The gaming industry has seen a significant transformation over the past two decades, largely due to the rise of indie games. Once dominated by large studios and massive budgets, the gaming landscape has opened its doors to independent developers who... Tagged as:

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When it comes to any form of entertainment, you have to always expect the unexpected. From the ever-popular Korean-originated mukbang streaming to soap cutting and kinetic sand videos, there are trends we might initially brush off as strange, only... Tagged as:

Apple TV+ today shared a recap video for the first season of "Silo. The hit series returns for a second season starting later this week.

Warning: The video contains major spoilers, obviously.

Apple today seeded the second beta of an upcoming visionOS 2.2 update to developers for testing purposes, with the beta coming a little over a week after the first visionOS 2.2 beta.


visionOS 2.2 can be installed by going to the Software Update section of the Settings app on the Vision Pro and opting into Beta Updates.

The visionOS 2.2 update adds a new feature for the Mac Virtual Display option, allowing it to be set to Wide and Ultrawide. The Ultrawide setting is equivalent to two 4K displays side-by-side, and it is a notable improvement over the current Mac Virtual Display that's available in visionOS 2.1.

The Mac Virtual Display allows the Vision Pro to be connected to a Mac with the Vision Pro serving as the display for the machine. The virtual Mac desktop works just like a standard desktop with an external display, but Vision Pro does not support multiple displays. As a solution, Apple has added the option for a wider display to maximize space.

Chris Sanders has only directed four animated features (plus a live action adaptation Call of the Wild), and the previous three (Lilo & Stitch, How to Train your Dragon and The Croods put him in four way tie for most nominations without a win in the Best Animated Feature category at the Oscars. It feels pretty certain that The Wild Robot will be the movie that finally wins him that Oscar, but we'll keep such speculation to a minimum.

Sanders's first feature, Lilo & Stitch, is probably the only truly great movie to come out of Walt Disney Animation Studios in the first decade of this century. (To be clear, you're allowed to like other movies from that decade, but most were flawed.) Anyway, the upshot of Lilo & Stitch becoming a beloved classic is that its directors, Sanders and his writing and directing partner, Dean Deblois, were driven out of Disney by John Lasseter a few years later (I don't like that guy).

Sanders and Deblois took their talents to DreamWorks Animation, where they delivered How to Train Your Dragon to the studio, often seen as one of the highlights of its output.

I've often seen Sanders cast as the "idea guy" in the Sanders/Deblois partnership, as well as being the guy who brings a lot of unique visual aspects to his projects, while Deblois is the more story-driven member of the partnership, bringing in the emotional aspects. I'm not so sure about that, especially after this movie, which features an emotional story just as potent as Lilo & Stitch and How to Train Your Dragon, sans Deblois. The Wild Robot also features a visual design that echoes the original illustrations of the book it's based on, by Peter Brown, showing Sanders is more than just a recognizable art style.

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In this episode!

• This episode can hold so much charities!Breaking last years record! But by how much?
• Animations from around the web
• An interview with Labb Rat, known for her commentary videos, about the importance of caring about mental health and escaping toxic environments.

But first, the latest charity news from the fandom in this October edition of Digging Up Positivity and boy are here a lot of them! Do keep in mind, all amounts are converted to US dollars.

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WARNING: READ BEFORE PLAYING

Liar's Bar contains intense and graphic depictions of violence and death, themes of suicide, and other mature content that may not be suitable for all audiences. Player discretion is adviced. If you or someone you know is struggling with thoughts of self-harm or suicide, please seek help from a qualified professional or contact a local mental health service. Your well-being is important to us, and we encourage players to prioritize their mental health while engaging with our game.

The game features mature themes, and is intended for adult audiences only. If you are under 16, please step outside.

This warning is one of the first things you see after booting up Liar's Bar. I want to stress, and I don't care what you think of "trigger warnings", this warning is not kidding. This is a messed up, repugnant game; I think I kind of love it. (It also contains depictions of tobacco use.)

Okay, real talk, this is kind of a dark streak of submissions from this contributor (thank goodness for animated movies ... with jokes about infant mortality!), this game might be the most worrisome yet. I retweeted some fan art of the game, then realized, out of context, that might not look like something entirely, well, healthy to be reposting. Because the marquis attraction of Liar's Bar is that it's basically a furry Russian roulette simulator. Just so you know what you're getting into.

Liar's Bar is published by Curve Animation, and is currently available on Steam for $6.99, where it is still an "Early Access" game.

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"It's a brutal world for all of us, really, and some aspects of it are not comfortable for the sentimental or the squeamish. Somehow that's never dimmed my love for all animals. I celebrate their beauty, even the darker side of it." (Introduction, The Book of Deadly Animals)

"The predators far outnumbered the vegetarians."
(last words, The Red Hourglass: Lives of the Predators)

It's October, the "spooky" month with Halloween at the end of it; I sometimes take advantage of that to bring to light something a bit more horror themed than the usual Flayrah fare.

This year, I'd like to share the non-fiction books of Gordon Grice, which are about animals and their sometimes very tense relationship with man, because they are some of the scariest things I've ever read, and so appropriate enough under the "it's about animals and it's spooky" month to stretch the boundaries of what a furry publication can cover. Furthermore, from a personal angle, Grice spent much of his life where I'm originally from, the Oklahoma Panhandle (we share a birth town), and I occasionally like to shine a light on what would be to me local authors.

"The Red Hourglass: Lives of the Predators", Delacourte Press, 1998, 259 pages, Kindle $5.99, hardcover $19.32, paperback $17.10
"The Book of Deadly Animals", Penguin Books Ltd., 2010, xxvii + 383 pages, Kindle $4.99, paperback $24.00, illustrated, originally published as Deadly Kingdom

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If there's one furry series I should be completely behind, but have always been a bit down on, it's Illumination's Sing franchise. The series is set in a completely furry world, with a complete lack of humans – something I can always get behind. And yet, I can't ever quite get behind them.

I think if I had to put my finger on what's wrong, it's that the Sing movies feel like the Illumination version of Oscar bait, being behind the scenes musicals that ostensibly celebrate the performing arts, something Academy Awards voters should, in theory, love; and yet, they can't even get the easy lay up of Best Original Song, which is straightforwardly embarrassing for movies called, well, Sing. It's not that they're failed Oscar Bait, it's that they're not going for Best Picture, or even Best Animated Feature, but simply seem to be aiming to be nominated in that category. They're not aiming for the top, and they're still missing!

Or maybe I'm just being too hard on them, and displacing my own Oscar obsessions on this otherwise innocuous series of jukebox musicals with no higher goal than to be entertaining bits of fluff. The newest entry in the franchise, if it can be called that, is just that. Sing: Thriller is a short available on Netflix, and it features a simple take on a nightmare zombie apocalypse, but furry and kid-friendly; an obvious homage to Michael Jackson's Thriller. It's definitely for kids, with a rating of TV-Y, for "fear", which I think would only apply to the absolute youngest viewers.

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So Apple isn't fighting for diversity. They're doing exactly what they appear to be doing: they're trying to keep wages down and keep their workers compliant by importing labor from abroad.This isn't about diversity. It's about exploitation. It always is Continue reading →

COVID-19 antibodies have been found in blood samples as early as September, 2019. China knew about the virus' transmission to humans months before it announced such to the world. Why has the media and our government not investigated this gross negligence, if not mass murder? Continue reading →

Fly, новое видео группы STRANGER VISION, доступно для просмотра ниже. Эта песня взята из альбома FAUST Act I: Prelude To Darkness, выпущенного восьмого ноября:
#Stranger_Vision #StrangerVision #PowerMetal #Power_Metal
Видео: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-lacVqguYOA

Bantam Tools Acquires Evil Mad Scientist to Accelerate Development of Next Generation Art and Handwriting Machines Windell Oskay and Lenore Edman of Evil Mad Scientist named CTO and COO of Bantam Tools  PEEKSKILL, N.Y, January 16, 2024 — Bantam Tools, the desktop CNC manufacturer that builds exceptional computer controlled machines for innovators, is excited to … Continue reading Bantam Tools Acquires Evil Mad Scientist →

I’ve been following the press and social media coverage of Apple’s pricey new Vision Pro Augmented Reality headset, which now totals hundreds of stories and thousands of comments and I’ve noticed one idea missing from all of them: what would Steve (Jobs) say?  Steve would call the Vision Pro a “hobby,” just as he did with the original Apple TV. You know I’m correct about this. And the fact that Apple hasn’t gone for the H-word and no other writers are suggesting it is the topic of this column, not the Vision Pro, itself. It would appear that nobody at Apple has the balls to call the Vision Pro a hobby, which is to say it is not expected to make a profit for the […]

Shinichiro Watanabe compares COWBOY BEBOP to LAZARUS but admits nothing beats his experience on SPACE DANDY in this interview.

Check out an exclusive preview of Marco Finnegan's supernatural noir CALAVERA P.I. #2, due out from Oni Press next month.

The first volume of Eden of Witches releases on Nov. 12.

The Small-Animallike Lady is Adored by the Ice Prince is a brand new romance manga from Yen Press. This first volume takes us to a familiar setting where there's a royal arranged marriage involved, and some frozen hearts are melted along the way!

Henry Barajas' Death To Pachuco , a Chicano noir set in the Zoot Suit Riots, is now live on Kickstarter

#56 Enlightenment - The Effortless Living of an Enlightened Life

The post #56 Enlightenment – The Effortless Living of an Enlightened Life appeared first on Enlightenment Podcast.

Alright, today we're going to cover some common questions you may have
about the Stage Shredded Status DVD's before
they sell out...

==> Click here to learn how this transformation went down...


If you've seen the video but have some questions before ordering:

Question: Is SSS a documentary of Vince Delmonte's transformation or is there an actual program included?

Answer: Yes, SSS includes an entire program (covered on 3 of the 8 disks) and it was filmed with former NFL lineman and NPC level bodybuilder Ryan Watson! They are both pretty jacked up in this workout so it's pretty motivating too!

What Vince is going to do for anyone who orders is send you the printable workout sheets of the Stage Shredded Status workout program! Just email him your receipt to the help desk for proof of purchase!

You'll love this program because it relies on a variance of rep ranges to target, specifically, the Type 11a & Type 1a muscle fibers which create the training effect of
hypertrophy and strength-endurance. The combos generate a lot of lactate to boost growth hormone levels to assist in fat loss. You don't do super heavy loads because heavy lifting does not involve enough mechanical stress to promote fat loss.
Plus, you would not normally lift super heavy when you get leaner because your joints have less fluid and fat to protect them from the bigger forces.

Question: What if I have more than 50 lbs to lose?

Answer: Heck, Vince had 30 lbs to lose so you're programming
is going to be no different than his. The only difference is that you have an extra 8-10 weeks to travel. Let's go!

==> Get 6-Pack Abs By Summertime!



Question: Is SSS for a complete beginner?

Answer: If Vince only cared about selling his DVD's I would say yes but if you have less than one year experience in his crazy fitness world, you'll probably find his approach a little too hardcore for now. Sit this one up unless you're absolutely intrigued to see how this goes down.

The weight training program is far too advanced and you would be better off learning the nutritional principles in No Nonsense Muscle Building, which focuses on a balanced approach to eating. You need to master a balanced
approach before implementing some of the more advanced things they did.

Question: I noticed you had an ENTIRE cupboard full of supplements.
Am I supposed to take all of those?!?!

Answer: When it comes to supplementation, that's a personal choice.

In the DVD's Vince explains WHY he takes what he takes and encourages you to just sit back and consider it an educational experience. Then, as you choose, start to add one new supplement a month and measure
the response. There are SO MANY supplements he's interested in trying himself but he likes to add one new thing at a time so he will get there when he gets there.

Question: What if I only have 10 lbs of fat to lose?

Answer: Again, the same principles apply and you'll learn how Vince adjusted his cardio intensity and frequency as he gets closer to the show to ensure he does not lose muscle the last few weeks.

You'll see EXACTLY how he changed his diet from phase to phase (He changed it three times throughout the 16 weeks) and you'll see some creative ways to switch around your macros and food sources
that assist with fat loss, WITHOUT dropping your calories.

==> Get 6-Pack Abs By Summertime!

Question: Is Ben Pakulski in any of the DVD's?

Answer: YES! The first 2 DVDs start off in Toronto when Vince is looking pretty bulky and they get 2 hours of coaching on the gym floor with Ben & Intentions! If you bought MI40 then you already have this footage but it's worth reviewing and owning it on hardcopy. I know that every time I watch this footage, I re learn something new and then BOOM, I have a better workout!

If you don't have this footage, heck, the first 2 hours is worth 3x the price of the DVDs because Ben bills $150 an hour! This is the kind of information that propelled him into the ranks of the top ten bodybuilders in the world this past month!

Question: How long are the DVDs on sale?

Answer: It depends... we have about 550 left in stock now and the $50 off sale ends Sunday night or whenever he sells out... Whatever comes first.

Trust that helps and THANK YOU for your interest in Vince's work. This is, by far, the best fat loss resource he's ever released. Grab it while you can!

Here is the $50 Off Discount link to get your DVDs shipped right now!

Get 6-Pack Abs By Summertime!


P.S. Vince ships all over the world!

Here in this video I talk about where I was and where I am now with my fitness progress. I give a lot of credit to Vince Delmonte pertaining to my fitness achievements and where I am in my personal/ business life.  On this site you will find a lot of my own articles and Vince's articles pertaining to building muscle. You can reach me on my Facebook fan page here http://www.facebook.com/TimmErnstFitness

Vince Delmonte is the real deal and cares about his followers progress and muscle building goals. His philosophy is, "If you can Live Large inside of the gym, You can Live Large outside of the gym.

This comic was originally posted in 2017.

Thoughts from 6/6/2020: This comic originally ran with pretty straightforward commentary underneath: "White supremacists can go to hell. And any other monsters like them can go to hell as well. And may the rest of us never join them, actively or passively."

I never explicitly said it in STW and I should have, but Black Lives Matter.

When STW ended, we made a book of the best 300 comics. You can buy the PDF of the book right now, and all sales are going to go to support Black Lives Matter, and foodbanks in need because of the coronavirus. And there's more. You can also buy all the videos ever made for STW, including many that were not openly shared, and all sales are also going to the same causes.

This is the bare utter minimum that I can do and will do, but it's a start. Hopefully this will help make the title of this comic be a real-world existence for more people.

This comic was originally posted in 2017.

Thoughts from 6/7/2020: The flags at the bottom were for trans rights, given when this originally posted, but given the current Black Rights Matter protest, and JKR even further torpedoing her legacy yesterday with her transphobia (happy Pride, by the way), this comic seems like it meets the current moment well enough.

When STW ended, we made a book of the best 300 comics. You can buy the PDF of the book right now, and all sales are going to go to support Black Lives Matter, and foodbanks in need because of the coronavirus. And there's more. You can also buy all the videos ever made for STW, including many that were not openly shared, and all sales are also going to the same causes.

This is the bare utter minimum that I can do and will do, but it's a start. Hopefully this will help make the title of this comic be a real-world existence for more people.

These comics were originally posted in 2011, 2012, 2017, and 2018, respectively.

Thoughts from 6/10/2020: Sprite had to be put down today. We were insanely fortunate to have her as part of our family for so long - we had her since 2006 - but no 14-year-old cat lives forever. She was easily the greatest cat I've ever had, the cat that changed my entire perspective on her species. She used to come running if I called 'henchman!' so she would watch Red Sox games with me. She ate the 4 pet birds we had when she broke their cage open. She would put her cat toys away at night before climbing into bed. She used to let me use her body to erase the chalkboard. She knew she was the boss of the house but she was incredibly sweet. The only reason it took over 800 comics for her to show up on STW before becoming the first cat TA was that I couldn't sneak her into Cornell engineering buildings like I could the dog. I'm heartbroken today.

There are bigger crises at hand right now, and this loss is certainly not equivalent. But it's still a big loss to me.

Black Lives Matter / Coronavirus help: >When STW ended, we made a book of the best 300 comics. You can buy the PDF of the book right now, and all sales are going to go to support Black Lives Matter, and foodbanks in need because of the coronavirus. And there's more. You can also buy all the videos ever made for STW, including many that were not openly shared, and all sales are also going to the same causes.

This is the bare utter minimum that I can do and will do, but it's a start. Hopefully this will help make the title of this comic be a real-world existence for more people.

This comic was originally posted in 2010 for the repeal of Don't Ask Don't Tell.

Thoughts from 6/16/2020: Didn't expect that full win yesterday. Thought they would find a way to split the baby. I'll take every simple win they'll give us.

Black Lives Matter / Coronavirus help: >When STW ended, we made a book of the best 300 comics. You can buy the PDF of the book right now, and all sales are going to go to support Black Lives Matter, and foodbanks in need because of the coronavirus. And there's more. You can also buy all the videos ever made for STW, including many that were not openly shared, and all sales are also going to the same causes.

This is the bare utter minimum that I can do and will do, but it's a start. Hopefully this will help make the title of this comic be a real-world existence for more people.

This comic was originally posted in 2017.

Thoughts from 6/30/2020: There's a lot of pro-LGBTQ comics throughout STW, which was probably a sign to some extent that I was hiding a part of my queerness throughout the run of the comic, even if I didn't know that I was NB until a month or so after this specific comic came out, actually. I can regret the lost time but I don't think I'd be in the solid place I am now if I had come out earlier, so I try to keep that in mind (even if I often fail at doing so). Anyway, today is the last day of Pride Month for 2020 and to keep in mind the protests of the last month, there wouldn't be the degree of LGBTQ rights that there are now if it hadn't been for Black trans women like Marsha P. Johnson leading the way in the first place. So here's to those who fight for who they are and have the courage to exist despite the world trying to keep them in the shadows.

Black Lives Matter / Coronavirus help: When STW ended, we made a book of the best 300 comics. You can buy the PDF of the book right now, and all sales are going to go to support Black Lives Matter, and foodbanks in need because of the coronavirus. And there's more. You can also buy all the videos ever made for STW, including many that were not openly shared, and all sales are also going to the same causes.

This comic was originally posted in 2009.

Thoughts from 7/1/2020: Halfway through the year and I'm sure those resolutions are going well, right? This year in particular ...

Donate to Black Lives Matter / Coronavirus help: When STW ended, we made a book of the best 300 comics. You can buy the PDF of the book right now, and all sales are going to go to support Black Lives Matter, and foodbanks in need because of the coronavirus. And there's more. You can also buy all the videos ever made for STW, including many that were not openly shared, and all sales are also going to the same causes.

This comic was originally posted in 2017.

Thoughts from 7/3/2020: The best part about this comic is that it is still true and we can just reflect on a different subset of society this time. For some reason, and I can't figure out why, it's been very hard for me to celebrate July 4th the last few years ...

Donate to Black Lives Matter / Coronavirus help: When STW ended, we made a book of the best 300 comics. You can buy the PDF of the book right now, and all sales are going to go to support Black Lives Matter, and foodbanks in need because of the coronavirus. And there's more. You can also buy all the videos ever made for STW, including many that were not openly shared, and all sales are also going to the same causes.

This comic was originally posted in 2017.

Thoughts from 7/4/2020: I don't think the strength of those morals have improved at all in the last few years, either.

Donate to Black Lives Matter / Coronavirus help: When STW ended, we made a book of the best 300 comics. You can buy the PDF of the book right now, and all sales are going to go to support Black Lives Matter, and foodbanks in need because of the coronavirus. And there's more. You can also buy all the videos ever made for STW, including many that were not openly shared, and all sales are also going to the same causes.

This comic was originally posted in 2009.

Thoughts from 7/6/2020: Not to worry, third hands will just go away on their own. Nothing to worry about here.

I remember being particularly pleased with how elastic my face could be back in some of these comics. Alas, as time passes ...

Donate to Black Lives Matter / Coronavirus help: When STW ended, we made a book of the best 300 comics. You can buy the PDF of the book right now, and all sales are going to go to support Black Lives Matter, and foodbanks in need because of the coronavirus. And there's more. You can also buy all the videos ever made for STW, including many that were not openly shared, and all sales are also going to the same causes.

This comic was originally posted in 2016.

Thoughts from 7/19/2020: This one must have come to me in a fever dream. Anyway, this was from theSwede's and my 8th anniversary, and now it's the 12th. Hurray or something.

Donate to Black Lives Matter / Coronavirus help: When STW ended, we made a book of the best 300 comics. You can buy the PDF of the book right now, and all sales are going to go to support Black Lives Matter, and foodbanks in need because of the coronavirus. And there's more. You can also buy all the videos ever made for STW, including many that were not openly shared, and all sales are also going to the same causes.

This comic was originally posted in 2011.

Thoughts from 12/23/2020: My kids haven't asked me yet because they still believe, but when they do, I'm absolutely going to be pushing this explanation, are you kidding?

Donate to Black Lives Matter / Coronavirus help: When STW ended, we made a book of the best 300 comics. You can buy the PDF of the book right now, and all sales are going to go to support Black Lives Matter, and foodbanks in need because of the coronavirus. And there's more. You can also buy all the videos ever made for STW, including many that were not openly shared, and all sales are also going to the same causes.

This comic was originally posted in 2016.

Thoughts from 12/24/2020: I remember being so insanely proud of this one for being clever. Most readers were super blah about it. So it goes.

Donate to Black Lives Matter / Coronavirus help: When STW ended, we made a book of the best 300 comics. You can buy the PDF of the book right now, and all sales are going to go to support Black Lives Matter, and foodbanks in need because of the coronavirus. And there's more. You can also buy all the videos ever made for STW, including many that were not openly shared, and all sales are also going to the same causes.

This comic was originally posted in 2011.

Thoughts from 12/25/2020: If anything, it seems pretty likely that this turned out to be true for 2019. We always wondered what would happen, and the answer is apparently 2020?

Anyway, I wish you all a Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays, as best as they can possibly be.

Donate to Black Lives Matter / Coronavirus help: When STW ended, we made a book of the best 300 comics. You can buy the PDF of the book right now, and all sales are going to go to support Black Lives Matter, and foodbanks in need because of the coronavirus. And there's more. You can also buy all the videos ever made for STW, including many that were not openly shared, and all sales are also going to the same causes.

This comic was originally posted in 2017.

Thoughts from 12/28/2020: This feels extremely true when the holidays line up with a pandemic as well.

The biggest transition that occurs over the run of STW wasn't the slow ravages of kids and students and time having their way with me, but the switch to near-constant wordplay as opposed to searching the internet for ideas to make comics about.

Donate to Black Lives Matter / Coronavirus help: When STW ended, we made a book of the best 300 comics. You can buy the PDF of the book right now, and all sales are going to go to support Black Lives Matter, and foodbanks in need because of the coronavirus. And there's more. You can also buy all the videos ever made for STW, including many that were not openly shared, and all sales are also going to the same causes.

This comic was originally posted in 2014.

Thoughts from 12/29/2020: There are a few general comics that would have made for good book collections on their own, and the anatomy ones like this would have been a relatively good option.

Donate to Black Lives Matter / Coronavirus help: When STW ended, we made a book of the best 300 comics. You can buy the PDF of the book right now, and all sales are going to go to support Black Lives Matter, and foodbanks in need because of the coronavirus. And there's more. You can also buy all the videos ever made for STW, including many that were not openly shared, and all sales are also going to the same causes.

This comic was originally posted in 2016.

Thoughts from 12/30/2020: This one is very weird and I may have had many rumballs by the time I made it. But this has been a weird year so why not run with it.

Donate to Black Lives Matter / Coronavirus help: When STW ended, we made a book of the best 300 comics. You can buy the PDF of the book right now, and all sales are going to go to support Black Lives Matter, and foodbanks in need because of the coronavirus. And there's more. You can also buy all the videos ever made for STW, including many that were not openly shared, and all sales are also going to the same causes.

This comic was originally posted in 2009.

Thoughts from 12/31/2020: I continue to like Semisonic's "This Will Be My Year" as an ode to hoping the best for the new year, but Mac McCaughan's "Happy New Year (Prince Can't Die Again)" has been pretty appropriate for every year since it came out at the end of 2016.

I wish you and all of yours the best in the 2021. I sincerely hope that it comes to you and all of us. And I will put in the action that I can to help make sure we're not just relying on hope - and I ask you to do the same.

Donate to Black Lives Matter / Coronavirus help: When STW ended, we made a book of the best 300 comics. You can buy the PDF of the book right now, and all sales are going to go to support Black Lives Matter, and foodbanks in need because of the coronavirus. And there's more. You can also buy all the videos ever made for STW, including many that were not openly shared, and all sales are also going to the same causes.

This comic was originally posted in 2014.

Thoughts from 1/1/2021: I really nailed that pose. Also, 2021 just looks weird.

Donate to Black Lives Matter / Coronavirus help: When STW ended, we made a book of the best 300 comics. You can buy the PDF of the book right now, and all sales are going to go to support Black Lives Matter, and foodbanks in need because of the coronavirus. And there's more. You can also buy all the videos ever made for STW, including many that were not openly shared, and all sales are also going to the same causes.

This comic was originally posted in 2009.

Thoughts from 1/4/2021: Westley, or as he was called here on the site, German, which is a joke that I'm still very proud of, passed away in 2018 but shows up every now and then on the internet because of this particular comic. The URL was removed from that image because of course it was, but it's weird seeing other people present your old dog off and on. I like this one in particular because it reminds me I snuck Westley into the chemical engineering building at Cornell for about 30 minutes just to make this comic and no one noticed that I'd done it. I'm not sure if I would have gotten in trouble or if the sight would have been so confusing that they wouldn't have known what to make of it.

Donate to Black Lives Matter / Coronavirus help: When STW ended, we made a book of the best 300 comics. You can buy the PDF of the book right now, and all sales are going to go to support Black Lives Matter, and foodbanks in need because of the coronavirus. And there's more. You can also buy all the videos ever made for STW, including many that were not openly shared, and all sales are also going to the same causes.

Surviving 2012 -- There's definitely a trick to it! Part of the trick is simple knowledge. You need to understand what's going on.

When you know what's really going on, it can't hurt you (as much). When you know you've got stairs ahead of you, you're not going to trip on them and fall!

This also helps you develop the mindset that will sail you safely through these troubled times.

The other part of the trick is taking appropriate action. What is appropriate action during the 2012 Transition? That's what the rest of the 2012 articles are about.

In these articles, we'll start with the broad strokes, and then progress to the day-to-day details.

So here are the secrets and strategies for surviving 2012.

Surviving 2012 has become a very hot topic, but wrapped up in that one little phrase is actually 3 questions ... Can we physically survive "the end of the world," and if so, how? How can we influence the outcome of 2012, to avoid an apocalypse? How do we cope with these rapid fire, incredible changes and traumas?

The first question is covered in this article on What Will Happen in 2012.

The second is answered in the article on the Hopi Prophecies -- It describes the two options we have, and how we get to choose which path our future will take.

This article on Surviving 2012, and the rest of the 2012 section, deals with the third question. It will help you understand and deal with the effects of this time of transition -- the emotional and psychological challenges.

Because an unbalanced emotional or mental state, at this stage of the game, can be fatal.

In particular, the following articles explain not only how to get through this in one piece, but how to be part of healing the world, because at this point they are both the same thing.

Don't you feel, these days, like... you're being swept down a rapid river of life, and don't even have a paddle? everything is happening too fast, and you can't keep up? changes and surprises and challenges and catastrophes are coming at you (and the world) non-stop?

This is how everyone feels, these days. And that's because it's precisely what's happening.

Surviving 2012 is just a matter of knowing where to put your energy and what to let go.

The next several articles deal with this specifically...

As for surviving the 2012 Transition as a species, the Mayan Calendar also gives us clues.

With Bright Blessings,

Accessing the power of the Heart -- Intuition -- is fundamental to surviving the 2012 Transition.

As we've seen, the intellect can't function as the dominant modality any longer. The human brain doesn't have the ability, and even more important, it no longer has the prerogative.

The intellect (logic, rationality, materialism) has been the unchallenged overlord for millennia. But it has a number dire and insurmountable intrinsic flaws... It knows only what it sees/hears/touches/feels -- locked into material reality as the only thing of consequence. It is the slave to the ego's drive for comfort, control, and immediate physical survival at any cost. It is adept at rationalising even the most destructive, evil actions.It is designed to see what it wants and expects to see.It is cut off from Divine Wisdom and the ways of compassion.It is limited to a functional speed that is too slow to deal with the current speed of life.What other modality could have brought the entire planet to the brink of destruction? You can be sure that this is the paradigm that will also take us right over the edge, if we allow it.

We can't afford the intellect's self-delusions anymore.

If we are looking to prevent an apocalypse, we will need something completely different. As Einstein said, "No problem can be solved from the same level of consciousness that created it."

If the intellect can no longer guide us, what source of information is left?

Only our intuition.

Luckily, that's more than enough.

Intuitive insights are the new dominant modality of thought. Without them, you won't be surviving the 2012 Transition very well. Because this Transition is all about liberating the Power of the Heart, and intuition is the Heart's Voice.

The intuition speaks through the spiritual Heart. You might perceive it through your body's sensations. It may appear as an idea, a sound, or words. The important thing to know is, it doesn't originate in your own brain.

Intuition accesses the Source of all knowledge.

Everything that can be known, is known by this Source -- past, present, future, alternate dimensions, etc. It is the source of infinite knowledge.

So the question is no longer, "What is the logical choice?"

The fundamental question is, "What does your deepest Heart tell you?"

That is the Voice of the Divine.

Learning to distinguish this Voice from the urges of the ego/mind is the tricky bit.

That's what we'll look at next.

Learning to hear and understand the quiet Voice of your intuition takes practice. It's a little like developing an ear for music -- at first, you're not really sure what to listen for, or what a good one is like. With practice, you learn to hear more clearly.

Really, you can only learn by doing.

Follow your intuition!

Start with little things. Don't use your intuition, the very first time, to decide to move across the country or adopt a child or something. Because in the beginning, it's trial-and-error. Sometimes you will hear your intuition precisely. But sometimes you may not.

But begin paying attention to it. Your intuition knows more than you think!

There have been studies on women who've been attacked on the street, and every time, it seems, something inside of them was warning them -- but they ignored the warning because it seemed impolite to just walk away or whatever. And if you've heard stories about people who survive cataclysmic events, they usually say they "just had a feeling" and they followed it.

Your inner Voice knows infinitely more than your logical brain ever could!

As we proceed with the 2012 Transition, it's really time to access this source of infinite knowledge.

The biggest difficulty is that we also have another voice inside of us -- the voice of the personality/ego ... and it definitely has its own agenda.

Learning to differentiate between these is the real key to accessing intuition.

When you first begin trusting your intuitive guidance, you may find that it seems to lead you astray at times. What's really happened, of course, is that your ego has tricked you into thinking it was Divine guidance.

Nothing is as tricky as the ego!

There's also an element of deep trust that is needed, though. Sometimes even the best intuition will lead you into an unpleasant situation. But I can guarantee it's because that unpleasant situation will turn into something you really needed.

The biggest block to accessing intuitive guidance is a cluttered mind. When there are a lot of thoughts, worries, plans, grudges, desires, etc. taking up space, how could you even notice when the Divine quietly offers a bit of advice?

Clear your thoughts and quiet your mind.

Clear your emotions.

Only when your mind is empty of the ego's thoughts and drives, can you clearly hear the Divine's advice -- and be sure of it. Then your intuition will seem much more obvious, and it will not lead you astray.

Meditation is a perfect practice for this. That's why intuitive ideas so often pop up when you are meditating.

A Mind-Watch, or Purging Papers, as well, are wonderful for clearing the mind and emotions. Reflection (spiritual journalling) and working with symbolisms like in dreams and with Animal Spirit Guides are also extremely beneficial. There are some things you can do that are like exercises for developing your intuitive muscles.

Divination helps develop this skill. Tarot or runes or palm-reading, even astrology or numerology? anything that offers you guidelines to follow (like in a book) gives a great starting place for developing intuition.

As you begin to interpret your divination readings, you can rely on what you remember, or what jumps out at you, that you read in the book.

After a while, you will realise that you will remember or notice the precise bit that is most relevant. Your sixth sense is already at work, and without any pressure it can work most effectively.

Gradually, you will start to extrapolate... using what you read as a starting point and making intuitive leaps from there.

Eventually, you may notice that most or all of your reading becomes intuitive.

With Bright Blessings,