You saw it on video.

Pause the video at 20 seconds...and look at the back of his legs...you see nothing but his cream colored pants. Freeze again at 25 seconds...and see the same thing.

Freeze at 37 seconds, and you see that he's suddenly got a colorful 'tail; drapped over his legs. Where did that come from?

Between 40 sec and 44 sec, his legs go way back, almost how a parachutist arches his back when in free-fall. Try to do this on a chair...while flapping your arms.

Around the 1:05 mark, the 'tail' is gone again.

I'm sure others can find more.

Up to the 30 second mark, the man and his wings have a shadow.

At 31 sec, somebody's shoulder blocks the camera's view of the shadow.

At 32 sec, the shoulder is gone, and so is the shadow...and the picture is suddenly blurry.

A few more improvements and good-by TSA.

I think I understood one word of what he was saying

And not even a good fake at that.

http://www.tested.com/articles/43440-thoughts-on-the-mechanics-of-assisted-human-flight/

With batteries and motors and such present, I withdraw my judgment. 'Cause I don't know.

No way his legs can draw up behind him and remain parallel to the ground.

I've been a private pilot for 28 years. Call it my gut instinct. This does not "seem" like a vehicle that would be able to fly.

http://techcrunch.com/2012/03/20/houston-we-have-liftoff-human-birdwings-guy-finally-enjoys-the-miracle-of-human-flight/

Now when I was a kid, a group of students designed and built the first human powered helicopter. A very big project.

Seems like it could work on a day with the right wind.

BTW: The flapping motion is augmented by a pull-rope inertial motor. Still man-powered, but mechanical, nonetheless.

Here's a bicycle-powered ornithopter (flapping wings) craft that really works:

&feature=related

I read somewhere that there was a guy in Brazil who built a human powered device he would fly himself to the theatre and land in the street. This was many years back.

Can't explain it, but it seems to work.

sort of like a kangaroo, but going long distances. Haven't thought I was flying, or realized I was in a dream while having the dream, "Lucid Dreaming" yet.

Who knows where we really go in our travels.

I have read Carlos Castaneda's "The Art of Dreaming" twice... and still haven't looked at my hands and realized I was 'awake' or conscious of myself dreaming to ask the 'inorganic beings' to reveal knowledge.

“We either make ourselves miserable, or we make ourselves strong. The amount of work is the same.”
― Carlos Castaneda

“The trick is in what one emphasizes. We either make ourselves miserable, or we make ourselves happy. The amount of work is the same.”
― Carlos Castaneda

“The basic difference between an ordinary man and a warrior is that a warrior takes everything as a challenge while an ordinary man takes everything as a blessing or a curse.”
― Carlos Castaneda

“Nobody knows who I am or what I do. Not even I."

Don Juan Matus

― Carlos Castaneda, Journey to Ixtlan


“Look at every path closely and deliberately, then ask ourselves this crucial question: Does this path have a heart? If it does, then the path is good. If it doesn't then it is of no use to us.”
― Carlos Castaneda

“To seek freedom is the only driving force I know. Freedom to fly off into that infinity out there. Freedom to dissolve; to lift off; to be like the flame of a candle, which, in spite of being up against the light of a billion stars, remains intact, because it never pretended to be more than what it is: a mere candle.”
― Carlos Castaneda, Don Juan: the Sorcerer

It came out after "The Art of Dreaming" and was a set of exercises, like dance moves. He sure held my attention up to that point though. "Magical Passes: The Practical Wisdom of the Shamans of Ancient Mexico."

I had to search his books to get the title. There are some I hadn't seen, or don't recall.
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/c/Carlos-Castaneda?r=1&utm_medium=cpc&sort=SA&store=book&fmt=PHYSICAL&utm_source=google&utm_campaign=Author_CA&cm_mmca1=0faaac8e-11f6-3489-52c2-00001af6cdd2&imkwid=3455319&price=8%2B&view=list&utm_term=books%20by%20carlos%20castaneda&cm_mmc=Google-_-Author_CA-_-Castaneda,Carlos%20-%20EXACT-_-books%20by%20Carlos%20Castaneda

"Fire from Within" was great. And "The Eagles Gift" where he had to find a group of apprentices to live with. It's been about 30 years since I read them, but enjoyed every one I read.

A toast, to "The Path with Heart."
ADW

Very much along the same line of "active mentation" as opposed to "meditative" approach to spiritual practice. The body is just a container - it is our souls, the "I" within the machine, that extend outward by which we feel and know the world. That goes on forever, and does not die.


By teaching others you will learn yourself.
In Search Of The Miraculous (1949)

Quotations of Gurdjieff from In Search of the Miraculous: Fragments of an Unknown Teaching (1949) by P. D. Ouspensky

The evolution of man is the evolution of his consciousness.
Objective knowledge, the idea of unity included, belongs to objective consciousness. The forms which express this knowledge when perceived by subjective consciousness are inevitably distorted and, instead of truth, they create more and more delusions.
In right knowledge the study of man must proceed on parallel lines with the study of the world, and the study of the world must run parallel with the study of man.

* It is impossible to recognize a wrong way without knowing the right way. This means that it is no use troubling oneself how to recognize a wrong way. One must think of how to find the right way.

* In properly organized groups no faith is required; what is required is simply a little trust and even that only for a little while, for the sooner a man begins to verify all he hears the better it is for him.

* A man can keep silence in such a ways that no one will even notice it. The whole point is that we say a good deal too much. If we limited ourselves to what is actually necessary, this alone would be keeping the silence. And it is the same with everything else, with food, with pleasures, with sleep; with everything there is a limit to what is necessary. After this "sin" begins. This is something that must be grasped, a "sin" is something which is not necessary.

* Man such as we know him, is a machine.

* In speaking of evolution it is necessary to understand from the outset that no mechanical evolution is possible. The evolution of man is the evolution of his consciousness.

* One of man’s important mistakes, one which must be remembered, is his illusion in regard to his I.
Man such as we know him, the "man-machine," the man who cannot "do," and with whom and through whom everything "happens," cannot have a permanent and single I. His I changes as quickly as his thoughts, feelings and moods, and he makes a profound mistake in considering himself always one and the same person; in reality he is always a different person, not the one he was a moment ago.

* Man has no permanent and unchangeable I. Every thought, every mood, every desire, every sensation, says "I".

* Man has no individual I. But there are, instead, hundreds and thousands of separate small "I"s, very often entirely unknown to one another, never coming into contact, or, on the contrary, hostile to each other, mutually exclusive and incompatible. Each minute, each moment, man is saying or thinking, "I". And each time his I is different. Just now it was a thought, now it is a desire, now a sensation, now another thought, and so on, endlessly. Man is a plurality. Man's name is legion.

* The being of two people can differ from one another more than the being of a mineral and of an animal. This is exactly what people do not understand. And they do not understand that knowledge depends on being. Not only do they not understand this latter but they definitely do not wish to understand it

* In literature, science, art, philosophy, religion, in individual and above all in social and political life, we can observe how the line of the development of forces deviates from its original direction and goes, after a certain time, in a diametrically opposite direction, still preserving its former name.

* Objective knowledge, the idea of unity included, belongs to objective consciousness. The forms which express this knowledge when perceived by subjective consciousness are inevitably distorted and, instead of truth, they create more and more delusions. With objective consciousness it is possible to see and feel the unity of everything. But for subjective consciousness the world is split up into millions of separate and unconnected phenomena. Attempts to connect these phenomena into some sort of system in a scientific or philosophical way lead to nothing because man cannot reconstruct the idea of the whole starting from separate facts and they cannot divine the principles of the division of the whole without knowing the laws upon which this division is based.

* RELIGION IS DOING; a man does not merely think his religion or feel it, he lives his religion as much as he is able, otherwise it is not religion but fantasy or philosophy. Whether he likes it or not he shows his attitude towards religion by his actions and he can show his attitude only by his actions. Therefore if his actions are opposed to those which are demanded by a given religion he cannot assert that he belongs to that religion.

* In right knowledge the study of man must proceed on parallel lines with the study of the world, and the study of the world must run parallel with the study of man.

* When we speak of prayer or of the results of prayer we always imply only one kind of prayer — petition, or we think that petition can be united with all other kinds of prayers.… Most prayers have nothing in common with petitions. I speak of ancient prayers; many of them are much older than Christianity. These prayers are, so to speak, recapitulations; by repeating them aloud or to himself a man endeavors to experience what is in them, their whole content, with his mind and his feeling.

* A man may be born, but in order to be born he must first die, and in order to die he must first awake.

* A man will renounce any pleasures you like but he will not give up his suffering.

* It is the greatest mistake to think that man is always one and the same. A man is never the same for long. He is continually changing. He seldom remains the same even for half an hour.

* Man has the possibility of existence after death. But possibility is one thing and the realization of the possibility is quite a different thing.

* You must understand that ordinary efforts do not count; only superefforts count.

* Without self knowledge, without understanding the working and functions of his machine, man cannot be free, he cannot govern himself and he will always remain a slave.

[edit] All and Everything: Beelzebub's Tales to his Grandson (1950)
Hope of consciousness is strength.
Every one of those unfortunates during the process of existence should constantly sense and be cognizant of the inevitability of his own death as well as of the death of everyone upon whom his eyes or attention rests.

* ACCORDING TO the numerous deductions and conclusions made by me during experimental elucidations concerning the productivity of the perception by contemporary people of new impressions from what is heard and read, and also according to the thought of one of the sayings of popular wisdom I have just remembered, handed down to our days from very ancient times, which declares: “Any prayer may be heard by the Higher Powers and a corresponding answer obtained only if it is uttered thrice:

Firstly—for the welfare or the peace of the souls of one’s parents.
Secondly—for the welfare of one’s neighbor.
And only thirdly—for oneself personally.

* "Friendly Advice [Written impromptu by the author on delivering this book, already prepared for publication, to the printer" (1949)

* I find it necessary on the first page of this book, quite ready for publication, to give the following advice:

Read each of my written expositions thrice:
Firstly: at least as you have already become mechanized to read all your contemporary books and newspapers.
Secondly: as if you were reading aloud to another person.
And only thirdly: try and fathom the gist of my writings.

Only then will you be able to count upon forming your own impartial judgment, proper to yourself alone, on my writings. And only then can my hope be actualized that according to your understanding you will obtain the specific benefit for yourself which I anticipate, and which I wish for you with all my being.

* "Friendly Advice [Written impromptu by the author on delivering this book, already prepared for publication, to the printer" (1949)

* Faith of consciousness is freedom
Faith of feeling is weakness
Faith of body is stupidity.

* Love of consciousness evokes the same in response
Love of feeling evokes the opposite
Love of body depends only on type and polarity.

* Hope of consciousness is strength
Hope of feelings is slavery
Hope of body is disease.

* Every one of those unfortunates during the process of existence should constantly sense and be cognizant of the inevitability of his own death as well as of the death of everyone upon whom his eyes or attention rests. Only such a sensation and such a cognizance can now destroy the egoism completely crystallized in them that has swallowed up the whole of their Essence, and also that tendency to hate others which flows from it.

* The sole means now for the saving of the beings of the planet Earth would be to implant again into their presences a new organ ... of such properties that every one of these unfortunates during the process of existence should constantly sense and be cognizant of the inevitability of his own death as well as the death of everyone upon whom his eyes or attention rests. Only such a sensation and such a cognizance can now destroy the egoism completely crystallized in them.

[edit] All and Everything: Meetings with Remarkable Men (1963)
It is very difficult to explain what takes place in me when I see or hear anything majestic which allows no doubt that it proceeds from the actualization of Our Maker Creator.

* From my point of view, he can be called a remarkable man who stands out from those around him by the resourcefulness of his mind, and who knows how to be restrained in the manifestations which proceed from his nature, at the same time conducting himself justly and tolerantly towards the weaknesses of others.

* Faith can not be given to man. Faith arises in a man and increases in its action in him not as the result of automatic learning, that is, not from any automatic ascertainment of height, breadth, thickness, form and weight, or from the perception of anything by sight, hearing, touch, smell or taste, but from understanding.
Understanding is the essence obtained from information intentionally learned and from all kinds of experiences personally experienced.

* It is very difficult to explain what takes place in me when I see or hear anything majestic which allows no doubt that it proceeds from the actualization of Our Maker Creator. Each time, my tears flow of themselves. I weep, that is to say, it weeps in me, not from grief, no, but as if from tenderness.

* Formerly, it may be said, my whole being was possessed by egoism. All my manifestations and experiencings flowed from my vanity. The meeting with Father Giovanni killed all this, and from then on there gradually arose in me that "something" which has brought the whole of me to the unshakable conviction that, apart from the vanities of life, there exists a "something else" which must be the aim and ideal of every more or less thinking man, and that it is only this something else which may make a man really happy and give him real values, instead of the illusory "goods" with which in ordinary life he is always and in everything full.

* KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING ARE QUITE DIFFERENT. Only understanding can lead to being, whereas knowledge is but a passing presence in it.

* If you want to lose your faith, make friends with a priest.

Many years ago a friend and I went to see "Tommy" the movie. Before going we had driven over the Golden Gate Bridge North, and looked back at the city of San Francisco. The night was clear, the stars and lights of the city bright. Driving back for the midnight show we simultaneously made an exclamation of "Oh" or "Awh," and then looked at each other and started a conversation of "were you just thinking of", and before that>>> and before that... We had been having the same train of thought while sitting next to each other going down the streets of the city. If we are "Our thoughts" it seemed we were the same individual in two separate bodies for a while. I sort of regret I can recall the moment and our reaction to it, but the train of thoughts leading up to the exclamation which we found so profound I have not remembered.

I also had quite a personal experience one afternoon in Oakland Ca. when the Eagles played "Take it to the limit" during a day on the green concert.

Happy Trails,
ADW

Had similar shared Jungian "oceanic" and "synchronicity" experiences, both on and off the bus. Sometimes with complete strangers. I was hitchhiking back to school in Boston on I-95 one afternoon from DC in the late 1970s. The woman who stopped I just knew, and she knew me and I knew her, even though we had never met. After a few miles, I told her that she had a second heart. She pulled out a red garnet pendant from under her blouse. She let me off at a Rest Stop near her home in Cherry Hill, NJ, and we went our separate ways.

In the 70s, you could go anywhere and meet the most interesting people by just sticking out your thumb.

That view from Marin Co. at night was a lot more memorable than Ken Russell's completely awful "Tommy," I'm sure. "Quadrophenia," however, was excellent, and completely made up for it.

But did a search and can't understand how I missed it. I was in college during the release time, and even played DJ from midnight to 7 in the mornings for a while. I loved the class. (They didn't want to let me have it at first, because I wasn't majoring in Journalism, but I prevailed.) One of the things I recall from the class was someone coming in and yelling at me not to play Jimmy Hendrix at 7 in the morning. Heavy Rock was only to be played at night. Just as he was winding down another DJ friend came in and exclaimed he LOVED how I had segued Judy Collins into Jimmy Hendrix. I liked to play sets or themes while I was on. I only recall that the tempo and musical instrumentation at the end of the Judy Collins song was similar to the opening of the Jimmy Hendrix piece. They must have had similar or opposing lyrics in some manner.

Anyhow, after looking up Quadrophenia I have called my local independent bookstore and ordered it.

By the way, have you seen "Festival Express?" It's a lot of live material from three concerts in Canada and the events on the train between the bands doing the tour in 1970.

You have to see the film, also. Here's Part 1 of 2 on YouTube:

I also did the overnight DJ thing in High School and College. Interesting parallels, there. I've seen reference to that train trip through Canada that had a lot of famous folkies on board. Is it a film?

I ordered the dvd when it came out which has a second DVD of more performances. Tom Rush is one I recall who doesn't perform in the movie version. I understand "Ten Years After" was on the tour, but wouldn't release their material. That gave me pause to wonder why... There are two performances by "The Band" that I especially enjoy. The energy and tightness of the group thrills me. Buddy Guy performs on and off stage in concert. And they have cars set up with equipment so the bands can jam and Buddy Guy is there too. Janis with her Full Tilt Boogie Band. She does two concert songs in the movie, and there is a part on the train where she and Gerry sing, he has the guitar, there is another guy, who is very out there who I can't recall by name, but they sing together. The first DVD I got, I loaned out and it got lost, but it's something I enjoy so much I bought another. I have someone on the "to loan to list," who I may see next Thursday.

Here you go: http://www.ask.com/wiki/Festival_Express?oo=0

1. Why would everyone start running away at take off?
2. Why wouldn't the camera person run towards him after taking off, to capture 'the moment' better than this?
3. Why wasn't there a good head on view, from in front?
4. Why so blurry and shakey for such an epic attempt? Why not have a pro with a tripod?
5. Why fly in such a sketchy area with tree and water obstacles and limited space in the event of a glitch?
6. Didn't his 'crying' emotion at the end seem just a bit fake and hollow?
7. Where are parts 1-13?
8. When the scene changes at :35, doesn't he seem to be going awfully slow for the proper airspeed to achieve flight? Wouldn't he stall at that speed, which looks like under 10 mph, rather than the 17 or 20 of a hang glider?
9. At the end when he lands, he shouldn't have to run out the speed like he does. He takes way too many steps for the speed he was going.

I could go on. But this thing seems like a fake, and linking to blogs that link to this story don't cut it as verification.

Sorry. This thing just did not happen.

Pause the video at 20 seconds...and look at the back of his legs...you see nothing but his cream colored pants. Freeze again at 25 seconds...and see the same thing.

Freeze at 37 seconds, and you see that he's suddenly got a colorful 'tail; drapped over his legs. Where did that come from?

Between 40 sec and 44 sec, his legs go way back, almost how a parachutist arches his back when in free-fall. Try to do this on a chair...while flapping your arms.

Around the 1:05 mark, the 'tail' is gone again.
Up to the 30 second mark, the man and his wings have a shadow.

At 31 sec, somebody's shoulder blocks the camera's view of the shadow.

At 32 sec, the shoulder is gone, and so is the shadow...and the picture is suddenly blurry.

fucking magic moment indeed

....over 15 minutes on dial-up to load this video, it couldn't possibly be a fake....where can I order a set of these wings for Grandma?

http://www.gizmag.com/jarno-smeets-human-birdwings-video-cgi-fake/21899/

Birds are very different biologically. You can't just strap on wings and fly

And thus he came crashing to earth and/or our undying sense of skepticism in the internet age.