"The good, the new, comes from exactly that quarter whence it is not looked for, and is always something different from what is expected. Everything new is received with contempt, for it begins in obscurity. It becomes a power unobserved."
-- Feuerbach
From TREASURY of THOUGHT
compiled by Maturin M. Ballou
Wednesday, May 06, 2009
Monday, May 04, 2009
Unknown Bear Story
One of the best bear stories I've ever heard was told by -- I think a co-worker? Gosh, this bothers me...who told it?
Anyways, when she was in her early 20s, she'd go camping from time to time, to get away from the routine, and have fun. On one trip, amongst her friends were two guys who were bothering her a bit, so when it came time to go to sleep, she took her sleeping bag away from the fire, a good ways, so they wouldn't bother her.
In the middle of the night, she woke up for some reason. And then she realized WHY SHE HAD BECOME AWAKE. There was a huge grizzly bear standing over her, in the almost pitch blackness.
"I would have run, I would have screamed," she said. "But for some reason, I was completely paralyzed. I was so scared, I couldn't even breath."
And what did the bear do?
He sniffed her, from her feet to her hair -- she could feel the bear's breath through the sleeping bag, because the bear was poking his snout into the fabric -- going SNUF SNUF SNUUUF SNUUUF SNUF SNUF!!! SNUF SNUF SNUUUF SNUUFFF!
Then the bear left.
The next morning, she never went camping again.
-----
No! Now I remember -- it was a dear friend of mine from Pema Osel Ling. Here's to you, N.
Anyways, when she was in her early 20s, she'd go camping from time to time, to get away from the routine, and have fun. On one trip, amongst her friends were two guys who were bothering her a bit, so when it came time to go to sleep, she took her sleeping bag away from the fire, a good ways, so they wouldn't bother her.
In the middle of the night, she woke up for some reason. And then she realized WHY SHE HAD BECOME AWAKE. There was a huge grizzly bear standing over her, in the almost pitch blackness.
"I would have run, I would have screamed," she said. "But for some reason, I was completely paralyzed. I was so scared, I couldn't even breath."
And what did the bear do?
He sniffed her, from her feet to her hair -- she could feel the bear's breath through the sleeping bag, because the bear was poking his snout into the fabric -- going SNUF SNUF SNUUUF SNUUUF SNUF SNUF!!! SNUF SNUF SNUUUF SNUUFFF!
Then the bear left.
The next morning, she never went camping again.
-----
No! Now I remember -- it was a dear friend of mine from Pema Osel Ling. Here's to you, N.
Just to Have Someone Around, Other than Me
A large fly gets into the flat, black, buzzing. It goes all over the place, trying to get out.
I live with the fly for 24 hours, watching it wander around, banging into windows and drapes, landing on things. As it searches for a way out, I work, I type, I do laundry.
I'm interested in the fly, and annoyed that it is in the apartment. At about 11 PM, we're both tired, so I turn off the lights. The fly sleeps. I sleep.
Next day, the fly wakes up at about 6 AM and starts aimlessly trying to get out of the flat. After a few hours, it sits next to me. I pity the fly, I capture it and let it go.
Going back up the stairs, with a plastic cup in one hand, towel in the other, I think: I'm so lonely, I kept a fly in my place for an afternoon, night, and morning. Just to have someone around, other than me.
I live with the fly for 24 hours, watching it wander around, banging into windows and drapes, landing on things. As it searches for a way out, I work, I type, I do laundry.
I'm interested in the fly, and annoyed that it is in the apartment. At about 11 PM, we're both tired, so I turn off the lights. The fly sleeps. I sleep.
Next day, the fly wakes up at about 6 AM and starts aimlessly trying to get out of the flat. After a few hours, it sits next to me. I pity the fly, I capture it and let it go.
Going back up the stairs, with a plastic cup in one hand, towel in the other, I think: I'm so lonely, I kept a fly in my place for an afternoon, night, and morning. Just to have someone around, other than me.
Saturday, May 02, 2009
Fatherly Advice
(all of this
pushing you away)
but what can i do
for fatherly advice
i go to my best friend's
father
i need you
but you won't show up
pushing pushing
who is pushing who away
i did this but
you encouraged me
(a non-valid excuse
i know
but screw you)
pushing you away)
but what can i do
for fatherly advice
i go to my best friend's
father
i need you
but you won't show up
pushing pushing
who is pushing who away
i did this but
you encouraged me
(a non-valid excuse
i know
but screw you)
Friday, May 01, 2009
Prove to Me You Are CRAZY
Prove to me you are CRAZY. That is, actually start a debate with me, that torture is ever acceptable. And please, don't start with the threadbare "ticking time-bomb" cliche. And don't tell me about TV shows where torture works, like 24.
If you are pro-torture, then:
- It is OK to wrap a towel around someone's neck, and repeatedly slam them against a cement wall. Better to put up plywood, so you don't kill them.
- It is OK to strap a person to a board and near-drown someone, 6 times a day, for a month straight.
- It is certainly OK to say you will kill a person's whole family, or torture them, including small children, if you don't get the information you want.
And the sad thing is, the methods described above were used by countries like China and North Korea, to elicit FALSE confessions, for propaganda purposes. And for revenge.
Make no mistake about this! To torture, or not to torture -- here is a place where there is no moral or ethical ambiguity on the subject. You are either against it, or for it.
If you are for it, then I am sure you wait with great anticipation for torture to come to a police station, or prison, near you, very soon. And if pro, probably you fantasize that you will be one of the torturers.
Saving the world, one broken body after another! I pity you.
If you are pro-torture, then:
- It is OK to wrap a towel around someone's neck, and repeatedly slam them against a cement wall. Better to put up plywood, so you don't kill them.
- It is OK to strap a person to a board and near-drown someone, 6 times a day, for a month straight.
- It is certainly OK to say you will kill a person's whole family, or torture them, including small children, if you don't get the information you want.
And the sad thing is, the methods described above were used by countries like China and North Korea, to elicit FALSE confessions, for propaganda purposes. And for revenge.
Make no mistake about this! To torture, or not to torture -- here is a place where there is no moral or ethical ambiguity on the subject. You are either against it, or for it.
If you are for it, then I am sure you wait with great anticipation for torture to come to a police station, or prison, near you, very soon. And if pro, probably you fantasize that you will be one of the torturers.
Saving the world, one broken body after another! I pity you.
Chung Tzu - A Harmless Little Error!
Chung Tzu is here.
"How are you, brother?" he asks me.
"Angry. Scared. Frustrated."
"How so?"
"I don't know what will happen next. I'm afraid of losing everything, but I know I will, anyways."
"Well, that's not a bad thing." says Chung Tzu.
"How so?" I ask.
"There's no way of knowing what will happen next...and everything is already lost, because it was never to be found!"
"And the feeling of holding onto anything?"
Chung Tzu pats me gently on the shoulder. "Brother, it is not to be done. Not to be done. A harmless little error!"
Lao Tzu Says:
Now listen to me son!
Chung Tzu is giving you
some good advice!
With your feet on the ground
when the wind blows
you can bend, or go here,
or there, or anywhere!
"How are you, brother?" he asks me.
"Angry. Scared. Frustrated."
"How so?"
"I don't know what will happen next. I'm afraid of losing everything, but I know I will, anyways."
"Well, that's not a bad thing." says Chung Tzu.
"How so?" I ask.
"There's no way of knowing what will happen next...and everything is already lost, because it was never to be found!"
"And the feeling of holding onto anything?"
Chung Tzu pats me gently on the shoulder. "Brother, it is not to be done. Not to be done. A harmless little error!"
Lao Tzu Says:
Now listen to me son!
Chung Tzu is giving you
some good advice!
With your feet on the ground
when the wind blows
you can bend, or go here,
or there, or anywhere!
Thursday, April 30, 2009
Swine Flu?
In any year, in the United States, more than 100,000 people are hospitalized with flu. And so each year more than 20,000 people, in the USA, die from the flu, or complications related to it. And we are not freaked out about that. Simply a way of life --- each year 35 to 50 million Americans get the flu.
But then, about 500,000 Americans die each year, because they wouldn't quit smoking. But you don't see a total ban on cigarettes.
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Road Trip to Detroit i.
i.
We took a trip to Detroit. I'm surprised I have not written about it. Erik was in Chicago town, and his ancestors lived in north east Indiana, in corn country. The homestead was approximately halfway on the road between Chicago and Detroit. We left in the morning, on a day that turned out to be the first warm spring day of the season. The road was easy, the road was opening before us, we drove it.
After getting into Indiana, we hit the country lanes and finally found the little town where 5 generations of Cummins' had been raised. The house was right on the single main street, unmistakable, though our photograph of it had been taken 80 years ago. I looked around me, while Erik took a few pictures. The main street in the town was about three blocks long, and it was part of the road. A few dogs wandered around, on and off the street while two kids on bycycles zigzagged up and down with not much to do.
The kids and dogs dissapeared, and it was quiet. There was a couple down the street, talking to a man in a t-shirt without sleeves. They were looking at a beat up Toyota, looking to buy a reliable car. As I watched them & smoked a cigarette, Erik asked a white-haired lady where the old Lutheran burying ground might be. She was somehow befuddled, or extremely stupid. Sometimes the elderly think you only ask them questions, when you aim to rob them. She ended up giving us vague directions to a small modern cemetary that was outside of the farmtown. Uncharitably, we cursed the old woman for wasting our time.
The useless, modern cemetary, was at the end of a long gravel road, wonderfully isolated. You could sit there, it was on a little hill, and you could see over the stubble to a long strand of trees that would soon be bursting with green. The wind came up, fluttering a few momentos stuck by the graves, and then would die away. Here was a freshly covered person, you could tell by the dark flat square of earth where no grass had grown. We debated if we should really head for Detroit.
It was only about 160 miles away, and it was not quite 2 o'clock. Let's go!
We took a trip to Detroit. I'm surprised I have not written about it. Erik was in Chicago town, and his ancestors lived in north east Indiana, in corn country. The homestead was approximately halfway on the road between Chicago and Detroit. We left in the morning, on a day that turned out to be the first warm spring day of the season. The road was easy, the road was opening before us, we drove it.
After getting into Indiana, we hit the country lanes and finally found the little town where 5 generations of Cummins' had been raised. The house was right on the single main street, unmistakable, though our photograph of it had been taken 80 years ago. I looked around me, while Erik took a few pictures. The main street in the town was about three blocks long, and it was part of the road. A few dogs wandered around, on and off the street while two kids on bycycles zigzagged up and down with not much to do.
The kids and dogs dissapeared, and it was quiet. There was a couple down the street, talking to a man in a t-shirt without sleeves. They were looking at a beat up Toyota, looking to buy a reliable car. As I watched them & smoked a cigarette, Erik asked a white-haired lady where the old Lutheran burying ground might be. She was somehow befuddled, or extremely stupid. Sometimes the elderly think you only ask them questions, when you aim to rob them. She ended up giving us vague directions to a small modern cemetary that was outside of the farmtown. Uncharitably, we cursed the old woman for wasting our time.
The useless, modern cemetary, was at the end of a long gravel road, wonderfully isolated. You could sit there, it was on a little hill, and you could see over the stubble to a long strand of trees that would soon be bursting with green. The wind came up, fluttering a few momentos stuck by the graves, and then would die away. Here was a freshly covered person, you could tell by the dark flat square of earth where no grass had grown. We debated if we should really head for Detroit.
It was only about 160 miles away, and it was not quite 2 o'clock. Let's go!
Chung Tzu's Happy
"Hello, bother!" says Chung Tzu, as he comes in. "How are you today?"
"Sad and Happy, all at the same time." I reply.
"Indeed!"
"So what could someone do about that?"
"Well, I'd say let Sad and Happy mingle together."
"Tell me, why?"
"Usually in a bit, all that is left, is Happy. Happy is the only Real Thing!"
"Sad and Happy, all at the same time." I reply.
"Indeed!"
"So what could someone do about that?"
"Well, I'd say let Sad and Happy mingle together."
"Tell me, why?"
"Usually in a bit, all that is left, is Happy. Happy is the only Real Thing!"
Saturday, April 25, 2009
the moon came up
the moon came up
oh heartbreak my life
i cried because i saw the moon
the moon kept going
oh heartbreak my life
i cried because i saw the moon
the moon kept going
if you're not angry/ you can go anywhere
if you're not angry
you can go anywhere
truly not angry
then everyone will
welcome you
they'll be wanting
to meet someone
like this
some poeple waiting
all their lives
you can go anywhere
truly not angry
then everyone will
welcome you
they'll be wanting
to meet someone
like this
some poeple waiting
all their lives
Leaving Soon
More rain, Lao Tzu comes in. I was a bit distracted, but here he is, I wanted to see him so.
"I am leaving soon, will you miss me much?" I ask, with great respect.
"I am everywhere." says Lao Tzu.
He smiles so gently at me, I know -- I know! But still, my heart could almost break!
------
Chung Tzu says:
Oh, no kid!
Don't you worry!
You've made some
good freinds here,
there, everywhere!
"I am leaving soon, will you miss me much?" I ask, with great respect.
"I am everywhere." says Lao Tzu.
He smiles so gently at me, I know -- I know! But still, my heart could almost break!
------
Chung Tzu says:
Oh, no kid!
Don't you worry!
You've made some
good freinds here,
there, everywhere!
Friday, April 24, 2009
The Storm
Thunder and lightening last night, about 2 AM.
POW!
BANG!
BOOM!
I could see the flashes of lightening through my eyelids. I listened to the storm, half awake & dreaming, for about an hour.
POW!
BANG!
BOOM!
I could see the flashes of lightening through my eyelids. I listened to the storm, half awake & dreaming, for about an hour.
Thursday, April 23, 2009
Danny the Celt
Danny gets a blue marker and draws all over himself, ending up looking like a Celt from the 3rd century. He has fine, long blue lines all over his body. All we gotta do is put white ashes in his hair, like some kind of Mohawk, and he'll be perfect.
Poem - For Sabine
come on in kid
and stay awhile
we've been
waiting for you
everything is ready
we'll have a good time
you wanted to be here
& we wanted you
we'll make you feel
at home
and stay awhile
we've been
waiting for you
everything is ready
we'll have a good time
you wanted to be here
& we wanted you
we'll make you feel
at home
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
New Band -- Braxton Hicks
I'm starting a new heavy metal band -- it will be called Braxton Hicks. The first album is already well planned out, it will be called "HEAVY LABOR". Included in the first album will be songs like, "Break the Water", "Time to Go", "Contractions", "Delivery Unit", "Effacement", "Bearing Down", "Scream if Ya Want To", and "Serious Drugs, Man". I think a certain demographic will identify with our thundering, ripping beats. The second album may be called "Awake All Night". Or, "I Can't Get No Sleep". In the second album, there will be songs like "Vampire Child", "Vomit" and "Beast Feeder". Again, certain demographics will positively know what I'm talking about. Rock on!
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
Sunday, April 19, 2009
Poem - new me
new me
coming through
the door of
body and mind
very strong
can't be
qualified
here
this new
arrival how
can I
tell my
freinds
about you?
they'll like
you just as
much
as they
liked
me
coming through
the door of
body and mind
very strong
can't be
qualified
here
this new
arrival how
can I
tell my
freinds
about you?
they'll like
you just as
much
as they
liked
me
Poem - i had a dream it snowed again
i had a dream it snowed again
about 2 inches overnight
in the morning i was so surprised
to see a glittering carpet of white
i woke up and looked outside
there was no snow in sight
i realized through
here was perfect snow
unrequested in the mind
all in the mind
about 2 inches overnight
in the morning i was so surprised
to see a glittering carpet of white
i woke up and looked outside
there was no snow in sight
i realized through
here was perfect snow
unrequested in the mind
all in the mind
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)