Tina Fey's Mark Twain Prize Acceptance Speech

Watch the full episode. See more Mark Twain Prize.

ABRAXAS, A Gnostic Pantheos

The name ABRAXAS, coined by Basilides, the Egyptian Gnostic, is a word symbol consisting of seven letters which signify the seven creative powers or planetary angels recognized by the ancients. Sampson Arnold Mackey advances the theory that the name is compounded from two ancient words, ABIR, which means a bull, and AXIS, which means the pole. To substantiate his belief, he brings forward the fact that a motion of the earth, commonly called the alternation of the poles, resulted in the vernal equinox taking place at one time in Taurus, the Celestial Bull, over the north pole. The four white horses drawing the chariot of ABRAXAS symbolizes the four ethers by means of which the solar power, ABRAXAS, is circulated through all parts of the universe.

The seven lettered name of ABRAXAS is symbolically significant of his seven-rayed power. That the modern world has any knowledge whatever of ancient Gnostic symbolism is largely due to the cupidity of those individuals who set themselves the task of destroying every intelligible record of Gnostic philosophy; for wishing to keep rather than destroy articles of commercial value, these fanatics preserved gems upon which Gnostic symbols were engraved. The above plate is the enlargement and amplification of a Gnostic jewel, the original stone being only a trifle over an inch in height. Rings and other articles of jewelry set which Gnostic gems were undoubtedly used by members of the cult as means of identification. As the order was a secret society, the designs were small and inconspicuous. 

The ground plan of Stonehenge

The Druid temples or places of religious worship were not patterned after those of other nations. Most of their ceremonies were performed at night, either in thick groves of oak trees or around open air altars built of great uncut stones. How these masses of rock were moved has not been satisfactorily explained. The most famous of their altars, a great ring of rocks, is Stonehenge, in Southwestern England. This structure, laid out on an astronomical basis, still stands a wonder of antiquity. 

Thoughts of you

Knowing that I’ll die

Helps me feel my life

When you came into my vibe

It was 1999

Frustrated with my mind

Time is just a sign

Of ideas that went by

When I was just a child

Intuition tells me why

You came in from behind

To tell me just a lie

And forget me for a while

Depression holds me back

With some junk inside my bag

Forget this time to time

And free me from inside

Cold turkey starts to strike

And the junky that’s inside

Thinks of all the times

You stayed inside my mind

My dreams start to fade

And notice you’re away

If ideas could be real

I would make you feel.

Que triste se aproxima el mes de Noviembre

Hoy dormirás conmigo sobre esta cama blanca,

Y mañana con el primer rayo de sol

Volverás a ser espejismo.

Que doloroso recordar mañana

Lo que nunca hubo de ser

Porque hoy corres por mis venas

Con el angustioso latido de mi corazón

Que presiente que mañana

Serás recuerdo.

Lost In the Subway

Yesterday afternoon in this huge city of ours, I was traveling in the subway; to avoid the waist of time that’s traffic, when out of a sudden, this beautiful girl hopped in the car I was traveling in. You can only notice that she didn't belong in this scenario; with her Marc Jacobs bag, and her American apparel outfit, like it was taken out of an internet catalog.

 You could become aware that she was nervous and wanted to get away from this place as soon as possible. After the first stop she started to relax, because she knew she had to reach her destiny, this was the only thing that made her stay put. At this time I thought; wow this is the first time I’ve seen a pretty girl like that in a trashy place like this.

I began to check her out and then as is typical in the subway, our eyes met and in a split second we both looked in a different direction (Why is it so uncomfortable to make eye contact?). At this point I became aware that she was checking me out too. After three or four stops, I don’t know, I wasn’t paying attention; she stepped out of the car. At this moment I knew I would never see her again. I started asking myself, why is it so hard to approach somebody in a public place? How come we are not able to make this first contact?

I wish I had the courage to talk to this random beautiful girl, but at the moment my chance had pass and it was gone forever.

Not a chance for a dance

This creation
Is inspiration
Of your sensation 
Of admiration.

You believe
And forgive
And indeed
You are pleased
With this shit
That you hear
And you fear
This is real.

You were gone
And forgot
Now I’m back
In prosac

I am crushed
Turned to dust
This is fucked
I messed up

This is life
And goes by
For a while
You were mine

Now it’s time
To say bye
Pass me by
And say hi

I was high
All this time
Now I’m low
Love was blown.

A female Hierophant of the mysteries

This illustration shows Cybele, here called the Syrian Goddess, in the robes of a hierophant. Montfaucon describes the figure as follows: “Upon her head is an Episcopal mitre, adorned on the lower part with towers and pinnacles; over the gate of the city is a crescent, and beneath the circuit of the walls a crown of rays. The Goddess wears a sort of surplice, exactly like the surplice of a priest or bishop; and upon the surplice a tunic, which falls down to the legs; and over all an Episcopal cope, with the twelve signs of the Zodiac wrought on the borders. The figure hath a lion on each side, and holds in its left hand a Tympanum, a Sistrum, a Distaff, a Caduceus, and another instrument. In her right hand she holds with her middle finger a thunderbolt, and upon the same arm animal, insects, and, as das as we may guess, flowers and fruit, a bow, a quiver, a torch, and a scythe.” The whereabouts of the statue is unknown, the copy reproduced by Montfaucon being from drawings by Pirro Ligorio.

Words of the week

English: 

Inveterate: (empedernido) firmly established by long persistence <the inveteratetendency to overlook the obvious>

Spanish:

Almagre: (Red Ocher) is the term for both a golden-yellow or light yellow brown color and for a form of earth pigment which produces the color. The pigment can also be used to create a reddish tint known as Red ochre.

German:

Schwangerschaft: (Pregnancy)  is the carrying of one or more offspring, known as a fetus or embryo, inside the womb of a female.

Flight Facilities - Crave You [HQ]

Big Boy - David Sedaris (via Melissa Wilson)

IT WAS EASTER SUNDAY IN CHICAGO, and my sister Amy and I were attending an afternoon dinner at the home of our friend John. The weather was nice, and he'd set up a table in the backyard so that we might sit in the sun. Everyone had taken their places, when I excused myself to visit the bathroom, and there, in the toilet, was the absolute biggest turd I have ever seen in my life - no toilet paper or anything, just this long and coiled specimen, as thick as a burrito.

I flushed the toilet, and the big turd trembled. It shifted position, but that was it. This thing wasn't going anywhere. I thought briefly of leaving it behind for someone else to take care of, but it was too late for that. Too late, because before getting up from the table, I'd stupidly told everyone where I was going. "I'll be back in a minute,: I'd said. "I'm just going to run to the bathroom." My whereabouts were public knowledge. I should have said I was going to make a phone call. I'd planned to urinate and maybe run a little water over my face, but now I had this to deal with.

The tank refilled, and I made a silent promise. The deal was that if this thing would go away, I'd repay the world by performing some unexpected act of kindness. I flushed the toilet a second time, and the big turd spun a lazy circle. "Go on," I whispered. "Scoot! Shoo!" I turned away, ready to perform my good deed, but when I looked back down, there it was, bobbing to the surface in a fresh pool of water.

Just then someone knocked on the door, and I started to panic.

"Just a minute."

At an early age my mother sat me down and explained that everyone has bowel movements. "Everyone," she'd said. "Even the president and his wife." She'd mentioned our neighbors, the priest, and several of the actors we saw each week on television. I'd gotten the overall picture, but natural or not, there was no way I was going to take responsibility for this one.

"Just a minute."

I seriously considered lifting this turd out of the toilet and tossing it out the window. It honestly crossed my mind, but John lived on the ground floor and a dozen people were seated at a picnic table ten feet away. They'd see the window open and notice something dropping to the ground. And these were people who would surely gather round and investigate. Then there I'd be with my unspeakably filthy hands, trying to explain that it wasn't mine. But why bother throwing it out the window if it wasn't mine? No one would have believed me except the person who left it in the first place, and chances were pretty slim that the freak in question would suddenly step forward and own up to it. I was trapped.

"I'll be out in a second!"

I scrambled for a plunger and used the handle to break the turd into manageable pieces, all the while thinking that it wasn't fair, that this was technically not my job. Another flush and it still didn't go down. Come on, pal. Let's move it. While waiting for the tank to refill, I thought maybe I should wash my hair. It wasn't dirty, but I needed some excuse to cover the amount of time I was spending in the bathroom. Quick, I thought. Do something. By now the other guests were probably thinking that I was the type of person who uses dinner parties as an opportunity to defecate and catch up on my reading.

"Here I come. I'm just washing up."

One more flush and it was all over. The thing was gone and out of my life. I opened the door, to find my friend Janet, who said, "Well, it's about time." And I was left thinking that the person who abandoned the huge turd had no problem with it, so why did I? Why the big deal? Had it been left there to teach me a lesson? Had a lesson been learned? Did it have anything to do with Easter? I resolved to put it all behind me, and then I stepped outside to begin examining the suspects.

Ethan Nadelmann -- Drug Policy During the Obama Administration: An Assessment

Ethan Nadelmann -- Drug Policy During the Obama Administration: An Assessment from Hungarian Civil Liberties Union on Vimeo.

Mithra In the form of the Leontocephalic Kronos.

“At the pinnacle of the divine hierarchy and at the origin of all things, the Mithraic theology, the heir of that of the Zervanitic Magi, placed boundless Time. Sometime they would call it Saeculum or Saturnus; but this appellations were conventional and contingent, for he was considered ineffable bereft alike of name, sex and passion” The figure signifies the inevitable victory of boundless Time (eternity) over every creature and condition. In time all begins reach completion; in Time all wrongs are righted; in Time salvation is assured to all. The head of the lions signifies that the mortal concept of Time is the despotic ruler of the animal –or irrational- creation; that its strengths is supreme; ant that it devours all the lesser powers which exist temporarily within it. The coils of the serpent represent the motion of the heavenly spheres through the zodiac, which is shown as a human body. The golden key indicates that Time is the key to the mystery of existence. The sword is the instrument by which the demon of man-made Time is slain and his body divided into past and future, while to the gods is given rulership of the everlasting now. The double set of wings signifies the flight of Time through the inferior worlds of the four elements, and the eight stars are the spheres upheld by Time. The dome of the Mithraic cave is ornamented with stars to typify the universality of the divine cult, and the radiant globe upon which the figure stands is the universe. The resurrection of the figure from the darkness of the tomb reveals the ascension of boundless duration from the narrow limitations of man-conceived time. The three kneeling figures are the limitations of the three-dimensional world-length, breadth, and thickness- which bow before the limitless Eon. 

Words of the week

English
Effluvium: an invisible emanation; especially : an offensive exhalation or smell. A by-product especially in the form of waste.


German
Bedeutsamkeit: (Transcendence) In philosophy, the adjective transcendental and the noun transcendence convey three different but somehow related primary meanings, all of them derived from the word's literal meaning (from Latin), of climbing or going beyond.


Español
Rostrituerto: Wry-faced from sadness or anger.

The Ptolemaic Scheme of the Universe

In ridiculing the geocentric system of astronomy expounded by Claudius Ptolemy, modern astronomers have overlooked the philosophic key to the Ptolemaic system. The universe of Ptolemy is a diagrammatic representation of the relationships existing between the various divine and elemental parts of every creature, and is not concerned with astronomy as that science is now comprehended. In the image above, special attention is called to the three circles of zodiacs surrounding the orbits of the planets. These zodiacs represent the threefold spiritual constitution of the universe. The orbits of the planets are the Governors of the world and the four elemental spheres in the center represent the physical constitution of both man and the universe. Ptolemy’s scheme of the universe is simply a cross section of the universal aura, the planets and elements to which he refers having no relation to those recognized by modern astronomers.