tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-42685708312976405942024-03-14T15:18:40.343+11:00Life Cycles // The Truth and The EvidenceTHE LIFE CYCLES REVOLUTION-New Book by Neil Killion /
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FINALIST INTERNATIONAL BOOK AWARDSAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08831219021529377067noreply@blogger.comBlogger87125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4268570831297640594.post-37286548167983238642016-09-18T11:18:00.000+10:002016-09-20T13:00:50.000+10:00THE GREAT BELZONI - THE GREATEST EVIDENCE <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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It is time to don your safari suits and pith helmets. I am going to provide you with a full documentary film of the life of someone, I'll guarantee you've never heard of before. This is the first time I'll be using a riveting biography, which demonstrates all the elements of <b>'Life Cycles Theory</b>'. It describes a full account of <span style="color: #cc0000;">Belzoni</span>'s <b>age 36 'Year of Revolution'</b>, complete with diary dates, showing his unbelievable transformation from a disgruntled circus strongman in England, to becoming a renowned archaeologist in Egypt! His most famous discovery was made during this very year (<b>1815</b>) and if you watch the first 20 minutes of the video (preferably on Full Screen) all will be revealed. I also pay tribute to the wonderful ancient civilization of Egypt and to one of my main supporters, Atef Gad, who is a proud modern day Egyptian.<br />
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This detailed evidence is so accurate it is 'beyond belief'. Just as <span style="color: #cc0000;">Belzon</span>i laboured so long and hard to bring back the bust of <span style="color: #cc0000;">Ramesses II</span>; after bringing all this evidence to light, I too, am entitled to be known as a 'true pioneer' in the world of <b>'New Thought'</b> (which my books are now classified under, along with <b>Philosophy Movements).</b> This is the greatest film account I've seen of the wonders of the <b>age 36 'Year of Revolution' phenomeno</b>n. Others like the movies <b><i>Joy</i></b> and <b><i>One Chance</i></b> show the near miracle of a person succeeding in their chosen field, but with <b><i>The Great Belzoni</i></b> it is not his chosen field, or even what he hoped his new career might be. In short, the thing which defines his whole life was a miracle. Have I got you just a bit curious? That is, if you haven't already watched the video.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgK6sB7BIXsrCHeXV1M6OYWidghRZuW9AFTfYAm47M6LwCiA9aYDHv3TDfP01taGuTXESR45toK8etx-yHdEXk_EEBkaNW6XF6TYngFoOgFQo4-Wuqg6ubud_X_qMso3nJ_30Dw1Okyyxp5/s1600/The+Great+Belzoni+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgK6sB7BIXsrCHeXV1M6OYWidghRZuW9AFTfYAm47M6LwCiA9aYDHv3TDfP01taGuTXESR45toK8etx-yHdEXk_EEBkaNW6XF6TYngFoOgFQo4-Wuqg6ubud_X_qMso3nJ_30Dw1Okyyxp5/s640/The+Great+Belzoni+1.jpg" width="414" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #38761d; font-size: small;"><b><i>Belzoni pictured as a much honoured man in Egypt</i></b></span></td></tr>
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<span style="color: #cc0000;"><b>Giovanni Battista Belzoni</b></span> was <b>born</b> in Padua, Italy <b>5th Nov, 1778</b>, the son of a barber. When he was in his <b>age 19 first adult 'Year of Broken Pathways'</b> he fled to The Netherlands after French Occupation in Italy, where he worked as a barber. His next development came in <b>1803</b>, when he was in his <b>age 24 'Year of Revolution'</b>. To avoid being sent to jail, he fled to England where he met and married an Englishwoman, <span style="color: #cc0000;">Sarah Bane</span>.<span style="color: #cc0000;"> Belzoni</span> was an exceptionally tall and strong man, standing 6' 7" and his wife also had a strong build. They both joined a travelling circus performing feats of strength, such as holding up 8 people (as shown in the video). Interestingly <span style="color: #cc0000;">Belzoni</span> had had a long held interest in hydraulics and engineering and he tried to incorporate this into his act, through the use of a magic lantern show. He used to do designs in his spare time.<br />
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So, because of his enquiring mind, he felt compelled to think of a life beyond the circus big top. After the circus did a tour of Spain, Portugal and Sicily, he decided to visit Malta in early 1815 (which just happened to be in the first part of his <b>age 36 'Year of Revolution' - Nov. 1814 to Nov. 1815)</b>. Here he had a most unlikely meeting with an Egyptian emissary, who was working on land reclamation at the time. <span style="color: #cc0000;">Belzoni</span> showed this man his hydraulics designs and was invited back to Egypt to put these into practice on the Nile River. His invention turned out to be a big success and that should have been the end of this story and the beginning of a new, but related, career as an engineer. However, now we get to the really interesting part. The ruling <span style="color: #cc0000;">Pasha of Egypt</span> did not like the new ideas and as a result <span style="color: #cc0000;">Belzoni</span>'s project was dropped and he suddenly found himself in the unfamiliar city of Cairo without a job.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2bJrbxk1v8yhqZYTUFmtteE6oa7FMPS9_S3FES1dPMUxpw_PxP995ItlxQkjvSNngP3lmtsPCCgxcvjv6yNlTQr1gumeFsRHSeTh1_n9L_ohs3DTDDnW9NTNYwGPy1SDqr-6D5WQuZbJO/s1600/The+Great+Belzoni+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2bJrbxk1v8yhqZYTUFmtteE6oa7FMPS9_S3FES1dPMUxpw_PxP995ItlxQkjvSNngP3lmtsPCCgxcvjv6yNlTQr1gumeFsRHSeTh1_n9L_ohs3DTDDnW9NTNYwGPy1SDqr-6D5WQuZbJO/s1600/The+Great+Belzoni+2.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #38761d; font-size: small;"><b><i>Hauling the bust of Ramesses II</i></b></span></td></tr>
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This was actually his "<b>Moment of Frustration"</b> or setback, of a temporary nature, that I write of constantly in the <b>'Year of Revolution'</b>. It was worse than most, but certainly textbook and the video not only describes it, but gives actual dates in the year 1815. At this point <span style="color: #cc0000;">Belzoni</span> almost certainly would have :- <b><i>"felt like he was at the bottom of a dark chamber and that he'd never get out"</i></b>. This is the exact description I have used in <b>"The Life Cycles Revolution</b>" of how the process works. Then we have an unlikely "<b>Moment of Breakthrough"</b> courtesy of the <span style="color: #cc0000;">British Consul in Egypt, Henry Salt</span>. <span style="color: #cc0000;">Belzoni</span> was introduced to him through an adventurer called <span style="color: #cc0000;">J L Burkhardt. </span>Burkhardt is a phenomenon I refer to as <b>"The Agent Of The Revolution"</b> - otherwise tangential to the subject's life, but does provide the missing link. Salt thought that a man in desperate straits, who had enormous physical capacities; might be willing to risk everything to remove the colossal bust of <span style="color: #cc0000;">Ramesses II </span> from it's location 500 kms. south of Cairo, including dragging it a daunting distance across uncertain terrain to the Nile River, in an area still dominated by the French.<br />
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<span style="color: #cc0000;">Belzoni</span> was such a man. Once again this is a perfect case example and the key moment that changes <span style="color: #cc0000;">Belzoni</span>'s life forever happens in just one day ie.<b>"the one day phenomenon"</b>. You can see how difficult the task was and how he even became temporarily blind through looking at the sun and had to wrangle to get some local tribesmen to help. All the while <span style="color: #cc0000;">Salt</span> sat back in his Cairo office dreaming of being recognized as the man, who brought the wonders of Ancient Egypt to Britain, but that was not how <span style="color: #cc0000;">Belzoni</span> saw it. He was not merely 'the hired muscle', but he was a true pioneer, a discoverer of ancient relics and a fledgling archaeologist. When he finally completed this difficult and dangerous mission, he was hailed a hero by the local Egyptians and couldn't wait to get going on his next expedition. He had finally :- <b><i>"rounded the upward staircase and seen the light and was basking in the sunshine of a glorious day"</i></b>. I know it sounds poetic, but that is the exact description I use and I have many cases to back me up.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzel2j-LL8vfs1FsFABSGP4JIdUmo3DUOgDZTZBVlGXfSjsVMmwpA3Elqx4vWuUUmY8PxN7DhbvnGnF6hZonEY9ITazCGfvqXRcvMJM96TYx0mharc28K98bA0pY3nU-eeORqXM9ZyDb_D/s1600/The+Great+Belzoni+3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzel2j-LL8vfs1FsFABSGP4JIdUmo3DUOgDZTZBVlGXfSjsVMmwpA3Elqx4vWuUUmY8PxN7DhbvnGnF6hZonEY9ITazCGfvqXRcvMJM96TYx0mharc28K98bA0pY3nU-eeORqXM9ZyDb_D/s1600/The+Great+Belzoni+3.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #38761d; font-size: small;"><b><i>Bronze Medal Of Giovanni-Battista Belzoni 1821 - From The British Museum</i></b></span></td></tr>
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<span style="color: #cc0000;">Salt</span> gained recognition for his own archaeological expedition at <span style="color: #e06666;">Giza</span> and <span style="color: #cc0000;">The Sphinx</span>, but it was <span style="color: #cc0000;">Belzoni</span>, who is honoured for his breakthrough work with <span style="color: #cc0000;">Ramesses II</span> and uncovering the entrance to the <span style="color: #cc0000;">Tomb of Seti I</span> (known as <span style="color: #cc0000;">Belzoni's Tomb</span> at <span style="color: #cc0000;">Abu Simbel</span>) and also the first to penetrate the <span style="color: #cc0000;">second tomb of Giza</span>. There is a medal of him in the British Museum and the bust of <span style="color: #cc0000;">Ramesses II</span> is still on display. Yet, in <b>one instant</b> in his fated, <b>age 36 "Year of Revolution'</b>, he went from an out-of-work, would-be hydraulic engineer and circus strongman, to transform into what he is known as :- <b><span style="color: #cc0000;">'Belzoni The Great'</span></b>. I hope you enjoyed this presentation and are in no doubt about the truth and the evidence which I freely give to you. Till the next :- <b><i>"May the cycles always bring you good fortune".</i></b><br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08831219021529377067noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4268570831297640594.post-66292699317398637242016-07-23T12:08:00.000+10:002016-07-24T08:10:05.662+10:00Paradise Lost...........And Found - Life Cycles And Muhammad Ali<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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The whole world knows about the recent death of boxing legend <b>Muhammad Ali</b> and there will be many tributes and obituaries, but since I alone can provide a unique insight into two of his most important years in career terms, this will make it different. What, however, is more remarkable is that these two key years in <b>Life Cycles Theory </b>are the same for everyone. You see I advocate a really simple notion of lives consisting of twelve year symbolic cycles, that begin with an important year I call a <b>Year of Revolution</b>. All I do in literally hundreds and hundreds of cases is see what it means to so many different people.<br />
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OK then, the first two adult <b>Years of Revolution</b> I usually study are the birthday to birthday ages of <b>24</b> and <b>36</b>. Were important new ages/achievements correlated with this? Couldn’t be simpler and I regularly do it for celebrity deaths because it’s a blind test and I surely can’t keep coming up with results………..but I do you know. Check out recent articles on <b><span style="color: red;">Prince, George Martin, Harper Lee, David Bowie, Robin Williams, Umberto Eco, Cilla Black, Ben E. King</span></b> and many more….(hint just search their name with mine for the link).<br />
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In fact, similar to my last post where I featured the incredible <b style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: red;">100% match</span></b> of an objective list of <b><span style="color: red;">The Top 10 Most Influential People Of The 20th Century</span></b>, I am going to list a brief summary of the evidence I have found on the recently departed celebrities. This evidence is equally important, because news on celebrity deaths is something completely outside my control. If you will, I am at the mercy of a randomly generated list. Yet you will see, once again, that I am able to produce an unbelievable <b><span style="color: red;">100% match of these people and Life Cycles evidence</span></b>. So, without further ado, let’s check it out:-<br />
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<span style="background-color: #fce5cd;">1. <b><span style="color: red;"><u>Prince</u></span></b>:- At <b><span style="color: red;">age 24 Year of Revolution</span></b> he has a major breakthrough with the album <b><i><span style="color: red;">1999</span></i></b>, which produces some of his biggest hits and catapults him into <b><span style="color: red;">the pop music ‘big league‘</span></b>. At <b><span style="color: red;">36</span></b>, <b><span style="color: red;">begins split with Warners'</span></b> over not releasing enough of his material. Song <b><i><span style="color: red;">The Most Beautiful Girl In The World</span></i></b> begins this and cements his grand passion with <b><span style="color: red;">Mayte Garcia</span></b>. Unfortunately this also begins an era of lessened influence and personal issues, such as the loss of their child, which wrecks his marriage.</span></blockquote>
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<span style="background-color: #fce5cd;">2. <b><span style="color: red;"><u>Umberto Eco</u></span></b>:- At<b> <span style="color: red;">24</span>,</b> he began his lecturing career and publishes his first book on St.Thomas Aquinas. At <b><span style="color: red;">36</span></b>, he publishes <b><i><span style="color: red;">The Absent Structure</span></i></b> which marked his first entry and milestone in the field of <b><span style="color: red;">Semiotics</span></b> (ie. what he became known for). At <b><span style="color: red;">48</span></b>, he publishes the runaway best seller <b><i><span style="color: red;">The Name Of The Rose</span></i></b>, which gets made as a successful Hollywood movie starring <b><span style="color: red;">Sean Connery</span></b>. He was very much the forerunner of <b><span style="color: red;">Dan Brown</span></b>. This is a staggering match at every major <b><span style="color: red;">Life Cycles Year of Revolution</span></b>!</span></blockquote>
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<span style="background-color: #fce5cd;"><span style="color: red;">3. <b><u>Harper Lee</u></b>:- </span>At <b style="color: red;">24</b><span style="color: red;">, </span>goes to New York at Truman Capote’s urging and<span style="color: red;"> </span><b style="color: red;">begins writing in her spare time</b><span style="color: red;">. </span>At her age<span style="color: red;"> </span><b style="color: red;">31 Year of Broken Pathways</b><span style="color: red;">, </span>she gets a manuscript <b style="color: red;"><i>Go Set A Watchman</i></b><span style="color: red;"> </span>accepted. This will turn into<span style="color: red;"> </span><b style="color: red;"><i>To Kill A Mockingbird</i></b><span style="color: red;"> </span>over the next several years. At <b style="color: red;">36</b><span style="color: red;">,</span> the<span style="color: red;"> </span><b style="color: red;">film</b><span style="color: red;"> </span>of <b style="color: red;"><i>To Kill A Mockingbird</i></b><span style="color: red;"> </span>starring<span style="color: red;"> </span><b style="color: red;">Gregory Peck</b><span style="color: red;"> </span>is released and becomes a huge success, winning an Oscar and being called:-<span style="color: red;"> </span><b style="color: red;"><i>“one of the best films ever made.”</i></b></span></blockquote>
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<span style="background-color: #fce5cd;">4. <b><u><span style="color: red;">Bart Cummings</span></u> </b>(Australian legendary horse trainer and <b><span style="color: red;">winner of 12 Melbourne Cups</span></b>) :- At <b><span style="color: red;">36</span></b>, the horse that made Bart Cumming’s name - <b><span style="color: red;">Light Fingers</span></b> - began her amazing run with <b><span style="color: red;">2 Group One victories</span></b>. She won the Melbourne Cup in the next year, so this is not a perfect correlation, but it’s pretty close.</span></blockquote>
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<span style="background-color: #fce5cd;">5. <b><u><span style="color: red;">Ben E. King</span></u></b> :- At <span style="color: red;"><b>24</b>, <b>leaves the Atlantic label</b></span> under which he had made all his big hits. Begins an era of decreased success. At <b><span style="color: red;">36</span></b>, King (who was reduced to singing in bars and clubs) was <b><span style="color: red;">re-discovered by the head of Atlantic Records</span></b> and revives his career with the song <b><i><span style="color: red;">Supernatural Thing</span></i></b>. At <b><span style="color: red;">48</span></b>, the <b><span style="color: red;">movie <i>Stand By Me</i></span></b> is released and his hit song gets rediscovered all over again.</span></blockquote>
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<span style="background-color: #fce5cd;">6. <b><u><span style="color: red;">Christopher Lee</span></u></b> :- At <b><span style="color: red;">24</span></b>, <b><span style="color: red;">begins acting career by default</span></b> with the Rank organisation. At <b><span style="color: red;">36</span></b>, the movie that makes his name - <b><i><span style="color: red;">Dracula</span></i></b> - is released and <b><span style="color: red;">leads on to a ‘Golden Age’ as a horror actor</span>.</b> At <b><span style="color: red;">48</span></b>, and tired of being typecast, he argues with the studio owner and <b><span style="color: red;">begins doing other movies</span></b>. Once again this is an incredible match like that of Umberto Eco.</span></blockquote>
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<span style="background-color: #fce5cd;">7. <b><u><span style="color: red;">George Martin</span></u></b> :- At<span style="color: red;"> <b>24</b></span>, he began his career with <b><span style="color: red;">Parlophone Records</span></b> working in classical music. At <b><span style="color: red;">31</span></b>, he began to concentrate exclusively on <b><span style="color: red;">comedy records</span></b>. At <b><span style="color: red;">36</span></b>, he reluctantly hires <b><span style="color: red;">The Beatles</span></b> after being petitioned by <span style="color: red;"><b>Brian Epstein</b> </span>(which comes to define his whole life). At <span style="color: red;"><b>43</b>, </span><b><span style="color: red;">The Beatles</span> </b>break up, which ends the era. Again a magical mix of correlations.</span></blockquote>
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<span style="background-color: #fce5cd;">8. <b><u><span style="color: red;">Cilla Black</span></u></b> :- At <b><span style="color: red;">19</span></b>, gets discovered by <b><span style="color: red;">Brian Epstein</span></b> and begins her career with a string of big hits. At <b><span style="color: red;">24</span></b>, begins <b><span style="color: red;">her own TV Show</span></b>, which leads on to a very successful second career as a TV host.</span></blockquote>
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<span style="background-color: #fce5cd;">9. <b><u><span style="color: red;">James Clavell</span></u> </b>:- At <b><span style="color: red;">36</span></b>, begins his career as <b><span style="color: red;">a writer of Asian Stories</span></b> with the release of his best-selling, largely autobiographical novel <b><i><span style="color: red;">King Rat</span></i></b>. In other words <b><span style="color: red;">what he is known for</span></b> (once again).</span></blockquote>
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<span style="background-color: #fce5cd;">10. <b><u><span style="color: red;">Robin Williams</span></u></b> :- At <b><span style="color: red;">24</span></b>, begins career as a stand-up comic after leaving the famous Julliard acting school. At <b><span style="color: red;">31</span></b>, TV hit series <b><i><span style="color: red;">Mork and Mindy</span></i></b> finishes and he <span style="color: red;"><b>begins film career</b> with <b><i>The World According To Garp</i></b>.</span> At <b><span style="color: red;">36</span></b>, his <span style="color: red;"><b>signature breakthrough movie role</b> in <b><i>Good Morning Vietnam</i></b> </span>is released leading to huge success and many awards. This is absolutely <b><span style="color: red;">textbook Life Cycles 101</span></b>.</span></blockquote>
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Doing this exercise brought back quite a few memories for me, as I had forgotten some of these tribute posts. Please note this is a completely <b><span style="color: red;">BLIND TEST</span></b> of the theory, since although I may have heard of these subjects, with their disparate lives, I have no detailed knowledge of their biographies or control about who gets included. I have quite a few more of these analyses, but let’s just say the results are overwhelming in terms of matches with what I have hoped for. <b>Life Cycles</b> is such a thin framework, I am always left with the thought :- <b><i>“Why should it work at all?”</i></b> Instead of that I find it works almost perfectly in these admittedly limited in-depth studies.<br />
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Neither am I saying that all cases will yield such fantastic results and being scientifically-minded I shall examine cases where there is a ‘lack of fit’ in future years, but right now I am busy showing you and the world-at-large just what a miracle I am dealing with.<br />
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But enough of others, you really want to know about <b>Muhammad</b> <i><b>I AM THE GREATEST</b></i> <b>Ali</b> don’t you? I always assume that people know nothing of my work, that’s why I bother to introduce it. Well this story is in two chapters, so let’s begin.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi87vD9_yEuMAvxI8psdUXwLxBSyzuL4Q_jl-7EArH7m8s1M0JKAL8Te72jrNwN0fyRa2gHItVb1BmyiFECZQyvqQ8MAi8y38r1m-1z6ZF3yDg5QmP5i1NPzSn8PeDkqTiygUyy1znKOlme/s1600/Ali+vs.+Liston.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi87vD9_yEuMAvxI8psdUXwLxBSyzuL4Q_jl-7EArH7m8s1M0JKAL8Te72jrNwN0fyRa2gHItVb1BmyiFECZQyvqQ8MAi8y38r1m-1z6ZF3yDg5QmP5i1NPzSn8PeDkqTiygUyy1znKOlme/s1600/Ali+vs.+Liston.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">Ali defeats Liston for the Heavyweight title in 1962</span></td></tr>
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<b><span style="color: red;">CHAPTER ONE - PARADISE LOST</span></b><br />
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There is no doubt that a young 22 year old <b>Muhammad Ali</b> had the world at his feet when he beat a much older <b>Sonny Liston</b> for the <b>World Heavyweight Boxing title</b>. He had climbed to the top of his own personal mountain and declared - "<b><i>I am the greatest!"</i></b> This must have felt like paradise on earth to him then. He had such a future in front of him, to truly make his mark with a long title reign. The last thing that would have been on his mind was the possibility of jail time, combined with losing his boxing licence in every state, along with his passport. Yet, barely nine fights later, that’s what happened when he refused to be inducted into the armed forces.<br />
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When did all this begin? This public denouncement of the <b>Vietnam War</b> on both religious and personal grounds at the early stages of his new era of <i>Boxing Paradise</i>? Ali was <b>born Jan 17th, 1942</b>, so he was in his<b> age 24 Year of Revolution</b> for the year <b>1966</b>. On <b>29th. Mar. 1966</b> he got up at a <b>Press Conference and said publicly he wouldn’t fight in Vietnam</b>, which caused a media and public outcry. His fight with Ernie Terrell in Chicago was cancelled by the <b>Illinois Athletic Commission</b>. He was now on a collision course that would see him one year later, in March 1967, stripped of his title for refusing to be drafted for army service. All commentators agree that his almost four year period of inactivity :- <b><i>“robbed him of some of his best years.”</i></b><br />
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Yes, there are strong grounds for saying that this whole lengthy episode could be called <b>Paradise Lost.</b><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">Ali Refuses The Draft in 1966</span></td></tr>
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<b><span style="color: red;">CHAPTER TWO - PARADISE FOUND</span></b><br />
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There is no doubt it could also be stated that Paradise may have been reclaimed when he eventually regained the Heavyweight Boxing crown a second time by beating <b>George Foreman</b> in <b>Oct. 1974</b>. But things were much different this time around. Ali did not have an easy time of it. <b>Joe Frazier </b>dished out a lot of punishment when he inflicted his <b>first-ever defeat in 1971</b>, in what was called <b><i>the match of the century</i></b>. He was no longer untouchable in the ring and he resorted to a tactic of staying on the ropes to deliberately take punches, known as the ‘rope a dope’ strategy. When he fought <b>Frazier </b>in <b>Manilla in 1975</b> he took so much punishment he called it :- <b><i>“the closest thing to dying that I know”</i></b>.<br />
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Now we are properly poised for events to unfold in the twilight of Ali’s career, when he was in his all-important <b>age 36 Year of Revolution</b>, in the year <b>1978</b>. One of my premises is that <i>‘things usually get worse before they get better’</i> and I study events I call <i>setback</i> or <i>frustration moments</i>. I have also called them <b>Trafalgar Moments</b>, in honor of <b>Napoleon</b>’s ignominious loss to <b>Nelson</b> just before his greatest-ever victory.<br />
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So what was <b>Ali’s Trafalgar Moment</b>? Well, just as he had a whirlwind victory over an ‘older bull’ named <b>Liston</b> many years ago, he now had a close and hard-fought, <b>split decision loss</b> to a new ‘young bull’ named <b>Leon Spinks</b>, who only had seven professional fights to his name. This was in <b>Feb. 1978</b> and at the early part of his age 36 year. It was to be his <b>Trafalgar Moment</b>, his ‘<i>moment of frustration</i>’. It was <b>considered one of the greatest upsets in boxing history</b>.<br />
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Ali was under-prepared for the Feb. fight. He was seriously out of shape, and knew that if he wanted to get his title back he better do some strenuous training. So he punished himself for this date with destiny, rising at four in the morning to run miles down lonely roads in combat boots in the mist of Deer Lake, Pennsylvania. He was preparing all along for what he felt would be a 15-round fight, realizing his punching power had deserted him, realizing, too, Spinks was not going to cave in lightly.<br />
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Ali was always good for a pithy quote, but for him this fight was just going to be pure slog to get the job done. Here’s how he summed it up:- <b><i>“I killed myself to get ready for Spinks. I suffered and sacrificed more than I ever did.”</i></b> He was about to face his moment of destiny on <b>15th Sept. 1978</b> in the <b>New Orleans Superdome</b> in front of 63,500 people, the largest-ever for an indoor boxing match and an estimated US. TV audience of 90 million, as well as being seen in 80 nations. He was <b>a 2 ½ /1 favourite</b>. The dice were loaded. Was it about to be <b>Paradise Regained</b> or retreat to the shadows?<br />
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This time around things were very different from the beginning of the fight. Ali was fully fit and properly trained and he had his winning tactics of jabbing and grabbing perfected. This reduced Spinks’ offence and though, as expected, he went the full fifteen rounds, the match was scored <b>12-3 in Ali’s favour</b>. Yes, this was his night, his time to bask in the warm glow of becoming the <b>first boxer ever to hold the World Heavyweight Title on three separate occasions</b> (although there was some dispute as to whether it was fully sanctioned, as the WBC - one of the main Boxing authorities - didn‘t accept it). None-the-less he had done what no others had ever done and had set the yardstick for anyone else who followed on and wanted to declare themselves <i>‘the greatest of all time’</i>. All commentators at the time agreed this would be the <b>perfect moment in which to announce his retirement</b>. To go out on a high note and enjoy a nominal period as the three-time champion.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">Ali Beats Spinks in 1978 to become the only 3 Time Champion</span></td></tr>
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If ever it was a case of <b>Paradise Found</b> this would have to be it. Even <b>Spinks</b> conceded :- <b><i>“I congratulated Ali. He is still my idol.”</i></b> <b>Ali</b> himself said :- <b><i>“This will be my last fight. I will go down as the first man to win the title three times.”</i></b> However after announcing his retirement he found he had to make a comeback soon after, motivated by a need for money and ended his career with an ignominious <b>loss to Larry Holmes in 1980</b>. So, real life is not a Hollywood script, but this ultimately messy finish cannot rob him of his true moment of glory two years before.<br />
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People today, don’t remember this awful final fight, they remember his glorious reign as the only three-time title holder in the history of his division. They also remember that his career was affected by his decision to refuse the draft and by his controversial outspokenness. But mostly, they remember him as one of the <b>true sporting icons of the 20th. century</b>. A name that transcended the sport of boxing and came to be synonymous with fighting on your own terms, whether that fight is in the ring, or in a civil rights meeting, or finally the carrying on of your public life while suffering the debilitating effects of Parkinson’s disease.<br />
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I hope you enjoyed this more extensive tribute article. You can see the importance in Ali’s life for the major direction-setting events that took place in his two important adult <b>Years of Revolution</b> (ie. <b>24/36</b>). This indeed would form <b><span style="color: red;">a number 11 example</span></b> to the 10 listed so far. In the side column you’ll also see a couple more I have done and the simple fact is :- <b><i>“in every single instance I have studied of celebrity deaths, Life Cycles evidence is present.”</i></b><br />
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Now can you see for yourselves, that if someone else, who wants to see my theory easily debunked, goes out and finds even a similar amount of non-correlating evidence, it can’t take away from this fantastic result. I would say :- <b><i>“So what, you believe you’ve reduced the instance of Life Cycles examples to 50% (and I’m not saying this is easy to do). This is still so far in excess of a rational explanation, that it is completely off the radar.”</i></b> Anyway, as always, stay tuned because I have so much more to tell you. We haven’t gotten past the first few articles in Pandora’s Box. Till the next time :- <b><i>“May the cycles always bring you good fortune.”</i></b><br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08831219021529377067noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4268570831297640594.post-13276640633128119522016-05-19T09:22:00.000+10:002016-05-25T09:21:32.309+10:00THE DAY THAT ALMOST CHANGED THE 20th CENTURY<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><i>Sara, Franklin and Eleanor</i></b></span></td></tr>
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I have now studied quite a few instances of what I call the <b>'one day phenomenon'</b> where a person's life is fundamentally altered by events that happen in one single day of their entire <b>age 36 Year of Revolution</b>. Some of these are standouts in terms of the person's subsequent career (like <b><i>Joy Mangano and the Miracle Mop</i></b>). Some are moments where a person's life hung in the balance and this experience led on to significant change (like author <i><b>Patricia Cornwell's Day Of Crisis</b></i>). Few, however, had the potential to alter the very course of world history. In this regard, the day (and the one moment in that day), that caused <b>Napoleon</b> to win the <b>Battle of Austerlitz</b>, is such a case. In this post we are going to explore this type of example in reverse - namely, that had things turned out differently, the very course of 20th century world history would have changed. Yet it is a deeply personal and private moment. One that only the very famous would see aired in public, such is the price of being a public figure. However this is precisely the reason I study public figures - because it's all there - the moments of glory alongside the dirty linen.<br />
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But before I do, I want to set this analysis in it's true context. You probably don't remember when I wrote about <b><i>Henry Ford - Cars For Everyone</i></b>, I mentioned how this fits into a list of <span style="color: #cc0000;">T</span><b><span style="color: red;">he Top 10 Most Influential People Of The 20th. Century</span></b>. His analysis completed work (most, but not all of which, is published) on 8 out of the ten listed. It left only Franklin Delano Roosevelt and Muhammad Ali Jinnah (the father of modern Pakistan). This current article will now make it 10 profiles out of 10 studied, all with matches to <b>Life Cycles Theory</b>. Some of these matches (viz. Gandhi, Nelson Mandela, Adolf Hitler, Albert Einstein) are so comprehensive as to fit every single <b>Life Cycles significant year</b> in their lives.<br />
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To demonstrate statistical significance I would only have to show the merest fraction of my evidence, because a random or null hypothesis that <b>Life Cycles</b> doesn't exist, would say that in the case of an age 36 correlation (the most basic stat I work with), there should not be even one match for any of the 10 cases (ie. an adult life span, of say, 40 years has a 2.5% chance, ie. 1 chance in 40, of showing dramatic evidence in just one particular year). <b><span style="color: red;">Well how about 10 out of 10 matches for just one year!?</span></b> Even if you considered some of my casework examples on all years a bit subjective, it would still leave <b><span style="color: red;">UNIVERSAL COVERAGE</span> </b>for the age 36 phenomenon. I keep telling you my work is a complete statistical miracle and I defy anyone to check my data for authenticity. Let's now quote this list, so you can see for yourself:-<br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 18.48px;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">10. </span><b style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: red;"><u>Henry Ford</u></span></b><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"> (presented material at ages 12/19/24/31/36. </span><b style="color: #222222;"><i style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #cc0000;">At 36 he leaves Edison and founds his own car company.</span></i></b></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit; line-height: 18.48px;"><span style="color: #222222;">9. </span><b><span style="color: red;"><u>Muhammad Ali Jinnah</u></span></b><span style="color: #222222;"> (preliminary evidence now done, but unpublished). </span><b style="color: #222222;"><i><span style="color: #cc0000;">At 36, he joins the Muslim League and visits London with Gokhale -Indian statesman- to plead reform. He becomes leader of the Muslim League until Pakistan's creation.</span></i></b></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit; line-height: 18.48px;"><span style="color: #222222;">8. </span><b><span style="color: red;"><u>Mao Zedong</u></span></b><span style="color: #222222;"> (analysis done but as yet unpublished). </span><b style="color: #222222;"><i><span style="color: #cc0000;">At 36, survives the Futian Incident where pro-Soviet forces try to overthrow him.</span></i></b></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit; line-height: 18.48px;"><span style="color: #222222;">7. </span><b><span style="color: red;"><u>The Wright Brothers</u></span></b><span style="color: #222222;"><span style="color: #222222;"> (detailed evidence on both brothers at respective ages of 36/31). </span><b><i><span style="color: #cc0000;">When </span></i></b></span><span style="color: #222222;"><i style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="color: #cc0000;">Wilbur was 36 </span><span style="color: #222222;">(</span></i><span style="color: #222222;">and Orville was 31)</span><i style="color: #222222; font-weight: bold;">, </i><i style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="color: #cc0000;">it coincides with the first landmark flight and when Orville was 36, it also coincides with the famous Le Mans flight, which sealed their reputation.</span></i></span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit; line-height: 18.48px;"><span style="color: #222222;">6. </span><b><span style="color: red;"><u>Adolf Hitler</u></span> </b><span style="color: #222222;">(Detailed evidence on every single adult significant year ie.19/24/31/36/43/48/55, but mostly unpublished).</span><b style="color: #222222;"><i> <span style="color: #cc0000;">At 36, publishes Mein Kampf and regains control of the Nazi Party after almost losing it.</span></i></b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; line-height: 18.48px;">5.</span><span style="background-color: white; color: red; line-height: 18.48px;"><u> <b>Winston Churchill</b> </u></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; line-height: 18.48px;">(already featured in </span><a href="http://bookstore.authorhouse.com/Products/SKU-000243008/Life-Cycles.aspx" style="background-color: white; color: #888888; line-height: 18.48px; text-decoration: none;">BOOK ONE</a>). <span style="color: #cc0000;"><b><i>At 36, gets major promotion as First Lord of the Admiralty. Leads on to the development of tanks, naval aviation and switching fuel from coal to oil.</i></b></span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit; line-height: 18.48px;"><span style="color: #222222;">4. </span><b><span style="color: red;"><u>Franklin D. Roosevelt</u></span></b><span style="color: #222222;"> (featured in this article)</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18.48px;"><span style="color: #222222;">3. </span><b><span style="color: red;"><u>Mahatma Gandhi</u></span></b><span style="color: #222222;"> (extensive analysis already featured in </span></span><a href="https://www.web-e-%20%20%20books.com/lifecycles/default.php" style="background-color: white; color: #888888; line-height: 18.48px; text-decoration: none;">THE LIFE CYCLES REVOLUTION</a><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18.48px;"><span style="color: #222222;">. Covers every single significant year in his life). </span><b><i><span style="color: #cc0000;">At 36, first public demonstration of Satyagraha - non-violent protest, enshrined as the birth of the civil rights movement</span></i></b><span style="color: #222222;">. Also a subject of my independent statistical analysis project.</span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18.48px;"><span style="color: #222222;">2. </span><b><span style="color: red;"><u>Nelson Mandela</u></span></b><span style="color: #222222;"> (already featured in this blog and coverage of every single significant year in </span></span><a href="http://bookstore.authorhouse.com/Products/SKU-000243008/Life-Cycles.aspx" style="background-color: white; color: #888888; line-height: 18.48px; text-decoration: none;">LIFE CYCLES</a>). <b><i><span style="color: #cc0000;">At 36, adopts the Freedom Charter at a meeting of 3,000 delegates at Kliptown. Wins reputation as a statesman.</span></i></b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18.48px;"><span style="color: #222222;">1.</span><b> <span style="color: red;"><u>Albert Einstein</u></span></b><span style="color: red;"><u> </u></span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; line-height: 18.48px;">(extensively featured ie. every single significant year - in </span><a href="https://www.web-e-books.com/lifecycles/default.php" style="background-color: white; color: #888888; line-height: 18.48px; text-decoration: none;">THE LIFE CYCLES REVOLUTION</a>).<span style="color: #cc0000;"> <b><i>At 36, publishes the General Theory of Relativity leading on to the new age of Physics<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18.48px;">.</span></i></b></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; line-height: 18.48px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; line-height: 18.48px;">Now that you can appreciate the overall context of this article, I just want to say, that what I found for <b>Franklin Delano Roosevelt's</b> age <b>36 Year of Revolution</b> was the weirdest, most left-field example I have ever studied (and I've studied a few as you know). Not one for the textbook, because when I casually glanced at the twelve months in question, nothing stood out. No landmark events. At first I said to myself :-<b><i> "Well you can't win them all and this one is a loser."</i></b> Franklin had already entered politics and was serving as <b>Assistant Secretary of the Navy</b> under <b>President Woodrow Wilson</b> during the entire time. Some two years later he ran unsuccessfully as Vice Presidential candidate with <b>James M. Cox</b>. One year after that he was stricken by a debilitating polio attack, which cost him the use of his legs.</span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18.48px;"><span style="color: #222222;">So I had to turn the question around (as I sometimes do in these cases) and ask instead :- </span><b style="color: #222222;"><i>"Were there any key events in the year in question, that might not focus on his career life?"</i></b><span style="color: #222222;"> That was when I began an investigation that eventually led me to an article in </span><b style="color: #222222;"><i>USANews</i></b><span style="color: #222222;"> called </span><b><i><span style="color: red;">"FDR's Secret Love. How Roosevelt's lifelong affair might have changed the course of a century."</span></i></b><span style="color: #222222;"> So, you see, the title of this article isn't mine. I borrowed it from </span><b style="color: #222222;">Joseph E. Persico</b><span style="color: #222222;"> who wrote a book called </span><b style="color: #222222;"><i>"Franklin and Lucy. President Roosevelt, Mrs. Rutherford and other remarkable women in his life."</i></b><span style="color: #222222;"> The way I see it there were three main players in this struggle for outright control of Franklin (leaving aside Missy LeHand, his secretary who had a crush on him) and he was 'piggy in the middle', who could never fully satisfy any of them. If it wasn't so tragic, it would be melodramatic. </span></span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; line-height: 18.48px;">For those now either 'on the edge of their seats with anticipation' or muttering to themselves 'get on with it', I'll begin. <b>Franklin Delano Roosevelt</b> was <b>born Jan. 30th, 1882</b> to one of the oldest and most distinguished Dutch families in New York State. In short, he was a blue blood and the strongest influence by far in his upbringing was his domineering mother <b>Sara Delano</b>. It was Sara's father, Warren, who provided the bulk of the family's wealth and the very possessive Sara was on record as saying :- <b><i>"My son Franklin is a Delano, not a Roosevelt at all." </i></b>So in matters to do with marriage and family you can bet your bottom dollar she had plenty to say and what she said went.</span></span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><i>FDR, Eleanor and family in 1919</i></b></span></td></tr>
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<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="line-height: 18.48px;">Now you might have thought that when Franklin announced he intended to marry his fifth cousin once removed, 19 year old <b>Eleanor Roosevelt</b>, it would have got his mother's blessing, but it was the exact opposite. She saw Franklin as too young to marry and for her to potentially lose control to this quiet young girl, who didn't match either her or Franklin's outgoing, exuberant temperament. She made Franklin keep the engagement secret for a year and took him on a Caribbean cruise to take his mind off things. She may have become 'the original mother-in-law from hell' after their marriage in 1905, but she was 'on the money' about mismatching temperaments. Like putting a show-pony, party animal together with a wallflower, relations were always going to become strained. </span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="line-height: 18.48px;">Just to highlight the continued all-embracing influence of Sara; in 1910 when a friend suggested to Franklin that he consider a political career by running for the New York legislature he replied :- <b><i>"Sounds like a good idea. I'll have to discuss it with mother."</i></b> This from a 28 year old married man with, by then, three children. Have you got the picture? Now we are primed to see the entrance of the third and most important member of the trio of principal women in Franklin's life - <b>Lucy Mercer</b> - who took a position as Eleanor's secretary in 1914, but is believed to have begun an affair with Franklin in mid-1916. She was Franklin's one true love, his grand passion. </span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="line-height: 18.48px;">The scene is set, the dye has been cast and we are entering Franklin's most important <b>age 36 Year of Revolution at end Jan.1918</b>. In September of that year Franklin has just returned, ill, from an overseas trip as assistant secretary of the Navy. However, as she was unpacking his suitcase, Eleanor discovered a packet of love letters written to Franklin from Lucy, leaving her in no doubt about the seriousness of their affair. This was crushing to her fragile ego, as she had always perceived herself as :- <b><i>"not attractive enough to hold the charismatic Franklin"</i></b> (something she confessed to her cousin before marriage). Worse than this however was the open deception by Franklin with her trusted employee. His protestations about missing her as he packed her off to Campobello (the family's summer home), while claiming he had to stay behind because of work.</span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; line-height: 18.48px;">To be fair, Franklin was certainly not an idle womaniser. It was stated in Persico's book that he had qualms of conscience and understood the risks to his marriage and career, but when he was in the company of the beautiful Lucy, it all vanished. Just think for a minute about the invasion into the minutest corners of the personal lives of the very famous, that the likes of you and I will never encounter. Anyway, a confrontation was brewing between Franklin and Eleanor and when it came Franklin admitted the strength of his feelings for Lucy and said he wanted to marry her. This was probably the most reckless thing he had ever done in his carefully constructed life. Eleanor offered him a divorce, but asked him to consider the children and really think things over before giving his answer. He later told her he wanted to proceed.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><i><span style="font-size: small;">The alluring Lucy Mercer</span></i></b></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; line-height: 18.48px;">So, was this the moment that could have changed the 20th century? No, it was just the overture before the main performance. The moment of moments came when he had to face mother with the truth. The domineering and all-powerful Sara. What would she have to say? You just knew he had to run it past her before settling anything. On a day (not precisely known), Franklin and Eleanor would have had to walk along a passageway, that interconnected Sara's section of house with theirs (yes, mother was always close by) and sit down in her living room to tell her the news. Eleanor, resignedly, spoke of her desire to give Franklin his freedom. Sara was aghast. I'm going to quote from the article here :-</span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; line-height: 18.48px;"><b><i><span style="color: #333333; font-family: inherit; line-height: 24px;">The idea that her son wanted to divorce Eleanor was the greatest shock she had suffered since 13 years before when he had told her he intended to marry her. It is "all very well for you, Eleanor, to speak of being willing to give Franklin his freedom," she said. But imagine the wagging tongues and shaking heads at Oyster Bay. Adultery could be concealed, even tolerated, but divorce was a calamity. After Cousin Alice Longworth's failed attempt to divorce the chronically faithless Nick Longworth, she noted, "I don't think one can have any idea how horrendous even the idea of divorce was in those days. I remember telling my family in 1912 I wanted one and, although they didn't quite lock me up, they exercised considerable pressure to get me to reconsider." Indeed, no one in either branch of the Roosevelt family had ever been divorced.</span></i></b></span></blockquote>
Sara was too clever to simply say she forbade it. Instead she told Franklin, that if he went ahead, then she would cut him off without a cent. So there it was. Freedom at a very high price or living in a comfortable prison of convention. Suffice to say that this was not what he expected to hear. He was thoroughly used to his lavish lifestyle. If mother cut off her money supply then who would pay for it - the upkeep on the homes, the private school fees, the servant's salaries, the club memberships? He had to admit he was kept on a golden leash. Then there was his political career. He consulted one of his advisers, who told him it would be wrecked by this news. The grounds for divorce in New York State were adultery and the details of the affair, if revealed would spell his political death.<br />
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Then what would he do? He was no businessman, no great shakes at the law. He might even lose his current role, because the Naval Secretary was a puritanical man. In the face of all this gloom and doom Franklin suddenly became practical. The first thing he did was prepare a detailed report for his boss on his trip to Europe. This was sent to President Wilson with a note attached calling it:- <i style="font-weight: bold;">"a clear-headed and illuminating report by the able FDR". </i>Then he went to Lucy and disingenuously claimed Eleanor would not give him a divorce. So now, to save his skin at all levels, he deceived Lucy. What he most probably did not tell her just then, was that Eleanor had made him promise to efface her from his life and also that he could not sleep in the marriage bed again.<br />
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This became the defining moment in his all-important <b>age 36 Year of Revolution.</b> Not a career high point or a major breakthrough, but in terms of his personal life, it defined and shaped his new reality until his death at age 63. It also shaped and defined the lives of Sara, Eleanor and Lucy to the end of their days. Like I said previously, there were no winners in this three way tug-of-war, only a series of unsatisfying compromises. However, in terms of <b>The New Deal</b> and many other initiatives from the record 12 year Presidency of FDR, it spelled outward success. Let's take each woman in turn.<br />
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Firstly Sara, who lived until 1941 (almost as long as Franklin). She had firmly taken Eleanor's side in relation to the affair, but once matters were settled differences began to appear. Sara did not like politics and activism in particular and when Eleanor got involved in this, it soured their relationship. She remained fiercely protective of Franklin, but she must have known deep down, that she had ruined his personal happiness and this was indeed a high price to pay.<br />
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Next to Eleanor, who lived on till 1962, dying at age 78. After banishing Franklin from her bed, but still maintaining her marriage, she came out of her reticent shell. She began to carve out her own identity in public life that gave her a tremendous legacy as a politician, diplomat and activist. She persuaded Franklin not to give up his political career after his debilitating polio attack in 1921, giving speeches and appearing at campaign events in his place. She went on to redefine the role of First Lady, by holding press conferences, writing a syndicated newspaper column and speaking at a national convention. On occasions she even controversially disagreed with her husband's policies. After Franklin's death she went on with her political career and served at the UN and as Head of the JFK's Presidential Commission on the Status of Women. At the time of her death she was regarded as :- <b><i>"one of the most esteemed women in the world".</i></b><br />
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Yes, she had much success on her own, but she could never have the one thing she desired above all else. She still greatly loved Franklin till the end of his days you see. She was stung all over again when she discovered that her daughter Anna, had deceived her by acting as go-between for Franklin and Lucy, particularly towards the end of his life. She and Franklin never did 'kiss and make up' as Hollywood might have written it. She sublimated her disappointments in her career and even though she may have looked like the big winner in the game of life, I'm sure she would not have seen it this way. She did, however, have some other relationships with both women and men (as mentioned in the side column).<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><i><span style="font-size: small;">FRD and Lucy maintained correspondence through the 20's, 30's and early 40's.</span></i></b></td></tr>
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Finally to Lucy. She died early of leukemia in 1948, but immediately after Franklin terminated their relationship in 1918 she married wealthy socialite Winthrop Rutherfurd, a widower in his fifties. In spite of their promises and her marriage, she and Franklin were in surreptitious contact for the next three decades. There are details of their correspondence (see above photo) and Persico thinks that there were coded messages about possible meet-ups. Their passions remained undimmed and after Winthrop died in 1944, they became very close, thanks to the collusion of Franklin's daughter Anna. Franklin died in Lucy's arms. It was a fitting if tragic end for them. We'll never know what would have happened if they simply defied all conventions and got together, but history would have been forever changed. No FDR Presidency, no New Deal, none of FDR's strong military leadership in WWII. The 20th century would have looked very different without FDR at the helm. Till the next time we meet :- <b>"may the cycles always bring you good fortune."</b><br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08831219021529377067noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4268570831297640594.post-55356665763729217982016-03-21T12:24:00.000+11:002016-04-08T06:15:09.472+10:00Breakfast And Lunch At Tiffany's<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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This is the last in my series of posts to do with <b>families and Life Cycles</b>. Where possible I have tried to concentrate on a couple of generations, or other strong family links. As befits the last article, I will be featuring two generations of one famous family - the <b>Tiffany</b>'<b><i>s</i></b>. So therein lies my poetic licence in the title. They are a standout example of all elements of <b>Life Cycles Theory</b>. The genesis of this came from looking at some of <b>Louis Tiffany</b>'s most famous works in <b>Chicago</b> - the magnificent ceiling in the <b>Macy's</b> store (formerly <b>Marshall Field</b>) and the equally famous ceiling in the auditorium of the<b> Cultural Centre</b> (where they hold free classical music concerts every Wednesday). Then, of course, wherever there's a cultural shop (like the <b>Architecture Society</b> shop or the <b>Institute of Art </b>shop), you see photos and books on the iconic <b>Tiffany glass</b>. But that isn't the whole story.......there's the equally famous <b>Tiffany Jewelry</b> shops on which <b>Truman Capote</b> based his novella <i style="font-weight: bold;">Breakfast At Tiffany's (</i>and the title picture shows New York 5th Avenue headquarters). So there's much to cover and I won't be drawing things out.<br />
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Let's begin at the beginning. At first came Tiffany's shop. The father of Louis Tiffany was named <b>Charles Lewis Tiffany</b> and he was <b>born Feb. 15th, 1812</b>. When he had just passed his <b>age 24 Year of Revolution</b> (1836), he began a <b>stationery and gift shop</b> in <b>New York</b> (<b>Sept. 1837</b>), with $1,000 borrowed from his father. This was the beginning of his new age/direction in running his own business, and even though it was not a perfect match, it is fairly close. The first three days brought he and his partner John B. Young only $4.38 in sales, but they gained a reputation over the next several years, when they started selling fine glassware and porcelain as well as cutlery, clocks and jewelry. Now we're at the most important <b>age 36 Year of Revolution </b>(ie. most of the <b>year 1848</b>) and the question is :- "what happened to represent a major breakthrough and life-changing new direction?" How many times do I ask the same basic question and get the same stunning results? But you may be sceptical and of very rational mindset and couldn't be bothered about other cases; it is in this case alone that you want proof.<br />
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OK then, he we go. In the year <b>1848</b> there was much turmoil in <b>France</b> generally and the city of <b>Paris</b> in particular. It was known as the<b> February Revolution,</b> resulting in the overthrow of the <b>Orleans monarchy</b>, and by year's end, the establishment of the <b>French Second Republic</b>. But to Charles Tiffany, who had recently sent a representative to Paris, to buy and import a range of fine giftware, this spelled opportunity. I am quoting from the <b><i>Biographical Dictionary of America Vol. 10</i></b> :-<br />
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<b><i>"In 1848 the firm began the manufacture of gold jewelry. During the panic that followed the disturbances in France in 1848, diamonds declined fifty percent., and Mr. Tiffany invested all the available resources of the firm in the purchase of these gems. They consequently became the largest diamond merchants in the country."</i></b></blockquote>
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So what are <b>Tiffany and Co. </b>known for? Anyone can tell you - they are the worldwide premier dealer in luxury jewelry and design, particularly diamonds. I mean if money is no object for the finest diamond ring, then where do you go? Do I have to spell my evidence out in letters two feet high? The very thing Charles became known for, began in 1848 (not in 1837, when a stationery and gift shop was opened). It was, no doubt, preceded by a moment of frustration, as he had to deal with the day-to-day vagaries of life in the war-torn French capital, as well as putting all his money on the line.<br />
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But what else of significance happened to him in 1848? Not that I would need to, I might add, but let's really grind our rationalist 'you're simply deriving meaning where none exists pals' into the dust, shall we? On <b>Feb. 18th, 1848</b>, his even more famous first son, <b>Louis Comfort Tiffany was born</b>. Now in <b>Life Cycles </b>terms this is about as auspicious as it can get. Not only are father and son <b>Confluent</b> (ie. they share time in every <b>Life Cycles significant year</b>, which according to the theory, would promote empathy and understanding); but it is for almost 12 full months (ie. nearly 100%) - and in the single most important <b>Life Cycles</b> year of <b>36</b>! It is, in my terms, a special and fated relationship and history will bear me out. Well we've just had <b>breakfast at Tiffany's </b>and a more hearty and satisfying meal you could not wish for. Now we're well fuelled up, let's journey onwards.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><i>Louis Comfort Tiffany</i></b></span></td></tr>
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We'll visit the same two years in Louis's life ie. the ages of <b>24</b> (the year <b>1872</b>) and <b>36</b> (the year <b>1884</b>). In lieu of joining the family business, he chose to pursue painting as a career and studied under noted artists Georges Inness and Samuel Colman. Thanks to his father's business he was able to extensively travel in North America, Europe and Africa during 1870-1. In 1872 he produced a painting called <b><i>Snake Charmer At Tangier</i></b> (shown below). It was exhibited at the <b>Centennial Exposition</b> in <b>Philadelphia in 1876</b>. He also began to work with glass in this year and it is significant, because this is what he would become famous for. I'm now going to quote from a book called <b>Art Nouveau</b> by <b>Jean Lahor</b> :-<br />
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<b><i>"Tiffany first became interested in working with glass in 1872, at the age of 24, with the funding and support of his father's business. Although Louis quickly became an expert in the glassmaking field, he continued to sell his picturesque oil and watercolor paintings for the next seven years At the age of thirty-one he started an interior decorating firm with a number of other specialists. (</i>here again we see the unbroken 7 year journey to his age 31 Year of Broken Pathways<i>)...."</i></b></blockquote>
So yet more concrete evidence of a very significant new age opening up in a person's <b>Year of Revolution</b> (this time the age of <b>24</b>). Mind you, he still retained his interest in art (and this year also marks the completion of his first important work), but it will be glass that he is remembered for. It should also be pointed out that the friendship side of <b>Confluence</b> is readily apparent between father and son. Even though he was expected to take over the family business, Charles never pressed this and totally backed his son in all his ventures. Louis began his interior decoration business with some of his father's influential clients. This led on to a high point of receiving a commission to redecorate a section of the <b>White House</b>. His father provided backing for the launching his main business - the <b>Tiffany Glass Company</b> (which came to employ hundreds of staff) and in 1885 Louis came to help design as well as occupy the top two floors of his father's multifamily dwelling on Madison Avenue.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><i>Snake Charmer At Tangier by Louis Tiffany</i></b></span></td></tr>
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But I've digressed a little and we'll now backtrack to <b>1884 </b>(the year in which he was in his <b>age 36 Year of Revolution</b>) and ask again :- "what significant new age/direction opened up for him in this year (if indeed any could be found)?" In this year Tiffany dissolved a partnership he had had with a group known as <b>Associated American Artists,</b> over business differences. He then decided to form his own glass factory in Corona, New York, determined to provide the designs that improved the quality of contemporary glass. His leadership and talent together with his father's backing saw the business, known as the <b>Tiffany Glass Company </b>(opened in 1885), thrive and secure a very prominent and unique place in the <b>Art Noveau</b> world.<br />
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So there it is again, the genesis of the thing that Louis became known for, began in his <b>age 36 Year of Revolution</b>. Also, it should be pointed out that his first wife, <b>Mary Goddard</b> (whom he <b>married at 24</b>) <b>died in 1884</b>, leaving Louis very distressed for some time. Here is the <b>period of frustration,</b> preceding the breakthrough, that I constantly write about. It should also be noted that it was his father Charles (his best friend and confidant), who was most concerned about his welfare at this time and sought to have him design and live in his own new sprawling residence (shown below). This is as clear a case of <b>Confluence in families</b> as I have ever found.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgr9ifFwv7nSkQ-Vd-mRLjwu72qHqE2jSnzAUJria7Qv7TQZYgCyu-hzdUwG1C9PHaQGiXVN6GfGbkeH9HGNWtGWGtcwpICRkS2FpLLGSqtjbGuk6bNRlNhyphenhyphen9SPA46CBXLschFpxdxFpCkU/s1600/Tiffany+House.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgr9ifFwv7nSkQ-Vd-mRLjwu72qHqE2jSnzAUJria7Qv7TQZYgCyu-hzdUwG1C9PHaQGiXVN6GfGbkeH9HGNWtGWGtcwpICRkS2FpLLGSqtjbGuk6bNRlNhyphenhyphen9SPA46CBXLschFpxdxFpCkU/s640/Tiffany+House.jpg" width="532" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><i>The Tiffany Mansion At 72nd and Madison</i></b></span></td></tr>
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We have now completed our lunch at Tiffany's Glass Company and again found the fare full of flavour and richness. But I sense what you'd really like to see is just some of the many things Louis Tiffany is famous for - his wonderful <b>stained glass</b> windows, his well-known <b>Tiffany lamps, </b>his fabulous <b>mosaic ceilings</b> and indeed all his glass, enamel and pottery works; as well as his use of hand-blown glass (known as <b>Favrile Glass</b>). Those are in the side column, but I guess you've already looked at the pictures first.<br />
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This brings to a close the current 12 month cycle of posts. Though I keep reminding you, you probably wouldn't remember that this blog traces the shape of the 12 year symbolic journey we all undertake in our lives. Each year has a theme and the next one due soon is the one which corresponds to my second significant year ie. the <b>Year of Broken Pathways</b>. This is the culmination of the <b>unbroken 7 year journey</b> from the <b>Year of Revolution </b>of the <b>blog</b> (ie. its <b>birth in April, 2009</b>) to it's eighth year beginning <b>April 2016</b>. What should you expect? Well you'll have to wait and see, but I can promise you will see changes in the nature of the posts. Not straight away, but gradually over the course of the next 12 months, you'll come to a realisation that our pathway has altered and we can never return to where we have been. Till then :- <b><i>"may the cycles always bring you good fortune".</i></b><br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08831219021529377067noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4268570831297640594.post-29736604181945967702016-01-17T18:10:00.002+11:002016-01-23T10:49:09.399+11:00The Ugly Truth Behind The Self Development Industry<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgXjpGQBRRhCVZ8YA7vpWWn2K-rh8ge9l9AtTKc2QGTLi32Pj1WIURsA8YOedLzutJ0s6pLGvX4-0hB6QI5asfEXPpS7iTwumtSdUy_HyEuzttS-IouPNnNvvD1Ts7AtOaDfDTwlo5EcRK/s1600/Seminar+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="223" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgXjpGQBRRhCVZ8YA7vpWWn2K-rh8ge9l9AtTKc2QGTLi32Pj1WIURsA8YOedLzutJ0s6pLGvX4-0hB6QI5asfEXPpS7iTwumtSdUy_HyEuzttS-IouPNnNvvD1Ts7AtOaDfDTwlo5EcRK/s400/Seminar+1.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><i><span style="font-size: small;">It's Not All Just Hype And Excitement</span></i></b></td></tr>
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<b> REMEMBER IT'S NOT SELF DEVELOPMENT IF YOU'VE GOT TO PAY SOMEONE ELSE</b> <br />
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<b>Justin </b>(not his real name) bounced into my office one Monday morning with a completely changed appearance. Gone was the rather scruffy-looking and inconspicuous former manager from the Defence Department and in his place stood Sydney’s answer to <b>Gordon Gekko</b>. He sported a sharp suit and pin-stripe business shirt, shiny new leather brief case, topped off with a pair of eye-popping red braces.<br />
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He appeared a changed man too. No longer unsure about his next position or indeed if he would get one, he was imbued with a dauntless zeal to open his own management consulting business and call it <b>‘Pygmalion Enterprises’</b> with the banner phrase <b><i>‘We do anything for money’</i></b>. He eagerly showed me how he had spent a sleepless night filling an exercise book with ideas and illustrations and then announced he was going to take out display advertising in the business classified section of the phone book in every state in the country. I became aghast at this point. Just what the hell was going on I said to myself.<br />
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What indeed? Why had he suddenly acquired this massive ego trip? Did he have a bi-polar personality disorder? Unlikely, as he had no former episodes of this nature. Then we got to the answer :- “He’d just attended an <b>NLP</b> (that’s <b>‘Neuro-Linguistic Programming’</b> to the uninitiated) weekend seminar.” This totally discredited Self Development movement (which co-incidentally is the basis of <b>Tony Robbins</b>’ doctrines) is designed to imbue participants with almost boundless self worth and a sense they can 'conquer the world'. And here was my very own brush with what it can do.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0gIUEn1JO8OfN9Cj3FYwxk3JegQXk6B47rY9Djz1rcqTqXrke1vJkaHgiQ-S4QcJZ633cU_tpxyr5Mv833yK3_m-xRoxl5Rg9NvMfXX-wTUEx0P0wKL1SUGQx-VZyDxm5G613MwZDfQvg/s1600/Seminar+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="222" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0gIUEn1JO8OfN9Cj3FYwxk3JegQXk6B47rY9Djz1rcqTqXrke1vJkaHgiQ-S4QcJZ633cU_tpxyr5Mv833yK3_m-xRoxl5Rg9NvMfXX-wTUEx0P0wKL1SUGQx-VZyDxm5G613MwZDfQvg/s400/Seminar+2.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><i><span style="font-size: small;">Poor Old Justin Thought He Was Gordon Gekko</span></i></b></td></tr>
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So, what do you think happened to poor old Justin? Did he indeed launch a successful national management consulting practice based on nothing more than running an ad in the phone book?…….Unfortunately not. He stopped coming to my outplacement counselling sessions, but was seen by a fellow participant wandering about a local shopping mall during the day, looking more dishevelled than ever. You see, not only was he depressed and unemployed, but he had commuted his guaranteed lifetime pension as a lump sum and had spent a reasonable amount of it on this failed venture. Just another victim of the <b>$10 billion a year </b>(in the US alone) <b>Self Development industry</b>.<br />
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Want more of this reality check material? Try these :-<br />
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<ol style="text-align: left;">
<li><b>Rebekah Lawrence</b>, after attending the<b> Turning Point</b> seminar, has a <b>"psychotic episode”</b> and <b>kills herself</b> though she had no history of mental illness;</li>
<li><b>Lesley Grogan</b> adopts the training of <b>Marianne Williamson</b> (<b><i>"A Return to Love"</i></b>) and becomes so confused about her identity that she uproots her life and <b>abandons her family</b>;</li>
<li><b>Michael Scinto</b> attends the <b>ManKind Project</b>'s <b><i>New Warrior Training Adventure</i></b> and becomes so appalled by the sexualized peer pressure and psychological abuse that he <b>kills himself.</b></li>
<li>This is not to mention the <b>three people</b> who <b>died</b> and the <b>20+</b> people who were <b>injured</b> in <b>James Ray</b>’s <b><i>Sedona sweat lodge</i></b> and many, many others.</li>
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<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-iPw4qlHqSbbCLze-ODoOmJzFY-ZnUYVSiEYf7Vz1OtiYmgfMFodIQcroVkb6uE_AmeYh3eL_RIXeD-hV2hpnDOEcNomHBFUenk_9m-9QgRDY2TMS2vpFhzdvlsEad_jfjg-lJcQkkYy0/s1600/Seminar+3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-iPw4qlHqSbbCLze-ODoOmJzFY-ZnUYVSiEYf7Vz1OtiYmgfMFodIQcroVkb6uE_AmeYh3eL_RIXeD-hV2hpnDOEcNomHBFUenk_9m-9QgRDY2TMS2vpFhzdvlsEad_jfjg-lJcQkkYy0/s400/Seminar+3.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption"><b><i><span style="font-size: small;">The Three People Killed In The 2009 Sedona Sweat Lodge Incident</span></i></b></td></tr>
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Getting the message? Just Google <b><i><self development is dangerous></i></b> if you don’t. It’s chock full of misery stories. These hyped-up large group presentations, in prices ranging from $500-00 one day workshops to Robbin’s $5995-00 <b>Date With Destiny</b> seminar, might have some satisfied customers (after all, if you pays your money you’ve got to feel it was worth it), but it has way more potential for personal harm or just a general lack of satisfaction with your own life (which is only alleviated by buying into the next book/tape/seminar). If you don’t believe me try reading <b><i>SHAM </i></b>(stands for Self Help and Actualisation Movement) : <b><i>How The Self Help Movement Made America Helpless by Steve Salerno Crown Publishing Group, 2005.</i></b> He should know, he was a former insider - a self-help book editor.<br />
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He says :- <b><i>“Extensive market surveys revealed that the most likely customer for a book on any given self help topic was someone who had bought a similar book within the preceding eighteen months.” </i></b> The irony of ‘the eighteen-month rule’ for this genre, Salerno says, is this: <b><i>"If what we sold worked, one would expect lives to improve. One would not expect people to need further help from us--at least not in that same problem area, and certainly not time and time again."</i></b><br />
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Now let’s visit the murky world that underpins the self help movement. Let’s go to the fancy and very scientific sounding term - <b>‘Neuro-Linguistic Programming’</b>. This was created by <b>Richard Bandler</b> and <b>John Grinder </b>in California in the 1970’s. It claims a connection between neurological processes (<b><i>‘neuro’</i></b>), language (<b><i>‘linguistic‘</i></b>) and learned behavioural patterns (ie. learned by <b><i>‘programming’</i></b>). In other words if you can “model” the skills of exceptional people, then they can be learned by anyone (ie. as long as you learn it by attending one of their fee-paying seminars). Not only that, but you can use it to treat phobias, depression, allergies, the common cold etc. etc. Oh yes, I almost forgot the truth in a wave of faux-enthusiasm - it is also<b> rejected as a failed pseudo-science</b>, that contains <b>numerous factual errors</b> and <b>doesn’t support the results</b> asserted by Bandler and Grinder.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSyDVfzY_oI6oPGNdOdeN_pN8AyEy2_SHI8m1xsU_pqVMecY6OL4cpdfVpPw8EA3mofxzNc13y84fDTmaNMivmTs5epM-rGsy_SstVuiu7RcPnKvpfE_OFYwVzZJemOxQnsrTSlZ1UlKHM/s1600/Seminar+4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSyDVfzY_oI6oPGNdOdeN_pN8AyEy2_SHI8m1xsU_pqVMecY6OL4cpdfVpPw8EA3mofxzNc13y84fDTmaNMivmTs5epM-rGsy_SstVuiu7RcPnKvpfE_OFYwVzZJemOxQnsrTSlZ1UlKHM/s400/Seminar+4.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><i><span style="font-size: small;">Neuro-Linguistic Programming Certainly Sounds Scientific</span></i></b></td></tr>
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Bandler and Grinder openly boast of being unqualified in a science discipline, although they do hold psychology degrees (saying that this is, in fact, beneficial). They proceed to pinch ideas from many prominent academics (like the well-known linguist <b>Noam Chomsky</b>) and misapply it to their own ends. See articles such as <b><i>‘Not-so Linguistic Programming’</i></b> by <b>Karen Stollznow</b>. Tony Robbins trained under John Grinder and began his career as a teacher of NLP. In his book <b><i>Unlimited Power 1986,</i></b> he asserts that by using NLP :-<b><i> “anyone can become successful at almost anything.”</i></b> Look the stark reality is that the whole industry is based on little more than failed pseudo-science and quackery.<br />
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This isn’t just me asserting this. Try this :-<b><i> “ A systematic review of experimental studies by Sturt et al (2012) concluded that "<u>there is little evidence that NLP interventions improve health-related outcomes.</u>"</i></b> In his review of NLP, Stephen Briers writes, <b><i>"NLP is not really a cohesive therapy but <u>a ragbag of different techniques </u>without a particularly clear theoretical basis...[and its]<u> evidence base is virtually non-existent.</u>"</i></b> Eisner writes, <b><i>"NLP appears to be a <u>superficial and gimmicky</u> approach to dealing with mental health problems. Unfortunately, NLP appears to be the first in a long line of mass marketing seminars that purport to virtually cure any mental disorder...it appears that <u>NLP has no empirical or scientific support</u> as to the underlying tenets of its theory or clinical effectiveness. What remains <u>is a mass-marketed serving of psychobabble</u></i></b> (you know, in other words ‘rubbish‘)." I mean how can these dudes lie straight in bed at night? Unfortunately I imagine that they sleep very soundly on their expensive bedding in the surrounds of their luxury homes….<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisPBLxVEo-FLGxOZB_wMkQtOKNF8OJQl_O_nF0a7nefKPOUZpW2W6Ja9lYb6lk13cV_husqzW_qvvsuXo7pcjPj49mesnaTCixlB6YSfuvf1Ir6C8ai7aX-7DBZQG46niNQSE4KZzoxN3n/s1600/Seminar+5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisPBLxVEo-FLGxOZB_wMkQtOKNF8OJQl_O_nF0a7nefKPOUZpW2W6Ja9lYb6lk13cV_husqzW_qvvsuXo7pcjPj49mesnaTCixlB6YSfuvf1Ir6C8ai7aX-7DBZQG46niNQSE4KZzoxN3n/s1600/Seminar+5.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><i><span style="font-size: small;">"Anyone can become successful at almost anything" !? Oh yeah? Many will beg to differ.</span></i></b></td></tr>
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This brings me to own story about the <b>Self Development book industry</b>. When I completed my first book <b><i>Life Cycles (2008)</i></b>, I naively thought it best belonged in the Self Development category. I spoke with an agent, who had been associated with <b><i>The Secret</i></b> (then a best seller) and sent her several chapters. She said it was interesting, but wasn’t presented like a typical Self Development book ie. no exercises at the end of the chapters and no specific advice on how to improve your life. I took this feedback seriously and even included a chapter in <b><i>The Life Cycles Revolution</i></b> on the <b>“10 Ways To Use Life Cycles In Your Life”</b>. I had my book read by one of the major international publishing houses (through a networking contact, they usually don’t let this happen). I was told my book was fascinating and well written, but that they wouldn’t publish it, because it wasn’t ‘Self Help’ enough. I now wear these rejections as a badge of honour. The simple truth is they’re right <b>Life Cycles is NOT like Self Help.</b><br />
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You want to know why? Well it’s because I don’t offer any panaceas for people’s lives. The sad truth is <b>change is difficult - very difficult </b>- in whatever sphere of activity you look at and the more water under the bridge of life (so to speak), then the harder it may be to effect real change. Why do I make this seemingly dismal assessment (after all the news is full of stories of momentous deeds and successful decisions to change one habits)? It’s because I study whole lives (often just after people have died) and what do I find consistently? I find the patterns of a lifetime are well ingrained in most cases. Not always, I grant you, and that certainly means you should try and swim upstream if you can. But it’s not easy.<br />
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The second and even more powerful reason, that Life Cycles has nothing to do with the Self Development industry, is money. The Self Development industry focuses to a large extent on promising you a better life and that usually means getting richer. To do this you have to pay them rather exorbitant amounts of money to buy their books/tapes/seminars etc. Participants should really question just who is getting richer; them or the demagogues who lead them. Just Google <<b><i>Tony Robbins Sued Over Franchise Fees</i></b>> to get the real picture. Why the big boys even sue each other :- try <<b><i>“Robbins Sued For $2 Million By NLP Inventors Bandler and Grinder Over Ownership”</i></b>>. It’s avaricious and unseemly at the top isn’t it?<br />
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I give my research to a small web audience freely and I occasionally do live presentations, but I’m not in this to suddenly become rich. You see the value of what I have uncovered is not just measured in commercial terms. I keep doing what I do every day, because I acknowledge getting any new idea/philosophy understood is difficult - very difficult. It will take time, patience, diligence and a willingness to tolerate ambiguity (ie. as I encounter an indifferent response I learn to ignore it). Still I have a very long term perspective and part of the process is showing how easy it is to be blinded by false advertising and slick marketing campaigns, that seek to demand your attention.<br />
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Do yourselves a BIG favour - <b>DON’T SUPPORT THE SELF HELP INDUSTRY!</b> Don’t buy the books and listen to the tapes and pay way too much to attend the expensive seminars. Instead as you wake up each day, make a promise to yourself that whatever it is you seek to do in life, you will do some activity towards it this very day. Only you and you alone can set this in motion. This folks is <b>real SELF DEVELOPMENT and it’s FREE. </b><br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08831219021529377067noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4268570831297640594.post-2721223151185600002015-12-05T09:27:00.003+11:002015-12-07T08:05:06.445+11:00When Dick Became Tricky - The Life Cycles Of Richard Milhous Nixon - Part 1<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4ful6efzZeRuATlf5ln8FY3B8SYnGmRW8Ea7boHdn3ji6dermF123z_WwQLJDCVfqyrK03v1TGOZvUDlStmjrpp-4XBbM8M-sFM3Bvg6KF-BjLaI70u8nEaDuhEEK0g_6oGOozxUqMbbE/s1600/picture-Richard-Nixon.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4ful6efzZeRuATlf5ln8FY3B8SYnGmRW8Ea7boHdn3ji6dermF123z_WwQLJDCVfqyrK03v1TGOZvUDlStmjrpp-4XBbM8M-sFM3Bvg6KF-BjLaI70u8nEaDuhEEK0g_6oGOozxUqMbbE/s400/picture-Richard-Nixon.jpg" width="368" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b><i>How Nixon Earned His Nickname</i></b></span></td></tr>
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This is a kind of warm-up linked post considering next year's election. It also happens to feature just about the most controversial President in US history. The <b>only President to resign</b> while in office. The man whose pursuit of power ultimately destroyed him. But we won't be going to <b>Watergate</b> just yet. You see there's a fair bit of his earlier story, which will help fill you in on this complex character. We'll just touch on some highlights and of course that's my cue to say we'll be having a look at his<b> Life Cycles significant years </b>(ie. <b>24/31/36/43</b> etc.). They'll tell you just about all you'll need to know, as they seem to do time after time after time. That's why I call what I do :-<b> Psycho-Biography With a Twist</b><br />
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<b>Richard Milhous Nixon</b> was <b>born 9th Jan. 1913</b> and despite coming from a poor family managed to succeed through hard work. He was noted as a strong debater even at school. We'll begin by going to his first adult <b>age 24 Year of Revolution (Jan 1937-Jan 1938)</b>. In June he graduated with a Law degree from <b>Duke University</b>. He wanted to join the<b> FBI</b>, but received no response and so joined a law firm near his family home in Whttier, California. Years later he was told he had, in fact, been hired by the FBI, but the appointment was cancelled soon after due to budget cuts. So Nixon showed his determination to be successful and established his adult career identity as a lawyer. Something else happened to him in <u>early Jan. 1938</u>, that was to alter the course of his life. He met his future wife (and first lady) <b>Pat</b> at an amateur theatrical group and he described it as :-<b><i> "a case of love at first sight".</i></b><br />
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Let's now wind the clock <b>forward for 7 years</b> (as we always do with <b>Life Cycles</b>) and ask what events in the year <b>Jan. 1945 to Jan. 1946</b> (ie. his <b>age 31 Year of Broken Pathways</b> according to <b>Life Cycles theory</b>) happened to alter his direction and present him with a new and challenging environment? It's the same question for everyone each time. How easy is that? No messing around with complex charts, or peering into a crystal ball or studying a detailed biography. That my system works at all is a complete mystery to me. OK, here we are and of course this time (somewhat conveniently) coincides with the end of WWII. Nixon had served in the Navy reaching the rank of Lieutenant Commander and received a commendation for duty (although he saw no actual combat). In Jan. 1945 he got transferred to the Bureau of Aeronautics Office in Philadelphia and helped negotiate termination of war contracts.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgovPT3Vbt82y9d1SRFdmt8G4Ez4XmDgrz_1yayg0lrpvsht-58NYVz2XuhpM0NeIN9oq-aL5eYY637wX_wuIfg7AxP1-rFXSDMsnVMOc58217I7_OkrXZOB4awbddTnwKgzE4XbSr3D5BC/s1600/1946_Nixon_Campaign_Flyer.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="319" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgovPT3Vbt82y9d1SRFdmt8G4Ez4XmDgrz_1yayg0lrpvsht-58NYVz2XuhpM0NeIN9oq-aL5eYY637wX_wuIfg7AxP1-rFXSDMsnVMOc58217I7_OkrXZOB4awbddTnwKgzE4XbSr3D5BC/s400/1946_Nixon_Campaign_Flyer.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><i><span style="font-size: large;">The 1946 Campaign Flyer For Nixon</span></i></b></td></tr>
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However, at the same time, back in Whittier, Republicans from California's 12th congressional district were seeking a consensus candidate to run against Democratic Congressman <b>Jerry Voorhis</b>. After failure to attract a high-profile person, local Bank Manager Herman Perry suggested Nixon (a family friend). Can you see the element of fate/destiny at work here? When Nixon heard this news he accepted straight away and on <u>Jan 1st. 1946</u>, he began a year of intensive campaigning. Was this a challenge and uphill struggle? You betcha! So, what did young Richard Nixon do? He attacked his opponent. He contended Voorhis had been ineffective as a Congressman and (more importantly) that he had endorsed a group linked to Communists (which meant he must also have radical views). This was actually not correct, as Voorhis was a staunch anti-communist and once voted by the press corps as "the most honest congressman'- but the mud stuck. Nixon won the election and this set in train a legacy of 'winning at any cost'. Not yet labelled "Tricky", but well on his way.<br />
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Nixon's main collaborator was Senator<b> Joseph McCarthy</b>, as both men seized on anti-communist attacks and investigations, being both a national duty and a way to enhance their own political careers. Nixon became a prime mover in the well-known <b>House Un-American Activities Committee, </b>which was established in 1945. Let's now go to his central and often life and career-defining <b>age 36 Year of Revolution (Jan.1949-Jan.1950)</b>. Did this universal formula work for him? This period saw the culmination of the anti-communist trial of <b>Alger Hiss</b> for the serious charge of <b>espionage </b>(reduced to perjury because the statute of limitations period had run out).<br />
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You've probably never heard of this guy, but he's the guy who most helped to make the names and careers of Nixon and McCarthy. Mind you he wasn't your typical shadowy spy. He was a well educated and highly connected government official from an old American family. He was a member of the US delegation at the historic <b>Yalta Conference</b> (where the US/UK/USSR discussed the division of Europe) and a personal friend of Secretary of State<b> Dean Acheson</b>. He denied the charges till his death many years later, in spite of being found guilty <u>in Jan. 1950</u> and spending several years in prison. It was Nixon who led the investigation in 1948, even though the House Un-American Activities Committee was under fire from both Democrat <b>President Harry Truman</b> and the press for investigating so eminent a man. It was Nixon who eventually saw him face two trials for perjury in 1949 (the first had a hung jury). Please see the side column for fascinating details of this very high-profile case and yet more evidence of how it fits with <b>Life Cycles Theory</b>.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><i><span style="font-size: large;">Nixon With The Hiss Headline</span></i></b></td></tr>
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So here you have the central defining <b>age 36 Year of Revolution</b> for Nixon producing national publicity and providing him with the springboard to move to the <b>Senate</b> in 1950. This was seen as a major victory by the Republicans and very important in reviving their hopes of a comeback at the 1952 elections. It also helped to make Joseph McCarthy virtually untouchable. The story, however, does not end here. It really begins. It was stated that in 1949 (when he was 36) Nixon began to consider running for the Senate against Democrat <b>Sheridan Downey </b>and entered the race in Nov. 1949. His opponent, however, wasn't to be Downey, he was beaten in the primaries by <b>Helen Gahagan Douglas </b>in Mar.1950. As part of a no-holds-barred type campaign Nixon distributed a <b>"Pink Sheet"</b> suggesting she voted the same and therefore must hold the same views as a New York congressman -<b>Vito Marcantonio -</b> believed by many to be a communist. Nixon won by 20 percentage points, but during the campaign he began to be called <b>"Tricky Dick" </b>by his opponents. They'd woken up to him a little late you see.<br />
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Wasn't he doing more or less exactly what worked for him back when he entered political life at 31 with Voorhis? What had also worked for him spectacularly well with the Alger Hiss trial? Gain as much traction as you can with an anti-communist slur, regardless of whether it's true. It was a fearful time in world history and just perfect for those who could ruthlessly exploit it. And Richard Nixon was ruthless. <b>Gahagan Douglas </b>developed a life-long dislike (probably putting it mildly) for Nixon as a result of her ignominious defeat. She was <b>born 25th Nov. 1900</b> so she was strongly (almost <b>11/12 months</b>) <b>Confluent</b> with Nixon. This is a modern day re-run of the <b>Hannibal Barca/Scipio Africanus</b> saga. They were each others worst nightmares.<br />
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Douglas, a former actress turned politician, was warned not to contest Downey's seat and split the party vote. When Downey withdrew he endorsed Nixon, along with congressman <b>John F. Kenned</b>y (can you believe this!). Downey's preferred replacement, <b>Manchester Boddy</b> (owner of the <b>Los Angeles Daily News)</b>, called her <b><i>"the pink lady"</i></b> and that she was <b><i>"pink right down to her underwear"</i></b>. Nixon only had to latch onto this rhetoric. It was all handed to him on a plate wasn't it? At 36, he became a right-wing hero with the Hiss trial and then his path to the Senate and the <b>Vice-Presidency</b> two years later followed naturally. Like so many other cases I study his age <b>36 Year of Revolution</b> was indeed<b><i> "the ushering in of his Golden Age."</i></b> Douglas left politics, but campaigned for Kennedy in the 1960 election and for McGovern in 1972 and spoke out during Watergate. She would, no doubt, have cheered when Nixon finally quit as President.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtQRIZ6P1S7BHzej0DnbiapT_6_sLJrtqMCKdok0SzdQq7oVpbAWoapVKM5Zp1bEC0jaTKDhgcaxcuiuEeU5Z5_Quo2BcWZSdIjaCVWsYT9KFk8zSLZgSY6lTW18wrPDHbzXDmeeUV3YDh/s1600/Nixon+1956.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtQRIZ6P1S7BHzej0DnbiapT_6_sLJrtqMCKdok0SzdQq7oVpbAWoapVKM5Zp1bEC0jaTKDhgcaxcuiuEeU5Z5_Quo2BcWZSdIjaCVWsYT9KFk8zSLZgSY6lTW18wrPDHbzXDmeeUV3YDh/s400/Nixon+1956.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><i><span style="font-size: large;">The Election Sticker For 1956</span></i></b></td></tr>
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We're finally going to explore what happened next to 'Tricky' Dick after his journey of seven years of forward momentum on to his <b>age 43 Year of Broken Pathways (Jan. 1956-Jan. 1957)</b>. <b>Life Cycles theory</b> is simply mathematical in nature and so simple a child could grasp it. Of course, much did happen to now Vice President Nixon in these busy years, and I am being deliberately selective, but the real question is and remains :- <b><i>"Did the 'so-called' Year of Broken Pathways contain any measurable changes to Nixon's career?"</i></b> In other words - what did happen? This period marks a pivotal time in Nixon's ultimate quest for the presidency - the question of <b>President Dwight David 'Ike' Eisenhower</b>'s health, which would determine whether he ran for a second term at the 1956 elections. He had already suffered a massive heart attack in Sept. 1955 and not returned to office until Nov. There was much speculation at the time of who would get the Republican nomination and many names were put forward (including Eisenhower's brother Milton). Nixon, of course, was one, but he was seen as a polarising figure and disliked even by some sections of the GOP.<br />
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On 8th Jan. 1956 (so when Nixon was 43) Eisenhower held a press conference and White House correspondents said by a 5-1 margin he would not run. However, after a positive medical test in Feb., he said in early Mar. that he would run. Then his health problems continued and in June he suffered from a blocked intestine and had to undergo major surgery. Once again, at least half a dozen replacements were nominated (including Nixon). Once again, he recovered and decided to run. This time, however, was different for 'Tricky' Dick. There was a serious move made against Nixon as a running mate, because it was felt he was too controversial, too divisive. Another candidate was put forward and they thought even Ike would support a dump-Nixon move, because he had suggested to Nixon, that he consider a cabinet position, as this would be a better launching pad for a 1960 presidential candidacy.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTciPfywtsTO5q9lU0pmhgqvY2APHq9-KVuTSep6DFktX7f7PaoBm9gtRSSWZAg6mTk-wH9_C5Sgs8fWc1VL47qrCcUMK_-4vJJz3DXGy3IurrGOvmjYNAV1f9UP_vFPDlvY9QriN4r-9Z/s1600/Nixon+1956+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="307" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTciPfywtsTO5q9lU0pmhgqvY2APHq9-KVuTSep6DFktX7f7PaoBm9gtRSSWZAg6mTk-wH9_C5Sgs8fWc1VL47qrCcUMK_-4vJJz3DXGy3IurrGOvmjYNAV1f9UP_vFPDlvY9QriN4r-9Z/s400/Nixon+1956+2.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><i><span style="font-size: large;">Ike and Nixon Re-Elected</span></i></b></td></tr>
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Nixon was furious at this and would have none of it. He thought it would mean the end of his political career. He prevailed at the time and in the end even the replacement candidate, Christian Herter, ended up nominating Nixon for the vice presidency. This major hiccup caused Nixon to reflect and to alter his style to a smoother, more unctuous and careful approach. For instance, he stopped criticising foreign aid and became a card carrying member of the <b>National Association for the Advancement of Colored People</b>. His inner ruthless ambition for power was undimmed, but he learned the hard way how to gather some popularity both within and outside of his own party. This was his own personal <b>"Broken Pathway moment"</b>. He put 'Tricky' Dick in his back pocket and became 'Slick, almost Bland' Dick for the 1956 election. But we all know it wasn't destined to last..............<br />
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So now we are almost at the end of Part 1, let me summarise the evidence for Life Cycles theory applying to Richard Milhous Nixon. Note, we have covered a range of public record material on events when he was aged 24/31/36/43. What have we found?<br />
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<b><i>1. At 24, Nixon tries to join the FBI, but becomes a lawyer instead. In early Jan., meets and falls in love with future wife Pat.</i></b><b><i><br /></i></b><b><i>2. At 31, he enters politics in early Jan., because he is a surprise nomination in a California district. Beats incumbent Frank Voorhis through false allegations.</i></b><b><i><br /></i></b><b><i>3. At 36, makes his name in right-wing politics, in mid-Jan., when he gets a conviction of top Government official Alger Hiss for perjury. Leads on to winning Senate seat by another slur campaign and then the Vice Presidency.</i></b><b><i><br /></i></b><b><i>4. At 43, almost dropped as running mate for President Eisenhower's second term. Learns to soften his image. </i></b><b><i><br /></i></b></blockquote>
Can you see the pattern here? These are all distinct direction-setting or altering years. Lawyer, politician, national profile over Hiss trial (then Senator) and finally a crisis over a second term as Vice President. Can you also see how his underlying character was unchanged throughout? His steely determination, his ruthless streak. Also, can you see how I have highlighted the fact (and underlined the text mentioning it) that the very end of three of these <b>Life Cycles significant years</b> contains an important event, just before his following birthday ie. in early (and middle for Hiss) Jan. This is a phenomenon I have observed before and one that I study. The same was true in the profile I did on <b>President Obama</b>. His critical dates all seemed to be at the one time of year as well. I have called this simply:- <b>the alignment of the dates</b>. Like every other new term I use, it is completely self-explanatory. It also adds an extra dimension to my research:-<br />
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<b><i><br /></i></b><b><i>"What if your life path was not only determined in particular by events in certain recurring cyclical years, but even down to the same time of year?"</i></b> </blockquote>
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In my own life, I have observed this weird correlation right down to the same day! It's all in <b><i>The Life Cycles Revolution</i></b>. Check it out sometime. You'll never get any of this anywhere else!<br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">END PART 1</span></b><br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08831219021529377067noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4268570831297640594.post-13875472938709583312015-10-25T09:29:00.001+11:002015-10-25T09:29:34.850+11:00Life Cycles And Hannibal Barca and Scipio Africanus - Part Two<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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We last left our two mortal enemies waging their own separate campaigns to adapt to the new status quo following on from the momentous <b>Battle of Cannae</b>. <b>Hannibal </b>was slowly becoming a diminished presence outside of Rome, as the Romans did not engage him in a full-scale war. He wanted to make a statement, that he could still get the Roman army to meet him in battle and turn things around. Meanwhile <b>Scipio</b> was gaining kudos by becoming a <b>Quaestor</b> (junior Magistrate), but upsetting some Senators because of his young age. They were both headstrong and ambitious you see and neither had fulfilled his true potential. So, we have now journeyed to the time of their shared lives when they were both in, what I call, important <b>adult <i>Years of Revolution</i> </b>(according to <b><i>Life Cycles theory</i></b> the first year of every <b>12 year cycle</b> can be marked by the beginning of a new age/direction set to last for many years). <b>Scipio</b> became <b>24</b> most probably in the latter part of <b>212 BC</b> and included a large part of <b>211 BC</b>, whilst <b>Hannibal</b> was in his very important age of <b>36</b> at the same time.</div>
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It is interesting that even though they didn't meet in battle (that would come much later), their lives were even more inextricably linked by separate events, which determined the shape of their whole futures. Firstly let's take Hannibal. He had been using the ancient (and second most important after Rome) city of <b>Capua</b> (16 miles north of modern day<b> Naples</b>) as his winter headquarters. It has been reported that his men had become used to a lifestyle of soft living there and weren't as tough as they used to be. Whenever they were in the countryside for a period, Roman tactics were to march up to the vicinity of the city walls, wherein Hannibal was alerted and came straight back to defend home base. He decided that he needed a tactic that would copy this with <b>Rome</b>. He would instead lay a siege causing the Roman army outside Capua to come back to defend it and so meet them in the open. </div>
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These two scenarios played out in the exact period of study (212 BC-211 BC). In 212 BC the recent attempt by the Roman forces to march on Capua resulted in the two groups meeting in the <b>Battle of Herdonia</b>. This resulted in the loss of 16,000 Roman soldiers, so it was back to the drawing boards for the Roman generals. In the summer of 211 BC Hannibal was busy in the south of Italia and so the Romans were ready to try again, banking on taking Capua before he could return. Hannibal feared that if he approached Capua the Romans would simply withdraw, as they had done numerous times, only to return and lay siege when he had left. He tried to break this pattern by marching on Rome itself, laying siege and hoping the Roman army would return so he could meet them in open battle and win. Once again, things were in the balance during this time - the very time that most probably correlates with his being in his <b>age 36 <i>Year of Revolution</i></b> (late 212 BC-late 211 BC). </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjn9dKp09JTJtaTcnjg-auM7f3134BHXMhXKT2GdinxpIzEs5PUWK2viaU8f5CM1plNI6DBkj99QSFeaHW6CXoGH4MG2fFpv2I95JsUWVaN2vEjkG-ffjtH95N6gLxivauAkbQL4pd30qau/s1600/Hannibal+Capua.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="191" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjn9dKp09JTJtaTcnjg-auM7f3134BHXMhXKT2GdinxpIzEs5PUWK2viaU8f5CM1plNI6DBkj99QSFeaHW6CXoGH4MG2fFpv2I95JsUWVaN2vEjkG-ffjtH95N6gLxivauAkbQL4pd30qau/s400/Hannibal+Capua.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><i><span style="font-size: small;">Roman Forces At The Battle Of Capua</span></i></b> </td></tr>
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So he camped outside the Roman city walls for the first and only time in his life. This, however, was not on his terms. Not a true siege, for he lacked effective weapons and supplies for a lengthy encounter and planned it only as a feint. Not nearly the same as it would have been after the devastating Battle of Cannae, with the Roman army decimated. In 216 BC, with or without siege weapons, he would have created wholesale panic and exerted much psychological pressure. Now some five years later it was reported that Roman Patricians, far from being frightened, were openly selling the land he occupied for real estate purposes. Can you imagine this? They were making a mockery of him. One thing the last five years had taught them and that was resolve and patience to wait this warrior out. Word of his ineffective siege got back to the besiegers of Capua and they simply continued. On hearing this Hannibal had to retreat back to the south and Capua fell to the Roman forces soon after (shown in the drawing above).</div>
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So, for Hannibal, his central and often life and career-defining age of 36, did not contain a magnificent victory, only a humiliating defeat and with it the loss of much prestige throughout the whole region. Cities that had defected to him after Cannae, were switching back their allegiance to Rome. He no longer had Capua as his home base and the Romans knew that from this point onwards, they had the upper hand. He would now be the one pursued, rather than the pursuer. This unfortunate turn of events was to set in train a pattern of repetition throughout the rest of his life. He would continue to be persecuted by Rome, in one form or another, till his death many years later.</div>
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Now let's switch to Scipio. His <b>age 24 <i>Year of Revolution</i></b> contained a major setback, that preceded a bold endeavour, which defined the rest of his life. His was the veritable definition of <b><i>Life Cycles Theory</i></b> in action. Firstly tragedy struck his family in 211 BC when both his father <b>Publius Scipio</b> and his uncle <b>Gnaeus Cornelius Scipio Calvus</b> were killed in battle in <b>Hispania</b> (Spain) by Hannibal's brother <b>Hasdrubal</b>. At the election of a new <b>Proconsul</b>, for a new army to be sent to Spain, only one candidate put himself forward to the <b>Senate</b> for consideration - Scipio. The reason for this was because it was regarded as a virtual death sentence by others, but Scipio wanted to avenge his family's honour even more than the risks incurred. Again, in spite of his youth, his demeanour and enthusiastic language made so great an impression that he was elected unanimously. So, his crowning achievement was to become a General and a Proconsul and to go after Hannibal's family who were responsible for the death's of his father and uncle. This was to be stage one in his personal war with Hannibal. Not a showdown just yet, more a platform to begin his ultimate quest.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><i><span style="font-size: small;">Scipio Was Elected Proconsul and General of the Roman Army in Hispania</span></i></b></td></tr>
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Can you see for yourselves how Scipio and Hannibal were so similar they were almost the same? Hannibal's father died in battle at Rome's hands, giving him a lifelong mission to avenge this and now Scipio's father had died in battle at Carthage's hands, giving him his lifelong quest. Now to another well recorded moment early in his campaign in Hispania. Because of arguments between the commanders of the three Carthage armies in the region, Scipio was able to make a surprise landing near <b>Carthago Nova (New Carthage)</b>, the Carthaginian headquarters, and take it by surprise (still within 211 BC). So already, just at the beginning of his campaign, the tide was turning in his favour. Because of his humanitarian acts towards his prisoners, it caused the locals to perceive Romans as their liberators not their oppressors.</div>
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This is exemplified by his release of a beautiful woman who was betrothed to a Celtiberian Chieftain named <b>Allucius. </b>She was returned to him along with the money that had been offered by her parents to ransom her. Allucius soon married her and, in turn, brought his tribe over to support the Roman armies. This event was the subject of a famous painting by Nicholas Poussin called <i style="font-weight: bold;">The Continence Of Scipio. </i>It is shown to you below. </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi00ob7I8AkZ4dRMylAL7dAur_jXwMjkZaul6_53PmEtF-JeswRT6j8W20i1yr8-tZgYStetIwyYaqoLqAr-pNzDPC4TIRqDbs2HvMPsNIJijBdJ5d4GCkMRvRoFTE7ebfkRmkeyR3xAKoC/s1600/Scipio+Continence.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="286" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi00ob7I8AkZ4dRMylAL7dAur_jXwMjkZaul6_53PmEtF-JeswRT6j8W20i1yr8-tZgYStetIwyYaqoLqAr-pNzDPC4TIRqDbs2HvMPsNIJijBdJ5d4GCkMRvRoFTE7ebfkRmkeyR3xAKoC/s400/Scipio+Continence.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><i><span style="font-size: small;">The Continence Of Scipio</span></i></b></td></tr>
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Let's summarise now and show the pivotal, but quite opposite, nature of events in each man's shared <i><b>Year of Revolution. </b></i></div>
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<b><i>At 36 Hannibal suffered a humiliating defeat and loss of prestige within enemy territory (ie. Italia). This led on to other losses and banishments.</i></b></blockquote>
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<b><i>At 24 Scipio lost his father in battle, but got himself promoted to Proconsul in Spain and had a surprise victory. This was to lead on to a final victory and further promotion and fame. The victory resulted in gaining much prestige in enemy territory by his humanitarian acts. </i></b></blockquote>
The essence of this is that for a second time each man had his fate sealed decisively in their shared <i style="font-weight: bold;">Year of Revolution. </i>I would still contend that though they did not meet in battle, each man was sealing the mutual fate of the other in separate arenas. Hannibal's loss of Capua meant the tables were turned and he was now a hunted man in Italia. There must have been a sense of unease, that one day in the not too distant future, he would have to decide whether to return to Carthage. Meanwhile Scipio's surprise capture of Carthaginian headquarters in Spain, meant that he was now on his way to drive them back to Africa and then go after his real target - Hannibal.<br />
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I'm done now and I won't use this main blog for any further parts of this fascinating story, but if you leave me a positive comment I will do a final post on this. I can almost hear some readers saying :- "...but you can't leave it at this! I want to know how it ended!" Of course you do and it involved a history-making meeting between these two great warriors. What did they have to say to each other? How did the final battle proceed? Yes, it's all a wonderful true story, so stay tuned.<br />
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Next month I am going to do a unique analysis of one of the most controversial world leaders of the 20th. Century. I am going to use <b><i>Life Cycles Theory</i></b> to delve into some unusual aspects of this very well known event and include a <b><i>Life Cycles Families</i></b> element, as well as another 'sworn enemies' encounter. I know you will enjoy it. Till then :- <b><i>"may the cycles always bring you good fortune"</i></b>.<br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08831219021529377067noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4268570831297640594.post-55548442528923504002015-09-16T13:39:00.000+10:002015-09-19T13:08:26.021+10:00Life Cycles and Hannibal Barca and Scipio Africanus - Part One<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b style="background-color: #f4cccc;">PART ONE - HANNIBAL AND SCIPIO AFRICANUS </b></span></td></tr>
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This is a 2-part post featuring one of the most famous duos in all of military and ancient history:- <b style="background-color: #f4cccc;">Hannibal Barca</b> and his nemesis <b style="background-color: #f4cccc;">Scipio Africanus</b>. It will be told in terms of two of the most celebrated father-son pairings as well:- Hannibal and his father <b style="background-color: #f4cccc;">Hamilcar</b> along with Scipio Africanus and his father <span style="background-color: #f4cccc;"><b>Pubilius Cornelius Scipio</b>.</span> As always, there is an added twist, because I will be using the unique <b><i style="background-color: #f4cccc;">Life Cycles</i></b> method of analysis to focus on events in just some of their adult <b><i style="background-color: #f4cccc;">significant years (ie.19/24/31/36)</i></b>. Is this a theoretical challenge? Yes, it is by far the most complex set of interrelationships I have attempted. Why did I decide to try to link these two mortal enemies? The answer as always with me is <b><i>Life Cycles</i></b>. That's why I call what I do:- <span style="background-color: #f4cccc;"><b><i>'psycho-biography with a twist'</i></b>.</span><br />
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So without further ado I'll explain how this link came about. I have previously featured the life of Hannibal Barca in both Books ONE and TWO, such is my fascination. I planned to just feature him and his illustrious father Hamilcar (you must admit they are very impressive-sounding names). Then I accidentally noticed a coincidence, that both Hannibal and Scipio Africanus are said to have died in the same year (bit like I did with <b>Omar Sharif</b> and <b>Faten Hamama</b>). I also remembered a key fact from a BBC documentary on Hannibal (I have watched several and read extensively). When Hannibal laid siege to Rome in his only failed attempt, Scipio was said to have been 24 and my best approximation is that this took place in Hannibal's 36th year. Then it hit me! These two warriors were <b><i style="background-color: #f4cccc;">Confluent</i></b> and that means their mutual fates were sealed together.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b style="background-color: #f4cccc;">HANNIBAL'S OATH WITH HIS FATHER</b></span></td></tr>
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Now let's wind back the clock to when a young Hannibal begged his father to let him accompany him on his campaign in modern-day Spain. His father is reported to have held him close to a burning fire and make him swear to:- <b><i style="background-color: #f4cccc;">"never be a friend of Rome"</i></b>. Hamilcar had experienced the bitterness of defeat by Rome in the <b>First Punic War</b> and set about raising an army to strike back, which he did successfully. However, most probably in 228 BC, he died in battle. When surrounded by enemy troops he was said to have thrown himself into the Jucar River in Spain. His unyielding hatred of Rome, however, was already deep in Hannibal's veins. This traumatic moment is very likely to have occurred within young Hannibal's <b><i>age 19 Year of Broken Pathways</i></b>.<br />
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Let's now move forward to the first year of shared destiny for Hannibal and Scipio :- the year <b>216 BC</b>, which was when Hannibal was in his <b><i>age 31 Year of Broken Pathways</i></b> and a 12 years-younger Scipio was only in his <b><i>age 19 Year of Broken Pathways</i></b>. This was the year of the momentous <b style="background-color: #f4cccc;">Battle of Cannae</b> - Rome's most catastrophic defeat and one of the bloodiest battles in all of human history. Much had happened to Hannibal by this time. He had become, like his father, a military commander and when the leader of the Carthaginian army, his brother-in-law <b>Hasdrubal the Fair</b>, was assassinated in 221 BC, Hannibal took over. I'll mention a quote by the Roman historian <b>Livy</b>, regarding his appointment at the time :-<br />
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<b><i>"No sooner had he arrived...the old soldiers fancied they saw Hamilcar in his youth given back to them; the same bright look; the same fire in his eye, the same trick of countenance and features. Never was one and the same spirit more skillful to meet opposition, to obey, or to command..."</i></b></blockquote>
So Hannibal was his father incarnate. He was going to be the one who finished his father's business by attacking and destroying Rome itself, in what is known as the <b>Second Punic War</b>. Let's switch now to the upbringing of young Scipio. He was born into one of Rome's most distinguished families, with a record of service in the highest offices stretching back to the early <b>Roman Republic</b>. His father was a noted military commander and Scipio joined him in the army at a young age, before the start of the Second Punic War. Unbelievably he was said to have made a similar vow to his father:- "<b><i style="background-color: #f4cccc;">that he would continue the struggle against Carthage all his life."</i></b><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b style="background-color: #f4cccc;">A YOUNG SCIPIO WHO SAVED HIS FATHER'S LIFE</b></span></td></tr>
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In short he was <b>Patrician</b> (ie. a member of Rome's ruling class) to his bootstraps and was also the son of a famed military father, who had vowed lifelong vengeance on his sworn enemy. I mean, never a greater similarity of two monumental rivals. Let's now pick up the threads of when Hannibal crossed the alps and arrived in what is modern northern Italy. Scipio's father led the force sent to intercept him. He was surprised to even be fighting Hannibal in this region, because he expected to face the Carthage army in Iberia (Spain). During what would become the start of the Second Punic War, at the <b>Battle of Trebia </b>in<b> 218 BC</b>, a young Scipio saved his father's life when he was wounded. He bravely rode back into the field of battle to rescue him, even though he was surrounded by enemy horsemen. So there is another shared pivotal moment between father and son a young age for both men, which was a paramount feature of their lives, as well as their daring and bravery in battle. The overall Battle of Trebia, however, was decisively won by the Carthage army, echoing Hamilcar being surrounded by enemy troops, resulting in his death at his own hand.<br />
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More successful battles followed for Hannibal until the 'big kahuna' in the spring of <b>216 BC</b>, when he seized the main supply depot for Rome at <b>Cannae</b>. The Romans dispatched a huge force in response, but by using brilliant tactics, he managed to totally defeat the much larger Roman army, resulting in estimates of <b>50-70,000 Romans killed or taken prisoner</b>. It was Rome's most humiliating defeat and it took place in one day. This also affected young Scipio directly, as his future father-in-law died in the battle. Somehow though, Scipio survived this total bloodbath, as well as all the prior battles and of course this only intensified his desire to prevail over the Carthage army.<br />
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One of the most often debated topics between both academics and history buffs in general is whether Hannibal should have taken advantage of Rome's weakened state and immediately laid siege to the city. The consensus seems to be that he wouldn't have been successful (he lacked effective siege weapons, his soldiers were exhausted and not ready to attack and he was expecting a Roman surrender anyway), but there are always those (like myself), who think it possible even without directly launching an attack ie. just by massing an impressive army outside the walls to instill fear and panic. If successful this would have forever changed European history. Hannibal decided to go against the advice of his head of cavalry (which was to attack Rome) and took the second city of <b>Capua</b> (modern day Naples, who along with some other regional areas had defected to him) as a base instead. He then continued to ravage the countryside relatively unchecked for the next several years, as the Roman tactics were not to face him in a major battle. Instead they used guerrilla tactics of skirmishes and pursuing a 'scorched earth' policy (ie. burning farms and any sources of food), resulting in a strategic stalemate.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>THE MONUMENTAL BATTLE OF CANNAE GAVE HANNIBAL A BRILLIANT TACTICAL VICTORY </b></span></td></tr>
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If you are well versed in Roman history you may know some or all of this. However here's what you probably don't know!<br />
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" <b>According to legend, after the disastrous Battle of Cannae, and on hearing that Lucius Caecilius Metellus and other politicians were at the point of surrendering Rome to Hannibal and the Carthaginians, Scipio and his supporters stormed into the meeting, and at sword-point he forced all present to swear that they would continue in faithful service to Rome. Fortunately, the Roman Senate was of like mind and refused to entertain thoughts of peace, despite the great losses Rome had taken in the war: approximately one-fifth of the men of military age had died within a few years of Hannibal's invasion."</b></blockquote>
So it may have boiled down to a simple matter of a battle of wills in the end. If this was true (and I suspect it might be), then Hannibal never even knew what an opportunity he missed. His bitter rival however, 19 year-old Scipio (think about his nerve for his age), knew exactly what Hannibal could potentially do and sealed his fate with his daring actions. Never a better illustration of <b><i>Confluence</i></b> between close rivals, in this case resulting in their mutual fates being settled in their combined <b><i>Years of Broken Pathway</i></b>.<br />
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Curiously I am reminded of this very phenomenon, when I did an extensive analysis on the similarities between bitter rivals <b>Napoleon Bonaparte</b> and the <b>Duke of Wellington</b> (born in the same year), as well as political rivals <b>Abraham Lincoln</b> and <b>General John J Hardin </b>(born in the same year. See my post <a href="http://lifecycles-by-neil-killion.blogspot.com.au/2013/04/abraham-lincoln-confluence-and-age-36.html">http://lifecycles-by-neil-killion.blogspot.com.au/2013/04/abraham-lincoln-confluence-and-age-36.html </a>). But this is by the way.<br />
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Hannibal and Scipio, both had their challenges made manifest in their combined <b><i>Year of Broken Pathways</i></b>, so let's conclude Part One by asking what did the ensuing years of their uphill journeys have to hold? The theory says that your path gets altered and it usually involves some type of personal challenge that requires effort on your part to come to terms with. These challenges can be both positive and negative, depending on how things went beforehand. The lives of Scipio and Hannibal perfectly illustrate this point, which is just so textbook <b><i>Life Cycles</i></b>, I'll now spell it out.<br />
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1. Firstly for Hannibal it involved several years of frustration, following his momentous victory at Cannae. He never faced the Roman military in a major battle again and he was stymied by their failure to surrender and their brush warfare tactics. It caused one commentator to say :- <b><i style="background-color: #f4cccc;">"Hannibal you know how to gain a victory, but you do not know how to use one."</i></b> His army were progressively weakened by all this and he pursued relatively small campaigns.</blockquote>
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2. Secondly for young Scipio it meant several years of struggle to obtain the post of <b>quaestor</b> (the most junior magistrate role, but there was an age requirement of being 25 years). It was regarded as the first step in the so-called <b>"cursus honorum"</b> (path of honour). In 213 BC, in spite of opposition by the tribunes he was elected unopposed, because of his record of bravery and patriotism.</blockquote>
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Now this builds up to their next combined significant year when Scipio would be at his <b><i>age 24 Year of Revolution</i></b> at the same time as Hannibal was at his important and often career-defining <b><i>age 36 Year of Revolution</i></b>. What is going to happen to them both that will markedly affect their futures? That will, in a sense again mutually "seal their fates"? Can you see the wonderful intricacy of <b><i>Life Cycles</i></b>, as it builds all this from only three basic theoretical concepts? Strange but true, I am the first and only person in all of history to make these observations and you, dear reader, are among the first to see them unveiled.<br />
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But enough of this self-congratulatory rhetoric. You really want to know what happens next don't you? Well I promise to deliver you a great story, but you'll have to read it in Part Two, because I'm done now........<br />
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<span style="background-color: #f4cccc;"> <b>END PART ONE</b></span><br />
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<b>NB</b>. My birth data is based on a consensus of historians, who place Hannibal's year of birth as either <b>248</b> or <b>247 BC</b>. They also place Scipio's year of birth as <b>236</b> or <b>235 BC</b>. There was almost certainly a degree of overlap between the periods covering their first 12 months of life, which provides the basis of<b><i> Confluence</i></b>. Judging by the incredible series of coincidences between their lives, I suspect this period of overlap to have be a good proportion of a total possible period of 12 months (ie. if they were born on the same day).<br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08831219021529377067noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4268570831297640594.post-73460343153865997342015-08-08T16:28:00.000+10:002015-08-09T10:02:26.248+10:00Omar Sharif and Faten Hamama and Life Cycles<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCBj1VTm5o5E65gO0f0dv76LmX08w2MFPUoI4cD9rIHKo06N0-QwvFQms1VOVYJBsbhmN8fUFZL4oN-fC5SLB-qWc0DRyogBHJGuWb2c6lD3PF5y0XEp8QhKRxUEtNv3NQvnTskGYk_I_s/s1600/Omar+%252B+Fatem+%25282%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCBj1VTm5o5E65gO0f0dv76LmX08w2MFPUoI4cD9rIHKo06N0-QwvFQms1VOVYJBsbhmN8fUFZL4oN-fC5SLB-qWc0DRyogBHJGuWb2c6lD3PF5y0XEp8QhKRxUEtNv3NQvnTskGYk_I_s/s400/Omar+%252B+Fatem+%25282%2529.JPG" /></a></div><b><i>Omar and Faten - They Had It All And Lost It Within 7 Years<br />
</i></b><br />
Recently the much-loved famous Hollywood actor and world-class bridge player, <b>Omar Sharif</b>, died at the age of 83 from Alzheimer's Disease. This is something I only became aware of through a Facebook comment, because I was travelling and not keeping up with the news. So this whole tribute article is an excellent example of a blind analysis. I didn't select the subject and I had no prior knowledge of his life - save the usual <b><i>Lawrence of Arabia</i></b> and <b><i>Dr. Zhivago</i></b> movies and the fact he was a very good bridge player. I might add that neither movie lines up exactly with a <b>Life Cycles significant year</b>, so I have to really examine what did happen in some of his main adult significant years (like 24/31/36 etc.) to see what I get.<br />
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One of the chief pieces of information came to me quite late and that is the death of his one and only wife <b>Faten Hamama</b>, at the same age, earlier this year. He has described her as :- <b><i>"his one true love"</i></b>. Although they officially divorced in 1974, they had been living apart for around a decade beforehand. Omar was not just separated from his 'one true love' by his own actions either, he was also separated from his beloved country of birth, Egypt, for most of his life (although he did spend some of his time there when his son settled in 2003). He largely lived out of hotels in wherever his latest movie was being shot. He was an international upmarket nomad if you will and has expressed his loneliness at this existence many times. Others have also commented that his roles often portray him as a <b><i>"stranger in a strange land"</i></b>, so art imitates life again.<br />
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Let's examine both Omar (or Michel Chalhoub, which was his birth name) and Faten together, because their lives were inextricably linked, whether they spent most of it apart or not. <b>Michel Chalhoub was born 10th April, 1932</b> in Alexandria, to a Melkite Greek Catholic family of Lebanese descent (so he was a mixture of influences even at birth). <b>Faten Hamama was born 27th May, 1931</b> to a lower-class Muslim family in Mansoura, Egypt, though she claimed to have been born in better circumstances in Cairo. She was determined to become an actress when just a child and indeed appeared in her first movie role at the age of 8, becoming known as <b><i>"Egypt's Shirley Temple"</i></b>. In <b>Life Cycles</b> terms they were <b>Confluent</b> for around 6 weeks (not really a large time, but then again it applied in every significant year).<br />
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They met in 1954 when Michel was selected for a part in the movie that would launch his career - <b><i>Struggle In The Valley</i></b>. By then Faten was a big star in Egypt and though she was married at the time, she agreed to share an on-screen kiss with Michel, who became known as Omar Sharif. This spilled over into real life and they fell in love and she managed to initiate an amicable divorce from her older husband. She was a very strong, independent woman, who later championed the rights of Muslim women to do this. Omar, in turn, agreed to convert to Islam. This was in 1955, so within Faten's <b>age 24 Year of Revolution (May 1955 to May 1956)</b>. This was a moment of personal triumph for her, one of defying conventions. At this time she would have <b><i>"had it all"</i></b>.<br />
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Then in <b>Omar's age 24 Year of Revolution (April 1956 to April 1957)</b> Faten became pregnant and their only child <b>Tarek </b>was <b>born in March, 1957</b>. Thus Omar is also <b>Confluent</b> with his only son for around the same amount of time as he is with his wife. At this time he would have <b><i>"had it all"</i></b> :- he had married Egypt's biggest star and they were called the Arab film industry's equivalent of Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie. They co-starred in movies and in this year they made a thriller <b><i>Dark Waters</i></b> (poster is shown above), which has been rated in one poll as the best Egyptian movie ever made. He now had a son and a very bright future. We all know, that with the benefit of hindsight, he was to become an even bigger star in Hollywood, but that was almost by default and it was 7 years away. Once again <b>the unbroken journey of forward momentum for 7 years</b> is displayed.<br />
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Now we move on to <b>Faten's age 31 Year of Broken Pathways (May 1962 to May 1963)</b>. Just before this time she had starred in <b><i>The River of Love</i></b> (1961), her last movie with Sharif and the end of their on-screen partnership. Times were also changing for the worse in Egypt from Faten's point of view. There was a new initiative by President Nasser in 1962, to introduce Soviet-style socialism and this would come to include travel restrictions outside of Egypt. It would impact on her freedom to attend international film festivals and also meant a repression of Muslim women to initiate divorce. However these were insignificant issues compared to Omar's sudden and unexpected offer of a leading role in the movie <b><i>Lawrence of Arabia</i></b>. Director David Lean ostensibly picked out his photo, because his liquid brown eyes would contrast well against Peter O'Toole's very blue eyes. Already a major star in the Middle East he was cast as Lawrence's guide, but after many other stars pulled out or were unsuitable, he was offered the starring role as Sherif Ali. Lawrence was shot during 1962 and released at the end of Dec.<br />
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<b>Omar's age 31 Year of Broken Pathways (April 1963 to April 1964)</b> really coincided with the enormous critical and box office success of <b><i>Lawrence</i></b>. He was to go on to receive an Academy Award nomination and two Golden Globe Awards. He became, in this year, literally the toast of Hollywood as a new actor and offers began to roll in, along with a hoard of female admirers of this fascinating Arabian Sheik-style leading man. He was also affected by the Government-imposed travel restrictions and to a much larger extent than Faten was. He couldn't really work in Hollywood and visit Egypt in between and Faten wanted to continue her career in the Egyptian film industry, so they basically came adrift at this point.<br />
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I'm going to interject here and ask the obvious :- <b><i>"Could things have turned out differently or was this separation inevitable?"</i></b> Omar is on the record as saying :- <b><i>" Maybe if I hadn't made Lawrence I would have gone on living in Cairo and had five children and lots of grandchildren"</i></b> Well yes, maybe this is so. Also, maybe if Faten was not quite so independent-minded she could have followed him to Hollywood and worked at carving out her own international career. Also Omar was by his own admission drawn to the girls like a bee to honey and now there were ample leading ladies only too willing to share an on-screen (and off-screen as well) kiss with him, starting in 1964 with Ingrid Bergman in the movie <b><i>The Yellow Rolls Royce</i></b>. He soon admitted as much to an enquiring Faten saying that he :-<b><i> "meets all these beautiful girls, actresses and other women.....and that he might fall in love with one of them at any moment"</i></b>. Well you've got to give him points for honesty I guess, but the marriage survived in name only until a divorce in 1974.<br />
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Once again we're left with the residual friendship side on <b>Confluence</b> and a life-long bond through their son (who had a small part in <b><i>Zhivago</i></b>). Now on to their own defining <b>age 36 Years of Revolution</b>, that had a similar theme - to live life by your own standards regardless of what government policy or religious convention might have to say. Firstly to <b>Faten (May 1967 to May 1968)</b>. In the national setback following the Six Day War with Israel in June, 1967, Faten was asked to co-operate with Egyptian Intelligence Services and she refused resulting in her maintaining a self-imposed exile from her country. Despite President Nasser trying to get her to return and calling her a "national treasure"; she stayed away till the year following his death in 1971. She divided her time between London and Beirut. Isn't this ironic?! I mean if it would have happened a couple of years earlier then maybe Omar would have seen sense and returned to her.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVlrxh45YxzeGHC446YgzweJtFF-WczuHGaRzh_IxZ_DV3YrZ7CK9XEEmbgXzv9HT5orAk_P6y4ce1k_tmfvzTS5L9D25qZY0ACfjuc4WGciOWKdnSfsNU5NGEI5lAPNmL0efmMQzbfAhe/s1600/Omar+Funny+Girl.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVlrxh45YxzeGHC446YgzweJtFF-WczuHGaRzh_IxZ_DV3YrZ7CK9XEEmbgXzv9HT5orAk_P6y4ce1k_tmfvzTS5L9D25qZY0ACfjuc4WGciOWKdnSfsNU5NGEI5lAPNmL0efmMQzbfAhe/s400/Omar+Funny+Girl.jpg" /></a></div><br />
She also championed the rights of Muslim women to initiate divorce and other related human rights causes, resulting some 7 years later in her breakthrough movie - <b><i>I Need A Solution</i></b>. From his side however, <b>Omar's age 36 Year of Revolution (April 1968 to April 1969)</b>, was all about defying religious convention and causing a storm of criticism in the Arab world. It should be noted that he always felt deeply about religious and racial equality and harmony, not unnaturally since he was an ethnic Lebanese Christian, who had become a Muslim and in turn held no enmity towards Jewish people.<br />
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In 1968 the movie <b><i>Funny Girl</i></b> was released. He co-starred with Barbara Streisand and it attracted much negative publicity as she was Jewish and he kissed her on-screen (and fell in love with her off-screen as shown above). The Egyptian Government immediately condemned the film and it was banned in many Arab countries. Omar himself was unrepentant saying that he saw nothing wrong with any of it. He was as much a rebel against orthodoxy as Faten was, albeit in a different way. However, this placed a wedge firmly between him and his homeland. His own form of patriotic redemption was shown through his other great love - the game of bridge. He was a world class player and in 1968, even though he was living in France, he wanted to take part in the Bridge Olympiad as Captain of the Egyptian team. The Government refused to sponsor the team in France, so Sharif put up his own money to pay for their accommodation and living expenses. It was his personal contribution to his country, as well as a high point in his bridge career.<br />
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Omar has often echoed sentiments that argue for an inclusive view of religious differences and this was in turn imparted to his son Tarek, who in 1983, whilst doing a Uni course in Toronto, had a relationship with a Jewish fellow student, as a result of which Omar's grandson - <b>Omar Sharif Jr</b>.- was born. Omar Jr. was not only named after his famous grandfather, but he has become an actor and has recently admitted publicly that he is gay as well as half-Jewish (although this is just a label as you can't really be half of a religion). <br />
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Can you see how Omar and Faten were very similar in their attitudes and outlook? Had Omar not 'fallen for the lure of a Hollywood career' they could well have had five children and many grandchildren and fought their progressive causes together. Had Omar not lived a lonely life abroad (even though outwardly glamorous), they could have remained close friends in Egypt, no matter if they divorced or not. Omar did not find another satisfying long term relationship and Faten remained his 'one true love'. I hope you enjoyed this tribute article, which became by accident another case of the influence of Confluence in Families. Till next month :- "may the cycles always bring you good fortune."<br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08831219021529377067noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4268570831297640594.post-76014412192336151262015-07-03T08:57:00.000+10:002015-07-03T08:57:12.379+10:00The GOOGLE Story - Life Cycles and the Wojcicki Family <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjO_LLMGA45bu7NcQdj1Cr-yqQxL2QOxLZoxYgwNJfccY1qRQMMdIf2F_BlxZZN6UGSaEKT1I9GvEb5HpzK1Me3kDB8rnc6SwvDUqLIW8LJFA7JVkD0G_ZecEHR42JC7pgi2FM-jXgeX0fD/s1600/Google+Garage.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjO_LLMGA45bu7NcQdj1Cr-yqQxL2QOxLZoxYgwNJfccY1qRQMMdIf2F_BlxZZN6UGSaEKT1I9GvEb5HpzK1Me3kDB8rnc6SwvDUqLIW8LJFA7JVkD0G_ZecEHR42JC7pgi2FM-jXgeX0fD/s640/Google+Garage.jpg" /></a></div><br />
<b><i><blockquote>THE GOOGLE BUNCH<br />
<br />
(sung to the tune of “The Brady Bunch”)<br />
<br />
<br />
"This is a story, about a man called Larry,<br />
<br />
Good buddy Sergey and a little com-pan-y,<br />
<br />
Known as Google, which began in a garage,<br />
<br />
Owned by Susan of the Wo-jit-ski{sic} fam-il-y,<br />
<br />
Then others, flocked to join them,<br />
<br />
And you knew it would be much more than a hunch,<br />
<br />
That one day they’d become successful,<br />
<br />
And that’s how they all became the Google Bunch"</i></b></blockquote><br />
This is the most ambitious series of linked posts I have yet attempted. I will link all 3 blogs to tell <b>The GOOGLE Story</b>, from a <i><b>Life Cycles - Families</i></b> perspective. This main blog will tell the story of <b>Susan Wojcicki</b> (pronounced Wo-jit-ski) and the massive contribution she made to the fledgling Google company. My <a href="http://lifecyclesstory-neil-killion.blogspot.com.au/">SECOND BLOG</a> will then tell the story of her sister <b>Anne</b> and her marriage to <b>Sergey Brin</b> and her own interesting career. Thus the theme of these two posts will be that they were sisters, within the high-achieving Wojcicki family. <br />
<br />
Then my <a href="http://lifecyclesextras-neil-killion.blogspot.com.au/">THIRD BLOG</a> will feature a <i><b>Life Cycles Confluence</i></b> analysis of founders Sergey Brin, <b>Larry Page</b> and Susan and Anne. Does this sound ambitious? It sure does to me. (N.B. If the three terms used in core <b><i>Life Cycles theory - Year of Revolution/Year of Broken Pathways and Confluence</i></b> sound like a foreign language to you please read <a href="http://www.booksie.com/non-fiction/article/neil_killion/life-cycles-the-core-concepts">THIS</a>.)<br />
<br />
<i><b>THE SUSAN WOJCICKI STORY</i></b><br />
<br />
Did you know that Google actually began life in a garage in Menlo Park in September 1998. This was thanks to a very fortuitous set of circumstances for the house owner - one Susan Wojcicki and her husband Dennis Troper. She was <b>born 5th July, 1968</b> into a family of academics from the Silicon Valley area and she planned on joining them as she graduated with honours in History and Literature from Harvard in 1990. <br />
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When she was in her <b><i>age 24 Year of Revolution (Jul.1992-Jul.1993)</i></b> she completed a Masters in Science and Economics and has reflected that the newly discovered breakthrough called the World Wide Web (see my post on Tim Berners-Lee for evidence of the time period match) opened her eyes to a whole new range of possibilities :- <i><b>"No one in my family had ever worked in business beforehand.....I realized, oh, I can make things, I can sell things, I can have influence. And then when the Internet came out, you could reach people all over the world. I mean, that was just amazing."</i></b> This was also around the period when she worked for a time at Educational software firm MagicQuest, which resulted in her getting bitten by the tech bug.<br />
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She went on to complete an MBA in 1998 and had also worked for top consulting firm Bain & Co. and at this time for Intel in a junior role. She and Dennis had just purchased a new home in Menlo Park (which she describes as humble) and were expecting their first child when they rented their garage to two Stanford students for $1,700 a month to help with the mortgage. <br />
<br />
She tells of a parade of venture capitalists and journalists, who made their way to the fledgling company through Susan's living room and eating late night pizzas and M&M's with Sergey and Larry, where they talked of how their technology will change the world. Within a year (in other words at or very close to her <b><i>age 31 Year of Broken Pathways (Jul.1999-Jul.2000)</i></b>) she joined them to become the company's first marketing manager and Google employee No.16. <br />
<br />
Talk about a veritable year of challenge (which is the definition of a <b><i>Broken Pathways Year</i></b>). She began with an office, but no staff and no budget :- <i><b>"We had no marketing budget, but I was supposed to market the company -- by myself,"</i></b> she recalled. <i><b>"It was a little overwhelming."</i></b> However Susan was not to go on to be called <b><i>'The Most Important Person in Advertising'</i></b> for nothing. Let's add another verse to 'the Brady Bunch' theme music..........<br />
<b><i><blockquote>"Then Susan said to Larry and Sergey,<br />
<br />
You’ve created all this wonderful geeky stuff,<br />
<br />
But if I can, make us a decent profit,<br />
<br />
Then we can go public and make a bundle soon enough….."<br />
</blockquote></i></b><br />
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Her first task was finding office space for Google after moving out of the garage. Her early duties included refining the original Google logo designed by Brin and the overall spare look of the Google home page. She came up with the first of Google's "doodles." In addition she also contributed to the development of 'Google Images' and 'Google Books'. However her next big idea really hit pay dirt. In 2003, she came up with her multimillion-dollar brainstorm: <b><i>AdSense.</i></b><br />
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AdSense is an extension of a program Google had successfully launched in 2002, called <b><i>AdWords</b></i>. AdWords offers advertisers sponsored search ads, those little text ads that appear near search results. Advertisers have to pay only if the ads get clicked. Wojcicki's suggestion:-<i><b>"Why not offer these same ads all over the Web, on blogs and websites? Entice Web 'publishers' to participate by giving them a portion of the ad revenue. In other words, every time someone clicks on an ad on your site, you get a check."</b></i><br />
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Both these initiatives were a runaway smash from the first and it has been estimated that in the early days they produced nearly all (as much as 98%) of Google's income. Was it a mere co-incidence that later in 2003 Sergey and Larry didn't proceed with an offer to merge with Microsoft, but that in August, 2004 they went public with around 20 million shares at $85.00 each giving a market capitalisation of $23 billion? <br />
<br />
Even today Adwords/Adsense is the second leading profit generator for the company. Do you wonder why she is called <b><i>'The Most Important Person at Google You've Never Heard Of.'</i></b> But insiders know her worth without question. She has well and truly earned her title as 'The Most Important Person In Advertising'. All this coming from a surprisingly low key and pleasant person, who has been raising four children throughout this whole era, and places motherhood on an equal footing with her career.<br />
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But what was next for Susan? You see in <b><i>Life Cycles</i></b> terms she would soon be at her all important and often career-defining <b><i>age 36 Year of Revolution (Jul.2005-Jul.2006)</i></b>. You know (or at least you do now) that this is still the most important concept in <b><i>Life Cycles Theory</i></b>. What began it all. So, yet again I put myself to the test. Now I am a 'bush poet' by nature, so I'm going to add another verse to my 'Brady Bunch' song<b><i><blockquote><br />
"Then Larry and Sergey said to Susan,<br />
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Use your magic on this video thing we have,<br />
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But when she said, no buy You Tube for a bundle,<br />
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Others thought the deal could go completely bad…."<br />
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In early 2005 Google launched a new product known as <b>Google Videos</b> with modest goals of letting users watch material from a library of archived TV content. This was managed by John Piscitello. However, recognising that this new approach was languishing, Larry and Sergey decided towards the end of the year (in other words right smack in the middle of Susan's 36th year) to bring in their chief revenue producer to see what she could do with this new initiative. Almost from the start Susan says she was easily outgunned by a rival start-up company known as <b>You Tube</b> :- <i><b>"I saw some of their numbers and I just realized how much bigger they were than we were and even if it doesn't look good for you at that moment, you have to make the decision that it's not really about you but what's the right long-term thing for the company."</i></b><br />
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So she decided to champion the acquisition of her main rival in what was to prove to be Google's most expensive foray at the time. The founders wanted $1.65 billion as well as continued involvement and reasonable autonomy. The deal was negotiated in Sept. 2006, so just outside her age 36 year by 2 months, but it would be safe to say that nearly all of the spadework had been completed within her 36th year. You know, <b><i>Life Cycles</i></b> is not science, but on this occasion it's awfully close. Has this breakthrough acquisition gone on to define much of Susan's career? Well I'm told, when I read bio-summary articles, that she is known for Google and You Tube. However since 2006 You Tube has become her personal baby, and she has gone on to become senior Vice President and now Head of You Tube in 2014. I think there's little room for debate about her <b><i>age 36 Year of Revolution</i></b> coming to define her career and life.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhO27Ldc0Al3A92UNBtYnHIyg7BV2GmFqtoVPp76vy8EflqWrLPlyEMpo_ElvCQF4QP_shZo3dblwvLEKEYrhEMmmoOBe7w8niN9FfZRUvkulxHaQzw7JTophd1TEq9ggxiU6euicNuOhc/s1600/Google+You+Tube.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhO27Ldc0Al3A92UNBtYnHIyg7BV2GmFqtoVPp76vy8EflqWrLPlyEMpo_ElvCQF4QP_shZo3dblwvLEKEYrhEMmmoOBe7w8niN9FfZRUvkulxHaQzw7JTophd1TEq9ggxiU6euicNuOhc/s320/Google+You+Tube.jpg" /></a></div><br />
Another element that I study in <b><i>Life Cycles</i></b> is what I call a <i>'period of controversy'</i> that tends to happen before the breakthrough moment. Did controversy play a part in this acquisition? Well many considered this a risky move by Google. Though Susan presented the financial model justifying this huge acquisition; You Tube was not making money at the time and was initially a huge money loser. There were also legal concerns, regarding piracy issues over some of the content, and it landed Google in a brutal legal fight with <b>Viacom</b> (who were also rivals over the purchase). <br />
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They charged that Google had knowingly benefited from pirated content. But slowly with a $3.1 billion purchase of <b>DoubleClick</b> in 2007 and other acquisitions, such as the <b>AdMob</b> mobile ad network, it has has begun to pay dividends. In 2013 analysts estimated You Tube's revenue at $5.6 billion. Typical of Susan though she currently feels that You Tube, her baby, can do even better. This is demonstrated by a comment from the CEO of <b>Maker Studios</b> (who work with You Tube to create improved content and revenue) :- <i><b>"I don't think anything was broken, but I assume even Google and YouTube believe it can monetize better. This is something Susan is very focused on."</i></b><br />
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I can relate to this almost ceaseless quest for improvement. This constant analysis of how well we're doing. With my <b><i>Life Cycles Research</i></b> I am constantly trying to challenge myself with more complex and inter-related case examples and <i><b>The GOOGLE Story</i></b> is currently cutting-edge for me. I hope you enjoyed this whether you're into IT or not. Of course if you are, then it should hold extra interest. For some odd reason, I find myself drawn to the present and future orientation of the IT world. I have now analysed people such as Alan Turing, Bill Gates, Tim Berners-Lee, Steve Jobs and now the Google pioneers. Of course I regard myself as belonging to the future more than the present and I suppose this accounts for it. Till next month :- <b><i>"may the cycles always bring you good fortune." <br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08831219021529377067noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4268570831297640594.post-7200621172010738852015-06-04T14:10:00.004+10:002015-06-07T09:34:27.538+10:00On The Money - Life Cycles and Floyd Mayweather Jn. and Sen.<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjO9ymkBvwC4XCshxCQHfsijFHttNN2V512k9JU2JnTkMm9Zszt4RbVzhd7fK_pikVPC6CrEOiV4qJk2QdzrD3Ia_b9gJB4zpXJF9vie-uGNbRsypiP33_5BvPUZ1P10bKjqAfVVQGAYy-C/s1600/Floyd+Jn+%252B+Sen+1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjO9ymkBvwC4XCshxCQHfsijFHttNN2V512k9JU2JnTkMm9Zszt4RbVzhd7fK_pikVPC6CrEOiV4qJk2QdzrD3Ia_b9gJB4zpXJF9vie-uGNbRsypiP33_5BvPUZ1P10bKjqAfVVQGAYy-C/s400/Floyd+Jn+%252B+Sen+1.JPG" /></a></div><br />
Welcome to the second post in the <b><i>Life Cycles and Families</i></b> series. This time it's a father and son, who are not just part of one of the greatest boxing dynasties ever, but they are also a household name in the community generally. I think it'd be safe to say if you haven't heard the name <b>Floyd 'Money' Mayweather</b> then you've <i>'been living under a rock'</i>! His most recent fight with <b>Manny Pacquiao</b> was watched by an estimated 300 million world-wide and had sports journalists asking :- "With his unbeaten record, does this make Mayweather the 'Greatest Boxer of All Time'?"<br />
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No question the Mayweather family generally is 'on the money' in terms of success. But in common terms I'd say they're a 'bunch of tearaways', with criminal convictions and family feuds, that have involved Floyd Sen., his brother Roger and of course, Floyd Jr., who is as big a tearaway as the rest of them. They're the original 'black sheep', who have used their boxing talent to drag themselves upwards and eventually reach great heights. We're here to examine some key events in their combined careers from a <b><i>Life Cycles</i></b> perspective. <br />
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The photo above is tagged as 'Big' Floyd and 'Little' Floyd, so let's begin with <b>'Big' Floyd</b>. Mayweather Sen. was <b>born 19 Oct. 1952</b>. His boxing record was 28–6–1 (18 KOs), and he won the U.S. Championship Tournament in March, 1977 against Miguel Barreto and then lost to the legendary Sugar Ray Leonard in Sept. 1978 on a points decision. He was a flamboyant dresser, who recited poetry about and directly to his opponents. In 1978 his brother-in-law shot him in the leg during an argument (see full story at the side column). Like I said the Mayweathers are a wild bunch. After he gave away boxing he became even more famous as a trainer. <br />
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Let's get down to <b><i>Life Cycles analysis</i></b>. A lot of big events happened during his <b><i>age 24 Year of Revolution (Oct. 1976 to Oct. 1977)</i></b> like his career high point of the U.S. Belt. But this was one day to be eclipsed by the birth of his son <b>'Little' Floyd Mayweather on 24th Feb. 1977</b>. This is auspicious in <b><i>Life Cycles</i></b> terms because it gives the bond of <b><i>Confluence</i></b>, being the shared period of 8 mths. between Feb. and Oct in their birthday to birthday years. It usually means a 'fated relationship'. This will also give us our mathematical equation for each 12 year period. There is a wonderful anecdote that says when 'Little' Floyd was just 7-8 months old he would mimic his father's hands in a boxing-like gesture. This caused 'Big' Floyd to say :- "I knew then that he'd be a boxer!"<br />
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When 'Little' Floyd was in his <b><i>age 12 Year of Revolution (most of 1989)</i></b> and 'Big' Floyd was in his <b><i>age 36 Year of Revolution</i></b> a significant thing happened. It is well recorded that in 1989, 'Little' Floyd changed his surname from his mother's family name of Sinclair to Mayweather, to proudly reflect his links to his father. In spite of (or maybe as a result of) his father's many beatings, 'Little' Floyd trained relentlessly in the gym and even though he said he "basically raised himself", he now wanted to become a Mayweather in name and blood. It was a telling decision - an attempt to bond with his father (notwithstanding that he made his money by selling drugs), and an excellent example of <b><i>Confluence</i></b> in action. At this time 'Big' Floyd was just about finished with his career as a boxer (he had only one more shambolic fight in 1990, which he lost), but his career as trainer for 'Little' Floyd was cranking up, as he would soon go on to have a successful amateur career. <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4JG6pqjOWPbR-CDq9rsJSbpiU0ibzD0WMdTUEYC1HthD1-RyEW-L7fwF2GjzSGm7_hdOFP3Jo9Q4o26AVplExCsjsm_6rsVyFp2VmEqtxmoILVQx7Ud90ISUXkqG_4T_bsuZFwWXsgCmf/s1600/Floyd-Mayweather-Sr.-Jr._.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4JG6pqjOWPbR-CDq9rsJSbpiU0ibzD0WMdTUEYC1HthD1-RyEW-L7fwF2GjzSGm7_hdOFP3Jo9Q4o26AVplExCsjsm_6rsVyFp2VmEqtxmoILVQx7Ud90ISUXkqG_4T_bsuZFwWXsgCmf/s400/Floyd-Mayweather-Sr.-Jr._.jpg" /></a></div><br />
Now we'll now progress to 'Big' Floyd's next <b><i>age 48 Year of Revolution (Oct. 2000 to Oct. 2001)</i></b>. Remember that 'Little' Floyd's <b><i>age 24 Year of Revolution (Feb. 2001 to Feb. 2002)</i></b> included much of this period. By now Floyd Sen's training career was give or take in full swing. Of course he had taught his son how to box and use his famous defensive stance to advantage in the early days, but this was interrupted in 1993, when he was sent to prison for drug trafficking. His younger brother Roger (who won two World Titles) took over his position. In 1998 he returned as trainer and manager for his son's 14th pro fight, a second-round knockout of Sam Girard in February. The photo above was taken during this time in 1998. <br />
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Unfortunately in 2000 things turned really pear-shaped. In March (right before our <b><i>Critical Period of Confluence</i></b>), Floyd Jr. had a falling out with his father and fired him as trainer. He also evicted his father from a home that he owned and repossessed a car he was driving. They reportedly didn’t have a cordial conversation for nearly seven years. I've discussed before the downside of when those who share close <b><i>Confluence</i></b> have a falling-out. So when 'Big' Floyd was 48 he had to watch as brother Roger returned as his trainer and 'Little' Floyd's career went from strength to strength. He then assumed his age 48 new career direction by training one of 'Little' Floyd's greatest opponents - Oscar De La Hoya. This is the second key stage in the father-son relationship that correlates almost exactly with <b><i>Life Cycles theory</i></b>.<br />
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Finally we'll look in on the only other such period of time in their combined lives ie. when 'Big' Floyd was on his <b><i>age 60 Year of Revolution (Oct. 2012 to Oct. 2013)</i></b> and when 'Little Floyd' was in his <b><i>age 36 Year of Revolution (Feb. 2013 to Feb. 2014)</i></b>. Again it is a matter of public record that in May 2013 (in the exact <b><i>Period of Confluence</i></b>) 'Big' Floyd again took over as the principal trainer of 'Little' Floyd. This was after a break of just over 12 years, during which he had been under the steady hand of Uncle Roger. This was not an easy decision to make and you can see for yourselves at the side column how this created angst for Roger in particular. However, it is an excellent first-hand account of the bond of <b><i>Confluence</i></b> in action. It didn't come out of thin air either. 'Big' Floyd got back on speaking terms with 'Little' Floyd when he didn't train De La Hoya in his 2007 fight with his son. Gradually things began to thaw, but there were two other factors in recent times. One was that Roger was suffering from diabetes and it affected his levels of energy and more telling was because 'Little' Floyd felt he got hit with too many shots against Miguel Cotto in his May 2012 fight and wanted his father’s help in slipping punches. Given that fights at the top level are usually spaced out, the decision rolled out 12 months later.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhv45T-MWwz9i-r7xepiGvm0x7cOrz2MgFBcqrUfEv6hDVkuNBD_Vki7W9TVPfR0VMKegDKV63-gM9vji2ZokeF-q1nJtz-dmCf9lJPxPe1y22-MRVrEyZELAf5m4YmjJP8cL8l4Cv4-ZL/s1600/Floyd+Mayweather+Jn.+Sen.+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhv45T-MWwz9i-r7xepiGvm0x7cOrz2MgFBcqrUfEv6hDVkuNBD_Vki7W9TVPfR0VMKegDKV63-gM9vji2ZokeF-q1nJtz-dmCf9lJPxPe1y22-MRVrEyZELAf5m4YmjJP8cL8l4Cv4-ZL/s400/Floyd+Mayweather+Jn.+Sen.+2.jpg" /></a></div><br />
In summary this is how the father-son/'Big' Floyd-'Little' Floyd story played out in <b><i>Life Cycles Families terms</i></b>.<br />
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<blockquote><b>1. Floyd Mayweather Jr. was born as Floyd Sinclair when his fahter Floyd Mayweather Sen. was in his Age 24 Year of Revolution<br />
2. When Floyd Jr. was 12 he legally changed his name to Mayweather, whilst Floyd Sen. who was in his age 36 Year of Revolution had all-but finished his boxing career and became the full-time trainer of Floyd Jr.<br />
3. When Floyd Jr. was in his age 24 Year of Revolution he had just fired Floyd Sen. (who was in his age 48 Year of Revolution) and then switched to his uncle Roger , who had previously trained him when Floyd Sen. was in prison. Father and son had a major falling out and didn't speak for 7 years.<br />
4. When Floyd Jr. was in his age 36 Year of Revolution he announced that his father (who was in his age 60 Year of Revolution) would resume as his trainer.</b></blockquote><br />
This is an almost copybook case study of how those who share the bond of <b><i>Confluence</i></b> and are closely related can have a fated relationship. I did this analysis not because I knew any of it, but because someone mentioned the fact that Floyd Jn. had been in jail and then resumed his career. That's all I had. It only came out when I started to write. Hope you enjoyed this slightly different post. <b><i>Life Cycles Families</i></b> will return next month with just about the biggest story in the world of IT - The Story Of Google-. Till then :- "may the cycles always bring you good fortune".<br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08831219021529377067noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4268570831297640594.post-19207356161889433342015-05-02T10:14:00.001+10:002015-05-02T10:27:01.601+10:00The Wright Brothers - Flyers Not Liars<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNe8nGV2db0cSI5vczN6NGj7f_QRlNoeskV-TgD2xGuPwHIKLMzue9zODmuii2PnPXSMV3yzO1hRA6Wmy4WZ4pplxZRp3DfWSK2meN6CLKhh-nHLvfomrBm0BHXJgZv1Bi7AKJCcRhjiHZ/s1600/Wright+Brothers+Text.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNe8nGV2db0cSI5vczN6NGj7f_QRlNoeskV-TgD2xGuPwHIKLMzue9zODmuii2PnPXSMV3yzO1hRA6Wmy4WZ4pplxZRp3DfWSK2meN6CLKhh-nHLvfomrBm0BHXJgZv1Bi7AKJCcRhjiHZ/s640/Wright+Brothers+Text.JPG" /></a></div><br />
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This is the beginning of a new cycle of 12 posts (at the rate of one a month). It follows the same structure that this blog has had since its inception in April, 2009. Each twelve months there is a different theme, which is intended as a different lesson in <b><i>Life Cycles</b></i> theory. I explain all this in greater detail in my <a href="http://www.lifecyclesstory-neil-killion.blogspot.com">SECOND BLOG</a>. The lesson for this cycle of posts is <b><i>Life Cycles and Families</b></i>. We are going to see a variety of usually well-known people, who share some form of family relationship. Our first case is the world famous <b>Wright Brothers (Wilbur and Orville)</b>. But before we begin I'll show you the accidental way this piece of research happened.<br />
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Do you remember my last post on <b>Washington DC</b>? There aren't any prizes for this, by the way, as it's directly underneath. It mentions my trip to the capital and shows a picture of the famous <b>National Mall</b>, where all the museums are. Well it was recommended not to miss the <b>Aeronautical and Space Museum</b>, so that was my first visit. Whilst waiting to get admitted I overheard someone being told that they should try and see the historical exhibit first, because it was closing in 10-15 mins. I thought, OK, that sounds like a good idea. I'm glad I did, because as I walked by the Wright Brothers' exhibit, I read a bit of their story and began to wonder if this could be another discovery, similar to the Walter Burley Griffin story in the second blog. Here's what I found.....<br />
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In one flash I saw that <b>Wilbur</b>, the elder of the two brothers was <b>born in 1867</b> and that <b>the first controlled, powered and sustained heavier-than-air human flight happened on December 17, 1903</b>. Try adding 36 to 1867 and what do you get? Yes it's 1903 and that's the year in question again isn't it? Bingo, I'd hit pay dirt. Same as last time. No pouring over copious biographies for hours on end. As I've indicated before I'd never have got started if the going had been too tough. I also noticed that his younger brother <b>Orville</b> would have been <b>aged 31 for part of this year</b>. What does this tell you? Probably nothing for most of you, but if you really understood my posts, you would know it means they were also <b><i>Confluent</i></b> during this time ie. they shared time together in the <b><i>Life Cycles significant years</b></i> (ie. 19/24/31/36 etc). A photo of the famous 1903 flight is shown below.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-6ge20pNpOkkwvDEEiPUqR2zabiknUMNhyphenhyphendd0xvvtv2RRpd8CAFAJdz3sJFxqkRBJ8TTT2HoYT2X_KDw7sNAb1L2WepNq7Hovb6fCHSbEEmTRsNbXG_-iqIm825z_PSfbWZ459S6fQrTD/s1600/wright-brothers-flight.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-6ge20pNpOkkwvDEEiPUqR2zabiknUMNhyphenhyphendd0xvvtv2RRpd8CAFAJdz3sJFxqkRBJ8TTT2HoYT2X_KDw7sNAb1L2WepNq7Hovb6fCHSbEEmTRsNbXG_-iqIm825z_PSfbWZ459S6fQrTD/s400/wright-brothers-flight.jpg" /></a></div><br />
I'm not going to reprise all of their fascinating story, but instead I will concentrate on just two periods :- 1903 and the second half of 1907/first half, or so, of 1908. Why would I do this? Well the answer is :- 1903 is the major beakthrough year when Wilbur was 36 and during 1907/8 Orville was 36. See, my method is just maths and stats, maths and stats. <b>Wilbur Wright</b> was <b>born April 16, 1867</b> and <b>Orville Wright</b> was <b>born August 19, 1871</b>. Their period of <b><i>Confluence</b></i> when they were aged <b>36/31</b> was therefore <b>April-August, 1903</b>. <br />
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In summary, during 1903 the brothers built the powered <b>Wright Flyer I</b>, using their preferred material for construction, spruce, a strong and lightweight wood. They also designed and carved their own wooden propellers, and had a purpose-built gasoline engine fabricated in their bicycle shop. I will now create a timeline for these events. On Feb. 12-13th they tested an unsuccessful engine, whose body and frame cracked during testing. Then Wilbur made a March 1903 entry in his notebook indicating the prototype propeller was 66% efficient. So just prior to our period of <b><i>Confluence</i></b> (April-August) things were not complete. We all know a powered airplane needs a workable engine and though they almost had their design done, it wouldn't succeed without it. <br />
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The Wrights next wrote to several engine manufacturers, but none met their need for a sufficiently lightweight powerplant (this is like the period of temporary frustration I mention during a <b><i>Year of Revolution</i></b>). They then turned to their shop mechanic, Charlie Taylor, who built an engine in just six weeks in close consultation with the brothers. To keep the weight low enough, the engine block was cast from aluminum, a rare practice for the time. The <b>Wright-Taylor engine</b> had no fuel pump, carburetor, or spark plugs. Nor did it have a throttle. Yet this simple motor produced 12 horsepower, an acceptable margin above the Wrights’ minimum requirement of 8 horsepower. It was patented on <b>May 22nd, 1903</b>. So now preparations were properly underway. Below is a photo of a later model Wright engine circa 1910.<br />
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Those preparations were largely <b>completed by August</b>, because in <b>Sept.</b> they arrived in <b>Kill Devil Hills</b> and in <b>Oct.</b> they <b>commenced assembling it</b>. It should be noted that their airplane -<b>The Flyer</b> - cost less than <b>a thousand dollars</b>, in contrast to more than <b>$50,000</b> in government funds that was given to their great rival <b>Samuel Langley</b> for his man-carrying Great Aerodrome project. He was trying to beat them to the punch at precisely the same time. You know what? Langley gave up the project after two crashes at take-off on October 7 and December 8, 1903. There's destiny if ever there was. If I'd been around then I'd have said:- "put your money on the 36 year-old Wilbur Wright, not the 69 year-old Samuel Langley. He's not in any sort of <b><i>significant year."</i></b> This also says something about the sheer tenacity and eventual superiority of the solo underfunded pioneers.<br />
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So here is your evidence writ large:- <br />
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1. THE WRIGHT BROTHERS RECORD BREAKING FIRST FLIGHT IN 1903 HAPPENED WHEN WILBUR (THE ELDER BROTHER) WAS IN HIS AGE 36 'YEAR OF REVOLUTION'.<br />
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2. DURING THE EXACT PERIOD OF 'CONFLUENCE' BETWEEN WILBUR AND HIS YOUNGER BROTHER ORVILLE (ie. APRIL-AUGUST 1903) THE ALL-IMPORTANT ENGINE WAS DESIGNED AND THE PLANE WAS BUILT.</blockquote></b><br />
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Following their initial success the Wright Brothers deliberately kept a low profile so that they could concentrate on creating and marketing a practical airplane. This was a financially risky venture for them, as they wound down their successful bicycle business at the same time. Flights taken during the years 1904-1905 were unspectacular and reporters went away without a clear impression of their claims. There was reasonable speculation that this was done on purpose by the Wrights, to get reporters off their backs. In fact the Paris edition of the <b><i>Herald Tribune</b></i> headlined a 1906 article on the Wrights titled :- <b><i>"Flyers Or Liars?"</i></b> Even the publisher of their hometown newspaper <b><i>The Dayton Daily News</i></b> stated :- "Frankly, none of us believed it." The photo below shows the newspaper reporting an unspectacular flight in Oct. 1905, on page 9, in the agricultural and general news section. <br />
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We are now perched at the precipice of our second period of study ie. when Orville was in his age 36 <b><i>Year of Revolution</b></i> (Aug. 1907-Aug.1908). What happened next to get them true recognition, that had so far proven elusive? In 1907 they decided it was France, rather than the US (who had shown indifference to their work), that they would journey to get some backing. Whilst there they had face-to-face talks with government officials and businessmen. They also met with aviation representatives in Germany and Britain. Before traveling, Orville shipped a newly built Model A Flyer to France in anticipation of demonstration flights. The European end of things became more his baby, because whilst in France (ironically enough) Wilbur met Frank P. Lahm, a lieutenant in the U.S. Army Aeronautical Division, who allowed him to give an in-person presentation to the U.S. Board of Ordnance and Fortification in Washington, D.C. when he returned to the U.S. <br />
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This time, the Board was favorably impressed, in contrast to its previous indifference. With further input from the Wrights, the U.S. Army Signal Corps issued Specification #486 in <b>December 1907</b> (so here is direct evidence of a breakthrough in the exact period of study). Bids were invited for construction of a flying machine under military contract. The Wrights submitted their bid in <b>January, 1908</b>. In <b>early 1908</b> the brothers also <b>agreed to a contract with a French company</b>. This was Orville's direct breakthrough moment, not that either brother hadn't been across things, but you can't be in two places at once. In <b>May, 1908</b> they went back to Kitty Hawk with their Flyer to practice in private for their all-important public demonstration flights, as required by the contracts.<br />
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What else could have taken place of real importance between June and August 19th? (ie. Orville's remaining age 36 <b><i>Year of Revolution</i></b>). Well everything culminated in one day - <b>August 8th, 1908</b> (I often write about this one day phenomenon in <b><i>Years of Revolution</i></b>). I'll let the narrative take over here, it's just such a great story :-<br />
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<blockquote><i>Facing much skepticism in the French aeronautical community and outright scorn by some newspapers that called him a "bluffeur", Wilbur began official public demonstrations on <b>August 8, 1908</b> at the Hunaudières horse racing track near the town of Le Mans, France. His first flight lasted only one minute 45 seconds, but his ability to effortlessly make banking turns and fly a circle amazed and stunned onlookers, including several pioneer French aviators, among them Louis Bleriot. In the following days, Wilbur made a series of technically challenging flights, including figure-eights, demonstrating his skills as a pilot and the capability of his flying machine, which far surpassed those of all other pioneering aircraft and pilots of the day.<br />
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The French public was thrilled by Wilbur's feats and flocked to the field by the thousands, and <b>the Wright brothers instantly became world-famous</b>. Former doubters issued apologies and effusive praise. L'Aérophile editor Georges Besançon wrote that the flights "have completely dissipated all doubts. Not one of the former detractors of the Wrights dare question, today, the previous experiments of the men who were truly the first to fly....". Leading French aviation promoter Ernest Archdeacon wrote, "For a long time, the Wright brothers have been accused in Europe of bluff... They are today hallowed in France, and I feel an intense pleasure...to make amends."</blockquote></i><br />
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Below is a photo taken of this famous flight at the Le Mans racecourse, France, on August 8th, 1908 - showing inset, a section of the large crowd.<br />
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So there it is. I don't think I need to spell it out any more than this. In Orville's age 36 <b><i>Year of Revolution</i></b> the Wrights finally gained the recognition and kudos they so rightfully deserved. Orville's French connection had paid off big time. You can actually see how this was a more central event for his whole life because Wilbur was to die tragically in 1912 from typhoid fever, leaving Orville to carry on their future struggles with Patents and running The Wright Company.<br />
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I think I'm done. It strikes me that all true pioneers have to fight long and hard for recognition and in that regard I believe my pioneering of a new theory of life is just another variant of this. Except I don't have a brother to share it with. However, all of you who read and enjoy my work are my brothers and sisters-in-arms. Next month <i><b>Life Cycles Families</i></b> will return with a totally different and maybe even slightly shocking change of pace. Till then :- "may the cycles always bring you good fortune".<br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08831219021529377067noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4268570831297640594.post-29856727255375494272015-03-31T07:55:00.001+11:002015-03-31T09:20:34.229+11:00Washington DC - A Dream Half Realised - 'Life Cycles' And The Career Of Peter 'LEnfant<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br />
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A couple of years ago I visited Washington and was most impressed when our guide explained the height restrictions on all buildings. He said the original notion was that no buildings be taller than Capitol Hill, because this symbolised freedom and no idea was above freedom. I'm told that currently there are now four buildings that are higher, but we're not here to split hairs. Washington is also based on Jefferson's memories and desire to see a recreation of Paris and other European cities, with low buildings and wide boulevards. It certainly looked like this to me. Indeed both countries having revolutions at a similar time fomented an exchange of ideas and the most tangible of all gifts - the <b><i>Statue of Liberty</i></b>. However, <b><i>Washington DC</i></b> was also a gift from a Frenchman, who came to America and fought in the Revolutionary army of George Washington. A man called <b><i>Peter</i></b> (not Pierre) <b><i>L'Enfant</i></b> (who is pictured below). This is his story told from the always unique angle of 'Life Cycles'.<br />
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Peter L'Enfant was <b><i>born</i></b> Pierre Charles L'Enfant in Paris, France <b><i>August 9th. 1754</i></b>, the son of a painter of good repute in the service of King Louis XV. Thus he had an aristocratic upbringing and was educated at the Louvre and the Royal Academy of Painting and Sculpture in Paris. In 1777 he was recruited through a French courtier to join the American War of Independence. Soon after this <b><i>he joined the army of George Washington</i></b> and fought with him at <b><i>Valley Forge</i></b>. After the war he ran a very successful civil engineering business and gained a reputation as an architect by <b><i>redesigning the City Hall building in New York</i></b>. He had also changed his name to Peter and was totally committed to the new America. <br />
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This brief summary is simply by way of understanding events in the first half of 1791 - the single most important career and life-defining year in his total of three score years and ten. I mean, I can't just lurch in and say he designed Washington DC without so much as a by your leave. Those who didn't know, might think he was just some uppity Frenchman, who came over because of an invitation from a grateful, fledgling American Government. No, he was a French/American, who came cap in hand to his former Commander-in-Chief - <b><i>President George Washington.</i></b> (who is pictured below at Valley Forge)<br />
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Now how good is your maths? If you add the single most important year in <b><i>'Life Cycles'</i></b> to his first 12 months what do you get? Don't know what I'm talking about? Anyone who has read one of my many, many profiles and in-depth analyses could, I hope by now, enlighten you. Yes, it's the central, mid-life, often career and life-defining age of 36, which is called by me, the <b><i>age 36 'Year of Revolution'</i></b>. I've been banging on about this for years and it's so simple even the most limited mind could grasp it. So when was Peter L'Enfant 36? Just add 36 to his date of birth. That's the birthday to birthday 12 month period, which in his case is.....come on add 36 to August 1754 and what do you get? That would be the second half of 1790 and then the first half of 1791. <br />
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This period defined Peter L'Enfant's whole life. In 1789 Congress gave authority to the establishment of a new national capital. This prompted L'Enfant to write to President Washington asking for a commission to plan the city. This was on hold till July, 1790 when the <b><i>Residence Act</b></i> set the site of the new federal district and national capital to be on the northern and southern shores of the Potomac River, at a site to be determined by the President. So, this was almost in line with the ushering in of L'Enfant's age 36 'Year of Revolution'. He would have, no doubt, been even more motivated by this news.<br />
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However it was not until March, 1791 that L'Enfant was appointed by Washington to plan the new <b><i>Federal City</b></i> (later named the <b><i>City of Washington</b></i>) under the supervision of three Commissioners. <b><i>Thomas Jefferson</b></i>, who worked alongside Washington, sent L'Enfant a letter outlining his task, which was to provide a drawing of suitable sites for the federal city and the public buildings. Though Jefferson just wanted a suitable site and had modest ideas for the Capital, L'Enfant re-interpreted the task as far more grandiose, believing he was not only locating the capital, but also devising the city plan and designing the buildings. (An early painting of Washington in 1833, which hangs in the White House, is pictured below)<br />
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This re-interpretation of a commission reminds me in a curious way of what an ambitious 24 year-old <b><i>Charles Dickens</b></i> did when he was told to just add a few lines of text to the famous illustrator <b><i>Robert Seymour's</b></i> work. Instead he usurped the process and went on to make his name by writing <b><i>'The Pickwick Papers'</b></i>. Also it should be noted that L'Enfant had a difficult and argumentative nature, which meant he alienated most people over a period of time.<br />
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There is no doubt though, that despite being watered down considerably, L'Enfant's original vision was the guiding inspiration for the magnificent city you see today. <b><i>On June 22nd 1791, L'Enfant presented his first plan for the federal city to the President</b></i>. This was his highest point of achievement in his 'Year of Revolution', the culmination of his dream. It is believed that some time prior to August 19th. he also appended a survey map to his plan (which again most probably lies within his age 36 year).<br />
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His plan specified locations for the <b><i>Congress House</b></i> (the United States Capitol Building), which would be built on <b><i>Jenkins Hill</b></i> (later to be known as <b><i>Capitol Hill</b></i>), which he described as a <b><i>"pedestal awaiting a monument"</b></i>. The <b><i>President's House</b></i> (later known after its 1815-1817 rebuilding and white-washing, as the famous <b><i>White House</b></i>) was to be at a northwest diagonal from the halls of Congress along an unusually broad <b><i>Pennsylvania Avenue</b></i>. L'Enfant envisioned the "President's House" to have public gardens and monumental architecture. Reflecting his grandiose visions, he specified that the "President's House" (occasionally referred to as the "President's Palace") would be five times the size of the building that was actually constructed, which would have become the largest residence then constructed in America. <br />
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The plan specified that most streets would be laid out in a grid. To form the grid, some streets (later named for letters of the alphabet) would travel in an east-west direction, while others (named for numbers) would travel north-south. The diagonal avenues intersected with the north-south and east-west streets at circles and rectangular plazas that would later honor notable Americans and provide open space.<br />
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L'Enfant laid out a 400 feet-wide garden-lined <b><i>Grand Avenue</b></i>, which he expected to travel for about 1 mile along an east-west axis in the center of an area that would later become the <b><i>National Mall</b></i> (which is pictured below). He also laid out a narrower avenue (Pennsylvania Avenue) which would connect the "Congress House" with the "President's House". Additionally he laid out a system of canals (later designated as the Washington City Canal), that would pass the "Congress House" and the "President's House".<br />
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His plans may have been inspired by his native city, Paris, and other European cities, but he also had a uniquely American theme of making the "Grand Avenue" accessible to everyone in the new spirit of democracy (today this is reflected in the wonderful museums and institutes that line both sides and have free admission). I wish this story was one of L'Enfant's personal triumph and "the ushering in of his Golden Age" (which is the phrase I often use). But this grand vision did not go on to have a happy ending. His headstrong temperament and his insistence that his city design be realised as a whole, brought him into conflict with the Commissioners, who wanted to direct the limited funds available into just the construction of the Federal buildings. In this, they had the support of Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson. By Feb. 1792 L'Enfant was dismissed by Washington and Andrew Ellicott continued the city survey in accordance with a revised, more modest, plan.<br />
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The remainder of his life is, unfortunately, also tinged with sadness. L'Enfant was initially not paid for his work on his plan for the "Federal City". He fell into disgrace, spending much of the rest of his life trying to persuade Congress to pay him the tens of thousands of dollars that he claimed he was owed. After a number of years, Congress finally paid him a small sum, nearly all of which went to his creditors. This is a salutary reminder that our ultimate fate is always in our own hands. <br />
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His dismissal revolved around a key incident in which he refused to give Andrew Ellicott (who had been surveying the District of Columbia and the "Federal City" under direction of the Commissioners) a copy of his original plan. Ellicott then worked on without it. With the aid of his brother, Benjamin, they completed a revised plan, despite L'Enfant's protests. Shortly thereafter, having along with Secretary Jefferson (who is pictured below in 1791) grown increasingly frustrated by L'Enfant's unresponsiveness and headstrong ways, President Washington dismissed the architect. He had managed to alienate even Washington, who had been his strongest supporter. In common parlance he had "pissed off the boss" and you know you just can't do this. Please see the beginning of my post on Erin Brockovich. You will then see that I classify him as an <b><i>'N' Factor</b></i> (which is something I used to be all too familiar with in my business of Outplacement).<br />
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But when you make a tour of discovery in the magnificent city of Washington, as I did some two years ago, and you see the grandeur of Pennsylvania Avenue (America had never heard of Avenues before this) and the Congress Building on Capitol Hill and enjoy visiting the excellent museums for free along National Mall (I'm told you probably need a week to really do them justice) and see the White House for the first time.....spare a thought for the man behind all this. A man who truly loved America and who is remembered for one thing the <b><i>L'Enfant Plan For Washington</b></i>. A man who should have enjoyed a "Golden Age" of success and recognition for his lasting contribution to his adopted country....but who was brought low by his own temperamental flaws. <br />
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<blockquote><i>Also spare some more time to use your imagination and try to envisage the Washington Peter L'Enfant saw....a White House of epic proportions. Five times it's current size. To be quite honest when I finally visited it, I felt a bit underwhelmed by it's relatively small stature, but figured that's how they did things back then. But imagine a Presidential Palace complete with sweeping ornamental gardens and architecture and linked to Capitol Hill by a system of canals...the Versailles of the New World....a palace fitting the importance of your country. And if you look really deeply you can almost see the spirit of L'Enfant....his head bowed in discontent for a dream which never materialised....His Washington - a dream only half-realised.</blockquote></i> <br />
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I hope you enjoyed this post in which I found myself, somewhat unusually, compelled to wax lyrical, because I write as I feel and nearly everything is in one take. 'Life Cycles' will return next month with a whole new theme and a new twelve month cycle of posts. Until then :- "may the cycles always bring you good fortune."<br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08831219021529377067noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4268570831297640594.post-70945641017731734922015-02-28T10:29:00.000+11:002015-02-28T10:29:15.296+11:00Cars For Everyone - 'Life Cycles' And The Career Of Henry Ford<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJQXvZH8SAthwyzgP4ZEM8bv8q1A2WOs35Lv4pF0TjHy2fWA2pbpTj5CZS2l64fI75tfuKqHwIE8EnYEAJFqIvEl3cTJUiAu8yr0wfRa30v2je3ilzouA31Pgot7kCY0rNLNGIktb75pga/s1600/Henry+Ford+Text.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJQXvZH8SAthwyzgP4ZEM8bv8q1A2WOs35Lv4pF0TjHy2fWA2pbpTj5CZS2l64fI75tfuKqHwIE8EnYEAJFqIvEl3cTJUiAu8yr0wfRa30v2je3ilzouA31Pgot7kCY0rNLNGIktb75pga/s400/Henry+Ford+Text.JPG" /></a></div><br />
We are going to be featuring two of the biggest names from the annals of great inventors in this blog and my <a href="www.lifecyclesstory-neil-killion.blogspot.com ">SECOND BLOG</a>. What is also important, however, is that the inclusion of the story about the birth of mass-produced cars by Henry Ford; marks a significant statistical milestone for me. You see I am always mindful of the accusation that all my cases are self-selected. If you know my style by now, you will see case after detailed case, where I knew almost nothing of my subjects until my attention was drawn to them, because they featured in some element of current affairs. But, of course, the true sceptic and those who get their kicks by debunking the work of others, would pay scant heed to this and probably not even bother to read my copious evidence. Pity for them I would say, but still I have thought about the issue.<br />
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There are several approaches I could take, but since I do this pioneering analysis on my own, the easiest is to simply use an objectively derived list. Since I deal with so many famous and very famous lives it has given me the idea that I should try to examine everyone on a "Top 10/20/50 List of famous people" etc. One such list grabbed my attention almost by accident and that was the "Top 10 Most Influential People Of The Twentieth Century". See it for yourselves at <a href="http://www.wonderslist.com/10-important-people-twentieth-century/">THIS</a>. You will see the following names :-<br />
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10. Henry Ford (analysis about to be done in this article)<br />
9. Muhammad Ali Jinnah (analysis not done. He was to Pakistan as Gandhi was to India)<br />
8. Mao Zedong (analysis has been done, but is currently unpublished)<br />
7. The Wright Brothers (about to be featured later this year in a series of posts on families)<br />
6. Adolf Hitler (already featured, but I have much greater detail still unpublished)<br />
5. Winston Churchill (already featured in <a href="http://bookstore.authorhouse.com/Products/SKU-000243008/Life-Cycles.aspx">BOOK ONE</a>)<br />
4. Franklin D. Roosevelt (no analysis undertaken)<br />
3. Mahatma Gandhi (extensive analysis already featured in <a href="https://www.web-e-
books.com/lifecycles/default.php">THE LIFE CYCLES REVOLUTION</a>. Also a subject of my independent statistical analysis project)<br />
2. Nelson Mandela (already featured in this blog and much more detail in <a href="http://bookstore.authorhouse.com/Products/SKU-000243008/Life-Cycles.aspx">LIFE CYCLES</a>)<br />
1. Albert Einstein (extensively featured in <a href="https://www.web-e-books.com/lifecycles/default.php">THE LIFE CYCLES REVOLUTION</a>).<br />
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So, at the completion of this article that will make 8/10 cases analysed, with either 'very good' or 'outstanding' correlations to my 'Life Cycles' 'significant years'. I didn't generate this list. By any definition these correlations are well in excess of what is considered as statistically significant. Very far beyond what mere chance occurrence would predict.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigiafvOm3cCtNMCBPdtcXvewAV0nlEpI_FMt_kjGhs8pdkei3xut0-d1mtOyJ7b8kisWcJDF-3LFK5CDpMpEUcZBjjtreQdcYJSQdt5MfwWVnkjjmnoJD1NcQZDwpYWY0NU82sSIjkdSQK/s1600/fordMotorCoFactory.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigiafvOm3cCtNMCBPdtcXvewAV0nlEpI_FMt_kjGhs8pdkei3xut0-d1mtOyJ7b8kisWcJDF-3LFK5CDpMpEUcZBjjtreQdcYJSQdt5MfwWVnkjjmnoJD1NcQZDwpYWY0NU82sSIjkdSQK/s400/fordMotorCoFactory.jpg" /></a></div><br />
Back to Henry Ford. Henry was born July 30th. 1863. He founded the <b>Ford Motor Corporation</b> and although he didn't actually invent either the automobile or the assembly line, it was his vision that led to the production of the famous <i>Model T</i>, which was the first car that ordinary middle-class Americans could afford. In doing so, Ford converted the automobile from an expensive curiosity into a practical conveyance that would profoundly impact the landscape of the twentieth century. His introduction of the <i>Model T</i> automobile revolutionized transportation and American industry. In the process he became one of the richest and best-known people in the world. He supported consumerism and the mass production of inexpensive goods, and as a life-long pacifist, saw it as a key to achieving peace in the world. He truly made a giant contribution to mankind in every way.<br />
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But it wasn't always this way. He was not born great. When he was aged 12 and in his first <b>Year of Revolution</b> (1875-1876) his beloved mother died. He was expected to take over the farm, but he despised farm work, later leaving for several years to work as a machinist. His direction changed in his age 19 <b>Year of Broken Pathways</b> (1882-1883) when he became adept at operating a Westinghouse portable steam engine and was later hired by Westinghouse to service their steam engines. During this time he also began to study bookkeeping at a business college in Detroit. His new career direction was forming at this time, just as it does in so many other lives I study.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1pSA_KmNhIdsFhtNQKe9tp2O4fGzy84TxYyLgt6XMkaY-K0qMfTSbLuf-T_tMM-WfTSz0nypJOFkAkpn_CeyeHU52zHeK0JTD4T-PeZKBJO-dlflCLYDY_g1WW2yjCibNXGIuXAFcIrYw/s1600/Henry+Ford+Quadricycle.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1pSA_KmNhIdsFhtNQKe9tp2O4fGzy84TxYyLgt6XMkaY-K0qMfTSbLuf-T_tMM-WfTSz0nypJOFkAkpn_CeyeHU52zHeK0JTD4T-PeZKBJO-dlflCLYDY_g1WW2yjCibNXGIuXAFcIrYw/s400/Henry+Ford+Quadricycle.jpg" /></a></div><br />
In his first adult age 24 <b>Year of Revolution</b> (1887-1888) he got married and supported himself by farming and running a sawmill. So, his new era then was to assume family responsibility and to continue his interest in machinery and engineering. After a few years he joined the Edison Illuminating Company as an engineer and was fairly soon promoted to the position of Chief Engineer. During his age 31 <b>Year of Broken Pathways</b>(1894-1895) he began a new direction by using some of his spare time to devote to his personal interest in gasoline engines. This was to mark a commencement of an uphill journey resulting in him designing and building a self-propelled vehicle called a <i>Ford Quadricycle</i>. With support from Edison he built a second vehicle, completing it in 1898. This was one year short of his central age 36 <b>Year of Revolution</b>. What happened then? Was he further promoted by Edison to become a partner in a separate business? Did he decide that without sufficient funds he would have to leave things be? Well maybe, it's always up to the individual. The achievements of people I write about are solely due to their own vision and hard work. It's just that there are some times in their lives when circumstances are very much in their favour.<br />
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Henry Ford was about to experience such a time. Backed by the capital of Detroit lumber baron William H. Murphy, <b>Ford resigned from the Edison Company and founded the <i>Detroit Automobile Company</i> on August 5, 1899</b>. So there you have it once again in letters two feet high :-<br />
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<blockquote><b><i><br />
When Henry Ford was in his age 36 'Year of Revolution' he left employment with Edison found a wealthy backer and began his true life's work ie. to design and build inexpensive automobiles.</b></i></blockquote><br />
Unless you have an extremely closed mind this should come as an impressive result. However that's, as always, up to you. Let's go on with Henry's story shall we? August, 1899 may have been when he began his life's work, but it was not when he succeeded. At first the automobiles produced were of a lower quality and higher price than Ford wanted. Ultimately, the company was not successful and was dissolved in January 1901. Did this stop him? You know how it goes :- "well I gave it my best shot and that's it. I better go back to Edison's cap in hand." May have been what others did, but not Henry Ford. With the help of a younger engineer, C. Harold Willis, he built and successfully raced a 26-horsepower automobile in October 1901. In 1902, he formed the <i>Henry Ford Company</i> and went to work trying to design an inexpensive automobile. Over the next several years he and his team worked on a series of <i>Ford Model Cars</i>, starting off with the letters A and then C (no the models were not simply alphabetic).<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0NEOg4sJ2T0gTfAd0lF-WGX8FT8RimBp7z32Be3BeABr9bOirTfrGfUBM3JWgK581YH9UcHxfSfO1-2injAlM4kk6k3Us3x88zjdT291RGUguf41j4P8C6SKtNPJUQjW63w5UlrJm0UpD/s1600/Henry+Ford+Model+T.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0NEOg4sJ2T0gTfAd0lF-WGX8FT8RimBp7z32Be3BeABr9bOirTfrGfUBM3JWgK581YH9UcHxfSfO1-2injAlM4kk6k3Us3x88zjdT291RGUguf41j4P8C6SKtNPJUQjW63w5UlrJm0UpD/s400/Henry+Ford+Model+T.jpg" /></a></div><br />
OK, the next and final 'significant year' I am going to deal with is when he was in his age 43 <b>Year of Broken Pathways</b>. Now I'll be the first to admit that it would have been very convenient indeed if this coincided with the launch of the <i>Model T</i>, but 'Life Cycles' is not science and the analysis involves going to the year in question, rather than simply dismissing the data as not fitting (that's where the subjectivity comes in). So, I am going to be looking one year short of the launch of the <i>Model T</i> in 1908, which will be a bridge between 1906-7. My question is therefore :- "What, if anything, happened then to constitute a direction change and uphill challenge?"<br />
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Following the <i>Models A and C</i> and other early attempts, there were several quite important developments in the history of Henry Ford and the <i>Ford Motor Company</i> in the exact period I need to study ie. July, 1906-July, 1907. I am very thankful for this resource, being a storyboard of that time and I strongly recommend you view it for yourselves <a href="http://www.earlyfordregistry.com/pate-storyboard/dates.pdf">HERE</a>. I am writing this as I go. Here is the objective coverage which says :-<br />
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<blockquote><b><i>Early 1907 – Henry Ford tells Joseph Galamb that he has an idea to design a new car … Began construction of a walled off secured area to begin work on the new model. Formed a team of individuals to begin design of a new model to be released in 1908.<br />
International Design Team (Team of 9)<br />
4 Americans… Henry Ford (engineer),<br />
C. Harold Willis (design & metallurgist),<br />
Edward Huff “Spider” (genius, electricity & magnets),<br />
Edsel Ford (Henry’s son);<br />
2 Hungarians … Joseph Galamb (engineer, designer, draftsman),<br />
Charles Balough (engineer & draftsman)<br />
1 Swedish … Charles Sorenson (wood patterns)<br />
1 German … Julius Hartenberger (designer)<br />
1 Canadian … C. James Smith (machinist joined 1906)</b></i></blockquote><br />
This, of course, is the now immortal <i>Model T Ford</i><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEje64eV_PefPLuTsZfUI9qQKRdp2NXa8vZSaRtojndclyORHDMDMrRKEF0PilREdmYjHtm2EEBqKa14no37q5zfmtRezjaE7z1-TH8olWII623Lmzc6SX-lJUhfahJ-5pD6WA8GgZudYrz-/s1600/Henry+Ford+Model+T+Text.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEje64eV_PefPLuTsZfUI9qQKRdp2NXa8vZSaRtojndclyORHDMDMrRKEF0PilREdmYjHtm2EEBqKa14no37q5zfmtRezjaE7z1-TH8olWII623Lmzc6SX-lJUhfahJ-5pD6WA8GgZudYrz-/s400/Henry+Ford+Model+T+Text.jpg" /></a></div><br />
Not only that, but you can also read for yourselves how in this time <b>Henry Ford was elected President of the <i>Ford Motor Company</i></b> and also that <b>the company announced plans in the Press, saying they were going to be planning a factory at Highland Park by 1910</b>. This, of course, formed part of the challenge for the next several years, typical of what I say happens in a <b>Year of Broken Pathways</b>. Also of interest, by way of uphill climbs, you will see coverage of a <b>stock market crash and tight liquidity and that things did not improve till 1908</b>.<br />
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Finally, I'd like to draw your attention to the other aspect of 'Life Cycles'. Even though the biographical analysis is the major focus, it also involves the synthesis of material between similar 'significant years'. You know, if you did this at 24 and then that at 36, in what ways could they be considered similar? I use two terms here. The first is <b><i>symbolic similarity</i></b>, or where there is some general theme implied (and hopefully not one with a very long bow). The second I call <b><i>substantive similarity</i></b>. That's where there's almost a re-run of events 12 years apart. So let me end by saying that events when Henry Ford was in his age 31 <b>Year of Broken Pathways</b> were remarkably similar to what I have just covered regarding events in his age 43 <b>Year of Broken Pathways</b>. How so, I hear some ask.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnJU41L6aZEClTBX-JMmfpVs9aroB14ckC5DlvVJk4yTtNyMXpJ7EAyaagb1dKZsCt6to3uCbCM89P6gcfASYZi-hgeYl-cNSET1leOIthFUWt3ONkpZ1psNSnIAB81FZPWqBS0IBWjSyj/s1600/Henry+Ford+Ford+Motor+Company.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnJU41L6aZEClTBX-JMmfpVs9aroB14ckC5DlvVJk4yTtNyMXpJ7EAyaagb1dKZsCt6to3uCbCM89P6gcfASYZi-hgeYl-cNSET1leOIthFUWt3ONkpZ1psNSnIAB81FZPWqBS0IBWjSyj/s400/Henry+Ford+Ford+Motor+Company.jpg" /></a></div><br />
Well if you remember when Henry was 31, he began to use his spare time by designing, on his own, a gasoline-powered vehicle, and that a year or so after this, he unveiled the first <i>Ford Quadricycle</i>. Now fast-forward 12 years to when he was 43 and this time he embarked on a secret mission to design the best model Ford, to be the ultimate affordable automobile, that would transform so many lives. The very next year he unveils the <i>Model T Ford</i>. Only difference is that he now had a small team of nine to help him and was playing on a much larger stage. This similarity of actions, magnified by being capable of influencing many more people, is something I have witnessed in many different cases and I have talked about it quite a few times in this blog. So, go back and have a look at the article on <a href="http://lifecycles-by-neil-killion.blogspot.com.au/2014/04/why-obama-is-obamacare-revolutions-of.html">Barak Obama</a> for starters. I hope you enjoyed this post, which was part-story, part-analysis and also part-tutorial. Till next month, when 'Life Cycles' returns with the story of the man behind Washington DC :- "May the cycles always bring you good fortune."<br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08831219021529377067noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4268570831297640594.post-15191167509123261932015-01-27T08:07:00.001+11:002015-01-27T09:20:47.285+11:00The World Wide Web - 'Life Cycles' And The Career Of Tim Berners-Lee<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVtIKYQ2x4CHq4188j3p_RFqRJRAFriahY0lAdAaLZKs3MQ20bUdEyfczzczmjzOgyYBkBCVqgUkcBf_RRKU3d3Gxl6ml1Kx4PmFdMh95kKv_qtulcLZns38PQHEyYo6ZidE-0ni_NrfcO/s1600/Tim+Berners+Lee+Text.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVtIKYQ2x4CHq4188j3p_RFqRJRAFriahY0lAdAaLZKs3MQ20bUdEyfczzczmjzOgyYBkBCVqgUkcBf_RRKU3d3Gxl6ml1Kx4PmFdMh95kKv_qtulcLZns38PQHEyYo6ZidE-0ni_NrfcO/s400/Tim+Berners+Lee+Text.JPG" /></a></div><br />
What are you doing right now? You are reading my communication to the world at large, written from my study in Sydney, Australia. I love the fact that I can connect with such a spread of different countries and potential readers. I can share my cutting-edge ideas and research as I go. Isn't this fantastic? If you have a website you can do the same. We are truly the most fortunate generation in all of history. Want advice on a range of products, services and information generally? Go to a search engine (I won't single any particular one out here) and look it up. Incredible what we can find isn't it? We take it for granted. The mighty <b>World Wide Web</b> has changed us all forever.<br />
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But it's not all that old is it? I was raised in an era when computers were large and unwieldy things that universities had and you fed punch-cards into them and got answers to your specific (usually mathematical) questions. They used to call it jokingly - 'garbage in, garbage out'. The military used them and academics shared information with them, but it was a closed club of the elite. Just what, and more importantly who, changed all this? ....And when?? Who gave the internet to the people??<br />
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We are going to examine the <b>'Life Cycles'</b> of <b>Sir Tim Berners-Lee - the father of the World Wide Web</b>. We are going to see the amazing correlations of his career highlights and the predictive powers of <b>'Life Cycles'</b>. You know, I did this analysis on a whim after seeing an article on him. I actually had never heard his name before this. Such was my ignorance. <b>Tim Berners-Lee</b> was <b>born June 8th. 1955</b>, so the two 'significant years' we will be examining are his first two adult <b>'Years of Revolution'</b> when he was aged 24 and most importantly at 36. What will we find?<br />
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We are going back to his <b>first adult age 24 'Year of Revolution' (June 1979 to June 1980)</b>. At this time he was a physicist and software engineer, working with D.G Nash Ltd (Ferndown, Dorset, UK), where he wrote among other things, typesetting software for intelligent printers and a multitasking operating system. However, towards the end of this period he applied for and was accepted to work at <b>CERN</b> (the famous Particle Physics Laboratory in Switzerland). He worked as an independent consultant for six months between June and December 1980. So, this was just outside the age 24 period, although the lead-up and destiny-making job offer began within it. I'm not quite as good as science I realise, so I just deal with what I have.<br />
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At <b>CERN</b>, the organization consists of many facilities located in a beautiful area in the Jura mountains on the border between France and Switzerland. It was because it was so large and complex, with thousands of researchers and hundreds of systems, that Berners-Lee developed his <b>first hypertext system</b> to keep track of who worked on which project, what software was associated with which program, and which software ran on which computers.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZrm9_0HXneVp8qoPMeHmUaxIOueMdualkM8va3UWBfBNVSyPZGsum5hPhz97bY9urESr5-fuCX-jtU-ArMo0d-AB98ai0AzLoGmYZNecjd9y8R51Sq02mvapO345gGB6sT9hJPqIWbqLw/s1600/Tim+Berners+Lee+HTTP.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZrm9_0HXneVp8qoPMeHmUaxIOueMdualkM8va3UWBfBNVSyPZGsum5hPhz97bY9urESr5-fuCX-jtU-ArMo0d-AB98ai0AzLoGmYZNecjd9y8R51Sq02mvapO345gGB6sT9hJPqIWbqLw/s400/Tim+Berners+Lee+HTTP.jpg" /></a></div><br />
He named his hypertext system <b><i>Enquire</b></i> after an old 19th century book he found as a child in his parents house called <b><i>Enquire Within Upon Everything</b></i>,which provided a range of household tips and advice. The book fascinated young Tim with the suggestion that it magically contained the answer to any problem in the world. With the building of the <b><i>Enquire</b></i> system in 1980, and then the Web ten years or so later, Berners-Lee has pretty much successfully dedicated his life to making that childhood book real. With the hypertext system he used, each new page using <b><i>Enquire</b></i> was linked to an existing page. This was the birth of the often used prefix - <b>http://</b>. Ever wonder what it stands for? Well it's stands for <b>'Hypertext Transfer Protocol'</b>. What about the <b>//</b>?. Tim himself states that it has no particular meaning, just a format that he borrowed to use back in the day. Such is life.<br />
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Now we proceed to his central <b>mid-life 'Year of Revolution' at 36 (June, 1991 to June, 1992)</b>. What happened during this time to represent the birth of a new and possibly career-defining era? Once again, I'm not representing 'Life Cycles' as foolproof, because some have argued that the birth of the first web server in Dec. 1990 was when it all started. He and his team at CERN (to whom he had returned) were working with a <b><i>NeXT</b></i> computer, a company founded by <b>Steve Jobs</b>. This had an advanced operating system, which made it possible for them to rapidly develop software to demonstrate the features of the <b>World Wide Web</b>. Others have pointed to March 1989 when he wrote a proposal to develop a web server, although it got little interest at the time. I'm not too sure about the validity of these arguments, however, since I would argue surely you actually need a concrete instance of the world-first use of a webpage to set the seal on things. <br />
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OK, so when exactly was this? Who knows? Without looking it up of course. The first actual website was built at <b>CERN</b> and went online on August 6th, 1991, when Tim Berners-Lee was aged 36. The first-ever web page address was <b><i>http://info.cern.ch/hypertext/WWW/TheProject.html</b></i>. Just 23 1/2 short years ago at this time. Indisputably <b>the birth of the World Wide Web</b> (other things were simply part of the gestation period). Also the birth of Tim Berners-Lee's most important career and life-defining era. That's exactly how I'd call it anyway.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhA_jtz6sltRAaZcMCuEPplT4Mz5uymhhmSaTsysB8tP8mMVd3dj98QVSOcTPrXaFaVH0uaOtx4s4GZXkLPPfOhG9cxbaDANo9DKhvgYjMpxVpAnGw1F44KErrwJSIGuMKHObIlxZ1mQK9p/s1600/Tim+Berners+Lee+20.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhA_jtz6sltRAaZcMCuEPplT4Mz5uymhhmSaTsysB8tP8mMVd3dj98QVSOcTPrXaFaVH0uaOtx4s4GZXkLPPfOhG9cxbaDANo9DKhvgYjMpxVpAnGw1F44KErrwJSIGuMKHObIlxZ1mQK9p/s400/Tim+Berners+Lee+20.jpg" /></a></div><br />
Of course the rest of us caught up with <b>www.</b> some time later. In 1994 <b>Tim Berners-Lee</b> founded the <b>World Wide Web Consortium (W3C)</b> at MIT in the US. This consists of various companies and organisations, a full-time staff and the public, who work together to create standards and recommendations to improve the quality of the Web. Berners-Lee made his idea available freely, with no patent and no royalties due. As a result of this the <b>World Wide Web</b> can be easily adopted by anyone. Web pages proliferated. How many are there now (of course it changes all the time)? I'm told it's 1.18 billion and you can see how fast at http://www.internetlivestats.com/total-number-of-websites/.<br />
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Now back in June 1991, just before it all began, how do you think it was received by some of his contemporaries? Well I'm going to quote a now famous Press report which stated :-<br />
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<blockquote><b><i>The Sun newspaper had a Page One large headline which read <br />
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'WORLD WIDE WHAT?<br />
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and a sub-head that read <br />
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'COMPUTER 'WEB' TO CHANGE BILLIONS OF LIVES (YEAH, RIGHT)<br />
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and text which read <br />
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"A British computer geek's brainwave...could enable computer users to see documents and pictures made available by others in "cyberspace". He uses the "internet system", which so far only links academics but could eventually include anyone....<br />
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One scientist said "This could be huge. The idea of linking strangers worldwide, sharing ideas instantly is mind-boggling." But another sneered "They said Sinclair's C5 would change the world. Now you'd struggle to give one away."<br />
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And finally a teaser which read <br />
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"Riddle of 'E' mail - Page 8"</b></i></blockquote><br />
Well it's a bit of a giggle now isn't it? But such is the way of the world. All great ideas must endure a hostile, or in this case simply mixed, reception before they are accepted. You know...The earth revolves around the sun. The theory of evolution. Diseases are spread by germs etc. etc. <br />
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Thank whomever you wish for the free World Wide Web and Tim Berners-Lee. We owe him such a debt of gratitude. I can relate to this of course. My ideas are not met with open criticism or hostility, but simply indifference from academia and the mainstream press. However, it won't stop me giving my evidence to the world at large each month, at no cost. The spread of 'Life Cycles' ideas was born from this blog, in cyberspace, in April, 2009. My research is a child of the World Wide Web. One day this unique idea will also change how we all look at our lives.<br />
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This will become a linked post to my <a href="http://www.lifecyclesstory-neil-killion.blogspot.com">SECOND BLOG</a> when I write an article on another great computer pioneer, <b>Alan Turing</b>, whose life was featured in the very popular current movie <b><i>The Imitation Game</b></i>. So watch out, it will tell the story of 'The Real Imitation Game'. 'Life Cycles' will return next month with articles on two of our most famous inventors, who also changed our lives forever. Don't miss it and until then :- "may the cycles always bring you good fortune."<br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08831219021529377067noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4268570831297640594.post-88353889678635998102014-12-28T16:55:00.001+11:002014-12-28T16:55:14.908+11:00Why Living In The Present Is NOT The Answer<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3_t__yLClJy6_gXUZZ9_3uw45_Y4D3XcnoLgvL43pF2k2F6xo-XAFI5H6sR0T_ZdDMZuMhHmyaRYUqf7S9GskUdSgyEh3qCp7JG1L18XO0jpX2E4L0vNdjHlnphZWM-GXiXtmHAMD-S54/s1600/Present+Past+Future+Text.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3_t__yLClJy6_gXUZZ9_3uw45_Y4D3XcnoLgvL43pF2k2F6xo-XAFI5H6sR0T_ZdDMZuMhHmyaRYUqf7S9GskUdSgyEh3qCp7JG1L18XO0jpX2E4L0vNdjHlnphZWM-GXiXtmHAMD-S54/s400/Present+Past+Future+Text.JPG" /></a></div><br />
It seems that we are being flooded with the benefits of <b>mindfulness meditation</b>; almost constantly exhorted to 'live in the present moment' and not to dwell in 'the disappointments of the past' or 'worries about the future'. This has its roots in the Buddhist religion. <b>Mindfulness meditation</b> is underpinned by a rationale of communing with a universal consciousness, as Buddhists do not accept a creator God. <b>Mindfulness meditation</b> is now widely practiced in the West and has many proven benefits when it comes to anxiety management and improved levels of contentment. However, like everything else that has an overwhelming current appeal, we should also ask :- "hasn't a version of this concept been around before, but without the religious overtones and the heavy emphasis on the present etc.?"<br />
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When I was a recently graduated psychologist in the 1970's the newest approach to treatment for all manner of stress relief and anxiety-related disorders was <b>Progressive Muscle Relaxation</b>. As a then student of <b>Behavior Therapy</b> I embraced it enthusiastically. I practiced it at first on myself and later others, for things like public speaking anxiety, phobias and self-confidence. When combined with <b>biofeedback</b> you can monitor the quantity of your improvement. I remember using a sphygmomanometer to measure blood pressure control on myself with good results.<br />
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Now I learn that <b>Progressive Relaxation</b> was developed by an American physician Edmund Jacobson in the 1920's (so well before the likes of me in the 'brave new 70's'). If you combined it with <b>cognitive behavior therapy</b> techniques, you can direct your treatment at specific disorders, which I also practiced. Surprise, surprise, now in the 'brave new 21st. century' it is being combined with <b>mindfulness meditation</b> to create specific programs for treatment of depression and addictions. The question must therefore be asked :- "Aren't we just re-packaging a version of what we had already?"<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjD3lgrt0lZpKMLmX8EYVDP89LxREw6tHp0lXdzx1VPagklYlpPlgXJSXTTvy-GmVeHx4llDjMf5q4lXb2AXj81ZRP-wrc5-RM4HdeWyq-98igMC_vR7XTTaX2rx4NoiDd4orI8cCFMaO7/s1600/MARCClasses.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjD3lgrt0lZpKMLmX8EYVDP89LxREw6tHp0lXdzx1VPagklYlpPlgXJSXTTvy-GmVeHx4llDjMf5q4lXb2AXj81ZRP-wrc5-RM4HdeWyq-98igMC_vR7XTTaX2rx4NoiDd4orI8cCFMaO7/s320/MARCClasses.png" /></a></div><br />
But the title of this post is neither <b>mindfulness meditation</b> nor <b>cognitive behavior therapy</b>, it is about <b>LIVING IN THE PRESENT</b>. It is actually about the concept of <b><i>TIME</b></i> itself. I'll wager not many of you have thought deeply about time. You just accept what you have ie. a watch/clock and a calendar and that measures it. But think about this :- science has no agreed concept of time.<br />
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Isaac Newton thought of time as a river flowing at the same rate everywhere. Einstein then changed this picture by unifying space and time into a single 4-D entity called simply <b><i>spacetime</b></i>. Approaches to time are not just scientific either, they can be both religious and philosophical. In the simplest terms there is the theory of <b><i>Presentism</b></i>, which says that only events and entities in the present exist, excluding both the past and the future. This is contrasted with the theory of <b><i>Eternalism</i></b>, which says all points in time are equal. It is supported by the <b><i>Theory of Relativity</i></b> and leads to the notion of the unreality of time.<br />
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But I'm going to leave aside these loftier notions of having different points of observation in the universe and ask a simple question :- "What is this <b>PRESENT</b> we keep talking about anyway?" When you read this word <b>PRESENT</b> now, in reality you aren't. Light has just travelled at a finite speed and it takes time for it to bounce from the book to your eye. When you see a word, you are seeing it as it looked some time in the past. The same with every object you see or person you talk to. I'm now going to quote you the words of Marcelo Gleiser, who is the Appleton Professor of Natural Philosophy and Professor Physics and Astronomy at Dartmouth College. Gleiser received a Presidential Faculty Fellows Award, given by the White House and the National Science Foundation. <br />
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<blockquote><i><br />
"Take a look around. You may think that you are seeing all these objects at once, or 'now', even if they are at different distances from you. But you really aren’t, as light bouncing from each one of them will take a different time to catch your eye. The brain integrates the different sources of visual information, and since the differences in arrival time are much smaller than what your eyes can discern and your brain process, you don’t see a difference. The 'present' - the sum total of the sensorial input we say is happening <b>'now' - is nothing but a convincing illusion....</b><br />
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'Now' is not only a cognitive illusion but also a mathematical trick, related to how we define space and time quantitatively. One way of seeing this is to recognize that the notion of 'present', as sandwiched between past and future, is simply a useful hoax. <b>All that we have is the accumulated memory of the past—stored in biological or various recording devices—and the expectation of the future."</b></i></blockquote><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgG1ZPQ-pHmhPQKzg9scPAU7Z9vuqXUz8udi2fYR62GbgAXK-SIBPAQ2-zwckqTg7tKa1zw9I4G3_hez2j64B7O8-YgshobcuJcfs6he4XBdx44VjF2RN9l5QdcvO45hno1M2jnbfIPVmhA/s1600/clocks.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgG1ZPQ-pHmhPQKzg9scPAU7Z9vuqXUz8udi2fYR62GbgAXK-SIBPAQ2-zwckqTg7tKa1zw9I4G3_hez2j64B7O8-YgshobcuJcfs6he4XBdx44VjF2RN9l5QdcvO45hno1M2jnbfIPVmhA/s400/clocks.jpg" /></a></div><br />
Now, of course I may be biased, but I like this argument. It makes perfect sense to me. Right here and now on Earth all we know for sure is the past. Be it the very, very recent past or the much less recent past. It is still the past. According to the philosopher Martin Heidegger :- <b><i>"we do not exist inside time, we are time</b></i>. Hence, the relationship to the past is a present awareness of having been, which <b><i>allows the past to exist in the present."</b></i> This is close, but not quite the same, as my stance. <br />
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So, it will be no surprise to you by now to learn that I do not agree with either <b><i>'living in the present moment'</i></b> or <b><i>'all that exists is the present'</i></b>. Quite the reverse, it's a case of :- <b><i>'all we have is the past'</i></b> and <b><i>'if you ignore the past you are participating in a cognitive hoax'</i></b>.<br />
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This viewpoint is totally supported by <b><i>'Life Cycles' theory</b></i>, which is based on detailed and exacting study of past biographical events (in a quasi-scientific fashion). Ignoring the past will leave all of this inspirational material 'out in the cold'. To me this is just plain silly. Mind you, it is all well and good if you just confine your mindfulness meditation to a short time of the day, but it shouldn't totally define your existence.<br />
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I have also developed a new form of the notion of <b><i>SUPERCONSCIOUSNESS</i></b> based on the integration of events in past cycles within your life. The graphical representation of this is like the image you see above. Our lives are shaped as a series of clocks all measuring out 12 year intervals at the same rate, with only the current clock in what we call the present. 'Life Cycles' has no chronological time concept. You are only ever in one of 12 separate years. So, if you are currently aged 60 and in your important 'Year of Revolution', you are also being in other prior 'Years of Revolution' all at once. Thus you are also 48 and 36 and 24 and 12 for study purposes. This is the material I constantly analyse.<br />
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This complex concept requires no belief in an external universal consciousness or past lives (but, of course, doesn't rule things out either); rather it is based on <b>'Life Cycles' meditation</b>, which involves the compiling of a 'Life Chart' and the contemplation and mental replay of key events on a regular basis. This being said, I am obviously in agreement with the Buddhist notion of the cyclical nature of time, which again I have re-defined as <b><i>'Life Cycles' symbolic time</b></i>. These notions are so new and so radical as to merit you thoroughly reading <a href="https://www.web-e-books.com/lifecycles/default.php">THE LIFE CYCLES REVOLUTION</a> at least twice. <br />
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So don't just go around being a 'mental goldfish' counting each breath and smelling the roses all day long. Don't get taken in by the plausible polemics of 'disappointments of the past' and 'worries about the future'. Try looking at it this way <br />
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<blockquote><i><br />
My life is like a book with each chapter 12 years long. Then I begin this same symbolic journey again. Same underlying structure, but different events and cast of characters. <br />
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The future cannot be controlled exactly, but we can know it's general shape. The present is simply an illusory concept, a shorthand way of dealing with time. The past is not just full of disappointments, to say the least, nor is the future to be dreaded and worried about. <br />
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Learn from the past it is your most valuable asset. It is all we have.</i></blockquote><br />
Till next month :- "may the cycles always bring you good fortune." 'Life Cycles' will return with the story of the man behind the World Wide Web. Without the gargantuan amount of history constantly caught in its memory (you know in it's past) we would all be reduced to nothing more than mental troglodytes. <br />
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PS. This also happens to be a linked post so go to <a href="http://www.lifecyclesstory-neil-killion.blogspot.com">MY SECOND BLOG</a>. As if it wasn't bad enough, me having a shot at certain aspects of Buddhism, I will soon take aim at the much-lauded psychologist Carl Jung and his concept of 'synchronicity'. <br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08831219021529377067noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4268570831297640594.post-48815127501982131822014-11-27T15:55:00.000+11:002014-11-28T08:18:17.116+11:00The Real James Bond - 'Life Cycles' And The Career Of Ian Fleming<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSLuL-sxtgZQ33mKPgvHg8CBkPKeLQA1LCcNg92vml2dowkbRw9m_Y10tEarAcbKbudL8GStcDruybb2UYNLUuja3P4eC1-15SG3V5I4ZzLTWvLXa9rkbizjIJyf2t4CDKf7yuKmovp4Xp/s1600/Fleming+++ConneryText.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSLuL-sxtgZQ33mKPgvHg8CBkPKeLQA1LCcNg92vml2dowkbRw9m_Y10tEarAcbKbudL8GStcDruybb2UYNLUuja3P4eC1-15SG3V5I4ZzLTWvLXa9rkbizjIJyf2t4CDKf7yuKmovp4Xp/s400/Fleming+++ConneryText.JPG" /></a></div><br />
When Connery and Fleming were spotted together at a Paris airport in 1964 someone was heard to say :- "There's James Bond with some other chap I don't recognise." He was responded to with :- "No, that's only Sean Connery, an actor who plays Bond. He's with Ian Fleming, the man who wrote the novels and is the real James Bond!"<br />
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Of course that statement is only half true, as Fleming never killed anyone and spent most of WW2 behind a desk, but he was a high grade intelligence officer, who planned and oversaw many daring exploits behind enemy lines. He infused the fictional Bond with many of his personal characteristics, but did say that his creation was a combination of everyone he had known at that time and before it, in the shady worlds of espionage, casinos and black-ops commandos.<br />
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Fleming's life is hugely fascinating and was the subject of several films and a recent made-for-TV documentary series :- <b><i>Fleming - The Man Who Would Be Bond</b></i>. I am an unashamed life-long afficionado of all things Bond. Did I enjoy doing this research? Is the Pope Catholic? Does the sun rise in the east? We are going to explore events in four key 'Life Cycles' 'significant years' :- ie. his <b>age 24 and 36 'Years of Revolution'</b> and his <b>age 31 and 43 'Years of Broken Pathway'</b>. Most of these years cover key events in his life and career and were dramatised for the majority of the contents of the TV Doco. Sometimes I feel that others conspire to prove the exact formula for 'significant years' and display it to the world to save me the trouble, and as I have said more than once, I'm a bit on the lazy side.<br />
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Oh, and for good measure, we're going to analyse Fleming as never before. For this I have read copious biographic excerpts and articles and dissected the TV show. You see, on the other hand, I'm also a totally obsessional researcher and that's my passion. It's where the truth lies. Let's turn the clock back to when <b>Fleming was aged 24 (May 28th. 1932 to May 28th. 1933)</b>. In this year Fleming was to make his mark in his lifelong (but quite interrupted) career as a journalist. After being thrown out of Eton and Sandhurst and failing his Foreign Office exams, he finally secured a job as a journalist with <b>Reuters News Agency</b>, after his mother petitioned the head of the organisation.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfIfsbzcik51kKRUxGICYByGFd0u807G4P95vaxikvOz_sessbgHittmI7CGC118tp55FAc87L4a2m_mnNVu2nXMnzjxA2hn9tEYLlK1f-mgLix1ZfywXnwaW9E2nJCQgPVksvw2n_13UC/s1600/Young+Fleming.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfIfsbzcik51kKRUxGICYByGFd0u807G4P95vaxikvOz_sessbgHittmI7CGC118tp55FAc87L4a2m_mnNVu2nXMnzjxA2hn9tEYLlK1f-mgLix1ZfywXnwaW9E2nJCQgPVksvw2n_13UC/s320/Young+Fleming.jpg" /></a></div><br />
In March 1933, Fleming was given a unique opportunity for such a junior member of staff, to cover the trial of six engineers, who were arrested in Moscow for espionage. This became one of <b>Stalin's famous 'show trials'</b> and caused a furore back in England, as they were just engineers working for Metro-Vickers on projects for the Russian Government. With no prior experience he was thrown in at the deep end and got a reputation for fast and accurate daily reporting. This was necessary according to Fleming, because if you didn't you were fired. Competing journalists liked him personally and said :- "he has given us all a run for our money." More than this though, he spent his nights drinking and shooting high-stakes games of craps at the casino and this mix of Russian spies and smoke-filled casinos was the very genesis of Bond long before he wrote it. <br />
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He was offered a substantial promotion by Reuters as a result of this, but much to his great regret he succumbed to family pressure to take a job in merchant banking, which could have led to a partnership thanks to his grandfather <b>Robert Fleming</b>, who had founded his own successful bank. Mind you his mother, <b>Eve</b>, had the power to remove family financial backing, as she was a wealthy widow. He resolved this conflict by saying that he would make a lot of money in the financial world and then resume doing what he really loved ie. journalism.<br />
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In fact, I'm going to stop this analysis for a minute to illustrate a major philosophic position of <b>'Life Cycles'</b>. You see, just because I study events in certain years, that are often high points of careers, doesn't imply that individuals don't have free will at all times and can choose to accept or reject these 'gift horses'. I believe 'Life Cycles' demonstrates a benign form of determinism, otherwise why would all these far-fetched correlations happen. This however, when mixed with free will makes me <b>'a compatibilist' in philosophic terms</b>. See for yourself how Fleming had free will to follow his heart as a journalist, but didn't feel personally strong enough not to bend to his mother's authority. Such is life and he paid the price, with a most unsatisfactory 7 year forward journey to his next turning point, at his <b>age 31 'Year of Broken Pathways'</b>. <br />
<br />
Now we are up to the period <b>May 1939 to May 1940</b>, which takes up almost the entire contents of the first half of the TV Doco. It proves just how a 'Year of Broken Pathways' unfolds. You can see for yourself that this time the links of Fleming's father (who was killed in action in WW1 and was a close friend of <b>Churchill</b>) were used by Fleming's mother in his favour. When <b>Admiral John Godfrey </b>(Head of Naval Intelligence and <b>the real 'M'</b>) was lunching with the Governor of the Bank of England a remark was made :- "Good chap Fleming. Old Etonian. Stockbroker, but bored. Covered the Russian show trials for those British engineers for some newspaper." Fleming was then hired as Godfrey's personal assistant. It was how they did it in the English upper class, provided you were "one of us". That's how Fleming, who had no prior experience, became a <b>Naval Commander</b> in just a few months.<br />
<br />
In reality Fleming was a dissolute playboy going nowhere in the financial world, who was eclipsed by his dead war hero father and successful brother. He dreamed of being of becoming the 'ultimate' man - a hero. His <b>7 year journey from Reuters to Naval Intelligence</b> was complete by the end of his 31st. year, when he learned how to adjust to his new environment and also how to take outrageous risks, like attempting to negotiate with the retreating French Admiral, Darlan, supposedly 'on behalf of Churchill'. He also had an episode in a Portuguese casino, where he recklessly gambled Government money. In spite of this Godfrey liked him and could see his potential.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjl_E6bD3XaFZTlSx60_s9CgxZIqJqwTR38uoTfHWOOQjwafllTKIUAjj3hDBiUnyZp5tG-Ypjfe8EgRD2W5WA-4Bo5K-PFXG8z7bVU6-woEtAIKVNDEnbDpohNiD0pw6hhfHFo5JGVA_yu/s1600/Flemimg+ww2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjl_E6bD3XaFZTlSx60_s9CgxZIqJqwTR38uoTfHWOOQjwafllTKIUAjj3hDBiUnyZp5tG-Ypjfe8EgRD2W5WA-4Bo5K-PFXG8z7bVU6-woEtAIKVNDEnbDpohNiD0pw6hhfHFo5JGVA_yu/s320/Flemimg+ww2.jpg" /></a></div><br />
In his private life he also had an unfolding and irresistible attraction to his future wife, <b>Ann O'Neill</b>. In spite of her being married to a husband away at the front and having a relationship with newspaper baron <b>Viscount Rothermere</b>, she was fatally drawn to him. This becomes a relationship after the death of his then girlfriend Muriel during the blitz, but it would have happened anyway. Again, by the end of his 31st. year, his life is completely changed. He actually has a direction and his challenge is to make the best of it. <br />
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Now we are at his <b>career and life-defining age 36 'Year of Revolution' (May 1944 to May 1945)</b>. This was not when he began to write, so in what other ways was it important? Well it showed a climax of his wartime career, during which he longed to get involved in operations work. The second half of the TV Doco. is almost entirely devoted to this period. Once again, they pick my very 'significant year' and illustrate exactly how I say it should go. The program shows Fleming's disappointment as he is replaced as <b>Head of 30AU (his hand-picked team of espionage commandos)</b> in June 1944. He wants to leave his mark before he resigns or the war ends. This is his <b>'Trafalgar Moment'</b> of frustration before his breakthrough. <br />
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Then the TV show creates a purely fantasy scene with Fleming shooting Germans and getting involved with Russians as he attempts to recover <b>German Naval Archives</b> from <b>Tambach Castle</b> in southern Germany. This did not actually happen, but he did go behind enemy lines, with the Admiral who was guarding the records surrendering peacefully and then willingly going to London to help with their translation. Nonetheless, it was a high point in an otherwise frustrating period. More things of note happened to him as well. <br />
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Secondly he <b>re-visited Jamaica in Nov. 1944</b> whilst attending a U Boat Conference and determined to build a home there. This was to lead on to buying his estate, <b>Goldeneye</b>, where he lived for 3 months each year and wrote the <b>Bond novels</b>. It was an integral part of his career life. He also bought a book on ornithology at the same time by the author <b>James Bond</b>. When searching for the dullest name he could think of for <b><i>Casino Royale</b></i>, this is what came to him.<br />
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In addition he left the Navy in May 1945 and took a position with <b>Kemsley Newspapers as Foreign Manager of the Sunday Times</b>, complete with an annual 3 months in Jamaica. All when he was still 36. He had finally resumed his correct profession, which he stayed with for almost all his remaining years. He had also wanted to start to write about some of his wartime experiences as the TV show highlights. However he didn't do this at the time. That would have made his age 36 'Year of Revolution' complete. So what happened?<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWl-k7GBRsiWJdm_JGZ1s9YRT54npBodIodAieHptB6GVlX4w9-idV7xfwgyNpuPzDTNnzLl8YBiFRmyWPFxUz4sOnR6unFHQM5LQU-pp3EriPJ2Em_FM2mn1H9Ye93hgMVALhX-1jFAv0/s1600/Fleming+++Ann.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWl-k7GBRsiWJdm_JGZ1s9YRT54npBodIodAieHptB6GVlX4w9-idV7xfwgyNpuPzDTNnzLl8YBiFRmyWPFxUz4sOnR6unFHQM5LQU-pp3EriPJ2Em_FM2mn1H9Ye93hgMVALhX-1jFAv0/s320/Fleming+++Ann.jpg" /></a></div><br />
The answer lies in his ever-complex and tortured relationship with Ann. Ann's husband had been killed in action in 1944 and she indicated she wanted marriage rather than continuing her double life. Again the TV doco shows how she fully expected Fleming to appear in his naval uniform and whisk her into his arms, like the final scene in <b><i>An Officer And A Gentleman</b></i>, but that isn't what happened. Fleming prevaricated just when every fibre of his body must have gone the other way. He and Ann (born June 13th. 1913) shared almost 12 full months of <b>'Confluence'</b> and this was in their <b>only 'Real Time' window of opportunity</b> (ie. when Ann was 31 and Fleming was 36). I would have said as much if I could have analysed them 'back in the day'. <br />
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Instead he says things like :- "I'd be no good at marriage." "I couldn't support you I'm not even a spy now." etc. She decides to marry her other long term partner Lord Rothermere (with whom she is not 'Confluent' or as deeply attracted). What happened next is unbelievably messy. She continues her affair with Fleming, who follows her around the globe, while she in turn follows him to Jamaica, where she claims to be going to see <b>Noel Coward</b>. She gets pregnant to Fleming and their daughter, Mary, is stillborn in 1948. She then gets divorced from Rothermere in 1950, during her age 36 'Year of Revolution' and receives a 100,000 pound settlement, which provides for what comes next. You see she then gets pregnant to Fleming a second time and that's when he decides to do the right thing and marry her.<br />
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Let's stop the analysis again. Can you see what has just taken place? Fleming, who didn't follow his heart at 24 into journalism (and spent 7 unsatisfactory years in the world of finance); has again not followed his heart to marry Ann and has just spent another 7 unsatisfactory years in chasing a clandestine romance - complete with 2 pregnancies and a divorce. And what else? HE HASN'T EVEN BEGUN TO WRITE BOND. Of course, he had free will did what he liked, but just as all our actions have consequences, I would posit that <b>actions taken in key 'Years of Revolution' can have 7 year consequences</b>. <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmKzqXl3WkVbYs-z0Qp9CstnWN_Q1TNx96aI1qA7fqCTbCo_UbNNP_0z6BMZtTobPZXlNAjco5jYH0MBC7Kh77se_NaZh51lIYNGt8fCTjrUJ-ioMtyyn5MB5nCiKLMYN1-a0jFC1WWm7M/s1600/Fleming+writing.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmKzqXl3WkVbYs-z0Qp9CstnWN_Q1TNx96aI1qA7fqCTbCo_UbNNP_0z6BMZtTobPZXlNAjco5jYH0MBC7Kh77se_NaZh51lIYNGt8fCTjrUJ-ioMtyyn5MB5nCiKLMYN1-a0jFC1WWm7M/s320/Fleming+writing.jpg" /></a></div><br />
Let's take his final <b>age 43 'Year of Broken Pathways' (May 1951 to May 1952)</b>. It is well recorded that on 17th Feb. 1952 Fleming began writing <b><i>Casino Royale</b></i> at <b>Goldeneye</b> and finished it in 2 months. He was married on 24th March. He claims it was done to take his mind off the prospect of marriage. However I'm not buying this typical dystopian comment by Fleming. Quite a few different sources say that it was Ann who had been pestering him for some time to begin writing. It took this moment in Jamaica to bring it to fruition. Behind every man..... The question must be put :- "Would he have started writing back then if he had married Ann in 1945?" The same question can be put at exactly the same time for the period 12 years previously :- "Would he have had a successful career and life as a journalist and got involved with intelligence work in WW2 anyway, if he had not gone into banking?"<br />
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Fleming's life is an excellent illustration of the exquisite timing of the <b>'Life Cycles' 12 year principle</b> and equally of <b>the 7 year journey of forward momentum</b> following actions taken in the <b>'Year of Revolution'</b>. He further displays the principle of <b>free will combined with a benign form of determinism</b> that is the philosophical position of the theory. I hope this is both an interesting analysis and a cautionary tale at the same time. You have a mission should you choose to accept it. Not always an easy one, but then without the sense of the unknown there would be no excitement, no challenge. No mountains to climb, no enemies to conquer...<br />
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Wait a minute. Suddenly I'm transported back to 1963. I'm 13 again and I've just traveled to the city to see this brand new movie called <b><i>Dr. No</b></i>. The credits roll up and that fabulous theme music begins. I'm totally entranced and on the edge of my seat, just as I was last year when I saw <b><i>Skyfall</b></i>.... Oh well, back to the present. Till next month :- "May the cycles always bring you good fortune."<br />
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BTW this is a linked post so visit my <a href="http://www.lifecyclesstory-neil-killion.blogspot.com">SECOND BLOG</a> in a little while. Finally, as they do in the Bond movies..... <b>'Life Cycles' will return in a month with an expose article on meditation :- "Why Living In The Present Is NOT The Answer".</b><br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08831219021529377067noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4268570831297640594.post-36534582695737936942014-10-27T12:10:00.002+11:002014-11-08T11:37:50.518+11:00From DOS To Windows - 'Life Cycles' And The Career Of Bill Gates<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBu6WbNq5wkv6N4thftxXadQfvR0xWHYZJiGZMsiLC5_Izg2T1qDbP9qmpeAPpOpvsKbHSfkrmDdSlrtVY2p6P-eKPG9H3OEOjzg4lHA5KPvuhQhqeEHQRXP9ijgvhdL4Dww8xqHIPfEx2/s1600/Bill+Gates+1+Text.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBu6WbNq5wkv6N4thftxXadQfvR0xWHYZJiGZMsiLC5_Izg2T1qDbP9qmpeAPpOpvsKbHSfkrmDdSlrtVY2p6P-eKPG9H3OEOjzg4lHA5KPvuhQhqeEHQRXP9ijgvhdL4Dww8xqHIPfEx2/s400/Bill+Gates+1+Text.JPG" /></a></div>This post came about because I said to myself earlier in the month :- "Hey, you're calling this series of 12 posts - 'Life Cycles' And Careers - and so far, you haven't really featured someone from the world of business." So I thought :- "Let's do a couple of household names from the business world." Now, I know it's not perfect when I say :- "I had no idea what I might find." Scientists may prefer if names are selected randomly from a computer generated list etc., but since I do this research on my own, this is as close as I can get to a 'blind analysis'. <b>Bill Gates</b> is very much a household name and to the best of my knowledge he hasn't been in the news/current affairs lately (or I haven't heard about it if he has).<br />
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William Henry (Bill) Gates III was <b>born October 28th, 1955</b>. I'm going to set up a couple of standard hypotheses. <br />
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<blockquote><b>1. Was there any evidence of a direction change/challenge during his age 19 'Year of Broken Pathways'? (ie. Oct. 1974/Oct. 1975, which is his first adult 'Life Cycles' 'significant year' - but some of you actually knew this.... well maybe.)<br />
2. Was there any evidence of the beginning of a new age/direction during his age 24 'Year of Revolution'? (Oct. 1979/Oct. 1980) <br />
3. What about more direction change/challenge some seven years later when he was in his age 31 'Year of Broken Pathways'? (Oct. 1986/Oct. 1987)<br />
4. Finally, what about the important and often career-defining age 36 'Year of Revolution' (Oct. 1991/Oct. 1992)?</b></blockquote><br />
After this I normally run out of steam, but in any event I'm sure even the most sceptical (who couldn't conceive of anything even benignly deterministic) might be a little intrigued. That is actually all I'm after by the way. There is nothing behind these analyses unless others may wish to construe it. This makes it totally unrelated to the occult or religion, but at the same time makes it kinda mysterious, because it's based on a standard interpretation of real-world events. But, back to William, who's getting a bit twitchy backstage.<br />
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OK, during 1974, Gates (who was already doing a lot of private study on computers) joined his friend Paul Allen at Honeywell in the summer vacation. From here, in early 1975 (when Gates was 19), they contacted <b><i>MICRO</i></b> Instrumentation And Telemetry Systems (MITS) to say they were working on <b>BASIC</b> (an operational <b><i>SOFT</i></b>ware program) for their <b>Altair 8800</b> computer. Allen then joined MITS and Gates dropped out of Harvard and they formed a fledgling company called <b><i>'MICRO-SOFT'</i></b>. This is <b>demonstrably a major direction change/challenge</b>. It all grew from this, just as Facebook grew out of Mark Zuckerberg's usurping of 'Connect U', when he was 19. Once again, it's all in <a href="https://www.web-e-books.com/lifecycles/default.php">THE BOOK!</a>.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMqcTPnHo2BEJOTNKQJkcGUJ9VY2D_PC07J40iirCCnlGwZpQBtZKKhSrFkux3PELnpeVaO04V78W8gwka6bQwUBVljWwqKlJmw5e45FyFxpRokkE0q1_OGmi8foUEEX0OmhM0Tg6QW2_w/s1600/bill_gates_paul_allen.jpg" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMqcTPnHo2BEJOTNKQJkcGUJ9VY2D_PC07J40iirCCnlGwZpQBtZKKhSrFkux3PELnpeVaO04V78W8gwka6bQwUBVljWwqKlJmw5e45FyFxpRokkE0q1_OGmi8foUEEX0OmhM0Tg6QW2_w/s400/bill_gates_paul_allen.jpg" /></a><br />
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Now to Gates' first adult, <b>age 24 'Year of Revolution' (Oct.'79/Oct.'80)</b>. What will we find? Here's a clue :- "Think about the title of the post." In July 1980 IBM approached Gates (so an element of destiny here) to use BASIC in their upcoming personal computer - the IBM PC. This gave <b>birth to the well known MS-DOS (Microsoft Disk Operating System)</b>, which bridges the gap between the computer hardware and programs, such as a word processor. It’s the foundation on which computer programs can run. <b>It made Microsoft a major player in the industry</b>. This was the birth of the <b>Disk Operating Era</b>. Also of note during this time in June 1980, Gates and Allen hire Gates’ former Harvard classmate Steve Ballmer to help run the company. He eventually succeeds Gates as CEO.<br />
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OK, now the title of this post is <b>"From DOS To Windows"</b> and every computer geek can tell me that the birth of Windows was not timed to Gates next age 36 'Year of Revolution'. So what gives? Windows was publicly released in Nov. 1985 with the 1.0 version. Now, rather than typing MS‑DOS commands, you just move a mouse to point and click your way through screens, or “windows.” As Bill Gates says :-“it is unique software designed for the serious PC user.” Around the same time Microsoft struck a deal with IBM to develop a separate operating system called OS/2. OS/2 was intended as a protected mode successor of PC-DOS (in other words a disk-based second generation IBM PC). For a time the two companies ran together on OS/2, but then creative differences began to appear.<br />
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Now on to Gates' <b>age 31 'Year of Broken Pathways' (Oct.86/Oct.87)</b>. What happened to represent a direction change/challenge at this time? Well this coincides with Gates' first appearance on <b>Forbes' Rich List, with a personal worth of $135 mill</b>, following the company's listing on the stock exchange. Anyone in business can tell you that this changes your focus from pleasing yourself to pleasing the stock holders and driving up profitability. The money it seems was going to be in Windows and not OS/2. <b>In April 1987 the launch of the OS/2 1.0 was announced</b>, but it set in train a period of delays and modifications (including trying to incorporate elements of Windows). Additionally it was only sold through IBM sales channels, restricting its profitability. This lengthy period of challenge is also quite typical of what can be expected following the direction change in a 'Year of Broken Pathways'.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7zN_9NKiaKatuV3QJZHabLH6d0iZEssZ-Yu42lgHVx4cWsJMD9WE_u5ObUXtIqMFUaqM1XepW94YlC12rCQXTWzXxJUU1BK1go0H1sYu_D8rd29GzUH1nSttzwR-UJpMEeWBTxHk-Kkyw/s1600/bill-gates-windows-xp.jpg" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7zN_9NKiaKatuV3QJZHabLH6d0iZEssZ-Yu42lgHVx4cWsJMD9WE_u5ObUXtIqMFUaqM1XepW94YlC12rCQXTWzXxJUU1BK1go0H1sYu_D8rd29GzUH1nSttzwR-UJpMEeWBTxHk-Kkyw/s400/bill-gates-windows-xp.jpg" /></a><br />
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The final period I will examine is Gates' major mid-life <b>age 36 'Year of Revolution' (Oct.91/Oct.92)</b>. I grant you that largely because of Gates' early successes, this was not marked by a major career-defining breakthrough. No, I think you only get one of these years in your life and Gates had his during his age 24 'Year of Revolution'. It can also be this way for others who peak early, like entertainers/athletes etc. Interestingly, it was this way for famous writer Charles Dickens, who 'made his name' when <i>Pickwick Papers</i> was released at 24.<br />
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So what did happen then? Well in May 1991 (just before the start of this period) Bill Gates announced that the <b>partnership with IBM was over</b> and that Microsoft would henceforth focus its platform efforts on Windows. It could be said to be the genesis of the <b>'Windows Only' Era</b>. However, this announcement was not well received. Some people, especially developers who had ignored Windows and committed most of their resources to OS/2, were taken by surprise, and accused Microsoft of deception. This changeover from OS/2 was frequently referred to in the industry as "the head-fake". In the ensuing years, the popularity of OS/2 declined, and Windows quickly became the favored PC platform.<br />
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Not only this, but during the <b>transition from MS-DOS to Windows</b>, the success of Microsoft's product Microsoft Office allowed the company to gain ground on application-software competitors, such as WordPerfect and Lotus 1-2-3. In the 'History of Microsoft' article I studied, it referred to 1992 as the beginning of the <b>'domination of the corporate market' era</b>. Now all these events took place during Gates' 36th year. I hope I've made sufficient case for showing how Gates' successive 'Years of Revolution' at 24 and 36 ushered in two of the major eras in the history of Microsoft, thus justifying the title of this post. <br />
<br />
OK, let me spell my findings out in letters two feet high. This is my real-world evidence gathered in support of the original hypotheses :-<br />
<br />
<blockquote><b>1. At 19, Gates and Allen found Microsoft, using BASIC program with an Altair 8800 computer.<br />
2. At 24, Gates is approached by IBM to use BASIC with their personal computer and the MS-DOS era of dominance is born. Steve Ballmer joins Microsoft.<br />
3. At 31, gets on Forbes Rich List after Microsoft goes public. Unsuccessful partnership with IBM and the OS/2 begins.<br />
4. At 36, Gates quits IBM partnership and Windows Only era leads to dominance in the corporate market.</b></blockquote><br />
I don't think there's a more pervasive change to people's lives in the last 20+ years than the personal computer (or its counterparts). It all began back in 1975, when a young uni dropout named Bill Gates, decided to try and convince MITS he had written a software operational code for their Altair 8800 computer called BASIC. The reality was that he hadn't quite done it at the time, but was fairly sure he could. I learn so much from my research into all these posts, that I often feel I am sitting beside you as I do them. I'm a bit like Bill Gates as well. I'm fairly sure that I can find credible evidence when I do the analysis, but before I start I don't really know.<br />
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I hope you enjoyed this look at the world of computers and Bill Gates. Till next month :- "may the cycles always bring you good fortune."<br />
<br />
BTW don't miss the related post on my <a href=" www.lifecyclesstory-neil-killion.blogspot.com">SECOND BLOG!</a><br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08831219021529377067noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4268570831297640594.post-77337443831943093602014-09-28T16:52:00.002+10:002014-09-30T09:06:53.120+10:00The Crusading Revolution - 'Life Cycles' And The Career Of Erin Brokovich<b><i></i></b><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br />
</div><blockquote><b>"THERE ARE THREE VERSIONS OF EVERY STORY. YOURS, THEIRS AND THE TRUTH."<br />
<br />
Robert Evans </b></blockquote><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEtB9hAQFMji8AYbK8v2KpLGRNbE0ZSlZmt1TFNAAX-2ECI65hJiG7vnZJDqt1N9Iv_2mO_PIpTBk9t_NnwV8gC9Xwdkd8GaCDxGJt1IOPRrbh0z2dIeLEtLleteWpKouFNZRroA2o8rxJ/s1600/Erin+Brockovich+Text.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEtB9hAQFMji8AYbK8v2KpLGRNbE0ZSlZmt1TFNAAX-2ECI65hJiG7vnZJDqt1N9Iv_2mO_PIpTBk9t_NnwV8gC9Xwdkd8GaCDxGJt1IOPRrbh0z2dIeLEtLleteWpKouFNZRroA2o8rxJ/s320/Erin+Brockovich+Text.JPG" /></a></div><br />
If you read my <a href="http://www.lifecyclesstory-neil-killion.blogspot.com">SECOND BLOG</a> (and if not why not?), then you'll see I've used one of my favourite quotes from the post on Diana Ross, again in this post. Why would that be? We all think we know the Erin Brockovich story, right? We've seen the film. We loved Julia Roberts in the title role and so did the critics. In fact, she won a Golden Globe and an Oscar. She was portraying the real-life Erin, who was a genuine environmental crusader, whose actions caused the good citizens of Hinkley to receive just payouts from an evil utility company. They had poisoned their drinking water with a chemical, which had given them a long list of illnesses. But, most importantly, it was a proven carcinogenic. <br />
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Well that may or may not be <b>YOUR</b> view, but it would be a popularly-held view, thanks to Hollywood. However, before I go any further, I've got to tell you about the curious path that got me here in the first place. After all, this is old news, why would I dig it up? You see, I actually wanted to write about a piece of research I did back in the 90's called <b>'The N Factor In Executive Survival'</b>. This was a validation study based on work done by the UK, <i>Cranfield School Of Management</i>. It was, of course, new to Australia back then and I received some press coverage and wrote an article for the <i>Australian Institute of Management</i> monthly magazine. I couldn't find any of this on the web, so I wanted to re-introduce it myself. I will still do this, however I also wanted to illustrate with a good <b>'N Factor'</b> case, which would amount to one of the highest-profile, most vociferous, maverick operators I could think of. Then, the name of Erin Brockovich jumped into my head. Anything but your "good corporate player" and everyone knew her. Yes, she'd do just fine.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj32MjlvQ8ALVOrEj3R5Ydp8xIQPsWfRaWPGOykk5BlBe4sWg1qHMUDE9gOzSbetZ6I2TwiUmS1u7mSjpjtCD2xTKnh20sjhpvKg7zBJq03JIJFCbOOmJwTo1ausvFpJIS116bmukTXa286/s1600/Erin+Brockovich+movie.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj32MjlvQ8ALVOrEj3R5Ydp8xIQPsWfRaWPGOykk5BlBe4sWg1qHMUDE9gOzSbetZ6I2TwiUmS1u7mSjpjtCD2xTKnh20sjhpvKg7zBJq03JIJFCbOOmJwTo1ausvFpJIS116bmukTXa286/s320/Erin+Brockovich+movie.jpg" /></a></div>Now, in a twist of events, I'm going to tell you about my <b>'Life Cycles'</b> research first. You know how it goes by now, don't you? Just add 36 to her year of birth and see if you can see any evidence of life changing behaviour/significant career achievement/or breakthroughs that lead to it. It's the same goddamn question I ask every time. It's maths and stats and nothing else. Well, Erin was <b>born June 22nd. 1960</b>, so the period we will be investigating is <b>June 22nd. 1996 to June 22nd. 1997</b>. What happened? Was there a highlight? Did it include a period of frustration beforehand? In fact, why don't you stop reading right now and check it out for yourselves.........<br />
<br />
Did you find this? Erin Brockovich finally receives a huge payout of $2 million in legal fees when Pacific Gas & Electric (a large public utility) agreed to record $333 million private arbitration settlement. The original settlement date was June 12, with the money delivered a few weeks later. So, at the start of her <b>age 36 'Year of Revolution'</b>. In the final scene of the movie it shows Erin's boss handing her the bonus money (which was some time after) and saying that he had changed the amount. She explodes into a complaint that she deserves more respect, but is astonished to find that he has increased it - to $2 million.<br />
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This was life-changing for her in every regard. She has gone on to a very lucrative and substantial career in the legal world, as an expert in related environmental lawsuits against company negligence. She has her own consultancy - Brockovich Research and Consulting - as well as consulting for Girardi and Keese (who were the lawyers in the movie) and helping establish Shine Lawyers in Australia. There is, of course, the movie (which netted Julia Roberts an Oscar and $20 million) and her 2001 book <i>Take It From Me: Life's a Struggle But You Can Win</i>. She has hosted <i>Challenge America with Erin Brockovich</i> on ABC and <i>Final Justice</i> on Zone Reality. She has also received an Honorary Doctor of Laws from Lewis and Clark Law School, Oregon. <br />
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Prior to her involvement she was a twice-divorced, unemployed, working-class mother of three (even though she had a college degree in journalism). The movie shows that she was involved in a car accident with a doctor and was suing him. Her lawyer, Ed Masry (Albert Finney), expects to win, but Erin's explosive courtroom behavior under cross-examination loses her the case (so from my angle she's a classic <b>'N Factor'</b>), and Ed (shown below with Erin) will not return her phone calls afterwards. One day he arrives at work to find her in the office, appearing to do work. She says that he told her things would work out and they didn't, and that she needed a job. He feels bad for her, and decides to give her a try at the office.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHSHETPm9iqNk5IBG1RRJzUegRdXiqxmgPWh5j9NU-_ELeNQb1uo-AovfHrSPhXeyt8V17BVOjGCuhJTkjj3o2t76SpIDWXGXjD5Fl0znBL9bMrnY6f5s4qBPFVpaiJt_XXuD2kzcAkFyf/s1600/Brockovich+++Masry.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHSHETPm9iqNk5IBG1RRJzUegRdXiqxmgPWh5j9NU-_ELeNQb1uo-AovfHrSPhXeyt8V17BVOjGCuhJTkjj3o2t76SpIDWXGXjD5Fl0znBL9bMrnY6f5s4qBPFVpaiJt_XXuD2kzcAkFyf/s320/Brockovich+++Masry.jpg" /></a></div>So, just an office clerk with no legal qualifications or experience back in 1993. I won't reprise the movie here, but suffice it to say, that until there was a settlement, her circumstances were largely unchanged and this was not guaranteed at all. Lawyers for PG&E planned to keep stalling for years if they could. <b>Her big breakthrough moment undoubtedly happened in her age 36 'Year of Revolution'</b>. I was amazed, as I always am, by my own research. But there it is. I could have left it right here. Nice, positive uplifting article with a great finish. That's certainly what <b>THEIR</b> view would prefer I do. You know, Erin, Girardi, Hollywood and the whole media image thing.<br />
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I didn't mean to, but then I peeked under the carpet. I didn't have to, but it's in my nature I guess. You see <b>THE TRUTH</b> is invariably stranger and more fascinating than fiction (and the movie was a dramatised account, which told only the positive half the story). I didn't know any of what I found beforehand, except that maybe her findings were a bit controversial. What I found was material of an explosive nature. This comes from several sources (such as <a href="file:///C:/Documents%20and%20Settings/Owner/Desktop/The%20Truth%20About%20Erin%20Brockovich.htm">The Truth About Erin Brockovich</a> and <a href="http://www.salon.com/2000/04/14/sharp/">"Erin Brockovich" - The Real Story</a>) as well as a number of biographic summaries. It says, in brief, there were major problems with the case.<br />
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<blockquote><b>1. It was based on flawed science.<br />
2. The legal process was flawed and has caused a review on how such cases are to be dealt with.<br />
3. Many of the plaintiffs in the case consider that they were 'screwed-over' by their own lawyers.</b></blockquote><br />
So, without getting lost in too much detail, let's have look at each area, shall we? <br />
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1. <b> Flawed scientific evidence</b><br />
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OK, first off the guts of the case is that a chemical called Hexavalent Chromium (Chromium 6) is a cancer-causing agent and was used extensively as a rust protector by PG&E from the 1950's onwards. It contaminated the drinking water that supplied the nearby town of Hinkley, California. Brockovich gathered citizens' evidence and found many cases of tumors and other medical problems. Evidence of a cover-up by PG&E (showing they had lied when they said they used a safe form of Chromium) sealed the deal. <br />
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Case closed wouldn't you say? Well not according to investigative journalist and science author Michael Fumento, who checked it out. As he reported in the Wall Street Journal :- <b>"no one agent could possibly have caused more than a handful of the symptoms described, and Chromium 6 in the water almost certainly couldn’t have caused any of them" </b>(which was independently corroborated by New York Times science writer Gina Kolata).<br />
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Brockovich, by her own account, went to UCLA’s library and claims to have found as many as 120 articles that said chromium 6 was carcinogenic:- <b>“In each and every article, it clearly depicts that people who have exposures have chronic nosebleeds, kidney problems and colon problems,”</b> she said during an interview. Hmm, 'chronic nosebleeds, kidney and colon problems' are not cancer, but we'll let this sit at the moment.<br />
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Other scientific studies, however, from contaminated spots in China, Scotland and the United States, have failed to find cancer-causing properties in waterborne chromium 6. A toxicologist at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Sharon Wilbur, says that chromium 6 in water doesn’t harm humans. <b>“It’s very unlikely that people could die from drinking chromium 6 in the water, even over time,”</b> she said. Because the arbitration that eventually decided the case was closed to the public, it’s unclear what sort of proof plaintiffs attorneys offered to support their claims.<br />
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The most damning evidence, however, is the long-term epidemiology of the citizens of Hinkley. A study, released in 2010 by the California Cancer Registry, showed that cancer rates in Hinkley "remained unremarkable from 1988 to 2008". Not unnaturally Brockovich and Girardi etc. have hit back citing their many poignant testimonials and claiming the epidemiological data was biased. Well they'd pretty much have to wouldn't they, because <b>THEIR</b> entire credibility is being attacked. The rebuttal, however, did not appear to rely on competing scientific evidence.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqpXbAMZqeDIje0KekKXnB36gXJxAXarJmejBFF8284ir9JYUC0YxcQj9rgQEF12RL_a-poZA_7L5_36Fw8Ovp7mlNm-qLdN7hP-UDMXNhqHYHu22Q7ohfWinXi93XLYZjm5A_B4NIkiOU/s1600/EPA.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqpXbAMZqeDIje0KekKXnB36gXJxAXarJmejBFF8284ir9JYUC0YxcQj9rgQEF12RL_a-poZA_7L5_36Fw8Ovp7mlNm-qLdN7hP-UDMXNhqHYHu22Q7ohfWinXi93XLYZjm5A_B4NIkiOU/s320/EPA.jpg" /></a></div><br />
You can read it all for yourselves if you simply search <b>"Erin Brockovich criticism"</b>. Page 1 of Google lists articles by ,<i>The Guardian/The New York Times/The Daily Beast and TIME</i>. However, in the interests of balanced coverage I went to the EPA's own website. It said that the science available in 1991, indicated that some people who use water containing chromium in excess of the drinking water standard, over many years, could experience allergic dermatitis (skin reactions). <br />
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In 2008, it initiated a comprehensive review and in 2010 provided a draft discussion paper, which has not yet been finalised. The draft :- <i>"Toxicological Review of Hexavalent Chromium"</i> provides scientific support and rationale for the hazard and dose-response assessment pertaining to chronic exposure to hexavalent chromium via ingestion. Peer review and independent testing is ongoing, which has been stated as being most important.<br />
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The Girardi/Brockovich camp may well be crowing about this as of now, but we do await the final report. However, in the reverse, it would confirm that with the science available at the time of the PG&E settlement, no evidence of links to cancer existed and that though the jury may be out on this currently, the area is still under investigation. It actually made me wonder out loud :-' if such evidence had been overwhelming, then it shouldn't have taken around four years to get confirmation and action.'<br />
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2. <b> Flawed legal process</b><br />
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Next, let's go to the legal shenanigans that went on in this case. Many plaintiffs in the Hinkley case say the movie misrepresents what happened. Far from being the populist victory the movie depicts, the Hinkley lawsuit was a case study in how the rise of private arbitration, as an alternative to costly public trials, is open to potential conflicts of interest and cronyism. The case never went to trial, because Pacific Gas & Electric, the utility accused of polluting Hinkley, and the plaintiffs’ lawyers agreed to private arbitration before a panel of for-hire judges, some of whom had socialized with the plaintiffs’ attorneys.<br />
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After the settlement, the Hinkley plaintiffs’ attorneys took some of the arbitrators in the case on a steeply discounted Mediterranean luxury cruise (see the sidebar for details). The fraternization between the private judges and the plaintiffs’ lawyers led California Supreme Court Chief Justice Ronald George to begin a study of the business of arbitration (an example of which is shown below). The trouble with civil arbitrations, such as the Hinkley case is that public-welfare issues can, in effect, be decided secretly between corporations and high-powered plaintiffs’ attorneys, who represent unsophisticated victims. In the wake of the PG&E litigation, for example, there is no public record of whether an enormous, publicly held utility did or did not poison a town. <br />
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<b>“This is a troubling trend, especially when it concerns the public domain of toxic tort cases,” said Erwin Chemerinksy, professor of legal ethics at the University of Southern California. “It means there’s decreased public awareness of what’s going on in the public domain.”</b> One big reason for the boom in this whole area is money. Public judges, who earn about $150,000 a year in the public courts, often retire early to become, in effect, rent-a-judges. By doing so they can earn between $100 and $500 an hour — easily doubling or tripling their salaries. Arbitration firms often have powerful attorneys or corporations as steady clients. Also the rules that apply in open court often aren’t followed in private court. In addition no laws prevent the hired judges from accepting gifts from attorneys.<br />
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As it turned out, Girardi had ties to at least three of the private judges in the PG&E case:- Jack Tenner, John Trotter and Jack Goertzen. Tenner, a retired Los Angeles Superior Court judge, officiated at Girardi’s second wedding, in September 1993. Goertzen has been a friend of Girardi’s for many years, even though he says the relationship is only professional. In June 1996, when PG&E appeared to be stalling, Girardi learned that PG&E’s outside counsel, Haight, Brown and Bonesteel of Santa Monica, had hired private investigators to snoop into his bank records and private affairs, as well as those of his clients. It’s against California law to obtain confidential private records. One of the firm’s operatives, who had just been fired, took the damning information to Girardi. <br />
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The investigator, Ben Ortiz, a retired LAPD officer, was suing his former employers. Buried inside this second case, worthy of a John Grisham novel, are allegations of racketeering and collusion among judges and attorneys throughout Los Angeles County. David Sharp, the attorney in that latter case, alleges that Girardi and Lack used the Ortiz affair to pressure PG&E into making a large settlement -<b> “part of which was used to curry favor with active and retired judges involved in that case and others,”</b> according to Kathleen Sharp (who is the author of this explosive expose). I don't know about you, but this certainly sounds dodgy to me. And murky...<br />
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3. <b> Poor Treatment Of Plaintiffs</b><br />
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The last and most damning evidence of all, however, lies in the hands of those, for whom the whole process was meant to benefit - the plaintiffs. <b>“The movie is mostly lies,” said Carol Smith, one of the real-life plaintiffs. “I wish the truth would come out because a lot of us are upset. I understand the movie is going to make Erin and the attorneys out to be heroes, but where’s the rest of our money?”</b><br />
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There is no question about the big profits in these privately arbitrated toxic tort cases. Basically, when local lawyer Ed Masry based in Thousand Oaks, California, realised this case was beyond him and invited the big boys (namely Girardi and Keese along with Lack) to come in; they took over and told the townsfolk they would do it all for 40% of the settlement money, take it or leave it. What is 40% of $333 million? Oh, it's around a cool $133.6 million. In addition Girardi also billed $10 million for undetailed expenses, in a violation of the American Bar Association's Model Rules of Professional Conduct. <br />
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However what is left over for the 650 odd plaintiff's do you think? You know, the townsfolk who told their stories, without which there would be no case, the proceedings of which, co-incidentally, they were all-but banned from attending:-<b> “We had no idea what was going on and weren’t allowed to watch,”</b> said Lynn Tindell, a plaintiff. They figured about half-a-million each minus lawyer's fees (about $300,000). They were shocked to learn how little most of them got. <br />
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Dorothea Montoya received $60,000; Christine Mace got $50,000; Lynn Tindell $50,000; Tiffany Oliver got $60,000. All of these people were longtime residents, who had suffered well documented medical problems :- <b>“It didn’t make sense why my husband, who’s had 17 tumors removed from his throat, got only $80,000,” </b>said Smith. Roberta Walker (shown below), who had started the case and was depicted in the movie as Donna Jensen, didn’t get the $5 million that her movie counterpart received. <b>“It’s a big fabrication,” said Walker. “People look at $333 million and think, ‘Wow! You got that much money?’ But no.”</b><br />
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They said the distributions were based on evidence from medical records :- <b>“But no one ever looked at my medical records,” said Smith. “I’m sure of that because my doctors told me so after I asked.”</b> Other plaintiffs echoed the same complaint. In fact, fairly or not, some residents say they saw a pattern in the distribution method :- <b>“If you were buddies with Ed and Erin, you got a lot of money,” said Smith. “Otherwise, forget it.”</b><br />
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Let's not forget that there was no money at all for at least 6 months, in contravention of State Law, which says a client's money must be distributed promptly. The Hinkley clients tried to get answers by calling Masry’s and Girardi’s offices, but suddenly, they couldn’t get through to anyone, not even Brockovich. <b>“None of the attorneys would take our calls,”</b> said Carol Smith. Then the residents were further outraged because there was no accrued interest paid, when they finally got their cheques.<br />
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When some residents tried to complain about what they felt were unfair amounts, they were put off. <b>“We didn’t even get to talk to Erin and she’s the one who got us mixed up in this thing,”</b> said Smith. Some wanted to contest the awards, but were discouraged. <b>“We were told if we appealed the settlement, we’d get less money,” said Ron Gonzales. “It was essentially a threat.”</b> But Gonzales did appeal. He was given an award of $100,000, but appealed on the grounds that he deserved more. <b>“Ten minutes later, one of the judges offered me $250,000.”</b> The appeal cost him $21,000 in arbitration fees. I'll leave the last word to Lynn Tindell :- <b>“I feel like I was treated like a country hick that didn’t understand plain English,” said Tindell. “We are the ones who made those guys zillionaires.”</b> Some residents began to take their cases to at least four other attorneys for help.<br />
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None of this sits well with me. How does it strike you? The real winners in this case were - surprise, surprise - the lawyers; Girardi, Lack, Masry and Brockovich. Erin, the 'original rebel without a cause' was now firmly on the team. It was a winning formula. In the following years they went for PG&E in other towns similar to Hinkley. Brockovich and Masry mounted related cases against a variety of organisations and some of these findings were again controversial. I haven't got the time to go into it right now.<br />
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This does not make for pretty reading does it? It is almost certainly a lot less than you might have expected. I'm, of course, happy to hear your views, as I have no more of a vested interest in this, than I do in any other post. Till next month :- "may the cycles always bring you good fortune."<br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08831219021529377067noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4268570831297640594.post-25578581410314614172014-08-31T11:34:00.000+10:002014-08-31T11:34:34.855+10:00Good Morning Revolution - 'Life Cycles' And The Career Of Robin Williams<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijRWCt887s5Lxi56Qylmr0a3F5IpFQHW86f-LaPFIq8bM2MkAd14g7jQYpgeekFuDauj6BGUWzyr7utzMRpCCXeAsosJzT8cSGQJbTKLvSScMOKzwjgyZ09kaACsUEKGIJ8hHuYP3i98xT/s1600/Good+Morning+Vietnam.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijRWCt887s5Lxi56Qylmr0a3F5IpFQHW86f-LaPFIq8bM2MkAd14g7jQYpgeekFuDauj6BGUWzyr7utzMRpCCXeAsosJzT8cSGQJbTKLvSScMOKzwjgyZ09kaACsUEKGIJ8hHuYP3i98xT/s400/Good+Morning+Vietnam.jpg" /></a></div>I join with the millions of Robin Williams' fans in mourning his untimely passing. Such a 'larger than life' presence, with wit and warmth, that amused but never offended. This is my tribute to him.<br />
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Of all news items covering a reprise of his life that I saw, it was commenced by Robin delivering his famous one liner:- "Good morning Vietnam!" Mind you, it's a phrase you can't say blandly, you've got to use force and passion. You know, say it like this :- "Goooooood morning Vi-et-nam!!" It embodied Robin's spirit and defined his essence. Then, these same biographic short summaries would say things like :- "He first burst onto our screens with his breakthrough role in the movie <b><i>Good Morning Vietnam</b></i> and then reprise his major works like <b><i>Dead Poets Society</b></i> and <b><i>Mrs. Doubtfire</b></i>, through to his Oscar-winning performance in <b><i>Good Will Hunting</b></i> etc."<br />
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Of course, Robin was already established as a movie actor after <b><i>Mork And Mindy</b></i> wound up in 1982. He had the lead role in <b><i>The World According To Garp</b></i> in the same year. However, it received only luke-warm critiques and box office results and then....? Well, quite frankly very little for quite a few years. It wasn't that he wasn't trying, it's just that his big break was yet to happen. Or maybe not? There are no guarantees in life. Can you see where I'm going with all this? How the whole analysis came about under unforeseen circumstances? How I am being put to a blind test with <b>'Life Cycles'</b> yet again?<br />
<br />
Firstly I'd like to point out, that Robin's earlier adult career, consisted of beginning his standup act in early 1976. He was <b>born July 21st, 1951</b>. This would then have occurred during his <b>first adult, age 24, 'Year of Revolution'</b> (July 1975 to July 1976). It was to be his <b>first career identity</b>. He had previously won a scholarship to the famous Julliard School in New York (where he was one of only 20 students). He was advised to leave before finishing in 1976 as there was nothing more to teach him. <br />
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There followed a seven year journey, as standup took him on to <b><i>Mork And Mindy</b></i> and to alcohol and cocaine addiction. This <b>7 year journey in a forward direction from a 'Year of Revolution' to a 'Year of Broken Pathways' is absolutely central to 'Life Cycles; theory</b>. OK, if that's the case, then what were the key events in his <b>age 31 'Year of Broken Pathways'</b> (ie. July 1982 to July 1983), that underpin this? Well the first was personal. It was the death of his close friend and fellow high-octane comedian, John Belushi. This was due to a cocaine and heroin overdose and it provided a stark 'wake-up call' to Williams. He is on record as stating it.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivq-fvkKEa7w3fmVZOo8eHKIrFONmHVw8o-qprqm6mie5eKvfCFsZ-8Yqd9LuGHUc94KMMi_uiedleKXN0h1NPL848tZzd84KnOiYNrZOFBshuVQ-ciCiB_8e4e0gKzXZlvpgfREL96wz4/s1600/The+World+According+To+Garp.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivq-fvkKEa7w3fmVZOo8eHKIrFONmHVw8o-qprqm6mie5eKvfCFsZ-8Yqd9LuGHUc94KMMi_uiedleKXN0h1NPL848tZzd84KnOiYNrZOFBshuVQ-ciCiB_8e4e0gKzXZlvpgfREL96wz4/s320/The+World+According+To+Garp.jpg" /></a></div><br />
The second was career related. <b><i>Mork and Mindy</b></i> had simply run out of gas and lost it's way in the last season. Jonathan Winters was brought in as Willams' child, because Orkans were said to age backwards. It ended in 60th place in the ratings and was cancelled in mid-1982. Williams was left to find a new direction. He had hoped for an immediate film success with <b><i>The World According To Garp</b></i>. Based on John Irving's novel, it proved to be a faithful recreation of his quirky, but somewhat irritating, style and was rated and received as such.<br />
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Then followed a number of years in the wilderness. In 1983 he starred with Walter Matthau in <b><i>The Survivors</b></i>, which received an exceptionally low 9% rating on the benchmark Rotten Tomatoes review site. Apparently Williams and Matthau did not team well together. Worse was to follow. In 1986 Williams had the leading role in a star-studded ensemble cast for the Harold Ramis (you know, the <b><i>Ghostbusters</b></i>/ <b><i>'Stripes'</b></i> guy) directed <b><i>Club Paradise</b></i>. The cast included Peter O'Toole, Twiggy, Rick Moranis and Eugene Levy in a comic 'Club Med gone wrong' plot line. How could it miss? Apparently Bill Murray was first choice and knocked it back. Must have sensed something. Even John Cleese passed on this one.<br />
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Anyway it bombed spectacularly costing Warner Bros. $15 mill. and grossing only $12 mill. with an 11% Rotten Tomatoes rating. It was generally felt Robin Williams was wasting his talents with these movies. They were all just too one-dimensional. What he needed was a comedy vehicle with some depth and sensitivity and maybe even an element of social commentary. It was obvious his ship had not yet come in. He was 35 and he wanted to make a statement and the answer to his prayers was just sitting right under his nose. Enter the two people, who were about to be in their respective <b>'Years of Revolution'</b> (at 36/48) and who wanted to make statements of their own for quite different reasons. All three combined careers were going to rise 'phoenix-like' from the ashes. Now, you probably know nothing of these other two people, but they were pivotal to the making of the movie that would make their names :- <b><i>Good Morning Vietnam</b></i>.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUEkVMPtTpmvgD3XEYqf4ldc_1X2bO52-4kXd5vBXpaUDrAy8fiOKLAs76n0ZKs8-MROyO78qBzygBSymD-CwXbSp2_iN1kUSbis85CYZOLrTibl9XrBy0IiSDqBMrq8xYwAsslyb4KabM/s1600/Adrian+Cronauer+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUEkVMPtTpmvgD3XEYqf4ldc_1X2bO52-4kXd5vBXpaUDrAy8fiOKLAs76n0ZKs8-MROyO78qBzygBSymD-CwXbSp2_iN1kUSbis85CYZOLrTibl9XrBy0IiSDqBMrq8xYwAsslyb4KabM/s320/Adrian+Cronauer+2.jpg" /></a></div>First I want to introduce <b>Adrian Cronauer</b>. Adrian was a former Air Force sargeant and radio personality in Vietnam, who wrote about his experiences and this formed the basis for the movie. Robin played him. Adrian had been trying to get his idea launched for some time. In 1979 he pitched a sitcom to TV networks, who weren't interested even though <b><i>MASH</b></i> was highly popular at the time. His next move was to develop a TV 'movie of the week' script and he pitched it again to the networks. This time (around 1982 after <b><i>Mork and Mindy</b></i>), it got the attention of Robin Williams, who bought an option on it and then let it sit for four years, until one day he phoned Adrian out of the blue and said:- "Well, we want to take your project and go to production, but as a full-scale movie. Only we'll be throwing out your script." This would, most probably, have been in the latter part of 1986, after the disappointment of <b><i>Club Paradise</b></i>. However, what exactly caused this breakthrough moment is a little unclear.<br />
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Cronauer (<b>born Sept. 8th, 1938</b>) would have just entered his <b>age 48 'Year of Revolution'</b> when his dream was about to be realised. He was asked to meet Williams and his manager and tell his story. Various episodes were described and then they would decide on a completely different scenario. Cronauer laughs about this in an interview, but ended up agreeing with what they did.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBFoybQiV6YcLLRjjSM4q0TSOInBH-OBruhyBA0aUly8NjPUx5NCgOKvC3QBVh5ULNo3dsGAR7-qevVbLpwGg7iDVTsqhhMuCD-ZQdllVVJ5Z0SUBZ-LAXUiaBGpHBk37rSFNV6_zWzZJ9/s1600/Mitch+Markowitz.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBFoybQiV6YcLLRjjSM4q0TSOInBH-OBruhyBA0aUly8NjPUx5NCgOKvC3QBVh5ULNo3dsGAR7-qevVbLpwGg7iDVTsqhhMuCD-ZQdllVVJ5Z0SUBZ-LAXUiaBGpHBk37rSFNV6_zWzZJ9/s320/Mitch+Markowitz.jpg" /></a></div>The next step was to hire a screenwriter, who would turn the whole thing into a winning script, while still leaving space for Williams to use his famous improv-style comedy, at which he was a genius. Enter <b>Mitch Markowitz</b>, who up to that time had only been a TV scriptwriter and his credits included <b><i>MASH</b></i> and <b><i>Van Dyke and Company</b></i>. He was about to have his career-defining moment and he had just <b>turned 36 in early October, 1986</b>. This was to represent a phoenix-like moment for both Adrian (who went on to work for Defence in the area of MIA cases) and Mitch (who went on to write the movie <b><i>Crazy People</b></i> in 1990).<br />
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This leaves only <b>Robin, who turned 36 on July, 21st 1987</b> and thus shared a small amount of <b>'Confluence' with both Adrian and Mitch</b>. <b><i>Good Morning Vietnam</b></i> had begun shooting around April 1987 and so in this period of July/Sept- <b>this 'whorl of Confluence'</b> for all three men- the finishing touches would have been applied to their respective crowning glories. <b><i>Good Morning Vietnam</b></i> was released Dec 87/Jan 88.<br />
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At 36, in his <b>major and career-defining 'Year of Revolution'</b>, Robin Willams at last had his hit movie. In <b>'Life Cycles'</b> terms it was delivered to the letter and exactly on time. Williams had now <b>"burst upon the scene"</b>, which you know is the phrase I use to describe events like this. From a budget of $13 mill. it made $124 mill. He received a Golden Globe Award for "Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Comedy/Musical", and an American Comedy Award for "Funniest Actor in a Motion Picture (Leading Role)" and a "Best Actor" BAFTA Award. He was also nominated for a "Best Actor" Academy Award. No wonder all the biographic summaries begin with his iconic phrase :- "Goooooood morning Vi-et-nam!!" He had truly arrived.<br />
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Of course, I see it more as a chorus in <b>'Life Cycles'</b> terms. I see Adrian Cronauer with his arms around Mitch Markowitz and Robin Willams and all three of them saying :- "Gooooood morning Rev-o-lution!!" You know, sitting here as a humble researcher, I am dumbfounded by the volume of scope of this evidence. Not just this story, but story after story after story. Of course, it could all be just mere luck and a very odd set of coincidences, but I somehow I don't think so. Do you? Till next month :- "may the cycles always bring you good fortune."<br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08831219021529377067noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4268570831297640594.post-24684253685592697072014-07-25T15:10:00.000+10:002014-07-27T09:11:47.577+10:00Don't Mention The Revolutions - 'Life Cycles' And The Career Of John Cleese<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAzjfG20O6AqEHp27wLEA4AKNrtW93thiupDFEH0nvM3GWh6Ba0ht2G1dXUH_wEH1Z4jIrEEHl5QBt_Hz3tWaY_Wwuirgn7vtR-dDuW6k5rPwyGovErTkq5mvXYp8uqKZaJGCO3vCj6am7/s1600/Cleese+2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAzjfG20O6AqEHp27wLEA4AKNrtW93thiupDFEH0nvM3GWh6Ba0ht2G1dXUH_wEH1Z4jIrEEHl5QBt_Hz3tWaY_Wwuirgn7vtR-dDuW6k5rPwyGovErTkq5mvXYp8uqKZaJGCO3vCj6am7/s320/Cleese+2.JPG" /></a></div><br />
John Cleese is one of our best-loved comedians and the scene above is taken from the work that most defined his career :- <b><i>Fawlty Towers</i></b>. Yet this wonderful show almost never got made. It's a fascinating story and it features key events in Cleese's central, defining, mid-life <b>'Year of Revolution' at 36</b>.<br />
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The idea for the show came from a real-life couple, who ran a hotel in Torquay. Cleese and his former wife and co-writer, Connie Booth, actually stayed there in 1971. Cleese saw this as an opportunity to break away from <b><i>Monty Python</b></i>, which was a highly-contrived (but hugely popular) ensemble sketch comedy. This was to become an adaptation of French farce, complete with multi-layered characterisations. He wrote an early prototype of Basil Fawlty in an episode of <b><i>Doctor At Large</b></i> soon after.<br />
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However it was not until 1974, that John Cleese, who was to play Basil, sent the BBC the script for the pilot episode. Cleese stated in an interview :- “The fellow whose job it was to assess the quality of the writing said, ‘This is full of clichéd situations and stereotypical characters, and I cannot see it being anything other than a disaster. You're going to have to get them out of the hotel, John, you can't do the whole thing in the hotel'. Whereas, of course, it's in the hotel that the whole pressure cooker builds up."<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEPldTPeJij_P1SjjnX1XugHvx43d4Dx6tndiG7o8hdor1F208e41X3HnpH6x36GwA_JWeHq_AMCReYNw1chNR_V51ojBvaGGfDhyIF0RC44g7Agz3gynczAlEzzvhVu3_K200E8bWPUt1/s1600/Fawlty+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEPldTPeJij_P1SjjnX1XugHvx43d4Dx6tndiG7o8hdor1F208e41X3HnpH6x36GwA_JWeHq_AMCReYNw1chNR_V51ojBvaGGfDhyIF0RC44g7Agz3gynczAlEzzvhVu3_K200E8bWPUt1/s320/Fawlty+1.jpg" /></a></div><br />
Eventually Cleese was given the OK to write the scripts. Bill Cotton, Head of Light Entertainment for BBC said he could see nothing funny in them and told him it would never get made on a commercial channel. Cotton said he only agreed to go to production, because he had some trust in Cleese's track record. Cleese was paid only 6,000 pounds for 43 weeks of exhausting work (one episode alone took four months and 10 drafts). This was not enough to live on, so he supplemented his income by doing ads.<br />
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Then it got screened and became an instant hit? No, that was pure wish fulfillment. The first six episodes were screened in Sept./Oct.1975 to a poor critical rating :- “The initial response was kind of puzzled,” says Cleese. “The Daily Mirror’s headline was, ‘Long John Short of Jokes’". The series also failed to attract many viewers, with an audience of only around 2 million. I think we could be agreed, that things weren't going well, and the BBC would have been pointing it's collective finger at Cleese. What, I hear you ask, has all this got to do with 'Life Cycles'?<br />
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Well John Cleese was born 27th. Oct. 1939, which meant in the middle of all this disappointing news he turned 36 (the last episode, in fact, screened on 24th. Oct.). This was supposed to be his <b>central, career-defining 'Year of Revolution'</b>, but it sure didn't look that way. The first positive thing to happen a little while later, however, was when humourist Alan Coren wrote a glowing appreciation and then there was a slow word of mouth spread, so the BBC decided to give it another try in Feb. 1976. This time it took off with audience figures of 12 million and fans were dying for more by the end. This now began the triumphant reign of John 'Basil Fawlty' Cleese. No longer just part of the Python ensemble, but a stand-alone feature performer of what has been described as the finest sit-com ever written. It was to usher in his 'golden age', no question about it.<br />
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Here's a quick question for you. What other leading sit-com comic, whom I have featured in this blog, and in my book, also had the exact same sequence of 'almost never getting the show made and then getting poor initial reviews'? That would be Jerry Seinfeld. His big breakthrough moment also happened in his <b>age 36 'Year of Revolution'</b>, when <b><i>The Seinfeld Show </i></b> was brought back as a mid-season replacement, after bad reviews and audience responses to its first screening. You should check that out sometime. So 'Life Cycles' evidence is not only widespread, but it's comprehensive in its coverage of details.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4sQ4bn7tBq65EaeNsowlURLk_7T0BP_dVILxdiSr8hhVao9CBk3zVIbGZgO8OVgixHlMQW2C79InbCsLdSx51cgEfldq5hNkvnLI_CWPhl1usBPfmb08wSPuIKTfGWSmZZYPU7TXCmAHq/s1600/Fish+Called+Wanda.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4sQ4bn7tBq65EaeNsowlURLk_7T0BP_dVILxdiSr8hhVao9CBk3zVIbGZgO8OVgixHlMQW2C79InbCsLdSx51cgEfldq5hNkvnLI_CWPhl1usBPfmb08wSPuIKTfGWSmZZYPU7TXCmAHq/s320/Fish+Called+Wanda.jpg" /></a></div><br />
However we are not done yet with Mr.Cleese as the post title says 'Revolutions', plural. So if his <b>mid-career identity</b> was as a solo TV performer/writer ushered in with Fawlty, what happened to him 12 years later at his <b>age 48, later mid-life, 'Year of Revolution'</b> (Oct. 1987 to Oct. 1988)? This often marks a direction change and new age in lives I analyse. Well, would you believe, this corresponds exactly with his hugely successful movie <b><i>A Fish Called Wanda</i></b> (released in Jun. 1988), which he co-wrote, had a hand in directing and starred in? In other words it was totally his baby and he has unsurprisingly said it is his favorite movie to have performed in.<br />
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The movie received an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor (Kevin Klein), as well as nominations for Best Screenplay/Best Director and collected a BAFTA award. It came in at No. 37 on a list of best comedy films ever made. This again defined him as a lead movie actor, just as <b><i>Fawlty Towers </i></b> had defined him as a feature sit-com TV star. I have often seen the <b>age 48 'Year of Revolution'</b> usher in an era of reduced success, in different ways, in many other cases I study. It was to happen later on to Cleese, when tried to duplicate his success with a follow-up movie <b><i>Fierce Creatures</i></b> in 1997. It was a failure both critically and with audiences. Cleese himself said :- "making this movie was a mistake".<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihleQDAx8KNInew2VpaOA-d1uYIdBJrTAgA3crWG84ckt8G-3WojEeT9pEkGKCiEf-kdH3rUNgr6H7iregLW_nB6xL-3WpbJrL_ZtSjcvsvN7j_GuOpUwkwPjbSvbNpOoUrV9MKnkEn4-B/s1600/Cambridge+Circus.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihleQDAx8KNInew2VpaOA-d1uYIdBJrTAgA3crWG84ckt8G-3WojEeT9pEkGKCiEf-kdH3rUNgr6H7iregLW_nB6xL-3WpbJrL_ZtSjcvsvN7j_GuOpUwkwPjbSvbNpOoUrV9MKnkEn4-B/s320/Cambridge+Circus.jpg" /></a></div><br />
Finally let's go backwards in time to when Cleese was in his <b>age 24, first adult 'Year of Revolution'</b> (Oct. 1963 to Oct. 1964). Would this year come to define his <b>first career identity</b>? Let's check on this shall we? Cleese graduated from Cambridge in Law in 1963 and despite his continued interest in the <b><i>Cambridge Footlights Revue</b></i> (where he met his future Python co-writer Graham Chapman), his father still sent him details of management jobs he could apply for. <br />
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However, the Cambridge Footlights was renamed <b><i>Cambridge Circus</b></i> (cast shown at left) and after success at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, it got picked up to open in London's West End in July, 1973. This is just before he turned 24. Were there to be any additional defining moments for him during his age 24 to come? Not that a West End Show wasn't a badge of success, but could he go further? Well, after a successful run on the West End, the show then toured New Zealand (of all places), about a year later in July 1974, where they recorded a TV special. Then in Sept. the show finally hit the big time, when it transferred to Broadway, and was featured on US TV. They were indeed guests on the famous <b><i>Ed Sullivan Show</b></i> in Oct. 1974. I think this should sufficiently make the case for a career-defining year. <br />
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He began it as a relative unknown, but enthusiastic and talented, young revue actor, who got a big break and ended up going to Broadway and getting on the <b><i>Ed Sullivan Show</b></i>. So, to summarise let me spell the 'Life Cycles' career of John Cleese out for you in letters two feet high.<br />
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<blockquote><b>At 24, Cleese becomes a high-profile comedy revue actor. This leads on to the age of <i>Python</i> (which flowed from this) and is equivalent to his first career identity.<br />
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At 36, Cleese becomes successful with <i>Fawlty Towers</i>, regarded as the finest sit-com ever written. This is equivalent to his mid-career identity and highest life achievement<br />
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At 48, Cleese becomes successful with the movie <i>A Fish Called Wanda</i>, which gets wide critical and popular acclaim. This is equivalent to his later mid-life career identity.<br />
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Incidentally, this post is, by necessity, just a summary of the wide-ranging research I have done on the life of the very interesting John Cleese. If you are a fan (and I know many of you are), and too much Cleese is never enough, then I invite you to read quite a bit more <a href="https://www.facebook.com/neil.killion">HERE</a>. This is just another 'black and white' 'Life Cycles' case history and I trust I have shown you why this is. Till next month :- "may the cycles always bring you good fortune." <br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08831219021529377067noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4268570831297640594.post-17705738298804828542014-06-30T10:25:00.000+10:002014-06-30T10:25:47.121+10:00The X Factor In Maya Angelou's Career<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjL9RE1yZwq-pxd4pLgL1F1MEwUko_4a42ATm22caChvvTsCdi1X8L9JPfXGzurW8GCteOrIkq8n6G5wCiUvxH9_1-7IBkGaXeT5JvZl32ybw7AEhVeCFdiU13DDRb_B8HAed4ndNUrWmfZ/s1600/maya+angelou+malcolm+x+(1).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjL9RE1yZwq-pxd4pLgL1F1MEwUko_4a42ATm22caChvvTsCdi1X8L9JPfXGzurW8GCteOrIkq8n6G5wCiUvxH9_1-7IBkGaXeT5JvZl32ybw7AEhVeCFdiU13DDRb_B8HAed4ndNUrWmfZ/s320/maya+angelou+malcolm+x+(1).JPG" /></a></div>Now this post is a good example of a blind analysis of a life, following publicity about that person's recent death. I had never heard of the name Maya Angelou before. I can't be accused of deliberately selecting this profile; it was simply in the news and as I've previously said, I'm a bit of a haphazard researcher. However, I believe that's also the best way to get a true cross-section of data.<br />
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Maya Angelou, I've come to realize, was a much-loved figure within the civil rights movement, as well as a prominent author, with much material drawn from her own colorful life. This post will now contain a rather different mode as I'd like you to <b><a href="http://www.booksie.com/non-fiction/article/neil_killion/excerpt-from-the-life-cycles-revolution">PRESS HERE</a></b> and read a small, but significant, opening section from Chapter 3 of <b><i>The Life Cycles Revolution</b></i>. I want you to appreciate just how I study events in <b>'Years Of Revolution'</b>. <br />
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Yes, they can simply be defined as new directions and important achievements, but what really underpins this, is my conclusion from the evidence I study, that it is often so special, as to amount to a form of symbolic re-birth. Not just like the Eastern religions, who teach reincarnations of lives, but <b>a form of reincarnation within all lives</b>. Totally new idea in the history of thought and philosophy about life cycles. That's what makes it <b>'Life Cycles'</b> and not just a copy of something else. <br />
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We are now going to examine together, events in <b>Maya's important age 36 'Year of Revolution'</b>, to see if it reasonably fits this model of personal re-invention, like it does with so many other people I study. Does she :- <b><i>"bumble and stumble her way down to the bottom of the dark cellar only to eventually climb back into the warmth of a sunny day"</b></i>? <br />
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Maya turned 36 on 4th. April, 1964. What was her life like then? It was actually quite different to what you might expect. For a start she was living in Accra, capital city of Ghana, and she had had a settled life there for the last three years. She had left the US because she felt unwanted by white America and in Ghana she said she thought she was home. She was an administrator at the University of Ghana and a journalist and editor with Ghanaian Times and broadcaster on Radio Ghana. Her son was at college and she was in a relationship with a man from Mali, but had refused an offer of marriage, because it would mean relocating to Mali. She lived as a native Ghanaian and it would be safe to say she had no plans for change anytime soon.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9DP9FFj326X2OiAnbCEKQbSTibaHX-8G5Ne744e9TT7z50JtPItTHoidsfGLq_wsA9HGvr7zXaVKCQzvEkb03KoUCJB-zKWDyMM95Y2Jo-77SqhhOugdtFg_8uy6w8Gio7ODvZJ1LqDPb/s1600/youngmaya.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9DP9FFj326X2OiAnbCEKQbSTibaHX-8G5Ne744e9TT7z50JtPItTHoidsfGLq_wsA9HGvr7zXaVKCQzvEkb03KoUCJB-zKWDyMM95Y2Jo-77SqhhOugdtFg_8uy6w8Gio7ODvZJ1LqDPb/s320/youngmaya.jpg" /></a></div><br />
That was all about to change however, when the prominent spokesman Malcolm Little (known as <b>Malcolm X</b>), visited the country as part of his African Tour to raise support for the <b>"Organisation For Afro-American Unity"</b>, in both May and July, 1964. Here he met with Maya and encouraged her to become active in this cause, which espoused human rights for blacks; along with involvement in a raft of boycotts, strikes and social programs run by blacks. He wanted her to return with him to the US and help build this new organization. They discussed addressing the United Nations with a charter of proposals, in a similar vein to what South Africa's freedom fighters had done with apartheid.<br />
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What he promised was little short of a 'brave new world' vision of achieving real political and moral influence and he stated to her :- <b><i>"The country needs you. Our people need you. You have seen Africa, bring it home and teach our people about our homeland."</i></b> Maya was persuaded and she eventually arrived in the US on 19th. February, 1965. Now this represents a dramatic shift in her life, a new direction and some, but not all, of the elements of the definition of a <b>'Year of Revolution'</b>. Was that all there was? What about <b><i>"one-way tunnels"</i></b> and <b><i>"dark moments"</i></b>?<br />
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She didn't have to wait long. Her world came crashing down two days later, when Malcolm X was gunned down by members of a rival Muslim sect. With him gone the Organisation and its lofty aims quickly fell apart. Devastated, Maya moves to Hawaii to be near her brother. In a very depressed state she decides to give away her writing and journalism and reverts to her earlier career as a singer/entertainer. She is now :- <i><b>"in the one-way tunnel and stumbling about"</i></b>. However, she realizes after seeing Della Reese perform, that she lacks both the desire and talent to be a singer. She is effectively:- <i><b>"at the bottom of the cellar right now"</i></b>.<br />
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She then decides to return to her writing career, but this time in Los Angeles, where her family are. Then, most probably before her next birthday in April 1965, her former lover, whom she described as a controlling and powerful West African man, arrives to take her back to Accra. More drama and upheaval. Maya asks her mother and brother to help and they manage to divert the man, first to Mexico and then back to Accra. So, with him gone and with resumption of her real career as a writer and spokesperson for civil rights, she has now effectively :- <i><b>"emerged into the warmth of a sunny day"</i></b>.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8zGjagohh0XXIuACTdfuJrQpym0ajKKb3828Lq5oMk3W9Sl-CZX5H_9OwtThj_t-S6ft8dY175Boa7WQxoYrwBs8Xf5COjoJItgeNJqXAIxsIXvurmUQf7mghmCL4gK6nkwFt193uXlSD/s1600/maya+in+Roots.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8zGjagohh0XXIuACTdfuJrQpym0ajKKb3828Lq5oMk3W9Sl-CZX5H_9OwtThj_t-S6ft8dY175Boa7WQxoYrwBs8Xf5COjoJItgeNJqXAIxsIXvurmUQf7mghmCL4gK6nkwFt193uXlSD/s320/maya+in+Roots.jpg" /></a></div><br />
This really begins to 'fit the spec' of the full gamut of upheaval of an age 36 <b>'Year of Revolution'</b>. Without Malcolm X, who came storming into her life with a grand vision of Afro-American Unity, she would have probably remained in Ghana as a respected voice on African issues. The man she simply refers to as "the African" would have put on as much pressure for marriage as he could. She would still have been a writer and spokesperson, but in a different way. No, I think it could be fairly argued that Malcolm Little was to be the 'X Factor' in her life. He brought her back to her home in the US. He was what I have come to refer to as :- <b>"the agent of the Revolution"</b>, because I have seen many other examples like this.<br />
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Now for the $64,000 question. The last part of the excerpt referred to the whole process in this way :- <i><b>"as unreasonable as it may sound, the 'The Miracle Of The Revolution'"</i></b>. Is it? Aren't miracles just the province of religion and meta-physics? Can someone like me, who just mundanely studies biographies, say that lives can contain seemingly miraculous or, if you prefer, just highly improbable, life-defining moments and equally; at an almost predetermined schedule? <b>Does destiny indeed have a calendar and fate have a timeline?</b> Till next month :- "may the cycles always bring you good fortune."<br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08831219021529377067noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4268570831297640594.post-69839827965640391592014-05-16T08:57:00.001+10:002014-05-24T10:47:28.134+10:00Philosophy And Sacrifice - 'Life Cycles' And The Career Of Pope Saint John Paul II <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgH29QJuv6mjywX_Mq3tvFkPpTz1QyhMXDj3Pm3VYdpU6a4B0UXGlxE0nxOt66PburSNQfrg-ArpTc36cKAakgMhXtI9XgOrjMd-8stU8e1tMrXW8e0_wJs_wMR6N27CZHxKB7jluJC_H58/s1600/john-paul-ii+(1).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgH29QJuv6mjywX_Mq3tvFkPpTz1QyhMXDj3Pm3VYdpU6a4B0UXGlxE0nxOt66PburSNQfrg-ArpTc36cKAakgMhXtI9XgOrjMd-8stU8e1tMrXW8e0_wJs_wMR6N27CZHxKB7jluJC_H58/s400/john-paul-ii+(1).jpg" /></a></div>There is no doubting the continued popularity of the former Pope Saint John Paul II, who died in 2005. Even at his funeral supporters were chanting for his sainthood and when the official Canonization ceremony happened on April 27th this year, there were over 1 million at St. Peter's Square to celebrate it. He is now also known as <b>St. John Paul The Great</b>. I have actually had a long interest in his life, having featured it in detail in my first book <b><i>Life Cycles</i></b>.<br />
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I am going to explore the 'Years of Revolution' at 24/36/48/60/72/84, to see how events in these periods, were both related to each other and shaped and defined his career and life. He was born Karol Józef Wojtyła on May 18th, 1920. He grew up in the midst of WW 2 and indeed his first adult, age 24 'Year of Revolution' (May 1944 to May 1945), featured a prominent episode from his young life. He was swept up in the chaos of the German Army quitting the city of Krakow. He helped a 14 year old Jewish refugee girl, Edith Zierer, who had collapsed from exhaustion on a train platform. No one else helped, but he gave her hot tea and food and accompanied her on the train. Zierer credits him with saving her life, although she would not hear of her benefactor again until she read he had been elected Pope.<br />
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He showed no hesitation in this ad hoc humanitarian act, both to this girl and to many other Jews, and the theme of personal sacrifices would return again in later 'Years of Revolution'. At his central, mid-life, age 36 'Year of Revolution' (May 1956 to May 1957), after two years of Communist Government interference, he finally obtained his second Doctorate on Christian Ethics from the Catholic University of Lublin, and also assumed the Chair of Ethics at this university. He studied <b>personology</b>, which in turn was derived from <b>phenomenology</b>, and which advocated an irreducible element in the human subject and its consciousness. There was a sanctity in man's inalienable rights. Later this was to be the basis of his pronouncements on <b>social responsibility</b> and the <b>"world view" of his papal mission</b>. <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8rPq04ZDFG5UUx46v_M-hXk4rCZX_gPGEi8USQ47p3y1y3x0pIcfk1xjqwPzPIJ-LocBPYzuMRpvOegY2s2jnwLrjO3rUTGD7JvaIrIs7NrXOYGI-EmGepwnK0P3x-Dwz5YBxFqpxMy48/s1600/JP+II.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8rPq04ZDFG5UUx46v_M-hXk4rCZX_gPGEi8USQ47p3y1y3x0pIcfk1xjqwPzPIJ-LocBPYzuMRpvOegY2s2jnwLrjO3rUTGD7JvaIrIs7NrXOYGI-EmGepwnK0P3x-Dwz5YBxFqpxMy48/s320/JP+II.jpg" /></a></div><br />
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It underpinned his crusade against regimes that restrict personal freedom, particularly with Communism in his Polish homeland. It gave him a mission to have dialogue with all other major religions, as expressions of freedom of worship, and it also gave him a basis for his morally conservative views on contraception, abortion and other matters. He was, if you will, a philosopher within the Catholic Church, meaning his ministry extended his outreach beyond the usual Church borders. He was himself, of course, the subject of restriction of personal liberty by Communist Russia. This was his second and interwoven theme in all his 'Years of Revolution'. He suffered for what he believed in.<br />
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Let's trace this now to his age 48 'Year of Revolution' (May 1968 to May 1969). This is the time of the controversial encyclical <b><i>Humanae Vitae</i></b> (literally "Of Human Life"). This was at the height of the free love and contraceptive pill era and it was not well received by many. Pope Paul VI named Archbishop Karol Wojtyła to the commission. However, the Communist authorities in Poland would not permit him to travel to Rome to take part in person. <br />
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Wojtyła had earlier defended the church's position from a philosophical standpoint in his 1960 book <b><i>Love and Responsibility</b></i>. Wojtyła's position was strongly considered, and was reflected in the final draft of the encyclical, although much of his language and arguments were not incorporated. Weigel a prominent biographer, attributes much of the poor reception of the encyclical to the omission of many of Wojtyła's arguments. This is a good example of the philosopher 'bursting upon the scene' at 36 and then having the scene altered, with a new era at 48. Again he was sacrificed, through the curtailing of his movements by the Russians.<br />
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Do you notice how his formal appointments as Archbishop and then Pope do not align with these years? This is not unusual in 'Life Cycles' analysis. I would contend the true nature of Pope John Paul II was 'Philosophy and Sacrifice' in every 'Year of Revolution'. That is how he became "The Great". Don't believe me? Well keep reading.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdR3RobDwmP5_cLMOmnVydwNs_OMQuuLrMGsYW2MEhwnjCDKk-jDbD7XaEVYzRtaSJw_pg3EU96-H70OkCSwYdktqGBbAvvYHLUGK3-HZ0wZ9I__PFO3OH17Z_k4T-Z6ga0dZGnXRn3pM-/s1600/JP+ii+Assassination.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdR3RobDwmP5_cLMOmnVydwNs_OMQuuLrMGsYW2MEhwnjCDKk-jDbD7XaEVYzRtaSJw_pg3EU96-H70OkCSwYdktqGBbAvvYHLUGK3-HZ0wZ9I__PFO3OH17Z_k4T-Z6ga0dZGnXRn3pM-/s320/JP+ii+Assassination.jpg" /></a></div><br />
His next 'Year of Revolution' at age 60 (May 1980 to May 1981) was dominated by his most serious assassination attempt when a Turkish gunman fired at him as he entered St. Peter's Square. Speculation on the reasons for this included the KGB, who would have resented his influence in Poland. It has been suggested that the gunman, who was an excellent marksmen could have killed the Pope, however his mission was only to scare him. This greatly altered his robust health and began an era of physical decline. Despite efforts to try two KGB agents beginning in 1982, they were acquitted. It is a stark example of sacrifice for his philosophy in this key 'Year of Revolution'.<br />
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What about in his age 72 'Year of Revolution' (May 1992 to May 1993). In this time his body suffered further. He had a tumour removed from his colon and the Vatican publicly acknowledged that he was suffering from Parkinson's disease. However, in spite of calls to retire, he went on touring the world and remained fully mentally alert. He visited a total of 129 countries and had meaningful dialogue with just about every other major religious faith; including even animism and particularly Islam, which caused quite a bit of controversy among Catholics. He truly had a "world-view". <br />
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His final age 84 'Year of Revolution' (May 2004 to May 2005), including his death in April 2005, again showed his determination to demonstrate his philosophy of the equality and religious freedom for mankind, by hosting a "Papal Concert of Reconciliation", which brought together leaders of the Jewish and Islamic religions. Of course, he attracted much criticism for his philosophical approach. Traditionalists within the church saw him as promoting modernism, as well as appointing like-minded Bishops; while his stance against contraception, female clergy and gay rights, saw him unpopular with the very people, who may have otherwise embraced his modernist views.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbP1SAuIYt4zwUna1aBWmCwKFUGJWy2WAgbmenvYIXQ6idaERQbuIfYnoL8WPKsGV1w_wwTuwCtkVf7wmZ-XwWpPOyAEBIXFz4S98zCNT2YS-56ed_KWk-K3VcvjJkj_Q62thcA2g-UAfQ/s1600/JP+ii+Parkinsons.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbP1SAuIYt4zwUna1aBWmCwKFUGJWy2WAgbmenvYIXQ6idaERQbuIfYnoL8WPKsGV1w_wwTuwCtkVf7wmZ-XwWpPOyAEBIXFz4S98zCNT2YS-56ed_KWk-K3VcvjJkj_Q62thcA2g-UAfQ/s320/JP+ii+Parkinsons.jpg" /></a></div><br />
To the end he was a product of the two major themes that ran throughout his life. For him, each adult 'Year of Revolution' ushered in a similar story :- one of sacrifice and the practical use of his philosophy. Not for him the simple attainment of formal office, but what he could do with it to benefit mankind as a whole.<br />
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I hope you enjoyed this post. Certainly a different profile to most others I do, but as always, I am demonstrating the universality of the 'Life Cycles' principles. Please also see my <b><a href="http://www.lifecyclesstory-neil-killion.blogspot.com">SECOND BLOG</a></b> for something completely different as I feature one of Australia's leading fashion designers. Till next month :- "may the cycles always bring you good fortune."<br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08831219021529377067noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4268570831297640594.post-90503203768134077272014-04-26T09:51:00.000+10:002014-04-27T09:04:00.579+10:00Why Obama Is Obamacare - The Revolutions Of Barak Obama<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-UovhBpkMh_s/U0iL5d8_FuI/AAAAAAAACVs/F_53vsrKAeQ/s1600/Obama+Is+Obama+Care.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-UovhBpkMh_s/U0iL5d8_FuI/AAAAAAAACVs/F_53vsrKAeQ/s320/Obama+Is+Obama+Care.jpg" /></a></div>Welcome to a <b>new series of posts dedicated to careers and 'Life Cycles'</b>. Why do I change my theme and even 'look' of the blog every 12 months? Haven't got a clue? Well I'm going to explain it to you in the <a href="http://www.lifecyclesstory-neil-killion.blogspot.com"><b>SECOND BLOG</b></a>. Remember nothing I do is down to chance. Yes, sometimes I'm moved to feature a current affairs story, but on many occasions, including this one, I have been researching for months. As always, judge for yourselves, but I think you'll end up agreeing this is pretty unusual stuff. Bit on the spooky side and I guarantee you, though the President's life has been minutely dissected, no-one has made this conclusion before.<br />
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Once again, for the benefit of anyone who reads this because they think it's going to be about <b>Obamacare</b> only, there will be an introduction to basic 'Life Cycles' theory and his career generally. <b>'Life Cycles'</b> is the study of events in <b>12 year cycles</b>, but particularly focused on new directions/achievements in the first year of the cycle, known as the <b>'Year of Revolution'</b>. This is so named, because case history evidence strongly suggests it is like a revolution in your life. Thus, the ages of 12/24 (first adult <b>'Year of Revolution'</b>)/36 (important mid-life <b>'Year of Revolution'</b>)/48/60 etc. get studied to see what happens. Not just the whole year, but sometimes the month or even the week of the month, in that year. <br />
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We then look for <b>similarity of the events happening 12 years apart</b>. As unreasonable as it sounds, we look for the same themes getting repeated. Obviously not the exact same actions, but whatever might define a similarity of the actions. Maybe they symbolise the same broad type of thing. In rare instances there can even be a <b>substantive similarity</b> ie. it is plainly the same type of action. So, I hope you would agree then, if we can show plainly the same substantive actions happening in successive adult <b>'Years of Revolution'</b> at almost the same time of the year, it is an extra-special fit. In Barak Obama's case we are going to explore his biographical details (ie. the actual facts) during his 24th/36th/48th years (4th. August to 4th. August each time). <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRbEBM7Hx2bPYVBOGV6x7XfLqOaBozRiuSu9Q651jd8UfcCcfW_Adjd2deD0iSA77N14nxHR0B27CXN1EmQQ9fmJqRjeOKswygjksPWWPz0aNhwUQugCBa4AvDe25RhaJdt-kMyPorICKJ/s1600/obama+at+24.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRbEBM7Hx2bPYVBOGV6x7XfLqOaBozRiuSu9Q651jd8UfcCcfW_Adjd2deD0iSA77N14nxHR0B27CXN1EmQQ9fmJqRjeOKswygjksPWWPz0aNhwUQugCBa4AvDe25RhaJdt-kMyPorICKJ/s320/obama+at+24.jpg" /></a></div>Let's turn the clock back then to when he turned <b>24</b> (ie. 4th. August, 1985). He was a <b>newly appointed organiser with Chicago's Developing Communities Project</b>. This was a church-based initiative in Chicago's south-side Project area (ie. public housing mostly for a black population). In <b>mid-March 1986</b>, he saw an opportunity to get involved in a health-related issue of delays in <b>asbestos removal from the Altgeld Garden's project</b>. He sensed good political potential when one Sadie Evans drew his attention to it. I am now quoting the words of Avna Falk - <i>The Riddle of Barak Obama: A Psychobiography</i> :- "<b>The toxic asbestos issue became a springboard to Barak's political career.....He felt.....it changed him dramatically</b>". His own autobiography says the same :- "<b>it gave me a sense of power that has not left me since</b>".<br />
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Ultimately, despite initial successes, the initiative ran out of steam. After some pressuring, the <b>Chicago Housing Authority</b> asked Washington for the millions in Federal funding it would take to remove the asbestos and they didn't agree, saying such money would be better spent elsewhere. To this day some of those asbestos problems remain. So, that was 24, what about at <b>36</b>?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpqCZT2RFpPYESMV1WZtmNX5aTLEFei2X8BvZRQzYlrfpYeevb_7bcmvztikUsi-Ylxc2xdqS0c8byoVgEg2GNBZPN1UI1RkOBmKmFdp1YNfgqsSoZ25gMINjWhc5fAKoRkOUsvrqcYxSN/s1600/Obama+at+36.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpqCZT2RFpPYESMV1WZtmNX5aTLEFei2X8BvZRQzYlrfpYeevb_7bcmvztikUsi-Ylxc2xdqS0c8byoVgEg2GNBZPN1UI1RkOBmKmFdp1YNfgqsSoZ25gMINjWhc5fAKoRkOUsvrqcYxSN/s320/Obama+at+36.jpg" /></a></div><br />
Now we progress to the 12 months beginning 4th. August, 1997. This time it is the <b>newly-elected Illinois Senator</b>, who wanted to get involved in State-based issues. His first involvement, suggested to him, was in the area of Party ethics and he worked on helping pass a sweeping law, that banned most gifts from lobbyists and personal use of campaign funds by state legislators. This took most of his time until the new year. <br />
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His next big involvement was the implementation of Illinois legislation for the national <b>TANF program (Temporary Assistance For Needy Families)</b>. This included a healthcare component, and as a member of the <b>Health and Human Services Senate Committee</b>, he would have participated. In <b>mid-March</b>, I could only find reference to his nomination as Democrat candidate for a further 2 year term, so I can't pretend to be a 'fly on the wall' here. <b>TANF</b> was effective on 1st. July, 1998, so we can presume part of his activities were again Health Policy related. However, he went on to chair this Committee 6 years later in 2003, after 4 years as minority spokesman. He sponsored successful efforts to expand children's health care and create a plan to provide equal health care access for all Illinois residents.<br />
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Let's check another couple of similarities. Just as in <b>Altgeld Gardens</b>, he sensed a political opportunity in doing what he did and is on record as saying so <a href="http://www.examiner.com/article/1998-video-supports-romney-claim-that-obama-quietly-gutted-welfare-reform"><b>HERE</b></a>. Also, just as <b>Altgeld Gardens</b> still has an asbestos problem, so the <b>modern-day South Side of Chicago</b> is a hotbed of violence and crime, bred of poverty and unequal opportunity. It is known to locals and others as <b>Chiraq</b> and is also known for a lack of community services, particularly a trauma ward, which causes a lot of extra deaths from gunshot wounds, on the way to get treatment. <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoVetIAX9_gsH7zyF7TyaTxSNuIIsxthGkVH2AGJvn1Cjm7VhWFWnNPuIDJ19cFMMT37OSBocR5WC53KJ5JEbTEweKJ7aPga8Zj7XE7gKqq2msvO4PxuOujGejptnZdwa9lBHptqDrbLZD/s1600/obama+at+48+obamacare.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoVetIAX9_gsH7zyF7TyaTxSNuIIsxthGkVH2AGJvn1Cjm7VhWFWnNPuIDJ19cFMMT37OSBocR5WC53KJ5JEbTEweKJ7aPga8Zj7XE7gKqq2msvO4PxuOujGejptnZdwa9lBHptqDrbLZD/s320/obama+at+48+obamacare.jpg" /></a></div><br />
Finally let's visit Obama's last adult 'Year of Revolution' at the age of <b>48</b> (ie. beginning 4th. August, 2009). Now, as the <b>recently installed US President</b>, he had been at work from the earliest opportunity in Feb., to work with Congress to construct a plan for healthcare reform. It was indeed front and centre of his first term objectives. When was the historic legislation for the <b>Affordable Care Act</b> signed by Obama? That would be <b>23rd. March, 2010</b>. Again, around exactly the same mid-March timetable, that is closely aligned with events at 24 and 36. Again there would be several years of effort to get meaningful change implemented, that takes us up to the present moment. <br />
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It would be safe to say, that what was, I'm sure, seen to be an outstanding potential political legacy, has encountered all sorts of difficulties and general unpopularity. The strength of this opposition will be tested in the forthcoming mid-term elections at the end of the year. What does the future hold for <b>Obamacare</b>, and to put an unintended pun in the mix, why does Obama care so much about <b>Obamacare</b>? I would say it's because <b>health care reform is deeply rooted in his 'Life Cycles' DNA</b>. I trust you can see how his three adult <b>'Years of Revolution'</b> (24/36/48) are essentially the same. The same themes, the same timing and the same longer term difficulties. The similarities are substantive and not just symbolic. <b>He essentially repeats the same actions every 12 years</b>, just on a larger political stage each time :- ie. <b>local, State and National</b>. The essence of Obama is not just ambition for power, but the chance to facilitate meaningful reforms, that also help his career.<br />
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Now I'm not a fortune teller, so I make no predictions as to how this will play out. Perhaps it will be "third time a charm" for him. On the other hand, we have the spectre of the <b>Altgeld Projects</b> and <b>Chiraq</b>, to suggest that <b>Obamacare</b> may be more of an albatross, than a pinnacle. In case you think I'm somewhat biased in my analysis, I can direct you to an equally disspassionate profile I did of George W. Bush in my first book <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Life-Cycles-Neil-Killion/dp/1434366030"> <i><b>Life Cycles</b></i></a>. Till next month :- <b>"May the cycles always bring you good fortune</b>. <br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08831219021529377067noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4268570831297640594.post-58833486326181395132014-03-24T11:26:00.000+11:002014-03-24T11:26:18.916+11:00Mary Queen Of Scots - The Darkest Revolution<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMdnUlxylumAyVMraG7detmlownzXo5n9-lqqwJ0K5IE6UT5f_y02-10faO2sraGLD2p6FIezavCt_JlTO820zfjxQ_tYZhjh-E-QHmv7s9QqgxpM5CLzkjznUQqsohGR-sHzauzx8KOB5/s1600/maryscot.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMdnUlxylumAyVMraG7detmlownzXo5n9-lqqwJ0K5IE6UT5f_y02-10faO2sraGLD2p6FIezavCt_JlTO820zfjxQ_tYZhjh-E-QHmv7s9QqgxpM5CLzkjznUQqsohGR-sHzauzx8KOB5/s640/maryscot.jpg" /></a></div>This is the last post on the general theme of 'The Dark Side'. Maybe it's better not to dwell unnecessarily in this zone. Mankind is riddled with acts of infamy, heinous crimes and sometimes just plain idiocy gone wrong. However, if any one 'Year of Revolution' in any one life, encapsulates the 'fall from grace at our own hands' (ie. shoot ourselves in the foot), then this prize belongs to the generally unpopular Mary Queen Of Scots. She managed to alienate everyone and destroy herself in the process. All this at the ripe old age of 24. Indeed an article by BBC History says :- "The young Queen with the golden future was just 24, and her life was effectively over."<br />
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There is much to tell, but I'll just begin with her ill-fated choice of husband, when she was Queen of Scotland, with ambitions to succeed Elizabeth I and re-instate Catholic rule in England. The choice had been made to marry Henry, Lord Darnley. Like her, he was a great-grandchild of Henry VII with a Scottish father, the Earl of Lennox, and an English mother who was also a leading Catholic. By marrying Darnley, Mary hoped to strengthen the Catholic cause and enhance her claim to the English throne. The only fly in the ointment of this equation was Darnley himself. He spent little time with the Queen and even less on the affairs of state, preferring 'to hunt, hawk, drink and keep low company' (ie. drinking and whoring resulting in picking up syphilis). He also wanted to be recognised as having rights of succession. Over the course of less than a year the Queen fell out of love. But Darnley had done one thing right: Mary was pregnant.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaUsy12n3bTCYdnn0Dwj9yM5yhEBierrcO_JfwEPOaqdq1QU7vfOLWr6PoSbnLGmC7u5-FFybFWjnayyaGL3fYlV7_KSczlVxImom1vEv6bWLOShm0YBbGRXVtlBuVdQ6xCi59p4Faq6B_/s1600/Mary-Stuart-Darnley-2639182.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaUsy12n3bTCYdnn0Dwj9yM5yhEBierrcO_JfwEPOaqdq1QU7vfOLWr6PoSbnLGmC7u5-FFybFWjnayyaGL3fYlV7_KSczlVxImom1vEv6bWLOShm0YBbGRXVtlBuVdQ6xCi59p4Faq6B_/s320/Mary-Stuart-Darnley-2639182.jpg" /></a></div><br />
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The remaining Protestant lords saw Darnley as the weak link. They told him that Mary's Italian secretary, a former musician named David Rizzio, had too much influence at court. And why? Because he was Mary's lover. The reality was that Rizzio was a small, gay man of unprepossessing looks, definitely not Mary's type. Even more sinister is the fact that Darnley was bi-sexual (he had a 'lady face' as the phrase was used) and had forced himself on Rizzio. None-the-less, the jealous and gullible Darnley believed them, and agreed to take part in Rizzio's murder. Rizzio was stabbed 56 times in front of Mary, who could never forgive her husband this treachery. However, soon after, Darnley switched sides back to his wife, leading Mary to exile the Protestant Lords involved.<br />
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We will also look at the second protagonist in her life :- her close confidant and supporter the Earl of Bothwell. He was a tough, handsome border lord, who was five years her senior and a nominal Protestant, because you had to be to get on. However, he had been loyal to the Catholic dowager Queen Mary (widow of James V). They actually first met in the French Court, when Mary was still Queen Consort of France (till she was widowed just before turning 18). Now back to the main story. On 19 June 1566 (when she was aged 23), Mary gave birth to Prince James (later King James VI of Scotland, and I of England). Darnley was now expendable and everyone wanted to see the back of him: Mary hated him, the Protestant lords had been betrayed by him and Bothwell wanted to replace him as king. To further his ends, Bothwell persuaded Mary to bring back Moray and the exiled Protestants. <br />
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In November 1566, Bothwell met with nobles from all factions at Craigmillar Castle to discuss the Darnley problem. They came up with two options: divorce or assassination. But when Mary was consulted she ruled out divorce, because it would make her son illegitimate. As for 'other means', she said that she wanted 'nothing against her honour'. The nobles saw this as carte blanche and, having left Mary's room, signed a bond to murder Darnley. I hope you've got all this, it's like summarising slabs of history.<br />
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Now we begin the melting pot that is her age 24 'Year of Revolution' (8 Dec. 1566 to 8 Dec. 1567). They planned to kill Darnley by blowing up the house he was staying in. It is highly likely that Mary (who was in close contact with Bothwell) knew the details. On 1 February 1567, she brought Darnley from the safety of Glasgow to the dangers of Edinburgh. He was taken to Kirk o'Field, a house near the city wall, because he was sick (with syphilis) and, Mary said, needed somewhere quiet to convalesce. Mary promised to stay and look after him however on the night of the murder, 9 February, she was at Holyrood attending the wedding masque of a loyal servant. He survived the explosion, but was strangled and stabbed outside and hastily buried in an unmarked grave. <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyTBnm4T0V6BtdeQ4pM2l6dg4iXHjr0INKvVe8NyhFp-BydHsOjVi2NMrmehT1b4upxYIUu5r7U2IbU8LSdyPO2nWH8QzDHC_LAsB7JIyCNFvOyRsVldp7tZBkDDO9-P-6_yBKKfeXFUuN/s1600/tn_bothwell.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyTBnm4T0V6BtdeQ4pM2l6dg4iXHjr0INKvVe8NyhFp-BydHsOjVi2NMrmehT1b4upxYIUu5r7U2IbU8LSdyPO2nWH8QzDHC_LAsB7JIyCNFvOyRsVldp7tZBkDDO9-P-6_yBKKfeXFUuN/s400/tn_bothwell.jpg" /></a></div><br />
Virtually everyone was involved in the plot to murder Darnley, but only Bothwell and Mary got the blame. Within days, scurrilous placards appeared in Edinburgh, depicting Mary as a whore and accusing her and Bothwell of the crime. They had been set up by Moray and the Protestant lords. She did not help by showing no grief whatsoever and it was said she played a game of golf the next day (she was credited as the first recognised female golfer). <br />
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What happens next is almost surreal. In desperation, Bothwell abducts Mary and takes her captive to Dunbar Castle where, apparently, he raped her before forcing her to agree to marry him. But could she have been complicit in the whole thing? Possibly. Even her defenders find it hard to believe she knew nothing of the plan to abduct her. It was said she suffered a nervous collapse and became suicidal. To make matters worse, she is again pregnant, this time with Bothwell's twins. Bothwell, it should be noted, was already married for just a year at this time. His wife divorced him on 7 May 1567, citing adultery with her servant. Does this begin to play the same tune as the scandalous Burton/Taylor relationship?<br />
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On 15 May 1567, Mary and Bothwell were married at Holyrood according to the Protestant rites. Mary was either so desperate - or so madly in love with Bothwell - that she now appeared to give up even her Catholicism for him. This marriage was very unpopular and divided the country. Exactly a month later, the final showdown between Mary and the Protestant lords took place at Carberry Hill near Edinburgh. But no actual fighting took place because Mary's outnumbered troops gradually melted away. <br />
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Mary agreed to give herself up on condition that Bothwell was given safe passage into exile. In a final act of defiance they kissed in full view of both sides. Then Bothwell galloped off and spent the next month trying, in vain, to raise more troops but it was to no avail. He was to die in captivity in Denmark and she was never to see him again, just as she was never to see her infant son James again. Two days after Carberry, Mary was imprisoned on the isle of Lochleven, where in the next month she miscarried Bothwell's twins. Her life was indeed now effectively over and she spent, between this time and her execution at 44, in various places of captivity in England, whilst trying to instigate an unsuccessful Catholic uprising. <br />
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Just what was Mary's character? Was she the unwitting and tragic figure, who was a pawn in the game of the Scottish Protestant Lords? Was she indeed "raped" and held prisoner by Bothwell? Or was she a complicit figure in her own demise? Was she an outstanding example of "The Darkest Revolution"? Was she in this "up to her elbows"? You know how history gets written don't you? You need to go digging for the truth. Come and join me on this dig.<br />
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There is a fascinating report from Times online, about research by a team of gynecologists. They assert :- "Mary Stuart, Queen of Scots, was an “adulteress and liar”, who plotted to kill her husband in order to marry her lover. Intriguing new medical analysis claims that Mary, the cousin of Elizabeth I, concocted a story of kidnap and alleged rape to justify her marriage to her third husband – potentially shedding light on a 400-year-old royal murder mystery.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_nhPG4OyKZJsWCZTqvV6ArApVRAA4i13pigO_JU5VkwuqRtgXmooSCNQ0Yn3UBPR7oMCUbPGypTsnW4FIHMitaDsX_O66sxVMZOtVz46H5In-lC1WvRU6GvidyY8hL3Mxq3TQtdQmYsf9/s1600/The+Wild+Mary.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_nhPG4OyKZJsWCZTqvV6ArApVRAA4i13pigO_JU5VkwuqRtgXmooSCNQ0Yn3UBPR7oMCUbPGypTsnW4FIHMitaDsX_O66sxVMZOtVz46H5In-lC1WvRU6GvidyY8hL3Mxq3TQtdQmYsf9/s320/The+Wild+Mary.jpg" /></a></div><br />
Far from being the saintly and wronged Roman Catholic monarch portrayed in portraits and films, Mary was actually a “moral loose cannon”, whose striking beauty (she was a 6 foot tall, highly-sexed redhead, who was said to be a 'fool for men'), gave Elizabeth other reasons to imprison and execute her, the researchers suggest. Lesley Smith, a medical historian, claims that it would also have been an “astonishing coincidence” if conception occurred at the time of the “rape”, and even then the twins would have been just 12 weeks old and hard to identify upon miscarriage.<br />
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Instead, it is more likely that “the widowed Mary had an affair with Bothwell, became pregnant and had used the abduction story as a cover for her condition and justification for marriage,” Ms Smith says. Mary later claimed that her pregnancy began after her marriage but experts now say this is impossible :-<br />
"In a study published today in the Journal of Family Planning and Reproductive Healthcare, Lesley Smith, a medical historian, claims that it would have required modern microscopes and knowledge about foetal development to identify that the miscarriage was of twins after the seven weeks of pregnancy that Mary claimed."<br />
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So, Mary made a series of disastrous choices beginning in her fateful, age 24, 'Year of Revolution'. She failed to see the plotting by both the Protestant Lords (who wanted her gone) and her beloved Bothwell (who wanted the crown at all costs). She most probably willingly conspired in this whole ugly mess. Have a good look at the Mary you see in the book cover above. This is not the high starched collar, severe-looking Queen Mary, we are used to. This is the 'real Mary'; wanton, passionate, and underneath it all, quite evil. I think she's a fitting climax for the 'Dark Side' Lesson and series of posts. Remember the upheavals in your life, good and bad, that I have correlated with 'Years of Revolution' have to be dealt with in a dedicated and respectful way. It's your life, try not to stuff it up. Get ready for your next lesson soon, it will be bigger and bolder than any before it. Some very big names will get analysed by the one and only 'Life Cycles'. Till next month :- "may the cycles always bring you good fortune."<br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08831219021529377067noreply@blogger.com0