Tuesday, April 23, 2024

NAPALM GIRL ANTI-WAR FILM

 

by Ray Jason

 

With our world drowning in so much senseless war and bloodshed, I have recently been thinking about finishing a project that I began several years ago. It is a short but powerful anti-war film that combines my personal Vietnam experience with the immortal message of the Napalm Girl.


However, my film-making skills are very limited. But Fate smiled upon me, and a professional film editor anchored near me a few weeks ago. After developing a friendship, I mentioned my long-dormant project.


He agreed to assist me at a very reasonable fee, and we spent a few days seated at his editing console, piecing together this little film. Even though it is only 14 minutes long, my hope is that it is Powerful, Poignant, Poetic and Persuasive.


If you find merit in this video, please share it widely, so that we can “Give Peace a Chance!”

 

NEVER STOP RUNNING, NAPALM GIRL!

 


           

 




Thursday, April 11, 2024

A VOYAGE OVER TROUBLED WATERS

 

by Ray Jason

 

 

Life is a voyage. For both the Individual and Society, there will be times of serene sailing and smooth seas, and times of terrifying winds and troubled waters.


Since the very beginning of my Sea Gypsy days, nearly FORTY years ago, I have approached every new expedition out onto The Wide Waters deliberately and cautiously. I would carefully evaluate the risks versus the rewards.

 

In this essay, I will use that same measured approach to examine the current storm-wracked Voyage of Western Civilization, to see if there are any light-houses of Hope amid the raging wind and waves.


Tuesday, April 2, 2024

SOME CHEERFUL REFLECTIONS ON ... DEATH

 

by Ray Jason

 

There are some topics that are never discussed in “polite company.” Fortunately and deliberately, I have surrounded myself with “impolite company.”


My friends and I will wonder about the Grassy Knoll. We will question the free-fall speed of the Twin Towers. We will ponder the implications of the Dancing Israelis. In fact, on a really bold day, we might even dare to discuss the JQ.


But even in my eccentric circle, we do not talk about The Big D – DEATH. This intrigues me since I perceive it as just an organic part of The Big L – LIFE.


                                                   *******


In these reflections, I will be dealing with “natural death.” This would be someone who has lived past 70 years or so, and then experienced declining health until their body can no longer sustain itself.


Tragic death” is an entirely different category. We witness this in Gaza on a daily basis. When an IDF storm-trooper walks through a hospital casually shooting doctors and patients, those victims did not suffer a natural death.


As for the cowardly soldier who butchered them, we can only hope that an Afterlife and a just God awaits him. A suitable Fate for him might be an eternal cycle of re-incarnation every day, followed by an afternoon visit to the Celestial Wood-Chipper – feet first.


Saturday, March 23, 2024

ARTIFICIAL IS NOT INTELLIGENT

by Ray Jason

 


I have a very unusual perspective on Life. Perhaps this is the reason:


Ray lives in his sailboat.

His sailboat lives in the Ocean.

Therefore, Ray lives in the Ocean.


I have been alone at Sea for voyages that lasted as long as 30 days. During those times, my only companions lived in the Sea and the Sky. I was isolated from normal, human contact. There was no TV, no Internet, no texting.


But I did have abnormal human contact in the form of books. Great thinkers and writers were my crew-mates. Being far from the frenzy and low-grade lunacy of the Modern World, I could ponder their thinking, their eloquence, their wisdom.


One of the lessons that sang through many of their books was the danger of Humanity disconnecting itself from the Natural World. These wise men and women were warning us of this spiritual separation even a hundred years ago. Imagine how terrified they would be if they were alive today and witnessed how swiftly - and seemingly without question - we are replacing the Natural with the Artificial.


It was bad enough when real food began to give way to “artificial food products.” It was sad when real friends were replaced by “Facebook friends.” But, it is hideous when even the magnificent Human Brain is under attack from Ego-fevered scientists and New World Orderlies who are trying to impose Artificial Intelligence on the world!


Monday, March 11, 2024

THE SHADOW SAILOR GOES FULL ... RETREAT

  by Ray Jason




 This is fiction … or is it?

 

                                     *******


This time the Shadow Sailor found me.


Usually, I spot him hidden away in some rarely visited cove here in The Archipelago of Bliss. Although his modest 42-foot sailboat is over 30 years old, he keeps her in very good shape. Her only unusual features are a large array of solar panels and a satellite communications dome.


When I first met him, I asked him about these incongruities. Since he barely knew me, he told me that he was an avid “gamer” and was constantly competing via the Internet with opponents scattered all around the world.


Later, when I had earned his trust, he revealed the true reason for his over-sized communication package. He was dedicating himself to trying to unravel “How the world REALLY works.” The SatCom system allowed him to do his research via the World Wide Web from very remote anchorages and even from the middle of the ocean.


He is a man of no country, but he has visited many … more than many. He enters and departs quietly … and unofficially. He is a master at finding hidden spots where the authorities seldom visit. However, although he lives in the Shadows, his life is not gray and dreary and unhappy. He has managed to battle The System without letting the frustration of that combat poison him.


Thursday, February 29, 2024

THE SEA GYPSY TRIBE - 2024 UPDATE

 

  by Ray Jason

 


For over a decade I have been encouraging people around our Watery World to form Sea Gypsy Tribes. My belief is that they are the best defense against any catastrophe that may overwhelm Society. Here is my 2024 update.


The basic concept remains the same. Essentially, it provides all of the survival benefits of land-based emergency “prepping,” but with the significant advantage of not being stationary.


Human history proves that when people have to choose between starving and marauding, they always attack. Having an ocean-ready sailboat, properly equipped and stocked, allows one to “Flee to the Sea!”

Wednesday, February 21, 2024

THE QUEST FOR INNOCENT JOY

  by Ray Jason



When I need to recharge my “Faith in Humanity” batteries, I sail to a quiet little nearby cove. Then, I sit on deck each morning, happily waiting for a boatload of Innocent Joy to pass by.


It is a small cayuco being rowed by two boys. Also onboard are two sisters who are singing and clapping their hands in time with their songs. They are on their way to school, which is about a mile across the water.


The children live in a modest house on the shore of the lagoon. It was not built by contractors. It was the work of their father and some uncles and some neighbors. Their mom washes their clothes by hand with rain water that they catch from the roof of their house. She dries them in the sun.


They pick fruits, grow vegetables, keep some chickens and catch lots of fish. In other words, they live simply - just as their ancestors did for who knows how many generations.


The tranquility of this idyllic scene helps to heal my troubled spirit after too much time examining the suicidal lunacy of the Modern World.

Tuesday, January 23, 2024

THE QUEST GROWS DARKER

by Ray Jason

 


My personal Life Voyage was greatly inspired by two titans of sea literature – Joseph Conrad and Herman Melville. They wandered the Wide Waters, not just searching for riches and adventure, but also seeking deep awareness of the human condition.


They concluded that many men have a tragic tendency to succumb to the worst elements of their nature. Although there is a smattering of virtue motivating some of the characters in their novels, largely the books describe a dark and disturbed human landscape. Sadly, I now perceive the literary villains sailing those pages as only mildly malevolent, compared to the Malignant Overlords that we battle today.


Certainly, there have always been aberrant humans who want to dominate and even destroy others. Much of History is a sickening cavalcade of conquerors with an obscene lust to rule the world. That has not changed. But what is now different is their ability to achieve their hideous desires.


Friday, January 12, 2024

WHERE DOES THE QUEST LEAD?

by Ray Jason




 

 

Does taking the Red Pill inevitably lead one down the path to the Black Pill? Or is there an escape? And if Society seems destined for a grim, totalitarian future, is it at least possible for courageous Individuals to evade that fate?


Since beginning my Sea Gypsy Philosopher blog ten years ago, my goal has been to decipher “How the world really works.” In the first essay of my “Quest” series, I provided a Summing Up of my decade of research. My prognosis was not good.


Because that article was posted on January 1st, it was surrounded in the Alt-Media world by many New Year’s forecasts. Lots of commentators provided predictions that were considerably more optimistic than mine. So, I decided to elaborate more fully upon my fears for the future.

Monday, January 1, 2024

ONE MAN'S QUEST

by Ray Jason


 

 

My quest was simple. I wanted to figure out “How the world really works.” Even as I began this task, I recognized that it was probably impossible.


Take, for example, the two most monumental events that had occurred during my lifetime – the murder of JFK and the attack on 911. These were indisputable turning points in human history. The world was different the next day.


Given the magnitude of these horrors, one would expect an enormous effort to discover what had actually happened. But those who should have been searching for the Truth, were erecting a barricade of Lies. Instead of honesty, we got “magic bullets” and “box cutters.”


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