The Art of Survival

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Gettin that eclipse-y feeling again.

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Here's a good song: AWESOME.  Don't let the tinkle-bell beginning dissuade you.  This song builds and builds.  It gives me goosebumps.  The video rocks, too.  The very last words Pastor Jenkins sings are my favorite, after the song ends.  Two stanzas.

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This eclipse is awesome.  I've been staring straight at it since it started, 45 minutes ago.  It's just getting dimmer and dimmer.  Actually, it's pitch black now, and we've still got an hour to go!  I can't see a bloody thing.  I had no idea that the moon literally blocked ALL light from reaching the earth during an eclipse, and for so fucking long!

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You know that survivalist dude up in Washington who recently went batshit insane, killed his girlfriend and kid, then hid in a remote bunker for a week til the cops tracked him down and blew the lid off his hole, at which point he blew his own head off?  Yeah, that guy.  Well, I'm not going to comment on his crimes, as they are heinous and we can all see that.  He was the far end of Survivalist, taking the ethos to it's cold, creepy, (il)logical extreme.

BUT.  I liked his bunker.  Maybe he should have stocked it with better food and had a secret exit, but it was impressive.  It was a handmade labor of love, is what it was.  My point here, though, is that his bunker, like so many survivalist bunkers and vehicles and gear, was kind of grim and unsightly.  That might not sound like much to your average macho survivalist, but it strikes a chord in ME.  So, why not make your bunker look nice?  Why not lift spirits with a little creativity, some humor, some color, some brightness?  Even a small amount of artistic spirit can lift a grim edifice to a higher beauty.

That's what I mean by The Art of Survival.  Let's spread a little cheer with our survivalist lifestyles. Make someone, somewhere, crack a smile.  Wear your handmade skin jacket with pride.  Paint your rifle like the Indians did.  Add magical charms and symbols to your bandolier.  Name your BOV.  Bless your bullets.  Slap some fake bullet-holes on your front door.  Embark on some projects that are whimsical as well as "important", like sewing a Cloak of Invisibility or grinding a blade out of a railroad spike or building a 3-barrel muzzle-loading pistol shotgun with a laser sight and 2 pistol grips.

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The binoculars must have magnified the sun's laser rays. When I stared at the eclipse thru them for 2+ hours they burned rings of fire into my eyes.  All I can see is white light, and the eclipse ended hours ago.  It's nighttime.  I'm outside, I don't know where.  Crickets are chirping.  A dog barks.  How can I greet the new dawn tomorrow, when the sun is already inside my head?

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