The Story of Gum, Favicons and a Million Pixels

Three posts from my new Movable Type blog on Yahoo!

The Story of Gum

FavIcon

1 Million Pixels = 1 Million Dollars

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It's sometimes amazing what you find out by looking into some odd thing (like the story of gum). It started when I got a pack of gum from my sister for Christmas that said it was made using genuine chicle.



Being the curious sort I wanted to find out what chicle is. Along the way I learned that a key figure in the "story of gum" interestingly enough, was none other than Antonio López de Santa Anna, the Mexican dictator who enforced a "take no prisoners" policy during the battle of the Alamo, one of the battles fought by Texan's fighting for independence from Mexico.


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Save 10% at Enterprise.com. Enter AFFDEAL at checkout.

8 Step Program For Health Wealth and Happiness

I like these ideas from kadavy.net, except for the giving up caffeine.

Poker - New Yorker Article and Daniel Negreanu's Blog

Interesting article from The New Yorker about poker players, including the top player Daniel Negreanu.

According to the article - in May, 1.8 million players bet two hundred million dollars online every day.

Link to Daniel Negreanu's blog.

Talking Bull

A column by Jim Holt from The New Yorker about Harry G. Frankfurt, "a distinguished moral philosopher who is professor emeritus at Princeton, author of “On Bullshit” (Princeton; $9.95), a tiny book of sixty-seven spaciously printed pages that has gone on to become an improbable best-seller."

The article touches on a wide range of philospher's take on the truth, but I liked the last part best where Mr. Holt contrasts the ugliness of bullshit and possible transcendent nature of a good bullshitter -

"However one feels about the authority of truth, there is a separate reason for deploring bullshit; namely, that most bullshit is ugly. When it takes the form of political propaganda, management-speak, or P.R., it is riddled with euphemism, cliché, fake folksiness, and high-sounding abstractions.

The aesthetic dimension of bullshit is largely ignored in Frankfurt's essay. Yet much of what we call poetry consists of trite or false ideas in sublime language. (Oscar Wilde, in his dialogue “The Decay of Lying,” suggests that the proper aim of art is “the telling of beautiful untrue things.”) Bullshitting can involve an element of artistry; it offers, as Frankfurt acknowledges, opportunities for “improvisation, color, and imaginative play.”

When the bullshitting is done from an ulterior motive, like the selling of a product or the manipulation of an electorate, the outcome is likely to be a ghastly abuse of language. When it is done for its own sake, however, something delightful just might result.

The paradigm here is Falstaff, whose refusal to be enslaved by the authority of truth is central to his comic genius. Falstaff's merry mixture of philosophy and bullshit is what makes him such a clubbable man, far better company than the dour Wittgenstein. We should by all means be severe in dealing with bullshitters of the political, the commercial, and the academic varieties. But let's not banish plump Jack."

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Plump Jack is a reference to Sir John (Jack to his friends) Falstaff in Shakespeare's play Henry IV.

Convert LP's or Cassettes to Digital Files

Instant Music allows you to connect an analog music device - cassette player, turntable/stereo, radio, to a PC and convert the analog output signal to a popular digital format MP3, WAV, WMA or AAC.

For 50 bucks it sounds like a good option for helping us clear out those stacks of LP's, cassettes (or maybe even 8 tracks).

First The Space Needle - Then the Jetsons

The New Year's celebration at Seattle's space needle reminded me that the Jetsons had a lot of space needle-like structures in their neighborhood of Orbit City.

In case you were wondering which came first -

The Seattle Space Needle was completed in December 1961 in time for opening of the Seattle World's Fair on April 21st 1962.

"The Jetsons" premiered on September 1, 1962.

What is the A9 Instant Reward?

Amazon.com will "share the pi" with you. Actually it's a pi/2 or roughly 1.57% discount on items you order from Amazon. You become eligible by using the A9.com search engine for a few days.

Sidenote - In case you didn't know, you can use Google search as a calculator by entering 2+2, 4/2, 2*2 or other numbers of your choice...like pi/2.

A9 has a calculator feature as well, it's just that most of us (for now) have the Google search bar embedded in our I.E. or Firefox toolbars, making Google more convenient.

New Year's Eve Celebration - Space Needle Seattle

The coolest new year's celebration around has to be at the Space Needle in Seattle.

Okay I'm biased, but it's a great combination of fireworks, technology (symbolized by the Space Needle), and music with connection to Seattle - Dave Matthews, Pearl Jam, Nirvana, Jimmy Hendrix, Ray Charles, and The Presidents of the United States of America.

Wow!

I have to admit I was confused by the lyrics to the song "Lump" by the The Presidents of the United States of America, I thought they were singing "Love". I like it better that way.

Too Late for Vices

Last year I was going to try and take up a bunch of bad habits just prior to New Year so I had something to resolve not to do in the new year. Too late for me this year.

Maybe Rob Reiner's New Year's resolution to gain a lot of weight would be a good goal.

Sort of a reverse psychology of resolutions.

Wolf Attack

There's a story today from the Bozeman Daily Chronicle that a wolf may have killed a man in northern Saskatchewan.

Wolf attacks on human's are exceedingly rare and it appears this wolf may have been eating from a mining camp dump, which brought it in close contact with people and resulted in loss of fear of humans.

I found it interestingly absurd that the article mentions the dangers of allowing wolves to become habituated to humans and goes on to point out we shouldn't feed black bears, grizzlies, raccoons, deer or other wildlife.

Humor as a Form of Enlightenment

Humor, to be light, light-hearted, lightening up - to be able to see humor in what we do or sometimes have done to us, must be one of the most effective healing/coping/growing mechanisms available. It's also a key to successful interpersonal relationships (okay most interpersonal relationships...there are probably some folks who couldn't laugh or smile at themselves or others if their life depended on it...we'll spend a moment of compassionate silence for those poor blighters).

It must be very odd to be in that no-humor state of mind. I've met some really "smart" (not really intelligent if you consider the various forms of intelligence) people who couldn't understand humor. For some people there are probably organic causes for their Spock-like approach to life. People with some degree of Aspergers disorder, for example.

I don't know how people can survive without humor.

I have a great deal of admiration and respect for people who can make other people laugh. It's a great skill. If you think about the number of books that come out each year and consider how often we end up with an Erma Bombeck it illustrates the difficulty in writing humor. Ditto for great comedians in any genre. The really good ones are very rare.

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You may have heard Loretta LaRoche talk about humor on PBS or via corporate learning networks. I wouldn't consider her a great comedian or comedic writer, but she has managed to combine a level of comedy with some practical application. Whatever she's done, it sells.

She is the author of Life Is Short, Wear Your Party Pants

From the "Balance" magazine article on Loretta LaRoche -

She refers to her personal history as Brooklyn with a Hollywoodesque backdrop. “We weren’t wealthy, it was more like the movie “Moonstruck.” We were one big Italian family, looking for love in all the wrong places and hooked on great Sunday feasts. The major problem was my mother. She was more like Joan Crawford’s twin sister than a homemaker and I really suffered. My attitude came out of a necessity to survive. “Humor, Victor Frankel said, is the Soul’s preservation.”

“So let’s face it, now’s the time to step back and look at your own life. Do you have one — or are you pursuing it? I can promise you, when you leave this planet no one will say you did it all — so stop trying and lighten up!”

Loretta’s Eight Steps to “Enlightenment”

1. Lighten Up! Find humor in everyday situations, especially in yourself.

2. Light the Way! Smile at yourself and others. Be fully present.

3. Step Lightly! Twirl, stand on one leg, walk backwards.

4. Delight Yourself! Pleasure yourself through food, nature, art and music.

5. Lighten Your Load! Give up doing Everything.

6. Discover Your Inner Light! Meditate, pray, count your blessings. Find the Bless in the Mess!

7. Speak Lightly! Go beyond Okay, Fine and Not Bad. Yell Whoopee, Whee and TADAH!

8. Become a Beacon of Light! Be a compassionate witness to your behavior and to others. Lead your life with grace, glory, merriment and mirth.

Balance Magazine - Personal Growth For Women


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I ran across this quote on humor from Cy Eberhart -

“Humor prevents one from becoming a tragic figure even though he / she is involved in tragic events.”

and wondered who he is. Turns out he's a theologion/minister/Will Roger's actor. He's written some interesting things about humor, including Hoping and Coping on how people in stressful situations use humor, and the not always subtle difference between what can be a mean sort of coping humor vs. hoping humor.

Coping humor in his example is a birthday card that says, "Don't feel old. We have a friend your age...and on good days he can still feed himself."

An example of hoping humor is a card that says, "Happy birthday - Isn't it reassuring to know that, as you grow older, worn out cells are being cast off and replaced by new, fresh cells...Think of it as a giant garage sale going an all over your body."

He has some other interesting pieces on humor on his website.

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I was going to title this post - "Humor as a Form of Detachment", then decided to change it to Enlightenment to make a different point. Humor can be a destructive tool if used as a way to avoid life. I used to love to make cutting comments about people in what I thought was a clever way to be humourous. I came to realize this was really a way to distance myself from people. Not always a bad thing, but not really appropriate, if done in a mean-spirited way. Don't get me wrong I'm not above making fun of myself or someone else, I just hope it's in a good-hearted way.

(hmmmmmmmm...I might be lying, can you really make fun of someone else in a good-hearted way? and if you did would it be funny? Maybe it's okay if they are acting like a pompous ass (myself included sometimes). I think Stephen Colbert's premise of a satire based on "what's his name's show" on the Fox New's Network can be hilarious.)

I guess I'll leave it at not saying or writing things about someone, however funny you might think they are, that you would be ashamed to have them find out about. That's being true to yourself and practicing integrity.


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"The secret source of humor is not joy, but sorrow." - Mark Twain


"Common sense and a sense of humor are the same thing, moving at different speeds. A sense of humor is just common sense, dancing." - William James


"If I had no sense of humor, I would long ago have committed suicide." from What Made Gandhi Laugh

"Analyzing humor is like dissecting a frog. Few people are interested and the frog dies of it." - E. B. White

Seven Steps - Twelve? A Hundred?

Over the years I've been a fan of self-help programs, books, and seminars. From I'm OK-You're OK in the 70's to The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People in the 90's....and a whole slew of other works before, during and after that time.

Books about how to be better.

My latest dip into the world of self-improvement is a class and book on how to think like Leonardo DaVinci (I have to add a small caveat - the books and class are free).

Lately I've been wondering a bit about the constant striving to be "better".

Is there a point where we are good enough? A point where we realize we are who we are and that really is okay?

I wouldn't want to promote the idea that stagnation and subsequently the decay of mental, physical, emotional capabilities would be okay. But at what point do we stop looking outside for the answers?

In some cases the answer would be never, if we look at the never ending stream of diet, exercise, psychological, personal and business; self-help / here's THE answer books and tools.

At some point theory has to become practice. At some point real interior work either at an individual or organizational level has to take place to effect change. Sometimes the books, videos, seminars and retreats take the place of real work and real change.

You see this at an individual level and at an organizational level.

A business takes on the "flavor of the month" from consultants - rolls it out - flows it down - grows it from the bottom up - embraces the new paradigm...for about a month or a couple of months, a year maybe, and then the new paradigm quietly fades into the background allowing a return to business as usual.

A person can do the same thing. I read a book on listening. It was all great. I went into the world and listened for about 5 minutes then went back to business as usual (interupting, furthering my agenda, listening to respond, auto-biographical listening, etc.).

So what's a person to do?

• Realize real change requires real work - really doing - experiential learning as they say - learning by doing. Not by reading, partcipating in seminars, retreats, putting up bulletin boards, preparing PowerPoint presentations, telling stories etc.

• Realize people/organizations by nature are lazy. We like to be comfortable and for the most part fear change. Change is hard, sad, inevitable; but we would prefer to not deal with change unless forced to. For an organization true change can come about if it becomes a do or die situation, assuming the organization has time left to change before the market kills it. The same if true for individuals, unless we have to change...we probably won't, which explains why some programs like Alcoholics Anonymous, are successful.

• Bottom line...you, your organization, probably aren't going to change, assuming you are not in a "change or die" situation. Whatever icing you put on that cake isn't really going to change what's underneath.

Yikes..That sounds really depressing. If you gave up on "change" ala self-help books, diet plans, New Year's resolutions, seminars, retreats...looking outside for answers, what would happen?

You'd be left with your self.

That's all there is. You. All alone. Nobody can change you...you can't change anyone else. One caveat on this - I'm talking about positive substantial changes. Constant immersion in a culture of violence or consumption changes us. Occasionally dipping into a self-help book, video, talk, seminar isn't going to reverse that.

There's hope though - you can change yourself if you want to.

You have to consume differently - surround yourself with books, people, music, TV, video, webs that further what you want to be. You see this happen all the time - people become what they consume. It can be violent, tragic, mean-spirited, conspiritorial, degrading, hateful, hate-filled...or just the opposite peaceful, hopeful, spirit-filled, open/trusting, loving.

It's your choice, but first you have to be mindful enough to know what it is that you consume and eventually what will consume you.

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I remember reading about a tragic murder in our area years ago and wondering - "how can things come to this." It was a case of a high school student, who seemed like a pretty good kid. He hadn't been in trouble, was a good student, a pitcher on the baseball team and had friends. He lived with his dad. He was having a party at his dad's house and some other kids came by and started a fight. The son fired a rifle into the car as the kid's drove off killing several people.

I wondered what led to that event? I couldn't have been that the kids were having a party, everything was fine, and then the thought that shooting someone driving off in a car would be the right thing to do - came out of the blue. It had to be a progression of events, learning, consuming violence that led to this tragic event. It was a case of pre-meditation in the legal sense, since the son and father had gotten word that the kids who wanted to fight were going to show up and proceeded to set loaded weapons in strategic places. How could this thought process occur? If you had word that someone was going to come over to your house with the intention of fighting why not act as a peace-maker (if possible), talk with your son, the other kids, maybe even fight if that was all that you could do to protect yourself or your family. Why not call the police?

It turned out the dad was involved in using and selling drugs and apparently was stuck in some place that made him want to be a contemporary of his son and his son's friends. Not a good example, just one of the boys - and unfortunately a violent man.

The point being you wouldn't just wake up one day and decide to have a party, and oh by the way let's stash some loaded weapons around the house in case the kid's who want to fight show up.

If you ponder this for awhile you can see that's true for any type of aberrant, or abhorrent, behaviour. People don't wake up and decide to be pedophiles, murderers, rapists; there is some progression of events, life experiences, learning that leads them to where they are.

You have to feel compassion (I think) for those people who have no control over what shaped their lives.

Lucky for us we have lots of control over who we will be. We can choose who we will learn from, what we will watch, listen to and read.

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From Paul's letter to the Philippians, Chapter 4 -

"Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things." (NIV)

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The main point is that easy (or hard) self-help; books, programs, seminars, or videos, offer little in the way of real change, except possibly in cases where change is necessary to survive and even then these serve as window dressing to real change and learning - which comes from experience, careful consumption, immersion and doing.

A case could be made that endless seeking for self or organizational improvement is better than giving up to entropy and a gradual loss of skills and growth, or conversly from a negative standpoint, that seeking improvement replaces doing - leading to an endless cycle of "learning" that becomes meaningless outside of a practical real-world application.

No matter where you go, there you are. When you show up at work, to the class, for the meeting, to see the patient, friend, co-worker, client, teacher, student - you will be there (not the book, the video, the seminar). Just you.

At some point you have to trust that you is all that's needed.

Just be you.

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No matter what you do, you'll be better off if you can do it with some humor and light-heartedness.

People will appreciate you and you'll enjoy life if you can laugh. Nothing in this life is so serious that you can't see the lighter side somewhere. Not saying you should wear wax lips to a state funeral...but you deserve to laugh. It's one of the few things that separates humans from animals - take advantage of it.

Walking Meditation

From the book "Calming the Fearful Mind - A Zen Response to Terrorism", by Thich Nhat Hanh -

"Walking Meditation

The mind can go in a thousand directions
But on this beautiful path, I walk in peace
With each step, a gentle wind blows
With each step, a flower blooms

While walking, practice conscious breathing by counting steps. Notice each breath and the number of steps you take as you breathe in and as you breathe out. If you take three steps during an in-breath, say silently, "One, two, three," or "In, In, In," one word with each step. As you breathe out, if you take three steps, say, "Out, Out, Out," with each step.

Don't try to control your breathing. Allow your lungs as much time as they need, and simply notice how many steps you take as your lungs fill up and how many you take as they empty, mindful of both your breath and your steps. The key is mindfulness.

You can also practice walking meditation using the lines of a poem. In Zen Buddhism, poetry and practice always go together.

I have arrived.
I am home
in the here,
in the now.
I am solid.
I am free.
In the ultimate
I dwell.

As you walk, be fully aware of your foot, the ground, and the connection between them, which is your conscious breathing.

Walking meditation is really to enjoy the walking - walking not in order to arrive, just for walking, to be in the present moment, and to enjoy each step...Anyone can do it. It takes only a little time, a little mindfulness, and the wish to be happy."

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Beliefnet articles on religion, spirituality, prayer, God, angels, politics, meditation...

Parallax Press publisher of Books by Thich Nhat Hanh, on Mindfulness, and Engaged Buddhism.

The Mindfulness Bell an inspiration and teaching resource for those practicing mindfulness in daily life. Each issue features a recent teaching by teacher, Vietnamese Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh. This website also includes locations of Sangha centers in the U.S.A. and around the world.

Plum Village meditation center and home of Thich Nhat Hanh, 85 Km east of Bordeaux France.

Deer Park Monastery in Escondido, California.

Dharma Memphis website is a good resource for learning more about Buddhism, meditation and mindful living. Intitial work is being done to create a retreat center at Magnolia Village, a 120 acre property south of Memphis Tennessee that was donated to Plum Village.

Green Mountain Dharma Center and Maple Forest Monastery, in Hartland-Four-Corners and Woodstock, Vermont.

City Lights Books

City Lights Books is probably the coolest bookstore ever.

Being a fan of the The Beat Generation of poets and authors , City Lights, is a touchstone.

Purely serendipitiously I happened to find the book "Peace is Every Step" by Thich Nhat Hanh in that bookstore years ago. If there was ever one book that changed me and helped me calm down it was that small text. It's paradoxical since I loved the descriptions of the "wild" drugging, drinking, driving from the beat writers, mainly Jack Kerouac and "On the Road". I was in City Light's thinking about how cool those guys were...and then took home a book by a peace-filled Vietnamese monk.

Part of it is growing up I suppose. Jack Kerouac was interested in Zen Buddhism, tragically he didn't figure it out well enough before he killed himself, with drugs and alcohol.

Thank God for giving me a chance to work on growing up.

A Zen Response to Terrorism

From the book "Calming the Fearful Mind - A Zen Response to Terrorism"
by Thich Nhat Hanh -

"How can you uproot terrorism with military force? The military doesn't know where terrorism is. They cannot locate terrorism - it is in the heart. The more military force you use the more terrorists you create, in your own country and other countries as well."

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"Eighty percent of the corn and ninety five percent of the oats in the United States are fed to animals raised for humans to eat.....The world's cattle alone consume a quantity of food equivalent to the caloric needs of 8.7 billion people, more than the entire human population of Earth.....UNICEF reports that every day 40,000 children die of malnutrition."


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"If we do not know how to take care of ourselves and to love ourselves, we cannot take care of the people we love. Loving oneself is the foundation for loving another person. If we love someone, the greatest gift we can make to him or to her is our true presence."


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"I have confidence in the capacity of all beings to attain great understanding, peace and love."


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"First of all we need to allow ourselves to calm down. Without tranquility and serenity, our emotions, anger, and despair will not go away, and we will not be able to look and see the nature of reality. Calming down, becoming serene is the first step of meditation. The second step is to look deeply to understand. Out of understanding comes compassion."

Thich Nhat Hanh has a fairly simple goal, to teach small groups of people to live mindfully and then send those people into the world to build small communities that will grow over time.

He provides 5 Mindfulness Trainings for his students -

"Aware of the suffering caused by destruction of life, I am committed to cultivating compassion and learning ways to protect the lives of people, animals, plants, and minerals."

"Aware of the suffering caused by exploitation, social injustice, stealing and oppression, I am committed to cultivating loving kindness and learning ways to work for the well-being of all people, animals, plants and minerals."

"Aware of the suffering caused by sexual misconduct, I am committed to cultivating responsibility and learning ways to protect the safety and integrity of individuals, couples, families, and society."

"Aware of the suffering caused by unmindful speech and the inability to listen to others, I am committed to cultivating loving speech and deep listening in order to bring joy and happiness to others and to relieve others of their suffering."

"Aware of the suffering caused by unmindful consumption, I am committed to cultivating good health, both physical and mental, for myself, my family, and my society by practicing mindful eating, drinking and consuming."

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It all starts with the simple act of becoming more aware, more mindful of the world around you. Every so often shutting off the noise and reflecting, relaxing, and getting in touch with the humanity you share with every other being on this Earth.

Consuming thoughts, food, books, movies, T.V. wisely, so that you are able to calm down and see we are all in this together. Our survival and happiness is dependent on our ability to listen and speak from heart's filled with compassion. This isn't just an abstract thought but a change of heart leading to a change of life. It's very easy to get started.

Just breathe.

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Being Fully Present

"Coming home to our bodies can bring us relief within just a few minutes. After that, we come home to our feelings and emotions.

Breathing in, I am aware of my feelings. Breathing out, I calm and release the tension in my feelings.

This kind of practice can be done anytime, anywhere, on a train, on an airplane, at work, or at home."

From the book - "Calming the Fearful Mind - A Zen Response to Terrorism" by Thich Nhat Hanh.

Yurt, Kayak Point, Pie and Us

Just a few photos I took during this holiday season. I spent a couple of days at the Kayak Point Yurt camp. It was very quiet. The yurts are sort of in between camping and staying in a motel. They have an electric - heater, outlet and light. They would sleep about five. Water is available. There is a shower and bathroom shared by all the yurters. It's a cool place to hang out (literally and figuratively), but I was glad to get back (don't want to be too much of a hermit during the holidays).

I carried our dried out Christmas tree in my pickup, cut it into little pieces and burned it at the park. Sort of a ritual...plus it burned like crazy with the dried out needles and all the sap on it.

I went to midnight Mass at St. James Cathederal in Seattle on Christmas eve, something I've wanted to do for awhile. It was very nice. I got a standing room-only spot on the side of the altar in an open doorway. Perfect view of a candle and the crucifix, plus I could move around and breathe/feel the cool air. Sort of an odd reason to go to Mass but I really wanted to smell the incense (mission accomplished).

The final pictures are me, Rachel, Becca and Betsy and some pictures of an apple and cherry pie I made for a pre-Christmas party and to celebrate R&B coming home from college.


Yurt

Inside the yurt

Looking up at the ceiling of the yurt

Yurt camp

These yurts are really nice structures. Wooden floors, waterproof, electric light and heat.

Between the rains the sky was very blue

Christmas tree fire

The forest is very wet so making big campfires is okay

There's a fairly steep trail to the beach from the yurts

Poplars grow fast, they like water and make pretty good windbreaks

End of the pier

600 Pound Octopuses Live in Puget Sound

Nobody on the pier today to read the rules

An easier way is to know someone who likes to clean fish

I like this one

This is a mussel shell

Beginning of a fort

Small castle

Glad Rachel and Becca are home

An apple and a cherry pie

I used Fuji's and Granny Smith's in the pie

Lots of cherries

Me & B

R&B&B

How Public Should Public Knowledge Be?

I've been thinking, reading and looking at search engines for a couple of days. Like most people I'm tied in pretty close to Google when it comes to search. I might use Yahoo! once in awhile and every so often try the MSN search tool to see if it works any better than the last time (nope).

The context based search idea behind Y!Q search sounded good, but in my limited testing I didn't get any better results than I did by using Google. I was searching for "concern about the loss of personal privacy inherent with online search tools".

Amazon's A9 search tool is interesting to me in that it keeps a record of your searches (same as Google) and I imagine most search engines. The thing that was interesting to me was that I hadn't used it for months, and only a few times at that - and when I brought it up it had the search I did 6 months ago.

I'm not really concerned so much with the collection of information I provide search engines or websites. I don't feel a need to remain anonymous and have faith that as a generally law abiding citizen I have no reason to fear some sort of Kafkesque scenario where my search habits cause me to be unfairly accused, tried and convicted.

There are certainly insiduous ways that online search and archival of information can be unsettling and possibly creatively chilling if you have to think that anything you search for, write or view on the web is stored somewhere forever.

I don't think this storing of my search habits or webpages I look at, is really all that big a deal given the anononymity of the crowd. The fact that I searched for hot sexy babes, breeding farm animals for fun and profit or how to make a cruise missile is probably not going to go, as they used to say in high school, "on my permanent record".

So what's my major concern?

Let me tell you a little story (it's short so bear with me please).

A few months ago I found a story on the The Smoking Gun, well not actually a story...it was a link to a police report about a young woman who had alledgely stolen a steak off her neighbor's BBQ and took it to her apartment. The neighbor did what anyone would do - CALLED THE COPS. I've had similar problems with crows...but I digress.

The police captured the miscreant with some great detective work that included following a trail of "meat juice" that led them to the culprit's apartment and ultimately to her bathroom where the half-eaten steak was found hidden in a kleenex box.

I thought that story was bizarre and funny and was going to post a link to it.

Then I started to think...

That young woman is not a public figure who may have volunteered to give up her privacy by accepting the role of star, politician or sports figure (not sure if it's correct that those people give up all rights to privacy either...but that' not the point of this little piece).

This young woman was unknown, just a person who made a mistake and got arrested for it. Hmmmmm sound familiar? I'd be really bummed out if anyone had instant access to every faux paux / illegal act I'd ever been involved in. I'm not a criminal but I was not the smartest or tamest person in my younger years, and some of that "public" information would be embarassing to me taken out of context (or in context for that matter). I like to think I've matured out of some behavior at 51 that involved me at 15 or 22 or 44...48..49. I've grown up a lot in the last year :-)

Public records - say of a divorce, child custody, court room proceedings, police reports are public, but because of the anonymity of the crowd - not really. Someone would have to go into the courthouse files to find stuff and unless they knew what or why they were looking it would be pretty futile to find something funny, sad or interesting enough to publish.

I wasn't even sure I should link to the Smoking Gun website since they trade on personal pain/mistakes in the name of traffic. On the other hand there is stuff in there that's interesting and doesn't bother me because it's either truly public ie. widely disseminated or should be. The FBI report of their interview with Monica Lewinski for example...it's a bit sad, somewhat touching and tawdry but interesting - not nearly interesting enough to spend a year or so of national hand wringing and news coverage on...but that's another story too.

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Three High Quality Blogs Plus One

One of the best things about reading blogs is when you find some high quality work that equals or sometimes surpasses what you would find in print media. These three blogs, plus one that is related to the third, combine intelligence and wit to come up with some really nice work.

kottke.org :: home of fine hypertext products is full of interesting thoughts and links.

Idle Words is both well written and witty.

Things My Girlfriend And I Have Argued About is funny. I particularly like the related piece, Things My Girlfriend And I Have Had Stolen By The Mail On Sunday which is the story of a London newspaper using the author's work without permission.

Radio Pilgrimage With Thich Nhat Hanh

Radio Pilgrimage With Thich Nhat Hanh

Luke Tells The Story

Luke 2:8-20 (KJV)

And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid.

And the angel said unto them,

Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.

For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying,

Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.

And it came to pass, as the angels were gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another, Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us. And they came with haste, and found Mary, and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger.

And when they had seen it, they made known abroad the saying which was told them concerning this child. And all they that heard it wondered at those things which were told them by the shepherds. But Mary kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart. And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told unto them.

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Those are nice words Luke wrote. I particularly like the way Linus reads them in "A Charlie Brown Christmas" - childlike, heartfelt and simple.

I think Christianity gets a bad rap in some people's minds because it's trivialized or distorted, either by what they think they know, by what they see on television, a superficial look, bad experience from a particular church or minister, by what someone taught them, or by their observation of people professing to be "Christian" who are anything but "Christ-like".

The basic tenets of Christian thought - forgiveness, love and compassion - for others and oneself are universal and inclusive.

True (assuming I have any idea what that is) Christianity is radically different than a lot of mainstream church teachings or television evangelists preaching. The difficulty in talking about Christianity is that the word has no meaning outside of a specific context and individual worldview. If I say Christianity you might think asshole, bigot, hypocrite, holier than thou jerk...and you could be right on. So for this little sermon we will constrain Christianity to Father Thomas Keating's teaching (specifically the hour long talk linked to below).

Christianity, in the form of the New Testament, and as taught by compassionate and intelligent people is not a divisive tool to promote hate or violence. If you read and listen to the right people you will begin to find that Christianity is closely aligned with the infinite compassion of Buddha as taught by the Dali Lama and Thich Nhat Hanh and the non-violent beliefs and life of Gandhi.

If you are going to do only one religious thing this holiday season (and haven't decided what that might be) I'd recommend listening to Father Thomas Keating's hour long talk at Creighton University. Depending on where you are coming from you may find Christianity (in his case Catholic Contemplative Christianity) is much different than you may currently believe. It's much deeper, kinder, easier, harder, human - than may be obvious to the casual observer. He says it much much better than anyone I've ever heard.

It's a big file, if you don't have Apple Quicktime you can download the mp3 file and listen to the audio using another player.

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May you find peace this Christmas that grows within you throughout the year, allowing you to forgive and love yourself and then others.

God bless you.