway, course, track) over the Believers (God's Followers), (i.e., God never allows the unfaithful to do any harm to the faithful...)
Pearls Before Swine
June 13, 2013
Origami as Crumbled Paper Ball

Pearls Before Swine
June 14, 2013
Origami Salami Tsunami

How's that for Top Secret--Ayeh 4:141 (Quranic Verse 4:141) was posted in the interest to allay any fears that this information can be  put to any viable use by those it is not intended for, and the fact that I am growing weary (wary, leary,  whatever means perturbed and tired of following'em around the www) of some pages and posts found at A Page In The Life being redirected to porn sites.

..when the Sun moves off-center (Taqwir)

Refer to The World Screwing Around
And Surah 81 Taqwir
How The Sun and Planets Really Travel, Interesting Visual Here (www.djsadhu.com).
Note: Earth 1 in the previous orbit around the Sun, prior to translating helically along with the Sun to Earth 2 position

The Sun at that point would appear to have moved Off-Center just as described in Surah 81Taqwir.

The second Focal point F2 is actually very faint and when drawn to scale is not that far off from the Center of Mass of the Sun (the distance is usually exaggerated for illustrative purposes), and may not be in the planar elliptical orbit at all, as sometimes rendered.


Comments are welcome, only if they are relevant to this premise.

{As an aside: 
Surah 6 Al.An3'am (Cattle, Chattle)
وَكَذَلِكَ جَعَلْنَا لِكُلِّ نِبِيٍّ عَدُوًّا شَيَاطِينَ الإِنسِ وَالْجِنِّ
 يُوحِي بَعْضُهُمْ إِلَى بَعْضٍ زُخْرُفَ الْقَوْلِ غُرُورًا
 وَلَوْ شَاء رَبُّكَ مَا فَعَلُوهُ فَذَرْهُمْ وَمَا يَفْتَرُونَ  (6:112  
6:112) And in this manner We Created for every messenger enemies, demons from humans and jinn (invisible forces); they awaken/stir each other amongst each other with fetching sayings meant to tempt. Had Your Sustainer Willed it otherwise He would not have done this, so ignore them and all their false devising (imagery).

You know, SteveH, I think you should stop with the microwave audible effects

So what if you are a self-professed asshole  (this joke has run its course), and you are very wealthy and have nothing better to do except to equip yourself and your valiant Starbucks computer bandits with headphones and this stale harassment technique. 

The fact is neither you nor they are adding anything joyful or beneficial to my life and after last Sunday's abusive treatment at the hands of your cohorts in an Emergency Room setting, I think you should just leave me alone (and return my belongings (including my iPhone) that you had them take from me under duress--and thanks for playing my iTunes at Starbucks Cross Creek Road). 

You have a very beautiful life and a beautiful wife and 3 strapping young lads to call your own--so leave me alone and stop disturbing the Peace.  

And if I ever hear You or anyone refer to me as your 13th wife, that means that You, Ya-Sulaieman, have broken a promise to me, like when did that ever happen? {And here's what Your one wife had to say about it--'You've had 1 too many, don't come back without that one!'}

But evidenced by the massive deployment of Your forces, either You cannot get them under control or the more likely explanation is that You are thinning out the field.

Surah 27 An.Naml (The Ants)
وَحُشِرَ لِسُلَيْمَانَ جُنُودُهُ مِنَ الْجِنِّ وَالْإِنسِ وَالطَّيْرِ فَهُمْ يُوزَعُونَ (27:17 
27:17) And gathered onto Solomon His forces of Jinn and Humanity and that which flies (Al.tayiri) and they were arrayed in order (battle order, ranks). (See Surah 37)

Surah 34 Saba' (Sheebah)
وَلِسُلَيْمَانَ الرِّيحَ غُدُوُّهَا شَهْرٌ وَرَوَاحُهَا شَهْرٌ
 وَأَسَلْنَا لَهُ عَيْنَ الْقِطْرِ
وَمِنَ الْجِنِّ مَن يَعْمَلُ بَيْنَ يَدَيْهِ بِإِذْنِ رَبِّهِ
وَمَن يَزِغْ مِنْهُمْ عَنْ أَمْرِنَا نُذِقْهُ مِنْ عَذَابِ السَّعِيرِ (34:12
34:12 And Solomon's Command of the Winds; their course coming on the morrow one month (journey) and going one month (journey); and We Bestowed upon Him 'determining rainstorms'  (var., 'the eye of the storm,' 'how to gauge distance/diameter,' 'a fount of molten copper,' 'percolating wells, i.e, underground wells, oil, natural gas, water, mineral baths, etc.');
And to know the workings of the Jinn by His Lord's Leave;
And whoever amongst them deviates from Our Command, tastes of an austere punishment.

 فَلَمَّا قَضَيْنَا عَلَيْهِ الْمَوْتَ 
مَا دَلَّهُمْ عَلَى مَوْتِهِ إِلَّا دَابَّةُ الْأَرْضِ
 تَأْكُلُ مِنسَأَتَهُ
 فَلَمَّا خَرَّ تَبَيَّنَتِ الْجِنُّ أَن لَّوْ كَانُوا يَعْلَمُونَ الْغَيْبَ
 مَا لَبِثُوا فِي الْعَذَابِ الْمُهِينِ (34:14 
34:14) Once We Ordained death to Him (Solomon's death as a mortal),
Nothing indicated His death except dabatun (crawling creature, maybe a worm, or other beast) from the Earth that gnawed through His staff (He leaned on while seated),
And once He fell (from the chair as He leaned on His compromised staff) His death became apparent to the Jinn, had they known the Unseen/Invisible/Hidden Reality,
They would not have continued to toil in demeaning work.

Surah 41 Fussilat (Distinction, Clear Explanation)
وَقَيَّضْنَا لَهُمْ قُرَنَاء فَزَيَّنُوا لَهُم مَّا بَيْنَ أَيْدِيهِمْ وَمَا خَلْفَهُمْ
 وَحَقَّ عَلَيْهِمُ الْقَوْلُ فِي أُمَمٍ قَدْ خَلَتْ مِن قَبْلِهِم مِّنَ الْجِنِّ وَالْإِنسِ
 إِنَّهُمْ كَانُوا خَاسِرِينَ (41:25
41:25) And We Ordained to each of them (the faithless) their dual that made fair seeming to them whatever they were doing and their past deeds, and Our Promise came True throughout the Nations that had passed before them of the Jinn and Humans; indeed, they were the losers.

Ballard Street Comic Panel
"Ok. Ok. You know how to drive."
May 27, 2013
Just because my men are quiet around here doesn't mean they are inactive, in fact, we aim to fight to the last man--seeing how we are already dead, anyway, it can only get better for us.

The fact is that I am not the Queen of Sheba, and I am not a Messenger, and whatever I have been going through and continue to experience feels a lot like abuse from your collective selves, and I am simply not up for that...so, I will continue to not accept any outcome where I don't come up the winner--apparently I had to earn my keep even while it seemed to the untrained eye that I labored for no immediate recompense--they actually even pitied me with their sidelong glances (apparently they hadn't seen me drive this town). 

Imagine that! And still try not to come up out of your graves laughing!

And, Ya-Suleiman, don't call after me,  'Peace!', like You are calling Your dog to come home--my Father will remind You, that particular Star always rises over Dar.al.Salam (and no, she can't be monetized or made famous or do a cover for Esquire, that's why she wonders what is up with her 'husband' and why he isn't taking care of the 'business' end). 

...And, Yes! That's exactly what the Ka'3beh is for! (That's an answer to a direct question, not a non sequitur.)
}

The Ka'3bah is central to the Hajj, where pilgrims perform either the formal Pilgrimage (Hajj) or make lesser visits off-season, an Umra, and circumambulating the structure is a major part of performing this rite.

And it was never the case, historically speaking, that anyone was ever kept from visiting Mecca and performing either the Hajj or the Umra if they were able to do it.

So, preventing anyone based on religion, race, creed, or sexual persuasion from performing this rite is highly suspect as very poor judgment and only bolsters my worst suspicion that I keep waking up on the wrong planet.

Here, I must finds the textual reference to support such a position (Sign 3:96 and 3:97), given that even my life-long friends think I had such suffering as visited on me well-deserved for my take on expiating the Quran:

Surah 3 Al'3mran 
(Jeez isUs! Family--That should stop the speculation how He went from '3esau to Jesus--how's that for the Brooklyn angle and being married to the Mob?)
3:96 إِنَّ أَوَّلَ بَيْتٍ وُضِعَ لِلنَّاسِ لَلَّذِي بِبَكَّةَ مُبَارَكًا وَهُدًى لِّلْعَالَمِينَ 
3:96 Indeed, the First Temple established (situated, affixed, connotes it was 'designed/outlined', possibly architecturally speaking) was that at Bakka (clearly this refers to the Kaaba in present day Mecca); a blessing and a guidance for all the worlds (humanity, mankind, and all of creation's creatures/communities)

3:97   فِيهِ آيَاتٌ بَيِّـنَاتٌ 

مَّقَامُ إِبْرَاهِيمَ 
وَمَن دَخَلَهُ كَانَ آمِنًا 
وَلِلّهِ عَلَى النَّاسِ حِجُّ الْبَيْتِ 
مَنِ اسْتَطَاعَ إِلَيْهِ سَبِيلاً 
وَمَن كَفَرَ فَإِنَّ الله غَنِيٌّ عَنِ الْعَالَمِينَ 
3:97 In it (The First Temple) are Clear Signs (Messages);
Ibrahim's Station,
and whoever enters it is Safe (Secure, At Peace).
And God Established the Pilgrimage for people (Nas, communities) to it;
Whoever is able to make their way to it (سَبِيلاً  sabil==travel, setting a course, etc.),
And whoever belies/blasphemes (this), truly God is Needless of the Worlds! (ie., God is not in need of His/Her/Its Own Creation and is Independent of it. Compare Sign 3:97 to John 5:41 where he writes to "I do not accept/need/want honor from humans...")

According to Signs 3:96 and 3:97, not only is visiting the Kaaba (Hajj) intended for all of creation, but it is incumbent on anyone able to make the pilgrimage. And such an undertaking is not for God's benefit, as concluded in Sign 3:97 since God is independent of and not in need of the Creation, but it  serves as a benefit to humanity and anyone or anything else that finds itself within its environs.

But my friends mean well and they are still my friends and I know they love me enough to express such opinions freely, yet they still stop just short of calling me crazy--yeah, where's the fun in that!

Besides, what is up with these Arabs that call this Kaaba, this Projected Protracted Solid Structure, A Cube? And according to Sign 3:96, it may have actually been planned that way and not just built ad hoc.

None of the sides measure the same!

A planet where Arabs don't know math or understand geometry?

Or, perhaps they already know the orientation of the projective plane from the aerial view that makes it look like the Cube it is named for on the approach.

Let's have a look, shall we?


Surah 55 Ar.Rahman (The Merciful, var. The One Who Embeds Into the Wombs)

يَا مَعْشَرَ الْجِنِّ وَالْإِنسِ
إِنِ اسْتَطَعْتُمْ أَن تَنفُذُوا مِنْ أَقْطَارِ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضِ
فَانفُذُوا لَا تَنفُذُونَ إِلَّا بِسُلْطَانٍ (55:33  
55:33) O, company of Jinn and Humanity,
should you intend to proceed/permeate/penetrate beyond the regions/diameters of the Skies and the Earth, then pierce them; 
you cannot do so without Sanction (God's Authorization)!

See 2:127 'facing'/entry/sanction


The Kaaba with Various Stations Numbered (Abraham's Station shown as Number 7)
The Green Line indicates the beginning of the Towaf (circumambulating) at the East Corner  in a Counter-Clockwise Direction Around the Kaaba 7 times; the first 3 rounds at a fast pace and the rest at an ordinary pace. 
The Kaaba And Hatim
Dimensional Drawing
The Corners Align Roughly to the Cardinal Directions:
East Corner (Black Stone) _W Corner (Ash.Shami) Levantine (E-W Minor Axis);
North Corner (Iraqi)_South Corner (Yemeni) (N-S Major Axis).
The South-facing wall aligns with Canopus (alpha_Carina, a bright star in the Keel of the Southern Constellation Argo Navis_ar. Suhail).
West-Facing Wall toward Winter Solstice,
North-Facing Wall toward Summer Solstice.
Cube Top and 2-Point Perspective Views
Foreshortening of Sides.
The Roof of the Kaaba is Flat so it would appear Square from the Aerial View
(despite the difference in Height of  the walls)

Cube, Vanishing Point and Horizon Shown,
2-point Perspective View
Taking this as the foreshortened view of the Ka'3ba, the vertical axis aligns with the East corner where the Black Stone is inlaid, and the overall Height = 13.1 m (43 ft), the side shown with the VP apparent is approximately ~11 m  (36 ft), and the other foreshortened side is about ~ 12.8 m (42 ft).
Image Credit

Triangle UFO
Artist's Conceptual Rendering
Compare with 2- point Perspective of Cube
Let's take the Ka'3bah's height, shown in the 2-point perspective aligned with the vertical axis, as the actual height from the baseline (the ground) of the projected Cube, 13.1 m or 43 feet (the Height may actually be different along each wall, no accurate drawings available); that is to say no apparent foreshortening or elongation.

Then that assumes the true measure of the sides is 13.1 m.

The legend about the original Kaaba is that Adam had built it directly below the one in Heaven. So, calling Heaven the True Situation of the Perfected Kaaba 13.1 x 13.1 x 13.1 m (let's just say), then the one on the 'earth' is essentially the 'projected' corresponding cuboid.

And in order for the Heavenly Kaaba to be the perfect Cube implies that heaven is a hyperdimensional space and the observer, in order to see it as a perfect cube in one glance, is also in a hyperdimensional space.

But it would follow that since the earthly Kaaba is in 3-D, the hyper dimensional original could be 3-D + 1, but also 3D+2, +3 and so on, and that is only limited by our own understanding of what 'heaven' or that higher dimensional realm is.

For all we know, it could be limitless in dimension.

If we assume a Heaven of only +1 spacial dimension higher than home-Earth, we can apply dimensional analogy to understanding the projection of such a higher dimensional cuboid.

A Tesseract Projects as
3-D Volumes in 3-D space
Knowing that a three-dimensional (3-D) object is bounded by two-dimensional surfaces (2-D) and  that a 3-D cube is bounded by 6 square faces, then a four-dimensional (4-D, spacial dimension) cube, the tesseract, may be bounded by three-dimensional volumes. 

Arithmetically, it can be shown that a tesseract is indeed bounded by 8 cubes (its net). It would be interesting to see how this compares to the 2-dimensional Lusona figure with its central 8 diamond elements.

This is key to understanding how to interpret a three-dimensional projection of the tesseract

The boundaries of the tesseract project to volumes in the image, not merely two-dimensional surfaces.

Casting shadows is analogous to projecting solids.

In a 3-D world, 3-dimensional objects cast  2-dimensional shadows; and, by inference, a shadow cast in a 4-D world of a 4-D object is 3-dimensional.
"If the wireframe of a cube is lit from above, the resulting shadow is a square within a square with the corresponding corners connected. Similarly, if the wireframe of a tesseract were lit from “above” (in the fourth direction), its shadow would be that of a three-dimensional cube within another three-dimensional cube. (Note that, technically, the visual representation shown above right is actually a two-dimensional shadow of the three-dimensional shadow of the four-dimensional wireframe figure.)"--wikipedia
Understanding this, it is a simple exercise to establish the viewing angle (plane) and the coordinates of the True structure, and may help us come to grips with the fact that we regularly visit the 'shadow world' throughout our time on home-Earth, while we are blissfully oblivious to the fact of that particular matter.

Here's a guess, about 23 -37 degrees ENE and about 4-8 feet up in the air?

Just kidding, but how close did I get...

2:158 safa and marwa
3:96 first temple
3:97 clear messages//entrance 4:27-29 entry//
5:16 path//5:75 Mariam 'sadiqat'//5:77 re wrong path
5:17 creative power
5:18 dominion
5:19 persistence //52:4 enduring//
5:20 reason prophets rise
5:23 'the gate'
5:66 convergence?
5:97 symbolic
9:19 tending House
17:1 Ascension
(5:13 forgetting & forbearance//5:14//5:15 concealing scripture)

Essentially, this is an exercise in Topology--preservation of the properties of a shape as it undergoes continuous deformation (without tearing or puncture).

Being able to execute a new function, or a latent human ability, cannot be undertaken unless, on some level, its principles are understood to make sense and it can be readily envisioned.

Surah 68 Nun (ن)
ن وَالْقَلَمِ وَمَا يَسْطُرُونَ (68:1
مَا أَنتَ بِنِعْمَةِ رَبِّكَ بِمَجْنُونٍ (68:2
وَإِنَّ لَكَ لَأَجْرًا غَيْرَ مَمْنُونٍ (68:3
وَإِنَّكَ لَعَلى خُلُقٍ عَظِيمٍ (68:4
فَسَتُبْصِرُ وَيُبْصِرُونَ (68:5
بِأَييِّكُمُ الْمَفْتُونُ (68:6

68:1 Nun, By the Pen and What They Write
68:2 You are not, by Your Lord's Grace, Mad
68:3 And, indeed, Your reward is obliged (unfailing)
68:4 And You are bound toward a Sublime Creation
68:5 So watch, and they will see
68:6 Which of you is beguiled

The idea behind Sign 68:2, and it's reassuring the Messenger (pbuh) that He is not mad, occurs frequently in the Quran; apparently this reassurance was of some importance whenever His concept of the Reality He was born (borne) into was challenged to some great effect. Not so in my case, where I have come to embrace my insanity...

20.12.11

Someone Started A Rumor

What is it about Americans that the 2 most often repeated phrases are "I'm sorry," and, "I love you."
Do you know what that sounds like to an alien?
It sounds like this; "I'm sorry I love you!"

And the alien can merely respond by saying, "My condolences, I understand your WIFE is a Muslim."
SomeOne searching 'been let down quotes' and 'you let me down' from unknown.unknown isp, then all traces of it vanished (and, howdie-do to our mangled-wire computer cousins at the US Army Signal Corp).
Not because there is any reason to suspect that being the case, but more than likely because someone started a rumor...that's why?
And it wasn't me. Nope, despite what anyone says I don't think I'm too good for You.
And if the let down has anything to do with my performance to demostrate my range, it was a training exercise-- putting a young-sounding voice to good use; and if my faulty memory serves, it culminated in the biggest bust of a worldwide child trafficking ring a few years later.


The phone records and chatroom snipe are probably still on your desk if not your top file drawer (and it was my cousin, Joey?, pointing me out to You in the middle of that unpartitioned office area, going through my paces on that particular afternoon--so, if I thought there was anything to hide I would not have been doing such a great job in a wide open common work area--with me being the only female in a 'bullpen' shared with 7 other male engineers, that's why it was called the 'bullpen').

And if You want to act like You don't know exactly what it is I am talking about then You deserve a bigger Oscar than the one I should get for my following Your 'I need you to go on sinning and grinning' acting direction from You Know Who?--You!

There really is no reason for me to live under such uncomfortable conditions, but seeing as how I don't even get what I work for and earn, I figure it highly unlikely that I can get what I simply ask for--not because I need any more lessons, but because I know there are more Powers at play than what those around me perceive.

For example, I have known that I am on the federal? payroll in some capacity as a government Annalist/Analyst since at least as far back as 2007 (maybe 2006) but I have yet to see a single penny of it--whatsamatter, having a little trouble making sense of the cumulative time?

See? I warned You--can't afford me?


Times like these I wonder why our family can't have our piano recitals in concert halls, like other families. (I know, it wouldn't be fair when Gabriel has more talent in His left nostril than the entire population that ever was or is or will walk the Earth, combined).

"I sometimes think we must be all mad and that we shall wake to sanity in strait-waistcoats."--BRAM STOKER, Dracula

In an ideal world (Heaven) I should be compensated for exposing my (hare) brain for Your consideration on at least the same par as world class models get for exposing their...their...their wookies (ie., other admirable/bankable hairy parts on earth).

Surah 60 Al.Mumtahhineh (The Examined One, Those Tested)
يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا
 إِذَا جَاءكُمُ الْمُؤْمِنَاتُ مُهَاجِرَاتٍ فَامْتَحِنُوهُنَّ 
اللَّهُ أَعْلَمُ بِإِيمَانِهِنَّ فَإِنْ عَلِمْتُمُوهُنَّ مُؤْمِنَاتٍ
 فَلَا تَرْجِعُوهُنَّ إِلَى الْكُفَّارِ لَا هُنَّ حِلٌّ لَّهُمْ وَلَا هُمْ يَحِلُّونَ لَهُنَّ
 وَآتُوهُم مَّا أَنفَقُوا وَلَا جُنَاحَ عَلَيْكُمْ أَن تَنكِحُوهُنَّ إِذَا آتَيْتُمُوهُنَّ أُجُورَهُنَّ
وَلَا تُمْسِكُوا بِعِصَمِ الْكَوَافِرِ وَاسْأَلُوا مَا أَنفَقْتُمْ وَلْيَسْأَلُوا مَا أَنفَقُوا
 ذَلِكُمْ حُكْمُ اللَّهِ يَحْكُمُ بَيْنَكُمْ وَاللَّهُ عَلِيمٌ حَكِيمٌ  (60:10

 60:10 All You Believers (Faithful)! When believing women come to you as fugitives, examine (test) them. God Knows what's between them (among them). Then, if you ascertain them to be  believers (faithful), do not send them back to the disbelievers (infidels). They are no longer lawful to the disbelievers (unfaithful), nor are the disbelievers lawful for them (any longer). And give them whatever they may have spent. And it is not a sin for you to marry such women when you have given them first what they have earned. And do not keep (hold onto) defending disbelieving women; nor ask for (the return of) what you have spent (on them); and let the disbelievers ask for what they have spent (the are entitled to what they have spent). That is God's Judgment. God Judges between you. And God is Aware (Knowing), Wise.

But, fair is fair, and my Father predicted that I won't fall for that little beauty trick either (Really, I overheard Him on my way out the sports club telling someone He has every confidence I can pass that test, too!--I don't recall Him laying any odds on it, though.)

Check it out...Testing, Testing...
Surah 18 The Cave
إِنَّا جَعَلْنَا مَا عَلَى الْأَرْضِ زِينَةً لَّهَا لِنَبْلُوَهُمْ أَيُّهُمْ أَحْسَنُ عَمَلًا 18:7
18:7 Indeed, We Created everything  of Beauty on Earth to Test people as to which of them is Best in Conduct

( I passed this Test with flying colors, especially the night of Jan 13, 2012, when a drop dead gorgeous blond was openly flirting with me as I worked deligently on a business letter that was to be only 'a couple of paragraphs' and turned out to be 1600 words.
Don't get me wrong, I was flattered to no end--especially since the last time that happened I was 16 years old---now that I'm a semi-centurian, her attentions didn't quite ring so True.
Besides, that's a no-go for me, seeing as how I stated my position about Women earlier and found it to be much in keeping with WC Fields' feelings about Elephants.
Moreover, if they also happen to be anywhere nearly pretty enough for me to sense any kind of familial connection, then nothin' doin' --sis, 'cuz, G-Aunt, hoaxter!--And the real Killer to this non-starter Test is, I've openly stated where my true passions rest.)

Surah 20 Ta-Ha (Can You Hear Me?  'طه')
وَلَا تَمُدَّنَّ عَيْنَيْكَ إِلَى مَا مَتَّعْنَا بِهِ أَزْوَاجًا مِّنْهُمْ زَهْرَةَ الْحَيَاةِ الدُّنيَا لِنَفْتِنَهُمْ فِيهِ وَرِزْقُ رَبِّكَ خَيْرٌ وَأَبْقَى 20:131
20:131 And don't strain your eyes in longing for the splendour of the life of this world, things We have given for enjoyment to matched pairs (married couples) of them through which We Test them: but the Provision of your Lord is Better and More Enduring

(Another gimmee---what splendour are we referring to exactly? Hauling his laundry hamper up and down 2 flights of stairs while carrying his baby full term because he's too special to help with it or that he never reciprocated any of the good she's ever done for him or the support she freely gave him because he somehow finds it acceptable to abuse the 'now found to be mentally ill for saying she suffered a chronic toxic exposure from working in a sick building for umpteen frickin years?" and threatening to never let her see her children again if she so much as flinched at the despotism of living under his rule now that he would never allow for a divorce and use emotional blackmail to keep her in check---yeah, if I was God and ran this kind of test on someone, I would ...deleted for seeming contemptuous).

Surah 23 The Believers (Faithful)
وَلَقَدْ أَخَذْنَاهُم بِالْعَذَابِ فَمَا اسْتَكَانُوا لِرَبِّهِمْ وَمَا يَتَضَرَّعُونَ 23:76
23:76 And We Tested them through suffer­ing/trials, but they did not humble themselves before their Lord; nor did they ever pray (entreat/plead with Him)

(For this one, I get a Gold Star. You wanna know why? I actually saw and heard the Witnesses offer to give You a front row seat to see Me Down On My Knees; apparently, I was doing it quite a bit for some number of years that You could catch that show with some regularity--I only stopped when I got the signal that it was pointless beyond a certain threshold, see 15:98-15:99 below.)

Surah 29 The Spider
أَحَسِبَ النَّاسُ أَن يُتْرَكُوا أَن يَقُولُوا آمَنَّا وَهُمْ لَا يُفْتَنُونَ (29:2)
وَلَقَدْ فَتَنَّا الَّذِينَ مِن قَبْلِهِمْ فَلَيَعْلَمَنَّ اللَّهُ الَّذِينَ صَدَقُوا وَلَيَعْلَمَنَّ الْكَاذِبِينَ (29:3)
29:2 Do people think that they will be left (at ease simply) because they say, 'We believe', and that they will not be Tested with hardships?

(Nope, never thought that for a twinkle, but I Never thought it would drag on forever, either, because beyond the first 5 Earth Years, that, too, became pointless!
I am not doing the waking up in a hospital bed Men In Black thing, and I am not doing the Groundhog's Day thing, and I am not waking up to any walk throughs of any other scenes from any movie that was ever made or screenplay that was so much as even accepted on spec, okay--that's it! I've Had it- I had it when I called Him a RedHead and He corrected me to say that Tawny is in fact the more accurate description of the color (LIKE a LION)).

Surah 44 Smoke
وَآتَيْنَاهُم مِّنَ الْآيَاتِ مَا فِيهِ بَلَاء مُّبِينٌ 44:33
44:33 ..and We gave them such Signs as would clearly presage a Test 

(I got the Signs, all right *alright, to the effect that I started a diary, and a blog to preserve them for all posterity & what could be a Bigger Better Betoken than THE Michael Himself announcing His Presence- that was not a Sign to Presage a Test in 1992, that was like AN ANNOUNCEMENT, but I still wonder, why Me? ---there are definitely prettier, smarter, richer, taller, thinner, more powerful people--and we still have a President to the United States, or do we? And of course, those who drive nicer cars.
What? Did the world run out of virgins?
I'd already had a kid or 2; now I hear I have over 100--not bad for a woman whose own husband hasn't so much as dated her since their 7th anniversary.
Can you even imagine what that can do to a woman's self image? Let alone, anyone's ego---psshhaw, nothing!
I keep pretty busy and I still prefer being a female to being a male; if not for the fact that we don't sweat as much, than for the mere frilly lingerie incentive alone.)

Surah 72 Jinn
وَأَلَّوِ اسْتَقَامُوا عَلَى الطَّرِيقَةِ لَأَسْقَيْنَاهُم مَّاء غَدَقًا  72:16   
لِنَفْتِنَهُمْ فِيهِ وَمَن يُعْرِضْ عَن ذِكْرِ رَبِّهِ يَسْلُكْهُ عَذَابًا صَعَدًا 72:17
72:16 ...had they but tread firmly on the right path, We would have showered them with Abundance
72:17 As a Test to determine which of them would turn away from their Lord; He will thrust such (as turn away) into ever increasing torment.

(This one leaves me in a Quandary.
I tread the path, as right as it could be in the mind of a neophyte.
If we were talking averages, like engineers are wont to do, I'd say better than the average of what I saw going on around me (note, better than average, not better than everything and everyone---averages are more meaningful when we are taking a populatoin of 7 billion, because any 1 Event (Person/Thing) in and of itself may be considered as a statistical OUTLIER!
Yet, y, y, y the increasing torment?--I passed all of the above tests, and not only did I submit/surrender/give up without prompting the first time, but I tried to do it again a few weeks ago--You may remember, I even waited in the cold night air for SOMEone to haul themselves in for me to SUrrender to, and they Flaked, giving me to understand that my Unconditional Surrender is not accepted under any terms---I must have really ticked someOne off.
I now consider that my major life achievement---now, if I could only figure out Who that SomeOne is/was and where they're hiding.)

And if the disappointment stems from my having stopped praying, it's only due to this little love note:
15:98-15:99 ...pray until ....Can You guess how I interpret 'certainty'? ...
What is there left to say?

That this is how much injustice has to be tipped against me in order that they keep breeding and breathing?

... Want another demonstration?
Sasha, tell us what book you're reading at breakfast table and your sister can share her plans for running for office?

الْيَوْمَ نَخْتِمُ عَلَى أَفْوَاهِهِمْ وَتُكَلِّمُنَا أَيْدِيهِمْ وَتَشْهَدُ أَرْجُلُهُمْ بِمَا كَانُوا يَكْسِبُونَ
(36:65)
This Day We Shall Set a Seal on their mouths
but they will speak to Us with their hands,
 and their feet shall bear witness to whatever they earned in Life.
(36:65)
---
My hands r not tied, I'm free

It's not that I can't, I won't

I am not poor, just broke(n).

My G-Aunt keeps wanting to chime in with, "You know, Dear, the boys keep saying it's a sin to talk about it; but, just between us girls, headaches are a lot sexier on the Men."

I hear Him Say, 'Some fisherman you turned out to be when your net comes up empty time and again'.

I am more a 'catch and release' kind of fisherman...or some such 'sort' of thing.

And as for opting to pursue some 'weird dream' rather than to open my eyes to what's going on around me, I don't think I am as blind as some would like to believe. My 'weird dreams' manifest in physical space and time.

Take for example the image on the right--not a metaphor, but an event:
Location: ~ 34.07573, -118.38503  (~ 34° 4' 30.965" N     -118° 22' 51.363" W )
Orientation:  SSW? (same as that of the Roman reception desk)
Date: May 17, 1997
Time: 6 - 7 pm

UFO and Related Sightings Surrounding 'the event':

NEW BRIGHTON UFO SIGHTING
On April 25, 1997, the night more than 30 UFOs were seen over New Brighton, Minnesota, just north of the "Twin Cities" of  Minneapolis and St. Paul a sky watcher observed 3 UFOs in the same binocular field.

Over a course of several months… avid sky watchers have observed extremely high moving objects which traverse the sky in a few minutes…they appear solid, self-illuminated and round. These objects…named 'High Movers'...are moving in a N-to-S or S-to-N direction, with slight east and west variations… not consistent with satellites.

"Now, here is what is interesting,” an observer said, "all but two (of 7 he saw)  were moving to the northwest, towards Minnesota!... one moving to the northwest about 9:45 p.m… just as it was about to drop below the horizon… another moving near it, more to the east.. was amazed to have two in my field of vision at the same time, since viewing through binoculars greatly restricts the field of vision. A third High Mover (UFO) streaked past both of them.. I've never seen three in the sky at once...much less in the same binocular field of view."

COLORADO PILOT MYSTIFIED BY STRANGE RADIO CALL

On Monday night, May 12, 1997, a Colorado pilot was flying near Walsenburg (population 3,945) when he picked up a strange call on his radio.

"I was flying in clear VUCU sky (VUCU stands for "visibility unlimited, ceiling unlimited") when I picked up a weak communication on VoiceCom 121.5,  the common-use emergency channel… always monitored by commercial and most large private aircraft with more than one communications radio,” the pilot reported.

"As well as I could, I was able to make out someone at Flight Level One-Two-Three-Five Hundred (123,500 feet or 37,424 meters--J.T.) requesting 'immediate traffic in area.' There was obvious anxiousness in his voice, and he was talking to Air Traffic Control," he added, "The only thing I know that can travel at this altitude is the SR-71 Blackbird. Now it is not uncommon to see high-flying aircraft in this (San Luis) valley, but this guy is calling, in what must have surely seemed like some desperation, on the unsecured 121.5 emergency channel."

"I have two wonderings--was the SR-71 on recon? For what? And why was he so concerned with traffic at an altitude that few pilots have ever been at?"

 (Editor's Comment: The pilot might use the civilian emergency channel if the military frequencies were being jammed. Then again, it might be someone playing with a shortwave radio.)

HUMANOID CONTACT LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA
On Wednesday, May 14, 1997, around 4 pm, at the Intersection of Bundy Avenue at Santa Monica Boulevard in Los Angeles, California. (See Journal Entry for May 14, 1997 at 17:00)

TRIANGULAR UFOs OVER RICHMOND, CALIFORNIA

On Thursday, May 15, 1997, at 12:07 a.m… a few hundred yards from Interstate Highway 80.

…a black equilateral triangular object about the size of a half-dollar held at arm's length, moving swiftly to the east-northeast about five degrees north of directly overhead..."It had three lights, one at each of the vertices. These were orange-yellow and appeared as bright as fourth magnitude stars. Each light appeared to be divided into two hemispheres along the axis of motion. The object was moving in the direction of one of the vertices at a high rate of speed. The duration of my sighting was about 4 seconds."

… it passed overhead… It produced no noise except perhaps the faint sound of rushing air… the nearness of the (Interstate 80) freeway makes that impression unreliable.

Twenty hours later…at approximately 10:43 p.m…made visual contact with a UFO.

… a group of lights, perhaps eight or nine clustered near the front edge of a black triangular object with angles of about 120 degrees, 35 degrees and 25 degrees." …. "The object was traveling NE at a high speed with the largest angle in the front and the smallest angle to the NW. … it was about as large as a half-dollar held at arm's length..It passed directly overhead and made no noise, … observed this object for about 6-7 seconds. Its lights were also about fourth magnitude and looked like eyes--almond-shaped with a dark center…It should be mentioned (that) the first object was moving along a flight path out of SFO (San Francisco International Airport) used by passenger craft at high altitude.”

SKY BOOM REPORTED IN MISSOURI ON MAY 15

On Thursday, May 15, 1997, two hours before a "mysterious explosion" rocked southern Ohio and northern Kentucky, a similar blast was experienced in the city of St. Joseph, Missouri (population 76,691), located 54 miles (87 kilometers) north of Kansas City.

A spokeswoman for Offutt Air Force Base in Nebraska, said the blast was "probably a sonic boom caused by an aircraft breaking the sound barrier…that the boom might have been caused by an SR-71 flying from Beale Air Force Base in California to Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland.

Another spokesman for USAF, said "the aircraft would have been in NW Missouri about 2:30 or 3 p.m. on that afternoon.”
BLACK HELICOPTERS IN FRESNO, CALIFORNIA

On Saturday, May 17, 1997…at 10 p.m… two black helicopters in close formation, no sound, no exhaust, and no flashing lights--just a steady white light flew very close to the ground, from the SE to the NW  (Kings Canyon Road to Herndon Avenue-J.T.).

“ Definitely looked like helicopters--but very Stealth-like…they had a wide fuselage, no visible (tail) rotor, could not see underbelly--no visible landing gear. No noise of any type. No exhaust. Both were in tight formation, with one just in front of the other. The one in the rear seemed to be on the right-hand side of the one in the lead.”

On Tuesday, May 20, 1997…the city's ABC-TV affiliate, aired a 15-minute segment on UFOs…showing "a round glowing object."…(prior to the program airing) city residents had been puzzled by reports of black helicopters on patrol over McKinley, Belmont and Olive Avenues, just north of Chandler Airport.

 (Editor's Comment: From the description, the aircraft resemble the new Eurocopter NH-90. But, according to Aviation Week and Space Technology for May 27, 1997, there are only a few prototypes of the NH-90, and all are in Europe. The first NH-90s not expected to be out of production until 2002.)

FLYING TRIANGLE IN CENTRAL PENNSYLVANIA

On Sunday, May 18, 1997, at about 6:30 p.m., a handful of people …at the intersection of Pennsylvania Route 443 and Appleby Road, near Linglestown, Pennsylvania (Pa.) were startled by the appearance of a "flying triangle."

…the UFO was "to the north directly over Route 81.. was …a triangle UFOappearing to be six inches across.

…as to how high the UFO flew… it "was real low" and "moved slowly W."

… "The triangle flew overhead, moving in a WNW direction. The lights gave the appearance of protruding from the actual craft.

… lost sight of the UFO when it dropped toward forest-covered Second Mountain. The sighting took place in a rural section of Linglestown, about seven miles (11 kilometers) north of Harrisburg, the state capital of Pennsylvania.” -- Copyright 1996 - 2012 UFOINFO Editor: Joseph Trainor