Drogo Quotes 4

I was told all my life not to pursue a career in Art or Music because they don’t make money; even my liberal artsy parents told me that… now after having died a few times and been reborn, i have a few things to say about that common statement. Popularity and Finances are only two aspects of the game called LIFE. First off we should not all strive to be Mega-stars who ‘make it big’ because the very concept is based on the framework of oligarchy and i do not want to encourage plutocracy. Secondly in an equal democracy of citizen artists we have the ability to schedule or freely live our own lives and walk out our doors without getting assaulted by pop-art-artsy (capitalist journalism). Thirdly i would rather live in a nut-house with no bills to pay, than not be able to draw or make noise and still be expected to pay bills – and not even get free medicine.

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Treat yourself good, so you can do good for others, or at least be nice to those that deserve it.

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Patience is a key to happiness, influence, and wisdom.  Patience is not always the same thing, sometimes patience means giving way to another; but other times patience is something we teach to others by taking our time in front of them on the road.

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I want to take the time to say thank you to all those that take the time to communicate respectfully as equals; or at least as benevolent overlords; thank you! even when communicating in ‘drill instructor’ mode or ‘silent apathy’ mode, there is either an underlying spirit that cares, or there is not… and with patience you can recognize the pattern of behaviors for what they are. A good actor can play a villain, but check safeties on guns and go out for drinks with the actors they killed on set, to make sure there are no ill feelings left over after the parts are played. I think fear stops people from tending bridges.

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i dont experience time in a strictly linear way; most moments my mind is leaping back and forth between the past, future, and fiction; like a work song or marching cadence – living in the present flow but transcending with memory and imagination. I am sure this is indeed how most minds work.

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In the game of Progress, setbacks remembered become steps forward quite quickly.

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Gonzo architecture means becoming the project; and authority is a mask for violence.

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Beards and Naturalism

To me there has always been a clear connection between facial hair and Naturalism. My theory is that throughout recorded history, men grow beards to defy the fact that they could shave it off with a razor and look more feminine; usually to rebel against the social norms of shaving and assert their manhood and / or be more in tune with Nature.

There is a reason that barbarians that lived wild with nature had facial hair and industrious Romans did not; and there is a reason that when ancient Rome became more intertwined with barbarian cultures, that it became popular in Rome to wear beards! The more industrial a society or culture, the more they will want uniformity for the wearing of helmets (chin straps and gas-masks), stream-lined mechanical safety, and uniform equality for those that cannot grow facial hair thickly or completely (like boys, women, and some men).

Facial hair, like other hair, is considered by many of us Pagans to be a spiritual connection with Nature and the Gods and Goddesses of Nature and Nurturing. Consider that after many terrible industrial wars it has been popular for veterans to grow beards. Famous Naturalists like John Muir, H.D. Thoreau, Walt Whitman, and even Emerson (in old age) all had beards for obvious anti-industrial reasons.

Even those that grow a beard because they are ‘too lazy to shave’ are more harmonious with Nature by allowing their beard to grow, and not artificially shaving it off. Also there are many religious, spiritual, philosophical, and personal reasons for having beards. So before you judge people based on ‘un-fashionable trends’ that you perceive, consider that it may be more or less significant to the person with more hair.

SCOD exists in …

SCOD exists in the realm of Ideas, and as such it is immortal and so people can come and go from it as they wish; SCOD by any other name will be there so long as there is a human to think in such a mode.

– Drogo Empedocles

Overnight Backpack Camping Gear

Hiking Two Days / Camping One Night / Warm Weather

Backpack Camping Gear for Hiking to a Camping Spot and Back

Notes: I prefer to camp during the Summer (70-90 temps). Having hiked and camped almost every year of my life, i do not wear rain gear. Since im only a leisure hiker, i prefer to hike without rain; if  it rains I stop, set up a tarp, and prepare a small fire pit under the edge of the tarp to dry any wet clothing or gear until it stops. I keep the fire small so the heat does not go high enough to burn the tarp. More gear is needed for colder weather (below 70 degrees F). This list is only for nice, warm days and nights.

(this is Drogo’s opinion based on his American hiking experiences)

I divide the backpack gear into 3 categories (they are all related though):  Shelter, Cooking, and Personal Items

Shelter:  sleeping bag, straps, long cord, 2 tarps (minimum 7’x7′), tent / hammock (lighter weight for smaller people), sheet (blanket if chilly), flashlight

Cooking:  cook-pot (durable with secure lid), food (keep safe in cook-pot), water containers (minimum 2 liters), bowl / cup (durable), utensils (spoon, knife), fire items (scrap paper, matches, lighter)

Personal:  clothes (pants, shirt, 2 underwears, 2 sock pairs, head cover), Off, odorizer (deodorant, scented oil, lotion), medicine (prescriptions, spiritual, relaxant, celebration), medical kit (anti-bacterial, bandages),  tooth-brush & paste; small musical device (ipod, harmonica, flute), cell phone / camera, small book, writing tools (paper, pencils, pens, markers), towel / washcloth, walking stick…

* Drogo’s Common Backpack (personal preference)

* see also:  Survival Inventory List

Random Poems

I CARE WHEN CRITICS DON’T CARE

When people are jerks or snobs:
i don’t know why i care about what they think
when it’s clear they don’t care
about how i feel about it;
i do this all the time.

They say “Let it go, Go with the Flow.”

Yet the reason i am mad i know,

I must find my own use for comments, for me to grow.

• Drogo Hawthorne Firewalker

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Rust It is the quiet dark depths of thee With serrated splinters to core imbed Changing heart beat, messing with the head Whisper in silence, surrender to doubt Drifting…aimless… Fight to let go They look but don’t see that which is real Cognizant… Consciousness. …Conspicuously concealed Linger here a moment or two, Veiled hidden agenda sublime Heart beat to heart beat, mind to mind Singularity disgrace, to blindness lent Taking sanity to distant decent Fevered blush knowing the eyes betrayed Without word or reason or truth Judgement passed to troubled youth To know, to feel the restless soul To pain and torture that can’t be known Whisper sweetness to innocent ears Words of desire to draw trust near Only to slaughter with jagged stone Taste sweet victory all alone Having left only shadow before winter moon Cold like fresh snow and just as untainted Sealed in the dream so detailed and tenderly painted Words cast, lies pass left to wonder how it came to be Love, love such sweet gentle blade So skillfully used to cut the heart of thee Ending peacefully the physicality of Fe

• Nimue

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Come out from your fairy  bower

come upon this golden hour, 

come to us we beg you please,

fairies dancing on the breeze.  

-Fairytale: A True Story (1995 movie)

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