Vacation: part 1

I finally am taking a vacation and this one is serious.

We are spending the first two nights in st. louis. Specifically the Lemp Mansion.

In 1980 time magazine said that lemp mansion was one of the 10 most haunted places in the US.

My initial impressions are that this is completely true. We arrive sunday with plenty of time to get in on their family style chicken dinner.

It's a bit strange when you walk inside because it looks anything like a typical restraunt. Probably because it really isn't. It's a full blown mansion.

We sat down for dinner in one of the dining areas and about ten minutes or so into eating, there were shifts in the energy around me.

I should note that I can tell an energy shift is in a room. It basically feels like your head is going back and forth from being drunk, but none of the mind stunting effects that comes from alcohol. It's a light headed feeling and in Lemp, it was hitting me about every 15 or so minutes.

Let me just say that I know I encountered 3 spirits. They are significant each in their own way. I am however not including what appears to also be the spirit of a cat.

The first spirit I encountered seemed to be the "elder" of the location. Since it was a dinner, it was like he was the host and everyone around there worked for him. He kept putting his hand on my shoulder by the neck. Kinda in a big ol' granpa-ish kind of way. I think he got the impression that I had a deep respect for the Lemp family legacy and definitely how delicious the beer was.

Lemp beer is one of the first lagers to be brought to the US. The current manufacturing has however been moved to wisconsin. That's fine the beer is fruity and clean. Kind of like killians red but with more fruity flavor to it.

The elder spirit feels taller than I am like he's 6'2" or something like that, and that he has a pain in his left foot. I don't think that's the reason he died tho. I really don't know that detail.

The second spirit to approach is like the sibling. Well, I can only guess that he was the one that committed suicide in the mansion. He really is a mischievous spirit! He comes off with this sensation of a pain just under the nose leading to sharp pain in the back of the head. It takes awhile to get rid of the effects from him.

The third is quite reserved and aloof. I could only guess it's the lady of the house. I am not sure. I did catch her standing in the corner with a camera. She's got a bit melancholy feeling to her. Kinda sad.

I'll post the pictures at a later date of the ones we took. We did get quite a few orbs when we went up to the room after checking in. We stayed in the louis lemp room. That's right the 3rd floor!

Later when we came back from driving around, we went straight to the room. I think we made it clear that we were grateful to be their guests and that we would like to be alone now.

It kind of worked. The only thing we really felt was a cat walking on the bed. Not too bad for a location that boasts that only 50% of the people there stay the entire night.

I have a digital recorder that ran the entire night. I don't know if it caught anything. I will be running it again tonight and then download the audio to analyze later.

With the exceptions of the changes in energy, it is a really comfortable place to stay.

Like most stories, we are the only ones there. That's a shame, because the place is nice and if you treat the ghosts in a nice way, they will more than likely treat you just as nice.

The morning went a little slow and we got around and took pictures of all of the rooms. Some are really interesting to see with the sunlight coming through the house.

I only experience one more energy shift when we went through the house at that time. It was in the lavender room of all places! I think it was the lady. The elder would have come off a little stronger.

The day was spent at the st louis arch followed by the riverboat ride and then a trip to the cathedral basillica of st louis. The artwork in that place makes it one of those "must sees".

We're taking a minute of downtime at an internet cafe just to catch up on what's going on.

Plans are to hit a late dinner at iron barley. The place was on foodtv's "diners, drive-ins and dives".

What is irish dance?

Seriously, what is it?

So my sister-in-law does irish dance and watching about an hour of it, I have only one thing I learned about irish dance.

I don't know what it is.

Is it ballet? Well, it kinda is, but not really. It looks like some kind of hopping ballet, but that's not exactly it.

Then is it tap? Well, sometimes, but it looks like some kind of clogging, but that's not really it either. Lots of hopping there as well.

It looks kind of goofy.

Costume wise, it looks like a modified ballet tutu, but that's not exactly right either.

Some of the costumes look like some kind of armor. Imagine being in the middle ages coming across a castle, and you're met by guards wearing that kind of armor. Must work by causing the enemy to laugh themselves into submission.

Then there's the hair pieces. The overly curly things that leaves anyone thinking: "dear god, what is that!"

Maybe there is a reason behind it all, or a reason for it, but I sure can't find it.

Must be because I am not irish, I can't dance to save my life or maybe because I just don't get it.

Which I don't.

So I pose the question to my sister-in-law who does irish dance, "what is irish dance?" She doesn't know either.

Figures.

America Unite: Boycott Wal-Mart

HBO is showing a documentary about Wal-Mart that really shows how this one corporation is destroying america. If you want to blame one company for the current depression/recession, then this company is it.

They won't allow the employees to unionize. They will rework an employee's hours so even though they worked overtime, they won't get paid for it. Their health care is so bad that most employees are on medicare in addition to the company healthcare. It's that lousy.

In the meantime, the owners and executives make millions upon millions of dollars.

Also if you buy underwear from there, be informed that they put RFID chips in the clothing, so they can track if you come back in the store. They really do that. They don't respect your privacy.

Do your research. Join me in boycotting wal-mart until the company goes bankrupt!!!

BRING THEM DOWN!

IF I ever find myself shopping at wal-mart, I think I might have to give a $20 to the cashier. They probably could desperately use the money. I feel sorry for them. I feel sorry for the many towns they destroyed by getting rid of the old mom and pop stores. I feel sorry for the chinese workers who toil for basically nothing so that we can get a less expensive shirt. I also pity the people who run the company, because they are too greedy to see what evil they have unleashed.

Which is more important faith or spirituality?

Quite a question, if I do say so myself. Can we tell the difference? Is there one? Or is one a decision and another a way of life?

I think the problem stems from how do we become spiritual, isn't that first a matter of faith?

And where does the science fit into this equation? How can we tell if there is some scientific method to prove either faith or spirituality, when neither is definable through science.

Maybe science is the search for something more. If that's the case then is science a matter of faith or spirituality?

Out of Print: Technically, is it illegal to download?

The album was called 'Tales to Warm Your Mind' by the irish rovers. We had the record when I was very young, and I listened to it all the time. I actually still have the record, but due to time and how many times I played it as a child, the record is pretty much unplayable now.

The songs hold a lot of memories, and so I ventured a search in the internet that spanned years. Hoping that I would be able to get a playable version of this musical gem.

Problem: The album is over 30 years old. It's totally out of print.

With great reluctance I picked up a bit torrent reader and to my suprise, there was a download of the entire discography of the irish rovers. I just wanted the one album. I picked up their CD 'The Unicorn' and it just didn't do it for me.

So it begs a question about those out of print albums. What do you do if you can't find it? Is it legal to download if technically it doesn't exist in the retail market?

If you want to look at the problems with the music industry and copyright laws, look at the out of print material. Take a look at music that you just can't find unless you get it as a download.

Until someone figures that out, I will continue to enjoy the melodies in "Mrs Crandall's Boardinghouse".

How easy is Christianity?

All it requires is you believe that it happened.

That a man was sent by God (or whatever you conception of a supreme being is) and said that he is the son of god and that when he dies, that all of the bad things that you do (in your self-centered behavior, which is what people do by their own nature) is paid for and your soul can be clean.

Accept the guy was real.
Accept the guy died.
Accept that act of death will cleanse your soul.

And to prove it worked and your souls can be cleansed, the guy came back to life.

To require anything more would undermine the whole effort. It's just too simple, and that's the point.

If you don't think it's true, then you need to read some accounts from people at that period of time, and I am NOT talking about the bible.

What is the point with toll roads

I guess part of me understands that the money goes to paying for the road, but isn't the point that it gets paid off?

It's a monster that can't be fed. I don't see toll roads going away any time soon.