And you think your head hurts now

"Four thousand years ago in Hindu mythology they already had a character who invented the concept of [art forms] co-existing and it wasn't separated into sections just for monetisation... In the present world it's really similar, because all the technology and tools we've created allow people to experience everything at exactly the same time. So you have a laptop and watch a movie and listen to music and you're looking at a Tumblr; you're communicating all the time and the way you output and input information has completely changed. Everything's sped up to make that point that things can't be separated – and it's just a matter of time until human consciousness catches up to that concept, that everything can co-exist and everything is basically one thing."

- Musician and artist M.I.A. re the goddess Matangi, a fierce and dirty form of Sarasvati, patroness of music, art, language, and learning.

Empirical data

"If there were anything out there like a planet headed for Earth," said NASA astrobiologist David Morrison, "it would already be [one of the] brightest objects in the sky. Everybody on Earth could see it. You don't need to ask the government, just go out and look. It's not there."

- Why the World Didn't End Yesterday - NASA news item dated 22 December. :)