Atthis by Gary Snyder

I.

The painful accumulation of our errors
In dry summer, and her loneliness
And that distracted weeping
Of hot endless afternoons
Foretold the famine

Her swimming fondness
Stretched taut in sterile time
Contracted into dusty fractions
And now the crops are failing.

Since my sorcery has failed
My blood must feed the soil.
Let no delirious priest proclaim
A second coming;
these fragments will stay scattered.



2.

Her life blew through my body and away
I see it whirling now, across the stony places.

I lost her softly through my fingers,
Between my ribs in gentle gusts she
Sifted free, polishing the small bones.

The mute, thin framework takes the winds
That blow across the stony places.



3.

"...Still, she reproached all lands,
calling them ungrateful
and unworthy of the gift of corn"

She shall not be mollified
Til men go mad, and trees have died
For no known reason on the heights
And cornfields withered overnight;
Til Elk have groaned with thirst
And flower buds refuse to burst
Til rivers turn the fish to stone
And rocks are heard again to moan:
Until the sun has been re-tied
To Machu Picchu, men who die
Will be but corpses dressed in frocks
Who cannot speak with birds or rocks.



4. Tiger Song

I gnaw the body of delight
Spit the knotted gristle out
Lap the blood left lie by night

O see your joy digested here
Splintering to the bones of life
That torture with their fractured points
Your concupiscence into strife
Your love into a ball of hair
That cuts me worse than any knife



5.

Poorness and the pride we shared
Our mutual vicious natures bared
Made a jungle of a bed
Gnawed and comforted we fled.
It should have birthed a human child,
Instead our intellects ran wild.

My bitter foe, O sterile lover,
Stranded in my brain, you
Are loved, still loved, there
Which is nowhere,and leaves me
Strangled, bound and dangled, yet
Met, yet of most men most free.



6.

You've gone cold, I suppose
In the prosperous East, with a good job,
Your bright mind turned all brain,
Your wild dancing feet and eyes
Held still, fear
Finally running it all
Under some fancy name.
The summer I hitchhiked from New York
In the hottest week of August
Over the desert and into sea-fog
San Francisco and took you
From your Mother's place, and we hiked
Over Tamalpais, caught a ride
to Tomales Bay, and camped under pines.
You remember it now and put it down,
Turning hard. But I know
How clear and kind your love was
At eighteen, how keen your heart and eye,
How you wrote me of your downtown job,
Sandpipers at Stinson Beach, an old
German you met on a lonely hike
With freckles on his back--the sunburn
On your breasts. even then
I had a terrible thought of time,
And age, and the death
Of our dream-like young love.
It began too soon,
Was too strong too soon,
And it's gone.



7.

Love me love, til trees fall flat
their trunks flail down the berries
Til ripe sharp vines crawl through the door
and the air is full of sparrows

I loved you love, in halls and homes
and through the long library;
I loved you in the pine and snow
now I love blackberry



8.

Half-known stars in the dawn sky
Purple Finch at the feed-tray
A broom beat on a back porch,
tea,
My bent legs, love of you.



9. Up the Dosewallips

In the ruins of a CCC shelter
cooking stew,
rain thru the broken shakes
gorge a low roar,
rain and creeks--

A doe in the meadow
hair plastered to steaming flanks
--hoofprints down gullies
wind whipping rain against cliffs

The trail fades in the meadow,
carins at each rise to the pass.
ash-scars, a ring of stone
--we camped here one other summer--

rainsoaked and shivering
knee deep in squaw grass,

two days travel from roads.



Olympic Mountains



10. Seaman's Ditty

I'm wondering where you are now
Married, or mad, or free:
Wherever you are you're likely glad,
But memory troubles me.

We could've had us children,
We could've had a home--
But you thought not, and I thought not,
And these nine years we roam.

Today I worked in the deep dark tanks,
And climbed out to watch the sea:
Gulls and salty waves pass by,
And mountains of Araby.

I've travelled the lonely oceans
And wandered the lonely towns.
I've learned a lot and lost a lot,
And proved the world was round.

Now if we'd stayed together,
There's much we'd never've known--
But dreary books and weary lands
Weigh on me like a stone.



Indian Ocean

Nice Flare

What a perfect flare. I wish I could do the same!

Where Do You Go To My Lovely?

Wingsuit Flying, Redux

wingsuit base jumping from Ali on Vimeo.

The Credit Crisis Visualized

The Crisis of Credit Visualized from Jonathan Jarvis on Vimeo.

Columbian Zipline

Folsom Prison Blues

Barry Schwartz TED Talk: The War on Practical Wisdom

Swarthmore professor Barry Schwartz claims that the rules and procedures of contemporary society retard a person's "practical wisdom" (which, according to Aristotle, is nothing more than a person's moral skill and moral will).

A wise person:
1. knows when and how to make the "exception to every rule."
2. knows when and how to improvise.
3. uses these moral skills in pursuit of the right aims.
4. is made not born.

Schwartz observes that society generally use two tools when things go wrong, rules and incentives. Unfortunately, neither rules nor incentives fix problems on their own; in fact, they tend to make situations far worse in the long run. "Moral skill is chipped away by an over-reliance on rules that deprives us of the opportunity to improvise and to learn from our improvisation. And moral will is deprived by an incessant appeal to incentives that destroy our desire to do the right thing. And without intending it, by appealing to rules and incentives, we are engaging a war on wisdom."

Every person, let alone every head of an organization, should view this talk.

Sunset on Mars

Sunset on Mars casts bluish light over the distant horizon.

from the Nat Geo photo series, Visions of Mars.

Assume the Position with Mr. Wuhl

If links are dead, try Wimp.

Icelandic Jeep

from the TV show Top Gear.

Crows are Really Smart

All We are Doing is Manifesting

Old school parkour and breakdancing:

The Destructive Cult of Celebrity

We all have gods, it is just a question of which ones. And in American society, our gods are often celebrities.

In celebrity culture, the object is to get as close to the celebrity as possible. Those who can touch or own a relic of the celebrity hope for a transference of celebrity power.

Real life, our own life, is viewed next to the lives of celebrities as inadequate and inauthentic. Celebrities are portrayed as idealized forms of ourselves. It is we who are never fully actualized in a celebrity culture.

Soldiers and Marines speak of entering combat as if they are entering a movie, although if they try to engage in movie-style heroics they often are killed. The difference between the celebrity-inspired heroics and the reality of war, which takes less than a minute in a firefight to grasp, is jolting. Wounded Marines booed and hissed John Wayne when he visited them in a hospital in World War II. They had uncovered the manipulation and self-delusion of celebrity culture. They understood that mass culture is a form of social control, a way to influence behavior that is self-destructive.

Celebrity culture is a hostile takeover of religion by celebrity culture. Commodities and celebrity culture alone define what it means to belong to American society, how we recognize our place in society and how we determine our spiritual life.

Our choice of brands becomes our pathetic expression of individuality. Advertisers use celebrities to promise us that through the purchase of a product we can attain celebrity power.

Celebrity culture plunges us into a moral void. The highest achievements in a celebrity culture are wealth, sexual conquest and fame. These values are hollow hallucinations that leave us chasing vapors. They urge us toward a life of self-absorption. They tell us that existence is to be centered on the practices and desires of the self rather than the common good.

Celebrity culture encourages us to turn our love inward, to think of ourselves as potential celebrities who possess unique if unacknowledged gifts. It is the culture of narcissism. The banal chatter of anyone, no matter how insipid, has in celebrity culture cosmic significance. Reality, however, exposes something very different. And the juxtaposition of the impossible illusions inspired by celebrity culture and our insignificant individual achievements leads to frustration, anger, insecurity and a fear of invalidation. It leads to an accelerated flight toward the celebrity culture, what Chris Rojek in his book “Celebrity” calls “the cult of distraction that valorizes the superficial, the gaudy, the domination of commodity culture.”

This cult of distraction masks the real disintegration of culture. It conceals the meaninglessness and emptiness of our own lives. It deflects the moral questions arising from mounting social injustice, growing inequalities, and costly imperial wars as well as economic and political corruption.

The fantasy of celebrity culture is not designed simply to entertain. It is designed to keep us from fighting back.

Paraphrased from the column Truthdig column "What Price Hollywood" by Chris Hedges.

A Valentine's Day Treat

From the Oakland Zoo website:
Ever wonder about the love lives of Animals? Do they really fall in Love? This Valentine’s Day, surprise your sweetie with something unique—an animal encounter you both will never forget! Join us for “Animal Amore” and learn about the courting, mating, and child-rearing habits of some of Oakland Zoo’s most amorous Zoo animals.

This year, we are hosting an “Animal Amore” evening event on two nights, February 13 & 14, 2009. Participants must be 21 years of age or older, because alcohol will be served. Guests will be served appetizers, drinks, dessert and enough information to keep the dinner conversation exciting for years! There will be live animals, prizes, and an erotic tour of the Zoo!

And not to be outdone, the San Francisco Zoo offers its own animal sex tour:
Be you Penguin, Primate or Possum…you are cordially invited to celebrate a San Francisco Zoo original 20th Annual Sex Tour/Woo at the Zoo with Jane Tollini. Come join us for new animals, new positions, new kinky information, ins & out, ups & downs of animal sex, all animals A to Z including U.

Heads & tails above flowers & candles; no better way to impress your Valentine; and if that is not enough…get up-close with an animal encounter! "Woo at the Zoo" also features a romantic brunch including; mimosas, French toast station, scrambled eggs, pastries, chocolate covered strawberries, fresh fruit and a delicious surprise. The special evening events will include; beef tenderloin, herbed couscous, sautéed spinach w/ pine nuts & golden raisins, salad and chocolate dipped strawberries. Reservations are required as this “sense”ational event sells out each year.

I kid you not. I would have gotten tickets, of course, if they weren't already sold out.

"Pate Filo" by Malajube

The ABC's of Indonesian Fruit

Mangosteen, dubbed by Asians the "Queen of Fruits"

Marquisa Telur Kodok, an Indonesian passion fruit that literally means "frog eggs"

MyKugelhopf writes about delicious Asian fruit. I can't vouch for the "frog eggs," but mangosteen is delicious.

An Enemy

An enemy is someone whose story you have not heard.

Live at the NYPL -- Slavoj Zizek and Henri-Bernard Levy

Watch a recent discussion between Slavoj Zizek and Henri-Bernard Levy on iTunes.

Grow an Indoor Lettuce Garden

I've had trouble growing vegetables and herbs in my apartment, but a gardener I talked to recently suggested lettuce. Apparently, lettuce grows well in cool, shady environments -- perfect for the winter.

Read more.

Being Caribou

Being Caribou
Diana Wilson, Leanne Allison, 2004, 72 min 19 s
In this feature-length documentary, husband and wife team Karsten Heuer (wildlife biologist) and Leanne Allison (environmentalist) follow a herd of 120,000 caribou on foot across 1500 km of Arctic tundra. In following the herd's migration, the couple hopes to raise awareness of the threats to the caribou's survival. Along the way they brave Arctic weather, icy rivers, hordes of mosquitoes and a very hungry grizzly bear. Dramatic footage and video diaries combine to provide an intimate perspective of an epic expedition.

from the National Film Board of Canada.

100 Most Beautiful Words

A fun list by Dr. Goodword.

Words from the list I'd like to use more:
esculent -- worthwhile
gambol -- to skip or leap about joyfully
imbroglio -- an altercation or complicated situation
oeuvre -- a work
panoply -- a complete set
penumbra - a half-shadow, edge of a shadow
peregrination -- wandering, travels
petrichor -- the smell of earth after a rain
redolent -- sweet smelling

Tom Killion Woodcut Prints

Tom Killion's prints are reminiscent of ukiyo-ë landscape masters Hokusai and Hiroshige.

Bird Photographs by Eliot Porter

Barn Swallow, Great Spruce Head Island, Maine, August 21, 1954

Snowy Egret, Mrazik Pond, Everglades National Park, Florida, January 1974

Winter Wren, Great Spruce Head Island, Maine, July 18, 1969

Chipping Sparrow, Great Spruce Head Island, Maine, June 16, 1971

from the Eliot Porter Collection of the Amon Carter Museum.

Banff Mountain Film Festival

Recess Improves Third Graders' Behavior

According to teachers' ratings, 15 minutes of recess improves the classroom behavior of third graders. (>15 minutes recess showed no measurable improvement.) The study, conducted by the Dept. of Pediatrics at the Albert Eintstein School of Medicine, used public data from 11,000 students. The researchers also found that students with no recess were "much more likely to be black, to be from families with lower incomes and lower levels of education, to live in large cities, to be from the Northeast or South, and to attend public school."

Read the abstract in the journal Pediatrics, or the NYT article .

Thoughts on Fear

Usually in a moment of actual danger we don't have time to think about being afraid. Imagining dangerous situations creates the real difficulty. We have an experience of fear and then we project it out. We do that because it gives us an opportunity to fight against that situation or run from it. But they're both ways of avoiding the actual experience of fear.

To simply experience a moment of danger can open up into wonder and excitement. It's the avoidance of danger that causes us such difficulties.

paraphrased from an interview of Robert Kull on the NPR program, To the Best of Our Knowledge.

Water

Deepa Mehta's Oscar-nominated film Water tells the tragic story of widowed women in India. According to her faith's Holy Scriptures, a Hindu wife has three options when her husband dies: she can kill herself, marry her husband's younger brother, or live in isolation.

The widows in the story live as social outcasts in an ashram, either by choice or coercion, dependent on alms (and, as the audience learns later, prostitution) for their rent and food.

When one of the shamed widows takes her own life, a deeply religious widow named Shakuntala begins to question the morality of her religion's doctrine. She takes an exploited young widow away from the ashram to see Gandhi speak. The Great Spirit -- a champion of India's oppressed widows and Untouchables -- states "For several years, I believed that God is truth; but now I have realized that Truth is God."

Gandhi's speech erases the moral doubt of the widow (and the audience). The message is clear: we should treat every person humanely, even if it means defying our society's most sacred institutions. In the touching final scene, Shakuntala tries to save her young companion from the hardship of a widow's life, by giving her away.

Paul Virchow Quotes

“Medicine is a social science, and politics is nothing but medicine on a large scale.”

“It is the curse of humanity that it learns to tolerate even the most horrible situations by habituation.”

“Medical education does not exist to provide students with a way of making a living, but to ensure the health of the community.”

“The physicians are the natural attorneys of the poor, and the social problems should largely be solved them.”

excerpted from Mountains Beyond Mountains by Tracy Kidder.

Greenhouse Gas Poisons Oceans, Too

Carbon dioxide, long considered the primary culprit of global warming, is now facing a second serious charge: it's threatening precious marine life as well.

The burning of fossil fuels in our cars, homes, and factories have led to an ever-increasing level of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. Most of the carbon dioxide stays in the atmosphere and contributes to global warming; one fourth of those emissions, however, are absorbed by the world's oceans.

Carbon dioxide (CO2) is soluble in water -- it dissolves in water to form carbonic acid (H2CO3). Scientists estimate that the acidity of the oceans have increased 30% since the beginning of the Industrial Revolution.

The acidity threatens the survival of coral reefs and shellfish, which in turn, can disrupt the food web of oceans.

Read the original article in the NYT.

Terry Gross Receives 2007 Literarian Award

Sometimes when I love a novel, there is a question I'm tempted to ask, but don't. And the question is something like, 'How did you manage to look into my own heart? How did you find the words to express feelings I didn't even know I had before reading your book?' I guess that's a question a lot of readers might like to ask, but it's also a question no writer can ever really answer.

View Ira Glass' intro and Terry Gross' acceptance speech.

"A More Perfect Union"

The greatest speech of our generation.
Read the full text at the Huffington Post.

Backpacking the JMT

A teacher takes 6 of his high school students on a 220-mile backpacking trip across the John Muir Trail.


High Sierra HD - Backpacking the John Muir Trail from Pete Bell on Vimeo.

"Begone Dull Care" featuring the Oscar Peterson Trio

"Begone Dull Care" is an abstract film that features the dazzling piano play of Oscar Peterson. Duke Ellington dubbed Peterson the "Maharaja of the Keyboard."

South Africa's Answer to American Hip Hop

This song was featured prominently in the 2005 South African film Tsotsi. According to Wikipedia, the languages heard in the film include Tsotsitaal (an Africaans creole 'thug' language), Zulu, Xhosa, English, and Africaans. Not too surprising, given that South Africa has 11 official languages.

Odie

Right back at you, Odie.

MIA speaks about music as agent for social change

Grammy- and Oscar-nominated artist MIA speaks about the Sri Lankan genocide of Tamils on the Tavis Smiley Show (Click link to view interview).
"The pressure of standing up for nothing is just so big."

"Wake" by Adam Jeppeson

View the entire photoset here.
See more haunting images at AmericanSuburbX.

Mixed Race Categorical Flow Chart

Mo'Nique in the movie Domino.

William James Quote

The greatest revolution in our generation is the discovery that human beings, by changing the inner attitudes of their minds, can change the outer aspects of their lives.

John Lewis Quote

I have fought too hard and too long against discrimination based on race and color not to stand up against discrimination based on sexual orientation. I've heard the reasons for opposing civil marriage for same-sex couples. Cut through the distractions, and they stink of the same fear, hatred, and intolerance I have known in racism and in bigotry.

-- Civil Rights Leader and Congressman John Lewis.

Read the full editorial at the Boston Globe.

Nevermindthewordstheywaste

My brother's new website redesign. Check it out.

Recurring Themes in John Irving's Work

Recurring themes in John Irving's work are New England, prostitutes, wrestling, Vienna, bears, deadly accidents, a main character dealing with an absent or unknown parent, sexual relationships between young men and older women and other variations in sexual relations.

Scroll down Irving's Wikipedia page to view the table of recurring themes. Hilariously bizarre.

Are we too clean?

A baby cannot resist stuffing anything within reach into her mouths, often to the chagrin of her paranoid parents.

Biologists are studying why a baby's instinctive behavior -- specifically, stuffing dirt into her mouth -- would be in fact beneficial. They propose a 'hygiene hypothesis," eating dirt and the billions of microbes and, yes, worms inside that dirt may sicken the child (and parent) in the short term, but will reduce the chance of developing immune-related illnesses in the long run.

According to immunologist Mary Ruebush, children raised in a hyper-clean environment are not exposed to the organisms that help them develop appropriate immune circuits. Research suggests that the increase in immune system disorders (e.g., asthma, allergies, multiple sclerosis, Type I diabetes, and inflammatory bowel disease) in the US may be due to our restrictions on the environment and behavior of our children.

Dr. David Elliott of the University of Iowa cites specific evidence in developing countries; for example, he claims that the eradication of worms in some villages in Gambia have led to an increase in children's skin allergies.

Obviously, dirtiness is not a desirable outcome. But too much cleanliness is harmful, too. Professor Ruebrush suggests that we rue antibiotic products and stick with plain soap and water whenever our hands need washing. Dr. Joel Weinstock of Tufts Medical Center goes even further: “Children should be allowed to go barefoot in the dirt, play in the dirt, and not have to wash their hands when they come in to eat." He also suggests that kids have two dogs and a cat, which will expose them to intestinal worms that can promote a healthy immune system.

Read the NYT article here.

9/17/09 Update:
A man infects himself with hookworm to cure his asthma and hayfever. Listen to his account on Radiolab (his story begins at ~32 minute mark in the show).


This cute little bloodsucker can cure your asthma.

Work

The growth of the exploiters' revolution on this continent has been accompanied by the growth of the idea that work is beneath human dignity, particularly any form of hand work. We have made it our overriding ambition to escape work, and as a consequence have debased work until it is only fit to escape from. We have debased the products of work and have been, in turn, debased by them. Out of this contempt for work arose the idea of a nigger: at first some person, and later some thing, to be used to relieve us of the burden of work. If we began by making niggers of people, we have ended by making a nigger of the world. We have taken the irreplaceable energies and materials of the world and turned them into jimcrack "labor-saving devices." We have made the rivers and oceans and winds niggers to carry away our refuse, in doing this to the world that is our common heritage and bond, we have returned to making niggers of people: we have become each other's niggers.

But is work something that we have a right to escape? And can we escape it with impunity? We are probably the first entire people ever to think so. All the ancient wisdom that has come down to us counsels otherwise. It tells us that work is necessary to us, as much a part of our condition as mortality; that good work is our salvation and our joy; that shoddy or dishonest or self-serving work is our curse and our doom. We have tried to escape the sweat and sorrow promised in Genesis -- only to find that, in order to do so, we must forswear love and excellence, health and joy.

from The Unsettling of America by Wendell Berry

What if?

Imagine a women’s magazine that positively featured round models, short models, old models – or no models at all, but real individual women. Let’s say that it had a policy of avoiding cruelty to women, as some now have a policy of endorsing products made free of cruelty to animals. And that it left out crash diets, mantras to achieve self-hatred, and promotional articles for the procession that cuts open healthy women’s bodies. And let’s say that it ran articles in praise of the magnificence of visible age, displayed loving photo essays on the bodies of women of all shapes and proportions, examined with gentle curiosity the body’s changes after birth and breast-feeding, offered recipes without punishment or guilt, and ran seductive portraits of men.

It would run aground, losing the bulk of its advertisers. Magazines, consciously or half-consciously, must project the attitude that looking one’s age is bad because $650 million of their ad revenue comes from people who would go out of business if visible age looked good. They need, consciously or not, to promote women’s hating their bodies enough to profitably hungry, since the advertising budget for one third of the nation’s food bill depends on their doing so by dieting. The advertisers who make women’s mass culture possible depend on making women feel bad enough about their faces and bodies to spend more money on worthless or pain-inducing products than they would if they felt innately beautiful.

from The Beauty Myth (1991) by Naomi Wolf

Hang Gliding -- 300 ft. Launch and My First Spot

Wendell Berry Quote

We do need a 'new economy,' but one that is founded on thrift and care, on saving and conserving, not on excess and waste. An economy based on waste is inherently and hopelessly violent, and war is its inevitable by-product. We need a peaceable economy.

Magnetic Movie

Magnetic Movie from Semiconductor on Vimeo.

Jenny Holzer's Truisms

A STRONG SENSE OF DUTY IMPRISONS YOU

ABSOLUTE SUBMISSION CAN BE A FORM OF FREEDOM

AMBIVALENCE CAN RUIN YOUR LIFE

ANY SURPLUS IS IMMORAL

ANYTHING IS A LEGITIMATE AREA OF INVESTIGATION

ARTIFICIAL DESIRES ARE DESPOILING THE EARTH

AT TIMES INACTIVITY IS PREFERABLE TO MINDLESS FUNCTIONING

AT TIMES YOUR UNCONSCIOUS IS TRUER THAN YOUR CONSCIOUS MIND

AUTOMATION IS DEADLY

BEING JUDGMENTAL IS A SIGN OF LIFE

CALM IS MORE CONDUCIVE TO CREATIVITY THAN IS ANXIETY

DEVIANTS ARE SACRIFICED TO INCREASE GROUP SOLIDARITY

DISORGANIZATION IS A KIND OF ANESTHESIA

EVERY ACHIEVEMENT REQUIRES A SACRIFICE

FAKE OR REAL INDIFFERENCE IS A POWERFUL PERSONAL WEAPON

FREEDOM IS A LUXURY NOT A NECESSITY

GIVING FREE REIN TO YOUR EMOTIONS IS AN HONEST WAY TO LIVE

GOING WITH THE FLOW IS SOOTHING BUT RISKY

GRASS ROOTS AGITATION IS THE ONLY HOPE

GUILT AND SELF-LACERATION ARE INDULGENCES

HIDING YOUR MOTIVES IS DESPICABLE

HOLDING BACK PROTECTS YOUR VITAL ENERGIES

HUMOR IS A RELEASE

IF YOU HAVE MANY DESIRES LIFE WILL BE INTERESTING

IF YOU LIVE SIMPLY THERE IS NOTHING TO WORRY ABOUT

IGNORING ENEMIES IS THE BEST WAY TO FIGHT

ILLNESS IS A STATE OF MIND

INHERITANCE MUST BE ABOLISHED

IT'S BETTER TO BE A GOOD PERSON THAN A FAMOUS PERSON

IT'S BETTER TO BE LONELY THAN TO BE WITH INFERIOR PEOPLE

IT'S CRUCIAL TO HAVE AN ACTIVE FANTASY LIFE

IT'S IMPORTANT TO STAY CLEAN ON ALL LEVELS

IT'S IMPOSSIBLE TO RECONCILE YOUR HEART AND HEAD

IT'S JUST AN ACCIDENT YOUR PARENTS ARE YOUR PARENTS

IT'S NOT GOOD TO HOLD TOO MANY ABSOLUTES

IT'S VITAL TO LIVE IN HARMONY WITH NATURE

JUST BELIEVING SOMETHING CAN MAKE IT HAPPEN

KEEP SOMETHING IN RESERVE FOR EMERGENCIES

KILLING IS UNAVOIDABLE BUT IS NOTHING TO BE PROUD OF

KNOWING YOURSELF LETS YOU UNDERSTAND OTHERS

LEARN TO TRUST YOUR OWN EYES

LEISURE TIME IS A GIGANTIC SMOKESCREEN

LETTING GO IS THE HARDEST THING TO DO

LISTEN WHEN YOUR BODY TALKS

LOOKING BACK IS THE FIRST SIGN OF AGING AND DECAY

LOVING ANIMALS IS A SUBSTITUTE ACTIVITY

LOW EXPECTATIONS ARE GOOD PROTECTION

MANUAL LABOR CAN BE REFRESHING AND WHOLESOME

MODERATION KILLS THE SPIRIT

MOST PEOPLE ARE NOT FIT TO RULE THEMSELVES

MUCH WAS DECIDED BEFORE YOU WERE BORN

MYTHS MAKE REALITY MORE INTELLIGIBLE

OFFER VERY LITTLE INFORMATION ABOUT YOURSELF

OLD FRIENDS ARE BETTER LEFT IN THE PAST

PAIN CAN BE A VERY POSITIVE THING

PEOPLE WHO GO CRAZY ARE TOO SENSITIVE

PEOPLE WON'T BEHAVE IF THEY HAVE NOTHING TO LOSE

PLAYING IT SAFE CAN CAUSE A LOT OF DAMAGE IN THE LONG RUN

POTENTIAL COUNTS FOR NOTHING UNTIL IT'S REALIZED

PURSUING PLEASURE FOR THE SAKE OF PLEASURE WILL RUIN YOU

PUSH YOURSELF TO THE LIMIT AS OFTEN AS POSSIBLE

RECHANNELING DESTRUCTIVE IMPULSES IS A SIGN OF MATURITY

REMEMBER YOU ALWAYS HAVE FREEDOM OF CHOICE

REPETITION IS THE BEST WAY TO LEARN

REVOLUTION BEGINS WITH CHANGES IN THE INDIVIDUAL

SACRIFICING YOURSELF FOR A BAD CAUSE IS NOT A MORAL ACT

SIN IS A MEANS OF SOCIAL CONTROL

SOLITUDE IS ENRICHING

SOME STONES ARE BETTER LEFT UNTURNED

SOME WOUNDS NEVER HEAL

SOMETIMES ALL YOU CAN DO IS LOOK THE OTHER WAY

SOMETIMES SCIENCE ADVANCES FASTER THAN IT SHOULD

STRONG EMOTIONAL ATTACHMENT STEMS FROM BASIC INSECURITY

TALKING IS USED TO HIDE ONE'S INABILITY TO ACT

THE CRUELEST DISAPPOINTMENT IS WHEN YOU LET YOURSELF DOWN

THE LAND BELONGS TO NO ONE

THE MORE YOU KNOW THE BETTER OFF YOU ARE

THE MOST PROFOUND THINGS ARE INEXPRESSIBLE

THE MUNDANE IS TO BE CHERISHED

THE UNATTAINABLE INVARIABLY IS ATTRACTIVE

THREATENING SOMEONE SEXUALLY IS A HORRIBLE ACT

TIMIDITY IS LAUGHABLE

TO DISAGREE PRESUPPOSES MORAL INTEGRITY

TO VOLUNTEER IS REACTIONARY

TRUE FREEDOM IS FRIGHTFUL

UNIQUE THINGS MUST BE THE MOST VALUABLE

UNQUESTIONING LOVE DEMONSTRATES LARGESSE OF SPIRIT

USING FORCE TO STOP FORCE IS ABSURD

VIOLENCE IS PERMISSIBLE EVEN DESIRABLE OCCASIONALLY

WHEN SOMETHING TERRIBLE HAPPENS PEOPLE WAKE UP

WISHING THINGS AWAY IS NOT EFFECTIVE

WORDS TEND TO BE INADEQUATE

WORRYING CAN HELP YOU PREPARE

YOU ARE A VICTIM OF THE RULES YOU LIVE BY

YOU ARE GUILELESS IN YOUR DREAMS

YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR CONSTITUTING THE MEANING OF THINGS

YOU MUST KNOW WHERE YOU STOP AND THE WORLD BEGINS

YOU OWE THE WORLD NOT THE OTHER WAY AROUND

YOU SHOULD TRAVEL LIGHT

YOU SHOULD STUDY AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE


See the unabridged list.

TED Talks: Amy Smith

Cliff Young

In 1983, the Westfield Ultramarathon in southeast Australia featured an unlikely contestant named Cliff Young. Mr. Young did not resemble his fellow competitors. First, he was 61 years old. Second, he showed up for the race in overalls and workboots. As a result, many feared for his health and safety -- after all, the event did cover a grueling distance, 543.7 miles, the distance from Melbourne to Sydney.

When the race started, Mr. Young shuffled at a leisurely pace while the other competitors ran out to an early lead. However, Mr. Young did not stop running at night. He continued his shuffle for the whole race without stopping for sleep, and he ended up not only winning the race but setting a new course record.

Today, many ultramarathon runner emulate Mr. Young's running style; it's been dubbed the "Young-shuffle."

You can read more about the legend of Cliff Young here.

Kafka Quote

There is no need for you to leave the house. Stay at your table and listen. Don't even listen, just wait. Don't even wait, be completely quiet and alone. The world will offer itself to you to be unmasked; it can't do otherwise; in raptures it will writhe before you.

Haiku from Loserland

These brilliant drawings and poems were done by a friend.

I draw back, and hope
it won't take all afternoon
to find the arrows.

Susan's lunch lecture:
true bible stories and the
downside of large breasts.

Sunday night's garbage:
dead mouse, burnt cupcakes, mangled
puppet theater.

Accept the Good

Accept the good with gratitude, accept the bad with fortitude.

The Best Sports Story of 2008

David Slays Goliath -- The New York Giants stun the New England Patriots in Superbowl XLII

The football cognoscenti have all but coronated the 18-0 Patriots as the greatest team of all time.

Twelve point underdog New York trails 14-10 with only 1:15 minutes remaining in the fourth quarter. The G-men are pinned down on their own 44 yard line. It's 3rd and 5, do or die.

Quarterback Eli Manning hikes the ball from the shotgun.

Immediately, the pocket collapses. Everyone has a hand on Manning, but he manages to squirm free from the pocket and launch the ball into traffic downfield:

Unheralded wide receiver David Tyree miraculously hauls down Manning's pass to set up the winning play.

Manning connects with Burress in the end zone, and Spagnuolo's defensive line stuffs the Patriot's vaunted offense one last time.

David slays Goliath, The emperor Bill Belichick and golden boy Tom Brady have no clothes, and Manning goes from chump to champ.

I leap and scream in ecstasy.

Final score of Superbowl XLII: New York Giants 17, New England Patriots 14.

The Downside of Pornography

Naomi Wolf deconstructs the "Porn Myth" in New York magazine:

Young men and women are indeed being taught what sex is, how it looks, what its etiquette and expectations are, by pornographic training—and this is having a huge effect on how they interact.

But does all this sexual imagery in the air mean that sex has been liberated—or is it the case that the relationship between the multi-billion-dollar porn industry, compulsiveness, and sexual appetite has become like the relationship between agribusiness, processed foods, supersize portions, and obesity? If your appetite is stimulated and fed by poor-quality material, it takes more junk to fill you up. People are not closer because of porn but further apart; people are not more turned on in their daily lives but less so.

The onslaught of porn is responsible for deadening male libido in relation to real women, and leading men to see fewer and fewer women as “porn-worthy.”

The reason to turn off the porn might become, to thoughtful people, not a moral one but, in a way, a physical- and emotional-health one; you might want to rethink your constant access to porn in the same way that, if you want to be an athlete, you rethink your smoking. The evidence is in: Greater supply of the stimulant equals diminished capacity.

Edward Abbey Quote

A venturesome minority will always be eager to set off on their own, and no obstacles should be placed in their path; let them take risks, for Godsake, let them get lost, sunburnt, stranded, drowned, eaten by bears, buried alive under avalanches -- that is the right and privilege of any free American.

Hot Monkey Bath!

Read and see more of these blissful Japanese macaques at the Daily Mail.

Tyron Edwards Quotes

- Thoughts lead on to purposes; purposes go forth in action; actions form habits; habits decide character; and character fixes our destiny.

- Science has sometimes been said to be opposed to faith, and inconsistent with it. But all science, in fact, rests on a basis of faith, for it assumes the permanence and uniformity of natural laws -- a thing which can never be demonstrated.

- Between two evils choose neither; between two goods, choose both.

- Right actions for the future are the best apologies for wrong ones in the past.

- Hell is truth seen too late -- duty neglected in its season.

Satish Kumar, Jain monk and environmental activist

The following is a transcript of a converation with Satish Kumar on the PRI program, To the Best of Our Knowledge (Listen to the interview yourself here):

How about going on a pilgrimage, and walking 8,000 miles barefoot across India. When he was only nine years old, Satish Kumar joined the wandering brotherhood of Jain monks in his native India. At 18, he became a campaigner for land reform and one of Gandhi's followers. To protest the nuclear arms race, he made an 8,000 mile peace pilgrimage, walking from India to America, without any money. Years later, he did it again, celebrating his 50th birthday by walking 2,000 miles with no money around Great Britain. Now in his 70s, Satish Kumar is one of the leading voices bringing together spirituality and ecology. He's the editor of Resurgence magazine and the founder of Schumacher College in England. Steve Paulson sat down with Mr. Kumar recently and asked how his spiritual values have informed his life.

Steve Paulson: When you were nine years old, you joined the wandering brotherhood of Jain monks, and you stayed a monk until you were 18. What did those years living as a monk teach you about nature?

When I was a monk, I meditated upon nature. I would go out in nature, and stand under a tree because I would remember that even the Buddha learned from the tree. He was enlightened while sitting under a tree, because when you are standing or sitting under a tree, you can see how all life is connected. The rain is falling and nourishing the tree roots. The birds are coming and sitting on the tree. The seeds are falling and giving fruit and food and nourishment to the worms. Worms are making the land fertile and nourishing the tree. So how, the cycle of life and the connectivity of life, how it is all together, how the interrelationship of all living beings act, I learn by standing and meditating under a tree.

SP: I wonder if there is something about Jainism, about this religious order that you joined that let you into some of these insights.

The specific quality of Jain religion is adherence and its belief in nonviolence. There is no other religion greater than nonviolence. So as a Jain, I will not even wear shoes, because if you are wearing shoes you might tread on some creatures on the earth, and they might get hurt. Whereas the feet are soft, and even if I am walking bare feet, I will look down watching the earth, so I don't tread on any creatures. And, if at night I'm walking, I'll have a little brush in my hand, and I'll sweep the floor before I put my foot down. So this way, Jains practice nonviolence to its extreme level, and that's what I love. And so nonviolence to nature, my nonviolent ecology, came from Jain ecology.

SP: Let me ask you more about walking, because you've spent years walking. I mean, I know you went on pilgrimages in various points in your life. You would walk across an entire continent. It sounds like you're saying that walking can have real spiritual significance.

Absolutely. For when you are walking, you are touching the earth. When you are touching the earth, you feel a sense of belonging to the earth. And earth is holding you, earth is sustaining you, and walking becomes a spiritual practice. This is why all great religious teachers have gone on pilgrimages because walking is the best form of meditation and best form of relationship with the natural world, the earth, the trees, the air, the sunshine, with the whole, whole existence. And so walking is a beautiful and a very high form of spiritual practice.

SP: I'm surprised that you didn't also say that it forces you to slow down, that you can't go too fast.

Spirituality and speed don't go together. The very fact that you are walking, you have to go slowly and you have to believe that when God made time, he made plenty of it. There is no shortage of time. You don't have to get somewhere quickly. Getting somewhere is not as important as how you get there. So the process of living, the process of walking, is more important. This is why I call my autobiography, No Destination, because when you are obsessed with reaching somewhere, you take any means of travel. But when journey itself becomes important, then you realize that not only this walking, where you are going somewhere, the life itself is the journey.

SP: Well, I have to ask you about this because you are not a monk anymore, living in England you edit a magazine, you teach at a college, you give talks around the world, it sounds like it can be very demanding. I'm wondering how much you can incorporate these principles of slowness and walking and not venturing too far off, how much that you can incorporate all that into your own life.

All those things I do slowly. I get up in the morning and I spend an hour reading spiritual scripts, I spend at least half an hour doing yoga and meditation every day. And then I have a siesta after lunch at least half an hour, so whatever work I'm doing, editing a magazine, or lecturing, or whatever work I'm doing, I'm never hurried. The quality of your work is more important then the speed and quantity of your work. So I always shift my consciousness from quantity to quality.

SP: Do you end up saying no a lot, when people ask you to do things?

Um, yes, to some extent I have to say no because if somebody's asking me to go to a conference, and I'm already doing something else in my diary, then I will have to say no. But I try to say yes as much as I can because I like to honor people's requests and people's invitation. So, I do it with a very light, light sort of foot. I don't feel any kind of stress or strain when I do something. I do slowly, and I do with love and with care, and that way I can live simple and slow life.

SP: I'm trying to figure out how you manage to do this when I can't, and so many other people can't. I mean, for me it seems to be this, this test to see if I can fit everything that I seem to need to do into a day.

I do only one thing at a time. When I'm doing that thing, I'm doing only that thing at that time. I'm not doing anything, I'm not thinking about anything else that I have to do too much other things. I will do what I am doing fully, totally present in that moment, and when I finish doing that, then whatever next comes, I will do that fully and totally at that moment. So I live in the moment, in the here and now, every moment is a very beautiful moment and my full concentration, full attention, full mindfulness is there. And that way, I don't feel any stress. I don't think that I have to do too much. I have a day, a whole day, time is always coming, I have plenty of time to come, and plenty of time to do things and if I don't accomplish everything in this life, there's a next life. So I...

SP: [Laughing] So are you saying you don't have any stress in your life?

No stress.

SP: No stress at all?

No stress at all. Because if you are living in the moment, in the here and now, and everything you do is a work of spiritual practice, and a work of art, then there is no stress. When you are painting a picture, you can't feel stress because this is what you want to do. If you are writing a poem, you can't feel stress because this is what you want to do. So I do only what I want to do, and when I do it, I do it with imagination, with mindfulness, with slowness and with creativity, with imagination and with full presence and mindfulness. And there's no stress. Stress is because we are worried, "Am I going to achieve?" I'm not trying to achieve anything. There's nothing to achieve. Action in itself is its own reward.

SP: Doesn't success also come from trying to do certain things, to take responsiblity. I mean maybe you have a job most of the day, you have children and you have all kinds of responsiblities there. I'm just trying to think of how some of what you're talking about applies to the typical American lifestyle.

I do things without doing them. I'm not the doer. Things are happening through me, but I am not the doer. I don't take any burden of the action. Action is naturally flowing through me so, like children come through you not from you, Khalil Gibran said. In the same way, actions and words come through you. I'm speaking to you now. These words are coming through me, I'm not taking any kind of ownership, or worry, or I'm not in any stress, I'm not in any hurry. I'm just speaking in a nice, relaxed way. So this way, I do every action, and there is no need to have any stress. I'm not interested in any outcome, I'm not interested in any achievement, I'm not trying to get somewhere. I'm not trying to succeed in my life. My life is not about success, my life is about self-realization and fulfillment. And if we seek fulfillment, we'll have no stress. If we seek success, we will have stress.

SP: As you look around the world right now, you are an activist, and you campaign for the principles of simplicity. You're shaking your head. You don't do that?

I am, but not in a kind of visionary way. I'm not trying to preach anything. And I'm not saying that people must listen to me, and follow me, and they must change as I want them to change. Like you plant a seed, and the planting the seed is your action. After that, the seed will grow by itself. And your work is to water the seed maybe. So what I am doing in my mission, and it's not really a mission, in my work when I'm trying to promote simplicity, sustainabilty, nonviolence, peace, all these things are like watering the seed. The tree will grow by itself. The seed knows how to become a tree. I don't have to tell people to be peaceful. People know how to be peaceful. I am only there to encourage them, to remind them to water the seeds of peace in their heart. That's all I'm doing and if the peace does not grow, then too bad. I'm not taking any responsiblity. So you can say I'm very irresponsible in that way. But I don't want to take the burden of the world on my shoulders. I'm not God, I'm not shaping the whole world. It's not my responsiblity to change the whole world. I'm here not to change the world, but to serve the world. When you want to change the world, you take a burden of changing and responsiblity of changing. And that can be stressful. When you are serving the world, you do your best and that's it.

African Proverb

Do not look at where you fell, but where you slipped.

Confucius Says...

In a country well governed, poverty is something to be ashamed of. In a country badly governed, wealth is something to be ashamed of.

Obama Family

Love this photo of the Obama family from the NYT.

Shy the Sun

The Tale of How from Shy the Sun on Vimeo.

View more of Shy the Sun's animation here.

Dark Days

A must see.

Puppy Cam

Stream videos at Ustream

GoW2 Trailer

Fall Foliage

Check out the 2008 Fall Foliage map here.
See more images at National Geographic and Batish.

Don't Vote Posters

View all of the posters here.

If Mos Def Were President

Manufactured Landscapes by Edward Burtynsky

Nature transformed through industry is a predominate theme in my work...These images are meant as metaphors to the dilemma of our modern existence...Our dependence on nature to provide the materials for our consumption and our concern for the health of our planet sets us into an uneasy contradiction.

View Mr. Burtynsky's portfolio here.

Compassion

"Compassion is the keen awareness of the interdependence of all things."
- Thomas Merton

Europe - The Final Countdown

Wingsuit Flying

Hanggliding

My feeble attempt at flying.

Chuck Close

Twenty years ago, Chuck Close was a successful artist, painting photorealistic portraits with incredible technical skill. Then, one day he was suddenly paralyzed by a rare spinal artery collapse. Although the partial paralysis left him unable to paint with the precision he was renowned for, his art evolved into a more abstract and interesting form (see pics above). He talks about the transformation and its effect on the Charlie Rose Show.

Charlie Rose: What was the hardest thing about adjusting to what happened to you? I mean, you were a very healthy man. You were 49 years old.

Chuck Close: Well, 48, the same age my father was when he died. And it's interesting to have an event that corresponds...because I thought about every year that I had with my children that he didn't have with me. And as hard as my life was, I realized that every one of those years was a gift, and was to be cherished and appreciated. I think, in a funny way, it's made it a lot easier.

CR: How many years have you had since then?

CC: Nineteen.

CR: That's incredible. Nineteen years of gift to your children, that your father hadn't...

CC: Well, I'm not so sure they think it's a gift. [Laughing]. Some of those years I don't think they appreciated it.

Videos that Make You Feel Better

Here a few of my favs:

Puppy Lullaby


Where the Hell is Matt?


Bert and Ernie Gangsta Rap


from Ze Frank.

The Immortal Burger

America's Best Adventures

In 2004, National Geographic Adventure put out a list of the top 100 outdoor expeditions in the United States. Here's the top 10:

1. Rafting the Colorado River, Grand Canyon, Arizona
2. Sea Kayaking the Na Pali Coast, Kauai, Hawaii
3. DogSledding in the Brooks Range, Alaska
4. Mountain Biking Kokopelli's Trail, Colorado and Utah
5. Hiking the Narrows, Zion National Park, Utah
6. Skiing Corbet's Couloir, Jackson Hole, Wyoming
7. Climbing the El Capitan, Yosemite
8. Hiking the Presidential Range Traverse, New Hampshire
9. Competing in the "Beast" Adventure Race, Alaska Range
10. Diving Bonne Terre Mine, Bonne Terre, Missouri

Thus far, I can only scratch off one of the items of the list, hiking the Narrows of Zion NP (#5). So much to do, so little time!

The Small Stakes

Jason Munn is an artist who lives in the "O" (Oakland). I first saw his beautiful silk screen posters at the SFMOMA a few weeks ago, and was delighted to see that his work is also on sale at the Small Stakes website for $20-45.

Apropos of the Times

"Our lives are controlled by a ruling class with vested interests not merely in change but in crisis and chaos. 'Uninterrupted disturbance, everlasting uncertainty and agitation,' instead of subverting this society, actually serve to strengthen it. Catastrophes are transformed into lucrative opportunities for redevelopment and renewal."

- Marshall Berman, All That is Solid Melts into Air

An Ideal Society

“In an ideal society, everyone should work for the well being of others.”
- Mencius

TED Talks: James Howard Kunstler

"When you degrade the public realm, you automatically degrade the quality of your civic life and the character of all of the enactments of your public life and communal life that take place there."

View Mr. Kunstler's diatribe here.

Encouraging Healthy Eating Habits

Trying to convince someone to eat healthier? This article in the New York Times gives some good, sound advice.

I particularly encourage getting folks into the kitchen -- I've been eating much healthier since I've taken up cooking.

Fun with Gravity

Adam Kimmel presents: Claremont HD from adam kimmel on Vimeo.

Fun with Gas

Career Advice, Manga Style

1. There is no plan. "Playing it safe" or "keeping your options open," generally speaking, don't lead to advancement. Instead, decide what you really want now -- take a job because it's cool or interesting, not because you think it'll lead you somewhere. In the end, you'll probably end up somewhere better.
2. Think strengths, not weaknesses. Research shows successful folks don't worry about their weaknesses but capitalize on their strengths.
3. It's not about you. Your job is about serving others, not serving yourself.
4. Persistence trumps talent. Persistence and performance feed on each other, allowing for faster growth than talent alone.
5. Make excellent mistakes. Mistakes don't mean that you're a failure -- they mean that you've tried. You improve yourself by going out there and trying to succeed where others haven't.
6. Leave an imprint. Think about what you want to accomplish at the end of your lifetime, and start doing something about that now.

from "The Adventures of Johnny Bunko: The Last Career Guide You'll Ever Need" by Daniel H. Pink.

Here's a trailer for the book:

Hate

"Being a hater just means that you are the one not having fun."

Burning Man 2008

Check out pics from this year's festival at Camp Montage.

My favorite overheard quote from BRC:
"Can I ask you a question?"
"Sure."
"How many glow sticks are in your outfit?"
"Umm, I'm not sure. Around 500."
"Cool."

Academic Humor

Hilarious