Thinking Out Loud

Holidays

2011-12-09T16:46:00.001-08:00

In October I reached the age of 70. My son and daughter-in-law threw a party for me at their home. People said nice things, and I cried. Let the love in.Thanksgiving brought my sister to be my first guest in this apartment. Slight snag: the borrowed aerobed filled all the living room floor space, so I had to deflate and fold it every morning. We had a lovely dinner at a friend's home, and visited several museums. Yes! San Diego has art museums.Building toward Christmas has been frazzling and fun. I just started volunteering at an organization that helps the homeless. Art class continues to challenge and fascinate me. Women's support group anchors and connects me.Over my shoulder I can see the full moon shining through mist in a pale purplish sky. Things could be worse.

Being Young and Not Sensible

2011-10-03T16:19:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I relived an event when I was seventeen, when I felt humiliated, furious, and very, very stubborn. I believed with all my heart that my life depended on breaking conventions, on not doing what was expected of me, on finding my own way despite difficulties. While I recognize some of those feelings as close to a child's tantrum, I respect their power. Strong, absolute emotion did help me stumble on my own path, however clumsily.

So, when I picked up a copy of Spin Magazine while waiting for a haircut, I didn't reject completely the destructive posturing of some of the interviewees. For one thing, they are not in the world to please me. There was an article I could identify with, about hip-hop and rap in Tunisia, which is credited, along with communication facilitated by Facebook, with focussing dissatisfaction with the regime and helping topple it. The singers themselves had no idea what would happen, but found themselves revolutionary icons. They were defiant and true enough to themselves to risk saying what young people were feeling. Another Tunisian rapper said he is all about the music and not politics. He already had hostages to fate, a family to support.

My Dad once protested that I could only learn by running my head into a brick wall. Hmm. I do have some neck injuries.

Book Review: The Summer Without Men

2011-09-30T14:10:00.000-07:00

BOOK REVIEW: THE SUMMER WITHOUT MEN, BY SIRI HUSTVEDT, PICADOR PAPERBACK, NEW YORK, NY 2011

“I need a pause,” announces Mia’s husband of 30 years, then leaves. The writer lets the reader look over Mia’s shoulder. She reacts in a briefly catastrophic way, then takes a summer to think and heal. Her mother lives in a retirement home, where Mia visits and grows closer to a quirky set of old women. At the same time, Mia interacts with twelve-year-old girls taking her creative writing class. Both groups revive memories, themes of identity, thoughtful exploration of what it has meant to Mia to be a woman.

Hustvedt’s writing by turns evokes laughter, sadness, perspective, ironic recognition, and haunting love. She can certainly turn a phrase! At 182 pages, this is a quick read that I look forward to savoring again.

Book Review: The Latte Rebellion

2011-09-30T13:06:00.000-07:00

BOOK REVIEW

THE LATTE REBELLION, BY SARAH JAMILA STEVENSON, FLUX, LLEWELLYN WORDLDWIDE LTD., WOODBURY, MINNESOTA, 2011

TYPE: YOUNG ADULT

High School Senior Asha gets tired of racial slurs and being excluded from ethnic clubs at school because she doesn’t fit neatly into one category. After all, lots of students at her school have heritage from more than one continent. In fact, they’re just plain brown, like most people on earth.

The Latte Rebellion starts as a gesture of defiance and a money making scheme. Asha and her friend Carey hope many kids will buy a T-shirt that proudly proclaims the value of being “Latte,” mixing coffee and milk to produce something delicious.

Their idea sparks a movement that spreads nation-wide, and immediately goes far out of their control. Asha is surprised to find herself a spokesperson, involved with college activists, and almost expelled from school when action and reaction get too hot for the high school administration.

College admission worries, themes of loyalty, betrayal, confusion, forming one’s own values, and, of course, cute guys, make this story appealing to older teens.

International Day of Compassion

2011-05-06T14:31:00.000-07:00

International Day of Compassion in Honor of Dr. Patch Adams -- what a great idea!

Mandela's Way

2011-02-28T14:04:00.000-08:00

MANDELA’S WAY
FIFTEEN LESSONS ON LIFE, LOVE, AND COURAGE
BY RICHARD STENGEL
CROWN PUBLISHERS, RANDOM HOUSE, NEW YORK 2009
Pp 121-122

(The brutal head of the prison in which Mandela spent so many years was being transferred.)

“Badenhorst said to me something like, ‘I just want to wish you people good luck.’ He said this like a human being, and I was a bit taken aback by his moderate and even considerate tone. I must say, that was a bit of a surprise. I thanked him. I thought about this for a long time afterward. What it basically showed me is that these men were not inhuman, but their inhumanity had been put upon them. They behaved like beasts because they were rewarded for such behavior. They thought it would result in a promotion or advancement. That day, I realized that Badenhorst was not the man he seemed to be, but a better man than how he had behaved.”

This epiphany goes to the heart of Mandela’s belief about what makes us human. He was a better man than how he had behaved. His motives were not as cruel as his actions. No one is born prejudiced or racist. No man, he suggests, is evil at heart. Evil is something instilled in or taught to men by circumstances, their environment, or their upbringing. It is not innate. Apartheid made men evil; evil did not create apartheid.

While his colleagues saw their warders and jailers as monolithic, the embodiment of the heartless apartheid system, Mandela generally tried to find something decent and honorable in them. Ultimately, he came to see them as victims of the system as well as perpetrators of it.

My Comment:

These reflections show the attitudes which helped keep South Africa from plunging into national civil war on racial lines. Mandela convinced enough people that a new government had to care about all the people. This empowered Reconciliation, in which police apologized for their actions, and families at least learned what had happened to their relatives. Bishop Desmond Tutu’s role came out of his experience as a leader of a religion which teaches that confession, acknowledgment of responsibility with intent to reform, precedes forgiveness. In order to live with each other there was a psychological and spiritual necessity to grieve together. There had always been many, many people of all races who had struggled for justice, refusing to demonize each other.

We have been reflecting on evil at my church. An important thought, attributed to Martin Luther King Jr., is that there is a little good in the worst of us, and a little evil in the best of us. This insight has emerged in many traditions through the centuries. Mandela’s biographer interprets the passage above as meaning a system, a guiding structure, can bring out very different aspects of an individual’s character and behavior. Therefore, changing the system tends to change people’s behavior. It leaves hanging the question of whether the organizers of a repressive system are evil. Perhaps for Mandela that is not the point. The point is to move forward with opportunities for people to live in dignity, negotiate with each other without violence for the goods, and the good, of the world.

Fashion and Faith

2011-02-18T12:46:00.001-08:00

BOOK REVIEW 1

VISIBLY MUSLIM:
FASHION, POLITICS, FAITH

EMMA TARLO
BERG, OXFORD AND NEW YORK, 2010

“Visibly Muslim,” was featured on NPR book notes in February 2011. I was attracted by the hope of increasing my understanding of, and communication with, Muslim women in San Diego and elsewhere in the United States. While anthropologist Tarlo concentrates on the UK, mostly London, the insights are transferable.

“Muslim,” or “Islamic,” includes enormous variety of religious practice, ethnicity, culture and philosophy. I was deeply impressed by several young women who tell their stories of choosing clothing to express their identities as Muslim Americans or Muslim Europeans. They are thoughtful, playful, assertive women, active citizens of democracies. Several honor more than one culture and race as part of their origins, so that they are leaders in exploring how multiculturalism can enrich society.

How they perceive themselves may be in tension with how others perceive them. A hijabi, a woman who covers her hair, has become a target of abuse and assault in Europe as being associated somehow with terrorism. Photos of a woman whose whole head and figure are covered by the caftan-like abaya constantly accompany media coverage of terrorism.

A woman in jeans and tunic who winds a beautiful scarf around her head, leaving face and neck uncovered, may draw criticism from some Muslims who expect more covering, discomfort from some Westerners, or admiration from almost anyone.

Women, and men, are making an effort to affirm religious identity while being part of a global youth culture. T-shirts with Islamic messages, and hoodies with Groener-like graphics, surprised me. It reminds me of my own quandary as a Catholic school girl, wanting to be modest AND sexy, while clinging to wearing my Miraculous Medal around my neck.

It also surprised me to learn that in the UK, schools routinely adapt uniforms so that students from differing religions or cultures can meet their own dress standards, keeping the uniform’s colors. Schools consult with regional or national councils of religions and cultures to serve their local population.

This well researched book with its lively interviews and informative footnotes lives up to its promise to educate on fashion, politics, and faith in a world which includes 1.5 billion people whose religion is Islam.

Irene Grumman
February 18, 2011

Books I'm Reading/Recently Read

2011-01-29T17:04:00.000-08:00

The Bag Lady Papers/Penney
The Future of Islam/Esposito
Making a Literary Life/See
Dufy/Hunter
Dufy/Werner
The History of Love/Krauss
All I Want for Christmas is a Vampire
Recovering/Sarton
Blade Dancer/Viehl
Becoming Naturally Therapeutic/Small
Visibly Muslim/Tarlo
The Hypochondriacs/Dillon
Art: A Crash Course/Freeman
Huntsman What Quarry/Millay
Edvard Munch/Gossett

NPR provides me with some eclectic book recommendations. Some of these I read in depth; others I read the introduction, one or two chapters of interest, and skim the rest. When my sister the English professor recommends a book, I usually find it and read carefully. Some books I've owned for decades and continue to hold my attention.

There's More Where That Came From

2011-01-14T17:26:00.000-08:00

On one street corner in one city in the USA on a Saturday morning in front of a supermarket, a group of caring, devoted, committed people were assaulted while conducting the most basic business of citizenship and daily life. We can't afford the loss of these folks.

Yet, it heartens me that those who were harmed, and those who responded to help them, represent the people of my country. Thousands and thousands of parents are raising ethical, intellectually curious, proactive, loving children. In our millions, we try to live kindly, devotedly in family and work lives. We most emphatically give a damn!

There's more goodness, more willingness, more love where these indispensable people came from.

Shifting Perspective

2011-01-09T14:44:00.000-08:00

One's greatest weakness can also be one's greatest strength. The reverse also holds true. Last night KPBS aired a program on attention deficit disorder and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. What stayed with me was the emphasis on playing to one's strengths, often creativity and thinking outside the box, risk-taking, entrepeneurship. These strengths can be supported by finding ways to deal with impulsivity and distractability. They recommended a book by Katie Kelly, "You Mean I'm Not Lazy, Stupid, or Crazy?" I was surprised to see how many books appeared on Amazon for adults with ADD as well as for parents of children with ADD. I was also surprised at the strong assertion that Ritalin is not harmful over time - WHEN PROPERLY PRESCRIBED - with history from 1937 to the present. It was stated that ADD is a brain-based disorder related to a particular gene. By the end of the program, I thought they shouldn't call it a disorder, but simply a variation. Still, medication allows people to concentrate, and one has to have an identifiable medical condition to be prescribed medication.

People spoke of "Soaring and Crashing." They described functioning superlatively well, then being unable to hold things together. One middle-aged man said he started three successful businesses and "ran each of them into the ground." On medication as an adult, his performance is more consistent.

It was very sad to hear of people, "leaving a trail of lost jobs and broken relationships." The behavior described sounds similar to that of bipolar disorder, for which it is often misdiagnosed.

Diagnosis involves a thorough investigation of one's life-time behavior, with the help of professionals who really know the subject. Self-assessment questionnaires are part of the process.

A strong indicator: A person often starts a task, decides a different task is first required, and goes on to a chain of tasks he/she hadn't intended to do, usually ending up never getting to the initial task.

Another indicator: Experiencing a life-time of scoldings: You could have done better. You're not trying. You failed because you just didn't pay attention. You spent too much time on (electronic games)(goofing off)(you name it). You're lazy, stupid, rebellious, ungrateful, crazy...

BUT: The cure for resulting low self-esteem? SUCCESS! Which is really possible. It's even possible to live without the gnawing anxiety over whether you can ever do it again, over feeling like an imposter. That calls for daily attention to the things that help. And a sense of humor.

Night in Xanadu

2010-06-02T21:48:00.000-07:00

Tonight I saw Mars and Regulus, and Saturn. The astronomers were out on the Prado, offering a peek at wonders beyond out horizons. It was a fitting end to an evening hearing of Shakespeare from Adrian Noble.

Freedom on Ice

2010-02-11T14:38:00.000-08:00

Freedom is the ability to make choices, with the power to follow them through.

Freedom does not overturn natural conditions or social obligations. All freedom is limited.

One day I fled my stuffy office to breathe the bracing air of a cold day at Bear Mountain. My almost daily walk to the top of the mountain had restored my health and vigor. On this day, however, the snow had frozen. A slick, thick layer of ice armored every hollow and hump of the land. The steepness of my usual path, shadowed by trees, repelled me.
I was attracted instead to the brilliant white swells of polished land in the open, like sea waves suddenly frozen, latent with movement. Exhilarated, I made my way up and over the first swell, on my hands and knees part of the way. Alone in that bright land, I started up the second swell. Soon I was lying on my side, struggling for traction, sliding back as often as I gained an inch by pressure on the surface with my ice encrusted mittened hands.
My boots had no cleats. I had no pitons, not that I knew how to use pitons or ice axes. All I had was my ecstatic desire to be and move in that sun drenched icescape.
I thought about it, there on the ice. If I broke through the ice, or fell with any momentum on its hard surface, I might well be injured. I had no supplies, no water, and the sun would not be out long in midwinter. It would get a lot colder. I was out of sight of the highway. No one knew where I was. I risked injury, impairment of my ability to do my job, and a possible expensive rescue.
I reached my car, muscles trembling, glad to go to a diner for a hot drink. Today it saddens me that this tiny adventure is probably the farthest my life will take me into a land of ice.
About freedom: I am free to jump off a cliff, but I had better learn to hang glide first.

Irene Grumman
February 11, 2010

Health

2010-02-03T23:08:00.000-08:00

Today is Day One of the Healthy For Life 12-week online program for changing eating habits. My goals are health, and weight loss.

Today I shared five minutes of belly dancing with some dear friends.

Today I set in motion access to the gym at the YMCA. The stationary bicycle should help, since walking is harder for me with pain in the foot, knee and ankle. Have to let strains heal.

Today is a beautiful day.

COMPASS

2010-01-02T19:27:00.000-08:00

A COMPASS guides a traveller by its ability to point to true North.

COMPASSION guides a person by pointing to true Humanity.

Let COMPASSION be my COMPASS in 2010.

Pictures from Irene

2009-12-12T10:11:00.001-08:00

Click here to view these pictures larger

Rant: I'm an American, Too.

2009-11-30T18:47:00.000-08:00

My response to an email forwarded to me resigning from AARP for supporting Obama's administration, which the writers called socialistic.

Dear ---
I respect your thoughtful transmission of this letter. I do not agree with much of it. The rejection of Hispanic citizens really puzzles me. The issue of language is separate from the issue of illegal entry into the United States. In New York City, Columbus, Ohio, and San Diego, California, the Department of Motor Vehicles posts information in ten or more languages, including scripts that do not use the Roman alphabet we are used to. Everybody has to learn to read the street and highway signs in English, and obey the same laws. When I was a child, most of my schoolmates' grandparents spoke little English. It didn't keep the kids from succeeding in this society. Walt and Cyndy's letter to Mr. Rand seems to lump all Hispanics with people who entered the country illegally.

I don't see how blaming AARP helps the tangled problems of immigration.

My Grumman and Hawley ancestors arrived in Connecticut in 1620. That might make me feel that the country belongs to me. My Schaghticoke and Narragansett ancestors might take a different view. I'm sure they would prefer not to be invaded by Europeans. They would say people belong to the country. My Irish ancestors once faced factory doors posted with signs: "No Irish need apply."

Socialism is not a dirty word to me. Many of our grandparents and great-grandparents were stigmatized for taking part in the Grange movement, and the union movement, and the Populist Party in the 1800's. A lot of Republicans call Democrats socialists. Jeffersonian democrats and Hamiltonian republicans and various Independent or Libertarian or Isolationist or Survivalist factions have been arguing for two centuries.

Roosevelt was called a Socialist for the New Deal, and for setting Social Security in motion. How many AARP members want to give back their social security income? For me, it is my main source of income. I like Medicare; it helps me obtain health services.

Apparently, the USA is the only developed nation on earth that does not have universal health care. At least our nation is now seriously studying these other health care systems for their successes and pitfalls.

Walt and Cyndy refer to our bloodstained heritage. We are certainly adding to it now, in Iraq and Afghanistan, and I don't believe we are going to find our way out anytime soon. Obama did not get the USA into these wars, but he has to deal with them using the best advice he can.

The letter refers to Soylvent Green, a sci fi short story and movie, in which the population was controlled. Past a certain age, people were killed and their bodies were processed into a nutritious food. The resulting powder was green so consumers would think it was made from plants. I suppose the writers were referring to the right wing scare tactic of claiming that health care reform included "death panels" which would deny care to older people. In fact, the reform opposed denial of payment to doctors when they offer end-of-life counseling, which includes whether people want hospice care, or want to be maintained on life support in a vegetative state, or simply want to go home and be cared for among family members. For some legislators, such counseling is not considered medical care, so people less trained and knowledgeable should be able to do it. I think AARP says that if a person wants their doctor involved, the doctor shouldn't have to donate his or her time.

I'd probably like Walt and Cyndy if I met them. This situation reminds me of the pain and dismay I experienced when some of the most important people in my life decided the Methodist Church was now too liberal for them. They found some things evil that I considered compassionate.

If you're still reading this, thank you. I hope we can live in a way that is both clear-sighted and compassionte.

Irene Grumman
- Show quoted text -

On Sun, Nov 29, 2009 at 7:26 PM, Janet Prentice wrote:

----- Original Message -----
From: Robert Perry
To: undisclosed-recipients:
Sent: Sunday, November 29, 2009 6:25 PM
Subject: Fw: Everyone needs to read this, regardless of your age. I hope this is a true letter.

-----

Subject: Everyone needs to read this, regardless of your age.

AMEN to her letter ........

This letter to the AARP says it all. It is a must read regardless of your age. Some people just make sense in what they say. This lady certainly does. Please forward this to everyone on your contact list.

This was sent to Mr. Rand who is the Executive Director of AARP
Dear Mr. Rand,

Recently you sent us a letter encouraging us to renew our lapsed membership in AARP by the requested date. I know it is not what you were looking for, but this is the most honest response I can give you. Our gap in coverage is merely a microscopic symptom of the real problem, a deepening lack of faith..

While we have proudly maintained our membership for several years and have long admired the AARP goals and principles, regrettably, we can no longer endorse it's abdication of our values. Your letter specifically stated that we can count on AARP to speak up for our rights, yet the voice we hear is not ours. Your offer of being kept up to date on important issues through DIVIDED WE FAIL presents neither an impartial view nor the one we have come to embrace. We do believe that when two parties agree all the time on everything presented to them, one is probably not necessary. But, when the opinions and long term goals are diametrically opposed, the divorce is imminent. This is the philosophy which spawned our 200 years of government.

Once upon a time, we looked forward to being part of the senior demographic. We also looked to AARP to provide certain benefits and give our voice a power we could not possibly hope to achieve on our own. AARP gave us a sense of belonging which we no longer enjoy. The Socialist politics practiced by the Obama administration and empowered by AARP serves only to raise the blood pressure my medical insurance strives to contain. Clearly a conflict of interest there!

We do not understand the AARP posture, feel greatly betrayed by the guiding forces whom we expected to map out our senior years and leave your ranks with a great sense of regret. We mitigate that disappointment with the relief of knowing that we are not contributing to the problem anymore by renewing our membership. There are numerous other organizations which offer discounts without threatening our way of life or offending our sensibilities.

This Presidential Administration scares the living daylights out of us. Not just for ourselves, but for our proud and bloodstained heritage,but even more importantly for our children and grandchildren. Washington has rendered Soylent Green a prophetic cautionary tale rather than a nonfiction scare tactic. I have never in my life endorsed any militant or radical groups, yet now I find myself listening to them. I don't have to agree with them to appreciate the fear which birthed their existence. Their borderline insanity presents little more than a balance to the voice of the Socialist mindset in power. Perhaps I became American by a great stroke of luck in some cosmic uterine lottery, but in my adulthood I CHOOSE to embrace it and nurture the freedoms it represents as well as the responsibilities it requires.

Your website generously offers us the opportunity to receive all communication in Spanish. ARE YOU KIDDING??? Someone has broken into our 'house', invaded our home without our invitation or consent. The President has insisted we keep the perpetrator in comfort and learn the perp language so we can communicate our reluctant welcome to them.

I DON'T choose to welcome them.

I DON'T choose to support them..

I DON'T choose to educate them.

I DON'T choose to medicate them, pay for their food or clothing.

American home invaders get arrested.
Please explain to me why foreign lawbreakers can enjoy privileges on American soil that Americans do not get?

Why do some immigrants have to play the game to be welcomed and others only have to break & enter to be welcomed?

We travel for a living. Walt hauls horses all over this great country, averaging over 10,000 miles a month when he is out there. He meets more people than a politician on caffeine overdose. Of all the many good folks he enjoyed on this last 10,000 miles, this trip yielded only ONE supporter of the current administration. One of us is out of touch with mainstream America. Since our poll is conducted without funding, I have more faith in it than one which is power driven.

We have decided to forward this to everyone on our mailing list, and will encourage them to do the same. With several hundred in my address book, I have every faith that the eventual exponential factor will make a credible statement to you..

I am disappointed as hell.

I am scared as hell.

I am MAD as hell, and I'm NOT gonna take it anymore!

Walt & Cyndy
Miller Farms Equine Transport

Reply
Forward

From: Robert Perry
To: undisclosed-recipients:
Sent: Sunday, November 29, 2009 6:25 PM
Subject: Fw: Everyone needs to read this, regardless of your age. I hope this is a true letter.

Separation of Church and State

2009-11-17T17:04:00.000-08:00

Outrage has erupted about the Catholic Diocese of Washington, DC informing the municipal government that if the city legalizes same-sex marriage, the diocese will stop administering city-funded programs such as homeless shelters.

I took part in training for the Faith Based Initiative around 1994. This particular training involved mostly small, urban, protestant and nondenominational churches. Religious organizations were recognized as experienced and dedicated providers of help, such as feeding programs, and homeless shelters. The idea was that federal funds would be put to use more effectively by such existing organizations than by starting up new organizations.

Compassion as expressed by the Golden Rule, Do unto others as you would have them do unto you, is the basic teaching of religion. When taxes are used for social benefit, that seems congruent with compassion in action.

HOWEVER, doctrine, tradition and mores within any given congregation or religion often conflict with mores expressed legislatively in evolving understanding of civil rights.

When a religious group pays social worker salaries with government money, the group MUST follow government, civil law guidelines on employment policies.

In the name of compassion and common sense, church and state try to negotiate with each other's rules in order to focus on the common cause, such as providing shelter for individuals and families who need it.

This time, for whatever reason, the diocese says it can't negotiate. They probably do hope to influence the legislation.

Our Constitution grants religious freedom. There will be no state church supported by taxes. The Constitution protects religion from the government, and protects the government from religion. Interpretation and application of these principles is difficult, marked by contention and high emotion.

We need to keep grounding ourselves in the goal of compassion.

Charter for Compassion

2009-11-12T13:58:00.000-08:00

Charter for Compassion inspires hope and action.

Let's Go Back to the Golden Rule

2009-10-03T11:01:00.000-07:00

There could be no genocides, or wars over religion, or punishing of other people's choices and characteristics, if we put ourselves in the other's place. In her talk on TED.com from the June conference at Oxford, Karen Armstrong affirms the Golden Rule. She quotes Hillel - What is hateful to you, do not do to others. Such a simple statement, so hard to live up to.

Karen Armstrong's books and teachings in theology emphasize what religions have in common. TED granted her wish last year for a Charter for Compassion created by the online input of thousands of people worldwide, religionists or not. The Charter has its own website and will be published officially in a few weeks.

May it increase the sense of community Earth's people need so much.

Compassion leads to action.

Posting on FaceBook

2009-08-31T19:16:00.000-07:00

Since I joined FaceBook I'm posting longer paragraphs there, and less often here.

Life Gets Better

2009-08-24T14:41:00.000-07:00

While I was in treatment for Hepatitis C, I had no energy to spare for blogging here. I am now virus free with hope that it will stay that way.

Lael and Phil visited again in July, coordinating West Coast trip with the expected birth of a baby to Lael's sister. They took me to La Jolla to enjoy the seacoast with them. I stayed put while they snorkeled and hiked. My spirit is nourished from the contact and kindness.

WIRED had an article on big pharma struggling with the placebo effect. Nowadays, clinical trials often show better results for the inert pill than for the drug being tested. Painkillers and anti-depressants are particularly helped by the placebo reaction, in which taking action, and expectation of relief, release natural painkillers and soothers in the brain. Neat.

Holidays

2009-01-05T10:11:00.000-08:00

Philip and Lael visited for a few days. It was great to see them. We took walks, ate together, and played Scrabble.

Wedding Photos

2008-11-21T06:35:00.000-08:00

What fun! I'm ordering photos from Philip and Lael's July wedding from Shutterfly.

It was a wonderful three days of celebration.

Obama

2008-11-12T22:38:00.000-08:00

We voters judged him by the content of his character, not by the color of his skin.

Happy Birthday

2008-10-17T13:03:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday to me!

How fortunate I have been in the joys, relationships and careers I have experienced. My down moods seem absurd, except, of course, when I'm in them.

I expect improved health and new interests.

Tide Pool

2008-10-08T12:58:00.000-07:00

I used to enjoy visiting the tide pool on the ocean side of Point Loma, near the end of the landmark peninsula. I waded in the shallow cove, took lots of photos, looked out to sea. The incoming tide splashed dramatically against the rocks, sending up geysers of whitewater and bubbles. The outgoing tide uncovered mossy rocks, and once in a while a small abalone. Kids found great adventure negotiating the rocks, windmilling their arms for balance. In the shallow puddles on shore, there was the occasional tiny crab scuttling, or a small starfish. Sea slugs are big and purple and kind of disturbing, the way they blob and slide along.

People aren't supposed to take anything away from the tide pool, but they've been doing so for many years. It's sad that there are so few life forms, compared to the tide pools film shown in Cabrillo National Park. There are some anemones, seaweeds, lichens, and lots of limpets. Limpets cling to the rock so hard that it is scarred all over with round pits. It makes an interesting texture.

A ranger explained one day that when abalone thrive, the otter population explodes. The otters eat the abalone. When there are no longer enough abalone to feed all the otters, the otter population shrinks. Then the abalone increase, until the cycle starts again. Harvesting abalone is forbidden now along the US coast. It used to be a good cash crop. I had some years ago and liked it very much. It's still legal in Mexico, but the shells I've seen are a lot smaller than the old shells I've seen used to burn sage in Lakota ceremonies.

The sea is still there. We no longer think of it as inexhaustible. But it sure is big. And the salt wind is refreshing.

Cut Cards

2008-09-18T01:03:00.000-07:00

Strange Campaign Choice

2008-09-18T00:09:00.000-07:00

Sarah Palin seems a strange choice as a running mate for McCain. I think it was David Brooks on the Lehrer report who said McCain wanted Joe Lieberman or a governor whose name I forget. Supposedly McCain was told (by his party?) that he couldn't have a running mate who wasn't strongly against reproductive choice. Palin fits that bill. But surely there aren't that many voters whose religious/ethical opinion on that subject completely overrides common sense. A Veep can become a President. What about ability in Congressional politics, which has to involve compromise and mediation? What about a sense of the big picture, nationally and globally? What about careful decision-making process? Palin's performance has shown she has often been so sure she was right that she didn't need to gather information and support, relying instead on her gut instincts. She's flamboyant and interesting. In a televised interview with Charlie Gibson, she also showed a disconcertingly smug affect, impervious to ideas and needs that didn't fit the campaign agenda. She's in way over her head. She appears to be having a wonderful time with all the attention. I guess she could be a figurehead, managed by party bigwigs and civil servants. Or so they may think. She looks pretty unmanageable to me.

Inspiration

2008-08-29T14:16:00.000-07:00

Last night at the Denver stadium, Barak Obama convinced me that he can be a gifted and inspiring leader. He's grown into the stature that has been hoped for him.

Can he do what he says he will if he is President? Who knows? No past president has achieved much more than progress on goals for US society and economy. No one person can or administration can. All too many have brought regression instead.

The video about his life showed that he really does know our people and has been at work in grassroots, bottom-up democracy for many years.

Go get that Goliath, David.

"How To" Article Can Help Prevent Alcohol Problems

2008-08-21T10:30:00.000-07:00

This morning I was awakened by a phone call of congratulations on my letter to the editor, which I had not realized was published yesterday in the San Diego Union Tribune. The caller was an enthusiastic parent and activist who supports a ban on booze on Ocean Beach. Several beach communities in the area have already taken this step, which makes it much more pleasant and safe to enjoy the beautiful beaches nearby.

I had responded to yesterday's Union Tribune Health feature called "Sober Assessment," which gave succinct practical information on how much alcohol various drinks contain. It gave good guidelines on how to tell if one is too much affected by alcohol to drive with good judgment, and reported on heading off alcohol problems before they become severe.

Color photos of various drinks showed how much volume it takes to get one ounce or "one shot," a basic measure of alcohol. An ounce of whiskey, 6 ounces of wine, or 12 ounces of beer contain the same amount of alcohol. Many people who drink a six-pack of beer in a couple of hours are amazed that they have had the equivalent of six shots of hard liquor.

Another part of the article asked doctors to query their patients routinely about how many days recently they have had at least one drink. That simple question can lead to taking alcohol use seriously as part of health care. Many medications become harmful or deadly when they combine with alcohol.

It made me very uneasy to read that drinks served in bars are usually stronger than people realize. An ounce and a half of, say, gin, in a fruity mixed drink, or a beer glass that holds 16 ounces or more, starts impairing a person faster than the person expects. Relaxing and socializing shouldn't make a person sick.

Olympics Awe

2008-08-20T22:41:00.000-07:00

Teenage girls hurl themselves through punishing gymnastics routines, to win by a few tenths of a point. They're all so good, and they represent only a tiny percentage of thousands of young girls all over the world who train, and dream, for years. Like the girls who train in ballet, some will make a life career, most will not. Maybe everything later will seem second best; or, maybe, they will transfer the courage, discipline, and drive to new goals.

What a feast of excellence we are witnessing through the televised Olympics. Swimmers, divers, discus throwers, the Jamaican sweep in Track and Field, team sports, solo sports - it's overwhelming how much achievement we are witnessing, and how much it takes to organize and support sports. It's encouraging.

I certainly would rather experience nationalism and conflict through sports than through war.

Sheep Cheese, Goat Cheese

2008-07-31T22:19:00.000-07:00

On a visit to one of my sisters, I learned that the whole family had switched to goat's milk, goat cheese and sheep cheese. Maybe the time they spend in France helps with the cultural change. Their sheep cheese was delicious on pasta and chicken.

This experience inspired me to do something I'd considered, but never got around to. I found a quart of goat's milk at Trader Joe's cost only a dollar more than a quart of a good brand of cow's milk at my local supermarket. Today I found my local supermarket did carry both goat cheese and sheep cheese. I plan to use them in salads and over pasta. The goat's milk has a slightly odd taste drunk plain. A bit of decaf coffee powder, or a spoon of chocolate, may hide the taste, which is not noticeable at all mixed with cereal or used for cooking.

Goat and sheep dairy products are much easier to digest than cow's milk, and also are supposed to be free of pesticide residue, antibiotics and growth hormones.

Maybe this will promote health.

What a Wonderful World

2008-07-26T21:41:00.000-07:00

Yes! My son found Louis Armstrong's rendition of Art Garfunkel's, "What a Wonderful World," for my dance with him at the reception after his marriage to the very finest girl in all the world, rockin' diva Lael.

Gardenia

2008-07-11T14:35:00.000-07:00

I'm going to wear a single gardenia at my son's wedding. The gardenia was my mother's favorite flower.

Mary Wigman

2008-06-26T01:00:00.000-07:00

Brainy Quote has one quote from Mary Wigman:

"Strong and convincing art has never arisen from theories."

Wigman (1883-1973)had an enormous impact on the development of modern dance. She was the teacher of my teacher, Liljan Espenak, in Berlin between world wars.

The quote gives an idea of the direction of her impact: dancing from the heart, improvising, finding forms. This goes beyond the rigorous athletic training of a dancer, who must develop physical strength and balance, stamina and endurance, and a willingness to take on new gestures and dynamics, new vocabulary. It has more to do with choreography, with discovery of character and psychodynamics, as well as finding expressive movement specific to the dancer's body type.

Wigman contributed to the intellectual ferment of the period, interacting with anthropologists, psychiatrists and artists. They all attempted to understand human nature, human development, societal formation, religious impulse.

Espenak was a dancer and choreographer who became an Adlerian psychotherapist. She adapted her training to help people express themselves and heal themselves, by the truths emerging from their dance, not from theory.

It Had an Edge

2008-06-01T21:45:00.000-07:00

There was feeling - this form wanted to come into being. I have not the skill. The arc insists. It exists. It wants body.

It had an edge, a silver edge along a bronze arc.
It may have been the silver sky and silver sea at Ocean Beach,
Or some abstract of the orbs that rivet my attention,
Planets, moons, that orange gray-scale wheel.

The dream state diffused from a hard-edged image that yet had softness,
the arcs rounded as if one side of pipes
or parabolic curves

The sky was transparent
blackness arced beneath the arcs
Art deco or 30's machine deco repetition,
Too perfectly curved, made with crayons and calipers -

What stylus drew, what black lead pencil stub
could be so huge -
The lever that could move a world?

Fill Up

2008-05-27T17:58:00.000-07:00

I filled my eyes today
With purple jacaranda and red bougainvillea
Against blue skies and white clouds,
Distant sage serration of hills,
Prams and running children and strolling parents,
Grandmas and baroque buildings
And the arching Moreton Fig Tree.

The colors soaked down
And satisfied my soul.

We reach for the sun from deep waters,
The fig tree and I.

Step Out

2008-05-25T15:26:00.000-07:00

Art and Words by Deb Koffman, www.brushdance.com inspirational images.

Use the Good Dishes

2008-05-04T23:21:00.000-07:00

Life is short; use the good dishes.

Wear your best clothes. Ditch what isn't comfortable and flattering.

Do the smile test. If it makes you smile, keep it.

Eucalyptic Euthanasia

2008-04-10T12:57:00.000-07:00

This week the one hundred foot eucalyptus tree near the Old Globe Theatre in Balboa Park had to be taken down. Acording to the Union Tribune, an arborist had declared the eucalyptus tree to be a threat to the theatre building. It's always sad when something that is flourishing has to be uprooted. I doubt very much that the tree was worried about crashing into the roof, so I guess it's not euthanasia, which is supposed to be a merciful killing to cut suffering short. Is it eucalyptophobia? Maybe preventive strike?

In an earlier post, "Sunshine in the Park," I narrated the tale of the Henry Moore sculpture which was partly upended when a eucalyptus fell on it. All over San Diego and Southern California, large eucalypti and palm trees are being felled. That's because they are old enough to be in danger of falling onto houses, cars, people, unicycles. Enough damage has already occurred to win the battle between the arboreal control party vs. the arboreal rights party.

Tree nurseries can supply 20 foot palm trees that settle right in to newer developments and shopping districts, looking elegant and tropical. I haven't heard that eucalypti are being planted. They do make fragrant garden chips, cover and mulch. Well, maybe not mulch; I think they poison other plants.

I wonder if eucalypti and platypi emerged from the same era? Australian flora and fauna are said to have developed separately after Pangaea broke apart.

For now, eucalypti adorn Southern California in abundance, with their slender trunks and high crowns.

Dance

2008-04-06T14:01:00.001-07:00

When in doubt, DANCE!

Blogposters

2008-04-06T13:34:00.000-07:00

Recent visitors to my blog who posted include ray of cork, a singer/songwriter who plays guitar; Jules, an Australian who teaches English in Papua, New Guinea, and is part of a great photo blog team; Jon King, whose thoughtful essays on life and design are a constant delight; a fellow in Brasil promoting GPS; Paul Bernard, who posts new writing every day; LOL, who posts photo essays and happy stories.

It is nice to travel the world this way.

Bait and Switch

2008-03-30T13:18:00.000-07:00

RedAl has a good review of Barbara Ehrenreich's "Bait and Switch," which documents the experiences of far too many educated, competent, skilled people who are ready to work - and can't find work. I read the book recently, and couldn't improve on this succinct review.

I recommend Ehrenreich's own blogs which are often funny and always provocative.

Quest for Fire

2008-03-23T12:32:00.000-07:00

"Quest For Fire," a movie which came out in the 1980's, may be the best dramatized documentary in film history, although it was released as a regular fiction movie.

I've watched many depictions of how prehistoric man, hominid and ape may have moved, socialized, fought, used tools. I've watched many nature shows that captured behavior the casual observer would never have seen, and listened to Jane Goodall and others describe family life of gorillas, bonobos, chimps and orangs. I've also viewed apes living in fairly comfortable environments at the Columbus, Ohio zoo and the San Diego zoo. That includes their sexual behavior, at times.

Some of the behavior of the fictional tribe members matched ape behaviors uncannily. Meticulous, sustained thought and work went into maintaining the illusion throughout the story, so that we seemed to be present at transitions and breakthroughs as new realizations dawned on early humankind.

The chief advisor on body language was Desmond Morris. While his conclusions in "The Naked Ape," are not now honored, he and the other zoologists and anthropologists were honest and tireless observers and gave a lot to the fascination of the story.

HULU.com

2008-03-23T12:12:00.000-07:00

Last night I watched "Quest For Fire," on HULU. I had not seen it when it came out. Bad reviews of "10,000 B.C.," referred to "Quest For Fire," as a much better movie set in prehistory. So when I saw it on the alphabetical movie list on the new site, HULU, I wanted to see it.

HULU is free to the watcher, supported by advertising. A friend said people would never watch full length movies online because the picture is too small. On my PC, the picture was clear in the smaller size, still occasionally jerky, and my sound is very basic. Since I have always had smaller screen TV's and never went for SurroundSound, it wasn't that hard to adjust. I miss late night "B" movies that have all gone to dedicated movie channels. HULU gives me back that option, with the addition of choice. The other night I watched the 1 hour 37 minute pilot of "Hill Street Blues," and I intend to watch the episodes in sequence during the summer. I rewatched all the episodes of "Life," while NBC offered them. The video quality was much poorer, but I already liked the show so much that I didn't mind. I did have to stop and rest my eyes.

The site opened March 12th. I wish it long life.

Spring Has Sprung

2008-03-21T12:57:00.000-07:00

"'Tis spring, 'tis spring,
Da boid is on da wing.
Absoid, absoid,
Da wing is on da boid.'"
Ogden Nash

Apologies to any members of my family, who have heard this silly ditty too often.

To me, it's the unexpected lyricism of the New York taxi driver, craning his/her neck to look at a blue sky far above the traffic jam. Unexpected only because of stereotypes about cynical attitudes and hardened sensibilities, and about certain accents' incompatibility with a love of language and literature.

Very soon, thousands and thousands of trees will leaf out and bloom on the streets and in the parks of the city. Migrating birds will rest in Jamaica Bay. Robins will puff their foolish chests and sing for mates.

May we humans care for our environment so that the miracle can continue.

(One of the loveliest robin flying photos on Flickr.com is called Leap of Faith, by moriarti-Ryan.)

Wheels When You Want Them

2008-03-12T23:19:00.000-07:00

I enjoyed my first trip in a rented Zipcar today, a Nissan Bresla. The surf was rolling in and crashing at Ocean Beach. Under dramatic clouds, I breathed deep, fresh air from salt water. I checked out the farmers' market held every Wednesday. This is a good way to have access to personal driving without maintaining a car.

Pilobolus

2008-03-03T19:08:00.000-08:00

Go to TED and watch the video of the Pilobolous Dance Company. "A union of dance and biology," begins to describe their work, which uses the natural mechanics of the human body to the flowing, balancing extreme.

You may have seen a Ford car ad in which dancers form the outline of a car, and then the car materializes. That was Pilobolus .

Beautiful. Fearless. Exploratory.

Inspiration: Soul Shine, TED

2008-02-21T17:34:00.000-08:00

Earl Thomas and his acoustic band performed "Soul Shine," on Tom Fudge's radio show today. This is a great singer and band. "Soul Shine," was credited to Gov't Mule, and is the title of the group's latest of 11 CD's. Thomas sings it blues style. The voice is warm, laid back, funky, clear and then smoky, with perfect phrasing. He's Northern Californian by way of Guam, Tennessee and San Diego, with roots in the American South.

TED stands for Technology, Entertainment, Design: Ideas Worth Spreading. Charlie Rose interviewed Chris Anderson, who communicated joy and a dedication to following through on great ideas. JUST GO LOOK AT THE SITE.

Divinity is within you.

Death and the Mind

2008-02-21T06:41:00.000-08:00

DEATH AND THE MIND

“You work, you slave, you worry so,
But you can’t take it with you
When you go, go, go,

So keep repeating, ‘It’s the berries,’
(Something, something, must fall)
Life is just a bowl of cherries,
So live and laugh at it all!”

Sung, probably, by Rosemary Clooney, this was a popular tune in my youth.

It came to mind because I was thinking, “You can’t take your mind with you when you go.”

A friend was troubled by the attitude some people were taking towards their mother: that their mother should go ahead and die. They were saying she’d be happier, reunited in heaven with their father. My friend was grieved. She was not at all sure that that was what happened after death.

I believe people need to find some comfort, some order, some compensation when facing the death of someone in the family, or their own deaths, for that matter. Religions often offer some reassurance of continuity of personality, and of reward or punishment for the way one has lived ethically.

As a pastor and chaplain, I have been present at the moment of death just a few times. I experienced passage to… something. Eternal life might be experienced in what we time-bound ones would call half a second. People who have been revived after dying often report experiences. They report them in words and images that are the mind’s interpretation of what they experienced. The Revelation of John does not say that heaven has gold streets and jeweled thrones. It says it has something “like” gold, “like” jewels. Glory, exaltation, and communication with the divine had to be communicated to us earthlings in words and images that John’s mind could provide.

PBS showed a program recently on people trying to understand how the mind arises from the physical matter and electrical energy in the brain. (They are nowhere near an explanation.) Intrepid, curious scientist researchers showed MRIs of excitation of various brain areas when exposed to various stimuli. (Excitation shows up as red.) They showed the deflection of activity in persons who do not have a corpus callosum to send impulses between the right and left hemispheres of the brain. They even showed an MRI of a Buddhist monk meditating. All the red, excited areas gradually faded, till only a blue area at the center of the top of the brain could be seen.

That night I read the part of Sarah Gilbert’s book, “Eat, Pray, Live,” that describes her experiences with yogic meditation. It also relays some of the teachings from gurus. Freed, at least for the moment, from her endless thinking and worrying, she “saw” a cool, blue circle of light that was her essence, her heart. This blue light is the part of us that “knows everything and has always known everything.” It is totally love. This is how we are divine, and how the divine is within us.

So: When we let ourselves free from the concerns and responsibilities of this life, we leave the body, brain, and the mind based on it, behind. It seems to follow, that when we leave the body behind permanently, we are love. As love we have a kind of consciousness that is not based on the brain.

Sarah describes a process of forgiveness and reconciliation, in which, while meditating, she sees her blue light and someone else’s circling each other, loving and knowing each other. As a result, Sarah lets go of resentment and hurt which was impairing her life.

So: Yes, my friend’s friend will be reunited with her husband. They will be love. They will BE love.

My image of my mother (who died in 1986) enjoying a favorite place in the company of a very dear friend is true. It is not literal, it is true.

These thoughts make me happy. However, I share the built-in desire of the living to continue to live, and I do not want other people deciding when it is time for me to move on.

Blogs and Sites

2008-02-17T18:25:00.000-08:00

Blogs and sites I've enjoyed recently:

Barbara Ehrenreich's blog posts on the economy, with sideswipes at cultural phenomena, provoke lots of comments, some rants. She points out that economists have taken to calling the world of low wages and high cereal prices "the real economy." She wants to know what they are talking about before when they just use the term "the economy."

Kevin Kelly gives us eight "generative values," for which we can earn money even when the content is free. His meta-value: Trust.

Indeterminacy's latest invitation to write a one-minute story based on a photo he puts up, really brought out LoL's offbeat creativity. LoL's sites, HappyLoLDay and Things Look Like Things, make eye-opening use of photos as stories, often without text.

The Little House fascinated me. The smallest house in Toronto is for sale and has its own website. It's seven feet wide, yet has a washer/dryer. There are front and back yards.

I read Jon King frequently. Today I scrolled back through older posts for several I remembered. "Yikes, I'm It," October 26, 2007 caught my eye. "I'm It," could mean "I'm responsible for the work," it could be egotistical, it could just be "this is who I am."

Sunshine in the Park

2008-02-03T17:18:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I was up at 8:30 AM, and I knew I was going to be able to walk. I took a bus to Balboa Park and walked between the Zoo and the Prado, then past the lily pond (Do Not Feed the Fish or Birds!). I enjoyed quiche and baby spring greens in the chilly atrium restaurant that is part of the sculpture garden. A bronze sculpture puzzled me. It was flattish, a rough square on end with ugly extensions. Once I read its little sign, I could kind of make out "Two Seated People." There's a new (to me) Nogare, resembling a seven foot polished black granite chisel head, very stern and deceptively simple in line. The tall black wood construction by Nevelson is gone. I walked around the grassy outdoor area, sat on a bench in the sun near Henry Moore's "Reclining Figure: Arch Leg." I couple came by. The young woman related the tale of the sculpture in much the way I have to others. (A eucalyptus fell over, its roots shifted the ground and broke the base of the sculpture. Several tons of bronze Arch Leg fell over.) That's how it was the first time I saw it..I think. When I first came to San Diego, I was profoundly moved and relieved to find that sculpture garden. I used to visit the sculpture garden at MOMA frequently. Apparently I need Rodin and Maillol and Calder and Renoir and Rembrandt to feel I'm home. (The Timken has a wonderful Rembrandt of St. Bartolomeo.) I also need Matisse and Cezanne and Van Gogh.

The Moore stayed broken for years. Eventually they built a cyclone fence around it to keep people from climbing on it and risking getting hurt if the ground shifted further. It must have cost a gazillion dollars to shift the sculpture back in place, after stabilizing the ground underneath. (You can see it on Flickr.com, arrow9studio, or the San Diego Museum of Art site.)

The young lady telling about it had the same attitude I did, ownership about this piece of local history. I suppose thousands of people feel similar investment in the Case of the Fallen Moore and its eventual restoration. No fence around it now.

The sun felt good, benign. I felt quiet, even though we could hear shouting and cheering and drumming from a big rally for Ron Paul in the amphitheater. As I limped up the Prado towards the fountain and the bus stop, I saw an amazing number of costumed entertainers, musicians, mimes, and fortune tellers. As usual, there were lots of small children running around the fountain, which was turned up to an exuberant imitation of the geyser, Old Faithful.

My muscles hurt, but I was and am very grateful that I could take that walk in the sun.

Stepping

2008-02-02T09:32:00.000-08:00

Boy, did I get tired. Probably it's just the up and down cycles I've been through for a long time. It's oddly reassuring to see that in black and white on the calendar chart and graph provided by the 10,000 Step program. My goal is the same: raise the lowest days over the long term, not when my bones seem lined with lead. That just makes things worse. No, gentle reader, I'm not talking about depression, but about energy-sapping illness.

There's a wedding coming up several months from now. I want to be able to enjoy it. I will enjoy it!

Fresh Start

2008-01-01T19:40:00.000-08:00

My fresh start for 2008 includes the 10K-step program, with a pedometer to count all the steps I take in a day, and a daily email reminder and encouragement.

I'm already encouragd. I plan to raise my minimum activity level on days when I feel very tired.

Stumble

2007-12-21T12:57:00.000-08:00

At the start of my happy visit with relatives this month, I stumbled and fell down. As in many California homes, the floor level changed a few inches at a doorway. The floor tiling at one level was a rich, dark earth color, and the wood floor in the next room blended well. I just didn't see that there was a difference in depth. I fell through a dizzy world of deep browns and reds and then I was on the floor of a beautiful room. My family was aghast, but I recovered in a few minutes.

Just two years ago, I might have stumbled, but I would not have fallen. I would have caught myself, shifted weight, possibly twisted my ankle. Lately, my left leg gives way at times. The muscles are sore. I try not to limp, but my gait has changed. I walk more stiffly, more gingerly, less fluidly. Maybe gentle balancing exercises will help.

It turned out that other members of my family fall down. One exquisite woman has been tripping over her own feet most of her life, and usually has the bruises to prove it. An older relative melts to the floor now, and just finds herself there. It gives us something unexpected in common.

Wouldn't you know, the next day I had forgotten all about it, and fell at the same spot, twisting onto my knees and clutching a chair. I'm grateful I sustained only a big bruise.

I want to be the tree that bends and springs back, not the one that's stiff and gets blown down by a big wind.

The Idea of Alaska

2007-12-11T18:11:00.000-08:00

My Dad always said he was going to retire to Alaska. It symbolized freedom, outdoors, nature, renewal. My townbred stepmother wasn't enthusiastic.

By the time Dad retired, he needed heat. He enjoyed soaking up Florida sun, albeit in a cap and long-sleeved shirt and slacks. Dad grew up in Redding, Connecticut when it was rural, with some summer homes of literary people from New York. He worked in a brickyard in New Hampshire as a teenager, and shipped out very young with the US Navy.

Jon King's linking of integrity with the ideal of Alaska interests me. It links up with the idea that we aren't here forever, that our time is short, in some ways, that what we acquire or nest in serves temporary needs, that one day we will be free indeed, free from things, free from our bodies, free from Earth.

Autumn in New York

2007-12-06T18:34:00.000-08:00

"Autumn in New York, It's good to live it again."

Thanksgiving in New York meant going home, spending lots of time with my son and my future daughter-in-law, enjoying my new in-laws, breathing cool, damp air, walking beside the East River, riding buses past familiar cityscapes. I had a massage at the Om Yoga Center, near the Strand book store. That gave me the opportunity to retrace the steps of a pilgrimage that was part of my childhood. My mother would pay the electric bill at the Con Edison building on 14th Street. We would go around the corner to Horn & Hardat's for chicken pot pie. Then we would walk along Irving Place to 17th Street, stand in front of the Washington Irving High School and look across the street at the two small buildings that were boarding houses in the 1930's. There my mother met my father. Like the other residents, they were attending the Night School after work, with the intent to gain their high school diplomas. Instead, they married. Later things went wrong, but once there was a love story among hopeful people. That matters to me.

Beowulf

2007-12-03T11:21:00.000-08:00

The movie of Beowulf is worth seeing.

Wildfire

2007-10-25T16:28:00.000-07:00

Nature, in the form of wind and wildfire, certainly has our attention here in Southern California. I read now about "wild land - urban interface." Millions of Americans have built homes in the piney woods and picturesque hills of sage and brush. Wildfires form part of our local ecology. Unfortunately, there are now so many homes and other buildings that a natural process becomes a human disaster. Evacuating 500,000 people is a precaution. I think about 4,000 homes are considered threatened, some of them are already gone. It does look like the aftermath of a war.

I'm not immediately affected, except by the poor air quality. I live in the coastal part of the city, on the first wide ridge or plateau up from the Pacific. Fires are burning inland, past the first line of hills that run north and south. Roads have been closed and reopened. We're all being advised to stay home if we can, conserve electricity, yet turn on air conditioners part of the time to filter what we're breathing. A lot of schools and businesses are closed. Many schools are evacuation centers. The local NBC TV station ran breaking fire news and video at least 48 hours in a row. Evacuees were sitting in Qualcomm Stadium with their water bottles watching those big screens, trying to see if their homes were spared. A lot of them must still be doing that. Everybody who isn't immediately affected has a family member or friend who is. The scam artists and identity thieves are busy, but so are the everyday heroes and helpers.

I'm OK. The dry Santa Ana weather always causes bleeding sinuses and respiratory problems. The ash makes breathing more difficult. I've been out for a few hours at a time for groceries or post office. Small urban businesses, especially eating places, are open. Everywhere people are filling in for employees who can't get through closed roads, or are living on the floor of a stadium entry with their families, or are totally distracted by the danger to, or loss, of their homes. Some people's quality of life will be rock bottom for the foreseeable future. So many repetitions of, "We're alive. We're together. That's all that matters."

Sunshine

2007-10-14T12:52:00.000-07:00

In autumn, the midday sun on my sore shoulders is a blessing.

PostSecret

2007-10-12T11:32:00.000-07:00

Blogspot recommends PostSecret which is a strange and interesting project. People send a secret, anonymously, with a postcard or index card that has artwork. You just have to see it.

Pot Scrubber

2007-10-07T12:12:00.000-07:00

Jon King's October 5th post on The Effective Life is titled "Oh, pot scrubber, my hero." He pays attention to the unnoticed people and objects that support our lives.

The title instantly reminded me of Brother Laurence, the saint of small tasks well done. He is famous for washing the bottoms of the wooden trenchers used as plates at his monastery, when no one else thought the undersides mattered.

I picture him looking a little like Ziggy, straining to reach over the edge of a huge restaurant sized metal sink filled with trenchers. Wait a minute. They didn't have running water. Water was fetched in a pail, and precious. You wouldn't throw wooden plates in to soak, anyhow. They'd warp.

Change the picture. Zig - uh - Brother Laurence - seated beside a big pile of trenchers, say 200 of them. He's as likely to be outdoors as inside, and he has clean sand to scrub the plates. There is probably very little food left on the plates, maybe a little grease or a sodden bit of bread. When you clean two or three metal plates with sand on a camping trip, you just wipe the sand off your hands, on your jeans. Does scrubbing 200 trenchers with sand hurt your hands? Do you have a scrub brush to help? Cleaning the undersides means twice the work, twice the time. Did he try to polish them? Not much finish left after hundreds of scorings with knives, I suppose. At the time, people didn't know about bacteria that could lurk unseen on imperfectly cleaned plates, e.coli, for instance. Unwittingly, by cleaning trenchers carefully, the kitchen assistant may have saved lives, or at least some very unpleasant illnesses.

Whew.

Missa Luba

2007-10-06T07:46:00.000-07:00

This fabulous recording of a Congolese boys' choir came out in 1965. I used to play it over and over. I hadn't heard it for decades until I ran across a copy in great condition recently. One side is the Mass in Latin, sung to Congolese rhythms and drums. The other side has popular and folk songs in Congolese.

A new acquaintance had just returned from Senegal, where he studied drumming while others in the group studied art and textiles. Rick has a record player, and was glad to listen with me to this marvelous music. He then played some records pressed in Africa, including a woman who sings lush music in Twee.

I'm giving the record to my son, who plans to send me a version on CD.

Quotables 1

2007-10-04T08:48:00.000-07:00

"Why pray when you can worry?"

Credit to vibenergy at eBay under Art. Her accompanying cat caricatures are a hoot - or is that a yowl?

A Way With Words

2007-09-29T20:26:00.000-07:00

The lively and literate radio program A Way With Words which challenged and enlightened KPBS radio in San Diego has returned to the air waves via podcast and online. Grant Barrett recently edited The Official Dictionary of Unofficial English. Martha Barnette is a distinguished editor. The two make an entertaining team, answering listener questions about words. Warning: The puns and word play may induce fits of laughter.

NextFest Glows Green

2007-09-20T23:58:00.000-07:00

"That is awesome, dude! That is so cool!"

The thin young man in black T-shirt with student backpack was staring in delight at a small man in a lab coat. The researcher was framed by two tall glass vials that reached above his head. They were glowing green, illuminated by fluorescent grow lights, and their contents slowly rose and bubbled, like a cross between a lava lamp and a potion for Dr. Jekyll. The scientist, Pengcheng (Patrick)Fu, PhD, was making fuel out of water, sunlight or grow light, carbon dioxide, and algae treated with a bacteria he had developed. The result was a small amount of ethanol.

Let me say that again: Dr. Fu was making fuel by photosynthesis.

Pond scum rules!

This sight stirred my sense of wonder. The young man seemed to me to experience not only wonder, but hope -- the real possibility that he might not be condemned to live in a dystopia of fossil fuel emissions and their exhaustion -- that earth-friendly energy might be within human grasp.

Pengcheng (Patrick) Fu, Sunnol Biotechnology LLC, 3636 Kanaina Avenue, Honolulu, Hawaii 96815, USA, email pcfu_2000@yahoo.com. My attempt to look at his website was complicated by the fact that it's in Chinese.

I saw other energy adaptations. Solar energy collectors on the hood and roof of an electric car kept it recharged. (At night the garage needs a big grow light.) Indoor lights nourished hanging plants that absorbed toxins from the air. Sculptural whirling vertical semi-helices made an urban wind turbine, ready now to attach to a roof and provide part of a family's energy needs.

NextFest inspired me with a sense that where there is a will to find clean and cheap sources of fuel and electricity, there is a way. The will to save the environment expresses itself through politics, as well as through personal recycling and conservation. Everyone can help.

Kids Today are A-OK

2007-09-11T21:05:00.000-07:00

"Gen Y = new learning curve for employers," headlines an article by Barbara Ross of the Chicago Tribune, published in the San Diego Union Tribune September 10, 2007.

"...Lewis is part of a fast-growing group of workers in their late teens and 20s who are having a wide-ranging effect on the way organizations try to engage employees and teach them how to do their jobs."
The article goes on to describe applications of computer simulations and games, videos and vlogs to work with Gen Y, or Millenials, born between the late 1970s and late 1990s.
"Having grown up online with instant messaging, they type as easily as they talk. They're impatient with long explanations. They want immediate rewards. They're willing to do grunt work if it's clear what they get in return and how their job relates to the bigger picture."
"Programmed by their parents for success before they learn to walk, they expect deeply involved bosses. They're used to being told they're winners, even when they lose."
"New employees (at one company) go through several hours of computer-based training with quizzes in addition to person-to-person instruction. Each of the lessons is less than eight minutes, McWenie said, adding, 'They need information in really short bursts.'"
The article notes that in a short quiz the employees answered 50 questions and did well.
Why am I so pleased? After years of frowning shaking of the heads of pundits in the centuries-long tradition of "What's the matter with kids today?," finally we hear from people who accept the kids as they are, see their strong points, and adapt in a rational manner to bringing out their skills. Maybe civilization will survive!

The Well

2007-09-11T19:24:00.000-07:00

From Snow and Summer, 1975,
by Solveig von Schoultz

Early in the morning I go to my well
sometimes so early that the pail fills with stars
sometimes in the night I go to my well
lift high the handle,
lower the pail
down into invisible blackness
down into unseen coolness.
The well is deep.
Each morning I've time to fear
that the water has sunk down into misty darkness,
and the chain will be swallowed by thirsty walls,
throat go dry,
heart shrink

pail hit bottom.

NextFest

2007-09-10T22:51:00.000-07:00

It's almost time for NextFest. Check it out at www.wirednextfest.com.

Compulsion

2007-08-29T15:55:00.000-07:00

No, not a newly discovered movie by Alfred Hitchcock!

Compulsion is betrayal from within a person. It usually seems to be coming from outside a person, from some other will or force. It's very frightening.

A saying: "First the man takes a drink. Then the drink takes a drink. Then the drink takes the man."

Substitute any behavior for "takes a drink." Cut-throat business dealing. Seduction. Stealing. Overeating. Binging and purging. Gambling. Behavior repeatedly carried to an extreme that endangers or destroys self or others, alienates family and friends, causes loss of jobs. Behavior a person hides from those who are not part of it. Behavior a person hides from his or her own consciousness. Behavior a person has decided to change, then finds he or she does it again, against reason, against self-interest, against self-respect.

People experience compulsion in less dramatic ways, of course. The milk goes on the left side of the top shelf in a refrigerator. Always put both socks on before putting on a shoe. Habits make life convenient, saving the effort of perpetual decision-making. Habit has moved into compulsion when minor adaptations make us very uneasy; when finding the milk in the "wrong" spot can trigger a family argument.

Compulsion can be overcome with help.

At the Zoo

2007-08-25T18:13:00.000-07:00

Overheard at the San Diego Zoo: Dad: "Look, look, the baby siamang did a flip!"
Unimpressed 7 year old boy: "I can do that."

A three year old asked why two orangutans had paper bags on their heads: "Well, maybe those are party hats," says a parent. "They're having a birthday party!"

The Absolutely Apes area with its shade trees and brooks was pleasant for people as well as apes. The orangs munched fresh romaine lettuce. Josephine evaded the frolicsome baby siamang and crossed the area stiffly, eating lettuce. She has arthritis and at 47 is elderly for an orang. She found a cool spot in the little dell and curled up with a paper bag over her head.

I enjoy the visitors as much as the animals. I left smiling.

They Fall Out of the Sky

2007-08-16T12:02:00.001-07:00

Oh! They fall out of the sky
One of a thousand parts has failed
Rotors which rivalled the dragonfly
Suddenly lethal, scythes
in the hand of the Reaper
My beautiful machine that
conquered distance in air
Now tons of metal sitting in the sky
Rush back to earth
Burrow back into earth
Bringing rags of flesh with them.

Make It Rhyme

2007-08-16T11:49:00.000-07:00

These are some old writing warmup exercises I did:

Legs strengthen
Steps lengthen
Not long
Still strong
Leap the hedge
Pull the sedge
Make a wedge

Eyes guaging
Tears assauging
Coming home
Coming home

Greasy garage
Needs lavage
Oily water
Hadn't oughter
Sludge down pipes
And reach the beach

The judge
Ate fudge
Held a grudge
Wouldn't budge
Adjournment

Warriors clank
Rank on rank
Lift sword
Pause, awed,
Tigris banks
Full of tanks
Tanks full of Yanks
Gas masks
Sergeant Asks -
Elephant totem?
Scratches scrotum
Squints at light;
"On! We fight!"

Chicken

2007-08-07T19:38:00.000-07:00

Why did the chicken cross the road?

Painted Threads

2007-08-07T19:20:00.000-07:00

Painted Threads is Judy Perez's blog on creative process, quilting, painting, kids. The exciting photos of her work inspire me to want to make something, right now.

Farmer's Market

2007-08-03T14:12:00.000-07:00

Yesterday my neighbor and I went to the Farmer's Market in North Park. Supper last night was a chocolate crepe shared with my neighbor, then sharp cheddar, crackers, a red, red, sweet tomato, salty black olives, and garlic stuffed olives, while gazing at a single spray of purple orchids in my favorite vase.

Wedding in View

2007-08-01T21:06:00.000-07:00

My son and his girl friend announced they are getting married!

What's more, she's good enough for him, and he for her.

Life can be very good.

Scapegoat II

2007-07-30T22:38:00.000-07:00

A scapegoat, according to Leviticus 16, carries the sins and transgressions of the people, and is let go in the wilderness. A second goat is slaughtered as a sin offering. The scapegoat is a domestic animal, incapable of sin, incapable of breaking laws. The high priest transfers the guilt of that year's confessed transgressions onto the goat. A person is appointed to lead the goat to the desert or lonely mountains, the wilderness, and release it. Presumably the goat will be eaten by a predator. Thus the sins of the people are consumed, destroyed.

How long this custom was followed, and where, and with what result, I do not know.

Yearly, symbolic eradication of sin has been practiced by many cultures. Some indigenous Mexican and Andean groups gather around a fire to speak their responsibility for harm to others. Apology, restitution and forgiveness allow the group to stay together for the benefit of all. Sometimes, just before Lent, my congregations would write on slips of paper their regrets, resentments, failings. We put them, folded and unread, into a hibachi, burned them, and used the ashes on Ash Wednesday. New Year's celebrations carry a theme of death and rebirth, of starting afresh, leaving last year's negative baggage behind. This can support the courage to tackle life's problems and injustices again, and to change our behavior for the better.

Today, a scapegoat is a person or group who bears the blame for others. Often this means blaming the victim; for instance, a person who feels guilty for inappropriate sexual feelings or behavior, even sexual assault, may blame the person desired. The psychic mechanism of projection is involved. People project their own guilty desires onto an ethnic or racial group, and mistreat or punish members of the other group. They blame others for their own lack of success. Scapegoating has been used deliberately and cynically as a political or economic tool to consolidate power or distract from one's own misdoings. There can be no restitution, no rebirth, no clearing of the air and refocusing of effort accomplished by scapegoating.

I think lying is a different matter. "I didn't do it...He did it," is not projection, but self protection, an attempt to escape from responsibility or punishment. It may at times express malice. The person knows what's true. Scapegoating involves lying to one's self. Being scapegoated can make a person very insecure and angry at the same time. It's destructive to individuals and to society. At its worst, scapegoating leads to genocide.

Scapegoats

2007-07-29T14:08:00.000-07:00

I recommend History on Trial. Deborah E. Lipstadt is Dorot Professor of Modern Jewish and Holocaust Studies at Emory University. I haven't read her book yet: History on Trial: My Day in Court with David Irving [Ecco 2005]. David Irving had sued the professor for libel, for calling him a holocaust denier. She won. I'm sorry to say that I didn't recognize either name. My reaction to newspaper stories about people denying that the Holocaust ever happened has been a bafflement. I dismiss them as nuts. That does not stop the damage they can do.

In the book I liked so much by May Sarton, The Education of Harriet Hatfield, some people in the neighborhood react to her new bookstore with a lot of grumbling about "pornography" and "lesbians" and "we don't want her kind here." This quickly escalates to vandalism, threats, and violence. The atmosphere of permission to hate and harm promotes criminal action. Harriet's standing her ground wins respect, and helps others.

"...When they came for the Jews, we did nothing.....When they came for us, there was no one left to do anything."

Flickr

2007-07-28T17:05:00.000-07:00

Two sets of my photos are now posted on Flickr.com under the name morphit1941, which refers to making changes in shape (No, not dieting. I wish!)and to my date of birth. You can view them now. To make comments or download, you sign up for a free Yahoo account. To comment on THIS blog, you accept a free gmail account. This gives you ID and passwords.

Cool Water

2007-07-28T14:58:00.000-07:00

Today I ventured into the small, kidney-shaped pool in the patio. Coolness surrounded me, under a bright sun. I love to watch the shadows of ripples moving on the green-blue pool bottom. I move slowly, stretching, walking, swirling, finally floating. I feel so secure when water holds me up, cool on my skin while the sun is warm on my face.

Of course, it is lovely to float at the shore, far more dynamic, sometimes getting an unwelcome splash of salty wavelet up my nose. Noisier, too. Exciting.

I've just finished reading The Education of Harriet Hatfield, by May Sarton. A 60 year old woman opens a bookstore and learns a lot about herself and other people. When the story ended, I felt cool and secure, as I did in the pool. New life can arise out of familiar elements.

Berries and Angelcake

2007-07-27T21:29:00.000-07:00

Hot summer days suddenly mean ripe berries - very ripe berries. The local supermarket has been unloading the best, ripest strawberries I've ever seen at the lowest price I've ever seen. Big, crimson and deeeep red strawberries that taste wonderful.

A friend has been nagging me to approach a neighbor about gathering some of the black mulberries that are just falling all over the sidewalk. We got permission, and picked some today. We should have worn raincoats. Black mulberries grow on a tree with low, spreading branches. I reached up to pick a beauty, and brilliant red-purple juice flowed down my hand and arm. It was like picking blackberries as a little kid, eating two for every one that made it into the container, giggling and making a glorious mess. Black mulberries taste a little like concord grapes. They're almost a sweet wine when they're as ripe as this.

So then I went back to the supermarket and bought more strawberries, and angelcake. Nuff said.

Wind Power

2007-07-23T12:14:00.000-07:00

Windmills in the sky, "Flying Windmills," have been demonstrated by Australian professor Bryan Roberts to be practical.

"When the United States realizes that high altitude wind energy is capable of being its most economical energy source, market forces will lead to its gradually supplanting oil and to energy independence - as well as end the debate on global warming - because its most economical energy source will produce no greenhouse gases."

What a wonderful promise that is. My first thought was that a tethered high altitude "windmill," actually a kind of four-rotor helicopter, would interfere with airplane flights. However, the amount of restricted air space required is not that vast. Balloons are already tethered as high as 15,000 feet to detect drug flights, according to David Shephard, president of Sky WindPower Corporation, based in San Diego.

Wind farms exist now. There's an American Wind Energy Association, a National Renewable Energy Laboratory, a Department of Energy project called Wind Powering America.

A couple of years ago, I heard a spokesman for a tribe in the Dakotas that was building a wind farm to make electricity for themselves, and to sell. He said, "The federal government was generous enough 100 years ago to set aside for us land that has a great deal of the natural resource, wind."

Recherches

2007-07-23T12:12:00.000-07:00

Imaginary conversation:

"You shouldn't dwell on the past. What's done is done. Forget about it."

"Tell that to Marcel Proust."

Friday the Thirteenth

2007-07-13T22:59:00.000-07:00

So far, Friday the Thirteenth has been a good day. My family is well. I got in touch with two old friends. I took part in a self-help meeting. I ate cantaloupe, Kashi, and yogurt. Because it's warm, dry weather, yesterday and today I drank a gallon of water each. I like four parts cold water with one part concentrated iced tea and the juice of half a key lime. Another good one is four parts water with one part orange juice. Stay hydrated, friends.

Family History

2007-07-07T10:56:00.000-07:00

Family history enlivens the past, enlightens the present.

Everyone shares the family history of humankind. Personal family history includes the decisions, actions and attitudes in the recent past, and the present, of people who influence our own ways of being. Some of these people are biological relatives, some adopted, whether formally or informally. A parent's close friend, or hot enemy, may have as much impact on a family as kin. Public figures that were or are much admired tell us of family aspirations and ideals. The early loss of a parent, the loss or gain of a job, or the management of a business can impact several generations. So can the effect of an era, such as the Great Depression of the 1930's, or the counter-culture movements of the 1960's.

Nature and nurture work together in each person's development. Humans are social beings, generalists, extremely adaptable. They are also loners, specialists, and rigid.

We are not limited by our genetic and social givens, but they do give a structure on which we build a life by our choices today.

The Power of Free?

2007-07-06T12:39:00.000-07:00

In The Long Tail, Chris Anderson says, "Understand the power of free...one of the most powerful features of digital markets is that they put free within reach; because their costs are near zero, their prices can be, too. Already, one of the most common business models on the Internet, from Skype to Yahoo! Mail, is to attract lots of users with a free service and convince some of them to upgrade to a subscription-based 'premium' service that adds higher quality or better features. Because digital services are so cheap to offer, the free customers cost the company so little that it can afford to convert only a tiny fraction of them to paying customers." (p. 223)

I think that the costs can be near zero only after considerable investment in startup for labor and advertising. Startup can take months and years, so there must be money to support the effort for some time. Alternatively, the labor can be unpaid and the equipment can be the personal property of the entrepeneurs, who keep their day jobs.

Internet services can stimulate physical services. Buying and selling on eBay has caused an explosion in mail and parcel delivery services. eBay always charged fees to sellers, but this has proved affordable for quite a few businesses and individuals. I wonder, what is the proportion of successful to unsuccessful sellers?

Returning to the theme of free services, I used to check SciFi.com regularly to read new and classic SF stories at no cost. The site is connected to a television channel, and its reviews of films, books and other products stimulates sales of those items. I'm more likely now to check recent interviews with authors, as well as reviews. I might base a decision to see a movie partly on SciFi's review, or be reminded of a book and look on Amazon or ExLibris or Abebooks for an inexpensive copy. Multiply my modest spending by a million viewers, add the big spenders, and the free service deserves to be paid by advertisers.

The wonderful world of the Web and the Internet is not exactly without cost. Where is all this electricity coming from? Mostly from oil and coal, I find. What does it contribute to environmental challenges? Lots and lots of heat, damming of streams, noxious minerals in discarded electronic equipment.

I think rejection of Anderson's economics of abundance arises from misunderstanding. It cannot be extended to all of the existing global economics.

What can be extended globally is free access to information and communication. That goal requires social and political implementation.

WIRED NextFest September 14-16, Los Angeles

2007-07-02T23:28:00.000-07:00

Oh, my God! I'm going to NextFest again. Check it out at www.wirednextfest.com. People bring their robots from Japan and from North Carolina. Electric cars, fuel cell cars, systems to grow food inexpensively in sub-Saharan Africa, the vehicle in which the first private space flight was made, little kids drawing on the wall with light -- and that was last year!

I'm ecstatic.

Have you looked up www.robothalloffame.org? Gort, Robbie and C3P10 rule.

Grandpa

2007-07-02T11:42:00.000-07:00

Grandpa, William Edgar Grumman, was a schoolteacher, writer and librarian. I never met him, as he died long before I was born. He was old enough to remember the War Between the States, and the older brother who never came back. He loved justice, politics, and education. When Mark Twain donated books to start a library in Redding, CT, Grandpa was in charge of organizing the library, and was its first head. In this photo, circa 1880, his energy and humor show.

A Mighty Heart

2007-06-26T03:19:00.000-07:00

A Mighty Heart, written by Mariane Pearl, is a film that tells the story of the death of her husband, journalist Daniel Pearl, who worked for the Wall Street Journal. Mariane, who is French, is also a journalist. Together they covered the 2001-2002 retaliation by the United States toward Al Queda in Afghanistan, after the destruction of the World Trade Center and the deaths of nearly 3,000 people.

Daniel and Mariane stayed in Karachi, Pakistan longer than most journalists, and were about to go home, when Daniel followed up one last lead. It led to his capture and horrible death.

The film follows Mariane through the agonizing month of her husband's captivity, and details some of the actions of Karachi police and military, U.S. Security, terrorists, the Journal's staff, U.S. military,the families of Daniel and Mariane, and families in India, Pakistan and Afghanistan who had a son or brother involved in the kidnapping.

This is the most humanist of films. Ultimately Mariane derives, at least partly from practice of Buddhism, a breathtaking perspective. The film shows how deeply Daniel and Mariane love each other, how happy in her pregnancy they were. Mariane believes and feels that others love, that others lose, that her personal tragedy is part of a great human tragedy.

You have not failed, she says to the people who tried to rescue Daniel, and have gone through this terrible time with her. The terrorists want to terrorize people, and they have failed. I am not terrorized, and you must not be terrorized, either.

In the final frame of the film, we see Mariane with her now four-year-old son, Adam, walking down a narrow street in a Paris neighborhood.

The final word: This film is for Adam.

Photo Fun

2007-06-21T02:24:00.000-07:00

Old photos never die; they just get digitized.

Recently a friend gave me a used scanner. The photo on the right, Pebbles, was taken ten years ago. The first group I scanned were taken at Pt. Loma Tidal Pool. I was so excited to put the images on my computer. I love cropping them and generally tinkering with them on Photoshop. I went so far as to join Flickr and put the images up there, with captions and descriptions. You can see them on www.flickr.com under morphit, or Pt. Loma Tidal Pool. Critiques accepted.

Some photos do fade away. I'll see how the 100-year-old photo of my grandfather looks on the computer this week. I can try to sharpen and re-contrast.

I've always used point-and-shoot cameras, sometimes disposable ones, and have been pleasantly surprised sometimes by the photo quality. I take awful pictures of people, but have better luck with natural objects. Looking at Jon King's site, www.theeffectivelife.wordpress.com, I'm enthused again about textures.

Bees of Canada

2007-06-16T15:44:00.000-07:00

Beekeepers in Ontario are keeping a wary eye on the bee problem now named "colony collapse disorder." The Honey Board has allocated $13,000 to look into a solution, in case U.S.ers export their bee woes. Or maybe they're arming, just in case desperation leads to cross-border raids and bee wars. I don't think they've allocated enough.

It's interesting to me that Canada does not share the bee dieoff. It makes me think there is something contagious involved, or maybe there are new mites parasiting.

Some Ontarian beekeepers blamed the long distance hauling of hives, pollinating crops in many locations. "That's no life for a bee." Others blame pesticides and too much gene-tinkering with crops.

Reports on the subject always seem to include the phrase, "We don't find piles of dead bees." That's creepy. I guess they found lots of dead bees during epidemics and infestations. That phrase makes me look over my shoulder uneasily. Is that Rod Serling behind that tree? Are we in --- The Twilight Zone?

Identity and Violence: 2nd Post

2007-06-15T22:34:00.000-07:00

Amartya Sen's book, Identity and Violence: The Illusion of Destiny, Chapters One and Two.

The illusion of destiny is the fallacy that our lives are determined by identity with a particular group. Sen argues that there is always a choice. The role of choosing, making a decision, can be obscured by taking the false position that one and only one aspect of identity is all-important. Gender, class, religion, language, neighborhood, nation, vocation, arts, sports, and more become aspects of identity.

To divide the world into monolithic "civilizations," such as Western civilization, Islamic civilization, Hindu civilization, Buddhist civilization, and then to behave in politics and person as though every member of a "civilization" is the same, ignores our intimate knowledge that the members of our own "civilization" are very, very different.

Such language is part of the ascription of identity onto someone by other people. This may be benign, or simply lack of thought, but it is also part of covert and violent racism, and all the other "isms" that bring injustice and destruction to relations among peoples.

Remember all those movies in which brother is pitted against brother in the American Civil War? It is agony to choose between identity as a brother, and identity as a soldier for a cause. Drama calls for confrontation. Either one brother kills the other, or refuses to shoot and is court martialed. Another favorite scene in the movies of my childhood: during WWI or II, a Britisher or an American dives into a bomb crater to escape artillery barrages, finds a German soldier already taking shelter, and after a tense moment, they both let each other alone. I guess that one is "Identity: Human."

More later.

Oompala

2007-06-11T03:53:00.000-07:00

An Oompala is a tuba-shaped antelope with an extremely resonant bleat. It has been developed by breeding impala for large size and large voice. An oompala, like all God's critters, has a place in the choir. Sometimes it has to be coaxed. However, it likes to show off and can be depended upon to blaat and bloomp rhythmically for any reindeer parade.

The above nonsensical entry is provoked by a blog called WordImperfect.blogspot.com

WordImperfect offers obscure words from a dictionary and invites readers to make up definitions. I enjoy reading the responses and making up my own definitions.

Still, I love words that are entirely made up and almost mean something, as in Charles Dodson's immortal ode beginning,

'Twas brillig, and the slithy toves
Did gyre and gymbal in the wabe
All mimsy were the borogoves
And the mome raths outgrabe.

After all, every word we have was made up by somebody, somewhere, sometime.

Nutrition After Exercise

2007-06-07T15:43:00.000-07:00

Today's missive from NewsTarget.com included a short article on nutrition and exercise by Mike Adams. He says that exercisers lose most of the benefit of exercise if they do not get adequate amounts of all the vitamins and minerals and other elements of nutrition.

This sentence particularly caught my attention:
"The exercise stimulates your body, but it is the adaptation and recovery period after exercise that ultimately makes you healthier."

Post-exertional malaise and fatigue are the signature of chronic fatigue syndrome. People DON'T recover after exercise. Putting it in these words makes me more hopeful that the nutritional supplements and digestive aids suggested by various sources may, in fact, ultimately help my health.

It's still a bewildering and daunting task, trial and error, quite expensive. It's not just ingesting the nutrients, it's having the body absorb them and put them to use. Well, the supplements most commonly advocated for chronic fatigue make a good start. I'm taking betaine to help digest food, calcium with zinc and magnesium for the bones, Omega-3 which seems to help with energy, and the usual vitamins. QC-10 is rather expensive, but this enzyme is highly recommended. For the rest, I'm making progress toward a normally healthy diet that anyone can use.

If this subject interests you, I recommend ProHealth.com, which sells supplements and maintains archives of relevant articles and abstracts on chronic fatigue and fibromyalgia.

Getting Better

2007-06-04T22:28:00.000-07:00

Between December and June, three of my close relatives had major operations. It's been a time of pain, anxiety, decisions, intimations of mortality, and also a time of joy, relief, regaining lost abilities, and buoyancy.

The families seem closer to each other, and I think we all appreciate life more. Yesterday I was able to enjoy walking around Balboa Park on a fine afternoon. Sometimes we do see the world in a grain of sand, and the universe in a flower.

Like Minds

2007-06-03T23:33:00.000-07:00

Like Minds is a short story by Robert Reed, published in the Oct/Nov 2003 issue of the SF magazine, Fantasy & Science Fiction.

The story is set in the near future. It posits the existence of alternate universes, in which small differences may have sent history in many different directions. Humans have access to all the technologies of unlimited versions of Earth and its history, through an artifact of unknown origin that was found out in space. On our Earth, this has resulted in providing everyone with the means to live comfortably. People don't have to work.

Faced with dizzying choice, many have stayed with something familiar: themselves. They want to find out what other versions of themselves have done in other universes. Since the possibilities are endless, then everything that possibly can happen, has happened, somewhere. So our protagonist, Josh, can obtain a video of himself having sex with the girl of his dreams, as long as she also has signed up for the program. Later in life, he wants to see a book he has written in another life. Each time he requests something, he has to give something that will then be available for someone else. Trading one of his term papers for a Pulitzer Prizewinning book certainly strikes me as trading up.

Josh, like most people who make this choice, doesn't do much with his life in his own universe. He does mature, and eventually he believes that all the versions of Josh are one soul, and perhaps that everything that exists is one soul. This somehow leads him to try to destroy the artifact that gives access to the alternate universes.

The story strikes me as a retelling of the story of Buddha, whose enlightenment includes the futility of all desires. It also reminds me of a Hindu/Buddhist concept of Maya, the world of appearances, and the necessity to be reborn and lead many different lives until one's soul is whole, at which point one's soul merges with the world-soul. The references to quantum physics theories may provide another metaphor.

There is much less interesting parallel character, The Divine One, a bloodthirsty, capricious, amoral god who is also a version of Josh. When last seen, he is beginning to take an interest in someone besides himself.

Robert Reed is an excellent storyteller and writer whose work often revolves around strong conflicts in ethics, and struggles for identity. Like Minds doesn't quite hold together as a story, but it certainly made me think.

Kidsreads.com

2007-05-28T15:32:00.000-07:00

This energetic site is new to me. It's all about books, and games based on books. There are sections where kids give their opinions. Some teachers get into it, too.

I read about it in the San Diego Union Tribune, under Surfing With Kids, by c. Barbara Feldman at barbara.feldman@surfnetkids.com.

Featured on kidsreads.com is Harry Potter, with lots of games and quizzes.

She mentioned other sites: http://harrypotter.warnerbros.com, and mugglenet.com

If I had kids under 30, I would definitely use this site with them.

Bees Over Bournemouth

2007-05-28T15:15:00.000-07:00

Reuters reports that a plane flew into an enormous swarm of bees over Bournemouth, UK today. The plane malfunctioned, and the pilot took it back to the Bournemouth airport. The pilot thinks the engine was clogged with bees. I suppose the bees blew out on the way down.

Bees are disappearing in the USA, yet thriving in the UK. Clouds of bees have been sighted over Bournemouth this year. Is life better for bees in Britain?

My Pink Hat

2007-05-23T17:39:00.000-07:00

Happy after a week-long visit with my son, I just had to buy this pink hat.

Celebrating parenthood...Happy Spring and Summer to you.