O, Ewes Guys!

...quit making fun of my Brooklyn accent.

"It is madness for sheep to talk peace with a wolf."
--Thomas Fuller
Surah 8 Al-Anfal (The Spoils of War)

إِذْ تَسْتَغِيثُونَ رَبَّكُمْ فَاسْتَجَابَ لَكُمْ أَنِّي مُمِدُّكُم بِأَلْفٍ مِّنَ الْمَلآئِكَةِ مُرْدِفِينَ 8:9

8:9 If/When you plead/ed with God (to Intercede) and He Responded (s) to you, indeed He Extended (s) (outspread, expanded, prolonged, protracted) 1,000 Angels 'murdifoon' 'arranged in rank' (but the primary meaning here of 'rdf' is 'buttocks'--and don't be laughing just yet).

'The Lord is My Shepherd' not because I am a sheep (or ewe, whatever the case might be), but because I belong to His 'Fold' (a crash course on Tay-al-Ard is called for a this juncture). And a cut-and-paste illustration might help some, too.

Be cautioned that the 2-dimensional illustration is a bit misleading but is only being used for convenient reference. Misleading in that the figure of the soldier practicing a Military Parachute Landing Fall is doing just that and he is not actually rotating in space. From his perspective he is going through maneuvers, or engaged in battle or doing whatever he is being called on to do.

The soldier is used as the example here because of the use of the word 'murdifin' which does refer to the 'Buttocks', the 4th point of a textbook military parachute landing fall. And while the rest of the illustration is attempting to show the realignment of this Subject to God's Purpose (essentially, the meaning of the word Muslim*), what is actually moving is the Space-Time. Can you tell from this example which way the Plane is Moving (Folded)?

In addition to a novel approach to physics, let's see what this perspective does from the vantage point of the Theatre of War (I'll bet those video games will start looking pretty good about now).

إِذْ يُغَشِّيكُمُ النُّعَاسَ أَمَنَةً مِّنْهُ وَيُنَزِّلُ عَلَيْكُم مِّن السَّمَاء مَاء
لِّيُطَهِّرَكُم بِهِ وَيُذْهِبَ عَنكُمْ رِجْزَ الشَّيْطَانِ وَلِيَرْبِطَ عَلَى قُلُوبِكُمْ
وَيُثَبِّتَ بِهِ الأَقْدَامَ 8:11

8:11 That Deceptive Somnolence (cheating sleepiness/that blurs makes things vague), a Reassurance (Safety) from Us and the coming down of water (rain, m.a) from the Sky to Cleanse you and Rid you of the Wrath (vengeance) of Satan and Linked your Hearts (braced you, to each other) and Fixed your footing (your sure-footedness; a firmer footing implies stronger gravitational forces so what effect did this passel of warriors (collection of nearby point sources) have on local Gravity?)

فَلَمْ تَقْتُلُوهُمْ وَلَـكِنَّ اللّهَ قَتَلَهُمْ وَمَا رَمَيْتَ إِذْ رَمَيْتَ وَلَـكِنَّ
اللّهَ رَمَى وَلِيُبْلِيَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ مِنْهُ بَلاء حَسَناً
إِنَّ اللّهَ سَمِيعٌ عَلِيمٌ 8:17

8:17 So, you did not kill them but God Killed them; and you did not throw what/if you threw but God Threw/Cast; and ‘informed the Believers among them’/’labled the Believers among them’/’wore them out by the Believers’/in a good ordeal (first-class scourge—He Whooped their butts); Indeed, God is All Hearing, All Knowing (Aware)

وَاتَّقُواْ فِتْنَةً لاَّ تُصِيبَنَّ الَّذِينَ ظَلَمُواْ مِنكُمْ خَآصَّةً
8:25 وَاعْلَمُواْ أَنَّ اللّهَ شَدِيدُ الْعِقَابِ
8:25 And fear (have a care) Sedition not infect those who are wrong/ed among you particularly and know that God is Severe in Punishment

إِذْ أَنتُم بِالْعُدْوَةِ الدُّنْيَا وَهُم بِالْعُدْوَةِ الْقُصْوَى وَالرَّكْبُ أَسْفَلَ مِنكُمْ
وَلَوْ تَوَاعَدتَّمْ لاَخْتَلَفْتُمْ فِي الْمِيعَادِ وَلَـكِن لِّيَقْضِيَ اللّهُ أَمْراً كَانَ مَفْعُولاً
لِّيَهْلِكَ مَنْ هَلَكَ عَن بَيِّنَةٍ وَيَحْيَى مَنْ حَيَّ عَن بَيِّنَةٍ وَإِنَّ اللّهَ لَسَمِيعٌ عَلِيمٌ 8:42

8:42 That you in count/numbers (to the enemies/opposing force) the minimum (least, fewest) and they in count/numbers (to the enemies/opposing force) the maximal (superior, ) and the base installation (riders at the back/below) of you had just avoided not disputing/differing in/by the date (promised, appointment) and but for God's Judgment His Will was Done that they mistook (weakened) from your appearing greater in number from what is Evident and hailing from the neigborhood/district/vicinity Proof/Evidence/Testimony that Indeed God is All-Hearing, Omniscient.

{Aside: (whisper) If You have been following this blog since its inception You know that somehow I have managed to avoid Chapter 8 for the better part of 3 years, and for good reason. Knowing how You feel about my 'unique' interpretation of the Science in the Quran, I know You might be none too pleased with my take on History, especially if it has anything to do with Battles. The Battle alluded to here is a famous one, but I have a memory like a sieve when it comes to such things, so I hope my contemporary retrospective on it does not incentivize You to do something I will regret (again) or make me any fatter.}

The section appearing in Red Font in Sign 8:42, hailing from the neigborhood/district/vicinity Proof/Evidence/Testimony, is the interpretation of what took place at the 'lowest level'--under the Fold. Basically, the 'Forces on the Right' were outnumbered by the larger 'Forces on the Wrong' that struck fear in our heroes due to their superiority (not only in number, but it would appear they also had the higher ground and the better equipment/horses) and first saw the defending contingent as few in number, but at the last chance the 'guys from 'the 'hood'' contingent shows up (apparently they were quibbling about the date/time of when exactly the Battle was to take place--and they did not have what I am holding--an iPhone), but fortuitously they all resolved the dispute in time to make a good impression--good enough to weaken the other side by the mere appearance of their overwhelming numbers. Since, based on this narrative, the supporting forces from the vicinity did manage to converge on the battle field in what appeared to the opposing side in surprisingly large enough numbers (described as making the enemy perish/go missing/weaken or tire by the 'hulk', or what 'appeared to be a large looming object') as to make them lose any hope of being able to win the day.

(I added enough back links to "Micelles, Gravicells.." but the moral of this story has to do with the human body and Gravity interactions---and by extension any body and gravity, including such as may be found in the 'nethermost' regions which implies sub-atomic; attention is drawn to the location and timing of the lesser forces (at the bottom levels) vs the more evident superior forces (at the top), and then local or neighboring/vicinity effects of the emergent forces at the point they converge and seem to be much larger than is first apparent due to higher dimensional objects being 'folded' onto the common plane (ground); which seems to be related to tay-al-ard or space-time folding (higher dimensions must be involved for any of this to make sense, check out the lusona lesson below to see how this would apply).


The reason for thinking that Our Subjects were at what seems to be a 'disadvantage'--that being on the lower ground-- is the description of their having been 'al-rakib al-asfal' which means 'mounted on the bottom' as compared to the superior/maximal force which was also 'uppermost' or on higher ground. But, how, one might wonder did they suddenly appear to be such a vexing number if in fact those with the better view could clearly see them and surmise their evident or apparent number?

I wasn't there, but based on the History as rendered in Sign 8:42 by the carefully selected words and the proviso (it's postulated) that the Quran was intended to make sense or be useful 'fi qul zamaan wa makaan' (for all time and every place), I suspect something else was happening 'below the Fold'.

The word 'al-rakib' also means 'constructed', 'composed', 'superimposed', and 'framed' while 'al-asfal' along with meaning 'foot' or 'bottom' also means 'nethermost' or 'undermost', adjectives which imply 'layers' or 'tiers'. (If you haven't been following carefully, then take a few minutes to consider the mathematics and geometry of tilings or tesselations and symmetry , groups, and groups as sets--do that while I now go freshen up at the gym--because "God Loves Beauty" and I like to please God).
...to be continued
--Ok. I'm back!

Say what you want about Arabs but the simple fact of the matter is that they always know (at least back then) exactly where they are and what time it is---or they would be dead in the desert pretty darn quick (without GPS).

So how is it that these guys on this day of Battle were remiss about the time? They steered by the Sun during the day and the Stars/Planets at night for the simple reason that they had to in order to survive the aeolian landscape which they inhabited. Sands shifted and did not form reliable landmarks, and this begs the question: where were their heads at that they were confused about the appointed time to engage the enemy? {If you've visited the links above about math and tesselations, then a quick review about Escher's work Relativity and the subject of having 'companions' as a matter of explaining the nature of what we call Reality and the Multiverse might help fix the following concepts in your mind}.

Recall that Sign 8:11 mentions that these warriors were of "two states" of mind, the one being somnolent (described as deceptive or a cheat) and the other being 'braced' or 'connected/linked to each other' and sure-footed (gravitational increase due to linking) after having a rain come down. The 'sleepy' state is also described as being a Reassuring or Safety mechanism from God; but once the Rain comes down (recall the word 'ma' means water and it comes down from the Sky when it Rains) the warriors' 'sleepiness' is washed away and they feel consciously connected to each other which reinforces their resolve/sure-footedness (a relationship that is in 'sleep' mode (perhaps a ground or sub-ground state) becomes activated when the bodies become linked/connected to each other and augments the effect of gravity; Warning: the somnolent or sleepy state is a Safety mechanism, so proceed with Caution before waking or linking/superimposing anything up ) . It is no small coincidence that Sign 8:11 incorporates m.a and relates battle (competing/non-compatible) having to do with--of all things--Forces (does anyone now know why F=ma?)

Okay. I will spin my wheels here a little bit longer, because someone else has to know the answer since this isn't all about m.e (never was, never will be...). So, I will digress and mention that now you will be introduced to one possibile explanation to the age-old question: Where do Angels come from? (The short answer is from the top of the nautilus spiral).

Lusona are line drawings made by the Lunda-Tchokwe group of the Bantu, an example of which appears in the illustration on the right. Sona making integrates mathematics, art, and culture and traditionally were passed from one generation to the next during a 6 to 8 month period of male initiation rites. It is used here to help further demonstrate the concept behind our paratrooper's realignment in the above drawing and shed some light on an alternative explanation as to where those ('extra-dimensional') forces came from that are mentioned in Sign 8:42.

The lusona used in the example has translational, and rotational symmetry and provides a simple case for the purposes of illustration. More challenging examples can be tested using examples without rotational symmetry or more complicated group geometries like you would find in arabicized tilings or tesselations; in which case one would have to resort to more complex mathematics (probably need a good grasp of rotational matrices) rather than simple inspection. (Find more at Paulus Gerdes Ethnomath, Mirror Symmetries)

The first sequence of drawings breaks down the geometry of one lusona, noting that the proportion between the base diamond and those on the perimeter is 1/3. The 'key' objects are also proportional to the diamonds.

This next sequence illustrates that through translation and rotation symmetries the 'key' elements are assembled/connected to the diamond base (for lack of a better term, let's call it 'The Field"). And it is interesting to note for the purposes of this explanation that the 'key' elements are not directly connected to each other, so in a manner of speaking, they are not 'aware' of each other (another way of saying inattentive or 'sleepy'); and in this manner the original lusona is realized as shown at the upper right corner of the drawing on the left.

But Reality is seldom 2-dimensional and in order to visualize what is happening when space-time folds on itself as it would in cases of tay-al-ard or higher dimensional beings (like Angels) 'coming down' for a visit, the lusona is extended into 3-dimensions by the indicated spiral. An image of a nautilus is shown to help with the visualization that something is sprialing up out of the page or down into the page.

There have been previous discussions about the Golden Ratio (1.618) and it is often suggested that it is the expected ratio at which the nautilus shell expands, however, it has been reported that mathematician Clement Falbo measured a series of nautilus shells at San Francisco's California Academy of Sciences, and he found that while they were indeed logarithmic spirals (like the golden spiral), their ratios ranged from about 1.24 to 1.43, with an average ratio of about 1.33 to 1. And that 1/3 expansion is in keeping with the ratio of our lusona here.

And in keeping with sound mathematical practices, the lusona is 'superimposed' onto the image of the nautilus with the logarithmic spiral curve in blue and it coincides at 6 points. Depending on variations and accuracy it is expected that it may coincide at 7 points. The case for 8 points coinciding is not as readily deduced from this investigation. It is of further interest to note how the 'keys' just happen to frame the chambered region of the nautilus.

[You, with the super computer, can see what happens in analogous situations for even higher dimensions, say up to 7---oh, why stop there, try up to 11---and let's address the validity of 'string theory' once and for all---the mathematics have to include all of the operations appearing in green and summarized in Sign 8:9; this is not a homework assignment, it's strictly voluntary and while cases with symmetry are more manageable, it would be an interesting excercise to see what happens when dealing with deformations or non-symmetries]

*وَجَاهِدُوا فِي اللَّهِ حَقَّ جِهَادِهِ هُوَ اجْتَبَاكُمْ وَمَا جَعَلَ عَلَيْكُمْ فِي الدِّينِ مِنْ حَرَجٍ مِّلَّةَ

أَبِيكُمْ إِبْرَاهِيمَ هُوَ سَمَّاكُمُ الْمُسْلِمينَ مِن قَبْلُ وَفِي هَذَا لِيَكُونَ الرَّسُولُ شَهِيدًا عَلَيْكُمْ وَتَكُونُوا شُهَدَاء عَلَى النَّاسِ

فَأَقِيمُوا الصَّلَاةَ وَآتُوا الزَّكَاةَ وَاعْتَصِمُوا بِاللَّهِ هُوَ مَوْلَاكُمْ فَنِعْمَ الْمَوْلَى وَنِعْمَ النَّصِيرُ 22:78

22:78 And Strive in God's True Struggle; He elected you and did not make any difficulty for you in Religion (the Dean/Righteous Way); your forefather Abraham, he is who called you Muslims from the onset (before), and in this the Apostle Bears Witness over you and you are the witnesses over Humanity; so ordain the prayers and give in Charity and Heed/Follow God; He is you Protector/Guardian; the Finest Protector, the Finest Vanquisher.

__________________________________
At Men, I Pause

(That Includes Womb-Men)

Above Left: The Desired Effect

Above Right: The Inevitable First Encounter With A Woman In Flatland.________________________

And that's why We are back to this:

Pearls Before Swine is a cartoon strip that appears regulary in the Los Angeles Times newspaper; the buttocks reference came up on 2 consecutive days March 30 and 31, 2010--a little overkill don't You think? I got it the first time but didn't think to post it here.

Micelles, 'Gravicells', And Passels

There is a fundamental problem with non-native speakers translating a text (I am just as guilty as all the rest I am sure) and that is their need to rely on anecdotal or historic evidence to decode parts that pose difficulties. ***

Take for example the word 'tbt' in Sign 111:1 which is by all published accounts rendered as Perish! or Damn! when the word for such is 'taab'. I suppose part of the conflict is having to admit that no one really knows at the time what is meant by it so they have to think of something or there will be a gaping hole of not having it make any sense otherwise; which only makes things all the more difficult to understand.

I suffer from no such delusion of feeling the need for things to make sense and that's why I go with what is Written whether I understand it or not (I am also very comfortable with not worrying about what others might discover about the large body of missing knowledge I have amassed over the years, either).

So I will keep TBT as it stands and TB as is, since there are no readily meaningful terms in the Google tools Arab-English translator. In my mind I think TBT is tributyltin and TB is tuberculosis.

TBT is an environmental toxin, that while is regulated is still found in the ocean and marine life, soil and groundwater, and has been identified as a possible link to obesity in the human population.

The leading Sign 111:1 may be alluding to a crystal growth (as when forming micelles for drug delivery methods; or surfactants) or some other substitution nomenclature I am not particularly aware of these days.

So, I am just going to throw this out there to see what you think. (with transliteration)


111 Surah Lahab (Blaze/Inferno, a moniker for the Prophet's unkind uncle)
تَبَّتْ يَدَا أَبِي لَهَبٍ وَتَبَّ 111:1
tbt yada abi lhabn wa tb

tbt=TBT (acronyms: tributyltin (a biocide), tetrabutyl titanate, tres basse tension, tres basse temperature, Turn-By-Turn, technology based training)

yada=n. hand, (ar. synonyms: supervision, ingenuity, side, line, control, something 'khalid'==adj. deathless, outstanding, undying, imperishable, perrenial, timeless, immortal; adv. eternally), factor, clockwise, writing, index, coffee, manpower, hand; ar. v. sent, hand assisted, hand delivered, gives/given)

abi= n. father, dad (varient; father of =the source of something; similar to 'mother of' being a way to say 'the epitomy of something')

lhab= n. flame/glow; v. inflame, inspire/move, blaze, reanimate, thrill (alternatively, the color: reddish-orange)

wa= conj. and, while; prep. with
tb = TB (acronyms: tuberculosis, tuberculin, throttle body, True Bearing, triple buffering)

111:1 tributyltin gives the source of flame/blaze/reddish
orange color with tuberculosis

111:1 very low voltage/very low temperature controls the source of the glow while true bearing (magnetically aligned true north/ measured in relation to geographic points on the Earth's surface, rather than to points of magnetic attraction/or not relative as a value and corrected for all error factors)

مَا أَغْنَى عَنْهُ مَالُهُ وَمَا كَسَبَ 111:2ma a'ghna 'aanhu malahu wa ma ksab

ma= pron. what

a'ghna= adj. better-off/at an advantage, richer

'aanhu= adv. on account of; prep. owing to; conj. because, for (hu==his)

malahu= his money/exchange/currency/frequency/rate (speed, tempo, pace, time, velocity, charge), his wealth, his belongings, his possessions/properties

wa= conj. and, while; prep. with

ma= pron. what

k.sab= n. gaining, winning, earning, obtaining, acquisition, acquiring, gain, profit; v. gain, get something off one's hands, win, prize, profit, earn, get, harvest,reap, attain, acquire, obtain

111:2 what better-off/richer on account of his properties
and what gain/profit?

111:2 what richer/more productive/fuller
owing to his rate/currency/frequency with what gain (signal input to output ratio)

سَيَصْلَى نَارًا ذَاتَ لَهَبٍ 111:3
s.yassli naran ththata lhabin

the letter s+word (will...)

yasli v. reach

narn n. fire, flame, light/luminosity/radiance/glow/illumination, heat, flare

ththat n. self, person, object; adj. one, related to , associated with;

lhab=n. flame; v. inflame, inspire/arouse/produce/move, blaze, reanimate, thrill (alternatively, the color: reddish-orange)

111:3 until reaching a fire/heat/light related to
/associated with a flame/reddish orange color

111:3 will reach a glow/luminosity object arousing/producing (possibly
reddish-orange color)

وَامْرَأَتُهُ حَمَّالَةَ الْحَطَبِ 111:4
wa amratahu hhamalat alhhattab

wa= conj. and, while; prep. with

amra'tu= his woman, his wife; (ie female coupler/recessive counterpart)

hhamalet= n. porter, roustabout; v. carries, is carrying

alhhatb=n. firewood, firing, wood/covert=hidden/secret/stealthy; v. chop, hew, log

111:4 and/while his female coupler/counterpart carries/porters the firewood(ie., fuel/energy source)

111:4 while the female coupler (engineering; recessive part designed to receive projecting part) carries the covert/hidden/secret/stealthy


فِي جِيدِهَا حَبْلٌ مِّن مَّسَدٍ 111:5
fi jaiydiha hhblan min mmased

fi= adv. thereof; prep. in, among, at, on, during, within,by

jayidiha= her+ n. neck (ie, narrow part), prime; adj. good, perfect, pretty, kindly; adv. well, fully

hhabln=n. pregnancy==significance, rope, bond (see bond woman), cord, tether, fall/drop, twist/coil; v. inseminate, rope

min= prep.from, of; conj. than; pron. who, whoever, whom, whosoever/whatsoever

m.sad= m (that which) + n. embankment, occlusion, obduracy, barrage, dam, dike, stem, weir, floodgate, closeness; v. bung, close, shut, bar, block, clog, lock, seal, mure, foul, fill, congest, wad, tamp, stop up, stop, stuff, plug, pack, occlude, obdurate

111:5 in/within/by her neck (narrow part) a cord/tether/bond of (whatsoever)mures==encloses or walls (him/TB) in ...

ie.thereby isolating TB

111:5 within her narrow part/good/perfect coil of/from that which seals/plugs/is obdurate/rigid/intransigent (probably a very low temp/very low voltage directional coupler or similar device)

I would have just stopped at this point, thinking I probably got my point across, were it not for my primal fascination with GPS and what a great tool it is for doing the really phun stuph like tay-al-ard (folding space-time, as it is now called).

111:1 Turn-by-Turn (timeless/immortal) clockwise/writing/index/line/factor the source of movement/eternal reanimation while True Bearing

111:2 What an Advantage owing to His speed/tempo/pace/time/velocity/charge While Gaining

111:3 He Will Reach, Light/ Heat One/ Self-Related to Reanimation/Moving

111:4 And His (wife)/Recessive Counterpart Carries a Hidden/Secret (occult?)

111:5 In Her Prime Significance of that Bar==SI unit of Pressure cm/g/sec N/cm2/Tablet (Source of Inscription, small computer)/Seal

This last rendering is most directly associated with GPS (although the mention of reanimation may be a nod to Resurrection) which utilizes/rate/distance (rel. to speed+time...)/North Reference (often can choose between‘Auto’ /True North/Magnetic North/Grid North/User North) other factors such as distance, speed, elevation/magnetic declination; lines of longitude/latitude (meridians/parallels); Latitude/longitude ruler is usually divided into degrees/minutes/seconds.
Bearing is measured clockwise from True North or Magnetic North;

Hidden table or tablet could be referring to the Ephemeris/ a table of predicted satellite orbital locations.
At this point, I realize I am preaching to the choir, since You (Dear) must have had all this figured out over 4 years ago (by my reckoning, and having arrived at this conclusion at my own glacial pace).
But did You happen to catch 'Gravicells,' the Art Installation by Seiko Mikami? Apparently it's been on exhibit in one venue or another around the world since 2004. It looks to be a great large scale interactive experience where the human body (that of the observer) is used as the resistive force (counter) to Gravity (which the Artist calls 'the 6th Consciousness').
I chanced on the Gravicells website while searching similarities between geological rock folds and space folds, which got me thinking what effect the human body has on folding space-time or vice versa.
The rest of this discourse relating gravity and passels ( large number or amount or extent) will appear 'above the fold.'

***Author's Note: ...since now I know You read them. I don't have to be 100% right since We are just describing a Method here; We leave it to your fancy English speaking Russian computers to get it all Right.

I-Dio Synchricity

Both The New York Times and The Los Angeles Times Crossword Puzzles provide a welcome diversion and important tools in honing memory skills and heightening awareness of current events and pop culture. Doing the daily crosswords was just a habit I fell into as a hedge against the time spent commuting in the City. Rarely did I ever take them personally.

Over the past year or two some of the puzzles worked out to hold clues or answers that were related to things you would expect to find at A Page In The Life that are a far cry from what would be considered mainstream, and I simply shrugged this off to Synchronicity. Sometimes the synchronicity justification was difficult to swallow, but the alternative explanation could only be paranoia.

I did a good job convincing myself as much until this last Sunday's LA Times Crossword Puzzle (January 31, 2010), that seemed to have so many tie-ins with A Page... that it fell out of the range of random chance and I could no longer ignore the correspondence--it just hit on all cylinders!

The Puzzle, Clues, and Answers are reproduced from Crossword Confidential with impressions in gray and related links to the UFO-Human Link...
Kindergarten Crime Spree Part 2 (January 31, 2010)
By Merl Reagle




From Crossword Confidential

Clues and Theme answers:
21A: I narrowed it down to two suspects. Naturally, they both LOOKED INNOCENT. Mom & Dad?26A: Let's call them... DICK AND JANE. Okay, Dick and Jane or Adam and Eve or Jack and Jill...as you like it.35A: I could tell right away that she was... HOOKED ON PHONICS. This Blog does prattle on about Phonics...49A:And he—well, let's just say that he was... IN A CLASS BY HIMSELF. Yes, He is!64A: I laid out the evidence; they could see that I'd done... MY HOMEWORK. If someOne out there is doing their Homework why don't I get a copy since I assigned it--unless this counts as such?66A: But neither would talk. So I said, "I'm going to... COUNT TO TEN." My 'friend' GiGi counts to ten after printing loci/foci...82A: And that did it—they immediately started crying. I said, "Well, I hope you've... LEARNED YOUR LESSON." Mom may have taught them something afterall.93A: "Maybe you'll both be let out early... FOR GOOD BEHAVIOR." ...but Time Out is Phun with Phonix!106A: "But only if you... SHOW AND TELL ...me exactly what happened." Not much of a Poker player since I play with all my cards on the Table, but there is no need for a Show and Tell since just Hearing about it was Enough for Him!
113A: They agreed. And that's when the FINGERPOINTING / FINGERPRINTING / FINGERPAINTING began. All three Finger Things are mentioned at A Page In The Life.

(Hint: Because of a single variable letter, this clue has three different appropriate answers. Write in whichever one(s) you like. See 116 Down.) Note: This Hint parallels having mentioned the interchangeablity of several words for the word 'distinction' depending on what the occassion warrants.
116D: Start of a crime novel by Sue Grafton, whose titles are particularly apt for this puzzle. (This clue has three possible answers. See 113 Across, the Hint and corresponding Note) (O / R / A IS). 'A Is for Alibi' (Advanced Information Systems); 'O Is For Outlaw' (Office of Information Systems); 'R Is For Ricochet' (Readiness Information System/Request for Information Services).

January 31 Puzzle / Everything Else —

1A: Pioneering cartoonist (NAST); People, Communities, Oblivion and Waves all to do with Nas, and some can be quite nas-t!

5A: Prep for a trip (PACK); Read about a higher dimension Cadet's packing for a little trip to 3D Earth.

9A: Cry of recognition (AHA); There is an 'aha moment' here.

12A: Stumblebums (CLODS); And these characters may also be found on 3D Earth.

17A: Job safety org. (OSHA); Maxie Time mentions what an abysmal failure OSHA can be when it comes to Job Safety since it is bogged down by a Hitler Power (SCIF).

18A: Present opening? (OMNI-); Omnipresent, One of The 99 Most Beautiful Names.

19A: Job opening (SLOT); Spline keys fit in chambers or slots.
20A: Jewelers' lenses (LOUPES); Prismatic loupes afford the highest magnification.
24A: Manifesto co-author (ENGELS); Engels is German for Angels, and Engels related to Engels Expansion (for pi=1,1,1,8,8, 1991...) and pertains to group theory, too.

25A: Takes in or lets out (ALTERS); Anything can be altered except God's Words.

28A: Untrue (NOT SO); Which part is not true so We can go back and make it so? Or is it nothing to do with Special Orthogonal (mathematics: group theory); consider orthogonal matrix at Area 51 and Group Theory?
29A: Earthquake origins (FOCI); Earthquakes are the subject of a few blog posts.

32A: Promising letters (IOU); Promise to pay is okay, but how long is one expected to just be holding paper?
33A: Org. of cadets (ROTC); In addition to the one cadet mentioned earlier, there had been others including the armed forces and Little Annie Fannie, a Space Cadet in Gordon Egan's book.

41A: Old college cry (RAH); Right Ascension (units in Hours) T=0, but discussed and given in degrees elsewhere on this site.
42A: Capital on the Aare (BERN); Biological and Environmental Research Nanotechnology or No Action Taken;; Interesting reference to Aare-- Accumulator Aircraft Reactor Equipment. The Aare river rises and ends totally within Switzerland, a country also associated with money and chocolate.

44A: Pianist Gilels (EMIL) ; Gilels pedagogical geneology traces back to Frederick Chopin, for the association to this blog one would have had to have read the book.

45A: Sculler's prop (OAR); Office of Air Resources; Oceanic Atmospheric Research...

46A: Words before "merry" (AND BE); B, Be, Bee--they all sound the same to me.
48A: Chinese principle (TAO); Buddha quote and related to Tao Ruspoli, film-maker/photographer.

54A: Goes ballistic (ERUPTS); Establish Responsible Use Policy Terms Of Service (no way I am ever going to sign off on this--it is unsafe at any level!)
56A: Hydrox finish (-IDE); Hydroxide here and there.

57A: Before you know it (SOON); Solar Optical Observation Network + H alpha filters/images when making astronomical observations.
58A: Be in a different form? (ARE); Air Resource Engineer, or just think different.

59A: Pool problem (ALGAE); The math may be mystical but the science is not too rough; I did blog about seaweed and iodine.
60A: Golf great (SNEAD); The golf legend Sam Snead was known to play golf barefoot from time to time.
62A: "Convoy" star's first name (KRIS); like Readiness Information System or Receiving the Islamic Spirit
72A: At a snail's pace (SLOW); ...or glacial pace...

73A: Takes shape (FORMS); Images, Forms, Depictions...someOne seems to be reading carefully.
74A: Chocolate shop lure (AROMA); Acknowledge Receipt Omni Mane (every morning)...of the crossword puzzle?; Altimeter Reading at Outer Marker or ATS Reporting Office at Outer Marker.

75A: Reagan's "Star Wars" prog. (SDI); It's good to be prepared, did you ever think you would need to use it, or that it would work?!
78A: Lingerie items (BRAS); What snaps in Maxie Time and what's currently on the line--clothes line, that is; where a bra is ‹A= [A1 A2 A3]
80A: Cloud chamber bit (ION); Iodide ions seeding clouds forming over seaweed beds.
81A: Toyota rival (NISSAN); What's in the driveway; or Surah 4 Nissa'.
87A: "Twitch," minus every other letter (TIC); toxic industrial chemical; thermal imaging camera; tentatively identified compound
88A: Arm bones (ULNAS); Ulnas are long arm bones, prismatic in form.

89A: Seattle-to-Vegas dir. (SSE); SATCOM System Expert; Subspace Emissary like the Emissaries sent to assess dishonest dealings.

90A: GM's electric car (VOLT); How many Volts exactly?
91A: Island near Java (BALI); Bridge Architect Lawful Interception (...still think it's kidnapping); a battery where Lithium is the alkali metal and Barium is the alkaline earth metal.
92A: Saints' org. (NFC); Near Field Communication.

99A: Sugar-free, perhaps (DIET); It's always a good idea to watch one's diet.

101A: Extinct 12-footer (MOA); Ordinarily there is more to a Memorandum of Agreement than $1.99 sweetener.
102A: In ___ (lined up) (A ROW); Those ranged by rank or lined up in order are in 'a row,' are mentioned at least a couple of times, one having to do with beings and another to do with 'cushions'.
103A: Terra follower (COTTA); community outreach through the arts; Completely Off Topic To Above is non-sequitur.

111A: Last two words in the title of an epic 1962 western (WAS WON); 'Jinn, I Win!' because I visited there. And I guess 'overseas' from California is west or The West Was Won?
112A: Actress Stone (SHARON); STructured and OpeN Environment; or things etched in stone, or simply stating the obvious no escape
117A: "Fighting" NCAA team (ILLINI); Thessalonians I reference is found and suddenly I don't feel as though I am just talking to myself or broadcasting into the void.
118A: Swan lover of myth (LEDA); Commemorated in a Sonnet by Yeats, a precise sort of poetry, but I prefer Shakespeare to Yeats, and Poe to Shakespeare, yet still Quran trumps what passes for poetry around these parts; no Swans around here, just California Scrub Jays.

119A: Colorful eye part (IRIS); something about eyes

120A: Words to a traitor (ET TU); Emerging Technology Tango Unit (inoperational); Extra Terrestrial Thank You.
121A: One way to choose (BY LOT); The post at this link was all about Lot and his community.

122A: 2001 and 2010, for ex. (YRS.) ; Mind reeling in the years...whiling away the time..
123A: "Darn it" preceder (GOSH); Geometrics of Self Healing , or why am I not surprised at more Ogee jokes.
124A: Greek letters (RHOS); Right Hand Opponent (in Bridge, aka the Devil himself!); or Rho (rho meson), Rho (rho factor RNA protein involved in trascription, termination), Rho (population damping ratio), Rho (measure of correlation)--whatever floats your boat.

1D: Ace of diamonds Ryan (NOLAN); no local area network

2D: Embark on ___ career (A SOLO); Solar and Heliospheric Observatory and other observations to do with the Sun.

3D: Noticeably filled (with) (SHOT THROUGH); Synonymous with Interwoven, intermixed...like Space...

4D: Goes up against (TAKES ON); Fighting and the Rules of Engagement.
5D: Okra features (PODS); One Multiverse (science) theory posits that PODs are occurring all the time, with an infinite variety of possible outcomes that each creates a universe, this having been used as a premise to the television series Sliders. Speculative fiction is full of universes based loosely on the concept of multiple universes, including many fantasy milieus. (definition from www.acronymfinder.com)
6D: Pal, to Pascal (AMI); Ami=Friend just one of the many names He goes by or is it a question; Am I...?
7D: Wolf's home? (CNN); CNN is one source of some topics and links on this Blog.

8D: Relations (KIN); the arabic letter k..'akin' to

9D: Actor with actor brothers (ALEC); Authorized Linux Education Center possibly having to do with the Kernel or the GNU
10D: Flying wedge sound (HONK); No goose by any stretch of the imagination, a sound the auto-marin-airing vehicle might make--or not.

11D: Reach (ATTAIN); ATTENTION: The Answer Is No! Is that the final answer to 'Love You' or 'Get someOne else,' or 'Anyone more Holy than my own mother around here?'

12D: Nor, for one: abbr. (CONJ.); Conjunction, what's even more rare is the word syzygy appearing in each of the crosswords a week or so ago.

13D: Long-time Indiana senator (LUGAR); She says: 'I Love You, can you pick someOne else?' He says; 'Love You, Get A Room!'
14D: Market action that remains in effect until filled or canceled (OPEN ORDER); What more is there to say?
15D: Easily trashed, e.g. (DELETABLE); Diffusion-Enhanced Luminescence Energy Transfer Airborne Laser Experiment probably referring to a Sky Movie..
16D: Air-leak sound (SSS); An s by any other name.
19D: "Nova" subj. (SCI.); Science is a topic found at the UFO-Human Link...

20D: Nobel decliner ___ Tho (LE DUC); Language Equivalent Data Utilization Center

22D: Switch ending (-EROO); There is the famous switcheroo mentioned in 70:41 and a friend whose been known to throw a switch or two.

23D: Frigg's husband (ODIN); Observe, Detect, Identify, Neutralize; Ocean Data Intelligent Network; Occupational Disease Intelligence Network or simply the arabic word Din for Religion or Moral Law.
27D: "___ insist!" (NO I); Common expression, but also straight out of Maxie Time the day of the Science/Book Faire...

29D: Katrina aftermath org. (FEMA); either F=MA or iron mass acceleration.

30D: Like poems of praise (ODIC); Poe's 'Evening Star' is an Ode to the Shining One, or the Bright Star Sirius.
31D: Coal miner (COLLIER); coal mining recalling the mention of mining by mountain top removal
34D: Food Network figure (CHEF); Certainly not the best cook, but no one ever walks away from the Table unsatisfied.
36D: Berry and Burns (KENS); arab. "كنز" meaning 'treasure trove' as in 'A Man's Wife is His Treasure Trove,' a little old school, but somehow appropriate.

37D: Struck a stance (POSED); To offer something for consideration, thus, or to assume a posture for artistic reasons or to mislead someone, like pretending to be a doctor when not.
38D: Partakes of (HAS); There are plenty of ha.ha.has...

39D: Space balls (ORBS); Here we talk about the Blue and Orange balls or Orbs...if there are any other flavors out there we haven't come across any reliable first-hand reports.

40D: See 60 Across (SAM); Surface To Air Missile /Aegis program .

42D: Second-string squad (B TEAM); When Plan A is shunted, you get the B Team.
43D: Premature (EARLY); The real question is now that I know I arrived early and have learned to like my own bad cooking, what is there left to do?
47D: Ultrasecret org. (NSA); National Security Agency but also Nuclear Science Abstracts .

49D: List details (ITEMS); Inventory is an items list.
50D: It's an Aleutian (ADAK); add a K to aleutian and get kaleution==collusion==conspiracy

51D: Dogpatch name (YOKUM); Standard units of measurement for Y (Luminance) are candela per square metre (cd/m2); either asking or inferring its Ok to use micrometers (u-m)? This connection was the least obvious and I still wonder if it has more to do with Mammy and Pappy Yokum of Dogpatch comic fame.
52D: Brassy group (HORNS); In addition to Strings we also have horns here.

53D: ___ to win it (IN IT); A passing lament at not having won the California Lottery, its slogan, 'You gotta be In It To Win It,' but I for one am ever so tired of being played to Lose.

55D: Kung ___ chicken (PAO); physical aggression toward others; postulated abnormal occurrence; phased array optics
60D: "Kill Bill" weapon (SWORD); Swords are mentioned at this link and other places on this site including 'Swords, Bows and Triangel UFOs'.

61D: "Dream on!" ("NO WAY!"); There are a few posts at A Page I The Life about Dreams.

63D: Coffee-spill result (STAIN); as in a stain on the brain or when growing a culture in a petri dish...
65D: Hamburg's river (ELBE); The Elbe River boasts the World's Largest Water Bridge.

66D: "Sounds great" ("COOL"); The Artwork caption is 'Sound Check'.

67D: "It's Now ___" (OR NEVER); Song by Elvis Presley, which counts as yet another Elvis citing.
68D: Surgery sites, briefly (ORS); O-Ring Seal

69D: "For openers ..." (TO START WITH); Two good segues into conversation but not as interesting as talking about the weather.

70D: BlackBerry delivery (EMAIL); Not the traditional form of email, but e-messages nevertheless.
71D: Folk singer Griffith (NANCI); North American Numbering Council; non-noradrenergic, non-cholinergic transmitter--a possible reference to GIRK channels having been mentioned.
73D: Pulled the trigger (FIRED); Linus gets 'fired' from school, and those setting others on fire become fuel for the fire themselves.

75D: How misers act (SELFISHLY); Have You ever Known me to be Shellfish or Sell Fish? Jonah and the Fish as well as Moses and a Fish were mentioned.
76D: Glenn Miller milieu (DANCE HALL); The euphamistic 'Dance of the Seven Veils' and someone didn't like the scantilly dressed robot dancer.

77D: Roth follower (IRA); Interim Remedial Action ‘piss on it’ see Ozone; Intelligence Related Activity; Independent Regualtory Agency

79D: Lackluster (SO-SO); Lackluster describes a quality of the 'God Particle' and sublusterous needle point women in Flatland, or the answer might just mean Shut Out Source of Orgasm and S0-S0 orthogonal matrices some more.
81D: Punishment for some kids (NO TV); Can the kids play Video Games instead?
82D: "Casablanca" role, Ilsa ___ (LUND); French Puffin (asthmatics puff) as do the Chargers; in Swedish means Copse or Grove, having to do with gardens and trees.
83D: Research-funding org. (NSF); national science foundation

84D: "Camp show" org. (USO); USOs as 'operating platforms like banners in the sea/ocean' are first mentioned here.

85D: London district (SOHO); Soho is mentioned as the New York neighborhood where I first saw Escher's Metamorphosis.

86D: KFC side dish (S.LAW); Not bearing the burden of the Law makes sss of those wielding it.

91D: Rocket stage (BOOSTER); The point being...?

94D: Saudi neighbor (OMANI); O, Man! as in Sign 84:6 or Are you saying You The Man?

95D: Democrat Dellums (RON); Reality Or Nothing; Ready Or Not...or stick with NURD GURU.96D: One who may bug you (GADFLY); A passing reference to Sign 22:73 (Quran), and only important if the walls at work have ears and heard me volleying isms back and forth to one of my friends there.
97D: Barn bundle (BALE); Bay Area Linux Event (California); Biolinguistics: Acquisition and Language Evolution
98D: Able one's assertion (I CAN); I See Atomic Number or American nightmare; intracranial aireal network; I See Author’s Note.
100D: Hope-Crosby flick, "Road ___" (TO RIO); ionium radical; restricted illuminati online; isomerized olefin radical; respectfully idiot operator;
104D: Famed sidekick (TONTO); to.n.to the number 2, duality, primes
105D: Burger beef (ANGUS); Acoustically Navigated Geophysical Underwater System; Air National Guard of the United States
107D: "I ___ tell" (WON'T); You won't tell me who is your favorite artist? Either you don't have one or you can't choose among many.

108D: Arena level (TIER); Tiers, Layers, Levels, and Tay-al-Ard are all a Matter of the MultiVerse.

109D: Some linemen (ENDS); Enhanced Nuclear Detonation Safety; but more than likely an allusion to the often misunderstood Machiavellian quote, '...the Ends justfiy the Means...' Oh, yeah? Then go ahead and have the Universe collapse in your brain, that of your wife and your child's and see how justified that feels to you. But don't do it to an unwitting young pregnant working mother and someone else's daughter and other man's wife scraping by on $36k per year, 'cause that's just Stupid.
110D: NYC airport, on tickets (LGA); The Flying Fish Frieze on New York's La Guardia Airport is mentioned.

111D: Genie's gift (WISH); Jinn are discussed throughout as part of the Creation...

112D: Sis or bro (SIB); Many appropriate acronyms apply having to do with Systems Information/Intelligence/Investigation, but one in particular 'Swelling Itching Brain' (song by Devo).
114D: Fix dishonestly (RIG); The Maxie Time protagonist realizes that the system is rigged...and that's why she fails...some readers didn't like the ending...so much for Realism.

115D: Con's opposite (PRO). Another word for Con is Crook, a word that appears in the post Books, Crooks, and..

Books, Crooks, And Asses

The Center

What The Alien Has To Say
(still cranky because re-entry is a \ \ (bichon frise) )

It's obvious to me why the report was written that way (in response to the Über Right article).

Had the report authors demurred to the vanguard it Not only would make me the last Woman on Oceana that Witnessed what they go around doing to each other while calling it ‘air freshener’ and leave me with the memory of a tortured baby in my arms; but it would also mean that I am the last Man standing.
:
And given my proclivity to be creative with their architecture and my predilection for rearranging the ‘furniture’ it would bring a whole new meaning to the Washington Monument.
No matter what theory or label they may like to attach to 'terrorists' and 'terrorism' it would be incomplete if they obstinately cling to laying the blame elsewhere and not consider their own contribution to the Oklahoma City bombing and the Columbine High School massacres taking place. (If you do not have the stomach for Death then Do Not Deal in it; find some other creative way to get your point across).

9 Surah Tauba (Repentance)
إِنَّ اللّهَ اشْتَرَى مِنَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ أَنفُسَهُمْ وَأَمْوَالَهُم بِأَنَّ لَهُمُ الجَنَّةَ يُقَاتِلُونَ فِي سَبِيلِ اللّهِ
فَيَقْتُلُونَ وَيُقْتَلُونَ وَعْدًا عَلَيْهِ حَقًّا فِي التَّوْرَاةِ وَالإِنجِيلِ وَالْقُرْآنِ وَمَنْ أَوْفَى بِعَهْدِهِ مِنَ اللّهِ
فَاسْتَبْشِرُواْ بِبَيْعِكُمُ الَّذِي بَايَعْتُم بِهِ وَذَلِكَ هُوَ الْفَوْزُ الْعَظِيمُ 9:111
:
9:111 Indeed God has bought of the Believers their Souls and their Possessions for theirs is Paradise; they fight in God's Cause and they Kill and are Killed; God's Promise is binding on Him in the Torah and the Injeel (Gospel) and the Quran; and who can fulfill His Promise better than God? Rejoice in the Bargain you have made, it is a Supreme Triumph!
;
Basically, Sign 9:111 is telling us that unless you have the Keys to Paradise and you can come and go there as you please, you have no business killing people (or being killed for that matter).
:
Now you see why the alien thinks these people killing and terrorizing themselves and each other cannot be Real. After all, we don't see anybody terrorizing the Swiss and they are sitting on everything that is of real value--money and chocolate; and it would appear the Swiss don't have to pay any price for their freedom since apparently it comes free of charge (none of us pay toll when we exit our mothers); oh, and they have clean potable water throughout their cities' public drinking fountains.
:
How else can this poor alien reconcile what it expects to See based on what is in the Books and what is being reported in the Papers, eZines and the Evening News?

5 Surah Ma'ida (The Table)
إِنَّا أَنزَلْنَا التَّوْرَاةَ فِيهَا هُدًى وَنُورٌ يَحْكُمُ بِهَا النَّبِيُّونَ الَّذِينَ أَسْلَمُواْ لِلَّذِينَ هَادُواْ
وَالرَّبَّانِيُّونَ وَالأَحْبَارُ بِمَا اسْتُحْفِظُواْ مِن كِتَابِ اللّهِ وَكَانُواْ عَلَيْهِ شُهَدَاء فَلاَ تَخْشَوُاْ النَّاسَ
وَاخْشَوْنِ وَلاَ تَشْتَرُواْ بِآيَاتِي ثَمَنًا قَلِيلاً وَمَن لَّمْ يَحْكُم بِمَا أَنزَلَ اللّهُ فَأُوْلَـئِكَ هُمُ الْكَافِرُونَ 5:44
:
5:44 Indeed it is We who Revealed the Torah, in it a Guidance and a Light; (all) the Prophets ruled by it 'those who surrendered themselves' (Muslims) to what they Guided to; and the Rabbis and the Hebrews (Jews) in what they archived (preserved) of God’s Scripture and they were Witnesses over it. So do not fear the Masses and do not barter My Signs for a trifling gain; and those who do not Judge by what God Reveals you will find them to be the Disbelievers (Unfaithful, Infidels).
:
3 Surah 'Imran (The 'Imran; the Family that includes Zacchariah, John, Mary and Jesus)
نَزَّلَ عَلَيْكَ الْكِتَابَ بِالْحَقِّ مُصَدِّقاً لِّمَا بَيْنَ يَدَيْهِ وَأَنزَلَ التَّوْرَاةَ وَالإِنجِيلَ 3:3

3:3 He Revealed to you the Book (Scripture) Ratifying the Truth (Rightfully Confirming) what is between their hands (what has been Revealed to them before) and He Revealed the Torah and the Injeel (Gospel).
:
To scale the gravity of what is being cited here one must only stop to consider who stands to benefit by the deteriorating performance of our education system and why Scripture places such a high value on Literacy. And more is the pity that all this good Writing falls on conveniently heedless masses:

62 Surah Jum'ah (The Gathering):::
مَثَلُ الَّذِينَ حُمِّلُوا التَّوْرَاةَ ثُمَّ لَمْ يَحْمِلُوهَا كَمَثَلِ الْحِمَارِ يَحْمِلُ أَسْفَارًا
بِئْسَ مَثَلُ الْقَوْمِ الَّذِينَ كَذَّبُوا بِآيَاتِ اللَّهِ وَاللَّهُ لَا يَهْدِي الْقَوْمَ الظَّالِمِينَ 62:5
:
62:5 The Similitude of those who carry (profess) the Torah without bearing its burden is like that of an ass (donkey) carrying it on a journey; evil is such a lot who belie God's Signs and God does not Guide oppressive (lost) people (aka Crooks).
:

But I suppose this realization bolsters the need to support the Arts seeing how it is that people are being prevented from thinking for themselves by curtailing their access to not only a good education, but the finest education we as a society can facilitate. (Up to about 25 years ago, the United States ranked #1 in eduction among developed countries. Where are we now?)
:
But there is always a backstop measure, and by that I mean it is no coincidence that Artists can instantly express in their given media (music, graphic art, sculpture, dance, theatre, etc.) what it takes the rest of us years to develop the language adequate enough just begin to Articulate what the Artist can say with one fell stroke (Escher is a favorite; I was a lowly frosh when I first saw his Metamorphosis in its entirety (I-IV) for sale at a Soho art gallery, but unfortunately I was $10 Grand short and I had even lost my subway token that day; who/what is yours?). See? Somehow the Message still gets through; it would be nice to make it not so difficult, however.
;
What's so difficult you might wonder? This is where the cranky, but well meaning, alien gets to recount how tinkering with the normal course of events by taking shortcuts out of the mess they have created for themselves can backfire on those with less than admirable motivations (the alien is certain Quran is the last thing they wanted/expected to hear). And it has also cost the alien dearly since she now has seen both her Worldly Husband and her Heavenly Husband under the same roof and at the same time and she can't have one without feeling like she is Cheating on the other and that only makes our alien (who was none too pleased with the re-entry) even More Cranky (grammar b dimmed!).

FAILURE

I used to know a young man that could identify almost any automobile just by looking at its headlight. I wonder what star mechanic can identify an aircraft by its gasket.

There is a plane that seems to have repeatedly missed its scheduled maintenance and it would appear there is a failure connected to its o-ring; which seems to be more of an oblong shape rather than an O.

Something like this: (may not be to scale or color accurate; not rigid).