MY HIDING PLACE

Writing Practice

2009-07-14T15:19:00.000-07:00

Will wisdom be evoked as
the letters trip across the screen unseen

As some cryptic idiom
might ascertain
what goes right
and not awry

What is noble
what is fine, what leads
towards a
common Origin

Wherein our common Joy
Perhaps may embrace us all...

Fall Rant: "Oh Autumn Shadow"

2008-10-06T10:17:00.000-07:00

Oh Autumn Shadow...

You put your shade on me...

And rob me of my birthright joys,

And the satisfactions of my sixty-some passages...

You rain your shade round me

And steal my small circumference of sunshine...

Focusing my mind on failures, could-have beens,

And pleas for attention, remembrance, and other pathetic

Whatnots...

At this "later life transitions" stage

I have no patience or time

For those who find in me

Lack of character or social grace

(Or deficiencies in "rhyme").

Critic:

Tend to your own affairs...

To your own illusions...

To your own joy-robbing, mirthless

Critiques...

I throw off your autumnal shade,

For I am a man of sunshine made.

To those who spend their lives

Blowing kisses to their own chosen butts,

I can only say:

I have joyfilled songs to play...

And... they start today!

HOMEWARD BOUND

2008-07-06T07:55:00.000-07:00

Another day on the San Francisco Peninsula... then back home to Crescent City.

What with our May spent in China, and a couple of months of motel living while home renovations have taken place, we will be...oh so happy...to be under our own roof in our own 1,000 sq. foot, "petite" manufactured home. My wife, Cathy, wants to join a gym...and I am eager to go swimming in our local river (the Smith).

To live far from the maddening crowd in rural, coastal California means fewer trips to world-class museums, like the Metropolitan, and fewer visits to the cafes and street sights of urban America...still fresh, running water and walks among the towering trees of Redwoods National Park exert a stronger pull on me than the glamor and glitz of the city.

We are, at last...HOMEWARD BOUND.

A Peace of Place and Timelessness

2008-07-05T09:16:00.000-07:00

Back in California after ten days on the East Coast (Manhattan, Brooklyn, and New England).

Been visiting with my 96 y.o. MOM.

Last night I drove her and her friend to a 4th of July party at the home of another member of the watercolor group she attends. About thirty people there. The atmosphere was low-key and pleasant...and she had a fine time. She sat up for three hours...good! for her.

The folks who gave the party had a beautiful, lilied koi pond in their backyard, fed by a homemade waterfall. I sat quietly by the pool for maybe five minutes (when some kids interrupted my reverie)...steeped in the peace of place and time (or timelessness).

The peace of place and timelessness nurtured me more than any fancy pyrotechnics.

4th of July--A New Era

2008-07-04T09:06:00.000-07:00

It's July 4th.

Independence Day.

A new era is beginning...in which those with independence of thought and disposition, those who can take a global perspective, those who put children and elders first, those who value education and the arts, those who understand that human interdependence and ecological interdependence are fundamental...will supersede those of narrow sectarian or nationalistic interests.

The process already is in motion...A NEW ERA IS BEGINNING!

From narrow-minded thinking I assert MY independence.

Happy Independence Day!

PENELOPEAN TASKS

2007-10-31T12:43:00.000-07:00

"In the shadows of this time of many passages" is my CRYPTIC for this HALLOWEEN missive to whomever may still venture to this website...

"Happy HALLOWEEN", by the way.

"All Souls present?"

HALLOWEEN: dying and regeneration...and "hijinks and hilarity" and thumbing my nose at MY "bogeyman" fears.

And...visiting some 'remote' in the lower heights of the Siskiyous in my imagination...I, nonetheless, function, work and form my word-quilt far from the Siskiyouan 'idyll'.

A good day for PENELOPEAN TASKS!

Impeach The Liar: Establish Democracy

2007-07-02T13:04:00.000-07:00

Catherine, my wife, and I have been hanging out on the Oregon Coast for the last month or so--and now are dawdling in Yachats, Oregon until after the Fourth.

The theme of the July 4 gathering here is FLASHBACK TO THE SIXTIES with lots of RETRO music and bands, a "LA DE DA" parade with an UMBRELLA BRIGADE and other conjurings of neo-THEATRO CAMPESINO influences in performance art.

My plan is to be a respectful spectator of this ragtag, INDEPENDENCE DAY parade-gathering.

I will be wearing my IMPEACH THE LIAR pin...hence, I will be participating in my own fashion.

Let's remember:

THE 4TH OF JULY, 1776 WAS A CHALLENGE TO TYRANNY. Maybe this 4th will renew the people's challenge to government tyranny...

grandson's nap

2007-03-02T11:14:00.000-08:00

IT IS IN THE IN-BETWEEN

IN THE SPACE

BETWEEN

NOW AND PLANS

THAT my

GRANDSON'S NAP

SETS

THE

EASIEST PACE

DUNEBUGGY died today

2007-02-21T18:41:00.000-08:00

DUNEBUGGY (14 yo canine puppy-friend) died today...

Someday, maybe, I will tell his story (if, on my 'ayah-baba' plane, "DUNER" gives me permission...)

I'm not sure why, but all this GRIEF turmoil surfaces...so, let it flow, I guess...

Cathy, wife and friend, has been sharing immediate LOSS with me--e.g., we dined "out" and we hugged a bunch.

Duner's 'passing' is one more loss.

The loss of my friend, Mark, to cardiac arrest in his hotel room in Santa Cruz is yet one more loss.

There have been a BUNDLE (of "losses").

But the ETERNAL PROCREATOR AND PROVIDER is no swindler for s(he) resurrects what she takes unto HERself --keeping HOLI what she would cherish.

Trans.: "Creating anew from the chaos of thanatos"--even if EROS remains only as a cherished idealization (a la MAXFIELD PARRISH idealized themes).

This is not great writing; but, then again, I am not a writer--rather...i labor at writing!

vignette

2007-02-15T17:13:00.000-08:00

okay be that way...

not to acknowledge

a degradation

pursuant

to

indifference

about the

physical hunger

of brothers and sisters

near and afar...

exacerbates the

slow, raw simmer

of the hitch-hiker,

who resents the driver-

for owning the car-

that picks him up

and delivers him

to his gratitude-free

destination...

"I get

out here,"

he drawls...

WOULDN'T IT BE 'LOVERLY', IN A 'GOLDEN FLEECE' WAY

2007-02-06T11:18:00.000-08:00

every day i am not flying in, sitting in, or driving, a vehicle

i feel more peaceful

not saintly peaceful

just everyday peaceful

as i have time to talk

to draw

to calligraph

to cook

to read

to swim...

and i am consuming less

fossil fuel...

wouldn't it be a kinda 'golden fleece'

if it really were about

wagin' peace...

(as to what i am "up to" these days, only the "shadow" knows--and she's not tellin')

The 'Young' Man And The Sea

2007-01-06T02:14:00.000-08:00

Into the ocean went the sixty-one-year-old...

And he danced a bit back towards the beach the way children do... when a wave flattens itself at the end of its shore-bound journey.

(Of course, the ocean water was slightly cooler than "nippy".)

This "man of the sea" had grown weary of theories of exercise, diet, vitamin and mineral supplementation, and all the jargon of healthy aging and "life extension".

And on this first day of 2007, he followed up his little dance with some slow wading into the slate-gray brine...until the water was to his waist and to his chest, where it took his breath away...and then WHOOSH, a wave broke over his head.

One very chilling wave was plenty! He hopped backwards to shore as quickly as his numb extremities could carry him...and, on shore, he paused and took several deep breaths of relief.

He no longer felt old; he really did feel momentarily reborn.

A young man and woman, parked alongside Highway 101 at South Beach, were cracked up with laughter watching the portly sixty-something trot along the beach to his van.

"Are you CRAZY?" they shouted.

"Yes, I am." he yelled in exultation.

"Is the water cold?"

All the man was capable of by way of a reply was hysteric laughter that escaped from deeper inside than any laughter he had experienced in a very long time.

Modern "Indie Movie" Classic To Open in Denver and Chicago

2006-12-06T02:12:00.005-08:00

'Wilderness Survival for Girls' opens in Denver - Dec. 8th at the Starz Film Center http://www.denverfilm.org/ in Chicago - Dec. 15th at Facets Cinematheque http://www.facets.org/cinematheque

This wonderful movie-- written, produced, and directed by husband-wife team of Eli Despres and Kim Roberts-- opens in Denver this Friday and in Chicago next Friday.

(Eli is my son and Kim is my daughter-in-law).

This is a must-see movie for serious lovers of cinema!

Iranian-American Student Abused By UCLA UCPD With Taser GUN

2006-11-17T20:55:00.000-08:00

The Occupation continues, and so does the "Civil War"...

Meanwhile, back at home, where human rights purportedly are valued and modeled, the Occupation and fighting seem so far away...or do they?

(It seems a little tardy to ask what kind of behavior we are modeling for our children and grandchildren...still, let us ask the questions anyway.)

CLICK the link BELOW only if you choose to see a disturbing video.

Berkeley Forum: Iranian-American Student Abused By UCLA UCPD With Taser GUN

Past Tense, Future Perfect

2006-11-08T21:30:00.000-08:00

Check out what JESSIE is doing with 'Paint Shop Pro' at the link just below...

Past Tense, Future Perfect

Her embellished portraiture series looks like a succession of monoprints.

Today's nonsense:

"If you snooze, you lose...

BUT...you probably will feel well rested and perhaps happier!"

POWER TO THE PEACEFUL: peacemakers

2006-11-05T20:27:00.000-08:00

If you...

SEEK AN END TO THE KILLING IN IRAQ, AFGHANISTAN, DARFUR

SEEK A GLOBAL POLITICAL ORDER BASED ON COOPERATION

SEEK TO FEED THE HUNGRY OF THE EARTH

SEEK TO HOUSE ALL REFUGEES

SEEK TO PROMOTE GLOBAL UNDERSTANDING

SEEK ECONOMIC JUSTICE GLOBALLY AND 'AT HOME'

SEEK A WORLD BEYOND ETHNIC, CULTURAL, RELIGIOUS, ECONOMIC DIVISION AND FEAR

SEEK TO SEND ABROAD MESSAGES OF HEALING, UNDERSTANDING AND HOPE

VOTE FOR

THE PEACEMAKERS... THAT WE MAY HAVE A WORLD TO INHERIT...

LET'S BE REAL

2006-10-24T23:33:00.000-07:00

Let us be real.

The US occupation of the Middle East and Iraq is not about to end...even if the Democrats become the majority party.

The US occupied a disarmed Iraq precisely because Iraq had become disarmed...hence, no threat to invading troops.

The US is in the Middle East to stay...to secure oil for the longterm.

So, until I hear 'pols' decrying US Imperialism, I am not buying anyone's suggestion that the US is pulling out of the Middle East.

The "hunt for Bin Laden" and the "search for weapons of mass destruction" were simply pretexts for OCCUPATION and the warfare that ensues in establishing that occupation.

Exit strategy?

There never was an exit strategy, and there certainly is no serious exit strategy now.

The US will fritter away its manpower, human potential, material wealth, and "democratic principles" for the illusion of securing energy resources; and the US will try to maintain control of these resources by way of further military adventurism.

The longterm strategy is to secure the globe, the world--not by cooperation--but by OCCUPATION, by domination.

If I believed the Democrats have the vision and gumption to extricate us from this dreary cycle of violence, I would view the upcoming Democratic
landslide with delicious anticipation.

But I cannot.

Because, Folks, we are living in the IMPERIAL phase of the American Experience.

It isn't about Democrats v. Republicans or vice versa; the DEMOCRACY phase (such as it was) of the American Experience remains solely as an exercise in rhetoric and certain formulaic rituals.

If DEMOCRACY IN AMERICA had been a reality in the new millenium,
the OILIGARCHY would have packed their bags long ago.

Monday morning news in Crescent City--ap,upi,reuters,nyt bureau

2006-10-09T07:12:00.000-07:00

Crescent City-708am. light in morning sky. high energy day. lo pressure area off the coast, but generally clear morning...

Local and natl.news: back to school...with concern.

Intl...satellite relay system in 'iterflicker' mode.

Style. 'mongoose mongoose' new intl. set 'parlor jeu'.
new Vogue highlights the RUNAWAY look.

Biz.Home Depot Crescent City reflects "Do It Ourself" trend.

SPORTS. a full sports season is eliciting only-sometimes interest...
'finger food' makes sports entertaining "a kick".

more 'Song of Chucky'

2006-10-08T19:47:00.000-07:00

in the swirling shao lin master dance
someone has caught my Mistress's third-eye interest
and caught her inbreath in the weft of his skirt
as he warps his presence as gift to the Rani...

and i, relieved to be free of more than a lover's demands,
retreat to the evening bazaardom drone of competing cd's... and WRONG TURN
with subtitles sung...from new york, new york to li river rhapsodies...
and chaat walla and sweet walla and tea walla therein...

deep in the swirl, the vortex, another one of "my kind"--'ola'
a poesie romance-- what chance! bonne chance! quelle chance!
ah, the morne is nigh on-- to Rani i wende...
my Queen not to offende...

SONG OF CHUCKY: song to my rani

2006-10-07T15:54:00.000-07:00

i am male slave consort to the nu 'biam' rani
in her palace halls i sleep
i make sweet caress near the city cistern
while the dew garden keep

bring smoky tea to dawny nest
wiping feather from silky breast
and like a baby toward colus turn
she find her choice and hmm

i am slave to rani pleasure
when she call i live to please
i am last of slave generation
for rani live and now i am

humb. servant

or, if you would prefer,

"After a childhood that defied even little Chucky's more 'reality-based' expectations, Chucky gave up on the idea of memoirs, autobiography,
or even a fiction disguising an attempt at life story..."

Wanna play tag?

2006-10-02T23:42:00.000-07:00

TAG

COURTESY OF ZHOEN

RULES:

-GRAB THE BOOK NEAREST YOU--no cheating
-TURN TO PAGE 123
-READ THE FIRST 5 SENTENCES ON THE PAGE, WITHOUT WRITING THEM DOWN
-THEN WRITE DOWN THE NEXT 3 SENTENCES ON YOUR BLOG
-WRITE DOWN THE BOOK'S AUTHOR AND TITLE

Byrne, Jane, American politician; b. Chicago as Jane Margaret Burke. She was city consumer sales commissioner (1968-77) under Mayor Richard DALEY before being elected (1979) the first woman mayor of Chicago. Under Byrne, the
city faced severe financial problems.

THE CONCISE COLUMBIA ENCYCLOPEDIA (Avon paperback, August 1983)

ah well...this is only the nearest-at-hand book, NOT THE CLOSEST TO MY HEART book...still, I was true to the rules...

BTW ("By the way"), I am really enjoying Jean Hegland's novel, INTO THE FOREST: I savor it!

Those who know don't say

2006-10-01T22:44:00.000-07:00

I STARTED TO WRITE A POST ON RELIGION, AND IT SOUNDED AS DRY AND STERILE AS ORGANIZED RELIGION; SO I DELETED IT.

SPIRIT IS TO RELIGION AS DISCOVERY IS TO ROTE LEARNING.

I DON'T CARE IF THE RELIGION IS
MATRIARCHAL OR PATRIARCHAL,
PAGAN OR CHRISTIAN,
WICCAN OR MUSLIM,
ASCETIC OR HEDONISTIC,
BUDDHIST OR EPICUREAN,
GODDESS-WORSHIPPING OR GOD-WORSHIPPING...
IF IT INVOLVES A PRIESTESS OR PRIEST, COUNT ME OUT.

SO MUCH OF HUMAN BEHAVIOR IS BASED ON COPYING THE BEHAVIOR OF OTHERS; THOSE WHO COPY BEST GARNER PRAISE.

WHICH IS FINE FOR MATTERS MUNDANE.

FOR SPIRITUAL KNOWLEDGE, HOWEVER, THERE IS A DIFFERENT WAY OF LEARNING AND PROCEEDING-- FOR THE WAY IS SUBTLE.

AS TO KNOWLEDGE OF 'THE WAY',

'THOSE WHO SAY', DON'T KNOW...

AND THOSE WHO KNOW, DON'T SAY...

an attempt only

2006-09-22T23:11:00.000-07:00

IN CASE I FAIL IN THE EFFORT, THIS IS AN ATTEMPT AT A COGENT ESSAY, RATHER THAN A POEM, A PROSE POEM,STREAM-OF-CONSCIOUSNESS ('STREAMY-DREAMY') WRITING, OR A NEWS ITEM OR PR SQUIB:

Last weekend I went to a writers' conference at College of the Redwoods, Del Norte--my first, I believe. There were about a dozen authors present with their books on display for sale, several readings (poetry, history, fiction, autobiography, travel and trail guides, children's lit, sci fi, mystery, etc.) by the authors, a panel on "process" comprising a half dozen authors. There were several seminars on marketing.

As well, there was an attractive continental breakfast and a delicious catered luncheon.

Unable to buy all the books that interested me, I restricted myself in my book buying.

To date I have read Dennis Powers' exhaustively researched story of the last voyage of the Brother Jonathon and Jean Hegland's "Into the Forest", as well as "The Zero".

"Into the Forest" pulls one deeply into the collective unconscious of bioneer consciousness, tapping into current collective responsibility 'mythology'; it is gripping.

Emily Fox Gordon's "Are You Happy" is a winner in ALL RESPECTS!

Ms. Fox Gordon, in prose as enchantingly chosen as any Bronte sister, describes her upbringing in a small college town in Massachusetts on a street called College Place (a mythical name, perhaps).

Anyway, I am back to reading the literature of dead guys (just for today): "Kidnapped" (R .L. Stevenson).

Still, it was fun reading the College of the Redwoods, Del Norte, poetry journal (the KERF)- A BEAUTIFUL VOLUME- and getting to meet 'cutting edge', LIVING writers at the College of the Redwoods, DEL NORTE WRITERS' CONFERENCE.

Kudos to the CREATIVE WRITING PROGRAM at College of the Redwoods, Del Norte, and to their innovating STAFF and FACULTY.

sweet subliming ('sweet' pronounced "swate")

2006-09-13T08:24:00.000-07:00

each day i fall
through the crack between the worlds--
into communes deep, and lofted
with dewy moss and lichens in pearls of water:
too pure of
scent for any breath
but
baby's
breath...

tumblimg out of the turbulent plumes
of waterfalls
of water falling
around me

i melt
and if
i melt into
some new beloved place

may i feel
the freedom of support
from ancestral loving presences
beyond the
interminable
bump and grinding
impulses
of the too-strong
pulse of living
in this sixty-something habit of

forever
dreaming of
sweet
subliming

~fini~

they said things their compatriots did not want to hear...

2006-09-04T05:21:00.000-07:00

WHY DO THEY SAY "NO ONE LIKES A SMART-ASS"?

A FEW PEOPLE LIKE SMART-ASSES...OTHER SMART-ASSES DO.

WHY BE A SMART-ASS...(ALWAYS WHY, WHY...)

AS IN...I DARE YOU TO NOT LIKE ME...

BUT I AM TIRED OF THAT DARE. TOO MANY PEOPLE HAVE 'CALLED MY BLUFF' !

"I DARE YOU TO LIKE ME?"
DOESN'T WORK...AND ISN'T IT PAST TIME TO GRADUATE SECOND GRADE?

I LIKE SMART-ASSES BECAUSE I AM ONE.

AND, BECAUSE I RECOGNIZE THE SO-CALLED "POPULARITY PROBLEM" ASSOCIATED WITH SMART 'ASSEDOSIS', I RESPECT AND USUALLY LIKE OTHER SMART-ASSES.

SMART-ASSES TEND TO POINT OUT SOCIAL INANITIES AND SOMETIMES, INSANITIES OF THE PROFOUNDLY ANTISOCIAL, YET SOCIALLY ACCEPTABLE VARIETY-- LIKE TORTURE, WAR, OVERDRUGGING OF CHILDREN, AND OTHER 'MODERN SOCIAL CONVENIENCES'.

WHICH IS WHY "SMART-ASSES" LIKE GALILEO, JOAN OF ARC, ETHEL AND JULIUS ROSENBERG, DR. M.L. KING, ROBERT KENNEDY, MALCOLM X WERE "OFFED" BY THEIR SO-CALLED PATRIOTIC COMPATRIOTS...

THESE "SMART-ASSES" SAID THINGS THEIR COMPATRIOTS DID NOT WANT TO HEAR.

THEY PAID A HIGH PRICE FOR THEIR DECISION TO BE SMART-ASSES!

TWO WEDDINGS AND NO FUNERAL (thank god!)

2006-08-27T05:49:00.000-07:00

Talked to my ma on the phone last night.

Like me, she is a bit of a complainer- e.g., her hospital roommate's visitors talked incessantly and loudly; and... why does she need a weekend "caregiver" now that she is home and how will she keep the caregiver busy doing things, etc. She is a "kick", and I love her...

Anyway, her second inguinal lymphadenectomy for invasive melanoma
went ok...and she seems to bounce back from surgery pretty well for a 94 year old .

Her friend Ricki Stevenson of BLACK PARIS TOURS (great guided tours of Paris from this Stanford historian, emphasizing African and African American currents in past and current Parisian Life) was in Stanford Hospital at the same time.

Ricki, I have heard, came through neurosurgery ok, a benign tumor having been removed adjacent to her brainstem. Whew.

Life, I know, is a very fragile proposition...and I am most grateful to the "beneficent deities" for helping out these special ladies through 'trying times'.

On the home front, here in Crescent City, Catherine and I went to a lovely Catholic wedding at the local Catholic church yesterday noon, with a subsequent wedding feast at our local fairgrounds. The ushers at the church wore Hawaiian shirts...it was a nice touch.

The ISLAND theme was elaborated on at the reception, with drinks being served at thatched
Tiki bars. It worked nicely as a theme.

In the evening, we went to a Lao Buddhist wedding at the local Veterans
Hall. The women wore exquisite silk brocade 'sarongs' ("scenes")...the groom's family paid the bridalprice; the priest sang a sweet litany; both families sat on mats in the middle of the hall, many holding the strings symbolizing a tying together, a knotting; and then a FEAST OF FEASTS was presented, with suckling pigs, spring rolls, sticky rice, and all manner
of Asian Delicacies.

The Groom's family, occidentals, seemingly adapted easily to novel forms for ancient rites.

The Bride's family looked STUNNING in the most colorful, most elegant
silk brocade.

As the alcohol flowed copiously, I partook moderately (a shot of vodka and a beer) and then did my best to join in the moving wedding dance that circled the hall.

Two weddings in one day: we came home tired...and doubly blessed.

Do Not Say: "LOOK MA, NO HANDS!"

2006-08-24T17:00:00.000-07:00

L J has a new webpage @
http://thehindenburgeffect.blogspot.com
Her blogs are always interesting or intriguing... sometimes shocking and hilarious.
She suggested that I write something, so here goes...

Skimming Life's surface,
Flapping my wings,
Treading water, treading air,
Some kind of bird am I.

Off the water,
Quasi-aloft,
Pumping my wings for altitude.
I need altitude- there...Here,
Now I've got it!

Keep flapping, Chuck:
Don't stop. Don't look down.
You are aloft, ALIVE, avian.
Just remember...do not say:
"Look Ma- No Hands!"

IT WAS TIME

2006-08-14T01:22:00.000-07:00

SWAM UPRIVER...

TEN STROKES UNDER WATER-
JUST TO GET THE FEEL..

THEN "CRAWLED" FOR TEN MINUTES,
JUST TO MAKE IT REAL.

I COULD SEE THE BOTTOM, THIRTY FOOT DOWN;
THOUGH MY VISION WORKED, HEARING WAS BEYOND SOUND.

NOT EVEN LISTENING TO ANY STILLED VOICE WITHIN:
WHERE THERE IS NO NOISE; THERE, TOO, IS NO DIN.

KEPT UP THE "CRAWL" 'TIL THE NARROWS WAS TOO SWIFT;
SO, I GAVE INTO FATIGUE AND STARTED TO DRIFT.

ON MY BACK DID I FLOAT- FIRST SWIFTLY, THEN SLOW...
AS TREES, HAWKS, AND SKYSCAPES ABOVE ME DID FLOW.

IN AND OUT OF DREAMTIME- EYES OPENING AND CLOSING-
LOST IN A PLACE BEYOND MY CONSCIOUS KNOWING.

SOMETHING AROUSED ME FROM THIS PLACE- PERHAPS, AN INNER CHIME-
AS SOON AS I SWAM TOWARDS SHORE AND HOME...

I KNEW THEN "IT WAS TIME."

and what became of the gypsy band?

2006-07-30T22:39:00.000-07:00

A GYPSY BAND ABOARDED THE VAN
DREADLOCKED DAMES AND LIKEWISE GENTS
WITH FIDDLES MANY AND ACCORDIA, TOO
ABOARDED THE VAN TO CATCH THE VIEW

OF THE WILDRIVERS COAST TO ARCATA THEY WENDED...
THE STORY TOLD- THERE TO KLETZMER AND FOLK AS WELL...
AND MAYBE TUNE UP WITH A LITTLE BAR TALK OF THE
UPPER WEST SIDE OF HERE AND THERE- NEW YORK, MAYBE-

OR, WAS IT CHICAGO, SOUTHSIDE...AS IN HYDE PARK-
BUT ISN'T THAT IN NEW YORK...AND WAS IT LOWELL WHO WAS AT THE PARTY WHERE THEY WALKED BACK AND FORTH
TALKING OF MICHAELANGELO- HELL, I DUNNO...

IT COULD HAVE BEEN T.S. ELIOT FOR THAT MATTER...
ANYWAY SOME CEREBRAL DUDE OR DUDETTE WHO COULD 'RAP' IT IN A NUTSHELL SO CONVINCINGLY THAT HE COULD CONVINCE OTHERS SHE COULD DISTINGUISH BETWEEN

BARTOK AND BAR TALK...

IF I MAY BE PERMITTED A POETIC LICENSE TO VENTURE INTO THE "NOETIC" REALM: THE GYPSY ORCHESTRA OR 'BAND' CAPTIVATED THEIR ARCATA AUDIENCE...AND WAS LAST SEEN CAMPING OUT ON THE CALIFORNIA COAST, HAVING AT LAST DISCOVERED 'EL DORADO'.

Gotta get my sh-- together...

2006-07-21T10:24:00.000-07:00

GOT TO GET MY SH-- TOGETHER AS I HAVE TWO FOUR-HUNDRED MILE DRIVES AHEAD OF ME.

GOING TO LEAVE MY GOODWIFE, Cathy, AT HOME, AS SHE IS 'INFLUENZED' BY BRONCHITIS AND SINUSITIS COMBINED...AND MY 13-YEAR OLD 'POUND DOG' Dunebuggy WILL STAY AT HOME AS GUARD DOG (SOME GUARD!- HE WANDERS UP TO EVERYONE
WITH TAIL WAGGING, ALWAYS EAGER TO BEFRIEND.)

ANYWAY, IT IS TIME TO VISIT MY 94 Y.O. MUM WHOSE MELANOMA HAS SPREAD FROM INGUINAL NODES ON HER RIGHT SIDE TO INGUINAL NODES ON HER LEFT SIDE.

SHE HAS HAD A BIOPSY, SURGERY (LYMPHADENECTOMY)...AND I WANT HER NOT TO BE BRAINWASHED INTO GETTING MORE SURGERY...AFTER ALL, SHE IS NO 'SPRING CHICKEN', EVEN THOUGH SHE IS REMARKABLY CAPABLE AT 94.

SHE SEEMS TO GET SOME SOLACE THAT I, TOO, HAVE HAD SURGERY FOR MELANOMA, THOUGH MINE SHOWS NO SIGNS OF RECURRENCE 2 YEARS POST-OP.

ANYWAY, IT WILL BE GOOD TO SEE 'ME MUM' AND HOPEFULLY SOME OLD FRIENDS IN THE GREATER STANFORD UNIVERSITY AREA.

RIGHT NOW I CANNOT DECIDE WHETHER TO HANG OUT HERE IN CRESCENT CITY AND WALK WITH OTHER "RELAY FOR LIFE" SURVIVORS IN OUR AMERICAN CANCER SOCIETY RELAY FOR LIFE WALKATHON TONIGHT...OR, TO HIT THE ROAD AND TEND TO 'FAMILY BUSINESS'...

AS MY ABSENCE HERE WILL NOT BE NOTICED, I'LL PROBABLY GET GOING TO MY MUM'S PLACE AT STANFORD.

A Chance Encounter- Sweet and Chaste

2006-07-20T14:59:00.000-07:00

A CHANCE ENCOUNTER- 'SWEET AND CHASTE'-
A MEETING MEANT FOR CYBERSPACE-
NO NEED FOR 'PICS' AND ALL THAT 'JIVE':
JUST GOOD TO BE TALKING AND TO BE ALIVE...

FOR WHEN ALL IS SAID AND DONE-
IMAGINATION IS MUCH MORE FUN:
'THE PERFECT OTHER' DOES NOT EXIST;
BETTER JUST A 'CYBERTRYST'...

IT IS FROM THE VOID WITHIN
WE GARNER STRENGTH TO MEET EACH DAY;
TO PUT SOME PHONY CONFIDENCE ON PARADE
IS TO MAKE OF LIVING A MERE CHARADE...

FOR I- LIKE YOU- AM OF THE EARTH...
I 'QUAKE' INSIDE WITH EACH DAY'S 'BIRTH':
WE ALL ARE CONNECTED- OH SO DEEP-
EVEN AS OUR MIND DOES SLEEP...

AND AS "THE DAWN COMES UP LIKE THUNDER"-
AND ALIGHTS WITH MY HEART FOR 'PLUNDER':
ARISING TO THE SURFACE FROM THE UNCONSCIOUS SEA
I SEARCH ABOUT FOR YOU OR ME...

COLORLESS, YOU SEE: a poem of mine from 2002

2006-07-15T00:05:00.000-07:00

(Originally written by me in August, 2002.)

THE MOSLEMS FROM THE MIDDLE EAST
SITTING IN U.S. CELLS - WERE
ROUNDED UP UNDER NEW LAWS PASSED-
AND JAILED - WITHOUT CHARGES...

AND, WHERE ARE THEY NOW,
IN THIS "LAND OF THE FREE"? -

WHY THEY'RE SITTING IN JAIL -
INVISIBLE - 'COLORLESS', YOU SEE...

AND LATINOS WHO TRIED TO PASS
UNDETECTED THROUGH THE "BARBED WIRE"
GATE TO PROMISE, HOPE, AND LIBERTY -

WHERE ARE THEY? SOME ARE 'HERE';
SOME SENT BACK - AND SEVERAL SCORE
EACH YEAR, NEITHER 'HERE' NOR 'THERE' -

THEY ARE DEAD -

AND NOW ARE 'COLORLESS', YOU SEE...

AND A 'GAY YOUNG MAN'
EAGER TO BEFRIEND--
FINDS 'PALS' TO BREAK HIS MONOTONY -

GOES RIDING ON A COUNTRY ROAD -
IS BEATEN UP AND LEFT FOR DEAD...

ALL SPLAYED OUT ON BARBED WIRE -

WHY, YES, HE IS DEAD - AND NOW HE'S 'FREE'
BECAUSE HE IS 'COLORLESS', YOU SEE...

AND MANY A MAN - AND WOMAN - TOO
SITS IN SOLITARY ON A 'TRUMPED UP' CHARGE
OR ON 'DEATH ROW' WAITING FOR THE FINAL 'CHARGE' -

TO PUT IT MILDLY, "FEELING BLUE" -
NO CONJUGAL VISITS, NO LETTERS FROM HOME...
HOW CAN THIS HAPPEN IN 'THE LAND OF THE FREE'?-

HE/SHE IS ONE OF THE NAMELESS:

ONE OF THE 'COLORLESS', YOU SEE.

please bear with me

2006-07-04T21:17:00.000-07:00

did you know that 'omg' means "oh my god"
and 'lol' means "laugh out loud"
and having read all of proust and joyce, nin and sappho
makes you 'literati sans pareil' (mucho literary)

hey i'm just learning These in's and out's
so please snicker a little more softly
i may be a naïf... but, hey...
this dog (me) is hoping to learn new Tricks...and

Genres
motifs
modes
styles
paradigms
idioms
Symbols
subtleties
gestalten
Weltanschauungen
la vie literaire
les belles lettres
la vida preciosa
la casa de la intelligentsia
l'imprimatur de la yada yada
l'insignificance de l'ennui
y mas yada yada

so please, s'il vous plaît,
bear with me

Cellphonespeak overheard at the supermareket

2006-07-02T17:07:00.000-07:00

"hi"

"OH REALLY?"

"OH REALLY, OH REALLY, OH REALLY..."

"I MEAN: OH PLEASE! OH PLEASE..."

"NEED I SAY MORE?"

"OH PLEASE..."

"OKAY, THEN...OKAY..."

"WHATEVER..."

"OH REALLY..."

"OKAY THEN...WHATEVER..."

"WHATEVER..."

"bye"

Self-portrait

2006-07-01T22:10:00.001-07:00

My hairline has receded some...and in the spot where saddhus leave a tassel of hair on their shaven pates, there is a noticeable thinning occurring.

I have let my hair grow, and I like the way it is starting to cascade around my ears and to form large curls at the base of my neck.

My nose still dominates my face; however, as I have aged, it seems to take up less space- perhaps because my face is fuller and rounder now.

My left ear lobe hangs slightly lower than my right.

My mouth, particularly when I smile or laugh, seems unusually wide. The teeth that are accordingly revealed are regular in shape and evenly spaced. Good teeth.

The cheekbones are high and somewhat angular.

My complexion is dusky.

My eyes look quasi-Oriental, somewhat almond-shaped, and of hazel hue. My 'crow's feet' suggest that I often squint.

My facial expression usually suggests an open attitude and spirit.

"oh georgie...we hardly knew ya"

2006-06-25T09:31:00.000-07:00

Once upon a time there was a time of semi-innocence
when a lad (me) whose parents were on a round-the-world "mission"
for the foundation of ford...

when this lad in order to learn to drink tea with LOLs (little old ladies)
went to PA (phillips andover) in andover MA (mass) where he learned the ins and outs of bushian (gwb) elitism...

as in the dean of andover (dean benedict) was a houseguest at the bush's place in kennebunkport, ME
(maine) on a regular summer basis (georgie's daddy's summer place)headmaster john kemper was a guest there too according to mike kaiser
andover student and bush family friend...

anyway georgie called the new 'lower' (sophomore) at andover JEWBOY (me) which I suppose I should have been grateful for...

but instead I left Andover at the end of the year somewhat disillusioned and disheartened by the ability of prep school lads to be seduced by a lord-of- the-flies mentality...

anyway gwb and ghwb didn't have such pronounced texas twangs back in 1961 ghwb the PA of gwb grew up in greenwich, CN (connecticut) which like kennebunkport must be a suburb of dallas...

anyway I believe I have paid enough attention to the little ignorant SOB
who always had a "patsy" bodyguard with him (LOL...hee hee)...

he continues with his BS only now it is about WMDs, CEOs, ICBMs and other issues way beyond his ken (KEN:understanding)...

"OH GEORGIE, WE HARDLY KNEW YA"

A Verbal Self-Portrait of a 61 Year Old Grandpa

2006-06-25T01:05:00.000-07:00

FOR THOSE WHO MIGHT 'OUT' ME
AND REVEAL ME IN

MY POWERFUL
PATERNAL
PROTECTIVE
PROCREATIVE
AND CREATIVE
OVERFLOWING
ABUNDANCE

MY NURTURING
BABY HEAD SMELLING
INSTINCTUAL
PATERNAL
PROTECTIVE
FOOD PROVIDER-PREPARER
OVERFLOWING
ABUNDANCE

MY
'FIERCELY'
GENTLE
REPRODUCTIVELY
ORGANIC
PROTECTIVELY
INSTINCTUAL
MATERNAL
PATERNAL
PROTECTIVE
OVERFLOWING
ABUNDANCE

WELCOME!

ALL OTHERS: PLEASE! MOVE ON....

when the HEART is at HOME

2006-06-23T13:10:00.000-07:00

home

is

where

the heart

is

when

the heart

is at

home

The LOSING YOURSELF Feeling

2006-06-23T10:58:00.000-07:00

When I want to "lose myself" I go swimming...

Lately, this has involved either going to the SMITH RIVER for a brisk swim across the river or for an ocean swim in the surf at South Beach, south of town.

Yesterday I swam at both places...and did some sand drawing, too.

I calligraphed "HOME" in 15-foot letters in the sand at the beach, using the neck of a discarded beer bottle as my calligraphy tool.

The root meaning of ART (ars, artis- Latin) is "to do, to make"...so I was at the beach "DOING my thing" and losing myself in the process.

"Forgetting me" or "losing myself" feels so right sometimes.

What do you do to lose yourself?

Everchanging Scene

2006-06-18T18:35:00.000-07:00

What I want to know is, where does all this 'virtual living' lead?

In time will we have 'virtual' spouses, children, extended families, tribal networks, and so on?

Is this 'virtual universe' more compelling than the so-called 'real world'...or, are my shortcomings in the 'real world' so pronounced that I seek refuge and sanctuary in a world of 'virtual' relationship?

My propensity to 'virtualize' has much to do with 'control issues', I believe.

I feel more in control of how I project myself in the virtual world than I do in mundane, 'getting and spending' social interaction.

And my imagination gets to run free...

IF YOU ARE FEELING BLUER
WHEN YOU WISH TO BE FEELING NEWER,
LIE ON YOUR BACK, LOOK AT THE SKY
AND ENTER THE WORLD OF THE CUMULI...

IN PASSING CLOUD PUFFS LOSE YOURSELF;
FIND A SEAHORSE, A DRAGON OR ELF;
IN THE CHANGING CLOUD FORM SEE YOUR DREAM:
YOUR 'VIRTUAL' WORLD, EVERCHANGING SCENE...

In My Dreams

2006-06-15T23:35:00.000-07:00

Travel, trekking, trips, sojourns, odysseys of my childhood, journeys of my imagination, migrations of my spirit, ventures for my soul: of these I sing.

My existential state.

Either I am now lost in a forest night of endless confusion ...self-exiled in a limbo for failure to materialize Confucian virtue ...or, I am about to emerge from some midlife exoskeleton as a wiser, keener, realer version of myself.

Perhaps... I will become a story teller, perhaps a medium- maybe both ("in my dreams").

Yes. In my dreams.

"Oh! Impractical dreamer. You exist between the 'worlds' and bear the currency of neither...for you are the BEARER OF CHIMAERA, MAYA, SAMSARA...a Ganeshi, you are the kirtan singer of the transient..."

"Is that, then, my karma yoga?"

"Alas, no. It is your yoke."

Sanctioned by GOD

2006-06-10T18:04:00.000-07:00

FOR THOSE WHO WISH WORDS OF COMFORT
AND PRAISE FOR CONSUMERIST WAYS
I'LL TRY HARD TO MASK ALL PROBLEMS OF CONSCIENCE
IN WRITINING OF FREE ENTERPRISE'S HOLIEST PHASE

WHICH IS THE MARRIAGE OF RELIGION AND CAPITAL MARKETS
OF CHARGING WHAT THE MARKET WILL BEAR
OF EXTRACTING PROFIT AT THE MARGIN IN THE NAME OF
CHRIST
THAT THE GLORY OF GREED GETS ITS SHARE

AND IF THE 'INVISIBLE HAND' OF FREE ENTERPRISE
JUSTIFIES LAND OCCUPATION WITH A WINK AND A NOD
BE WELL ASSURED THERE WILL BE RELIGIOUS AUTHORITY
THAT GIVES THIS THEFT THE 'SANCTION OF GOD'.

"WHAT IT IS"

2006-06-09T23:04:00.000-07:00

I THINK I INVEST IN THE WAR IN IRAQ EVERY TIME I FILL UP AT THE GAS PUMP.

EVERY TIME I CRUISE AROUND IN MY CAR...

ANYWAY, THIS IS NOT THE WAR IN IRAQ; RATHER, IT IS THE WAR ON IRAQ.

MAYBE, CALLING IT WHAT IT IS, MAKES AN EXIT (FROM IRAQ) A SLIGHTLY GREATER POSSIBILITY...

EVEN THOUGH SUPPORTING THE TROOPS BY BRINGING THEM HOME (AN EXIT) HAS YET TO CATCH ON IN THE PUBLIC'S IMAGINATION.

Pissing into a headwind is no fun...

2006-06-07T10:17:00.000-07:00

Election returns are in from the June primaries.

And the people spoke...at least those registered to vote

did. And what did they say?

Around here, in Del Norte County, California, for the second time in two elections they said NO to new taxes (requiring a 2/3 majority) for Libraries...actually, for extending library hours beyond four days/week.

And on the state level, NO to money for Libraries; and NO to taxing the top 1% income bracket to fund Preschool for Children.

The Progressive Agenda took a hit all over the place.

The old wisdom: 'Regroup...and continue to fight the "good fight".' For you, maybe. Not for me. I am tired of the "good fight".

As long as the voters in this polity seem content to fritter away resources and lives in pursuit of an ADVENTURISTIC CULTURE OF DOMINATION AND DESTRUCTION, it seems rather fruitless to attempt a reasoned discussion about the consequences of our collective social behavior.

Soon enough the consequences of our behavior WILL FORCE OUR CHILDREN AND GRANDCHILDREN TO MAKE MAJOR CHANGES in consumption and living patterns.

Cultural change will be thrust upon us.

I will change my consumption and living patterns:

that will be my political statement.

I will cease, however, to continue to "fight the good fight" in the realm of political discourse:

PISSING INTO A HEADWIND

is an unsatisfying activity

for

any

prolonged

period of time!

This MEMORIAL DAY The Good Life

2006-05-29T19:48:00.000-07:00

Today, Memorial Day 2006, I hung out at South Beach-- the beach just south of the town of Crescent City.

There were quite a few folks flying large and colorful kites; hence, the beach scene was as colorful as a Seurat scene along the Seine...except that it was seaside rather than riverside, and the surfers in wetsuits on longboards took the human pageant into a more futuristic dimension.

Only for a quarter hour could I watch the holiday activity with an observer's detachment.

At length I left my gear in a pile on the beach...and I faced the waves, one by one...until I dove through one, then another and yet another...

...all the while cherishing the chill of the surf that was making my ears and head "sing".

As I reclothed on the beach I had the salty satisfaction of honoring the memory of family and friends in a special way...

which was, in feeling the scintillating goodness of being alive...

...indeed, of LIFE.

Magic Thinking Promotes Transformation

2006-05-21T23:44:00.000-07:00

When we are children, we are encouraged through fable and fairytale to think magicly (magic thinking).

As adults we are encouraged to forego imagination, fantasy, and magic thinking.

However, in Robertson Davies' "Deptford Trilogy", a Jungian path of personal transformation requires Magic Thinking.

While Jungian therapists might, in concert with the Freudians, warn of the pitfalls of "magical thinking"...

...they possibly could fail to note that MAGIC THINKING is the
sine qua non for personal transformation.

To transform oneself...one must think magicly.

Metamorphosizing

2006-05-15T21:41:00.000-07:00

In this darkness, I am drawn to the Light
of the circle of those
Who emit Welcoming Energy...

I am drawn to the subtle energies of those
who move to the changing flows
Of Nature's Dance and her sweet synchronicity...

In eyes-shut metamorphosis,
consuming as my 'fodder' my chrysalis protection...

in utter vulnerability...

I test my wings...

HOMECOMING in 'LALA LAND'

2006-05-07T18:46:00.000-07:00

Here in Del Norte County at the Del Norte High School a primitive ritual takes place each Autumn at the HOMECOMING GAME.

It is not the ritual of a cross-burning;

nevertheless, the kerosene-soaked rags draped around the IRON 'W' cast into permanent tarmac suggest
Crescent City, California's

RITUAL BURNING of the 'W'

('W' for WARRIORS)

was initially forged to withstand the vicissitudes of any questioning of the

GROUPTHINK this bonding, rite-of-passage FIRE CEREMONY was meant to reinforce...and, to date, THE FORGE HAS HELD.

It is a FEAR and HATE-based FORGE...and the "authority" of the FORGE HAS REMAINED MOSTLY UNQUESTIONED these several years.

Such is HOMECOMING IN 'LALA LAND'.

MAY THE "FORCE" (not the "forge") BE WITH YOU...

Food For People; Healthcare, Too!

2006-05-06T22:10:00.000-07:00

Do you like food the way I like food? Big portions? Indigenous cuisine? Fairly priced?

Check out the Burrito Blog @ http://www.burritoblog.com to discover a reviewer's compendium of burrito venues...and also learn how you can help the SF AIDS FOUNDATION fight HIV/AIDS.

Keep THE DREAM Alive!

2006-04-30T20:23:00.000-07:00

For those who feel solidarity with the Fifteen Million Undocumented Workers in the US and share their DREAM for a LAND OF OPPORTUNITY in AMERICA, a one-day Economic Boycott of Retail Corporate America is taking place on Monday, May 1, 2006.
The intent of the boycott is to demonstrate the economic strength of the undocumented workers amongst us...and to rally behind their aspirations for eventual US citizenship, as well as to rally for their human rights.

I will join those undocumented workers who will

BOYCOTT RETAIL CORPORATE AMERICA

on MONDAY, MAY I.

IMMIGRANTS KEEP OUR AMERICAN DREAM ALIVE!

A Demi-Monde of sorts...a byway of SPIRIT

2006-04-29T12:46:00.000-07:00

Disappearing into the Demi-Monde is my wont*... ...*inclination

Loving the fog-imbued heir to all whose shapes change

in the soft-toned, wonder-filled cumulous

Of nighttimes lived in 'eonic' stretches between shades of matrilineal enrapturemant (if not internment)...

amidst the gradual dawning that

This Condition- mine and yours- though wondrous to behold...

Our Humanity...is, by observation, quite delicate and frail.

How Can You Own A Dream?

2006-04-25T20:04:00.000-07:00

"THE AMERICAN DREAM
LIVES IN THE ASPIRATIONS OF HER MIGRANTS AND IMMIGRANTS...

THE DREAM IS NEVER OWNED-
ONLY SHARED..."

from C. Despres, POSTCARD WRITINGS (Bai Virbaiji Press, Mumbai 2005)

Who Could Forget?

2006-04-15T22:05:00.000-07:00

Why has the institutionalized lawbreaking of this Administration proven to be so intractable?

With the Administration foundering in the polls, why has the elected, "loyal opposition" remained so docile?

Why are we not examining the root causes of terrorism, examining the nature of the crucible in which terrorism germinates and flourishes?

Why are we failing to grasp some of the economic dynamics involved?

What ever happened to respect for human rights and the welfare of the GLOBAL COMMUNITY?

Why has the United States Executive chosen to undermine the authority and autonomy of the United Nations?

9/11 provided "justification" for indiscriminate retaliation, destruction, and occupation...and scant reflection.

After all, the 9/11 "attack" on the twin towers did not take place in a vacuum.

The United States has maintained an oil-securing presence in the Middle East for my whole life.

In 1956, when I was eleven, there was a General Strike in Karachi, Pakistan at the height of the SUEZ CRISIS.

American MAG Jets bombed the Baluchistan Mountains bordering Afghanistan, across the Sind Desert, in "training missions" clearly meant to be visible to the people living in Karachi.

I know this, because I witnessed the bombing from our verandah every evening in the post-SUEZ, Karachi autumn of 1956.

I will never forget.

STAND UP: Stand Down The Junta

2006-03-23T09:28:00.000-08:00

HOW DO YOU END A STANDOFF?

YOU STAND UP FOR YOUR RIGHTS!

At which point, the STANDOFF becomes a STAND DOWN.

(After all, YOU VOTE WITH YOUR FEET EVERY DAY.)

If you STAND UP TO THE ILLEGAL ACTIVITIES of the bush-cheney-rumsfeld-rice-wolfowitz- ...JUNTA

THE STANDOFF will END...the JUNTA will stand down.

WHEN "WE, THE PEOPLE" STAND UP FOR OUR RIGHTS,

the junta Will stand down!

CLEARCUTTING At Its Earthmoving Crudest

2006-03-18T07:08:00.001-08:00

Yesterday, just one reader came to "my hiding place" to visit. Thank you, Secret Visitor, for your visit! Some of these posts are written for you only! (Like yesterday, Friday.)

Though one day I had over one hundred site visitors, I do not write to garner a high volume of site visits. If only one person visits and the blog entry feels right (expressive, honest, truthful), then I am satisfied.

Which brings me to today's news. Actually yesterday's news.

While driving to Arcata yesterday with my dog, "Dunebuggy", I noticed large (many-acre large) gashes of CLEARCUTTING AT ITS EARTHMOVING CRUDEST in the National and State Forests just across Highway 101 from Prairie Creek Redwoods in Humboldt and Del Norte Counties. The gates to this part of the Publicly-owned forest were open, suggesting that THIS DEFORESTATION IS ONGOING.

Returning from Arcata in the evening, I turned off at LADY BIRD JOHNSON Grove, just North of Orick,CA, and checked on the acres and acres of stored, felled, OLD GROWTH REDWOODS stored at Simpson Lumber on the north side of
"Lady Bird Road": ACRES OF STORED, FELLED, OLD GROWTH REDWOODS--some of it rotting.

As a few folks profit from THE DEFORESTATION OF IRREPLACABLE REDWOODS.....IN THE NAME OF 'PRIVATIZATION OF OUR NATIONAL AND STATE FORESTS'.....we leave it to our grandchildren to plant the seedlings that may become OLD GROWTH REDWOODS many generations in the future.

I am trying to 'stay positive' and visualize a 'best-case scenario'.

Oh, I nearly forgot: Dunebuggy had a great day running on the beach yesterday.

"When it's 110 degrees in the shade"

2006-03-16T22:11:00.000-08:00

My name in lights I do not crave

For public ardor I was not made

About my talents you need not rave

When it's 110 degrees in the shade

I am "of the meadows": my name, desPres ("daypray")

Of ancestral shepherds is my family made

Please spare me from familial pride

When it's 110 degrees in the shade

Why talk about weather, pride, and family name?

Isn't it really all the same?

Fame and Fortune are but the Joker's Game...

When it's 110 degrees in the shade.

THE 'ENDGAME' AGE OF PETROLEUM: SYRIANA

2006-03-13T20:22:00.000-08:00

SATURDAY I WENT TO SEE SYRIANA, STARRING GEORGE CLOONEY.

IT WAS A GOOD SUSPENSE FILM.

IT KEPT ME ON MY TOES BY CUTTING FROM SUBPLOT TO SUBPLOT.

TO SAY THE FILM IS ABOUT OIL DOES NOT DO THE CINEMATOGRAPHY JUSTICE. AFTER VIEWING OIL WELLS, PIPELINES, TANKERS AND STORAGE FACILITIES AS CINEMATIC BACKGROUND DURING THE COURSE OF THE MOVIE, THE OVERALL CINEMATIC EFFECT BECOMES THE MOVIE'S UNSPOKEN STORY: THAT THE OIL EMPIRE IS A COLOSSUS ...AND A LUCRATIVE COLOSSUS, AT THAT.

THE MOVIE IS ABOUT OIL PROFITEERS' ENGINEERING INTERNATIONAL POWER GRABS OF THE MOST RUTHLESS SORT, INCLUDING ASSASSINATION ("BEIRUT RULES").

THIS IS NOT A MOVIE THAT ENGENDERS OPTIMISM IN ME.

WHILE IT HIGHLIGHTS MANY OF THE CONTRADICTIONS PRESENT IN THE 'ENDGAME' AGE OF PETROLEUM, IT FASHIONS NO EASY ANSWERS TO THE GLOBAL DEMAND FOR OIL AND THE HEGEMONY OF GLOBAL OIL CAPITALISM OVER PEOPLES AND GOVERNMENTS WORLDWIDE.

"Call It a Day and Hit the Hay"

2006-03-09T21:19:00.000-08:00

It snowed today south of town.

I was going to drive south to Arcata to spend the day there, but cautiousness prompted me to turn around and head back to Crescent City and off of the highway while the weather was inclement.

Hence, I spent the day at home dozing off while my wife, Cathy, watched the home decorating shows on HGTV.

I watched some of the PAC-10 Basketball Playoffs from the Staples Center in Los Angeles...and then Cathy and I watched C-SPAN for 1/2 hour: Gens. Abizaid and Pace, and Secs. Rice and Rumsfeld attempting to justify another 65 Billion Dollar supplemental appropriation for the Administration's failed Iraq Occupation.

After 1/2 hour of listening to a whole lot of doubletalk, Cathy announced she couldn't stand to listen to their SH** anymore...

And so...we called it a day and 'hit the hay'.

And the Cinematography is a "wow!": Brokeback Mountain

2006-03-06T21:52:00.000-08:00

This evening I went to see Ang Lee's BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN.

Wow.

It is good, as well as powerful.

Yes, I have heard and seen the satires...and the jokes...and the reviews of the film that focus on the homosexuality in the movie...and leave unexamined the heterosexual relationships in the film, as well as the question: "Which of the films relationships are more 'natural'...and why?"

One will have to see the movie to attempt an answer to this question.

The movie asks profound questions...or, perhaps, examines some of the subtler paradoxes of emotional intimacy, as well as the relationships that compete for our attention in adulthood: friendship, marriage, parenting.

As I experienced the movie, I felt sure it will become a classic.

It is a film for the ages.

Even When I Do Not...

2006-03-04T08:31:00.000-08:00

Even when I do not post an entry in my weblog, a very few people still stop by my webpage...in browsing mood, I guess...which pleases as well as 'blesses' me with a knowing that someone cares enough to visit.

If that sounded a bit 'sermonly', sermon's over.

The illusion of another's "presence", immanence, can be wonderful as well as overpowering...

and...most imporatantly, by way of non-sequitor, it can keep us engaged in LIVING...which in MOST MOMENTS of existing in this shape and form- and animation- sure has the alternative 'beaten a mile' (a half-mile? quarter-mile? ten yards? a foot? an inch? a nose?)...anyway, 'sure has the alternative beaten'.

"Oh, Mesopotamia"

2006-02-23T10:35:00.000-08:00

When the warriors return from battle...
Will they return with Tales of the Arabian Nights...
And of sacred sites and water works,
All visited and "saved"?:

Will they be able to recount to generations
Yet unborn
Of the wonders of the BIRTHPLACE OF CIVILIZATION?
Of the "Fertile Crescent" between Tigris and Euphrates?

This was Home to Hammurabi and the code of LAW
Chiseled in cuneiform hieroglyph in stone...
Home to The Diaspora...
Home to "the tower of Babylonia"...

"Oh, Greater Mesopotamia"......

Now that we have left YOU in ruins...
Release us, please, from "your grip"...

"Oh, Mesopotamia",
All along YOU knew:

WATER IS MORE PRECIOUS THAN GOLD (or oil)..

Knock Your Socks off with KUNG FU HUSTLE

2006-02-12T12:24:00.000-08:00

Christopher Chow's movie on dvd, Kung Fu Hustle, has to be a Cult Classic*** in the kung fu-kick boxing movie genre.

Taking place in Pig Sty City this is a surreal, socialist-realism story of venality and corruption-- the down and out tenant-dweller Guang Dongers facing off against the men-in-black city slickers from
Shanghai-- as well as a story of love (lost and regained), of a battle for the heart and soul of kung fu, 'ku li' allegiance and loyalty.

The kung fu is awesome, 'ku li', as well.

All I can say is:

This beautifully filmed and choreographed film will

knock your socks off.

Plus Ça Change, Plus C'est La Même Chose: "The more things change, the more they remain the same..."

2006-02-06T10:15:00.000-08:00

CHUCK'S predictions:

DEMOCRATIC PARTY controlled House in 2006.

DEMOCRATIC PARTY controlled SENATE in 2008.

KERRY Presidency in 2008.
* * *

HOWEVER, sadly, the "FROSTING on the CAKE " may be that...

THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY may CO-OPT
THE
OIL IMPERIALISM POLICY OF THE REPUBLICAN PARTY.

No Need" To Beat Around The Bush"

2006-02-02T09:48:00.000-08:00

I have been "beating around the Bush" for too long. The problem in the United States is much deeper than the "Bushies"...after all "YOU GOTTA LOVE 'EM"...and, sadly, their values reflect the values of many, many AMERICANS.

The COUNTRY'S PROBLEM- and it is a longstanding problem- is that the UNITED STATES OF AMERICA has become a LEECH
sucking up PLANETARY REAOURCES
and CHEAP THIRD-WORLD LABOR for a long, long time.

And , by and large- in spite of idealistic rhetoric about equity and fairness- AMERICA LIKES ITS 'FREE LUNCH'.

Third World Rage at AMERICA'S INSATIABLE CONSUMING
APPETITE was the root motivation behind 9/11/2001- whether the act was planned at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue or, as the Bush Administration has concocted its version... in a cave in Afghanistan.

Either way, the message is the same:

THIRD WORLD 'ECONOMIC SLAVES' CHOOSE NOT TO FEED EARTH'S RESOURCES TO THE CONSUMING MONSTER THAT THE USA HAS BECOME.

Can you blame them?

DOLLAR VALUE ON HUMAN LIVES?

2006-01-31T21:43:00.000-08:00

TrueMajority Click the link for an 'amusing' video.

EXXON'S PROFIT last year, 2006, was $36BILLION!

That isn't "chump change": that is WAR PROFITEERING.

For those who challenge the notion that the BUSH ADMINISTRATION is an "OILIGARCHY", the numbers speak for themselves. And in tax dollars: HUNDREDS OF BILLIONS OF $DOLLARS$.

AND OVER A HUNDRED THOUSAND LIVES!

HOW do you put a DOLLAR VALUE ON HUMAN LIVES?

WORLD ECONOMIC FORUM: WRONG FORUM! The Future Is WORLD SOCIAL FORUM!!

2006-01-27T17:55:00.000-08:00

MY HIDING PLACE: MY HIDING PLACE: DAVOS WORLD ECONOMIC FORUM: It's A Party!

SEE BLOG BELOW...

World Social Forum:Towards A HUMANE SOCIAL VISION

2006-01-27T16:16:00.000-08:00

flightless parrots: World Social Forum

Where is EMM ("EMBEDDED MAINSTREAM MEDIA") hanging out?

In Davos, Switzerland at the WORLD ECONOMIC FORUM (ALONG WITH 2,000 delegates).

WHERE ARE 200,000 PROGRESSIVE, ACTIVIST, HOPEFUL PEOPLE ASSEMBLING for the
WORLD SOCIAL FORUM 2006?

IN VENEZUELA AND IN MALI.

Which of the forums do YOU BELIEVE HOLDS PROMISE FOR OUR COLLECTIVE FUTURE?

Phillipine Congress Demands Custody Of U.S. MARINES CHARGED WITH RAPE

2006-01-26T08:02:00.000-08:00

QC Independent Media Centre

Satur Ocampo, Deputy Minority Leader of THE PHILIPPINES HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES has emerged as a government spokesman in demanding THE UNITED STATES RELEASE FROM ITS EMBASSY INTO THE PHILIPPINES CUSTODY FOUR MARINES CHARGED WITH RAPE IN MANILA.

This story has major diplomatic repercussions!

Where is EMM (EMBEDDED MAINSTREAM MEDIA)?

"HELLO?"
"ANYBODY HOME?"

MY HIDING PLACE: BUSH ADMINISTRATION REFUSES TO RELEASE FOUR U.S.MILITARY CHARGED WITH RAPE

2006-01-25T15:05:00.000-08:00

MY HIDING PLACE: BUSH ADMINISTRATION REFUSES TO RELEASE FOUR U.S.MILITARY CHARGED WITH RAPE

SADLY, a culture of rape...

When blaming the victim isn't enough, charge HER with the crime! [updated again] | media girl (mediagirl.org)

2006-01-25T13:56:00.000-08:00

When blaming the victim isn't enough, charge HER with the crime!
[updated again] | media girl (mediagirl.org)

Sadly...a culture of rape...

MY HIDING PLACE: DAVOS WORLD ECONOMIC FORUM: It's A Party!

2006-01-25T13:08:00.000-08:00

MY HIDING PLACE: DAVOS WORLD ECONOMIC FORUM: It's A Party!
WORLD ECONOMIC FORUM BEGINS TODAY... With 6000 SWISS Troops "at the ready" no incidents (other than those associated with delegate inebriation and/or "wounded pride") are expected.

MY HIDING PLACE: Make Poverty History Campaign - Get Involved and MAKE A DIFFERENCE

2006-01-25T12:57:00.000-08:00

MY HIDING PLACE: Make Poverty History Campaign - Get Involved and MAKE A DIFFERENCE

MY HIDING PLACE: A Birthright

2006-01-25T12:55:00.000-08:00

MY HIDING PLACE: A Birthright

Don't Forget 'EMM' (Embedded Mainstream Media): They Poll Themselves!

2006-01-25T11:16:00.000-08:00

These are a few of my regular sources for story ideas:

href="http://www.sydneyindymedia.org">

href="http://www.qcindependentmediacenter.org">

href="http://www.centrodemediosindependiente.org">

href="http://www.nyc.indymedia.org">

href="http://www.india.indymedia.org">

href="http://www.indymedia.paris.org">

href="http://www.mediagirl.org">

href="http://theostroyreport.blogspot.com">

href="http://www.thinkprogress.com">

href="http://www.portlandimc.com">

I also follow NPR, PBS, and 'EMM'(EMBEDDED MAINSTREAM MEDIA).
and a really great resource: Democracy Now!

A Birthright

2006-01-22T03:57:00.000-08:00

The Democratic Party is OUT TO LUNCH.

They would have you believe that the way to terminate the Fascist Takeover in the U.S. is at the ballot box.

However, if the DEMOCRATS elect candidates who roll over and "play dead" on PATRIOT ACT PROVISIONS -like Diane Feinstein- or who applaud the BOMBING OF PAKISTAN -like Evan Bayh- then the DEMOCRATS will continue to play "passive bystander" to WIRE TAPPING, DOMESTIC SURVEILLANCE, NATIONAL SECURITY STATE ARRESTS, MISAPPROPRIATION OF MILITARY AND CIVILIAN SPENDING, PRESS AND MEDIA REGULATION, SUSPENSION OF CIVIL LIBERTIES, ATROCITIES COMMITTED ON AND BY OUR MILITARY, LOBBYING AND CAMPAIGN FINANCE CORRUPTION, VOTING FRAUD.

The Democratic political strategy is "We will win it back in the mid-term elections this year."

WIN WHAT BACK?

BAYH, BIDEN, KERRY, FEINSTEIN: YOU FOLKS..... SOLD ..... US .... OUT!

And you "mealy mouth": 'IT ISN'T REALLY FASCISM.'

Why? Because DEATH CAMPS have yet to open?

WAKE UP!

DEMOCRACY is not an entity that barnstorming politicos give to PEOPLE at mid-term elections.

DEMOCRACY IS THE BIRTHRIGHT OF "WE, THE PEOPLE..."

A SEARCH FOR A PATH OF SANE ACTIVITIES IN A WORLD SERIOUSLY OUT OF BALANCE...ACTIVITIES THAT CAN CONFRONT AND TRANSMUTE VIOLENT ENERGY TO PACIFIC PURPOSES...

Make Poverty History Campaign - Get Involved and MAKE A DIFFERENCE

2006-01-18T09:45:00.000-08:00
Make Poverty History Campaign - Get Involved
...to find out more, click the above link...

ELIMINATING POVERTY is more important than ANY domestic political campaign.

After all, since time immemorial POVERTY IS THE ROOT CAUSE OF TERRORISM.

ELIMINATING POVERTY is about SAVING OUR COMMON PLANET.

INDIFFERENCE is the ROOT CAUSE OF POVERTY.

Remember: >We ALL Live Here<
A SEARCH FOR A PATH OF SANE ACTIVITIES IN A WORLD SERIOUSLY OUT OF BALANCE...ACTIVITIES THAT CAN CONFRONT AND TRANSMUTE VIOLENT ENERGY TO PACIFIC PURPOSES...

BUSH ADMINISTRATION REFUSES TO RELEASE FOUR U.S.MILITARY CHARGED WITH RAPE

2006-01-18T01:08:00.000-08:00
Manila Independent Media Collective.

The BUSH ADMINISTRATION has refused to release for arrest and trial in MANILA, FOUR U.S.MILITARY charged with RAPE there.

Where is the purported U.S. BELIEF IN A RULE OF LAW?

Does this reflect well on the U.S. MILITARY? On respect for the RIGHTS OF THE VICTIM? On respect for THE PHILIPPINE PEOPLE? On the present state of U.S.DIPLOMACY?
On PHILIPPINE SOVEREIGNTY?

Does it reflect well on WE,THE PEOPLE of this land?

(For more on this news report from Manila, "click the link above".)
A SEARCH FOR A PATH OF SANE ACTIVITIES IN A WORLD SERIOUSLY OUT OF BALANCE...ACTIVITIES THAT CAN CONFRONT AND TRANSMUTE VIOLENT ENERGY TO PACIFIC PURPOSES...

DAVOS WORLD ECONOMIC FORUM: It's A Party!

2006-01-16T08:22:00.000-08:00
They are breaking out the Camembert, breaking out the Brie, breaking out the pâté, Rothschild vintage red wine, champagne, caviar, and Liebfraumilch. They are offloading the victuals on pallets. It's a PARTY!

"Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous" EPISODE FOR LIVE BROADCAST? HARDLY!

This is DAVOS, LA SUISSE (Switzerland)- second home to the GLOBAL COSMOPOLITAN NOMENCLATURA... and P*R*I*V*A*C*Y as only the SWISS can provide.

What is the event?

It is the WORLD ECONOMIC FORUM, 2006.

2,000 of the world's CEOs, CFOs, MINISTERS OF STATE, and a few "CONTRIBUTING" GUESTS will dine, wine, ski, hot tub, be manicured and massaged...

And, oh yes, confer on the challenges facing GLOBAL CORPORATIONS and their FIRST WORLD home-headquarter NATIONS in the face of the desperate poverty of THIRD WORLD GHETTOIZATION.

These LEADERS OF COMMERCE will ignore THIRD WORLD GHETTOIZATION in their FALSE HOPE SPEECHES and STATISTICAL DISTORTIONS.

FALSE STATISTICS and DISTORTED VISUAL AND PRINT MEDIA make for COMPLACENCY, SELF-SATISFACTION AND INDIFFERENCE TO HUMAN ASPIRATION AND SUFFERING.

I would wish that German Federal Chancellor Angela Merkel might "rock the boat" in her opening remarks to the PLENARY SESSION on January 25, but I expect her remarks will merely serve to reassure an audience focussed on culinary delights and vacation camaraderie that they and their corporate entities may justifiably be excused from extending a hand of help and EARNEST SUPPORT TO NATIONS AND PEOPLES AT-RISK.
A SEARCH FOR A PATH OF SANE ACTIVITIES IN A WORLD SERIOUSLY OUT OF BALANCE...ACTIVITIES THAT CAN CONFRONT AND TRANSMUTE VIOLENT ENERGY TO PACIFIC PURPOSES...

NAMING THE CONTAGION: The Influence of the Affluent

2006-01-15T11:03:00.000-08:00
Ever heard of Ann Arbor FLU? Grosse Point FLU? Monte Carlo FLU? Barcelona FLU? Davos FLU? NO?

Bangladesh FLU? Harare FLU? Guangdong FLU? Beijing FLU? Maylaysian FLU? Mexico City FLU? YES?

WHY?

A theory:

THE INFLUENCE OF THE AFFLUENT ON THE CONFLUENCE OF THE EFFLUENT ALSO DETERMINES THE NAMING OF THE CONTAGION.

Hence:INFLUENZA (a disease determination by INFLUENCE).
A SEARCH FOR A PATH OF SANE ACTIVITIES IN A WORLD SERIOUSLY OUT OF BALANCE...ACTIVITIES THAT CAN CONFRONT AND TRANSMUTE VIOLENT ENERGY TO PACIFIC PURPOSES...

It's about ACCESS and DISTRIBUTION

2006-01-09T18:04:00.000-08:00
Whoever controls the PODIUM, controls the FORUM, frames the DEBATE, determines the CONVERSATION.

And...whoever controls the podium, controls the MIC. In the case of a podium, the MIC IS THE MEDIUM OF COMMUNICATION.

Other MEDIA OF COMMUNICATION: FILM, VIDEO, COMPACT DISC, NEWSPAPER, RADIO, TV, INTERNET, MAGAZINES, ZINES, BLOGS, BILLBOARDS, POSTERS, GRAFFITI, IPODS, MUSIC, ART.

A first step to a PUBLIC VOICE entails access to the tools of these media (cameras, videocams, editing equipment, sound studios, printers and copiers, film, cd's, paper, instruments, computers, etc.).

The more difficult and critical step entails gaining access to COMMUNICATIONS MEDIA DISTRIBUTION NETWORKS...or developing one's own MEDIA DISTRIBUTION NETWORK.

Control of the DISTRIBUTION NETWORK means control of the PODIUM...and control of the PODIUM frames the DEBATE and CONVERSATION.
A SEARCH FOR A PATH OF SANE ACTIVITIES IN A WORLD SERIOUSLY OUT OF BALANCE...ACTIVITIES THAT CAN CONFRONT AND TRANSMUTE VIOLENT ENERGY TO PACIFIC PURPOSES...

DOMESTIC SPYING IS NOT FRIENDLY TO DEMOCRACY

2006-01-05T14:59:00.000-08:00
HIGH CRIMES AND MISDEMEANORS.

That is what the BUSH ADNINISTRATION'S DOMESTIC SPYING entails.

An OUTSIDE SPECIAL COUNSEL needs to be appointed so that ARTICLES OF IMPEACHMENT can be drawn up against BUSHITES WHO BROKE THE LAW AND DEFILED THE CONSTITUTION.

For more details, visit

http://www.aclu.org/
A SEARCH FOR A PATH OF SANE ACTIVITIES IN A WORLD SERIOUSLY OUT OF BALANCE...ACTIVITIES THAT CAN CONFRONT AND TRANSMUTE VIOLENT ENERGY TO PACIFIC PURPOSES...

COMMUNICATION-AT-A-DISTANCE

2005-12-27T11:36:00.000-08:00
We sit in cafes typing into laptops, sitting amidst other people and communicating with people at a distance, far away.

People walk by us on the street talking to other people far away on their cell
phones.

Singles screen potential dates through internet PERSONALS and then set up an e-mail correspondence.

It is all COMMUNICATION-AT-A-DISTANCE, screened-off from those nearby, impersonal,
cautious.

It is communication that FENDS OFF ANY MEANINGFUL EXCHANGE.

It is SAFE. It is CHASTE. It is STERILE.

And by WALLING Off those immediately nearby, our headset-friendly NON-COMMUNICATION
IS DEADLY.
A SEARCH FOR A PATH OF SANE ACTIVITIES IN A WORLD SERIOUSLY OUT OF BALANCE...ACTIVITIES THAT CAN CONFRONT AND TRANSMUTE VIOLENT ENERGY TO PACIFIC PURPOSES...

"Just Following Orders" WON'T CUT IT

2005-12-25T16:11:00.000-08:00
Eavesdropping, wire tapping, domestic surveillance and spying, propogation of misinformation (e.g., the "TALON" unit in the DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE): all of these add up to a plethora of "extralegal"- i.e., illegal- FEDERAL, STATE, and LOCAL GOVERNMENT ACTIVITIES.

In time, some of those who were "JUST FOLLOWING ORDERS" will be held ACCOUNTABLE IN COURTS OF LAW and in the HIGH TRIBUNALS OF PUBLIC OPINION for spying on and intimidating their FELLOW CITIZENS and COMPATRIOTS.

In spite of sad diversionary tactics, many will be called to account for their behavior.
A SEARCH FOR A PATH OF SANE ACTIVITIES IN A WORLD SERIOUSLY OUT OF BALANCE...ACTIVITIES THAT CAN CONFRONT AND TRANSMUTE VIOLENT ENERGY TO PACIFIC PURPOSES...

What if...

2005-12-23T14:57:00.000-08:00
What if the 9/11 Commission had explored in depth the relationship between the BUSH ADMINISTRATIONS and the SAUDI ROYAL FAMILY.

It is in the crucible of this relationship that the Saudi resistance and 'Al Qaeda'
gained strength and recruits.

What if the US had not backed the REACTIONARY FORCES in Saudi Arabia?

Would the US have undercut the resistance, 'Al Qaeda'?

WOULD THE 9/11 ATTACKS HAVE BEEN AVERTED?
A SEARCH FOR A PATH OF SANE ACTIVITIES IN A WORLD SERIOUSLY OUT OF BALANCE...ACTIVITIES THAT CAN CONFRONT AND TRANSMUTE VIOLENT ENERGY TO PACIFIC PURPOSES...

Stories That Will Break

2005-12-22T12:06:00.000-08:00
Under-reported News:

.Dissent in the U.S.Military and recent REFUSAL TO OBEY ORDERS.

.Democratic and Republican Congressional Leadership complicity in PRESIDENTIAL LAWBREAKING (circumventing FISA).

.Rural and agrarian uprisings and INSURGENCIES IN CHINA (most recently in
Guangdong Province).

.The extent of surrogacy holdings of the SAUDI ROYAL FAMILY in the UNITED STATES BANKING SYSTEM.

These are STORIES that sooner or later WILL BREAK.

(for beautiful handcrafted pottery, check out www.potterybybarisof.com)
A SEARCH FOR A PATH OF SANE ACTIVITIES IN A WORLD SERIOUSLY OUT OF BALANCE...ACTIVITIES THAT CAN CONFRONT AND TRANSMUTE VIOLENT ENERGY TO PACIFIC PURPOSES...

IMPEACH BUSH

2005-12-20T15:46:00.001-08:00
By ordering the NSA to perform DOMESTIC WIRETAPPING outside of the legal procedures in The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978, George W. BUSH BROKE THE LAW.

And, HE DESECRATED OUR CONSTITUTION.

He believes he can "beat the rap" by playing the "wartime presidency" card...and by continually playing to people's fears.

We must STAND UP FOR OUR RIGHTS (and liberties)...

IMPEACH GEORGE W. BUSH.

RECLAIM OUR DEMOCRACY!
A SEARCH FOR A PATH OF SANE ACTIVITIES IN A WORLD SERIOUSLY OUT OF BALANCE...ACTIVITIES THAT CAN CONFRONT AND TRANSMUTE VIOLENT ENERGY TO PACIFIC PURPOSES...

WE GLORY IN MAKE-BELIEVE!

2005-12-16T11:13:00.000-08:00
BOY! OH BOY!

WE GLORY IN MAKE-BELIEVE!

As if the "ELECTION" in IRAQ signals a new era, "DEMOCRACY", "DUE PROCESS"...

COME ON... "due process" UNDER OCCUPATION, elections AT GUNPOINT, democracy "through the barrel of a gun".

And the SHIITES win the majority, because the USA has allied itself with the FUNDAMENTALIST Muslims.

YUP. SHIITES as in TALIBAN, as in OSAMA, as in "cover the women in 'burkahs' and keep them out of school".

SHIITES as in the "barefoot and pregnant school of Islam".

So the US ADMINISTRATION has made its "alliance of convenience" with the FUNDAMENTALISTS of Iraq: an alliance of FUNDAMENTALISTS with FUNDAMENTALISTS.

How long will this alliance hold?
A SEARCH FOR A PATH OF SANE ACTIVITIES IN A WORLD SERIOUSLY OUT OF BALANCE...ACTIVITIES THAT CAN CONFRONT AND TRANSMUTE VIOLENT ENERGY TO PACIFIC PURPOSES...

MI PRECIOSA: "my precious one"

2005-12-15T12:26:00.000-08:00
"Mi Preciosa"
Whose name I knew
Spoke to me in dulcit tone

Your crystalline clarity
Of voice and line
Were oh so earthy
Oh so divine

You were my sweetness
Refreshment and succor
You were the fruit
You were the vine

You were the ripples
In my unbridled joy
You were the tonic
For an unbridled mind
A SEARCH FOR A PATH OF SANE ACTIVITIES IN A WORLD SERIOUSLY OUT OF BALANCE...ACTIVITIES THAT CAN CONFRONT AND TRANSMUTE VIOLENT ENERGY TO PACIFIC PURPOSES...

IT'S ALL ABOUT YOU (and humanity, too)!

2005-12-13T08:32:00.000-08:00
IT'S ALL ABOUT YOU!

AND IT'S ALL ABOUT ME, TOO.

PUBLIC EVENTS, PUBLIC DISCOURSE, PUBLIC EXPRESSION, PUBLIC ACTION: YOU AND I, WE AND THEY, ALL OF US ARE RESPONSIBLE!

THOSE OF US WHO TRIED TO STOP THE EXECUTION OF STANLEY "TOOKIE" WILLIAMS AND ARE TRYING TO SUPPORT A MORATORIUM ON THE DEATH PENALTY IN CALIFORNIA (ASSEMBLY BILL 1121)CANNOT AFFORD TO LOSE FAITH!

OUR FAITH IS THAT HUMANITY WILL PREVAIL.

WHY?

BECAUSE WE BELIEVE IN HUMANITY!

(Check out teen poetry slam champs@ www.youthspeaks.org
This group will perform BRINGING THE NOISE on 1/16/06 for MLK,JR.DAY
at YBCA theater, 700 Howard @ 3rd ST. SF, CA.
They are DYNAMIC MOVING POWERFUL.
Tickets: 415-978ARTS or ybca.org Info:youthspeaks.org or 415-255-9035)
A SEARCH FOR A PATH OF SANE ACTIVITIES IN A WORLD SERIOUSLY OUT OF BALANCE...ACTIVITIES THAT CAN CONFRONT AND TRANSMUTE VIOLENT ENERGY TO PACIFIC PURPOSES...

to live peaceably and fairly OR to die or be maimed in a crusade

2005-12-09T22:36:00.000-08:00
WHY LET OTHERS DEFINE YOUR TERMS?

IF YOU HAVE A MESSAGE, PUT IT OUT THERE.

DO NOT LET YOURSELF BE MARGINALIZED BY ANYONE WHOSE AGENDA APPENDS YOUR MESSAGE AS A MERE ADDENDUM.

SAY YOUR PIECE!

FOR EXAMPLE, THIS MESSAGE:

"IT MAY WELL BE MORE IMPORTANT TO LIVE PEACEABLY AND FAIRLY WITH YOUR FELLOW MAN, THAN TO DIE OR TO BE MAIMED IN A CRUSADE."
A SEARCH FOR A PATH OF SANE ACTIVITIES IN A WORLD SERIOUSLY OUT OF BALANCE...ACTIVITIES THAT CAN CONFRONT AND TRANSMUTE VIOLENT ENERGY TO PACIFIC PURPOSES...

"HEY COOKIE": I'm Grateful

2005-12-08T20:39:00.001-08:00
Please excuse my stutter

My heart is all a-flutter

As I just taught myself

To be a "COOKIE CUTTER"...

When you say you knew the outcome, hmmm...

... though it's been apparent to me...

The "chick" who sang out "HEY COOKIE"...

Is now 'QUEEN OF MY FAMILY'...
A SEARCH FOR A PATH OF SANE ACTIVITIES IN A WORLD SERIOUSLY OUT OF BALANCE...ACTIVITIES THAT CAN CONFRONT AND TRANSMUTE VIOLENT ENERGY TO PACIFIC PURPOSES...

LONG LIVE THE ORDINARY

2005-12-07T12:54:00.000-08:00
"ARE WE ROCKIN' and rollin' yet?"

"I dunno..."

Spent the last half hour trying to find a blog to "flag", because WHEN I "GOOGLE" MY WEBSITE, I GET THE INTERNET ADDRESS ALONG WITH A NOTE TO REPORT "OBJECTIONABLE
CONTENT".

So I spent the last half hour being a MINION of "Internet Seccurity Wonks"- and I came up empty-handed...perhaps because I am a civil libertarian.

I visited "PIMPWIZ.blogspot.com"...and though I didn't follow their advice to the "au current" METROSEXUAL to buy his LADY a SILK BATHROBE for...

CHRISTMAS or HANNUKAH or KWAANZA or EID or SOLSTICE or NEW YEAR or ASIAN NEW YEAR...

in short, for THE HOLIDAYS...and while I found the SITE trivially COMMERCIAL and, in that sense, BORING!!!! (to me)...still, THE SITE IS NOT OBJECTIONABLE!!!!!!!!!!!!

Simply SLICK AND COMMERCIAL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Oh Yeah! I bought MY WIFE a cotten flannel robe for the HOLIDAYS that she loves...
Which makes us very FRUMPY and HOKEY, atavistic (as in "throwback") individuals.

VIVE L'ORDINAIRE: "Long live the ordinary".
A SEARCH FOR A PATH OF SANE ACTIVITIES IN A WORLD SERIOUSLY OUT OF BALANCE...ACTIVITIES THAT CAN CONFRONT AND TRANSMUTE VIOLENT ENERGY TO PACIFIC PURPOSES...

RAMSEY CLARK: A WORLD CITIZEN

2005-12-06T11:50:00.000-08:00
IN MY BOOK RAMSEY CLARK IS A 'PROFILE IN COURAGE'.

OF COURSE HE WILL BE MALIGNED BY KNEE-JERK 'PATRIOTS', WHO WILL ACCUSE HIM OF GIVING AID AND COMFORT TO THE 'ENEMY' BY WISHING TO SEE THAT SADDAM HUSSEIN AND CO-DEFENDENTS RECEIVE A "FAIR TRIAL" IN IRAQ.

IN FACT, THOSE WHO ACCUSE RAMSEY CLARK OF TREASON ARE THEMSELVES TREACHEROUS FOLK OF DUBIOUS MOTIVE, WHO IN NO SENSE ARE LOVERS OF FREEDOM OR DEMOCRACY.

RAMSEY CLARK IS TAKING A STAND FOR DUE PROCESS AND A HIGHER STANDARD OF JUSTICE.

IS THIS NOT WHAT THE USA ONCE STOOD FOR?
A SEARCH FOR A PATH OF SANE ACTIVITIES IN A WORLD SERIOUSLY OUT OF BALANCE...ACTIVITIES THAT CAN CONFRONT AND TRANSMUTE VIOLENT ENERGY TO PACIFIC PURPOSES...

IT'S ABOUT COMMUNITY.Letter To The Editor, THE DAILY TRIPLICATE

2005-11-30T12:16:00.000-08:00
What do Laramie, Wyoming; Walla Walla, Washington; Claremont, California; Flagstaff, Arizona; Northampton, Massachusetts; Oxford, Missippi; Ashland, Oregon; Austin, Texas;Logan, Utah; Boulder, Colorado; Fairbanks, Alaska; Hanover, New Hampshire; Grinnell, Iowa; and Bozeman, Montana all have in common? They all have relatively high employment for their respective states and skilled workforces; and, they all have surtaxed themselves to support their local school systems. As a result, a higher proportion of young adults in these communities go on to colleges and universities. These communities invested in their young people, and the investment paid dividends in terms of developing an ongoing Community of educated, skilled, and responsible adults.

Because these also happen to be college and university communities, visitors enjoy coming to them to sample music, dance, theater, other arts, meetings, forums, and sporting events.

And their economies develop as well.

The topic of development and the economy brings us to Del Norte County and the local discussion/debate. The Chamber of Commerce idea to market Del Norte County through their Visitors Bureau in order to attract visitors is a good one. The idea to spend more on marketing is good as well, in my opinion. How much City and County (taxpayers') money should be spent on this marketing effort and what will be the mechanisms for oversight and accountability remain to be seen.

Hopefully, a Community Consensus will develop, and sustainable, economic development will ensue. Tourism, hopefully, will play a big part. Will education, as well?

And, more to the point, what about the "skills set" development of our children, the "life skills" of our young adults and the "spiritual" (in its broader interpretation) and "cultural" development of the Community?
A SEARCH FOR A PATH OF SANE ACTIVITIES IN A WORLD SERIOUSLY OUT OF BALANCE...ACTIVITIES THAT CAN CONFRONT AND TRANSMUTE VIOLENT ENERGY TO PACIFIC PURPOSES...

A WORLD BEYOND THE INTERNET

2005-11-28T16:45:00.000-08:00
"Well CHUCK... you do remember TWO ROADS DIVERGED IN A NARROW WOOD (by Robert Frost)...well CHUCK, maybe you are at the 'fork in the road'."

"Maybe, just maybe, it is time to revert to your old ways of writing with pen and paper...and give up KEYBOARDING."

-"NO! CHUCK! NO! We will miss your trenchant, probing, courageous, informative essays, poems, and links in THE MYSTERIOUS LAND OF BLOG. For are you not THE WIZARD OF BLOG? And isn't BLOGDOM your PERSONAL TURF, your REALM? Are you not a NATIVE of BLOGWORLD, BLOGLAND, BLOGUNIVERSE, BLOGCOSMOS, BLOGCONTINENT, BLOG 'TERRAFIRMA'?"

"On the other hand, Chuck, maybe give yourself a time-out...maybe, JUST MAYBE,
YOU HAVE OVERBLOGGED FOR AWHILE."

-You mean,

"MAYBE THERE IS A WORLD BEYOND THE INTERNET?"
A SEARCH FOR A PATH OF SANE ACTIVITIES IN A WORLD SERIOUSLY OUT OF BALANCE...ACTIVITIES THAT CAN CONFRONT AND TRANSMUTE VIOLENT ENERGY TO PACIFIC PURPOSES...

TOURING THE WORLD IN AN OLD METAL SAILBOAT...Un tour du monde �la voile sur un vieux voilier en acier: Un tour du monde �la voile sur un vieux voilier

2005-11-26T11:39:00.000-08:00
All you have to do is click:

Un tour du monde �la voile sur un vieux voilier en acier: Un tour du monde �la voile sur un vieux voilier
A SEARCH FOR A PATH OF SANE ACTIVITIES IN A WORLD SERIOUSLY OUT OF BALANCE...ACTIVITIES THAT CAN CONFRONT AND TRANSMUTE VIOLENT ENERGY TO PACIFIC PURPOSES...

...and the COMMENTS are UP TO YOU

2005-11-25T16:49:00.000-08:00
YOU NEED NOT BE A 'BLOGGER' TO LEAVE A 'COMMENT'...

AND MY SELF-ESTEEM YOU MAY AUGMENT-

IF YOUR TRAIN OF THOUGHT IS LED

OFF THE TOP OF YOUR HEAD

TO 'FREE ASSOCIATE' A PHRASE OR TWO

THAT WILL MAKE YOU LESS BLUE...

AND MAY MAKE ME GREEN- WITH ENVY-

AND KEEP YOU IN THE PINK- WITH JOY

WHEN I AM WITHOUT A CLUE,

THEN THIS 'BLOG' IS IN THE COMMENTS...

........"to your deepest self be true".........

and the COMMENTS are UP TO YOU

AND THE COMMENTS ARE UP TO YOU...
A SEARCH FOR A PATH OF SANE ACTIVITIES IN A WORLD SERIOUSLY OUT OF BALANCE...ACTIVITIES THAT CAN CONFRONT AND TRANSMUTE VIOLENT ENERGY TO PACIFIC PURPOSES...

giving

2005-11-23T12:52:00.000-08:00
T
H
A
N
K
S
A SEARCH FOR A PATH OF SANE ACTIVITIES IN A WORLD SERIOUSLY OUT OF BALANCE...ACTIVITIES THAT CAN CONFRONT AND TRANSMUTE VIOLENT ENERGY TO PACIFIC PURPOSES...

LUCKNOW, INDIA- Where ART MEETS RITUAL

2005-11-21T15:04:00.000-08:00
"WHERE IT'S AT NOW" WITH THE INTERNATIONAL ART SCENE IS LUCKNOW, INDIA where an international INSTALLATION ART encampment is taking place for the next TEN DAYS...

CHECK IT OUT at

http://indianartnews.blogspot.com

SETTINGS for my WEBLOG have been changed, so that

!!!!!!!!!!!!!ANYONE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! MAY NOW LEAVE A COMMENT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
A SEARCH FOR A PATH OF SANE ACTIVITIES IN A WORLD SERIOUSLY OUT OF BALANCE...ACTIVITIES THAT CAN CONFRONT AND TRANSMUTE VIOLENT ENERGY TO PACIFIC PURPOSES...

15th Anniversary of My Son SETH'S DEATH

2005-11-19T10:24:00.000-08:00
"WOULD YOU WANT IT OTHERWISE?"

There is a lingering sadness-
a feeling of choking
on tears shed within:

Time passes;
wounds scar over.

But within,
the many tears unshed

Gather as a
perpetual tugging
at the heart:

Not a black mood-
but an inner stream of sadness and joy

That leaves my vision
a little glazed.

I remember Seth:
crawling to the playground;
wobbling on early sailor's legs;
gobbling up pot stickers;
yelling out of the car after the Super Bowl;
playing electric guitar riffs;
listening to the radio all night;
talking, talking, and talking;
making people laugh-
so talented, so unsure

(a big, shambling puppy of a boy-man).

An old Zen
story
has it that the student keeps

returning for a blessing:

The teacher says,
first grandfather dies;
then father;
then son.

The student questions
if this
is a blessing-

The teacher asks,
"Would you
want it otherwise?

SETH'S POEM (WRITTEN BY SETH DESPRES, 1990):

"CHINATOWN, MY CHINATOWN"

On the 30 stockton
carrying a briefcase
I am the only
bus-rider whose native tongue
is not Cantonese.
Lurching din
Chinese infant
maybe eighteen months,
maybe a boy, grins wide-eyed
over seat-back
showing steel teeth.
Walnut-faced dowager
peers sunglassed out
from beneath black shawl.
She is ancient like clay.
I push my way out at Bush Street.
Jaundiced sun
smiles feebly on
office towers
pigeonshit.
I walk up through Chinatown.
Pullet carcasses hang
beneath red-gold banners,
above black shriveled eels.
Thick air--
I coat my palate
savor the hot stink
cigars,
dead fish,
cabbage,
steamed dumplings.
Cheap tinny violin
squeaks Yangtse rhapsody.
Happy alien voyeur,
I scarf potstickers and chow fun-
I could not wish myself anywhere else.
A SEARCH FOR A PATH OF SANE ACTIVITIES IN A WORLD SERIOUSLY OUT OF BALANCE...ACTIVITIES THAT CAN CONFRONT AND TRANSMUTE VIOLENT ENERGY TO PACIFIC PURPOSES...