Almost meeting Kafka

I'm certain I heard Kafka laughing.  Entering the ancient building, I saw light streaming from under a door.  I pulled the door's latch and entered.  The room was painted white, a brilliant titanium white, and I saw no lamps or lights.  The room was empty, featureless and windowless.  I decided to leave. Turning around, I was startled, the door was gone, somehow replaced by a solid white wall. I could still here laughter.

Fingers crossed, he promised pie in the sky

I’ll preface this by saying, “You and I and our previous generations have been hoodwinked.” Voters get serious and morally straight with each election and they sincerely believe the words and the promises of candidates.  But with each election, promises are broken, excuses are made, blame is placed and government rolls on in much the same manner as it has for decades.

Reading many news sources, it’s safe to say, the overall picture of the human condition isn’t healthy. 

There too many war zones and too many casualties and it’s difficult to track them all.  Slums are expanding, starvation is rampant, disease spreads - often unchecked while the global environment continues to degrade.

Generally speaking, across the globe people want peace and calm and they vote in government elections hoping their candidate will fix critical problems while also improving the quality of life for all people.

The awful truth is, government representatives are part of a grand hoax.

I’m not talking about a complex conspiracy, no, what I mean is, once elected, representatives have only two agendas: 1. Themselves and 2. The money people who got them elected.

The proof of their callous disregard of voter/citizen needs is simple.  As our economy tanks, what is the most common theme we hear from government representatives?  In one loud voice they chant, “We must cut social services.”

Somewhere the idea that government is “for the people” is twisted into negative propaganda.

They don’t say, “We must cut military spending, we must tax the wealthy and tax corporations*, congress must take pay cuts, we must reduce congressional office staffs, we must cut back on congressional travel, we must stop building granite memorials to ourselves and we must use common sense.

Common sense? In government? That’s an oxymoron. 

And when a Republican dog says, “Pull yourself up by your boot straps” you instantly know this person has never worked minimum wage, has never, by necessity, slept in a car or needed donated food. And you are certain his/her children will be attending ivy league schools while yours, hopefully, will complete high school.

Have you ever looked at the bank statement of a congress person one year before they took office and one year after they've left office?  Oh my, what "good" investments can do for a person.

Here’s an idea, one that gets lost in the social service witch hunt, one that’s sidelined when budget cutters stray too close to cutting military spending or when there’s discussion of cutting congressional pet projects.  The idea?  Invest in America.  

When President Kennedy kicked off the Space Race in 1961, NASA’s budget was increased to about 4% of the National budget.  What a boon! We are still benefiting from that space program in ways not related to rockets and space walking ... we have powerful personal computers, iPods, the fast paced evolution of electronic components, an array of synthetic materials, better safety gear, better medical devices, etc.

Just imagine, if congressional (and presidential) mercenaries made smart budget cuts, stabilized social services and invested in American creativity ... within a decade we would be the envy of the world.

*Corporations paying taxes?  Last year, GE (a rather huge corporation paid zero taxes)

I'm moving

Yep, found a place... it's empty of people, asphalt, shopping centers and amusement parks ... it's a quiet location and if you like hiking and looking at rocks, there's a wealth of possibilities.

for real estate information go here and here.

Hmmmm.

Yum.

Happiness in Babylon

Over the years I've deleted perhaps 750 postings on this blog. Several times, in frustration, I've considered closing the door on it and moving on to other things. But the blog remains despite the thin echo it produces. Today I rediscovered the following and thought it had some merit.


About the happiness thing.

Last night, while eating dinner and talking about a painting I just finished, I said I was OK with it and I wouldn't rework it. That's because, with most of my paintings, I generally have some degree of dissatisfaction – there’s always something I would re-do or change, but not this painting, it's fine just as it is, I'm happy with it.

That thought evolved to mulling over the emotion of happiness. As an existentialist I firmly accept the relative nature of all things and co-existing with the chaotic constructs of humans and the world is just the way it is. If believing in voodoo, crystals, shamans and holy water get you off, that’s fine, but I’m not in that movie.

Despite living in the land of cornucopian excess, despite medical wonders and longer life spans, it’s safe to say, Life is struggle and Life is fragile. We have a very short time for thought and productivity. There's scant time to be at our peak and be sufficiently empowered for pushing against atrophy and the dark. Sadly, it’s easy to miss opportunity even if there’s apparent happiness with inaction.

Perhaps happiness is illusionary, it's transitory at best and something of a yearning brought on by its opposite. If happiness opposes sadness and suffering then I should be a very happy person - yet I factor happiness with some indifference.

Am I a happy, unhappy, cynical, objective or a subjective person? Yes, usually all at once because rarely is any moment pure enough to be perfect, except in rare moments of exquisite bliss. I was overcome with happiness when I realized the realness of my relationship with my soul mate. I was overwhelmed with joy witnessing the birth of our children and I’ve had happy moments relating to professional successes. Regarding daily life, happiness is not something I actively seek but I do derive satisfaction knowing I'm at the top of my skills. I'll concede that's a version of happiness.

Pleasure is not necessarily the same as happiness. Pleasure, while a synonym of happiness, is generally associated with desire, gratification, amusement and other transitory events. Happiness connotes something more ethereal, perhaps something more joyous and of mental satisfaction.

Should a person specifically seek happiness? I really don’t know. It seems a narrow quest to make happiness a solitary goal. Effort and obsession can become negative precursors and the quest becomes self-fulfilling and an obstacle to spontaneous happy conclusions.

Perhaps happiness is a state of being, a moment of contentment resulting and deriving from either the end of or the beginning of something. Since I feel each day is singular, a snippet of time in which I must strive to create, to think about and to push against the quickness by which Life passes, stopping to be happy seems absurd, a luxury. Doing so is simply contentment with the past.

Then again, it does seem possible to live in a state of being where time is at a standstill and all that’s perceived is repetition of idealized antiquity. Some people remain in their past, living with recollections and accepting contentment as simply an element of self-created continuums. I suspect that’s where myths and symbols become important. Familiar stories and objects – icons of historical importance then become comfortable touchstones and individuals need only to glance at these icons and feel they’re part of their culture. Pavlovian happiness?

Regarding my personal happiness, there are states of being I could live in forever: Being in love, being with my wife and also creating my art. Happiness is a togetherness in being and especially in doing. Everything else is secondary.

Who am I? I am a reed; waving in the wind, when cut I become music. When I die I will be dust. From the spores of my life some creations will be here for a brief time, most will be lost and Life continues to cycle regardless of me.

It was empty

 and he had to move faster, otherwise they would be first to the bench.

and yes, my photo.

She left

in such a hurry, words were unspoken, things were abandoned

Yesterday's Photo

Backyard moment.

The price of waiting

You’ve seen the scenes in movies ... 

... exhausted slaves trudge single file back to a compound, guarded by their Roman conquerors.  The slaves fall or sit wherever they can while some have enough energy to eat stale bread and water-thin soup.  At night they whisper their wishes to escape, to kill every Roman and to go home.  Infrequently, someone crazy enough attempts escaping only to be found hanging by a rope outside the compound.

... a slightly shabby, worn looking roadside inn somewhere in Merry Olde England, groups of farmers and common labors sit with their tankards, and in low tones grouse about the king, noblemen, churches and taxes.  Once in a while someone shouts, “Let’s do something”.  But it all fades to nothing.

... it’s America, in the first half of the Twentieth Century, there are bars filled with workers weary from their shifts at the factory.  They sit, soiled from their labors, nursing beers and  they bitch and moan about their bosses, the company, the government, their low wages and their taxes.  Occasionally voices are raised and threats are made, but it all comes to nothing as they go home for supper and bed.

... then a variation on information delivery occurred.  A new emphasis, nay a craving, intertwined with instantly delivered mass media. Born in the 1930s, a few decades later something different, a fuel of sorts, was added to the conversation.  The Era of The Bullhorn was born.

... music oriented radio stations were dying because TV was taking away their audience. Radio’s re-emergence began with just a few stations but soon enough talk radio became a most important money making entertainment.  As the years moved along, radio filled with aggressive talkers, generally right wing talkers.  They raged and spewed and screamed about everything they didn’t like.  And, they didn’t like much.  These radio personalities became millionaires by selling their hate.

... eventually many Americans began using the internet to voice complaints and everyday frustrations. Meanwhile right wingers, fueled by radio’s example, successfully used the internet as their vehicle of hate.  They screamed and out-shouted everyone else and they organized tens of thousands of like-minded haters and easily had their kind of people elected to congress, the senate, governor’s mansions and small town school boards.

...it was confusing to moderates and progressives.  Unlike their opposites, they didn’t have succinct, pin-point sound byte agendas and, by their vary nature of reasonableness and fair play, they couldn’t adequately counterpoint right wing screams and demands. Nor could they comprehend the power of a mob, of lynch mob behavior.

In the New Millennium, the loudest and most powerful voices heard around the globe were the voices of right wing apologists, politicians and haters.

They blocked every plan, every change and every improvement reasonable people wanted and needed.  Right wingers preached the connective-ness of their god and their political agendas. They revered money and honored greed. The earth and its bounty was meant for exploitation. Righteousness and guns were in their hands. War and violence bloomed on a global scale.  On a smaller scale, right-wing fanatics blew up government buildings, night clubs, schools and shopping places. Some took their guns and killed politicians, judges, doctors, nurses and children.

Meanwhile, moderates and progressives remained perplexed, confused and dazed hoping things would take care of themselves and the world would respond to reason and return to sanity.

And we wait.

Now's the time to visit the Northwest

... especially if you're in sweltering heat.

it was sunny for two minutes, then wet settled back in.

11AM July 21, 2011 looking to the west

sure, we wear plaid shirts or black clothes

and we know the differences between 24 types of waterproof materials

and there's a reason grass grows 6" a week

and moss is our state vegetation

and ferns grow on roofs

and salmon often are seen swimming across roads

and we never sunburn (unless we leave the area)

so, if you don't mind mildew, soggy socks & damp T's and always wearing a parka

(we never use umbrellas)

c'mon for a visit ....

but if you do visit, don't wear leather soled shoes 'cause you'll slip and land on you ass

just now, between rain & sunshine

I recently posted photos of a new rock wall ...
now in bloom above the wall is a patch of St. John's wort.

Nat Geo

Their photo of the day ...

I checked

It seems to be raining on opposite sides of the house. Escape is impossible.

Summer reading list

Yes, it's that time ... time for a heavily spiked lemonade, a straw hat and a comfy chaise lounge chair ... and, if you haven't picked something to read, here's a few suggestions.

......

"The Science of Cloning" by Ima Dubble

"I Said No!" by Kurt Reply

"Yellow River" by I.P. Freely

"Sex on the Beach" by Sandy Shortz

"Taming Wild Animals" by Claude Balls


"Today's French Bikinis" by Seymour Skynn

"Is There Life on Mars?" by Howard I. Know

"Confessions of A Stripper" by Lucy Lastic

"Mitt Romney's Run For The Presidency" by Willy Makeit & Betty Wont

"Handel's Messiah" by Ollie Luyah


"Ten Days In The Saddle" by Major Assburne

"How To Play Russian Roulette" by  E.B. Dednow

"New Diet Plan: Eat All You Want" by Ima Hogg

"How to Cook Pasta" by Al Dente

"Empathy" by Ophelia Payne

If I Switched

OK, I really going to put some effort into this posting, sort of maybe.

This isn’t a Walter Mitty thing, I'm mostly content with who I am but I was thinking about the classic line, “what if ...” So here’s a few people or experiences I’d do, if and when I invent my Switcheroo Machine (pat. pend).

I was watching a few episodes of the old TV show Route 66 and I can see myself driving a Corvette in 1960.  The Country looked empty.  There were no seat belts, no traffic cameras, freeways hadn’t destroyed mom and pop Americana and there were lots of cool looking bars and eateries.

There’s plenty of pretend musicians, especially in pop and rock n roll where posing, costumes and tats make the spectacle while the music disappears into the forgettable.  That’s why Joshua Bell and I trading places for a few concerts.  He’s just too good of a musician to ignore.

I’d happily switch places with Jacques Cousteau even if he was skinny and had a big nose.  When Jacques spoke it was as if everything made sense if we just looked a little closer at the natural world.  The dude had a fine ship, went diving in terrific locales, long before SCUBA tourists ruined the adventure. 

Another car thing. I’d gladly take over for James Taylor who was “The Driver” in Two-Lane Blacktop.  Besides being a favorite movie, again it’s the car and the open road.  That’s so much better than cubicle-apartment-suburbia existence, so much better.

Bill Graham, yeah, except for the helicopter incident, I’d be most pleased to take his place and manage the Fillmore Auditorium in mid 60’s San Francisco.  Mostly definitely a cool gig.

There’s a ton of photos in Blogland and they vary between ho-hum, terribly boring and suckingly bad.  I’d love to trade place with W. Eugene Smith, one of my favorite photographers.  Smith had that the ability, that sense of the decisive moment, creating factual and emotional photos.  His work transcends time, just look at his photos of the Minamata fiasco.

Ray Caesar’s work fascinates me. Seeing and doing what he does has to be experienced.  For a month or two, I want to visualize and paint like Ray.

And after Ray, I would love to switch with Willie Cole.  HIs stuff makes me laugh - in a most positive way - gotta experience his magic.

No one plays “cowboys and Indians” anymore but if there’s one guy who knew how to play it, it was Buffalo Bill Cody.  I think it would’ve been a kick to perform in his traveling “Wild West Show”. Yippee Ki Yay!

I don’t know much about his personal life but I do know Usain Bolt can run really fast.  So, I’ll do a switcheroo with him at both the world championships and the next Olympics. I simply must experience what it feels like to run so fast.

I would look pretty good in a New York Yankee uniform (not that I’m a Yankee fan) ... Past and present Yankees offer several possibilities for switching.  I think I’ll change places with Derek Jeter as he homered for his 3000 hit (and went 5 for 5 and also produced the winning run).  That would be a neato switcheroo moment.

Breakfast of Champions

Saturday morning at Top Pot Doughnuts

Raspberry covered chocolate cake and an Apple Fritter.

Maple covered chocolate cake and a Feather Boa.

We're now going home to do yard work (I think was just bribed.)

Stuff I read

"I never attack Canadians unless there's a really, really good reason. Canada is like Milwaukee and Pittsburgh — it brings a ton of stuff to the table and takes nothing off it."

... Bill Simmons

from
Grantland


also a terrific read by Chuck Klosterman about Zed Zeppelin - 'In the Evening'
also from Grantland

These guys can write!

Dirt

Okay class, you assignment for the weekend is to write a short essay about what you are currently doing.  Are you going someplace special?  Are family or friends coming to visit?  Just write about the “now” moment, don’t dwell on either the past or the future.  

Oh, and one last thing, don’t write a novel, I don’t want you to turn in a comic book sized stack of paper.  Have fun and keep it simple.

------

Crap.  I don’t want to write about my in the moment stuff, it already puts me asleep just thinking about it.  But I need to pass this lousy English class, I gotta write something.  She wants it simple, I’ll give simple.

Friday.  Can’t remember breakfast but I had a burger for lunch.  It had some mayo and catsup and a lettuce leaf.  Tonight’s dinner will be a tostada with chicken, lettuce, radishes, olives, cucumber and hot salsa.  Dessert will be a Snickers Bar.

Damn, I think I can actually write enough of this junk to fill a page.  I can do this assignment.

Just drank a glass of cran-raspberry juice. Tasty.  Uh oh, I looked out the window and got reminded, this weekend I have to finish moving a pile of dirt, about 6 cubic yards of it.  And I’ve got to save all the rocks that are mixed in the dirt.  Of course it’s raining and the steep driveway will be a bitch, I hope when I’m pulling a load of dirt down hill the tractor doesn’t slide like it once did and I ended up being dumped into the shrubbery. 

Jeeze, wet dirt is heavy.  I wonder, do they have heavy dirt in SoCal or Arizona?  I better Google that ‘cause I’m ready to bug out of here.  I wonder, if I posted a photo of my pile of dirt, would that make blog readers happy?  Bloggers try to be so nice ... who are those people anyway?  I’ve never had neighbors who sound like bloggers?

Wow, look at that, a big hawk just snagged one of the wild rabbets!  Hey Hawk, come back!  There’s plenty more rabbets ... fill yourself up!  I wonder, will the coyote family return when it warms up - if it ever warms up?  Those dudes sure reduced the rabbet and cat population in the area.  I think we’re a Speedy Mart for wild critters. Hmmm, looks like another hawk is circling.

I wonder which movie I’ll watch tonight.  Last night was “Highway Dragnet” from 1954 ... a real “B” movie if there ever was one.  The actors had to laughing or something at the script.  Too bad Mary Beth Hughes was only on screen for only a minute ... she would’ve spiced up the film.  Anyway, I’m thinking I’ll watch either “In Search of Beethoven” or “Pandora’s Box” but ”Ugetsu” is also a possibility.  I wish I had a Snickers Bar right now, this dirt thing is a drag.

Almost forgot, I better do my part for dinner.  Let’s see, I’m to take a couple of pieces of chicken out of the freezer and I’m to chill a bottle of wine.  I like that Mondavi Woodbridge Lightly Oaked Chardonnay.  Thirteen bucks for 1.5 liters ain’t bad ... plus it has a nice taste but I’m not sure of it’s legs, if it’s buttery or is tart with tears ... that sound’s like a scene in a porn flick.  Hardy haw haw, wine snobs crack me up.

One more load of dirt and I’m done for the afternoon.  I think I’ll go harass the dummies working at the local hardware store.  They’re good at reading can labels just like most of the people shopping there. Sigh. Once upon a time, hardware clerks knew stuff.

Saturday.  Nice breakfast at The Hangar Cafe in Georgetown, they do make decent crepes. Oops, I forgot, I have to drive someone to Sea-Tac.  She says she told me about this trip.  She’s right of course, but the info slid in and out of my ears so quickly ... well, all her biz trips sort of blur together.  I mean, she was in Canada just a few days ago.  Ever since George Bush did his demolition derby on the U.S. I’ve been wondering where I can go for political asylum.  Maybe Canada.  Maybe California.  Definitely not Florida or wacky Wisconsin.

Looks like I will be shoveling more dirt today and Sunday too.

Hey, teacher, I’m mailing in the rest of this weekend report. I’m calling it a work in progress.  Who knows, maybe I’ll be attacked by a bunch of angry mountain beavers down where I’m dumping the dirt.

The End.  Or is it?

Tidying up

prepping the area before the start of serious work

the power of machines

what it was all about

Every home owner needs one

Owning a house means projects - more precisely, it means there's an unrelenting variety of repairs and improvements, both necessary and self imposed.

Maintaining the "modern" house ... I doubt yurt living nomads pulled weeds, painted doors, cleaned windows, fixed leaky faucets, pressure washed moss covered roofs and otherwise filled their spare time with money soaked projects.

To the point ... the most recent project.

DADDY!

Oh sure, it's rocks to you

Yeah, well, to me this is part of my driveway.

Quote that

Ansel Adams,
"It is horrifying that we have to fight our own government to save the environment. "

Jacques Yves Cousteau,
"If we go on the way we have, the fault is our greed and if we are not willing to change, we will disappear from the face of the globe, to be replaced by the insect."





"Water and air, the two essential fluids on which all life depends, have become global garbage cans."

Rachel Carson,
"The more clearly we can focus our attention on the wonders and realities of the universe about us, the less taste we shall have for destruction."

Rodney King,
"Can't we all get along?"

.........


Recent and unique photo of Space Shuttle Endeavor, The International Space Station and, of course, beautiful Earth.

photo by Paolo Nespoli, May 23 2011, from the Soyuz TMA-20

for other stunning photos go here.

Dear Elizabeth

Personal trivia

•  I've always wanted, but never had, a 45 ft. blue water sailboat.

•  The best places I've lived were Santa Monica and La Jolla CA.

•  The worst place I've lived - Syracuse NY.

•  Places I haven't been to but want to visit: New Mexico, Maine.


•  I don't watch animated movies, such as, Avatar or Shrek.

•  I rather have two root canals w/out anesthesia than watch American Idol type TV shows.

•  My favorite film genre is Film Noir.


•  I tend to read biographies and historical accounts.

•  Bad Monkeys a fiction by Matt Ruff is a totally good read.

•  I memorized my REI co-op number.

•  Arc'teryx makes terrific outdoor gear.  I use a Bora 80.


•  I prefer washing dishes to cooking.

•  To me, cooking is using the microwave or finding leftovers in fridge.

•  A tuna sandwich or a 5 star restaurant meal ... I'll take the sandwich.

•  I luv radishes and turnips and hate onions.

•  Favorite foods: Any vegetable (except evil onions), stir fries and tagine meals, tacos.


•  Favorite drinks: Scotch w/water, Manhattan, Whiskey Sour, Gin & Tonic.

•  Typical breakfast: Peanut butter sandwich and a Coke.

•  Week end breakfast: Omelette w/peppers and tomatoes at fav Seattle restaurant.

•  I know wines but I prefer the $12/liter blended types.

•  Tea never coffee.  And no lemon, cream or sweetener.


•  Mowing lawns is just about the dumbest thing ever.

•  Fertilizing lawns is the dumbest thing ever.

•  Suburbia sucks.

•  I can build a house full of furniture but I can't build a house.


•  I've served on two jury trials - both resulting in convictions.

•  If I curated art showings, it would be of Photorealism and Pop Surrealism.

•  I've never owned a PC.

•  I really don't care if pro athletes use steroids or HGHs.

•  I will beat you at Six Degrees of Separation.


•