“Cogito ergo sum” (I think, therefore I am; or I am thinking, therefore I exist), words which reverberated around the world in the 17th century, were spoken by Rene Descartes (1596-1650), the French philosopher who came to be known as the Father of Modern Philosophy. Three and a half centuries later, we find ourselves in this strange position of redefining the very nature of reality and identity by morphing into multiple beings and wandering a new kind of inner and outer space.
There are moments, I must admit, when I actually find myself wondering just who is dreaming who…. or, as the Zen philosopher Chuang Tzu once said, “Am I a man who dreamt of being a butterfly, or am I a butterfly dreaming that I am a man?” Whatever it turns out to be, it sure is fun to fly while we’re here, wouldn’t you say?
As we go about our daily lives dealing with our everyday problems, a nightmare of biblical proportions is unfolding right before our eyes, brought to us in real time through the miracle of modern communication technology. The sights and sounds of a people broken and still clinging to life are nearly overwhelming to witness even from a distance; one cannot imagine what it must be like to be there.
Yet, amidst the destruction, an army of compassionate helpers has begun to flow into the wounded city – rescuing, feeding, healing and comforting those who have survived the initial blow. Doctors, soldiers, humanitarians, missionaries, engineers, have all mobilized for a single purpose: to save the survivors and begin to rebuild the pulverized infrastructure of Port-Au-Prince. The task is herculean, to say the least, and as I write this, the nightmare is not even one week old.
For those who want to help and yet be assured that their contribution actually reaches the victims, and not line the pockets of the corrupt bureaucracy that surrounds them, I’m republishing a list of the best, most trustworthy and effective charity organizations, with direct links to their websites, below.
Based in France, this charity sends out teams of doctors, nurses, and assistants to places that lack medical facilities. With hospitals collapses in Port-au-Prince and thousands of injured, the lack of medical aid is one of Haiti’s biggest problems right now. MSF has 800 medical staff already there who have set up field clinics.
One of the top charity organizations for making sure every penny of your dollar goes toward aid, Mercy Corps only sent paid disaster relief experts to Haiti and there, hired local workers as volunteers — paying them from your contributions. It helps the group both economize on travel costs and stimulate the local economy.
Having worked in Haiti for 30 years and with a staff of 370 planted there already, this US-based charity isn’t asking for extra money for volunteers. Your dollars go directly toward the purchase of life-saving supplies, including tents, clean water and blankets.
This Haiti-based charity is a Christian enterprise where volunteers donate their lives toward improving the health and education of Haitian children. Given the magnitude of this disaster they have shifted their mission toward providing basic aid for the children of their orphanage, which grows in number every day.
This US-based charity has pledged one million of its own funds and in addition to their staff already in Haiti, sent six rigorously-trained teams of disaster volunteers to Haiti, and opened its Panama warehouse of tarps, mosquito nets and cooking sets to 5,000 Haitian families.
Author’s Note: List of charities from MTV Iggy… if you want further confirmation, the Forbes Charity Guide is also worth studying before deciding where to send your contribution. Background photos from Getty Images; the full gallery can be seen at CNN online.
It’s true. Even avatars get the blues, as I’ve said many times before. The ultimate cure for that burned-out-hulk state of mind is to get away, to get down and dirty, clean and simple, to stand still in the center of the silence. There’s a garden in there, in the desert of your heart, where ripened fruit hang low on the tree of life, and where cool, sparkling water quickly quenches the mind’s thirst. I’ve always found it more pleasant in the long run to check myself out, anyway, than to check myself in – if ya know what I mean.
The setting in the final panel is Patch Thibaud’s newest Second Life build, Ciudad de Mexico; a nice place to take your dark side for a ride.
Nothing like reminiscing about the future; especially in front of an old Wurlitzer jukebox, where memories spin before the mind’s eye like cotton candy. Drifting back over the light years, I find myself in the sandbox at Help Island Public reliving a battle I once witnessed there, when I was a young gypsy and this was my home landing zone. A dazzling cyber-warrior performs a ritual war dance before engaging the enemy, in this case a giant metallic spider. The spider won, as I recall; but the light and magic was all over this guy. I was rootin’ for him all the way.
In the next panel, Dizzy Banjo is about to have his pocket picked by that merry prankster, Harper Beresford, high atop the launch tower at Dizzy’s build, IO, at Burning Life 2008. Just below them is Camille Topaz, in her first appearance with Cherrybomb the new virtual rock band which debuted in SL this year, along with Botgirl Questi and yours truly. Below left is Urban Spectre, the magical build by DB Bailey, also from the 2008 Burning Life Festival.
Segue to the right, a shot of Patch Thibaud’s latest project, the magnificent Ciudad De Mexico, where Celine Fairport and I stand in awe upon arrival at the central plaza. Lower left, Zil Jewell and the Chromester at Burning Life, and finally, a shot which captures the endless magic of the metaverse: a completely unexpected light show in an underground parking lot somewhere in the heart of this wonderland; never expected to see the aurora borealis in a concrete bunker. Ya gotta love it. The future is the only game in town.