Xtine’s Neighborhood

{Please excuse possible incoherency or difficulty reading as my mind was a bit jumbled trying to get these absurd events on paper....}

                    It was entirely too great of a day to sit inside and learn the popular Belgian "Jumpen" dance via youtube video's so we decided to go to the bookstore and read a book I had been wanting to read called "Be Here Now" by Ram Dass. As we walked in I knew this was a great day and a lovely time to begin the early phases of my serious adjustment from pre psychedelic life to the skewed idea of reality I proudly hold today. We found the book and I sat down to read it. As I read it I began to realize that I hadn't the slightest fucking clue about what Mr. "Dass" or whatever was talking about. Something about needing to die before being reborn. So I had been trying to gather up the nerve for about a couple of months to score some psilocybin mushrooms after watching some friends trip and reading multiple reports on erwoid.org. I had previously only tried cannabis and MDMA and was looking to fuck with my skin encapsulated ego a bit. So I called my friend who I knew would have them, as he has mentioned getting them before. I figured, like with most psychedelics or mind altering experiences (namely MDMA) I would put the shroomies away for a long time and keep researching the subject and trying small bits of it to get used to baseline effects.

            So I went and picked them up and proceeded to take them over to a very close friend of mines apartment to examine them. There were 5 of us over there, three of my good friends and one of their girlfriends. I decided upon taking a bit to try them out as I was entirely too excited to simply put them aside. I filled the small of my palm with some shake and a whole mushroom (about 1/2 eight) upon  temporarily conquering my anxiety I ingested them and waited even more anxiously for the effects to kick in. I was sitting on the couch and we were all hanging out and listening to music like usual. Suddenly I feel /hear a vortex pulling me down ward. I had been told before that this vortex marked the beginning of the trip for many people... and so it was true.

       I immediately got nervous and jumped up out of my seat to go talk to my more experienced friend about what was going on and to gain reassurance that I was in no physical danger. I then went out onto the balcony and examined the world around me as the visual effects began to kick in. The trees had beautiful bright colored blossoms and were dripping with beautiful crystal clear water droplets. I suddenly realized that the four walls around me were not enough. I asked my friend who I trusted most and who owned the apartment to go outside with me so as to not do anything stupid in public. During deliberation of whether to walk outside or stare out of the door, I began to lose touch with my bodies natural temperature gauge and became super comfortable with the idea of going outside despite the chilly night's air. My friend gave me a tour of the grounds which I had not previously seen, or so it seemed. The world around me became so vivid and clear that it was almost cartoony and the tints and colors and contrasts were blowing my mind. As I traveled deeper than the rabbit hole I found my self in wonderland.

        I suddenly got cold and told my friend I was ready to go back. I walked back in and was immediately drawn to the Salvador Dahli picture of Abe Lincoln on the wall which was shifting into absolutely absurd shapes and that is when things became a bit overwhelming. The walls began to take on a life of their own and as I would concentrate on each wall individually it would breathe and flex. This was my first experience with distorted reality and I knew not what to do or how to handle it, so I got a bit more nervous and exclaimed  loudly "WOOOOOOOW" as nervous laughter began pouring out of my over stimulated cranium and vibrating off the tip of my tongue. "Are you guys seeing this?" I asked. I turned around and one of my friends began to seriously fuck with my mind. He began making all of these evil faces and shaking his head from side to side. I asked if he was really doing it or if I was just hallucinating. All I got back in response is more of the faces and a lot of laughing from everyone around me and this is the point where I do not know what part of my story was real and what part was in mind.

         As my friend continued to make faces he grew horns and, his naturally red hair and face got even more vividly red. I began to talk to tell him to stop it and I realized that I was speaking gibberish and getting the same in response. At this point I knew I was fucked and had no way to relate to the human beings around me. I was leaving this world and traveling even further down the rabbit hole. I stood up and left the room at that time to walk around and examine the multitude of trippy posters around the apartment which also continued to look less and less believable. I suddenly felt the urge to go to the restroom as my entire body felt wet and warm but cold and dry at the same time. I felt I was in a cold wet suit but immersed in a dry pool of warm water. I went to the bathroom and sat down on the John with pants down as I figured out that I would not realize if began to urinate or otherwise. I got lost in the multitude of sound and vortexes around me and stared intently at an odd picture of a paper pig on the bathroom wall. Next thing I know the bathroom feels like a ship that is preparing for lift off and I am literally being caught with my pants down as I am "fueling up". This feeling comes and goes as I relive the moment over and over like a tape recorder on constant rewind and intermixed within the tape somewhere is me walking in and out of the bathroom and various other rooms of the house. When the rewind button let go I found my self walking through the small hallway leading from the bathroom to the bedroom, as I waved goodbye to my friend who had been fucking with me earlier. He was walking out the door with his girlfriend and that made two less humans in the house to deal with, and one less "demon" as my friend had earlier made himself out to be.

         I went across the hall and into the bedroom where I saw more posters!! (Posters were not fun anymore and they were fucking everywhere) These posters were of Coors light girls and they were playing all sorts of tricks on me. The girls had many different shades of skin put together in a mosaic on their body and were moving in weird laggy patterns as they began to make faces and grow horns as they shook their heads in the same way my "demon" friend had been doing earlier. It seemed as though he had set the tone for my trip and it was not set in a quality direction. So after I realized I still had a body with feet and legs that could move me I went over and sat on the bed and decided to lie down and close my eyes, hoping it would be normal again. As I closed my eyes I saw that I could no longer tell the difference between the world around me and the world behind my eye lids.

         I opened my eyes(I think) again to notice the digital clock making weird patterns that made no sense at all. I had no perception of time and no perception of space. I kept forgetting I had ingested a mind altering substance and when I remembered long enough to calculate according to the clock how long it had been since I took them, the time made no logical sense to me whatsoever. I got lost again jumping through realities while lying on the bed with my eyes closed, only to be opened when I felt I was running out of breath. Every so often (I can’t recall the time intervals...anywhere from milliseconds to an hour) I would "wake up" from a "dream" and take a series of deep breaths as if waking up from a nightmare. Then the pattern once again began playing over and over again like a tape recorder and I kept dying and being reborn as the same person in the same time and space. I was still myself, but I was a big head floating in space with the cosmos, including our solar system, orbiting around me. 

        Then my friend came in and offered me moral support to which I had no words to say as I could not conceive the concept of words but he almost brought me back to reality. He then brought me apple sauce which was something completely foreign to me with little rubber balls that I perceived as planets I was chewing on and I suddenly lost grip of "reality" again. I once again "woke up from the dream"  and found that I was drooling apple sauce on the bed and never actually swallowed or chewed it. I closed my eyes again and saw only mild level closed eye visuals of odd bondage scenes containing myself and people I knew well but not at all in a sexual way as I began to slip in to this scenario and found myself inside of this room for a couple moments before returning back to baseline upon (I think) reopening my eyes.

         I lied for a while on the bed looking up thinking "WHUUUUUUT THAAAA FUUUUUUCK WAS THAT!!??!!?" Eventually I got up and rejoined my two remaining friends in the living room and began spouting off about how I plan to entitle my trip "the exhibit of life" and explaining my knew found ideas on god and life and other deep deep deep materials which I was seeing in an entirely new light. We spent the rest of the night flipping through radio channels and listening to music I never liked before (such as country) and laughing hysterically at the absurd Irony of the music and the lack of complexity in the lyrics which I found to be very satisfying. I fell asleep that night on my friends couch with my head phones on, playing a track I had created with a computer music studio, which was influenced by the conflict in Israel and listened intently with great compassion and understanding until it became too much for me, and I fell asleep.

      I can honestly say that trip has made me a better person and a deeper thinker as well as somebody who is very thankful for their existence and reality and especially thankful for a chance at having such an amazing psychedelic journey. I now understand full well what the wonderful Ram Dass speaks of in his book and I own the book and read it quite often and would highly recommend the book to everyone.

War is delightful to those who have no experience of it.

                   --Desiderius Erasmus (1466/69-1536), Humanist, Theologian

            If the mind pays no attention to that which plagues it, the body will still suffer the consequences unbeknownst to the victim. The same goes for a nation that blindly leads its citizens into war and chooses to ignore it. When colonies of people start dropping like flies, citizens become more scrupulous in their observations of current events. No matter how many leaders plead ignorance or say they are winning, the suspecting people grow no more foolish than they were before. There is a large population which still believes that war cannot be won. The only way to win in conflict is by choosing a peaceful initiative. As one humorous bumper sticker reads, “Killing for peace is like screwing for virginity”.

            The inevitability of losing one’s life is enough to turn many an individual away from violence, but that single snowflake is easily drowned out in an avalanche of survival driven aggressors. The prospect of financial gain is as important a catalyst as is the need for limited resources. But patriotism is a whole other set of ideals entirely. Classic patriotism has always meant standing up for what is best for one’s nation, whether it is for or against the governing body; whether you stand alone or in a crowd. It is the opposition to unreasonable government policies that has historically marked the true patriot. Unfortunately, Patriotism has lost its meaning in the modern context of collectivist nations. Fighting and dying for one’s country is as absurd an idea to some, as it is simple truth to others. Albert Einstein plainly stated his opinion on the matter when he exclaimed, “Heroism on command, senseless violence, and all the loathsome nonsense that goes by the name of patriotism… How passionately I hate them!” Regardless, everything is open to interpretation but relativity is grounded in theory. If there were no borders or countries, as many idealists would have it, would patriotism exist in the context of kinship? Kinship is the rule rather than the exception for human beings in every part of the world, therefore it is quite logical that a brotherhood of man would develop in a form somewhat reminiscent of patriotic fellowship, but modern patriotism is some different. Patriotism today has strong nationalist undertones and causes some very angry reactions from the excluded party.

            It is equally important in wartime context to consider the strong possibility of blow-back, which comes most commonly in the form of terrorist attacks and guerrilla forces. Blow back is very real and very dangerous. Somewhere in the chaos of war-time orders being handed down through the ranks, a sense of responsibility and even common sense is lost, this is where the rules of engagement come in, and just as quickly come right back out. Desensitization is another form of blowback. Violence is a drug and an aphrodisiac to people who are bored and restless. The people of the world get fed up with happy endings and they crave bloodshed, turmoil, and conflict as much as they crave their most addictive pharmaceutical.

            The jumbled confusion of ulterior motives, testosterone fueled aggression, and self-righteous ideology is what we have come to know as violence. In its more extreme context it is full-blown war, which isn’t as pleasant as it may seem when seen in plain vision.

“Men never do evil so completely and cheerfully as when they do it from religious conviction.”

--Blaise Pascal (1623-1662), Theologian, Mathematician

Ideology, in every respect, is based on perspective; one that can be seen as wrong, right, or just plain ridiculous. How does a person determine what is right without knowing what is wrong? We must go to each far reaching extreme of every situation to know its middle ground; for without having done so our ideas are but a transparent speck on an unmarked abyss; a blind pair of eyes in a poorly lit room. Naturally, people have the right to deny the fact that they are not sure about something and jump head first into a situation based on some imaginary form of reassurance. It is their inalienable right, in fact. Ideologies frequently crash at full force, giving birth to a grey area very different from what is the accepted definition of compromise (as always words fall short). On the contrary, it is more of an anti-compromise. But this grey area is found in everything we come across. We may derive this from the theory of relativity, that one sees everything only from their own physical point of existence. Man knows nothing because man knows something, thus if a man knows something they must know nothing, for without the knowledge and the lack there of, they have no point of relativity. So the point is we know nothing and we know everything. That being said why must we violently clash ideologies if they are as unstable as radioactive atoms? It is the irrationality of human ideologies that brings about statements of complete non sense backed by a full throttle certainty. In no more obvious of a situation does this manifest itself than in the form of religion. We know nothing about the future in this life, and certainly less, if it’s possible, about the after life. Why then, is it so typical to gather arms and kill for this definite uncertainty? Was Winston Churchill so wrong in asserting the statement, “Never give in, never give in, never; never; never; never - in nothing, great or small, large or petty - never give in except to convictions of honor and good sense”. Now, the idea of a God has of course always been an honorable conviction. This may even be in good sense, the true question is where, how, and among whom you read what you preach? Muslims, Jews, Christians, and other forms of widely accepted religions are all convinced that they have the story right. It is blind faith, and it can be as ugly is it can be beautiful; as dangerous as it can be safe; as reassuring as it can be hopeless; and as deceptive as it can be guiding. Where is the grey area? Must ideologies clash in order to achieve said commonality? Absolutely! And I am convinced (pun intended) that there is no other way. What I am not convinced about, however, is that ideologies must clash rather than meet and find a common ground. It’s not an all together absurd conviction that human beings with “extremist” or “radical” beliefs can find a happy center. They know one extreme so they must know the other. For how can one know what it is to be extreme if they do not know what it is to be moderate? An easy answer to an easy question… They don’t know it! They don’t know because someone else developed categories of all sorts of -isms and dispersed people about them to fit the description. This is all a big misunderstanding between misguided, misinformed, but convinced individuals/groups. So convinced; so misguided, in fact, that they would give up their life for their beliefs. Righteous? Noble? We may never know. But is it daring and ballsy? Absolutely! I am convinced of it!

Life is not humanistic choices inside of the boundaries of determinism, but rather determinism within the boundaries of humanistic choice. Determinism is a man made defense mechanism created in response to the fear of the unknown, known as the humanistic choice (the universe and all it entails)

influenced by: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vCyKNtocdZE

“The End of the Beginning to Violent, Radical, Money-Based, Socio-Political Love of Control Over the Aging of the Collective and Subjective History Pages of Drug-Induced Religious Origins Combating the Vitality of Scientific Theory.”(A.K.A. EBVRMBSPLCOACSHPDIROCVST)

Individualism has taken a pitfall due to a collectivist standard, being irrationally dictated to the increasingly blind masses as rational. The Power-Tripping, terror pushing Personas in elite places have been waging a violent ideologically based liberty revoking war on human minds partially through drug laws, which are simultaneously throwing an entire race of civilly disobedient rebels into a relentless system controlled by greed, fueled by oil-sponsored, nuclear war-lords, and permeating with violence by the peaceful, in order to escape control from the evil, God-fearing, psychological disease label distributing, law making, History dictating, fear mongering powers that be. In an attempt to replace a skewed definition of love with sex by lumping the two together, they have destroyed the meaning of ecstasy and thrown blame on an all questioning, neo-revolution preaching generation as the  reason for the end of  conservative idealist control over the so-called counter-culture  of youthful, artistic, engaged, history making, anti-violent, free thinking, progressive, love shouters who are shifting into high gear and inevitably moving into decision making chairs as the expansion of the wide array of dimensions of this enormously miniscule blue  speck of earth we call home, is in the midst of a crescendo of human consciousness.

Music is the sound track of our lives, books the script and buildings the set. Let the play begin -

First let's turn out the lights. http://www.onehournopower.com/

Strike up the band (well, at least he was part of The Band) Levon Helm, who is making some great music - http://levonhelm.com/

Now before you turn up your nose and go Eeeeww, books and Ugggh, history – hear me out on this one - “A Team of Rivals” by Doris Kearns Goodwin is simply the best book I've read in years. It takes you to a different time. A time when you could walk into the White House and talk to the President without getting shot or a least beaten up and thrown in jail unless you come bearing huge bags full of cash. One of Lincoln's first and biggest problems upon assuming office was making time to talk the crowds of job seekers who lined the hallways and crowded the White House one on one even though he knew he could help almost none of them. Now that is being a “compassionate conservative” in my book.

The National Mountain Centre, Canmore Alberta, Canada – Saucier + Perrotte

Using the 1860 presidential election as her pivot-point, Kearns-Goodwin offers a group portrait of the Lincoln administration during our Civil War crucible, with pronounced emphasis on New York Senator William H. Seward (secretary of state), Ohio Senator Salmon P. Chase (secretary of treasury), and Missouri State House Representative Edward Bates (attorney general). All three had sought the White House only to have their dreams foiled by a gangly dark-horse candidate from Springfield, Ill. ''That Lincoln, after winning the presidency, made the unprecedented decision to incorporate his eminent rivals into his political family, the cabinet, was evidence of a profound self-confidence and a first indication of what would prove to others a most unexpected greatness," Goodwin writes.

All three of these guys (and several others in the cabinet) thought they would be the hand behind the throne that was really running things...it didn't work out that way, the rube from Illinois molded these powerful men to his will and they came to respect and admire him.

That didn't mean Lincoln's job was easy. Not in the beginning, not in the middle, not in the end. He had generals who couldn't fight, wouldn't fight or failed to press the advantage when they did fight. He had hostile congressmen who derided him as "King Lincoln" and a vociferous peace movement that refused to quit. He had a horrific body count that ate away at him, year after year. And one of his own cabinet members, Chase, openly schemed to run against him for president in 1864.

Called “The Marilyn Monroe” this condo is going up in Mississauga, Ontario, designed by Beijing-based MAD Architectural Design Studio

Stanton treated Lincoln with utter contempt at their initial acquaintance when the two men were involved in a celebrated law case in the summer of 1855. Unimaginable as it might seem after Stanton's demeaning behavior, Lincoln offered him "the most powerful civilian post within his gift"--the post of secretary of war--at their next encounter six years later. Lincoln had found in Stanton the leader the War Department desperately needed. Lincoln's choice of Stanton revealed his singular ability to transcend personal vendetta, humiliation, or bitterness. As for Stanton, despite his initial contempt for the man he once described as a "long armed Ape," he not only accepted the offer but came to respect and love Lincoln more than any person outside of his immediate family. He was beside himself with grief for weeks after the president's death.

Chase never ceased to underestimate Lincoln, nor to resent the fact that he had lost the presidency to a man he considered his inferior. His frustration with his position as secretary of the treasury was alleviated only by his his dogged hope that he, rather than Lincoln, would be the Republican nominee in 1864, and he steadfastly worked to that end. The president put up with Chase's machinations and haughty yet fundamentally insecure nature because he recognized his superlative accomplishments at treasury. Eventually, however, Chase threatened to split the Republican Party by continuing to fill key positions with partisans who supported his presidential hopes. When Lincoln stepped in, Chase tendered his resignation as he had three times before, but this time Lincoln stunned Chase by calling his bluff and accepting the offer.

Preformance Centre, Abu Dhabi, by Zaha Hadid Architects

When Seward was offered his cabinet post as secretary of state he intended to have a major role in choosing the remaining cabinet members, conferring upon himself a position in the new government more commanding than that of Lincoln himself. He quickly realized the futility of his plan to relegate the president to a figurehead role. Though the feisty New Yorker would continue to debate numerous issues with Lincoln in the years ahead, exactly as Lincoln had hoped and needed him to do, Seward would become his closest friend, advisor, and ally in the administration. More than any other cabinet member Seward appreciated Lincoln's peerless skill in balancing factions both within his administration and in the country at large.

Bates's ambitions for political success were gradually displaced by love for his wife and large family, and he withdrew from public life in the late 1840s. For the next 20 years he was asked repeatedly to run or once again accept high government posts but he consistently declined. However in early 1860, with letters and newspaper editorials advocating his candidacy crowding in upon him, he decided to try for the highest office in the land. After losing to Lincoln he vowed, in his diary, to decline a cabinet position if one were to be offered, but with the country "in trouble and danger" he felt it was his duty to accept when Lincoln asked him to be attorney general. Though Bates initially viewed Lincoln as a well-meaning but incompetent administrator, he eventually concluded that the president was an unmatched leader, "very near being a 'perfect man.'"

Would that in our own troubled time we had another “nearly perfect man” instead of -

Above from the fine pages of Spannerhead http://spannerhead.stumbleupon.com

Gggggrrrr

Bush Eyes Blair For Mideast Peace Role

View larger image

WASHINGTON (AP) - President Bush has talked with British Prime Minister Tony Blair about taking a role as a Middle East peace envoy after he leaves office next week. Assistant Secretary of State David Welch, the State Department's top diplomat for the Middle East, talked with Blair in London on Wednesday, while the White House and State Department spoke glowingly about the prime minister's credentials but said there was nothing to announce yet. Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert also expressed support for Blair playing a role in the Middle East. "Officials in the prime minister's office are aware of this idea and Prime Minister Olmert is very supportive of Prime Minister Blair and of his continuing involvement in the Middle East and the peace process," Israeli government spokeswoman Miri Eisin said. Blair steps down next Wednesday. "Obviously Prime Minister Blair has been very active and deeply involved in Middle East peace issues throughout his prime ministership," White House spokeswoman Dana Perino said. She said Blair and Bush speak often. "It would not surprise me if they have talked about what Prime Minister Blair would like to do following the end of his term ... but we don't have anything to announce today," Perino said. James Wolfensohn, a former president of the World Bank, stepped down in April as international Mideast envoy for the Quartet of peacemakers—the United States, European Union, United Nations and Russia. The position envisioned for Blair was said to be an enhanced version of that role. Members of the Quartet may meet in Paris next week, although Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has a scheduling conflict and the meeting could be postponed. At the State Department, spokesman Sean McCormack would not say whether the United States wants Blair to take the job, but indicated there is a need for a new Mideast envoy. That person would work to help the Palestinians strengthen their political and economic systems and institutions in preparation for an eventual independent Palestinian state, McCormack said. "So there is this idea out there of, 'can we identify a person that could fulfill those functions?'" McCormack said. "I think that the idea has some merit. ... But as for particular individuals, at this point I'm certainly not going to get into it." Separately, a senior State Department official said that although U.S. officials have explored the job possibility with Blair, those discussions are not yet at the point of a job offer. That could come after further discussions among the four Quartet members, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to describe private discussions. Oh no.  Haven't this pair done enough damage?  Bush must be salivating at the thought of having his puppet poodle step into Wolfenson's shoes. He knows that old Tone will bark any tune he tells him to,  while jumping through Bush-arranged hoops. Thanks to my evil twin for making my heart sink.

Cretin

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WASHINGTON - President Bush has chosen to use his veto pen three times — twice on the stem cell issue where politics, ethics and science collide

Pushing back against the Democratic-led Congress, Bush plans to veto a bill Wednesday that would have eased restraints on federally funded embryonic stem cell research, White House spokesman Tony Fratto said.

At the same time, Bush will issue an executive order directing the Health and Human Services Department to promote research into cells that, like human embryonic stem cells, also hold the potential of regenerating into different types of cells that might be used to battle disease.

Democrats made the stem cell legislation Bush promised to veto a top priority when they took control of the House and Senate in January. They do not, however, have enough votes to override a veto.

In his veto threat, the president accused Democrats of recycling an old measure that he already vetoed and argued that the bill would mean American taxpayers would — for the first time — be compelled to support the deliberate destruction of human embryos.

"The president supports and encourages stem cell research, including using embryonic lines, as long as it does not involve creating, harming or destroying embryos," Fratto said. "That is an ethical line that should not be crossed."

Oh for fuck 's sake.  Dubya has no idea at all about what this kind of research means.

This is a dangerous man who can't walk and talk at the same time.

The solution to the driving/walking shoe dilemma

SHEILAS’ HEELS SET TO REVOLUTIONISE DRIVING FOR WOMEN

- A safe flat and sassy heel in one -

Give your opinion on the ‘Sheila Driving Heel’ by clicking on one the email links below and press send:

Love the ‘Sheila Driving Heel’ / Hate the ‘Sheila Driving Heel’

So far 100% of people Love the ‘Sheila Driving Heel’

A new footwear design concept that aims to make women safer and more comfortable behind the wheel, without compromising on their style, is launched today.

Sheilas’ Wheels has developed the ‘Sheila Driving Heel’ which gives women the best of both worlds - a safe, flat driving shoe and a glamorous pair of heels in one - all interchangeable at a push of a button.

More than 11.5 million* women drivers in the UK are putting themselves and other drivers at risk by wearing the wrong footwear when behind the wheel, according to new research from Sheilas’ Wheels – the car insurer for women.

One in ten (10%) female motorists admit that they have had a car accident or a ‘near-miss’ because of their shoes slipping off or getting stuck between, or under, the foot pedals whilst driving.

The ‘Safe Shoes’ report shows that a massive 80% of female drivers wear inappropriate footwear when in control of a car – choosing style over safety. A third (33%) of all female drivers confess to wearing flip-flops, while 18% claim that they have worn no shoes at all when driving, which experts say can be extremely hazardous and is currently illegal in some parts of the UK**.

In fact, just under half (47%) of women drivers said they chose what shoes to wear when getting ready in the morning based on what went best with their outfit rather than being the safest for driving in.

Under a fifth (17%) of female drivers keep a spare pair of ‘driving shoes’ in the car to change into, while nearly a quarter (23%) admit they can’t be bothered to change their shoes when behind the wheel even if they know they are not the safest for driving.

Jacky Brown, spokesperson for Sheilas’ Wheels, said: “It’s astonishing that so many women are putting themselves, their passengers and other drivers at risk by wearing the wrong shoe or no shoe at all whilst behind the wheel. Stilettos, sling-backs and strappy sandals aren’t the sensible choice when it comes to controlling a car.

“Our Sheila Driving Heel design could provide safety-conscious female motorists with the ultimate driving shoe - allowing women to wear a safe flat shoe whilst driving, and a fashionable heel once they are out of the car.”

The report highlighted that 63% of women called for better guidelines to advise them on the correct form of footwear to wear when driving. A lack of understanding is clearly evident as over half (54%) of female motorists believed that sports trainers were the safest shoes to drive in - even though their thick soles and chunky design limit both movement between, and contact with, the pedals.

Dianne Ferreira, spokesperson for Brake the national road safety charity, added: “An alarming number of female drivers simply do not realise the danger they are putting themselves, and others, in by driving in inappropriate shoes. High heels, platforms and flip-flops can seriously hamper your ability to drive safely, and could have fatal consequences. It only takes a few seconds to change your shoes before each journey to help ensure you arrive safely.”

The Safe Shoes report also reveals that although two thirds of women (66%) wear heels when behind the wheel, they cited a number of disadvantages - all of which are eliminated by the ‘Sheila Driving Heel’ design:

• It damages or scuffs the back of the heel (52%) – with the ‘Sheila Driving Heel’ design, the heel tucks up into the shoe and out of harms way

• Heels can sometimes get caught under the pedal when driving (49%) - the flat shoe option removes this potentially dangerous problem

• Wearing heels causes an uncomfortable driving position (43%) – the flat shoe option lessens pressure on the knee and lower back, improving comfort behind the wheel

• Heels don’t provide enough grip (31%) – the ‘Sheila Driving Heel’ shoe has a discrete yet effective tread on the sole, to aid grip on the pedals

• It wears out the driving mat (17%) – the ‘Sheila Driving Heel’ shoe has a curved back to aid pivoting of the ankle and remove the possibility of damage








Fantastic.  This is the answer to a problem I encountered today, and my friend the Welsh Wizard has solved it.





I sold my car yesterday, so am "a piedi" and while I am a pretty nifty walker in stilettos, I had a lot of kilometres to cover on foot.  I wore flats and carried heels.





Ha - sign me up for Sheila's heels.  Problem solved.





Fucking A or what?