The Wizard of Blogs - Part 4

So spoke the Wizard --

"For thousands of years, Humanity has never realized itself as a whole, except in the visions of great seers. Humans have always identified themselves by their race or tribe, their faith or nationality. For thousands of years humans have maintained the delusion that their customs and beliefs make them right, and all those who do not practice the same are wrong. Tragically, the enlightened teachings of the great seers have been used, by their supposed followers, to maintain this division."

"It is the Internet that has eliminated national boundaries between people, and has made distances between them irrelevant. For the first time in human history, individuals throughout the world are able to communicate freely with one another."

"While there are those who continue to send false messages of fear and hate, we can use this same medium to promote world peace. We CAN do this, and we WILL!"

"Let us remember that the flying monkeys are still out there. Although they no longer have a leader to unite them, they are still capable of damage on their own."

"But for now, let us celebrate our newfound victory. The Wicked Witch of the West is no longer a threat to us, thanks to the efforts of Dorothy, Scarecrow, Tinman, and C-Lion."

There is an applause in the Wizard's great hall, as he steps down and approaches the table where our friends are seated. He then talks directly to them.

"Scarecrow," he says, "tell us what you've learned since you've teamed up with Dorothy."
"That although no one knows everything, everyone learns something that others do not, so everyone has something to teach us."

"Tinman, what have you learned?"
"That even though the enlightened teachings I have read have been around for centuries, there are always those who need to be reminded."

"And you, C-Lion?"
"The more that we share, the more we become aware."

"And you, Dorothy, I know that it was your work that has brought this team together, and that it was your inspiration to bring your message of happiness to the World Wide Web, so that others may find the happiness you've found. This I wish to support, and I promised to reward you all, so let me show you what I have for you."

"Now when you get home, you will find you have a new house, with rooms for all of you, so that you can continue working together. There will be new computers for you, equipped with the best security systems available. It is my hope that you will continue your great service to humanity."

As Wizard spoke, he went over to where he had longest instrument panel any of them had ever seen. Walking along and typing on keys, he continues addressing his audience.

"Blogs have been created so that people can share what they've learned with each other. They give each of us a forum to speak in, allowing us to express what we feel and believe in. This is good! As long as positive energy is being transmitted, I will be there to support you. Wherever there is clear communication, mutual respect, and good intentions, the seeds of peace are sown.
Now take a look at the new website I have made for you."

On a large screen that covered the entire wall, the most fantastic image appeared. A magnificent rainbow arched across the sky, with sparkling letters in bright colors, along with singing birds, fluttering butterflies, and flowers everywhere. It had happiness written all over it.

"And this is just the home page!" Wizard said.

Dorothy and her friends get out of their seats and walk up to the screen. They are speechless. Finally C-Lion breaks the silence.
"So what do you think, Dorothy?"
She replies,
"There's no place like our home page!"

And so it was, my dear readers, that I have come across this story of Dorothy and her friends, who have since then been busy looking for other websites that bring positive messages to us, and linking up with them, creating a network.
Every now and then I get a ping from Dorothy, reminding me of the importance of transmitting positive energy with every message we send, in hope of bringing peace to the world.
Now I pass this on to you. May you do the same.

Wishing you peace and happiness;
Wild Bill

The Wizard of Blogs - Part 3

Some wizards are known to be such pompous megalomaniacs, but our Wizard is not one of them. This one is as kind and gentle as he is wise and powerful. He welcomes his visitors most graciously, seeing to their comfort.

"I hope my gatekeeper didn't give you much trouble." says Wizard.
"Well, he was kind of an ass." says Scarecrow.
"Um, yes, well, sorry about that. You see, my people are always careful about who they open the door to."
It is not until after his guests have assured him they are good with their offered refreshments that our Wizard opens with his presentation.

"You are here because I need your help. The Internet is in danger. As we speak, malicious software runs unchecked throughout cyberspace.
The Internet was created as a service to humanity, as an instrument of peace, to unite the people of the world by providing a medium in which to communicate freely with one another.
But predators of every description have found their foothold, and the Internet is not safe anymore. They must be removed, or at least, held in check."

"The leader of all these evil forces is the Triple W Witch. I wish to see her defeated once and for all. This, my friends, is where you come in."

Dorothy and her friends look to each other in astonishment.
"What can we do?" they all ask.
"Yeah, how can people like us defeat the Wicked Witch of the West?"

"It's quite simple really, although it will require every bit of courage you've got, and more than a little bit of sacrifice. You must enter her Domain without firewall protection. There you will be immediately captured by the flying monkeys, who will bring you to Witch's castle. Once inside, you can gain access to her master computer."

"If she doesn't decide to kill us!" says C-Lion.
"Not likely," says Wizard. " I understand she lives in a dark and gloomy castle, and spends most of her time scanning the Net. That means she probably doesn't keep up with her housekeeping very well. So it is more likely she will keep you as slaves to clean her castle. I doubt her flying monkeys can do a good job of that."

Our friends spend the next hour or so discussing the risks involved, the inevitable discomfort they must suffer, and the slim possibility of success.
But Dorothy had succeeded before in inspiring confidence in Scarecrow, Tinman, and C-Lion, and in the end, was able to do so again. Besides, they all agreed, it was for the good of all humanity.

"Bring me the hard drive of Witch's master computer," declares Wizard, " and I promise you, you will all be rewarded beyond your wildest dreams!"

Our brave and determined friends set out for the Witch's Domain, where, just as they had planned, they are captured by the flying monkeys, brought to Witch's castle, and put to work on cleaning her awful mess. Witch cackled and shrieked with sheer delight, thinking victory was hers.

The dark and gloomy castle had been sadly neglected in it's upkeep for years, and their enslavement was anything but pleasant. But our friends were encouraged by the fact that they had access to plenty of water, as was necessary for mopping floors, washing dishes, and cleaning most everything else in there.
All they needed was to find a way to channel water from the kitchen to the master computer, and for Witch to leave the castle long enough to give them a chance.

Sure enough, the time had come when Witch had found that she had run out of cookies. So she got out her broom to head to Munchie Land to replenish her supply, as her sister was doing on that fateful day when a house fell on her.

Our friends worked fast, hooking up a hose to the kitchen faucet that they had made during their stay. Then they ran down the hall with it to the computer room. The flying monkey guarding the door hissed and snarled as they approached. C-Lion distracted him by giving him a cookie, the last of which he had carefully hidden until that time. Scarecrow and C-Lion held the hose, aiming it at the master computer, while Tinman ran down the hall to tell Dorothy to turn on the water.

As the water let loose from the hose, there were sparks flying everywhere, popping and zapping in a cloud of steam, while the monitors blew out, along with all the lights on the control panel. Witch returned just in time to see what they had done. And then, to everyone's surprise, she began to melt. It seemed she was a product of her own creation, and couldn't exist without her instruments of evil.

The flying monkeys, seeing their leader melted into a puddle on the floor, with their little brains unable to think for themselves, took off as fast as they could, each one through the nearest window. Their dark wings filled the sky, before scattering in all directions.

Tinman, who always carried an ax, walked along the wreckage to determine where the hard drive must be housed. Then he swung his ax. Reaching into the hole he had made, he then deftly extracted the hard drive from its housing.

With no one there to stop them, our friends left the castle. Stepping outside, the world looked brighter and more beautiful than it did before.

to be continued...

"Wizard" - Uriah Heep

The Wizard of Blogs - Part 2

Our friends have been walking along the Micro Chip Road for quite some time, with little more to eat than the chocolates and chips they've packed along from Munchie Land.
Considering the circumstances, they were fairing pretty well, until the sun began to set. Then it got a little spooky.
"Do you suppose there may be dangers in the night here?" asked Dorothy.
"Well, there are viruses," said C-Lion.
"And spyware." said Scarecrow.
"And spam." said Tinman.

The group picked up their pace, chanting,
"Viruses, spyware, and spam!, Oh my! Viruses, spyware, and spam! Oh my!"
The chant, along with the pace, continued to rise in tempo, until our friends were confronted by a flash of light and a puff of smoke, before the frightful form of Witch appeared in their path.
"So you thought you could escape my clutches, did you?" cackled Witch.
"Aw shut up you stupid witch!" an unknown voice was heard.
The voice came from an apple tree, who was throwing apples at Witch. Other apple trees were doing the same, shouting,
"Get out of here, you dirty stinking witch!"
"Yeah! Go on! Beat it!"
Bombarded by apples, Witch disappeared in a flash and a puff of smoke.
"Oh thank you for saving us!" said Dorothy to the trees.
"Yes, thank you!" said the others each in turn.
"We are your pop-up blockers. We were planted here to help you." said the apple trees.
"Would you like some apples to take with you?"
"I've always been a PC man, myself, but I'm sure the fresh fruit would do us some good!" said Scarecrow.

Glad to have something more substantial in their bellies, our friends continued their onward pace through the night. By dawn, as the group topped the crest of a hill, the bright colorful spires of Cyber City could be seen on the horizon.
"Almost there!" cheered Dorothy.
"Yes, but look what we have to go through to get there!" said Tinman.
As the daylight increased, endless fields of poppies could be seen on each side of the road. Having been walking all night, our friends passed out one by one.

Scarecrow opened his eyes. He could hear someone singing.

"He was the Wizard of a thousand kings.
and I chanced to meet him one night wandering.
He told me tales and he drank my wine.
Me and my magic man kind of feeling fine."

Scarecrow shook the cobwebs from his head and raised up on his elbow. He could see his friends waking up around him. In their midst there was a big singing frog. He continued his song.

"He had a cloak of gold and eyes of fire,
and as he spoke I felt a deep desire,
to free the world of its fear and pain,
and help the people to be free again."

By this time they were all awake.
"Who are you?" said Dorothy.
"Jeremiah the Bullfrog, at your service. I have breakfast for you." came the reply.
Jeremiah handed out sandwiches and opened a bottle.
"Isn't it a little early for wine?" asked C-Lion.
"This is something to combat the effect of the poppies." said Jeremiah.
"Oh God! Real Food!" said Scarecrow as he buried his face in it.
"I am the Wizard's troubadour, and I have come to make sure you arrive safely to see him." Jeremiah continues. "I have brought you groovy tunes from the 60's and 70's to help you along. The music of the Beatles is well known to keep the Meanies away."
Jeremiah presents a basket of CD's and a portable player.
"3 Dog Night is pretty cool, too!" said C-Lion
"Thank you" said Jeremiah. "They created me, you know."
"We all know that." said C-Lion." But tell me, how come you were singing a Uriah Heep song?"
"This is a multi-dimensional world here, and we've learned to harmonize quite well."
"Oh my!" said Dorothy. "Look what we've got here! Jefferson Airplane, Buffalo Springfield, Grateful Dead..."

After they had revived and were back on their feet, they packed up for the remainder of their journey. Jeremiah explains that he won't be coming with them. He assures our friends that while armed with the music of a generation inspired to bring peace to the world, they would be safe from any bad vibes that could bring negative manifestations.
"Will we ever see you again, Jeremiah?" Dorothy asked.
"You can find me on YouTube." he says.
Then with thanks and hugs, our friends proceed merrily on their way, singing,

"Joy to the world, all the boys and girls. Joy to the fishes in the deep blue sea. Joy to you and me."

to be continued...

The Wizard of Blogs - Part 1

Dorothy was a sweet and innocent farm girl from Kansas.
Dorothy was a happy person. She loved her home, her family, and her dog Toto, who were always there for her.
While growing up, Dorothy became aware that others were not so happy, and she always wished she could do something about it.
So when Dorothy got her first computer, she created a website, and called it "Over the Rainbow."

One of the first visitors to her blog was Scarecrow.
Scarecrow was a modest fellow who seemed to think that everyone else was smarter than he was. He never said much, until he met Dorothy on her blog page.

"I don't know very much," Scarecrow said, "so I always listen to what others have to say."
"That means you're smart." Dorothy told him.
"If you're smart enough to listen, you're smarter than most everyone else."
Scarecrow soon became a team mate in Dorothy's blog.

Another visitor who joined the team was Tinman. He too felt low in self-esteem until his first visit to "Over the Rainbow." Tinman's complaint was that he felt old and rusty. Everything that he wanted to say had already been said. He felt that he had learned all the important lessons in life, but all these lessons were already written in books he had read, and he really didn't have anything to add.

Dorothy convinced him he had plenty to add. She assured him that everyone in the world needed to be reminded of all the great teachings he had learned about. So he too, joined the team.

Finally, there was C-Lion. His name used to be Cowardly Lion, but later became Courageous Lion. He decided to shorten it to C-Lion. The name brought pleasant memories of the California coast, and he liked that.

C-Lion's problem was that he was shy. He never thought that anything he had to say was of any interest to anyone. Dorothy convinced him otherwise. After that he developed great confidence in himself, and also joined the team of happy bloggers.

Together they maintained a blog where people could visit whenever they needed a lifting of spirits. People who were bummed out and depressed could stop in "Over the Rainbow" and get rejuvenated. Dorothy and her friends felt they were providing a great service to humanity.

But there was an evil stalker of the Internet who didn't like what they were doing.
She was known as the Wicked Witch of the West, or more simply, "WWW." This name was a clever disguise for her, as it appeared on every website address.
She hated the influence that Dorothy and her friends had on people, of whom she was seeking to take advantage of their fear and ignorance. So she devised her evil plan to destroy them.

Witch lived in a dark and gloomy castle that was lit only by the eerie glow of an elaborate instrument panel and some screens. From this room she monitored Internet activity around the world, preying on the unsuspecting and the vulnerable.
One day she pressed the button that said, " Summon Flying Monkeys."
When they appeared she commanded them,
"Destroy Dorothy and all her friends! Destroy their work, and every positive influence they have made!"
The flying monkeys took off at her command, filling the sky with their dark wings, in search of the website called "Over the Rainbow."

They proceeded to hack their computers and infect them with viruses, causing all programs to crash. The impact was so great it not only blew up the computers, but blew up Dorothy's house as well. And by "blew up" I mean that the house literally blew way up into the sky, yet somehow remained intact.

When the house landed with a crash, and the shaken but curious occupants came outside, they quickly realized they were far from home. Nothing looked familiar. Dorothy noticed a pair of feet protruding out from under the house.
"Oh My!" she said.

Soon they were greeted by a good witch named Glinda, who was kind enough to explain to them what the hell was going on.
"Now what you see here," she says, "is an example of how bad karma always comes back to you." indicating the feet under the house.
"That's the sister of the Witch who attacked you. Her attack backfired, as what always happens to doers of evil deeds!"

Dorothy and her friends look at Glinda with expressions of bewilderment, telling her she needs to explain a lot more than that.
"Someone attacked us? Why?" asked Dorothy.
Glinda explains how evil always seeks to destroy good, assuring them that it was their good work that made them targets of such destruction.
"But fear not, for everything happens for a purpose, and your purpose now is to find the Wizard, who will repair the damage and restore things back into order."

"But where are we?" asked Dorothy and her friends all at the same time.
"You are in Munchie Land" says Glinda.

Scarecrow, Tinman, and C-Lion step cautiously as they examine their strange surroundings. Tinman looks curiously at the leaves on a bush. Plucking a leaf, he finds it is really a potato chip in his hand.
Scarecrow taps a round paving stone with his foot, than stoops down to pick it up. He finds it is a big chocolate chip cookie.
C-Lion checks out the flowers. The leaves are green spear shaped gum drops. The petals are sweet-tarts.
Dorothy notices the people, who are called Munchkins. They all appear to be fat and lazy. She thinks she knows why.

"Unfortunately," says Glinda, "the only food here is junk food, but it grows everywhere."
"Well, I don't think we should stay here very long." says Scarecrow.
"Me neither" says C-Lion.
"No matter," says Glinda, "for you must now prepare for a very long walk. You must go to Cyber City to see the great Wizard."
"Who is this 'Wizard' ?" asked Tinman.
"Well, besides being your only way back home," says Glinda, "he is the great Internet master who will tell you what you must do to undo the great damage that has been done. He is the Wonderful Wizard of Blogs!"

"So how do we get to Cyber City?" asks Dorothy.
"You must follow the Micro Chip Road."

The Munchkins, one by one, repeat the words.
"Follow the Micro Chip Road"
before breaking out into song.

to be continued...