Well sort of funny anyway...if watching fat guys goofing around is funny. It's a "we're not laughing with you we're laughing at you", sort of a deal - which is fine since it's pretty obvious looking at the video that these guys recorded these as a joke. Let us hope.
Numa Numa Dance - a fat guy rockin out to a Hungarian folk song.
Star Wars Kid - a fat guy playing with a pretend light saber.
Speaking of fat funny guys...
I think Chris Farley was one of the funniest fat guys, had to love Matt Foley, the motivational speaker who lived in a van down by the river. SNL keeps pretty close tabs on those videos, so you won't find them on the internet. I like the movie "Tommy Boy" and think the scene from "Tommy Boy" where he's singing "fat guy in a little suit" is pretty memorable.
Chris Farley was a fat guy, and funny partly because he was a good physical comedian. There have been quite a few fat comedians - Chris Farley, Jackie Gleason, John Candy, and John Belushi (a little fat) come to mind - but no really fat comedians. At some point on the fat scale we lose the ability to laugh at or with fat people and start to feel some mix of pity and repulsion.
I think there must be something instinctive in our gut reaction when we see super-fat people (people who can no longer function and have to ride a scooter or have gross amounts of fat hanging off them). My guess is that it's an instinct we have from our cave man ancestors that tells us that person is in danger of being eaten by a saber tooth tiger (we feel sorry for them because they look like a tasty treat and can't run very fast). On the other hand we think...hey I can outrun that guy ;-)
Wednesday, April 19, 2006
China - Amnesty International
On the occasion of the visit to the U.S. of China's president Hu, and the focus on trade/economics, it might be worth reading the China - Amnesty International summary report from 2004.
China's record on human rights is abysmal of course, on the plus side they have cheap labor and provide cheap goods for us to consume. How those two things balance out is something you will have to work out for yourself.
If you read many of the reports of human rights abuses it's easy to imagine what it might be like to live in such a place. You would be afraid to make a peep. People are put in prisons for what would be considered minor expressions of free speech in a democratic country.
We are ready to embrace China for the sake of trade/economics, and we can't afford, or won't take the risk, of making our relationship contingent on respect for human rights and human dignity, freedoms we hold dear.
Some assume that industrialization and capitalism brings with it freedom, and respect for humanity. That doesn't always turn out to be the case if we consider Germany from 1933 to 1945. A case can be made that communism is the outgrowth of a poor society where the have-nots are many and are glad to get a little, and fascism is the outgrowth of a rich society where those who have - want more, and will do almost anything to get it. The point being that assuming that a country will automatically embrace democratic principles and respect for human dignity, as a result of economic growth, is a fallacy.
There's a big piece of the puzzle missing in the "World is Flat" discussion brought on by Thomas Friedman and others - his point is that China is a worthy global competitor because they value education, particularly technical education and are willing to work hard to ensure their people are educated. That may be true, but one of the prime reasons China is competitive globally is they have no labor protections or any of the social contracts that we expect in civilized countries.
If a U.S. company could work people as many hours as they wanted, for whatever wages they wanted to pay, and not provide unemployment insurance, medical benefits, follow EEOC or OSHA rules, contribute to social security, or anything else we expect as part of our social contract, and if anyone who disagreed ran the risk of being thrown in prison - how competitive would they be?
So the point is - if we really want to believe the world is flat that we are on a "level the playing field" then we need to work globally, not just for economic gain but for the protection of human rights and respect for the human dignity of all people.
It's important that we leave the affairs of the state to the state - for example balance of trade. But it's equally important that we bring the affairs of people to the forefront and not go to sleep thinking that corporations and governments are looking out for human rights.
Whatever organization or church you choose to support, I'd recommend thoughtful consideration and if you decide to, speak out, and act out, to work for not for a balance of trade but a balance of respect for basic human dignity - for humanity everywhere.
China's record on human rights is abysmal of course, on the plus side they have cheap labor and provide cheap goods for us to consume. How those two things balance out is something you will have to work out for yourself.
If you read many of the reports of human rights abuses it's easy to imagine what it might be like to live in such a place. You would be afraid to make a peep. People are put in prisons for what would be considered minor expressions of free speech in a democratic country.
We are ready to embrace China for the sake of trade/economics, and we can't afford, or won't take the risk, of making our relationship contingent on respect for human rights and human dignity, freedoms we hold dear.
Some assume that industrialization and capitalism brings with it freedom, and respect for humanity. That doesn't always turn out to be the case if we consider Germany from 1933 to 1945. A case can be made that communism is the outgrowth of a poor society where the have-nots are many and are glad to get a little, and fascism is the outgrowth of a rich society where those who have - want more, and will do almost anything to get it. The point being that assuming that a country will automatically embrace democratic principles and respect for human dignity, as a result of economic growth, is a fallacy.
There's a big piece of the puzzle missing in the "World is Flat" discussion brought on by Thomas Friedman and others - his point is that China is a worthy global competitor because they value education, particularly technical education and are willing to work hard to ensure their people are educated. That may be true, but one of the prime reasons China is competitive globally is they have no labor protections or any of the social contracts that we expect in civilized countries.
If a U.S. company could work people as many hours as they wanted, for whatever wages they wanted to pay, and not provide unemployment insurance, medical benefits, follow EEOC or OSHA rules, contribute to social security, or anything else we expect as part of our social contract, and if anyone who disagreed ran the risk of being thrown in prison - how competitive would they be?
So the point is - if we really want to believe the world is flat that we are on a "level the playing field" then we need to work globally, not just for economic gain but for the protection of human rights and respect for the human dignity of all people.
It's important that we leave the affairs of the state to the state - for example balance of trade. But it's equally important that we bring the affairs of people to the forefront and not go to sleep thinking that corporations and governments are looking out for human rights.
Whatever organization or church you choose to support, I'd recommend thoughtful consideration and if you decide to, speak out, and act out, to work for not for a balance of trade but a balance of respect for basic human dignity - for humanity everywhere.
Random Thoughts
Did you know 80 percent of the donut shops in parts of California are owned by Cambodians?
I learned that little tidbit by listening to Virginia Postrel talk about her book The Future and Its Enemies on C-Span Booknotes. The point of that little piece of info is that we can't really predict what the future will bring, Cambodians coming to America and then becoming makers of tasty donuts - who would have thought it? But more to the point - it's not worth trying to fight change - better to go with the flow or more precisely to use the flow to go where you want to go.
__________________
I can't get the picture of Bill Gates and President Hu from China hanging out a Bill's house down on Lake Washington. I can see them playing X-Box games, jumping off the dock, roasting weenies on a fire. Playing laser tag. Riding bikes off a cool jump. Getting on their jammies and watching videos, drinking cocoa and eating some Jiffy Pop.
__________________
I think the best way to do anything or maybe the only way to do anything that is worth doing is to FOCUS. You gotta have focus. Solitude helps me focus, but I can get really into something in a busy, distracting environment - it has to be the right thing though - something that is interesting/fascinating/challenging.
__________________
Have you ever heard people say, "it's all a game"? Lot's of things in society unfortunately, or maybe fortunately, are that way. The problem, as I see it, is that at some point in your life you will want to find meaning and if you can find it by "playing the game." well then more power to you. You might want to stop and think every so often - what does this really mean? Does what I'm doing have any positive impact on the "real" world? People? Other than the people playing the game? I'm afraid that on one's deathbed the idea that you played the game really great (which turned out to have no meaning for anyone other than other game-players) could be a bit of an existential shocker.
__________________
The Chinese are smart. President Hu isn't making a big deal about visiting with President Bush but rather the fact that he's having dinner with Bill Gates (a name any educated person in China is familiar with..and of course a symbol of capitalism's potential). He's also going to give a policy speech today. Where? Not at the Whitehouse but at a Boeing plant. Why? Because he knows where power lies. He understands politics better than a lot of Americans who still hold on to the quaint notion that power resides in our elected officials.
I learned that little tidbit by listening to Virginia Postrel talk about her book The Future and Its Enemies on C-Span Booknotes. The point of that little piece of info is that we can't really predict what the future will bring, Cambodians coming to America and then becoming makers of tasty donuts - who would have thought it? But more to the point - it's not worth trying to fight change - better to go with the flow or more precisely to use the flow to go where you want to go.
I can't get the picture of Bill Gates and President Hu from China hanging out a Bill's house down on Lake Washington. I can see them playing X-Box games, jumping off the dock, roasting weenies on a fire. Playing laser tag. Riding bikes off a cool jump. Getting on their jammies and watching videos, drinking cocoa and eating some Jiffy Pop.
I think the best way to do anything or maybe the only way to do anything that is worth doing is to FOCUS. You gotta have focus. Solitude helps me focus, but I can get really into something in a busy, distracting environment - it has to be the right thing though - something that is interesting/fascinating/challenging.
Have you ever heard people say, "it's all a game"? Lot's of things in society unfortunately, or maybe fortunately, are that way. The problem, as I see it, is that at some point in your life you will want to find meaning and if you can find it by "playing the game." well then more power to you. You might want to stop and think every so often - what does this really mean? Does what I'm doing have any positive impact on the "real" world? People? Other than the people playing the game? I'm afraid that on one's deathbed the idea that you played the game really great (which turned out to have no meaning for anyone other than other game-players) could be a bit of an existential shocker.
The Chinese are smart. President Hu isn't making a big deal about visiting with President Bush but rather the fact that he's having dinner with Bill Gates (a name any educated person in China is familiar with..and of course a symbol of capitalism's potential). He's also going to give a policy speech today. Where? Not at the Whitehouse but at a Boeing plant. Why? Because he knows where power lies. He understands politics better than a lot of Americans who still hold on to the quaint notion that power resides in our elected officials.
Andrew Bird Revisited
I'm still on the Andrew Bird bandwagon. In this NPR Interview with Liane Hansen he talks about how much he likes to whistle, starting the violin at age 4, and living in a barn in western Illinois to concentrate on music. He says a typical day on the farm includes getting up, getting some eggs from his chickens, making an omelet and some coffee and then having all day to experiment/obsess, no interruptions whatsoever. He found the solitude and total control so appealing that he decided to forgo working with a band and recorded almost all the parts for his latest album.
There's another interview with Andrew Bird at Chicago Public Radio - Audio Library: Eight Forty-Eight that's interesting. They talk about his background in classical music, the variety of musical styles he uses and, the looping technique you will hear in many of his songs.
This is the cover of the album "Andrew Bird and the Mysterious Production of Eggs" -
Andrew Bird & the Mysterious Production of Eggs
I'm listening to "A Nervous Tic Motion of the Head to the Left" recorded live from the Paradiso in Amsterdam at fabchannel.com. I like the beginning where he is picking the violin, uses a looping station to repeat the violin, and then starts whistling - and the way he plays with words like "stretched out on the tarmac six miles south of North Platte" and then turns it around to "splayed out on a bathmat six miles north of South Platte." The cool cat on the snare drums is - well - cool.
He's a poet with a sense of humor and a talented musician, who comes up with amazingly good phrases like,
"when the words we use have lost their bite / now they hit you like an imaginary pillow fight"
from the song "Banking on a Myth".
It makes his music more appealing to watch the video of his performance in Amsterdam at fabchannel, listen to some of his interviews, and read some of the lyrics, rather than just listen to the album. It will give you a feel for the energy he exhibits in a live performance and give you a chance to catch some of the subtle messages in the words.
Very good stuff.
There's another interview with Andrew Bird at Chicago Public Radio - Audio Library: Eight Forty-Eight that's interesting. They talk about his background in classical music, the variety of musical styles he uses and, the looping technique you will hear in many of his songs.
This is the cover of the album "Andrew Bird and the Mysterious Production of Eggs" -
Andrew Bird & the Mysterious Production of Eggs
I think that picture alone is almost reason enough to buy the album (oops I forgot people don't buy albums anymore)...so it's the CD cover and it will be pretty dinky, but it's still a funny/interesting drawing.
He's a poet with a sense of humor and a talented musician, who comes up with amazingly good phrases like,
"when the words we use have lost their bite / now they hit you like an imaginary pillow fight"
from the song "Banking on a Myth".
It makes his music more appealing to watch the video of his performance in Amsterdam at fabchannel, listen to some of his interviews, and read some of the lyrics, rather than just listen to the album. It will give you a feel for the energy he exhibits in a live performance and give you a chance to catch some of the subtle messages in the words.
Very good stuff.
Tuesday, April 18, 2006
"Deus Caritas Est"
I'm surprised to be saying this but the new Pope's Encyclical Letter "Deus Caritas Est" is really interesting.
Don't get me wrong, it's not that I'm not a big fan of the Pope, but I'm not the sort that would typically be browsing the Vatican website for the latest papal direction. I happened across the encyclical though, and ended up reading the whole thing (it's really not that hard...pretty basic stuff).
According to the Wikipedia article, the first half is said to have been written by Benedict XVI in German, his mother tongue, in the summer of 2005; the second half is derived from uncompleted writings left by his predecessor, Pope John Paul II.
"Deus Caritas Est" is Latin for "God is Love", which pretty much sums up what the encyclical is about.
There's a nice philosophical discussion of "eros" (human) and "agape" (divine) love, and an interesting point about Christianity not killing "eros"...
Probably the best summary in my mind is this -
There is a secondary theme regarding the role of church and state, reaffirming that each has a separate role to play,
It's amazing how far afield some go from these two simple precepts - loving your neighbor and leaving church work to the church and political work to the state. This is not to say that the church cannot provide informed compassionate people to do the work of the state, only that we not mix up the role of the two institutions.
Can't help but think of the various "political" folks who want to use the church to do the work of the state and underly their righteousness with a thinly disguised hatred of some one, or some group, they consider the "other". In God's teaching there is no other.
We are truly all in this together.
Don't get me wrong, it's not that I'm not a big fan of the Pope, but I'm not the sort that would typically be browsing the Vatican website for the latest papal direction. I happened across the encyclical though, and ended up reading the whole thing (it's really not that hard...pretty basic stuff).
According to the Wikipedia article, the first half is said to have been written by Benedict XVI in German, his mother tongue, in the summer of 2005; the second half is derived from uncompleted writings left by his predecessor, Pope John Paul II.
"Deus Caritas Est" is Latin for "God is Love", which pretty much sums up what the encyclical is about.
There's a nice philosophical discussion of "eros" (human) and "agape" (divine) love, and an interesting point about Christianity not killing "eros"...
"biblical faith does not set up a parallel universe, or one opposed to that primordial human phenomenon which is love, but rather accepts the whole man; it intervenes in his search for love in order to purify it and to reveal new dimensions of it."
Probably the best summary in my mind is this -
"The unbreakable bond between love of God and love of neighbour is emphasized. One is so closely connected to the other that to say that we love God becomes a lie if we are closed to our neighbour or hate him altogether...love of neighbour is a path that leads to the encounter with God, closing our eyes to our neighbour also blinds us to God."
There is a secondary theme regarding the role of church and state, reaffirming that each has a separate role to play,
"The Church cannot and must not take upon herself the political battle to bring about the most just society possible. She cannot and must not replace the State."
It's amazing how far afield some go from these two simple precepts - loving your neighbor and leaving church work to the church and political work to the state. This is not to say that the church cannot provide informed compassionate people to do the work of the state, only that we not mix up the role of the two institutions.
Can't help but think of the various "political" folks who want to use the church to do the work of the state and underly their righteousness with a thinly disguised hatred of some one, or some group, they consider the "other". In God's teaching there is no other.
We are truly all in this together.
Saturday, April 15, 2006
Amanda Davis
I've been reading stories about a woman named Amanda Davis at McSweeney's Internet Tendency this morning.
Amanda, who died in an airplane crash along with her parents a few years ago, was a writer/teacher/friend who left strong positive impressions on those who knew her.
The good thing, if anything could be said to be good about a young woman killed in an airplane crash, is that the people who remember her are very articulate and provide a fascinating glimpse into a life well lived.
More at Live a round life.
Amanda, who died in an airplane crash along with her parents a few years ago, was a writer/teacher/friend who left strong positive impressions on those who knew her.
The good thing, if anything could be said to be good about a young woman killed in an airplane crash, is that the people who remember her are very articulate and provide a fascinating glimpse into a life well lived.
More at Live a round life.
Friday, April 14, 2006
Does the Catholic Church Need Another Luther?
Does the Catholic church need another Luther?
Martin Luther criticized the Catholic Church in the 1500’s for it’s corrupt practices. More specifically he targeted Pope Leo X, pontiff at that time, who was known for his completely non-Pope like behaviors – greed, corruption, and assorted sins of the flesh. Pope Leo is reported to have said when he became Pope, “Since God has given us the papacy, let us enjoy it.”
Martin Luther called Pope Leo X, the Antichrist.
In 1520 Pope Leo X sent Martin Luther a bull threatening to excommunicate Luther, he also ordered anyone having writings of Luther's to not keep, or read them, and encouraged the writings be burned publicly. Pope Leo X gave Martin Luther 60 days to toe the line, of course Luther refused - he burned the first bull and reiterated his point of view that Leo was the Antichrist, leading Leo X to publish his second bull to excommunicate Martin Luther.
You can read about Pope Leo X in Wikipedia, or if you don’t trust that source – the Catholic Encyclopedia Article on Pope Leo X.
Martin Luther was a brave reformer. I think the Catholic Church may need a new brave reformer.
I don’t know what’s really going on with the reports of sexual abuse by priests. In my younger years I spent a lot of time with and around priests and never heard stories of, or had any direct knowledge, of any such thing. Not sure what’s going on – mass hysteria of some sort? A desire to make a buck? Or maybe there is something systemic wrong – something that needs a reformer - to sweep out the corrupt and make some major revisions to the church.
I think the first thing that reformer could do would be to end the vow of celibacy. If a priest chooses to be celibate that’s a personal decision, but it should not be a requirement. I have no proof, but I believe a man who is married and has children of his own is much less likely to be a sexual predator – it seems that way from the newspaper reports anyway. It seems to make sense intuitively as well.
The second thing that reformer could do would be to end the requirement that priests be men. A healthy mix of male and female pastors would be good for everyone – and I believe provide an internal monitor of the health of the priesthood. There is something too secret about the current state of affairs when we find out by reading scandalous reports in the newspapers that a particular priest is, and has been for years, sexual abusing young people. Allowing married men and women to be priests opens the window, would create chances for dialogue – and quite simply provide new sets of eyes and ears to know what’s really going on.
I’m sorry that the Catholic Church, or some particular clergymen specifically, have become so mired in allegations of sexual abuse. But being sorry isn’t going to make things change. I’m not sure without some major house-cleaning and fundamental changes in the pool of people who are brought into the priesthood - that things will change all that much. It’s sad because there are so many wonderful priests in the Catholic faith, that are tainted in some way by the sins of their brethren - unless they stand up to provide solutions to this unfortunate situation.
The new Pope Benedict has a beautifully written, and very clear, statement on the fundamental Christian precept of “love” in his first Encyclical Letter "Deus Caritas Est" – there is nothing in what he writes to preclude love between a man and a woman in the life of someone most holy – in this case those who are called to the priesthood.
Martin Luther criticized the Catholic Church in the 1500’s for it’s corrupt practices. More specifically he targeted Pope Leo X, pontiff at that time, who was known for his completely non-Pope like behaviors – greed, corruption, and assorted sins of the flesh. Pope Leo is reported to have said when he became Pope, “Since God has given us the papacy, let us enjoy it.”
Martin Luther called Pope Leo X, the Antichrist.
In 1520 Pope Leo X sent Martin Luther a bull threatening to excommunicate Luther, he also ordered anyone having writings of Luther's to not keep, or read them, and encouraged the writings be burned publicly. Pope Leo X gave Martin Luther 60 days to toe the line, of course Luther refused - he burned the first bull and reiterated his point of view that Leo was the Antichrist, leading Leo X to publish his second bull to excommunicate Martin Luther.
You can read about Pope Leo X in Wikipedia, or if you don’t trust that source – the Catholic Encyclopedia Article on Pope Leo X.
Martin Luther was a brave reformer. I think the Catholic Church may need a new brave reformer.
I don’t know what’s really going on with the reports of sexual abuse by priests. In my younger years I spent a lot of time with and around priests and never heard stories of, or had any direct knowledge, of any such thing. Not sure what’s going on – mass hysteria of some sort? A desire to make a buck? Or maybe there is something systemic wrong – something that needs a reformer - to sweep out the corrupt and make some major revisions to the church.
I think the first thing that reformer could do would be to end the vow of celibacy. If a priest chooses to be celibate that’s a personal decision, but it should not be a requirement. I have no proof, but I believe a man who is married and has children of his own is much less likely to be a sexual predator – it seems that way from the newspaper reports anyway. It seems to make sense intuitively as well.
The second thing that reformer could do would be to end the requirement that priests be men. A healthy mix of male and female pastors would be good for everyone – and I believe provide an internal monitor of the health of the priesthood. There is something too secret about the current state of affairs when we find out by reading scandalous reports in the newspapers that a particular priest is, and has been for years, sexual abusing young people. Allowing married men and women to be priests opens the window, would create chances for dialogue – and quite simply provide new sets of eyes and ears to know what’s really going on.
I’m sorry that the Catholic Church, or some particular clergymen specifically, have become so mired in allegations of sexual abuse. But being sorry isn’t going to make things change. I’m not sure without some major house-cleaning and fundamental changes in the pool of people who are brought into the priesthood - that things will change all that much. It’s sad because there are so many wonderful priests in the Catholic faith, that are tainted in some way by the sins of their brethren - unless they stand up to provide solutions to this unfortunate situation.
The new Pope Benedict has a beautifully written, and very clear, statement on the fundamental Christian precept of “love” in his first Encyclical Letter "Deus Caritas Est" – there is nothing in what he writes to preclude love between a man and a woman in the life of someone most holy – in this case those who are called to the priesthood.
Wednesday, April 12, 2006
Spirituality
Someone wrote, "Spirituality is the search for the sacred and the pursuit of meaning and purpose in life."
I don't know what this means.
I am puzzled by what the word spirituality means, and using sacred to define it doesn't help me much (since I'm not real clear on what sacred means either).
I took some definitions from Webster's dictionary -
sacred
highly valued and important
holy
exalted or worthy of complete devotion
venerated as or as if sacred
spiritual
of or relating to sacred matters
spirit
an animating or vital principle held to give life to physical organisms
the immaterial intelligent or sentient part of a person
the activating or essential principle influencing a person
Using those definitions I rewrote the statement,
"Spirituality is the search for the sacred and the pursuit of meaning and purpose in life."
to be -
"Living well is to search for what is truely important, and highly valued since it provides meaning and purpose to a life."
In a circular manner I have equated "spirituality" with "living well". I'm still not sure what spirituality is, but that's fine.
What do you value? What gives your life meaning and purpose?
Given the impermanant nature of this world, how permanant are the things you have chosen to value? Do the things that give your life meaning depend on health, wealth, a job, another person? Eventually you will lose all of those things - then what gives your life meaning?
There are questions that have no answer, or at least the answer will change over time. I honestly believe it is in the search that we find meaning. We all enjoy a good mystery, life is full of them.
Happy searching.
I don't know what this means.
I am puzzled by what the word spirituality means, and using sacred to define it doesn't help me much (since I'm not real clear on what sacred means either).
I took some definitions from Webster's dictionary -
sacred
highly valued and important
holy
exalted or worthy of complete devotion
venerated as or as if sacred
spiritual
of or relating to sacred matters
spirit
an animating or vital principle held to give life to physical organisms
the immaterial intelligent or sentient part of a person
the activating or essential principle influencing a person
Using those definitions I rewrote the statement,
"Spirituality is the search for the sacred and the pursuit of meaning and purpose in life."
to be -
"Living well is to search for what is truely important, and highly valued since it provides meaning and purpose to a life."
In a circular manner I have equated "spirituality" with "living well". I'm still not sure what spirituality is, but that's fine.
What do you value? What gives your life meaning and purpose?
Given the impermanant nature of this world, how permanant are the things you have chosen to value? Do the things that give your life meaning depend on health, wealth, a job, another person? Eventually you will lose all of those things - then what gives your life meaning?
There are questions that have no answer, or at least the answer will change over time. I honestly believe it is in the search that we find meaning. We all enjoy a good mystery, life is full of them.
Happy searching.
Tuesday, April 11, 2006
Blogging Haiku
Nothing new to write
yet I must fill some white space
time to cut and paste
five seven five yes
it makes a haiku for you
that will fit the form
I'm sorry for this
it is very bad it is
i have no shame left
my haiku is worth
maybe a d minus or
maybe something less
yet I must fill some white space
time to cut and paste
five seven five yes
it makes a haiku for you
that will fit the form
I'm sorry for this
it is very bad it is
i have no shame left
my haiku is worth
maybe a d minus or
maybe something less
Patagonia - Cool Stuff
Patagonia does have some cool looking clothing. It's not cheap, but if you prefer quality and style - and something that will last it's a good place to shop.
It's also fun to read the description of some of the things they sell like this Patagonia M's Sideburn Shirt -
It's a climbing shirt you see - for keeping cool when the crags heat up. Organic, holds an MP3 and it's for thin people. I like the idea behind the marketing. It's a bit ironic to be reading it as a cube dwelling non-climbing chub - but you never know I might be climbing on some hot crags again someday...or if not me, certainly you.
It's also fun to read the description of some of the things they sell like this Patagonia M's Sideburn Shirt -
"A shirt for keeping your cool when the crags heat up. Sideburns are made from a lightweight, airy blend of organic cotton and polyester that moves moisture and hot air away from your skin. Inside, polyester mesh lines the shoulders for free-moving comfort and increased wicking performance. The full front zipper vents excess heat instantly; a hidden chest pocket holds an MP3 player. Redesigned this season through the body for a trimmer fit."
It's a climbing shirt you see - for keeping cool when the crags heat up. Organic, holds an MP3 and it's for thin people. I like the idea behind the marketing. It's a bit ironic to be reading it as a cube dwelling non-climbing chub - but you never know I might be climbing on some hot crags again someday...or if not me, certainly you.
Sunday, April 09, 2006
Palm Sunday
looks like a good book for the very young - or young at heart.For us adult-like creatures - Father Larry Gillick, writes a nice daily reflection on this Palm Sunday
He Sat in His Comfortable Chair
He sat in his comfortable chair in the early morning – almost 3 a.m. He was, as always, enjoying the solitude. The quiet enveloped him as he wrote, “listening to the refrigerator hum”.
"That song will never sell," he thought to himself.
Today is Palm Sunday he’d heard the radioman say. Two thousand years ago they lined the road with palm fronds as Jesus rode into town on a donkey. He was on a roll. The events at the ending of this Lenten season go quickly now. In this short week we see the celebration turn to betrayal, suffering, and death. Then back to celebration as they roll away the stone and find their leader has risen again.
It’s a good story. You have to have faith to see it as something more. Faith – the belief in that which we don’t have proof of. In our scientific world we like proof, give me the data, the facts, the figures. Show me.
There are lots of things in our lives that demand faith if we are to live as compassionate, caring, loving, and eventually - transcendent human beings. Not creature-like only concerned with the here, the now, but rather with faith in things beyond what we see.
Faith in love. Faith in the goodness of all people. Faith that something, someone, is looking out for us. Faith in fidelity. Faith in friendship. Faith in family. Faith in our leaders, teachers, ministers.
So many times our faith is tested. The data doesn’t support the hypothesis. But that’s the story. Jesus loved the world and all the people in it. God so loved the world that he gave his only son to suffer and die on the cross for us, for our sins, so we can be forgiven and forgive others.
If we give up our faith and stop accepting the mystery, then what?
Then we live in the here and now, and it’s often an ugly place. You can find all sorts of things to wring your hands over, obsess over, hate – everyday. There are lots of facts that show us this is an ugly place to live in. Without some way to transcend this life we are stuck in the muck. People killing people, hurting people, starving people, betraying the trust of those unable to take care of themselves. It’s all on the news. We have to look out – look out for ourselves. Make sure we get our piece of the pie. There isn’t enough for everyone.
Faith, the ability to transcend our rationality – to be irrational, exuberant, joy-filled in the face of the ugliness that is brought into this world by human creatures. That simple faith can allow us to do things that would be unthinkable otherwise. Certainly there have been cases of very bad unthinkable things done in the name of faith. But because we have faith in the good we can care for the sick, the poor, the imprisoned, the addicted and forgive the wicked – having faith that all can be redeemed.
Faith to sit and listen, to work, to fight for goodness – even in the face of unbearable sadness – to witness, not to proselytize with words, but to live lives of faith.
To show, not to say.
To be.
He wrote as he sat - in his comfortable chair.
"That song will never sell," he thought to himself.
_________________________
Today is Palm Sunday he’d heard the radioman say. Two thousand years ago they lined the road with palm fronds as Jesus rode into town on a donkey. He was on a roll. The events at the ending of this Lenten season go quickly now. In this short week we see the celebration turn to betrayal, suffering, and death. Then back to celebration as they roll away the stone and find their leader has risen again.
It’s a good story. You have to have faith to see it as something more. Faith – the belief in that which we don’t have proof of. In our scientific world we like proof, give me the data, the facts, the figures. Show me.
There are lots of things in our lives that demand faith if we are to live as compassionate, caring, loving, and eventually - transcendent human beings. Not creature-like only concerned with the here, the now, but rather with faith in things beyond what we see.
Faith in love. Faith in the goodness of all people. Faith that something, someone, is looking out for us. Faith in fidelity. Faith in friendship. Faith in family. Faith in our leaders, teachers, ministers.
So many times our faith is tested. The data doesn’t support the hypothesis. But that’s the story. Jesus loved the world and all the people in it. God so loved the world that he gave his only son to suffer and die on the cross for us, for our sins, so we can be forgiven and forgive others.
If we give up our faith and stop accepting the mystery, then what?
Then we live in the here and now, and it’s often an ugly place. You can find all sorts of things to wring your hands over, obsess over, hate – everyday. There are lots of facts that show us this is an ugly place to live in. Without some way to transcend this life we are stuck in the muck. People killing people, hurting people, starving people, betraying the trust of those unable to take care of themselves. It’s all on the news. We have to look out – look out for ourselves. Make sure we get our piece of the pie. There isn’t enough for everyone.
Faith, the ability to transcend our rationality – to be irrational, exuberant, joy-filled in the face of the ugliness that is brought into this world by human creatures. That simple faith can allow us to do things that would be unthinkable otherwise. Certainly there have been cases of very bad unthinkable things done in the name of faith. But because we have faith in the good we can care for the sick, the poor, the imprisoned, the addicted and forgive the wicked – having faith that all can be redeemed.
Faith to sit and listen, to work, to fight for goodness – even in the face of unbearable sadness – to witness, not to proselytize with words, but to live lives of faith.
To show, not to say.
To be.
He wrote as he sat - in his comfortable chair.
Saturday, April 08, 2006
Don't Worry There Will be Snacks
From the song "Tables and Chairs" by Andrew Bird -
i know we're going to meet some day
in the crumbled financial institutions of this land
there will be tables and chairs
there'll be pony rides and dancing bears
there'll even be a band
cause listen, after the fall there will be no more countries
no currencies at all, we're gonna live on our wits
we're gonna throw away survival kits,
trade butterfly-knives for adderal
and that's not all
ooh-ooh, there will be snacks there will
there will be snacks, there will be snacks.
You can listen to the song recorded live from the Paradiso in Amsterdam at fabchannel.com and if you like maybe pick up a copy of the album, Andrew Bird & the Mysterious Production of Eggs
Thursday, April 06, 2006
Notes From 98
Richard Carlson – Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff
Zorba the Greek was said to have described himself as “the whole catastrophe.” The truth is, we’re all the whole catastrophe, only we wish that we weren’t. We deny the parts of ourselves that we deem unacceptable rather than accepting the fact that we’re all less than perfect. One of the reasons it’s important to accept all aspects of yourself is that it allows you to be easier on yourself, more compassionate. When you act or feel insecure, rather than pretending to be “together” you can be open to the truth and say to yourself, “I’m feeling frightened and that’s okay.” If you’re feeling a little jealous, greedy, or angry, rather than deny or bury your feelings, you can open to them, which helps you move through them quickly and grow beyond them.
Harry Chapin – Greyhound
I should have realized by now
that all my life's a ride.
It's time to find some happy times
and make myself some friends
I know there ain't no rainbows waiting
when this journey ends.
Stepping off this dirty bus
first time I understood
It's got to be the going
not the getting there that's good
That's a thought for keeping if I could.
It's got to be the going
not the getting there that's good.
H. Scott Peck – The Road Less Traveled
Life is difficult. The first of the “Four Noble Truths” which Buddha taught was “life is suffering”. This is a great truth, one or the greatest truths. It is a great truth because once we truly see this truth, we transcend it. What makes life difficult is that the process of confronting and solving problems is a painful one. Problems call forth our courage and wisdom; indeed they create our courage and our wisdom. When we desire to encourage the growth of the human spirit, we challenge and encourage the human capacity to solve problems. Ben Franklin said, “Those things that hurt instruct.” Wise people learn to welcome problems. Most of us are not so wise. Fearing the pain involved most of us, to a greater or lesser degree, attempt to avoid problems. We procrastinate, ignore, forget, pretend they do not exist, we even take drugs to assist us in ignoring them, so by deadening ourselves to the pain we can forget the problems that caused the pain. We attempt to get out of them rather than suffer through them. Let us teach ourselves and our children the necessity for suffering and the value thereof, the need to face problems directly and experience the pain involved. What are the tools/techniques of suffering that I call discipline?
Timbuk3 – Greetings From
Life is hard
Can't buy happiness no matter what you do
Can't get to heaven on roller skates
Can't take a taxicab to Timbuktu
Thich Nhat Hanh – Peace Is Every Step
Real love. We have to understand the person we want to love. If our love is only a will to possess, it is not love. If we think only of ourselves, if we know only our own needs and ignore the needs of the other person, we cannot love. We must look deeply in order to see and understand the needs, aspirations, and suffering of the person we love. This is the ground of real love. You cannot resist loving another person when you really understand him or her.
Stephen Covey – Seven Habits of Highly Effective People (A Quick Overview)
View life as a spiral of continuing upward growth.
Occasionally you will slide back.
Be good to yourself.
Move onward and upward.
Mary Catherine Bateson - Peripheral Visions: Learning Along the Way
Virtually all the learning that precedes schooling—walking, talking, bye-bye and peekaboo, the intricate rhythms of life within a household—is learning as homecoming. It proceeds at dazzling speed compared with school learning, yet it is underestimated nearly everywhere. Infants have visible states of intense alertness from their earliest weeks.
Building model planes, ballet dancing, riding, computer hacking, basketball playing, working on a novel in secret, any of these, whether or not it promises a way of making a living later in life, can become a standard for feeling fully alive.
When school begins much of this invisible learning is negative: the inadequacy of parents as sources, the irrelevance of play, the unacceptability of imagination. School teaches the contextualization of learning and the importance of keeping different areas of life separate: home from the workplace, Sundays from weekdays, and work from play.
Teaching children that there is a correct time and place for learning, we also teach them to stop learning when the manage to escape from school, or to keep what has been learned specialized to one context and quite inaccessible for use in others.
The informal learning, unverbalized and unquestioned, takes precedence over explicit teaching unless uprooted in drastic ways.
It is fashionable in America to say that schools are failing and there is a groundswell of anger against educators of all kinds. This is not in the main because they are not doing their job, it is because we have no adequate understanding of what that job is in the kind of society we are becoming.
The avalanche of changes taking place around the world, the changes we should be facing at home, all come as reminders that of all the skills learned in school the most important is the skill to learn over a lifetime those things that no one, including the teachers, yet understands.
You will always be acting under uncertainty. You will know the future when you get there. Only so can you make it your home.
The world we live in is the one we are able to perceive; it becomes gradually more intelligible and more accessible with the building up of coherent mental models. Learning to know a community or a landscape is a homecoming. Creating a vision of that community or landscape is homecoming.
Fritjof Capra – The Web of Life
Information is presented as the basis of thinking, whereas in reality the human mind thinks with ideas, not with information.
As Theodore Roszak shows in The Cult of Information, information does not create ideas; ideas create information. Ideas are integrating patterns that derive not from information but from experience.
From a story by Victor Frankl about Auschwitz…a young women who would die in the next few days… But when I talked to her she was cheerful. She mentions, “In my former life I was spoiled and did not take spiritual accomplishments seriously.”…”this tree is the only friend I have in my loneliness”….”I often talk to this tree” Thinking she must be delirious I asked her if the tree replied? “Yes”. What does it say?
“I am here – I am life, eternal life.”
tree=life
Both Frankl and the young woman reach new awareness through painful confusion followed by perception of wholeness and form. Both reached awareness through an emotional torment, honestly and bravely suffered, that gave way to transcendent fulfillment. The basis of this fulfillment was a single metaphor,
tree=life.
Zorba the Greek was said to have described himself as “the whole catastrophe.” The truth is, we’re all the whole catastrophe, only we wish that we weren’t. We deny the parts of ourselves that we deem unacceptable rather than accepting the fact that we’re all less than perfect. One of the reasons it’s important to accept all aspects of yourself is that it allows you to be easier on yourself, more compassionate. When you act or feel insecure, rather than pretending to be “together” you can be open to the truth and say to yourself, “I’m feeling frightened and that’s okay.” If you’re feeling a little jealous, greedy, or angry, rather than deny or bury your feelings, you can open to them, which helps you move through them quickly and grow beyond them.
____________________________________
Harry Chapin – Greyhound
I should have realized by now
that all my life's a ride.
It's time to find some happy times
and make myself some friends
I know there ain't no rainbows waiting
when this journey ends.
Stepping off this dirty bus
first time I understood
It's got to be the going
not the getting there that's good
That's a thought for keeping if I could.
It's got to be the going
not the getting there that's good.
____________________________________
H. Scott Peck – The Road Less Traveled
Life is difficult. The first of the “Four Noble Truths” which Buddha taught was “life is suffering”. This is a great truth, one or the greatest truths. It is a great truth because once we truly see this truth, we transcend it. What makes life difficult is that the process of confronting and solving problems is a painful one. Problems call forth our courage and wisdom; indeed they create our courage and our wisdom. When we desire to encourage the growth of the human spirit, we challenge and encourage the human capacity to solve problems. Ben Franklin said, “Those things that hurt instruct.” Wise people learn to welcome problems. Most of us are not so wise. Fearing the pain involved most of us, to a greater or lesser degree, attempt to avoid problems. We procrastinate, ignore, forget, pretend they do not exist, we even take drugs to assist us in ignoring them, so by deadening ourselves to the pain we can forget the problems that caused the pain. We attempt to get out of them rather than suffer through them. Let us teach ourselves and our children the necessity for suffering and the value thereof, the need to face problems directly and experience the pain involved. What are the tools/techniques of suffering that I call discipline?
- Delaying gratification
- Acceptance of responsibility
- Dedication to truth
- Balancing
____________________________________
Timbuk3 – Greetings From
Life is hard
Can't buy happiness no matter what you do
Can't get to heaven on roller skates
Can't take a taxicab to Timbuktu
____________________________________
Thich Nhat Hanh – Peace Is Every Step
Real love. We have to understand the person we want to love. If our love is only a will to possess, it is not love. If we think only of ourselves, if we know only our own needs and ignore the needs of the other person, we cannot love. We must look deeply in order to see and understand the needs, aspirations, and suffering of the person we love. This is the ground of real love. You cannot resist loving another person when you really understand him or her.
____________________________________
Stephen Covey – Seven Habits of Highly Effective People (A Quick Overview)
- Be proactive – Take a Breath between stimulus and response
- Begin with the end in mind – Planning ahead doesn’t eliminate spontaneity.
- Put first things first – Relationships are our most important things.
- Think win win – Even though you may not always be able to
- Seek first to understand and then to be understood – Listen to learn not to reply
- Synergize – Be part of the orchestra (solo on your own time)
- Sharpen the saw – Do things that enhance your mind, your body, your spirit and your relationships.
View life as a spiral of continuing upward growth.
Occasionally you will slide back.
Be good to yourself.
Move onward and upward.
____________________________________
Mary Catherine Bateson - Peripheral Visions: Learning Along the Way
Virtually all the learning that precedes schooling—walking, talking, bye-bye and peekaboo, the intricate rhythms of life within a household—is learning as homecoming. It proceeds at dazzling speed compared with school learning, yet it is underestimated nearly everywhere. Infants have visible states of intense alertness from their earliest weeks.
Building model planes, ballet dancing, riding, computer hacking, basketball playing, working on a novel in secret, any of these, whether or not it promises a way of making a living later in life, can become a standard for feeling fully alive.
When school begins much of this invisible learning is negative: the inadequacy of parents as sources, the irrelevance of play, the unacceptability of imagination. School teaches the contextualization of learning and the importance of keeping different areas of life separate: home from the workplace, Sundays from weekdays, and work from play.
Teaching children that there is a correct time and place for learning, we also teach them to stop learning when the manage to escape from school, or to keep what has been learned specialized to one context and quite inaccessible for use in others.
The informal learning, unverbalized and unquestioned, takes precedence over explicit teaching unless uprooted in drastic ways.
It is fashionable in America to say that schools are failing and there is a groundswell of anger against educators of all kinds. This is not in the main because they are not doing their job, it is because we have no adequate understanding of what that job is in the kind of society we are becoming.
The avalanche of changes taking place around the world, the changes we should be facing at home, all come as reminders that of all the skills learned in school the most important is the skill to learn over a lifetime those things that no one, including the teachers, yet understands.
You will always be acting under uncertainty. You will know the future when you get there. Only so can you make it your home.
The world we live in is the one we are able to perceive; it becomes gradually more intelligible and more accessible with the building up of coherent mental models. Learning to know a community or a landscape is a homecoming. Creating a vision of that community or landscape is homecoming.
____________________________________
Fritjof Capra – The Web of Life
Information is presented as the basis of thinking, whereas in reality the human mind thinks with ideas, not with information.
As Theodore Roszak shows in The Cult of Information, information does not create ideas; ideas create information. Ideas are integrating patterns that derive not from information but from experience.
____________________________________
From a story by Victor Frankl about Auschwitz…a young women who would die in the next few days… But when I talked to her she was cheerful. She mentions, “In my former life I was spoiled and did not take spiritual accomplishments seriously.”…”this tree is the only friend I have in my loneliness”….”I often talk to this tree” Thinking she must be delirious I asked her if the tree replied? “Yes”. What does it say?
“I am here – I am life, eternal life.”
tree=life
Both Frankl and the young woman reach new awareness through painful confusion followed by perception of wholeness and form. Both reached awareness through an emotional torment, honestly and bravely suffered, that gave way to transcendent fulfillment. The basis of this fulfillment was a single metaphor,
tree=life.
Monday, April 03, 2006
Christmas Cactus
We thought this plant was dead but it got a few buds recently and has these nice pink flowers now. It's a lot smaller than it looks in this close-up shot.
Saturday, April 01, 2006
Learn How to Knit a Cute Animal
Boing Boing has a link to some nice looking toy animals that you can learn how to knit at the Maker Faire. If you aren't in the San Mateo area, or aren't a knitter, this lady has made some really cute animals that you can look at on Flickr: Photos from Jess Hutch
______________________________
The Best Things In Life
"The best things in life are nearest. Breath in your nostrils, light in your eyes, flowers at your feet, duties at your hand, the path of right just before you. Then do not grasp at the stars, but do life's plain, common work as it comes, certain that the daily duties and daily bread are the sweetest things in life."
Robert Louis Stevenson
The Greatest of All Miracles
"The Zen master Ling Chi said that the miracle is not to walk on burning charcoal or in the thin air or on the water; the miracle is just to walk on earth. You breathe in. You become aware of the fact that you are alive. You are still alive and you are walking on this beautiful planet. The greatest of all miracles is to be alive."
Thich Nhat Hanh
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