Evey: Who are you?
V. : Who? Who is but the form following the function of what and what I am is a man in a mask.
Evey: Well I can see that.
V. : Of course you can, I’m not questioning your powers of observation, I’m merely remarking upon the paradox of asking a masked man who he is.
Evey: Oh, right.
V. : But on this most auspicious of nights, permit me then, in lieu of the more commonplace soubriquet, to suggest the character of this dramatis persona. Voila! In view humble vaudevillian veteran, cast vicariously as both victim and villain by the vicissitudes of fate. This visage, no mere veneer of vanity, is a vestige of the “vox populi” now vacant, vanished. However, this valorous visitation of a bygone vexation stands vivified, and has vowed to vanquish these venal and virulent vermin, van guarding vice and vouchsafing the violently vicious and voracious violation of volition.
The only verdict is vengeance; a vendetta, held as a votive not in vain, for the value and veracity of such shall one day vindicate the vigilant and the virtuous.
Verily this vichyssoise of verbiage veers most verbose, so let me simply add that it’s my very good honour to meet you and you may call me V.
Evey: Are you like a crazy person?
V. : I’m quite sure they will say so.

Then the second monologue -

The Speech to London:

Good evening, London. Allow me first to apologize for this interruption. I do, like many of you, appreciate the comforts of every day routine- the security of the familiar, the tranquility of repetition. I enjoy them as much as any bloke. But in the spirit of commemoration, thereby those important events of the past usually associated with someone’s death or the end of some awful bloody struggle, a celebration of a nice holiday, I thought we could mark this November the 5th, a day that is sadly no longer remembered, by taking some time out of our daily lives to sit down and have a little chat. There are of course those who do not want us to speak. I suspect even now, orders are being shouted into telephones, and men with guns will soon be on their way.

Why? Because while the truncheon may be used in lieu of conversation, words will always retain their power. Words offer the means to meaning, and for those who will listen, the enunciation of truth. And the truth is, there is something terribly wrong with this country, isn’t there? Cruelty and injustice, intolerance and oppression. And where once you had the freedom to object, to think and speak as you saw fit, you now have censors and systems of surveillance coercing your conformity and soliciting your submission.

How did this happen? Who’s to blame? Well certainly there are those more responsible than others, and they will be held accountable, but again truth be told, if you’re looking for the guilty, you need only look into a mirror. I know why you did it. I know you were afraid. Who wouldn’t be? War, terror, disease. There were a myriad of problems which conspired to corrupt your reason and rob you of your common sense. Fear got the best of you, and in your panic you turned to the now high chancellor, Adam Sutler.

He promised you order, he promised you peace, and all he demanded in return was your silent, obedient consent. Last night I sought to end that silence. Last night I destroyed the Old Bailey, to remind this country of what it has forgotten. More than four hundred years ago a great citizen wished to embed the fifth of November forever in our memory. His hope was to remind the world that fairness, justice, and freedom are more than words, they are perspectives.

So if you’ve seen nothing, if the crimes of this government remain unknown to you then I would suggest you allow the fifth of November to pass unmarked. But if you see what I see, if you feel as I feel, and if you would seek as I seek, then I ask you to stand beside me one year from tonight, outside the gates of Parliament, and together we shall give them a fifth of November that shall never, ever be forgot.

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Do not delude yourself into thinking that Google will be replaced by Facebook.

Before you begin to take stock in all the hype about how Google is dying or dead and you must position yourself, so you will not see the death of Google… ask yourself a few questions:

How is that traffic counted, that you see in the stats they show?

How many of those people are actually searching for your business or the products and services that you offer?

How many of them are searching for anything other than their friends and family and photos?

The truth is, most of them are not searching for a single thing.  People do not go to Facebook to find an eBook or to look for an iPod or to read reviews on the latest droid gadget.  The fact is people go there to socialize and communicate with their friends and family.  They go to share personal information.  Then a certain percentage go to Facebook to play games, while a few people (as in a certain percentage) use it for business.  Then there are those that refuse to click on any ads, because it is not a search tool.

Anyone who tells you Google or Bing or the principles behind a Search using a Search Engine is dead, really has no idea how those search engines really work.  They have no idea how people who do the searches use them either.  Mostly throughout this article, I am going to refer to Google more than other search Engines.

A couple of reasons why are Yahoo has yet to do anything new in the market and if I remember correctly, just before MSN Search became Bing, Yahoo was using the MSN search engine to run it’s own algorithms.  Although Bing, may be a player in the search engine game, they too are not the one that many marketers and advertisers talk about most when referring to search.  They have been gaining more and more market share, which suggests that they will be a player for a long time to come.

But my personal belief is they get a lot of their traffic via their other paid products.  The diehard Microsoft OS crowd and the new users that buy a PC for the first time and use the default settings, which are Internet Explorer and Bing Search.  I believe that like Google and Bing will be around for quite a while as search engines.

Then there really are no other dominate search engines to compare.

So let’s look at a few other facts:

• First, we must recognize that social media really is growing and no going anywhere.  To that end, these marketers are not mistaken.  Today, YouTube (a Google property) is the #4 search engine.  Yes, that supports the claim that perhaps social media is taking over and Search Engines may have met their match.  YouTube may be a social networking site, but as mentioned, it is also a Google Owned property, it uses Google search algorithms and the reason YouTube is not the #1, #2 or #3 Search Engine is, because it is not designed to only be a search engine.  Not everyone searching on the Internet is looking for videos when they go online to find something.  In fact, some people do not even watch TV, so why search for more videos online.  Plus, there are plenty of people that barely have a handle on how to even use Google search or Bing as it is.  How many people do you know, that really know how to properly use any search engine?  How many people do you know that even understand how to use Boolean search terms or even what that means?

• Second, Google loves video.  Not only YouTube video, but other kinds of video too.  This is one way that Google ranks and finds relevant material.

• Third, Google gains a tremendous amount of traffic through the free tools they have available.  This will continue to drive the relevance and usefulness of how consumers view Google.

• Fourth, Google loves social media and even has one of it’s own, known as Google Buzz.  But the true potential of this tool has yet to be completely known or understood by most users, as it has not yet been completely integrated into all of Googles other properties.   There is also Google Friend Connect and integration with YouTube and the open source nature of Google‘s API’s, as well as the integration with OpenID.  So whatever you do, do not discount Google as a dominant player in the Social Media market just yet.

• Fifth, Google is a debt free company, with a ton of extra money in the bank.  How many social media companies can say that?  Facebook has yet to become profitable.  Twitter is much the same, they are still in the Red.  As each of the now existing big social media giants works to catch up financially with Google, Google will continue to build and perfect it’s Google Buzz.

It is clear that everyone should be using social media and that means learning to capitalize as much as you can on Facebook and Twitter today.   But another question you may want to ask yourself is how much stock do you want to put into any one single social media website.   Look at MySpace, at one time it was one of the biggest social media sites on the net.  But today it has lost must of it’s luster.

The beauty of a Search Engine is, it is not dependent on the whims of the people (i.e. doing what is trendy or whatever the current FAD might be) and it does not depend on the success of failure of one social network.   Even if Google Buzz fails or never picks up, Google has plenty of other properties and plenty of other ways they can stick with their company mission.

Google is dependent on maintaining proper algorithm’s in order to create relevant results and it is dependent on continuing to create an audience, which businesses will pay to reach.  As long as they do that, Google will always have relevance in the marketplace and people will continue to use it predominantly as a tool to find what they want.

So do not let the fear mongers convince you that the writing is on the wall and Google is on it’s way out.  Do not let them convince you that you must change all your business over today and you need to buy some program to teach you how, because the proof is in the stats of page visits or usage.

Whenever anyone says that, look deeper into what the results really say and think about how people are using the networks mentioned.  Then you will have a much clearer picture, that is not marred by your emotions or even a little bit of naivety, that you might not want to admit you have.

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Kooza was filled with action, death defying thrills, gut wrenching laughter and wonderful music.

The project for Kooza was first begun in 2005, under the direction of David Shriner and two years later in May of 2007 they had their premier performance. For the last three (3) years the show has continued to be perfected and I believe it has even evolved a little. From what I can tell the word Kooza comes from a Sanskrit word meaning “magical box.”

I attended this show with a wonderful new friend and it definitely made for an exciting evening filled with many wonderful memories that will not be soon forgotten. After the show I purchased a DVD, since taking pictures or recording video is not allowed ‘under the big top’. Since then I was able to peruse a little bit of the DVD, to refresh some of my thoughts before writing about my experience. This is when I noticed some differences between the Live show and the DVD.

For instance, one of the clowns was different in the show that I saw than in the DVD. There were slight changes in some of the things that were said and done in the interaction between the clowns and the audience. The Lead Clown, did not have a beard in the DVD either. In fact, when I was watching the live performance, I thought that he reminded me or looked a little like Don Quixote, from the ‘Man From la Mancha’.

Just like Don Quixote, he acted like a man immersed in fantasy, illusion and in simple ignorance of certain realities. He appeared to consistently lose balance, stumble and fall, in strike contrast of the highly perfected, talented and deliberate actions of the other highly athletic circus style performances. But this was a good thing, as he was very, very funny and he interacted quite well with the audience and his fellow cast members.

The show was very well designed, between intense laughter and intense action, fear or awe inspiring stunts and performances, it was the perfect contrast. On the DVD, in the extras, one of the cast members that is a clown speaks of the connection between clowns and religion, because laughter is something that draws people together and creates a strong bond. Their were religious ceremonies where a clown would interact with those in attendance to create that bond that comes from laughter and then immediately they would go into some serious ceremony. Although I believe in the sacredness of religious rites and services and I probably would not combine a clown with them, I do understand and respect the contrast and how it may have been used in history.

Another very notable difference between the DVD and live performance which I attended, was in the DVD there is a juggler, while in the live performance there was a women that used rings or hoola hoops. She was quite amazing. Much like a belly dancer, she used her skills to keep the hoops in motion upon her body, around arms & legs and even on her feet. She used her motion, flexibility and gymnastics skills to delight and amaze the audience.

It was interesting to see some of the places where clearly the slip-ups or so-called ‘accidents’ were actually deliberate and part of the show, in order to heighten or intensify the sense of fear and danger that already exists.

But I guess it is to be expected that some people will change over time, people do need breaks and careers progress and change over time and it is quite certain that parts of the live performance will always be different from one show to the next as the actors continue to explore their roles and the show becomes more and more defined. Unpredictably and change, is I’m sure also part of the attraction of any circus or live style performance.

Overall, it was an amazing performance that I can’t recommend enough to anyone that has not gone to see it. If you have the opportunity, do not hesitate to go and see it.

I look forward to the next Cirque du Soleil Show that comes to town, as I will definitely go again. Or even if and when I am someplace with the time to see another performance, this will remain at the top of my list of exciting entertaining things to do.

Learn more about Kooza at: http://www.cirquedusoleil.com/kooza/

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When it comes to graphic programs, There is of course the leader of all the different software programs, Adobe and all of it’s different renditions. Of course nearly every style of software that comes from Adobe has a fairly pricey and it needs to be installed on your computer. You are limited on how many computers you can install it on and you are also limited on which OS you can use, based on what you purchase. So if you have several computers, different OS’s or you happen to want to or need to use someone else’s computer and they do not have Adobe installed, then you are stuck without any software and can do nothing.

Then you have GIMP, which is an open source program, that is very useful and a great alternative to Adobe Photoshop. But again, you are limited to where you can use it, unless it is installed on the computer you happen to be on. The advantage of course, is that it is free, which means you can install it on as many computers as you want. Which is very cool. There are feature differences and obviously people have preferences to which program they want to use. But for anyone that only uses these types of programs periodically, it is a far better option than forking out all the cash needed for Adobe Photoshop.

But now, I have found another program that creates more options, and it does many of the same things as either of these other programs, only it is all in the cloud. You are not required to have it installed on your computer to use it, you only need an internet connection and a recent version of Flash and any browser. So you could use it anywhere, at any time, if you have an internet connection. Now, of course if you upgrade, which is not required ever unless you want to, it costs less than a measly $20/year and at that point you get the Pro version, which allows you to still use the software on your computer, even when you do not have an internet connection.

I am not an artist or even a graphic designer and this program is very new to me, so I really do not know all the features or what is better or not better, when you compare any of the these three programs. But when you look on Sumo Paint’s website and you see art work, such as the art that is on this profile: http://www.sumopaint.com/profile/?id=99003 then you really get a glimpse of what this software can do.

There are many, many users all over the world, registered and using Sumo Paint and there is a vibrant social community for artists of many types and for those who appreciate art all right there. Take a minute to look at all the different creations and even test out the software, without registering or doing anything. If you like it enough, then you can register and use it for free and if you are a hardcore artist, go ahead and upgrade to the pro version.

I am not getting any money and I am not being paid to write this… I am just sharing something I found that I thought might be useful to some of you out there. I hope that ends up being the case. Enjoy.

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Anyway back to the purpose of this post. Since I have been researching quite a bit about how to build and use FB’s fan pages, I thought I would share some more info that was recently shared with me. I am passing on this great post from Buzz, by one of my Buzz friends… you may want to check out this article called: Hit the Links: Facebook Fan Page Country Club

Enjoy.

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Some of the many things he speaks of are the rubber stamped Congress… and the supporting of legislation that Americans do not want…. Sound Familiar?

These might be familiar too,
10 Ways our Republic and our Constitution are being Weakened

1. By Diplomatic Recognition and Aid, Trade and Negotiations with the Communists

2. By Disarmament of Our Military Defenses

3. By Destruction of our Security Laws and the Promotion of Atheism by Decisions of the Supreme Court

4. By Loss of Sovereignty and Solvency to International Commitments and World Organizations

5. By Undermining of Local Law Enforcement Agencies and Congressional Investigating Committees

6. By Usurpations, by the Executive and Judicial Branches of Our Federal Government

7. By Lawlessness in the Name of Civil Rights – (Today I believe this could be the same as Social and Economic Justice)

8. By Staggering National Debt with Inflation and a Corruption of the Currency

9. By a Multiplicity of Executive Orders and Federal Programs Which Greatly Weaken Local and State Governments

10. By the Sacrificing of American Manhood, by Engaging in Wars We Apparently Have No Intention of Winning

As I was searching around the internet for more material that was from this time period and on the same subject, I came across this publication from 1968, by the same man entitled “The Proper Role of Government”. It is a great read as well. Check it out.

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A young and successful executive was traveling down a neighborhood street, going a bit too fast in his new Jaguar. He was watching for kids darting out from between parked cars and slowed down when he thought he saw something.

As his car passed, no children appeared. Instead, a brick smashed into the Jag’s side door! He slammed on the brakes and backed the Jag back to the spot where the brick had been thrown.

The angry driver then jumped out of the car, grabbed the nearest kid and pushed him up against a parked car shouting:

‘What was that all about and who are you? Just what the heck are you doing? That’s a new car and that brick you threw is going to cost a lot of money. Why did you do it?’

The young boy was apologetic. ‘Please, mister….please, I’m sorry but I didn’t know what else to do,’ he pleaded. ‘I threw the brick because no one else would stop…’ With tears dripping down his face and off his chin, the youth pointed to a spot just around a parked car. ‘It’s my brother,’ he said. ‘He rolled off the curb and fell out of his wheelchair and I can’t lift him up.’

Now sobbing, the boy asked the stunned executive, ‘Would you please help me get him back into his wheelchair? He’s hurt and he’s too heavy for me.’

Moved beyond words, the driver tried to swallow the rapidly swelling lump in his throat. He hurriedly lifted the handicapped boy back into the wheelchair, then took out a linen handkerchief and dabbed at the fresh scrapes and cuts. A quick look told him everything was going to be okay. ‘Thank you and may God bless you,’ the grateful child told the stranger. Too shook up for words, the man simply watched the boy push his wheelchair-bound brother down the sidewalk toward their home.

It was a long, slow walk back to the Jaguar. The damage was very noticeable, but the driver never bothered to repair the dented side door. He kept the dent there to remind him of this message:

‘Don’t go through life so fast that someone has to throw a brick at you to get your attention!’ God whispers in our souls and speaks to our hearts. Sometimes when we don’t have time to listen, He has to throw a brick at us. It’s our choice to listen or not.

Thought for the Day:

If God had a refrigerator, your picture would be on it.
If He had a wallet, your photo would be in it.
He sends you flowers every spring.
He sends you a sunrise every morning.

Face it, friend – He is crazy about you!

Send this to every ‘beautiful person’ you wish to bless.

God didn’t promise days without pain, laughter without sorrow, sun without rain, but He did promise strength for the day, comfort for the tears, and light for the way.

Read this line very slowly and let it sink in…

If God brings you to it, He will bring you through it.

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Please take the time to read this and forward it as you see fit. Thanks

A retired Constitutional lawyer has read the entire proposed healthcare bill. Read his conclusions and pass this on as you wish.. This is stunning!
House Bill 3200. Brace yourself and read every word!

The Truth About the Health Care Bills – Michael Connelly, Ret. Constitutional Attorney

Well, I have done it! I have read the entire text of proposed House Bill 3200: The Affordable Health Care Choices Act of 2009. I studied it with particular emphasis from my area of expertise, constitutional law. I was frankly concerned that parts of the proposed law that were being discussed might be unconstitutional. What I found was far worse than what I had heard or expected.

To begin with, much of what has been said about the law and its implications is in fact true, despite what the Democrats and the media are saying. The law does provide for rationing of health care, particularly where senior citizens and other classes of citizens are involved, free health care for illegal immigrants, free abortion services, and probably forced participation in abortions by members of the medical profession.

The Bill will also eventually force private insurance companies out of business, and put everyone into a government run system. All decisions about personal health care will ultimately be made by federal bureaucrats, and most of them will not be health care professionals. Hospital admissions, payments to physicians, and allocations of necessary medical devices will be strictly controlled by the government.

However, as scary as all of that is, it just scratches the surface. In fact, I have concluded that this legislation really has no intention of providing affordable health care choices. Instead it is a convenient cover for the most massive transfer of power to the Executive Branch of government that has ever occurred, or even been contemplated. If this law or a similar one is adopted, major portions of the Constitution of the United States will effectively have been destroyed.

The first thing to go will be the masterfully crafted balance of power between the Executive, Legislative, and Judicial branches of the U.S. Government. The Congress will be transferring to the Obama Administration authority in a number of different areas over the lives of the American people, and the businesses they own.

The irony is that the Congress doesn’t have any authority to legislate in most of those areas to begin with! I defy anyone to read the text of the U.S. Constitution and find any authority granted to the members of Congress to regulate health care.

This legislation also provides for access, by the appointees of the Obama administration, to all of your personal healthcare information, your personal financial information, and the information of your employer, physician, and hospital in direct violation of the specific provisions of the 4th Amendment to the Constitution. All of this is a protection against unreasonable searches and seizures. You can also forget about the right to privacy. That will have been legislated into oblivion regardless of what the 3rd and 4th Amendments may provide.

If you decide not to have healthcare insurance, or if you have private insurance that is not deemed acceptable to the Health Choices Administrator appointed by Obama, there will be a tax imposed on you. It is called a tax instead of a fine because of the intent to avoid application of the due process clause of the 5th Amendment. However, that doesn’t work because, since there is nothing in the law that allows you to contest or appeal the imposition of the tax, it is definitely depriving someone of property without the due process of law.

So, there are three of those pesky amendments that the far left hate so much, out the original ten in the Bill of Rights, that are effectively nullified by this law. It doesn’t stop there though.

The 9th Amendment provides: The enumeration in the Constitution of certain rights shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people;

The 10th Amendment states: The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution nor prohibited by it to the States are preserved to the States respectively, or to the people. Under the provisions of this piece of Congressional handiwork neither the people nor the states are going to have any rights or powers at all in many areas that once were theirs to control.

I could write many more pages about this legislation, but I think you get the idea. This is not about health care; it is about seizing power and limiting rights. Article 6 of the Constitution requires the members of both houses of Congress to “be bound by oath or affirmation to support the Constitution.” If I was a member of Congress I would not be able to vote for this legislation or anything like it without feeling I was violating that sacred oath or affirmation. If I voted for it anyway, I would hope the American people would hold me accountable.

For those who might doubt the nature of this threat, I suggest they consult the source, the US Constitution, and Bill of Rights. There you can see exactly what we are about to have taken from us.

Michael Connelly
Retired attorney,
Constitutional Law Instructor
Carrollton, Texas

AFTER HAVING READ THIS, PLEASE SHARE THIS….. Tell all your Friends.

WE MUST HOLD CONGRESS ACCOUNTABLE BEFORE IT IS TOO LATE.

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