NeoWayland's Lexicon

bald cypress

Taxodium distichum

❝This stately conifer, native to the Midwest, often is found in groupings in parks and larger spaces, along streets, and around lakes. Unlike most cone-bearing trees, bald-cypress loses its needles each winter and grows a new set in spring. The russet-red fall color of its lacy needles is one of its outstanding characteristics. Hardy and tough, this tree will adapt to a wide range of soil types, whether wet, dry, or even swampy. ❞

➢ Bald-cypress from The Morton Arboretum

✧

❝Although many conifers are evergreen, bald cypress trees are deciduous conifers that shed their needlelike leaves in the fall. In fact, they get the name “bald” cypress because they drop their leaves so early in the season. Their fall colors are tan, cinnamon, and fiery orange. The bark is brown or gray with a stringy texture. Young trees have pyramidal (pyramid-shaped) crowns, but these even off to a columnar shape in adulthood. Branches are often draped with clumps of Spanish moss. The feature that bald cypresses are really known for, though, is their “knees.” These aren’t like human knees, but a special kind of root. The technical term for the knee is pneumatophore, which means “air-bearing.”

Pneumatophores grow from horizontal roots just below the surface and protrude upward from the ground or water. Since bald cypresses often grow in swampy conditions, it’s thought that the pneumatophores function to transport air to drowned roots underground. They also might help to anchor the tree. Growing up to 120 feet (36.5 meters) tall with a trunk three to six feet (0.9 to 1.8 meters) in diameter, bald cypresses are frequently referred to as giants. (They can’t quite compare to their redwood relatives, though, which reach over 300 feet [91 meters] in height.) ❞

➢ Bald Cypress from The National Wildlife Federation

✧

❝Bald cypress' native range includes the southeastern U.S., where it is the dominant tree in swampy environments. It is one of the conifer species that loses its leaves in the fall. The natural range of the bald cypress is limited by two factors: the need for constant moisture until a sapling root reaches the water table and the need for seasonal flooding to eliminate invading hardwoods.

Bald cypress can grow in standing water. It is equally at home under normal garden conditions. The wood of bald cypress is highly valued for its decay resistance and is sought out for construction of boats, docks and bridges.

It is the source of the popular cypress mulch used by gardeners and landscapers. The number of mature bald cypress trees is declining because of the slow rate of reproduction compared to the rate of harvest and because of the draining of its swampland habitats. Around water, bald cypress produces characteristic "knees" that grow up from the root system. It was speculated that the knees aid in oxygen movement to the submerged roots. This is probably not true and the knees may simply help anchor the tree in wet soils. Knees were used by Native Americans as beehives. The term "knee" probably refers to the use of curved knees to support the hulls of wooden ships.❞

➢ Bald Cypress from University of Kentucky

See also Arbor Day

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bandanabandanna, kerchief, soft tool

1. a large, printed handkerchief, typically one with white spots or figures on a red or blue background.
2. any large scarf for the neck or head.

➢ www.dictionary.com/browse/bandana

An American bandana is usually a square of light cotton cloth 22 inches (55.88 cm) on a side. An "oversized" bandana is 27 inches on a side. Standard handkerchiefs are 14 (can be 10 to 18) inches on a side and usually much less sturdy than a bandana.

I volunteered one year for Sunship Earth, an outdoor education program. That's when I discovered how useful bandannas could be. They work great as handkerchiefs, sure, but they also work for wiping off sweat, cooling off your neck, sweatbands, and masks to keep the dust and sand out of your mouth and nose.

In a pinch a bandana can cover a small unconsecrated work area. I also use them as keyboard covers. Bandanas also make excellent dust covers for seldom used eletronics. I user them on my laser printer and my scanner.

Every year I buy fifty bandanas or so in bulk. The more traditional paisley patterns I fold into triangles and use as handkerchiefs (front pocket). I fold the unusual prints (tie-die, batik) into squares and use as a general purpose face cloth (back pocket). That way I can tell by touch which might get snot on my face.

I also end up giving a fair number away, especially to kids. So if I plan spending time around people, I put extra square fold clean bandanas in my pocket.

See also

bandanna,

soft tool,

tools,

tools,

Tools

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bandit, the

bandwagon fallacy ❝Everyone's doing it. Don't miss out!❞

❝Consensus is not evidence. And it's certainly not fact.❞

❝The bandwagon fallacy is committed by arguments that appeal to the growing popularity of an idea as a reason for accepting it as true. They take the mere fact that an idea suddenly attracting adherents as a reason for us to join in with the trend and become adherents of the idea ourselves.

This is a fallacy because there are many other features of ideas than truth that can lead to a rapid increase in popularity. Peer pressure, tangible benefits, or even mass stupidity could lead to a false idea being adopted by lots of people. A rise in the popularity of an idea, then, is no guarantee of its truth.

The bandwagon fallacy is closely related to the appeal to popularity; the difference between the two is that the bandwagon fallacy places an emphasis on current fads and trends, on the growing support for an idea, whereas the appeal to popularity does not.❞

➢ Bandwagon Fallacy from Logical Fallacies

See also

Cialdini's Principles of Influence,

TCOL #10

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barndominium

❝A barndominium is usually a steel building, sometimes quite large, that has room for both living quarters and a shop or garage area. They sometimes even feature a horse stable. Many barndominiums are actual barn to home conversions, but an increasing number are ground up construction of a brand new homes.❞

➢ What is a Barndominium? The Ultimate Guide to Building, Costs, and Everything You Need To Know from Barndominium Life

✧

❝Barndominium is a combination of two words – condominium and barn, where the condominium is referred to as building or complex, and barn has varied meanings. For a more easy description of what is a barndominium, it refers to a non-traditional structure with sheet metal siding and steel frame. It could be defined as a type of steel building.

These types of buildings are typically built on a multi-acre homesite or any existing property, and the structure is usually used for both residential as well as commercial uses. The storage area of these infrastructures is large enough that you can easily place your boats and RVs.❞

➢ What Is a Barndominium? A Complete Guide on It from Architectural Foundation

✧

❝These practical homes can be pictured as authentic affordable houses with spacious interiors, pretty picturesque and living equivalent to a barn-style rustic that is modernized and updated. Maybe a living warehouse – that adds a tinge of homeliness and comfort.

Emerging from the traditional functions of warehouses, shops and garages, these homes are now fully-equipped with bedrooms, bathrooms, common areas and entertainment spaces. Isn’t that surprising? Yes, you would be amazed to know that these homes now offer utter luxury living with styled interior design themes and styles.❞

➢ Barndominium Homes (Ultimate Guide) from Designing Idea

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bathetic

Overly and insincerely emotional, mawkish.

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bawdy

1. (adjective) indecent; lewd; obscene:
2. (adjective) coarse or indecent talk or writing; bawdry; bawdiness:

➢ www.dictionary.com/browse/bawdy

For my archived images, the subject almost but not quite revealing genitalia, bottom, or adult female nipples.

Usually seems to be falling out of or barely concealed by clothing. Can include pointy nipples covered by clothes so long as the areola doesn't show. Often includes humorous elements mocking the other person's taboos.

To me, the picture is not really bawdy unless it's funny and tempting the viewer's standards. The difference between bawdy and risqué is attitude.

See also

carnal,

erotic,

nude,

picture labels,

risqué,

sex

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BDU pants

be proud

Taking satisfaction in your honor and ability in that order.

But don’t invite trouble.

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bear

Ursus americanus, at least in Arizona

❝Bears are carnivoran mammals of the family Ursidae. They are classified as caniforms, or doglike carnivorans. Although only eight species of bears are extant, they are widespread, appearing in a wide variety of habitats throughout the Northern Hemisphere and partially in the Southern Hemisphere. Bears are found on the continents of North America, South America, Europe, and Asia. Common characteristics of modern bears include large bodies with stocky legs, long snouts, small rounded ears, shaggy hair, plantigrade paws with five nonretractile claws, and short tails.❞

➢ en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bear

I identify heavily with Bear. Not the same way as certain gay men, I don’t have nearly that much body hair and I don’t have the physical build. But personality, certainly. I’m an introspective loner with only a few people that I care about deeply. I’d rather watch a tree or a mountain than peoplewatch. When I do peoplewatch, I prefer to be left alone. But inside my head, the wheels are spinning and I’m constantly looking for new patterns. That’s Bear’s curiosity. When I instinctively know “right” from “wrong” or the balance point between choices, that’s Bear.

❝The black bear is the only bear species still found in Arizona. It is the smallest and most widely distributed North American bear. It lives in most forest, woodland and chaparral habitats, and desert riparian areas. Black bears generally roam an area of 7 to 15 square miles.❞

➢ Wildlife Living With Bears from Arizona Game & Fish

✧

❝A naturally formed cave or den dug in the ground symbolizes the womb of the mother. Bear meaning speaks to us of retreating into the womb of the Great Mother, the earth, for rest and protection. Creativity is born during this time of retreat as we see when the mother bear emerges with her bear cubs. We think that maturity happens when we leave the womb, but bear symbolism teaches different. Going back into the great womb, the void, where all of creation is born actually brings maturity. If we are constantly out in the world doing, doing, doing we never turn our experience into wisdom. The meaning of bear is to turn inward for moments of silent retreat, meditation, and contemplation to synthesize ideas and reflect.

This coming into the core of who we are to find the infinite knowing of the cosmos is the essence of bear spirit animal. People with the archetype of the hermit will understand how fruitful and critical this “cave time” can be.❞

➢ Spirit Animals: MOTHER BEAR from Wild Gratitude

See also

bear album,

Bears & Humans,

coyote,

Giving Voice to Bear,

How To Be Safe Around Bears (A Step-By-Step Guide) from SurvivalMag,

raven,

Sort of,

The Sacred Paw,

Totems I have known

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beartail

When I go outside in public, I wear a beartail. It's like a ponytail, but it's about three finger breadths above the nape of my neck. The hair is doubled under so that it resembles an actual bear's tail.

I'd like to think I was the first to use the term in this context, but I'm not sure. From the front, I look almost respectable.

I was orginally inspired by Revolutionary era hairstyles and remembering the illustrations from Mr. Wicker's Window by Carley Dawson. The beartail just seemed a natural next step.

See also What's the difference between a ponytail and a beartail?

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Befores

❝Bone, Heart, Thought, Deed, and Spirit, I honor those passed who shaped my life.❞

Inspired by the writings of the late Zenna Henderson and the Celtic Mighty & Beloved Dead. It's not quite ancestor worship, my version of a Before is closer to “revered inspiration.”

Think of it like “respected ancestor who I choose to honor by living their example.” I've expanded the original idea, it is no longer limited to my blood ancestors. I have adoptive Befores, those who inspire me in other ways. Each year at the beginning of Winter, I name five.

• Before of Bone - in my family line
• Before of Heart - provided compassion and love in any of it’s forms. See Greek words for love
• Before of Thought - provided wisdom or knowledge
• Before of Deed - provided action that shaped my world
• Before of Spirit - touched me beyond words and strummed my passions

Every year after, I mark their birth and their passing.

See also

BoneKin,

De mortuis nil nisi bonum,

passing,

the Beloved Dead,

the Gardener,

the Lament,

the Mighty Dead,

Samhain,

Samhain,

Wintergate,

Wintergate,

Zenna Henderson

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begging the question

❝Begging the question is a fallacy in which the premise of an argument presupposes the truth of its conclusion; in other words, the argument takes for granted what it's supposed to prove.❞

➢ Definition and Examples of the Logical Fallacy from ThoughtCo.

See also TCoL #4

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behavior maps

behavioral interviewing

Past behavior best indicates future behavior.

In my HR days, I used behavioral interviewing. The premise is that past behavior is the best predictor of future behavior. It's not perfect, but it's certainly a good sign.

It involved analyzing the job, often rewriting the job description, and choosing or composing questions that reflected what the job actually required. A good behavioral interview usually lasts between a half hour and a hour and a half, depending on how good the interviewer is. Much longer than that and both the interviewer and the interviewee start losing focus.

However, neither I nor my subordinate managers had a half hour to spare for every interview. We (mainly me) developed a set of screening interviews of twenty-five questions using a 1-5 scale and trained some of front-line staff to give those interviews. That usually took about 15-20 minutes and freed time for the managers and me. It also meant that most of the evaluation happened before management was involved. It took time to set up, but overall turnover dropped and customer satisfaction scores went up.

See also behavioral interviewing

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belief - American neopagan

Nature-centered, experienced, connecting & manifesting.

Please notice my description is balanced between “is” and “do.”

There is not a “unified” neopagan pagan belief system. I don't speak for all pagans. So take what I say with a grain of salt. If you ask the question of thirteen pagans, you'd probably get forty-seven answers.

Like many neopagans, I prefer “pagan.” But there are many varieties of pagan. So for the moment, let's stick to neopagans and especially American neopagans.

Start with the difference between an experienced reliegion and a revealed religion. Or, as I call it, the Journey versus the Story. The Journey is lived while the Story is told. With pagans, there is no holy text revealing higher truths. We believe it's up to the individual to discover higher truths and then find a way to Manifest into the World. We can't hoard, it has to flow throw us back into the World.

Most heathens and neopagans would tell you that we don't believe in Original Sin. We don't think we come into this World corrupt. Sometimes we're born to bring something into the World, and sometimes we're born to take something into the next. But there is no way of telling which until we've Passed.

We don't see ourselves as separate from Nature. We think that the Divine is very much a part of the universe and is living right here beside us. We tend to think of our Gods as Elder Relatives even if they are beyond our understanding.

Animism means that all things have a spiritual nature that is reflected in the World itself. You can't hurt or damage another without striking at yourself. Sometimes it's necessary, like hunting for food, but that doesn't change the death. So it's up to each of us to honor and respect the lives we take to make our own lives better.

❝I believe that all things have a Divine nature. Life is the universe’s attempt to understand itself. I know that the totality of the universe is too vast for me to comprehend. So there are godmasks that I turn to for understanding, guidance, and strength when mine is not enough. I know that these godmasks are only representations and gateways to Divinity, not Divinity themselves.

Here's where it gets a little complicated.

I recognize that much of the universe around me has male and female principles (that is a simplification, but it will do for our purposes here), so it is with the Dieties that I recognize. Actually, it's more of a mutual thing, they recognize me and I recognize them. There are several "sets," and they seem to shift identities from time to time. For my own convenience, I use the terms "Lord" and "Lady, " unless I need to address a specific aspect of Divinity. That is when I will get specific with which Names I invoke.❞

❝The article didn't mention drug fueled orgies where we slaked our unnatural lusts with children and the occasional house pet, so right away it's nicer than some.

As for the rest, our situation and our answers are not mainstream. What we see under the light of the full Moon or in the moment before the breaking dawn isn't what they see. For the most part, what they expect from religion isn't what we experience. They won't understand, any more than a virgin can understand sex or someone who has never touched silk can understand the sensation.

As long as we are left alone with our faith and our Journey, I think that's enough.❞

Here's a list of lexicon entries and external links relating to my (NeoWayland's) beliefs.

See also

neopaganism,

pagan

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Beloved Dead, the “What is remembered, lives.”

❝Surely everyone has Beloved Dead, meaning those we've loved who've passed on from this realm. We celebrate these ancestors every year at Samhain. We grieve together and we often communicate directly with them, as well.❞

➢ The Mighty Dead, the Beloved Dead and Us

✧

❝There is something about honoring our roots, even when it’s difficult. In southern families, those roots can be quite gnarled and twisted, like something straight out of a Faulkner novel. Staring down at the graves of a few of my relatives often makes me wonder how we could even be from the same bloodline. Then there are others I hold dearly and closely, and I wonder if I’m making them proud with my earth walk.❞

➢ Samhain in the South: Honoring our Beloved Dead

✧

❝In my teachings, we divide the ancestors into seven different kinds. In the general category of Beloved Dead, we have 1) Ancestors of Flesh and Blood – genetic ancestors; 2) Ancestors of Milk and Honey – adopted ancestors; 3) Ancestors of Bone and Stone – ancestors of place; 4) Ancestors of Bread and Breath – ancestors of story and life work, often artists, musicians or people we admire and resonate with; and 5) Ancestors of Soul and Spirit – ancestors of the same spiritual legacy, either in a generalized form, say Witches, or a specific linage or tradition. Beyond these five Beloved Dead, we also speak of 6) the Forgotten Dead and 7) The Mighty Dead – the justified or sanctified ones.❞

➢ Christopher Penczak on
The Mighty Dead & The Eternal Sabbat

See also Befores, De mortuis nil nisi bonum, the Lament, passing, the Mighty Dead, Samhain, Samhain, Wintergate, Wintergate

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Beltaine

Usually around the first of May. This year's date.

Traditional neopagan sabbat. Cross quarter day, Greater Sabbat, High Holiday, fire festival & seasonal gateway. Beltaine marks the midpoint between the vernal equinox and the summer solstice and the beginning of summer. Major fertility fest, source of greenwood weddings. Celebrating the conjoining of the goddess and the god in the sacred marriage and creation. Light weird to Samhain.

❝Beltane, also spelled Beltine, Irish Beltaine or Belltaine, also known as Cétamain, festival held on the first day of May in Ireland and Scotland, celebrating the beginning of summer and open pasturing. Beltane is first mentioned in a glossary attributed to Cormac, bishop of Cashel and king of Munster, who was killed in 908. Cormac describes how cattle were driven between two bonfires on Beltane as a magical means of protecting them from disease before they were led into summer pastures—a custom still observed in Ireland in the 19th century. Other festivities included Maypole dances and cutting of green boughs and flowers.

In early Irish lore a number of significant events took place on Beltane, which long remained the focus of folk traditions and tales in Ireland, Scotland, and the Isle of Man. As did other pre-Christian Celtic peoples, the Irish divided the year into two main seasons. Winter and the beginning of the year fell on November 1 (Irish: Samain) and midyear and summer on May 1 (Irish: Beltaine). These two junctures were thought to be critical periods when the bounds between the human and supernatural worlds were temporarily erased; on May Eve witches and fairies roamed freely, and measures had to be taken against their enchantments.❞

➢ www.britannica.com/topic/Beltane

✧

❝The earliest mention of Bealtaine is in Old Irish literature from Gaelic Ireland. According to the early medieval texts Sanas Cormaic and Tochmarc Emire, Bealtaine was held on 1st May and marked the beginning of summer. The texts say that, to protect cattle from disease, the druids would make two fires “with great incantations” and drive the cattle between them.

The name Bealtaine derives from the Irish meaning ‘Bright Fire’. Pre-Celtic and Celtic traditions involve the lighting of fires at Sunset. Tonight the dark half of the year ends and the bright half begin. The biggest Celtic festivals in Ireland fall on Cross Quarter days which mark the astronomical half way point between the equinoxes and the solstices.❞

➢ Eve of Bealtaine/Beltane from Stair na hÉireann/History of Ireland

✧

❝In the words of Witchcraft writers Janet and Stewart Farrar, the Beltane celebration was principally a time of “unashamed human sexuality and fertility”. Such associations include the obvious phallic symbolism of the Maypole and riding the hobbyhorse. Even a seemingly innocent children’s nursery rhyme “Ride a cock horse to Banburry Cross …” retains such memories. And the next line, “to see a fine Lady on a white horse”, is a reference to the annual ride of Lady Godiva through Coventry. Every year for nearly three centuries, a skyclad village maiden (elected “Queen of the May”) enacted this Pagan rite, until the Puritans put an end to the custom.

The Puritans, in fact, reacted with pious horror to most of the May Day rites, even making Maypoles illegal in 1644. They especially attempted to suppress the “greenwood marriages” of young men and women who spent the entire night in the forest, staying out to greet the May sunrise, and bringing back boughs of flowers and garlands to decorate the village the next morning. One angry Puritan wrote that men “doe use commonly to runne into woodes in the night time, amongst maidens, to set bowes, in so muche, as I have hearde of tenne maidens whiche went to set May, and nine of them came home with childe.” And another Puritan complained that, “Of forty, threescore or a hundred maids going to the wood over night, there have scarcely the third part of them returned home again undefiled.”

Long after the Christian form of marriage (with its insistence on sexual monogamy) had replaced the older Pagan handfasting, the rules of strict fidelity were always relaxed for the May Eve rites. Names such as Robin Hood, Maid Marion, and Little John played an important part in May Day folklore, often used as titles for the dramatis personae of the celebrations. And modern surnames such as Robinson, Hodson, Johnson, and Godkin may attest to some distant May Eve spent in the woods.❞

➢ A Celebration of May Day Beltaine from The Witches Sabbats

✧

❝The Land represented by the Goddess is now ripe and fertile and the Young God expresses His Love for Her. This is a time of joyous reveling as the first flowers of Summer are gathered in Their Honor.❞

➢ INDEX: Beltane from Witchvox

✧

❝Beltane, on May 1st, marks the time of our adolescence and early wo/manhood. Spring is in full bloom, and twin fires would be lit at this time, through which would be passed the cattle after their long winter confinement, or over which those hoping for a child or good fortune would jump.

We see traces of the Beltane celebrations on May Day, when dancing round the maypole celebrates the fertility of the land and creates an echo of the ritual circle dances that must have been enacted in stone circles throughout the country.❞

➢ The Eightfold Wheel of the Year & the Druid Festivals
from The Order of Bards, Ovates & Druids

See also

Bealtinne,

Beltane: Rituals, Recipes & Lore for May Day,

Beltine,

Beltain,

Beal-tine,

Beltan,

Bel-tien,

Beltein,

Bealtuinn,

Bealtaine,

bonfire (fire festival),

borders,

Cetsamhain,

fire festival,

Galan Mai,

livestock (fire festival),

May Day,

Roodmas,

Shenn da Boaldyn,

Summergate,

Summergate,

Summergate,

Walburga,

Walpurgis Eve,

Walpurgisnacht,

The Witches’ Sabats

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https://lexicon.neowayland.com/bb/#between-two-bonfires

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https://lexicon.neowayland.com/bb/#two-main-seasons

https://lexicon.neowayland.com/bb/#queen-of-may

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benighted

1. intellectually or morally ignorant; unenlightened
2. overtaken by darkness or night

➢ www.dictionary.com/browse/benighted?s=ts

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berm

❝A berm is simply a rounded mound of soil (and, sometimes, fill) built up on an otherwise level patch of land to improve the design of a property. The fact that a berm is rounded is what distinguishes it from a raised bed. The latter has a flat surface and a rectangular shape.❞

➢ How to Build Landscaping Berms from the spruce

The best known berm is under the railroad tracks at Disneyland.

Berms can reduce noise pollution and create microclimates. Architect Malcolm Wells explored some creative uses of berms.

❝A basic berm can be created simply by mounding soil, and is almost always found in close proximity to a trench or another dug out area. In this case, the gently sloping earth helps to prevent erosion, a common problem, especially with deep trenches. This type is common in defense engineering constructions, because it is difficult to advance over the construction, and soldiers can use the mound to provide defensive cover. In military terms, this is also sometimes called an earthwork, and archaeological evidence of ancient military earthworks has been found in many parts of the world. Many road construction crews also create berms of this type, which helps to serve as a sound baffle for neighboring homes, while excavating land for a new road.

More complex ones have a sturdy substrate made out of rocks or gravel, topped by clay and finally packed with soil. This type of more permanent berm is often used to contain floodwaters, provide a barrier between land belonging to different people, or to keep livestock confined. When well maintained, they can last for centuries and have a profound shaping impact on the landscape that they are constructed in. In some instances, the mound is so old that it is not readily recognizable as a human construction, and may be confused with part of the natural landscape.

In landscaping and architecture, many green designers use berms extensively. Because they have a natural look and feel to them, they can help insulate a home from noise and wind without being obtrusive, like a fence. The berm itself can be landscaped with grasses and trees to give it a more natural look and feel. Some green designers will actually surround a home with such earthworks to blend it in with the environment while providing insulation from wind and preventing heat loss from the home. This also reduces the ecological footprint of the home, because it requires less resources to heat and cool. A classic example of a bermed home is the hobbit holes seen in The Lord of the Rings, which appear to blend naturally into the hillsides around them.❞

➢ What is a Berm? from wiseGEEK

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bespoke

Custom designed and/or custom made items.

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bezzle

❝The bezzle, a word coined in the 1950s by a Canadian-American economist, is the temporary gap between the perceived value of a portfolio of assets and its long-term economic value. Economies at times systematically create bezzle, unleashing substantial economic consequences that economists have rarely understood or discussed.❞

➢ Why the Bezzle Matters to the Economy from Carnagie Edowment

✧

❝At any given time there exists an inventory of undiscovered embezzlement in—or more precisely not in—the country’s business and banks. This inventory – it should perhaps be called the bezzle – amounts at any moment to many millions of dollars. It also varies in size with the business cycle. In good times people are relaxed, trusting, and money is plentiful. But even though money is plentiful, there are always many people who need more. Under these circumstances the rate of embezzlement grows, the rate of discovery falls off, and the bezzle increases rapidly. In depression all this is reversed. Money is watched with a narrow, suspicious eye. The man who handles it is assumed to be dishonest until he proves himself otherwise. Audits are penetrating and meticulous. Commercial morality is enormously improved. The bezzle shrinks.❞

— John Kenneth Galbraith

✧

❝John Kenneth Galbraith’s greatest contribution to economics is the concept of the bezzle, that increment to wealth that occurs during the magic interval when a confidence trickster knows he has the money he has appropriated but the victim does not yet understand that he has lost it. The gross national bezzle has never been larger than in the past decade.❞

— John Kay

See also

John Kenneth Galbraith,

economics

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bibliotheca

1. a collection of books; a library.
2. a list of books, especially a bookseller's catalog.
3. Obsolete. the Bible.

➢ www.dictionary.com/browse/bibliotheca

See also

book,

bookplate,

handy,

LibraryThing

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bilagáana

Traditional Diné word for “white person.” It loses something in translation. I’m one of the few born among the Diné. Yes, I was born on the Navajo reservation. There’s not a word for that, but it’s understood on both sides that there is something more to the relationship. I’m what happens when Louisiana farming stock takes root in the Four Corners region.

❝The idea behind the origin of the Navajo word bilagáana is not entirely clear. It’s meaning is, though. It’s the Navajo name for white people, or people of Caucasian descent.

Irvy Goosen, an author of Navajo language teaching texts, posits the idea that it evolved from the word “Americano.” Since spoken Navajo has a history of adopting words, and since it doesn’t actively use “m” and “r” it’s plausible that it went through an intense adaption process to get the word we have today. The English language is referred to as “bilagáana bizaad” in Navajo.❞

➢ Bilagáana

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Billy Graham rule

also known as the Mike Pence rule

❝The second item on the list was the danger of sexual immorality. We all knew of evangelists who had fallen into immorality while separated from their families by travel. We pledged among ourselves to avoid any situation that would have even the appearance of compromise or suspicion. From that day on, I did not travel, meet or eat alone with a woman other than my wife. We determined that the Apostle Paul’s mandate to the young pastor Timothy would be ours as well: “Flee … youthful lusts” (2 Timothy 1:22, KJV).❞

— Billy Graham, Just as I Am

✧

❝The Billy Graham rule is a practice among some male evangelical Protestant leaders, in which they avoid spending time alone with women to whom they are not married. It is named after Billy Graham, a proponent of the practice, although recently has also been called the Mike Pence rule. It is adopted as a display of integrity, a means of avoiding sexual temptation, to avoid any appearance of doing something considered morally objectionable, and to avoid being falsely accused of sexual harassment.

➢ en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Billy_Graham_rule

I used to think that this was a silly thing Christian men used to hide their own insecurity and sexual frustrations. If I had my druthers, I'd put this definition in a caution box with the red banner and be done with it.

Yeah. I can't do that anymore.

Like it or not, we live in the age of #MeToo. One inevitable result is the increase of false accusations of harassment and rape.

No, not every accusation is false. But a significant number are. American women have been handed a huge political power that no one wants to morally deny them. As long as false accusations are tolerated, even encouraged as the cost of setting right past wrongs, there is a huge temptation.

The irony is that a bunch of narcissistic high profile second wave and third wave feminists labeled “All men BAD!” because they didn’t have the good taste to tell opportunistic players from good men.

Western Civilization teaches men to channel their drives and what real masculinity is. Our best men learn to stand between others and harm. That’s not toxic, that that is just what was expected once upon a time.

Instead, American men and women can’t treat each other as adults anymore. The only way left for workable relationships is patriarchal behavior that should have been forgotten long ago. We’re victimizing women and we’re teaching young men that no matter what they can’t be trusted alone with an unmarried female of any age.

These days, an odd looking man is assumed to be a predator of women and children. If the man is unmarried, even more so. So if I am meeting someone for the first time, it's better with witnesses. If it's only going to be a casual relationship, there should be witnesses each and every time.

This means holding women at a distance. I have to watch myself. I have to watch my language. No matter what she is wearing, no matter how she looks, I can't allow myself to look too close for too long. I have to treat a woman as if she is less than fully human. As if my every move could utterly destroy her. As if she is unable to resist the corruption of my maleness.

And I do not dare be alone with her.

I don't like it. I think it's a stupid rule. But it's practical.

See also

The ‘Billy Graham rule’ doesn’t honor your wife. It demeans her — and all women,

Christian,

Christians,

Christianity,

politics,

sex,

sex rules,

What’s ‘the Billy Graham Rule’?

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binger

❝A binger is a soy-filled authority figure who abuses his position to demonize others, especially people who can defend themselves who are a reminder of the fact the binger cannot. A binger riles up others against those he considered threatening to his position of power. Known for tight-fit skinny jeans, Star Wars lapel pins, and virginity.❞

➢ www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Binger

Almost certainly inspired by Thomas Binger and his inept bumbling in the Kyle Rittenhouse case.

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biochar

❝This 2,000 year-old practice converts agricultural waste into a soil enhancer that can hold carbon, boost food security, and increase soil biodiversity, and discourage deforestation. The process creates a fine-grained, highly porous charcoal that helps soils retain nutrients and water.

Biochar is found in soils around the world as a result of vegetation fires and historic soil management practices. Intensive study of biochar-rich dark earths in the Amazon (terra preta), has led to a wider appreciation of biochar’s unique properties as a soil enhancer.

Biochar can be an important tool to increase food security and cropland diversity in areas with severely depleted soils, scarce organic resources, and inadequate water and chemical fertilizer supplies.

Biochar also improves water quality and quantity by increasing soil retention of nutrients and agrochemicals for plant and crop utilization. More nutrients stay in the soil instead of leaching into groundwater and causing pollution.❞

➢ Biochar Is a Valuable Soil Amendment
from International Biochar Initiative

✧

❝Biochar is a variable product and its chemical and physical characteristics depend very much on the input ingredients, the process used to pyrolize it ( temperature and length of heating) and any chemical treatment after production.

This makes it difficult to make any definitive statements about its use.❞

➢ Biochar – Does it Really Work in the Garden? from Garden Myths

See also

Biochar: A better start to rain forest restoration from Wake Forest News,

Beware the Biochar Initiative from Permaculture Research Institute

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biophilia hypothesis

❝Biophilia hypothesis, idea that humans possess an innate tendency to seek connections with nature and other forms of life. The term biophilia was used by German-born American psychoanalyst Erich Fromm in The Anatomy of Human Destructiveness (1973), which described biophilia as “the passionate love of life and of all that is alive.” The term was later used by American biologist Edward O. Wilson in his work Biophilia (1984), which proposed that the tendency of humans to focus on and to affiliate with nature and other life-forms has, in part, a genetic basis.❞

➢ www.britannica.com/science/biophilia-hypothesis

See also

anthropic principle,

Gaia hypothesis,

The Anatomy of Human Destructiveness,

Biophilia,

Sunship Earth,

malcolmwells.com

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birdsong wall

During migration season (especially in the spring) for a couple of weeks, the variety & level of birdsong at dawn is turned up seven or so notches. It's much more noticable in areas with well-established trees and reliable water and away from vehicle traffic.

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bisexual

bison Bison bison

❝Bison, (genus Bison), also called buffalo or wisent, either of two species of oxlike grazing mammals that constitute the genus Bison of the family Bovidae. The American bison (B. bison), commonly known as the buffalo or the plains buffalo, is native to North America, and the European bison (B. bonasus), or wisent, is native to Europe. Both species were drastically reduced in numbers by hunting and now occupy small protected areas that are tiny fractions of their former ranges.

The American bison differs from domestic cattle or oxen in several respects. It is larger and has a broad heavy head that is carried low and cannot be raised to shoulder level. The bison also has a pronounced hump at the shoulders, heavy forequarters, and 14 ribs instead of the 13 found in cattle. The coarse, shaggy fur is dark brown in colour. It grows especially long on the head, neck, and shoulders and usually forms a beard on the chin. On rare occasions a white bison is born; these unusual specimens were especially honoured—and even worshipped—by American Indians. Both bison sexes bear short, upcurved horns, those of the cow being smaller. Bison are large, powerful animals. A mature bull stands about 2 metres (6.5 feet) at the shoulder and weighs more than 900 kg (1,980 pounds). The female is about 1.5 metres (5 feet) tall and weighs about 320 kg (700 pounds).❞

➢ www.britannica.com/animal/bison

✧

❝About 150 years ago, nearly 30 million bison roamed the Great Plains until a mass slaughter began in the early 1800s. By the late 1880s, fewer than 1,000 bison remained.

Bison, a keystone species, help create habitat on the Great Plains for many different species, including grassland birds and even many plant species. As bison forage, they aerate the soil with their hooves, which aids in plant growth, and disperse native seeds, helping to maintain a healthy and balanced ecosystem.

Over the last decade, the conservation community has contributed significantly to bison conservation, helping to bring back America’s national mammal. Because there are no longer millions of animals migrating across the plains, the bison is considered ecologically extinct but conservation herds of 1,000 or more bison are being established to create a metapopulation, allowing for the species to once again play an important ecological role on our prairie grasslands.❞

➢ Bison from Defenders of Wildlife

✧

❝The term buffalo is sometimes considered to be a misnomer for this animal, and could be confused with "true" buffalos, the Asian water buffalo and the African buffalo. However, the name buffalo is listed in many dictionaries as an acceptable name for American buffalo or bison. Samuel de Champlain applied the term buffalo (buffles in French) to the bison in 1616 (published 1619), after seeing skins and a drawing shown to him by members of the Nipissing First Nation, who said they travelled forty days (from east of Lake Huron) to trade with another nation who hunted the animals. In English usage, the term buffalo dates to 1625 in North America, when the term was first recorded for the American mammal. It thus has a much longer history than the term bison, which was first recorded in 1774.[15] The American bison is very closely related to the European bison (also known as wisent or the European wood bison).❞

➢ en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_bison

Ecologically, it makes much more sense to use a native species instead of an import. Especially when the bison can kick ass of most preditors.

Honestly, bison are huge. It's difficult but possible to see them in Arizona. Bison ARE NOT docile cattle, they are very big, very fast, very strong, and very very independent. If it came down to a confrontation between the average car or SUV and a bison, my money is on the bison.

Bison is much leaner than beef and is distinct in flavor.

See also

5 Differences Between Bison and Buffalo – Comparison Table,

keystone species,

pemmican,

The Third Revolution

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black market

❝A black market is economic activity that takes place outside government-sanctioned channels. Black market transactions usually occur “under the table” to let participants avoid government price controls or taxes.❞

➢ www.investopedia.com/terms/b/blackmarket.asp

✧

1. The illegal business of buying or selling currency or goods banned by a government or subject to governmental control, such as price controls or rationing.
2. A place where such illegal business is carried on.

➢ www.thefreedictionary.com/black+market

See also

free market,

grey market,

politics

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black Moon

1. The second dark Moon or new Moon in a month.
2. A February without a new Moon.

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black swan

black swan event

❝A black swan is an unpredictable event that is beyond what is normally expected of a situation and has potentially severe consequences. Black swan events are characterized by their extreme rarity, their severe impact, and the widespread insistence they were obvious in hindsight.❞

➢ Black Swan from Investopedia

See also economics

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blackwater

❝Blackwater in a sanitation context denotes wastewater from toilets, which likely contains pathogens. Blackwater can contain feces, urine, water and toilet paper from flush toilets. Blackwater is distinguished from greywater, which comes from household use other than toilets. Greywater results from washing food, clothing, dishes, as well as from showering or bathing.❞

➢ en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blackwater_(waste)

See also

clear water,

dark water,

grey water,

water

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bless list

Another concept I caged from Zenna Henderson's People stories mixed with parts of an evangelical Christian prayer chain. When I can, I ask permission before putting someone on my Bless List. With some exceptions, I keep the details private. I put it on my calendar so that each day I am reminded.

• Get permission first.
• Question human action, but trust in the wisdom of the gods and the universe.
• Make sure it is deserved.
• Carefully weigh the options, recognizing that sometimes a blessing for one can be a curse for someone else.
• Try to make it what is NEEDED rather than what is WANTED.
• Make it specific.
• Make it private.
• Better to build on what is already there than to slap a new structure down. And if you do have to put in a new structure, make sure the foundation is strong and won't be rejected.

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Blessed

(pronounced with two syllables, emphasis on the second)

The God-touched, the ones who walk between the worlds, agents and elements of magick.

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blessed salt

Salt that has been exposed and blessed with virtue. One of my favorite and most versatile spell ingredients. One of the great things about blessed salt is that it transfers the zap. You can do a circle with regular table salt, add a small pinch of blessed salt, do a bit of like calls to like, and the whole circle will share the zap. Usually the direct light of the next sunrise will disperse the energies of the circle.

Before blessing it, I mix equal parts sea salt and mineral salts. Then I grind very fine in a chemical pestle.

Always use different pestles for chemicals and consumables. Do not mix the pestles up.

• Sun-blessed salt is very energetic and very volitile. Count on it losing it's punch after the next sunrise. Sometimes this can be extended to about three days or so if you store it in a light-proof container.

• Moon-blessed salt works for about a month if you keep it out of direct sunlight in a dark blue or brown jar.

• Dark-blessed salt works best to dampen or disperse energies. It keeps indefinitely as long as it's stored away from sunlight. There is a very potent variety of dark-blessed salt prepared in a dark cavern without any light, but it is extremely difficult to make. I am not sure the tradeoff is worth it, especially since dark Moon blessed salt works nearly as well.

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Blood Harvest

blood knife

In some traditions and some paths, a consecrated knife used only for drawing blood. Some blood knives can be used in scarification on humans.

A blood knife is not used for sacrificing life. That requires a different consecration and different rituals.

Obsidian blades can make great blood knives. Although the blades are fragile, an obsidian cutting edge is much sharper and much thinner than surgical steel.

See also blood magick

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blood Moon

❝A "blood moon" happens when Earth's moon is in full eclipse. While it has no special astronomical significance, the view in the sky is striking as the usually whiteish moon becomes red or ruddy-brown.❞

➢ What Is a Blood Moon? from Space.com

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BloodKin

blue Moon

❝This rare calendar event only happens once every few years, giving rise to the term, “once in a blue moon.” There are normally only three full moons in each season of the year. But since full moons occur every 29.53 days, occasionally a season will contain 4 full moons. The extra full moon of the season is known as a blue moon. Blue moons occur on average once every 2.7 years.❞

➣ www.seasky.org

✧

1. Seasonal Blue Moon = The third Full Moon in an astronomical season with four Full Moons (versus the usual three).
2. Monthly Blue Moon = The second Full Moon in a month with two Full Moons.

➢ When Is the Next Blue Moon? from timeanddate.com

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blue spruce

Picea pungens

❝Blue spruce, also known as Colorado spruce, is a conical-shaped evergreen tree with stiff horizontal branches and short stiff needles. It is a commonly used tree in Midwest landscapes. In nature the needles are often green, but many specimens produce blue-green needles. This tree is also known as Picea pungens 'Glauca'.❞

➢ Blue spruce from The Morton Arboretum

✧

❝Colorado blue spruce, or blue spruce, is an attractive tree often used for Christmas trees or as ornamentals, particularly in the eastern United States and Europe. It is the official state tree of both Colorado and Utah. The species generally reaches a height of 65-115 feet at maturity with a diameter of 2-3 feet. It has a narrow, pyramidal shape and cone-shaped crown. As trees become older, they often take on a more irregular appearance. While blue spruce grows relatively slowly, it is long-lived and may reach ages of 600-800 years.

Leaves (needles) are 1-1 1/2 inches long on lower branches but somewhat shorter on upper branches. They are 4-sided and have a very sharp point on the end. It is this point which gives the species its name “pungens”, from the Latin word for sharp as in puncture wound. Needles are generally dull bluish-gray to silvery blue and emit a resinous odor when crushed. Some trees have a more distinct bluish-white or silvery-white foliage. The cultivated variety ‘glauca’ is noted for this type of coloration. Nursery managers also select for “shiners” which demonstrate this very desirable characteristic. Needles occur on small peg-like structures on the twig called sterigmata. The sterigmata persist on the twigs after needles have fallen, which is usually after the third or fourth year.❞

➢ Colorado Blue Spruce from National Christmas Tree Association

See also Arbor Day

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boline

- the practical blade

A white-handled sickle shaped knife. Often called the "practical knife" or "sickle knife," it is the knife used for cutting (plants) instead of the athamé.

Except not really.

There's the very real question of why you need two knives when one would work. Also, most bolines I have seen can't be sheathed easily and are dangerous to carry while walking. Since the boline's main use is supposed to be cutting living plants, that's a practical consideration.

A properly blessed pocket knife can serve as both an athamé and a boline. Much cheaper and easier to carry too.

Before the Wicca craze a boline was used more in ceremonial magick than in practical witchcraft . Waite's The Book of Ceremonial Magic describes the bolline or sickle. I suspect the way it looks has more to do with why it's used today than any practicality.

See also A selection of bolines

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BoneKin

book

folio, tome, text, volume

1. a handwritten or printed work of fiction or nonfiction, usually on sheets of paper fastened or bound together within covers.
2. a work of fiction or nonfiction in an electronic format

➢ www.dictionary.com/browse/book

I'm an honest-to-gods bibliophile. I live surrounded by books. Every extra space in my home is filled. There are shelves, stacks and crates of books everywhere. It's a chore to keep my desk and an eating space clear. I have thousands, I do not know how many. I know I don't have the floor space for the shelves that it would take to hold all my books and magazines. And comics, don't forget comics.

At any one time I'm reading several at once. It's just the way I think.

I love the way a book feels and smells when you open it. Espcially an older book. And yes, I have several heirloom books. My father gave me my first dictionary when I was eight or so, he had bought it new in 1972. I think the oldest book in my library is from 1880.

But as great as physical books make me feel, they're heavy and they take up space. There's a lot to be said for an e•book. I can carry a tablet with me almost everywhere. E•books make reading in bed easier. And e•books simplify research so very, very much.

Some books aren't worth the shelf space. Ninety-nine point nine-something of political books are seldom worth anything in a few years. Especially if they refer to a specific politico or specific events. Politics is about controlling the other person. And most political books are written to anger you and bypass your reasoning.

Most popular science books aren't worth much either.

I love fiction, but I don't need it near me all the time.

So I keep a few hundred physical books handy, within a dozen or so steps of my desk. They aren't in any particular order except maybe size. These are the ones I use all the time to work, think, and play.

The rest are supposed to be in crates. They are partially indexed, but that is an ongoing issue. One day I'll have them all indexed and cross referenced to LibraryThing and Goodreads. I'll probably die the next day.

See also

bibliotheca,

books tagged “economics”,

books tagged “philosophy”,

books tagged “politics”,

books tagged “religion”

books tagged “sex”,

bookplate,

handy

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bookplate

❝a label bearing the owner's name and often a design, coat of arms, or the like, for pasting on the front end paper of a book.❞

➢ www.dictionary.com/browse/bookplate

Bookplates go on the inside cover of my books, CDs, DVDs and BluRays.

I use two styles of bookplates. The one using NeoWayland is for pagan and philosophy, the other using my legal name is for everything else. Both are printed on standard DYMO mailing address labels.

Each bookplate shows the work's format and where it is usually kept. I don't have enough floorspace for the shelf space I need, there are too many books for any kind of shelves to be practical. So I use large stackable storage bins numbered as crates.

See also

bibliotheca,

book,

bookplate at teknologi,

handy,

LibraryThing,

Readerware

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borders

Where one area touches another, the border shares traits of both.

See also

cross-quarter day,

politics

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borosilicate

❝Borosilicate glass is a type of glass that includes at least 5% boric oxide. The boric oxide makes the glass resistant to extreme temperatures, and also improves its resistance to chemical corrosion. This glass is very popular in the manufacture of scientific instruments, and it was once widely used to make glass for kitchens as well. Today, soda-lime glass is the glass of choice for kitchenware, due to the fact that it is generally cheaper to produce.❞

➣ What is Borosilicate Glass?

See also

Pyrex,

Pyrex

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bozo

❝A bozo is someone who thinks they are much smarter and capable than they actually are. They constantly over-estimate their abilities and under-estimate the risks and threats around them. They typically don’t keep an open-mind. They look instead for data that confirms a previously held bias.❞

➣ Why Every Company Needs A 'No Bozos' Policy

✧

❝An incompetent person, especially in new companies. Bozos have a net negative effect on morale and profits, and everyone knows it.❞

➣ www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=bozo

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bracer

❝A bracer (or arm-guard) is a strap or sheath, commonly made of leather, stone, or plastic that covers the inside of an archer's arm to protect it while shooting. Bracers protect the inside of the archer's forearm against injury by the string of the bow or the fletching of the arrow. They also prevent loose clothing from catching the bow string. They normally cover part of the forearm only, but chest-guards are sometimes worn, usually by female archers, and other areas have at times been protected. With some combinations of non-baggy clothing and bows with a larger distance between the bow and the string, the archer may not need to wear any bracer.❞

➣ en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bracer

See also vambrace, ketoh

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Brambell’s Five Freedoms basic animal rights, our responsiblity to our animals

1. Freedom from hunger or thirst
   Ready access to fresh water and a diet to maintain full health and vigour
2. Freedom from discomfort
   An appropriate environment including shelter and a comfortable resting area
3. Freedom from pain, injury or disease
   Prevention or rapid diagnosis and treatment
4. Freedom to express (most) normal behaviour
   Sufficient space, proper facilities and company of the animal's own kind
5. Freedom from fear and distress
   Conditions and treatment which avoid mental suffering

✧

❝In 1965, Professor Roger Brambell was asked to investigate how animals are farmed intensively. This was the most comprehensive effort to define the basic needs of animals. As a result of his investigation Brambell made recommendations on how farm animals should be kept. “The 5 Freedoms”, although initially for farm animals, can apply to all animals including cats, dogs and horses. They can help us assess how well we are meeting our animals’ needs and therefore their welfare.❞

➢ Brambell’s Five Freedoms: The Basic Animal Rights from Animal Wellness Guide

See also

Five Freedoms: the gold standard of animal welfare from American Humane,

four foot

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Braucherei

Bright & Dark Blessings

One of my signature goodbyes.

Some may question if darkness brings any blessings. Endings and transitions have purpose too.

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bright & dark passions

Some people (me included) enjoy giving pleasure and pain. When this is true, you can’t repress it, you have to find a way to express it or things can get ugly. Find your balance and acknowledge your passions.

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bright Moon

My name for the “full Moon”        🌝   🌝 🌕 🌕

1. the moon when the whole of its disk is illuminated, occurring when in opposition to the sun.
2. the phase of the moon at this time.

➢ www.dictionary.com/browse/full-moon?s=t

✧

❝A full moon takes place when the moon and the Earth are located on opposite sides of the Sun. At this time, the moon, earth, and sun are aligned in a straight line. A full moon is a lunar phase, in which the illuminated side of the moon faces the Earth and humans see the lighted side of the moon. Lunar eclipses are only possible during a phase of the full moon. When the geocentric longitudes of the moon and the sun are at a variance of precisely 180 degrees, a full moon occurs. An observer on Earth would see an almost completely illuminated and perfectly round moon. It is only when the moon is full that the opposing side, which is not visible to an observer on Earth, is entirely unlit­. Observers are faced with the illusion that the moon is perfectly round, however the moon is actually more of an egg shaped and the pointed end is facing the earth. A full moon is a beautiful phenomenon which possesses the extreme glowing light and size in the sky to draw the attention of any viewer on Earth.❞

➢ Full Moon – What is a Full Moon? from Full Moon Phases

The side of the Moon facing Earth totally illuminated by sunlight. A “full Moon.”

In some neopagan traditions, the time of the esbat.

See also

Court of Stars,

February,

Full Moon Names and Their Meanings,

Lady in the Court of Stars,

Moon phase,

Moon phases,

pendant,

Traditional Full Moon Names,

triskele (pendant),

Court of Stars

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Brigit’s Day

bristlecone pine

Pinus longaeva

❝Great Basin Bristlecone pines (Pinus longaeva) are remarkable for being the oldest non-clonal species on the planet. This strange tree, shaped by the wind, snow, and rain has survived over thousands of years, overseeing the rise and fall of great empires, growing through ice-ages and catastrophic volcanic eruptions. But their ability to survive these harsh environments and adverse growing conditions is exactly their secret to great longevity.

Bristlecone pines in Great Basin National Park grow in isolated groves just below the tree-line. The conditions in which they live are harsh (with temperatures that drop well below freezing), a short growing season, and high winds that twist the trees into almost human-like forms along their limestone ridges. Because of these conditions the Pinus longaeva grow very slowly, and in some years do not even add a ring of growth.

This slowness makes the wood very dense which provides resistance from insects, fungi, rot, and erosion. And at high elevation the Great Basin Bristlecone pines spiral out from seemingly impossible soil of limestone rock; this too proves favorable for the ancients. They grow where most other vegetation cannot, limiting the impact that a forest fire might havoc on their near-eternity.❞

➢ Bristlecone Pines from National Park Service

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❝Standing as ancient sentinels high atop the White Mountains of the Inyo National Forest, the Great Basin bristlecone pines rank as the oldest trees in the world and have achieved immense scientific, cultural and scenic importance. These trees (Pinus longaeva)are found in the mountains of Eastern California, are scattered throughout the high mountain regions of Nevada and to a lesser extent, Utah. A cousin, the Rocky Mountain bristlecone pine (Pinus aristata), is located throughout the eastern Rocky Mountain region in Colorado and New Mexico. An isolated population of the aristata is also located near Flagstaff, Arizona. A third member of the bristlecone pine family, the Sierra foxtail pine (Pinus balfouriana) is located in the southern Sierra range and in isolated groves in northern California.

Originally classified as a foxtail pine because of the needle arrangement (like a cat or fox's tail), these trees were redesignated in the late 1800s and named bristlecone due to the long prickly "bristle" on the immature cone. In 1963, Dr. Dana K. Bailey determined that there were significant genetic and physical differences between the bristlecones in the Great Basin and those in the Rocky Mountains. His research efforts resulted in another redesignation into two separate species named bristlecone: the Rocky Mountain bristlecone pine and the Great Basin bristlecone pine.❞

➢ Ancient Bristlecone Pine Natural History from U.S. Forest Service

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❝.The Great Basin Bristlecone Pines are not just the oldest things in California or even North America, they are the oldest living non-clonal organisms on our planet!

They are gnarled, weather-beaten, and resilient. The oldest tree, as yet unnamed, is believed to be 5,070 years old now. This individual began life at about the same time humans began to develop the concept of writing. It was about 500 years old when the pyramids at Giza were built. This tree would have been about 3,000 years old when the English language began to evolve.

Many of the individual trees that live in this forest are over 4,000 years old. The older ones are at least 1,000 years older than any other species on earth. They are about 2,000 years older than the nearby Giant Sequoia, which are the world’s biggest trees. No other non-clonal species has living individuals that have seen more time on this earth.

➢ Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest from Bishop Visitor

See also Arbor Day

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bums

burden of proof reversal

❝…the burden of proof lies not with the person making the claim, but with someone else to disprove.

The burden of proof lies with someone who is making a claim, and is not upon anyone else to disprove. The inability, or disinclination, to disprove a claim does not render that claim valid, nor give it any credence whatsoever. However it is important to note that we can never be certain of anything, and so we must assign value to any claim based on the available evidence, and to dismiss something on the basis that it hasn't been proven beyond all doubt is also fallacious reasoning.❞

➢ burden of proof from your logical fallacy

See also TCoL #8

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Burning Man

last Sunday in August to the first Monday in September

❝Trying to explain what Burning Man is to someone who has never been to the event is a bit like trying to explain what a particular color looks like to someone who is blind. In this section you will find the peripheral definitions of what the event is as a whole, but to truly understand this event, one must participate.❞

➢ www.burningman.com/whatisburningman
originally from BurningMan.com

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❝An festival born from the society of pranksters and lighthearted industrial magicians known as the Cacophony Society (you may already be a member).

Existing peacefully and chaotically in the Black Rock Desert from 1990 - 1996, in 1997 Burning Man was hijacked by antisocial rouge elements. These rogue elements incorporated the event and formed an LLC. Each year since, Burning Man has lost more and more of its spontaneity and inspirational elements to the tightening grip of the corporation (the Borg), and has now become (in 2010) the antithesis of its origins.❞

➢ www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Burning%20Man%20Festival

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❝Most people “get” Burning Man very quickly. But it can take time for new people, and hence new communities, to fully integrate into Burning Man’s culture precisely because it is difficult for people who haven’t experienced it to understand how to relate to art and community outside of commerce. It takes exposure to understand what’s possible, and then time to get good at doing it. (On a personal level, it took me about six years of practice to get really good at offering participatory gifts to strangers.) We all get better with practice. But once people experience it, they want to get good at it.❞

➢ A Brief History of Who Ruined Burning Man

See also

10 Principles of Burning Man

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bystander effect