Wednesday, November 30, 2005
Words. More Words.
music: Bill Laswell, City of Light
colors: ROYGBIV.
thoughts: For an assignment due Friday, I'm supposed to share some poems and songs. Here's some words I read for sharing, some which are kind of poem-like.
The Heart is a Lonely Hunter (Excerpt, from Part 2, Chapter 1)
How did it come?
For a minute the opening balanced
from one side to the other.
Like a walk or a march.
Like God strutting in the night.
The outside of her was suddenly froze
and only that first part of the music
was hot inside her heart.
She could not even hear what sounded after,
but she sat there waiting and froze,
with her fists tight.
After a while
the music came again, harder and loud.
It didn't have anything to do with
God.
This was her, Mick Kelly,
walking in the daytime
and by herself at night.
In the hot sun
and in the dark
with all the plans and feelings.
This music was her
--the real plain her.
(I still am in love with Carson McCullers.)
Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam (XLI - XLIV)
For "Is" and Is-not" though with Rule
and Line
And "Up-and-Down" without, I could define,
I yet in all I only cared to know,
Was never deep in anything but -- Wine.
And lately, by the Tavern Door agape,
Came stealing through the Dusk an Angel
Shape
Bearing a Vessel on his Shoulder; and
He bid me taste of it; and 'tas -- the
Grape!
The Grape that can with Logic absolute
The Two-and-Seventy jarring Sections confute:
The subtle Alchemist that in a Trice
Life's leaden Metal into Gold transmute.
The mighty Mahmud, the victorious Lord,
That all the misbelieving and black Horde
Of Fears and Sorrows that infest the
Soul
Scatters and slays with his enchanged
Sword.
But leave the Wise to wrangle, and with
me
The Quarrel of the Universe let be:
And, in some corner of the Hubbub
coucht,
Make Game of that which makes as much
of Thee.
For in and out, above, about below,
"Tis nothing but a Magic Shadow-show
Play'd in a Box whose Candle is the
Sun,
Round which we Phantom Figures come
and go.
From "The Magical Rainbow Man and the Journey of Love", by Shahastra
"I am the Queen of the Land of Red.
Red is the color of strength," she said.
"When there is love in your heart, let it be strong.
And let it keep growing all day long."
"I am the Goddess of the Orange land here.
Orange gives you energy when you fear.
Let not your heart be afraid to give,
For it's only with giving you learn to live."
"I am the Fairy of this gleaming Yellow Land.
Yellow brightens your mind to understand.
When you understand how bright love is
Your mind will open in joy and bliss."
"I am the Maiden of the Land of Green.
Green gives harmony to every living being.
It soothes the heart so deep inside
And gives you a loving smile so wide."
"I am the Deva of the Land of Blue.
Blue is a peaceful color flowing through.
When you're full of peace you love all things
And know what joy and beauty brings."
"I am the Angel of the Land of Indigo.
Indigo gives wisdom so you may know
To hear your inner voice that tells you all,
To use your inner light to love your world."
"I am the Spirit of this Violet Land bright
Violet opens your soul to see the Light
And when you open to the Cosmic Light of Love
Everything is One both below and above."
Excerpts from the "Medium is the Massage", by Marshall McLuhan
#1
All media work us over completely. They are so pervasive in their personal, political, economic, aesthetic, psychological, moral, ethical, and social consequences that they leave no part of us untouched, unaffected, unaltered. The medium is the massage. Any understanding of social and cultural change is impossible without a knowledge of the way media work as environments.
All
media
are
extensions
of
some
human
faculty--
psychic
or
physical.
The wheel...
is an extension of the foot.
The book...
is an extension of the eye.
Clothing...
an extension of the skin.
Electric circuitry,
an extension of
the
central
nervous
system.
Media, by altering the environment, evoke in us unique ratios of sense perceptions.
The extension of any one sense alters the way we think and act -- the way we perceive
the world.
When
these
ratios
change,
men change.
#2
Until writing was invented, man lived in acoustic space: boundless, directionless,
horizonless, in the dark of the mind, in the world of emotion, by primordial intuition, by terror. Speech is a social chart of this bog.
The goose quill put an end to talk. It abolished mystery; it gave architecture and towns; it brought roads and armies, bureaucracy. It was the basic metaphor with which the cycle of civilization began, the step from the dark into the light of the mind.
The hand that filled the parchment page built a city.
Further thoughts:
In the beginning was the Word (from John 1:1). Really, that verse is dee-eee-ee-eeep! What the hell does it mean? Taken with McLuhan's info above, we have an engine -- perhaps not ready to drop into a Ford F-150 Custom Deluxe and go racing down the strip just yet, but an engine nonetheless.
Another thing to study up on. Where does power come from? What is the nature of power?
Here's a short version of a good thing to read (The Power of the Powerless) by Vaclav Havel, and here's another based off of it, by a member of the Anglo-Catholic clergy.
pax hominibus,
joel
colors: ROYGBIV.
thoughts: For an assignment due Friday, I'm supposed to share some poems and songs. Here's some words I read for sharing, some which are kind of poem-like.
The Heart is a Lonely Hunter (Excerpt, from Part 2, Chapter 1)
How did it come?
For a minute the opening balanced
from one side to the other.
Like a walk or a march.
Like God strutting in the night.
The outside of her was suddenly froze
and only that first part of the music
was hot inside her heart.
She could not even hear what sounded after,
but she sat there waiting and froze,
with her fists tight.
After a while
the music came again, harder and loud.
It didn't have anything to do with
God.
This was her, Mick Kelly,
walking in the daytime
and by herself at night.
In the hot sun
and in the dark
with all the plans and feelings.
This music was her
--the real plain her.
(I still am in love with Carson McCullers.)
Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam (XLI - XLIV)
For "Is" and Is-not" though with Rule
and Line
And "Up-and-Down" without, I could define,
I yet in all I only cared to know,
Was never deep in anything but -- Wine.
And lately, by the Tavern Door agape,
Came stealing through the Dusk an Angel
Shape
Bearing a Vessel on his Shoulder; and
He bid me taste of it; and 'tas -- the
Grape!
The Grape that can with Logic absolute
The Two-and-Seventy jarring Sections confute:
The subtle Alchemist that in a Trice
Life's leaden Metal into Gold transmute.
The mighty Mahmud, the victorious Lord,
That all the misbelieving and black Horde
Of Fears and Sorrows that infest the
Soul
Scatters and slays with his enchanged
Sword.
But leave the Wise to wrangle, and with
me
The Quarrel of the Universe let be:
And, in some corner of the Hubbub
coucht,
Make Game of that which makes as much
of Thee.
For in and out, above, about below,
"Tis nothing but a Magic Shadow-show
Play'd in a Box whose Candle is the
Sun,
Round which we Phantom Figures come
and go.
From "The Magical Rainbow Man and the Journey of Love", by Shahastra
"I am the Queen of the Land of Red.
Red is the color of strength," she said.
"When there is love in your heart, let it be strong.
And let it keep growing all day long."
"I am the Goddess of the Orange land here.
Orange gives you energy when you fear.
Let not your heart be afraid to give,
For it's only with giving you learn to live."
"I am the Fairy of this gleaming Yellow Land.
Yellow brightens your mind to understand.
When you understand how bright love is
Your mind will open in joy and bliss."
"I am the Maiden of the Land of Green.
Green gives harmony to every living being.
It soothes the heart so deep inside
And gives you a loving smile so wide."
"I am the Deva of the Land of Blue.
Blue is a peaceful color flowing through.
When you're full of peace you love all things
And know what joy and beauty brings."
"I am the Angel of the Land of Indigo.
Indigo gives wisdom so you may know
To hear your inner voice that tells you all,
To use your inner light to love your world."
"I am the Spirit of this Violet Land bright
Violet opens your soul to see the Light
And when you open to the Cosmic Light of Love
Everything is One both below and above."
Excerpts from the "Medium is the Massage", by Marshall McLuhan
#1
All media work us over completely. They are so pervasive in their personal, political, economic, aesthetic, psychological, moral, ethical, and social consequences that they leave no part of us untouched, unaffected, unaltered. The medium is the massage. Any understanding of social and cultural change is impossible without a knowledge of the way media work as environments.
All
media
are
extensions
of
some
human
faculty--
psychic
or
physical.
The wheel...
is an extension of the foot.
The book...
is an extension of the eye.
Clothing...
an extension of the skin.
Electric circuitry,
an extension of
the
central
nervous
system.
Media, by altering the environment, evoke in us unique ratios of sense perceptions.
The extension of any one sense alters the way we think and act -- the way we perceive
the world.
When
these
ratios
change,
men change.
#2
Until writing was invented, man lived in acoustic space: boundless, directionless,
horizonless, in the dark of the mind, in the world of emotion, by primordial intuition, by terror. Speech is a social chart of this bog.
The goose quill put an end to talk. It abolished mystery; it gave architecture and towns; it brought roads and armies, bureaucracy. It was the basic metaphor with which the cycle of civilization began, the step from the dark into the light of the mind.
The hand that filled the parchment page built a city.
Further thoughts:
In the beginning was the Word (from John 1:1). Really, that verse is dee-eee-ee-eeep! What the hell does it mean? Taken with McLuhan's info above, we have an engine -- perhaps not ready to drop into a Ford F-150 Custom Deluxe and go racing down the strip just yet, but an engine nonetheless.
Another thing to study up on. Where does power come from? What is the nature of power?
Here's a short version of a good thing to read (The Power of the Powerless) by Vaclav Havel, and here's another based off of it, by a member of the Anglo-Catholic clergy.
pax hominibus,
joel
Tuesday, November 29, 2005
A new noise weapon against those with decent hearing
music: Shoplifting, by the English Beat.
colors: black and brown
mood: razzed
thoughts: the device linked above. wha? not only is that SO annoying, but crap like that should be banned, as it's really just plain disciminatory, and controlling. If you want to keep your teenagers from hanging out in front of your store, buy a separate stereo for the outside, and play some John Tesh on a loop. I bet that'd attract a lot of paying customers as well, right?
chant/prayer/mantra:
Is there any escape from noise?
pax hominibus(more of the same),
joel
Friday, November 25, 2005
Crash, Bahar Soomekh, and Women's rights.
music: Sonic Youth - Teenage Riot
colors: Blue, Blue, Red, and White
mood: same ol same ol
thoughts: My partner and I just got done watching the movie Crash. In addition to dealing with the myriad of race-related issues that they covered (brutally and honestly, not just some type of discussion), I think they did an excellent job casting. While you can't beat Don Cheadle or Michael Peña or Matt Dillon, and Ludracris did a great job, the women in the film were fabulous, and beautiful. We didn't recognize Marina Sirtis at first, since she didn't have her Star Trek uniform on, but the actresses who most caught my eye were Bahar Soomekh and Thandie Newton.
While I was looking up info on beautiful Bahar Soomekh, I ended up at this beautiful blog.
Then of course, there's also this site, by women in Afghanistan fighting for their rights:
And of course, even in the "freest country on earth", they're still needing to fight.
When are women going to get what they deserve?
And I end up at these pages halfway by accident, because why is it that I can't help but see the erotic in exotic, and then follow?...
And Sandra Bullock, even though not exotic, did such an astounding job in Crash. My respect for her was furthered even further when I heard about her in the 'behind the scenes' section of the DVD. Actually, my respect for the whole team went up quite a bit upon watching the 'behind the scenes'.
chant/prayer/mantra:
What lurks behind?
pax hominibus,
joel
Friday, November 18, 2005
dueling something or other, but definitely not banjos
music: naked man, by the butthole surfers; zippity doo da
colors: strawberry vanilla
mood: okay, a bit sweaty - i think it takes me about 3000-3200 pedals on the bike to get to/from school. a bit less on the way home because i can coast downhill, or pedal in top gear.
thoughts: i didn't get all my reading done, but the reading i did get done was amazing. super-insiring. i wish i could read it over and over, or commit it to memory. perhaps that's what i'll do. yeah, i'll use some of the amazing mind techniques in the previous post.
chant/prayer/mantra:
remember everything, or at least anything.
pax hominibus,
joel
Thursday, November 17, 2005
Some new things to do, to open your mind
music: Gumby and Pokey
colors: Green and Orange
mood: Goofy
thoughts: A lot of good mind-expanding exercises here.
[edit]
I just found this nice bit:
"Every decision you make in life is based on your belief system. To open your mind, start to list your fundamental beliefs, and for each one ask yourself why you believe it. Then ask yourself whether you could imagine being you if you didn't exactly believe it any more, but believed something marginally different. Then marginally different from that. Pick a belief a week and work at it. If you are feeling really brave, and have a really good friend, ask them what they believe. Discuss how they acquired their beliefs. Understand this - your belief system is absolutely unique to you. Your friend's belief system is unique to them. An open mind can see issues using many different perspectives - adopting many different belief systems as the lens to view the issue."
And here's another on keeping your mind sharp...
[/edit]
chant/prayer/mantra:
Gumby walking through walls today.
I wonder to what degree Aardman Animations and other claymationists consider Art Clokey as an influence.
pax hominibus,
joel
console/pc = crack/meth!
music: jane's addiction, ted just admit it
colors: brown orange
mood: ok
thoughts: this article about video game addiction is frightening.
"addictions stem from relying too heavily on one coping strategy, which eventually becomes the only activity that can activate the dopamine system and bring a person relief."
"the condition has a lot in common with other addictions. What makes it tougher is that gamers cannot simply abstain from using computers – they are now an integral part of our lives. In that sense, it has to be approached in the same way as an eating disorder"
chant/prayer/mantra:
steer clear! clear?
pax hominibus,
joel
Tuesday, November 15, 2005
Busy for the sake of being busy
music: Carole King something
colors: tan
mood: tired
thoughts: remember back in elementary school, when the teacher would hand out worksheets at the end of class to keep the students busy? a.k.a. "busywork"?
Check out this quote from here:
For all those people who go to college and in the process incur major debts, then run their lives as indentured servants paying off the student loans, followed by another run of indentured servitude to the system, to put away a little money for retirement, the quote above could ring like a clanging gong.
Don't get me wrong, there's nothing wrong with working hard, but it would be nice if it weren't just 'any job that pays' but rather what you really want to be doing, and then the money isn't really the object, is it?
chant/prayer/mantra:
Let's rethink everything.
pax hominibus,
joel
colors: tan
mood: tired
thoughts: remember back in elementary school, when the teacher would hand out worksheets at the end of class to keep the students busy? a.k.a. "busywork"?
Check out this quote from here:
Normal is getting dressed in clothes that you buy for work and driving through traffic in a car that you are still paying for - in order to get to the job you need to pay for the clothes and the car, and the house you leave vacant all day so you can afford to live in it.
-Ellen Goodman
For all those people who go to college and in the process incur major debts, then run their lives as indentured servants paying off the student loans, followed by another run of indentured servitude to the system, to put away a little money for retirement, the quote above could ring like a clanging gong.
Don't get me wrong, there's nothing wrong with working hard, but it would be nice if it weren't just 'any job that pays' but rather what you really want to be doing, and then the money isn't really the object, is it?
chant/prayer/mantra:
Let's rethink everything.
pax hominibus,
joel
Monday, November 14, 2005
If you're ever in need of a nice secular prayer for a wedding dinner grace...
.
music: prince - when you were mine
colors: peach, beige, french fry
mood: weary. lotsa schoolwork to finish up coming up.
thoughts: i performed a wedding about a month ago now, and had told the brother of the bride i'd post the "grace" prayers for him.
rehearsal dinner:
on this evening of preparation and expectation, may this dinner provide us energy and warmth to allow us to come together this weekend with family and friends in a spirit of celebration, joy, and appreciation. may this food, and this gathering pique our senses, so we are able to realize the love radiating among us -- both this weekend, and going forward. and may we all remember to take a few brief moments during tomorrow's festivities to reflect, and to breathe.
blessed be, and amen.
wedding reception:
as we come together in celebration and to witness the love and commitment of this extraordinary couple, may we be reminded that this gathering of love and joy takes place in a world filled with potential toward the same inspiring energy we feel here today. and as we sit down to eat this meal of food grown from the earth, let us remember our bond and dependence to the earth, and to one another. as we celebrate today, as the soil of the earth celebrates every time it feels the sun and the water, so too may we remember to find and cause inspiration to celebrate daily.
blessed be, and amen.
chant/prayer/mantra:
kick it and smile.
Well, now that I'm (hoping I'm) most of the way through God's wringer, I'm going to go see these movies with new eyes as they stream out over the next several years, and perhaps find some decent alternative relevant substitutional imagery.
pax hominibus,
joel
music: prince - when you were mine
colors: peach, beige, french fry
mood: weary. lotsa schoolwork to finish up coming up.
thoughts: i performed a wedding about a month ago now, and had told the brother of the bride i'd post the "grace" prayers for him.
rehearsal dinner:
on this evening of preparation and expectation, may this dinner provide us energy and warmth to allow us to come together this weekend with family and friends in a spirit of celebration, joy, and appreciation. may this food, and this gathering pique our senses, so we are able to realize the love radiating among us -- both this weekend, and going forward. and may we all remember to take a few brief moments during tomorrow's festivities to reflect, and to breathe.
blessed be, and amen.
wedding reception:
as we come together in celebration and to witness the love and commitment of this extraordinary couple, may we be reminded that this gathering of love and joy takes place in a world filled with potential toward the same inspiring energy we feel here today. and as we sit down to eat this meal of food grown from the earth, let us remember our bond and dependence to the earth, and to one another. as we celebrate today, as the soil of the earth celebrates every time it feels the sun and the water, so too may we remember to find and cause inspiration to celebrate daily.
blessed be, and amen.
chant/prayer/mantra:
kick it and smile.
Link of the day: Sermons on the Narnia Chronicles
I must admit as a child I loved these books. I wonder if seeing the movie I will feel the same way, or if somehow it'll be made more overtly fundamental-leaning than c. s. lewis would've wanted. Even though it's being put out by disney, I'm going to have to see this one. After reading about two paragraphs of one of the sermons I linked to above, I'm feeling a bit ill. IMO, that kind of Christian thinking needs a good hip-check into the boards, to use hockey-parlance.
"Our King, our Aslan, has overcome. Fought, the fight, the battle won."
Geesh!! See what I'm talking about? It's got a nice meter to it, but hey, "Lion idolatry, anyone?"
Well, now that I'm (hoping I'm) most of the way through God's wringer, I'm going to go see these movies with new eyes as they stream out over the next several years, and perhaps find some decent alternative relevant substitutional imagery.
pax hominibus,
joel
Monday, November 7, 2005
studying racism is difficult
thoughts: i've been reading and studying books on racism for the last couple weeks, and i find myself resisting it for two reasons.
1. i want us to just be able to blow it away in one big sweep. make the world truly just and equitable for everyone, make reparations as appropriate, and move on into the great bright sunshine world of light in the sky here on earth. and i get mad that it's not easy at all.
1a. i am lazy, and these readings are deep, dense, and long.
2. i came here with the thinking that i was going to be focusing on theoretical theology, and religious history in support of that. tackling issues at a grounded level is much too here and now for my tastes, and so applied/applicable. to put it in perspective, when i studied math in undergrad, i liked the non-euclidean geometry and topology, and complex variables, etc, and not linear algebra, and differential equations, and combinatorics.
i'm coming to realize that i'm going to need to figure out a middle path for myself, because in coming here, i (to myself, perhaps the school as well) committed to doing both the theoretical and the applied. i'm sure that once i get more engaged, it will be very rewarding. perhaps this is just a phase i need to go through, and be sure to store well in my memory for future reference...
chant/prayer/mantra:
touch the sky and touch ground.
pax hominibus,
joel
1. i want us to just be able to blow it away in one big sweep. make the world truly just and equitable for everyone, make reparations as appropriate, and move on into the great bright sunshine world of light in the sky here on earth. and i get mad that it's not easy at all.
1a. i am lazy, and these readings are deep, dense, and long.
2. i came here with the thinking that i was going to be focusing on theoretical theology, and religious history in support of that. tackling issues at a grounded level is much too here and now for my tastes, and so applied/applicable. to put it in perspective, when i studied math in undergrad, i liked the non-euclidean geometry and topology, and complex variables, etc, and not linear algebra, and differential equations, and combinatorics.
i'm coming to realize that i'm going to need to figure out a middle path for myself, because in coming here, i (to myself, perhaps the school as well) committed to doing both the theoretical and the applied. i'm sure that once i get more engaged, it will be very rewarding. perhaps this is just a phase i need to go through, and be sure to store well in my memory for future reference...
chant/prayer/mantra:
touch the sky and touch ground.
pax hominibus,
joel
Two Big News Items!
music:
a little ditty in my head
colors:
blue white black
mood:
pretty good. i played my acoustic guitar for about an hour earlier today, working on a couple funky scales and chord structures, and the ditty in my head mentioned above.
thoughts:
This page on Slashdot is an interesting discussion of the vatican's recent statement against Intelligent Design.
I'm not sure which is the bigger news: 1) that the Vatican is speaking up, with the authority they have, compared to the (relatively brand new) fundamentalists, who believe their position of literal interpretation is authoritative; or 2) that there are geeks on slashdot who are as excited about theology as they are about network system administration and linux... :)
chant/prayer/mantra:
Focus.
pax hominibus,
joel
a little ditty in my head
colors:
blue white black
mood:
pretty good. i played my acoustic guitar for about an hour earlier today, working on a couple funky scales and chord structures, and the ditty in my head mentioned above.
thoughts:
This page on Slashdot is an interesting discussion of the vatican's recent statement against Intelligent Design.
I'm not sure which is the bigger news: 1) that the Vatican is speaking up, with the authority they have, compared to the (relatively brand new) fundamentalists, who believe their position of literal interpretation is authoritative; or 2) that there are geeks on slashdot who are as excited about theology as they are about network system administration and linux... :)
chant/prayer/mantra:
Focus.
pax hominibus,
joel
