Alien Religion

I came across this story in the UK Sunday Herald about the relation of religion, especially Christianity, to the possibility of extraterrestrial, or even extra-dimensional, life. This is something we don't really think about because we are so used to aliens in movies & TV. If people found out there were really aliens, though, it would be crazy.
“Is original sin something that affected all intelligent beings?” he asks. “Is there a sort of ‘cosmic’ Adam predating even life on Earth? Is Jesus Christ’s redemptive sacrifice sufficient for the whole universe? Would there be a parallel history of salvation on other planets?”

And on the Eighth Day … Did God Create Aliens?

I think people would definitely freak out if it was known that some sort of beings existed and even observing mankind. The idea, though, that alien life was the basis for religion and myths would make people just as bonkers!

Were the Nephilim Extraterrestrials?

King George

Seen on Bartcop.com

Petroleum Wars

I read somewhere the idea that one day our invasion and occupation of the Middle East will be known as the Petroleum Wars. I think this is as fitting a name as any; and although there are countless complex reasons for the global situation we are in it is amazing how much oil and big business play into it.

The article linked below sums up some of the major reasons that we are tossing our military and, with it, our economy, into the Persian Gulf. As usual, all of the policies and strategies of the Bush Administration shamelessly revolve around getting their corporate cronies as much wealth as possible at the expense of the American people and Treasury. Pretty much the daily routine since Day 1. The only problem is that insatiable greed for money and power has now put our entire country into a financial and strategic situation that is seemingly unmanageable under the current leadership of the US and its major allies. The 'War on Terror' and the hypocritical demands that Israel, Britain, and the US are putting on Iran's nuclear ambitions all revolve around the only thing these maniacs are concerned about, their true gods... Money & Power.

In March, next month,... "Iran is scheduled to shift its petrodollars into a euro-based bourse. The effect on the value of the dollar will be significant, if not, in the long term, disastrous. At present the dollar is, on paper, a worthless currency bearing the burden of a national debt exceeding $8trn and a trade deficit of more than $600bn." "That oil is traded in dollars is critical in maintaining the dollar as the world's reserve currency. What the Bush regime fears is **not ** Iran's nuclear ambitions but the effect of the world's fourth-biggest oil producer and trader breaking the dollar monopoly. Will the world's central banks then begin to shift their reserve holdings and, in effect, dump the dollar? Saddam Hussein was threatening to do the same when he was attacked."

Iran: The Next War

People who are unimaginative enough to be bound by prophecy and ideology are also bound to fulfill them.

If we had intelligent, visionary, rational leadership the world could easily work out even the most dreadful problems. Instead, we have deranged thugs in control who can't even kill a bunch of goddamn pheasants without shooting each other in the face. We can sleep easy knowing the nuclear button is under the finger of Twitchy Fingers Cheney.

Guns don't kill people...

The Great Bush-Franklin Debate

Benjamin Franklin has always been one of my favorite figures in American history (and it's not just because I live in the Philly area). Besides his subversive brilliance and passion for knowledge, he was a patriot and a man of the world who saw the unlimited potential of the American ideals of liberty and justice for all. Franklin remains an admired figure for most Americans because of his noble achievements.

President War Monkey is not known for his articulation and nuance, but when his verbal train wrecks are compared to the wit & wisdom of a man like Franklin, it's as disturbing as it is amusing.

From Cheers & Jeers on DailyKos:

Bush: "America must not ignore the threat gathering against us. Facing clear evidence of peril, we cannot wait for the final proof, the smoking gun that could come in the form of a mushroom cloud."

Franklin: "All wars are follies, very expensive and very mischievous ones. In my opinion, there never was a good war or a bad peace. When will mankind be convinced and agree to settle their difficulties by arbitration?"


Here's some more gems from Franklin's writings & almanacs:


"The greatest monarch on the proudest throne,
is oblig'd to sit upon his own arse."

"Whate'ers begun in anger ends in shame."

"He that would live in peace & at ease,
must not speak all he knows, nor judge all he sees."

"Sell not virtue to purchase wealth,
nor Liberty to purchase power."

"Half the Truth is often a great Lie."

The Brain as a Quantum Receiver

I saw this article on the Quantum Biocommunication website. They have some cool articles that address philosophy, physics, and metaphysical questions. It's oriented more toward philosophy than math, but the ideas presented are really interesting. I enjoy visualizing more than calculating...

This is from an article about the nature of the mind & soul:

"Your brain is a quantum instrument that causes the collapse of wave functions that exist as possibilities before you actualise them as space-time events. So your brain takes possibilities and actualises them into space-time events. It’s a quantum instrument that converts possibility into actuality. It takes the unmanifest and makes it manifest, both in imagination and also as sensory experience."

Be Afraid

Oh crap!

With all the madness in the world,
do we really need the threat of neuro-robot roach armies?!?!

http://www.engadget.com/

If this isn't a sign of the end of the world as we know it,

then I simply don't know what is...

Scholars for 9/11 Truth

You know, there's conspiracy theory... and then there's plain old conspiracy.

Sure, it might be interesting to note that Zogby's polls of New York City residents show that about half of the people suspect domestic involvement in the mind-numbing events of 9/11. You might say, though, "Well polls are simply measures of opinion!"

However, when top minds of the country form a group to expose the tough truths about the most outrageous crime ever commited on US soil, it is a serious wake-up call. Check out the names & credentials on that list. Then, read this research paper by Brigham Young University physics professor Steven Jones.

http://www.physics.byu.edu/research/energy/htm7.html

The video links of NYC firefighters revelations and footage of the tower collapses are damning enough, but the physical and visual evidence is overwhelming.

WTC 1: There Was No Inferno

Evil Mastermind

Seen on bartcop.com:

Day 1: War with Iran

USAF veteran, Douglas Herman correctly predicted the aftermath of the attack on Iraq in his column: "'Shock & Awe'... followed by 'Block-to-Block'."

In this article, he describes the disasterous scenario of a possible Israeli/American military engagement with Iran.

Day One - The War With Iran

"Just before the sun rose over Tehran, moments before the Muslim call to prayer, the missiles struck their targets. While US Air Force AWACS planes circled overhead--listening, watching, recording--heavy US bombers followed minutes later. Bunker-busters and mini-nukes fell on dozens of targets while Iranian anti-aircraft missiles sped skyward."

It is horrifying that the leaders of the nations who have the most influence on this situation are war-mongering fundamentalists with no positive creative thinking ability whatsoever. The leadership of the US and Israel are at least as guilty for the escalation of rhetoric and aggression in this situation as is President Ahmadinejad of Iran. We have two psychopaths at the head of our own government who are war profiteers and corrupt beyond comprehension, looking for anything to distract from their criminal behavior. We have a Congress that is on the leash of the myriad lobbyists in DC like AIPAC and ongoing investigations into the spies embedded in the Pentagon and the Executive Branch. Finally we have the multi-headed beast of oil and military-industrial behemoths whose unholy appetite now seems to demand the mass-murder of Iranian civilians and the theft of their resources and sovereignty.

I hope my sense of dread is unfounded, but the fools at the helm of the ship have given me no reason to be assured. Can the American people put on enough political and financial pressure quickly enough to halt the path to disaster being tread? The problems facing the world right now seem insurmountable, but it is definitely an interesting time to be alive, to say the least.

Holographic Mind/Universe

My friend & I were drunk-discussing the nature of reality, the mind, & the human experience after we got back from the bar last night (what else is there to talk about when you're inebriated?!?). He was saying that humans are self-contained entities, and in the end all we ever experience is our own mind. It is true, that every sensory experience and thought that we ever have is nothing but a lightshow in our own head.

However, I also believe the universe/mind is a continuous and complete fractal, holographic phenomenon. Therefore, levels of interconnectivity and synchronicity outside of the human experience should be expected. Of course, no symbolic grunt that can be uttered by a physical being can really be expected to accurately represent anything.

For a more accurate description of the nature of the human experience, click Here.

"The Amazing Holographic Universe"

"As the religions of the East have long upheld, the material world is Maya, an illusion, and although we may think we are physical beings moving through a physical world, this too is an illusion. We are really 'receivers' floating through a kaleidoscopic sea of frequency, and what we extract from this sea and transmogrify into physical reality is but one channel from many extracted out of the superhologram."

"Pribram believes memories are encoded not in neurons, or small groupings of neurons, but in patterns of nerve impulses that crisscross the entire brain in the same way that patterns of laser light interference crisscross the entire area of a piece of film containing a holographic image. In other words, Pribram believes the brain is itself a hologram."

• Click HERE to read the whole article

Depression-Era Color Photos

This is kind of crazy... seeing color photos of life in the 20's & 30's makes the people and scenes seem much more real.

Here's an overview of the exhibit.

Take a good look... the Bush Cartel is leading America down a very beaten path that hasn't been travelled in almost a century.

View from a Water Bottle

Check out this Quicktime VR of the view from inside a water cooler bottle.

Update: "Da Vinci's Challenge Articles"

I added some new links to more articles featuring the "Da Vinci's Challenge" game.

Da Vinci's Challenge Articles

Hyperspace Engine Being Developed!!!

Wow!!! There is an article on the UK's Scotsman.com about a hyperspace engine being developed by the U.S. government that uses magnetic fields to warp gravity & space-time, which would shift a craft to another dimension - where otherwise impossible speeds can be attained!

Mars Express: Only a Three Hour Trip

We are living in a time where people still believe that Genesis is literally true, yet we are also investigating inter-dimensional travel!!!... No wonder the world seems like it's going insane.

The really interesting part, for me, is the fact that when I was younger I had a UFO model kit based on the descriptions of Bob Lazar, who claims to have worked at Area 51 reverse-engineering alien spacecraft. It came with an awesome booklet that described, according to Lazar, how the ship's *gravity propulsion* system worked. Maybe the stories of Area 51 and the Philadelphia Experiment aren't so far-fetched after all.

Here's a page that has the explanation & scans from the booklet.

Click here to see more links (scroll down a bit).

Al-Qaeda Application Discovered!!!

You might have heard that the government has said they discovered the completely-real-and-definitely-not-made-up application that US citizen & 'enemy combatant' Jose Padilla used to join Al-Qaeda! I'm pretty sure they also found his Al-Qaeda pay stubs & also his Al-Qaeda employee discount card...

Anyway, the very patriotic Jesus' General has obtained an exclusive scan of this elusive document!!!

Click HERE!

(Don't be fooled, it only looks like a 'Young Republicans' application...
those Al-Qaeda are sneaky bastards!)

Mysteries of Ergot

Since I posted about Dr Hoffman's discovery, I thought I'd also add this info about the ritual use of sacred psychedelic plants and fungi in the ancient mystery religions,... the Mysteries of Eleusis in particular:

"Some scholars believe that the power of the Eleusinian Mysteries came from the kykeon's functioning as a psychedelic agent; this was argued most extensively in The Road to Eleusis, by R. Gordon Wasson, Albert Hoffman, and Carl A. P. Ruck. Barley may be parasitized by the fungus ergot, which contains LSA, a precursor to LSD. It is thus possible that the initiates, sensitized by their fast and prepared by preceding ceremonies, were propelled by the effects of a powerful psychoactive potion into revelatory mind states with profound spiritual and intellectual ramifications. "

The Elusinian Mysteries
from Wikipedia

Eleusis: Temple of Demeter

Father of LSD Turns 100

Albert Hoffman, the discoverer of the psychedelic compound lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD-25), is really old.

"Nearly 100, LSD's Father Ponders His 'Problem Child'"
NY Times 1/7/06

St. Albert by Alex Grey

Artists are Sexy & Crazy

I just think it's easier for creative people to toss aside the man-made arbitrary rules & norms of society... because they tend to think "outside the box" and challenge the boundaries of experience.

"Creativity Linked to Sexual Success and Schizophrenia"Autographed print: "Painting" by Alex Grey

Bush & the Peacemaker

Disturbing Finds from the GAO

Here are some perfectly outrageous tidbits from the federal Government Accountability Office...

First, under the "Sure!!! Let's Just Toss Our Money Out the Window!" Dept.:

Defense Spending Is Overstated, GAO Report Says

"The Pentagon has no accurate knowledge of the cost of military operations in Iraq, Afghanistan or the fight against terrorism, limiting Congress's ability to oversee spending, the Government Accountability Office concluded in a report released yesterday."

This fall, voters should just clean house by voting out any incumbents in Congress who aren't dealing with these important issues.
Oh crap, I forgot...
(From the "George W. Bush Really DID Win in November 2004!" Dept.):

Government Accounting Office Election Report
"The exit polls showed Kerry winning in Ohio, until an unexplained last minute shift gave the election to Bush. Similar definitive shifts also occurred in Iowa, Nevada and New Mexico, a virtual statistical impossibility."

The last bit is why I never accepted the fact that The Smirking Chimp won the last election. I watched with my own eyes that night, as I stayed up watching the election coverage, the results of the exit polls showing Kerry winning completely reverse when the numbers started coming in. The media started blaming the exit polls, and I realized Grand Theft America II had occured.
The real kicker came after the "Orange Revolution" took place in the Ukraine when the exit polls and vote counts didn't match up. In that case, everyone agreed that the election had been stolen!!!

But whatever... let Dubya & Darth Cheney run the country into the ground!!! That will make it easier for Americans to remember never to allow fascism again, and to never support anyone from or associated with the Bush Cartel ever again.

Introverted Behavior

Tell me something I don't know...

"Introverted children enjoy the internal world of thoughts, feelings and fantasies, and there's a physiological reason for this.

Researchers using brain scans have found introverts have more brain activity in general, and specifically in the frontal lobes.

When these areas are activated, introverts are energized by retrieving long-term memories, problem solving, introspection, complex thinking and planning."

Experts: Introverted Youth Have Deep Roots for Behavior

"He who knows, does not speak.
He who speaks, does not know."

-LaoTzu

MSNBC Questions 9/11 Story

This is a segment that was on Tucker Carlson's show on MSNBC that I watched when it aired.

To me, the only watchable part of his show is when Rachel Maddow is on. Tucker Carlson himself makes sense only about 50% of the time. However, it was encouraging to see the corporate media actually presenting alternatives other than the ridiculous story that the government and news have force-fed the public about the events of September 11th. (The fact that Tucker can't fathom it is irrelevant.)

Questioning What Happened on 9/11

If you have trouble believing that government officials, foreign agents, and elements of the military-industrial complex wouldn't commit a criminal conspiracy against our own people... well, you just need a little historical perpective, that's all.

ABC News: Operation Northwoods

"The plans were developed as ways to trick the American public and the international community into supporting a war to oust Cuba's then new leader, communist Fidel Castro.
America's top military brass even contemplated causing U.S. military casualties, writing: 'We could blow up a U.S. ship in Guantanamo Bay and blame Cuba,' and, 'casualty lists in U.S. newspapers would cause a helpful wave of national indignation.'"

Project for a New American Century
A Who's Who of current government hardliners and 'neoconservatives' who's vision of America stinks of fascism and imperialism.

"According to their own document, their stated goals would not be realized “absent some catastrophic catalyzing event –like a new Pearl Harbor”."

(How interesting that such a thing happened... exactly when so many of these 'neo-cons' were roaming the halls of government & military power under George W. Bush in 2001. Just a coincidence, I'm sure.)

Deep Thoughts

Deep Thoughts by Jack Handy was one of my favorite SNL skits.

Here are some great Deep Thoughts I found here...

"I bet one legend that keeps recurring throughout history,
in every culture, is the story of Popeye."

"To me, clowns aren't funny.
In fact, they're kind of scary.
I've wondered where this started
and I think it goes back to the time
I went to the circus,
and a clown killed my dad."

"When I was a kid my favorite relative was Uncle Caveman.
After school we'd all go play in his cave,
and every once in a while he would eat one of us.
It wasn't until later that I found out
that Uncle Caveman was a bear."

"I wish a robot would get elected president.
That way, when he came to town,
we could all take a shot at him and not feel too bad."

" If you ever reach total enlightenment while drinking beer,
I bet you could shoot beer out of you nose."

"When you're riding in a time machine way far into the future,
don't stick your elbow out the window,
or it'll turn into a fossil."

"Maybe in order to understand mankind,
we have to look at the word itself:
"Mankind"
Basically, it's made up of two separate words
- "mank" and "ind".
What do these words mean?
It's a mystery, and that's why so is mankind."

...Damn, just found more "Deep Thoughts"!

Perpetual Machine Created!

This is pretty crazy, especially because it plays the wacky music from Pee-Wee's Big Adventure.

Perpetual Blue Ball Factory

"The Arrest Wing"

I figured I'd start the New Year off with some wishful "humor" about the Worst President Ever.

"President Bush Converting 'West Wing' to 'Arrest Wing'."

This amazing reporting was done by everyone's favorite tabloid, The Weekly World News.

Would the people who brought us 'Batboy' report anything but verified facts?
I think not!

Happy Holidays

Surprising Origins of Christmas

The Secret Origin of Santa Claus

New JibJab Video: "2-0-5"

JibJab has made some hysterical political animations, & this one is no exception. It is about Dubya's predictably disasterous 2nd term, and all the troubles that have been plaguing him as a result of the incompetence & corruption of the Bush Family Evil Empire.

Click Here for the JibJab homepage,
and click on the big "2-0-5" box
w/ the Commander in Cheat's smirk.

UFO Daylight Video - Bulgaria

This video is pretty crazy. It shows a UFO hovering by a building & zipping away. It looks pretty real, to my discerning eye.

Click Here
to see video

"Da Vinci's Challenge Articles" update

Updated the post with links to various articles about the Da Vinci's Challenge game that can be found online.

Added the Courier Post article, a article from the Calgary Sun about a 'game night' with Da Vinci's Challenge, and an online review by Tom Vasel that I've seen posted & linked around the web.

"Da Vinci's Challenge Articles"

"Meet the World"

This is a very interesting campaign by a Brazilian artist using the different color areas in a country's flag to represent certain statistics about that country. The data is from actual UNICEF or United Nations studies. For instance, the American flag conveys the spectrum of sentiment about the Iraq war:

Da Vinci's Challenge - Courier-Post 12/3/05

I am posting scans of the article that the South Jersey Courier-Post ran about Da Vinci's Challenge on Saturday, Dec. 3rd 2005.

Click here for the Courier-Post online version.

The article exceeded my expectations. Reporter Frank Halperin, photographer Chris LaChall, and the editors & staff put together a really cool piece. At first I thought it was going to run in the Sunday paper, but Frank called me on Saturday to tell me it was in that day's edition.

My Dad stopped by my house to pick something up right after I got the call, so we both went over to the Wawa down the street to check it out. We saw the banner on the top of the front page, and opened to the Living section to see a my mug & Da Vinci's Challenge taking up the whole front page! I have to admit I gave out a "Wooo-hoo!!!" in the store.

It was really important to me to have my Dad there, with a big smile on his face, to see my efforts really starting to pay off. Both of my parents raised me to always do my best, and anything that I ever accomplish in my life is to their credit.

The depth of the article was great, also covering my employers/partners Alan & Alice Gorney, our company 3 Amoebas, the toy company Briarpatch, and the creation of Da Vinci's Challenge at Rowan University.

Click on an image for a larger scan.

Secrets of "Da Vinci's Challenge" (relinked)

Relinked to this post for the benefit of anyone who is visiting my blog as a result of the article that will be in the Courier-Post paper and website this Sunday, Dec. 4th.

"Secrets of Da Vinci's Challenge"
(There are more links down the right side
of The Monkey Buddha main page.)

This is a computer-generated 3D model I am working on
of the 'Classic' version of Da Vinci's Challenge
that I created as senior design student at Rowan University.

Da Vinci's Challenge in Target Ad

Da Vinci's Challenge was shown with other 'Party Games' in the Target weekly circular ad for 11/26/05.

Since looking through the Sunday circular ads to see what's new or on sale has been a weekly ritual in my parents' house growing up, it's cool to see my creation in there.

Here is an image of the page, click on the picture to expand it. Da Vinci's Challenge is in the bottom right photo of games - it's at the bottom of the stack.

Mystery Initiation

The initiate is placed in the psychic condition of a person at the moment of death, his consciousness withdrawn from externals, restricted to and focused upon his mind's internal content, which he is directed to explore and contemplate.

The person initiated begins to experience a force kindled within him, his true spirit. A new being has entered him and become active in his life. Forces slumbering within are awakened; he begins to experience inspiration from a Higher Source and feels the necessity to act in such a manner that he can share in the life of others. Spiritual transformation--re-birth--has occured, bringing about a change in that part of him that is open to "intuition," the voice of "the teacher within."

The Higher Mysteries

Esoteric Christianity

(Essays from the Metaphysical Section
of The New Enlightenment website)

There's a
Monkey Buddha

in all of us!
: )

Da Vinci's Challenge Articles

I am going to use this post to keep an ongoing record of all the print and web articles that mention or feature the Da Vinci's Challenge board game.
Rowan University Magazine
Micarelli's Game is Serious Business

MSNBC.com
2005 Holiday Guide - Get Smart! Toys for Kids

South Jersey Courier-Post
Are You Game?

2006 Toy Fair
Press for new Da Vinci's Challenge games

Washington Post
Da Vinci's Challenge - Easy to Learn, Hard to Master

About.com
Top 10 Mass Market Games of 2005
Top Toys of 2005Best Teen Toys
Top 10 Ancient Egyptian Games
2005 Mensa Winners
Da Vinci Code Games

Edplay Magazine
Top 10 Fabulous Products

Vineland Daily Journal
The Da Vinci Challenge

Calgary Sun
Oh the Games People Play!

The News Journal of Delaware
Toys Aren't All Fun & Games to This Mom

The Tennessean
Reap the Riches of Family Game Night

Today's Parent.com
Top Toys of 2005 - Preteen

Family Fun Magazine
8 Great New Games for Families

Wikipedia Article
Da Vinci's Challenge

All Info About.com
All Info About Da Vinci's Challenge

Board Game Geek.com
Da Vinci's Challenge reviews

Bella Online - The Voice of Women
5-Star Review - Da Vinci's Challenge

Major Fun.com
Hall of Fame - Da Vinci's Challenge

Da Vinci's Challenge Review
Article by Tom Vasel

Rowan University News & Happenings
Classroom Project Becomes Award Winning Game

Toy Directory 2006 Preview
Da Vinci's Mancala
Da Vinci's Challenge Card Game

Boston Herald article (on WTOP website)
Marketer's Follow "Da Vinci" Success with Merchandise

StarWars Battlefront 2

Figured I might as well do a trilogy of Star Wars posts. I couldn't hold off getting Battlefront 2 after watching the Star Wars saga on Saturday. I enjoyed the first game, and they somehow made this even more fun.

*Any game that lets you be these guys
is on the top of my list:

Craziest Fight Scene Ever

Yoda vs. Emperor

Star Wars Marathon

This past weekend, my sister Mandi & her husband Greg had a Star Wars Movie Marathon at their house. We watched all 6 movies in a row in a span of... 16 hours!!! There were a bunch of family & friends coming and going throughout the day, but us 3 and Mandi's friend Warren stuck out the whole saga.

We started Ep. I at 10AM and finished Return of the Jedi by 3AM the next morning. They had a projector hooked up to a laptop, and we used their large spare room as a mini-theater, with one entire wall as a screen. It made me not want to watch it on a regular TV! Both our family, Greg's family, and many of our friends are fans of the series, and this was an occasion we really enjoyed.

We were half-babbling burnouts by the last movie, but it was great to see the entire story play out at one time. The Emperor and Vader are just the best characters. Episode III, Revenge of the Sith is my favorite Star Wars movie, despite the cheesy love scenes & dialogue that even a 5 yr. old can make fun of. These movies are such a great source of entertainment and imagination, that things like ridiculously bad acting in a few scenes can be overlooked.

I actually predicted that Episode III was going to be called 'Revenge of the Sith' at least a couple years before the title was announced. I guessed it based on the names of the other prequels mirroring the original triology movies.
Don't believe me? I made this in 2002:

Meeting a Master - Alex Grey

This was a very exciting weekend for me.
I had the opportunity to attend a presentation by visionary artist Alex Grey called "In Search of Truth."

He was a great speaker who captivated everyone there with his wisdom, wit, and powerful art.

www.alexgrey.com

After the program, he was signing books and calenders for the people who attended.
His wife, Allyson, was trying to move the line along and selling calenders.
At first, it was kind of hectic, so my brother Justin & I waited for the crowd to die down.

When we did get to the table, I gave Allyson a copy of my "Da Vinci's Challenge" game for their family. Allyson gave me a hug, and Alex complimented the production value and look of the game! Alex asked me for some contact info, so I happily gave them my business card!!!

They took some time and talked to us, and Alex signed some items for us. Allyson was kind enough to give me a free copy of Alex's 2006 calender (Since there were alot of people standing around, she pulled me aside and said it would be a trade-off for the copy of the game that I gave them!)

All in all, it was a inspirational night that I will never forget.
Both Alex and Allyson were wonderful to us, and we left absolutely thrilled!
Even typing these words, my mind is still reeling from the fact that I had the precious opportunity to shake hands with a creative genius whose art has inspired me so greatly. (I tried to explain it to my Dad by telling him it would be like him getting to meet Eric Clapton.)

Alex Grey is my favorite living artist, and I consider him a modern master with a style and content that is as revolutionary as Cubism or Surrealism... it is a Visual Mysticism that must be seen to be appreciated.

I am posting a scan of the picture, called "Painting" he signed for me:
"To Paul - Blessings on your creative path - Alex Grey"

(click to enlarge)

I'm also posting an image of the picture that my brother Justin got signed,
called "The Visionary Origin of Language" that depicts our psychedelic cognitive beginnings.

Alex signed it with the unforgettable suggestion:
"To Justin - Listen to the Hyperspace Elves - Alex Grey"

(If Justin remembers to bring over the pic that he actually got signed, I'll scan & post that, too.)
This is close enough for now:

New Da Vinci's Challenge Box

You know what they say... there's always room for improvement.
Here's a sneak peek at the new Da Vinci's Challenge box that will be shipping in 2006.
(Click on each image for a larger version)

The side panel on the top of the box will list the awards the game has won:
I also made some improvements to the front of the box:

The "Da Vinci's Challenge Card Game" and "Da Vinci's Mancala" will also be in stores by this Spring.
(I'll post more about these games closer to their ship dates.)