Friday, June 30, 2006
Tonight, I took Dylan, my ten year old son to the Borders Bookstore I work at to hear a cajun/creole outfit called Dennis Stroughmatt.
Dennis brought his wife Jennifer along to play the triangle, acoustic guitar and washboard.
Dennis played the fiddle and accordian, and sang as well.
Between numbers, Dennis told stories about the history of cajun/creole music.
If I understood him correctly, cajun music comes down to us from the French settlers who came to America through New Orleans and settled, in our our area, in what was then the northern tip of Louisiana.
'Creole' was a term applied to French descendants who were born on American soil.
'Creole' also was used to describe the descendants of the French settlers and African American slaves.
The music is warm and vibrant. Lively.
And the lyrics are engaging.
One song tells of a grandmother who laments her husbands death. He was killed and eaten by a wolf when he went out to get firewood. She does not lament his death per se, but the fact there is no firewood.
Another song tells of a young girl who cannot get married because she has no new dress. Then she has no new bonnett. Then she has no new shoes. And on and on.
Of course, the lyrics are in French, but Dennis would tell us the story of the lyric before each song was played.
Hearing these wonderful folktales told through the lyrics of cajun/creole music was a wonderful combination.
Dylan, who again is just ten years old, sat through an hour and a half, the entire show, without budging. He was completely into the stories and the music.
Dennis Stroughmatt is one of a handful of bands of this type, who actually tour the world and play professionally.
If you ever have the chance to see and hear live cajun/creole music, I highly recommend it!
It was a wonderful way to spend an evening!
Lastly, Dennis's two c.d.'s are entitled 'Creole Stranger' and 'The Gambler's Fiddle', both available on Swallow Records.
Dennis brought his wife Jennifer along to play the triangle, acoustic guitar and washboard.
Dennis played the fiddle and accordian, and sang as well.
Between numbers, Dennis told stories about the history of cajun/creole music.
If I understood him correctly, cajun music comes down to us from the French settlers who came to America through New Orleans and settled, in our our area, in what was then the northern tip of Louisiana.
'Creole' was a term applied to French descendants who were born on American soil.
'Creole' also was used to describe the descendants of the French settlers and African American slaves.
The music is warm and vibrant. Lively.
And the lyrics are engaging.
One song tells of a grandmother who laments her husbands death. He was killed and eaten by a wolf when he went out to get firewood. She does not lament his death per se, but the fact there is no firewood.
Another song tells of a young girl who cannot get married because she has no new dress. Then she has no new bonnett. Then she has no new shoes. And on and on.
Of course, the lyrics are in French, but Dennis would tell us the story of the lyric before each song was played.
Hearing these wonderful folktales told through the lyrics of cajun/creole music was a wonderful combination.
Dylan, who again is just ten years old, sat through an hour and a half, the entire show, without budging. He was completely into the stories and the music.
Dennis Stroughmatt is one of a handful of bands of this type, who actually tour the world and play professionally.
If you ever have the chance to see and hear live cajun/creole music, I highly recommend it!
It was a wonderful way to spend an evening!
Lastly, Dennis's two c.d.'s are entitled 'Creole Stranger' and 'The Gambler's Fiddle', both available on Swallow Records.
Wednesday, June 21, 2006
http://www.bluffton.edu/~sullivanm/chartreswest/centralportal.html
Sacred Architecture, Sacred Geometry
Sacred Architecture, Sacred Geometry
Tuesday, June 20, 2006
I'm no saint, but...
Famous KEVIN's in History
This is the first historical personage credited with the first name of 'Kevin'
St. Kevin...
Also known as
Caoimhghin; Coemgen; Coemgenus; Comegen; Keivin; Kevin of Glen da locha; Kevin of Glendalough
Memorial
3 June
Profile
Son of Coemlog and Coemell, Leinster nobility.
Baptized by Saint Cronan of Roscrea,
and educated by Saint Petroc of Cornwall from age seven.
Lived with monks from age 12.
Studied for the priesthood in Cell na Manach (Killnamanagh).
Student of Saint Eonagh.
Priest, ordained by bishop Lugidus.
Monk. Acquaintance of Saint Comgall, Saint Columba, Saint Cannich, and
Saint Kieran of Clonmacnois.
Following his ordination, he lived as a hermit for seven years into a cave at Glendalough, a Bronze Age tomb now known as Saint Kevin's Bed, to which he was reportedly led by an angel. He wore skins, ate the nettles and herbs that came to hand, and spent his time in prayer. Word of his holiness spread, and he attracted followers, including Saint Moling.
Founded the monastery at Glendalough, which included relics brought back during a pilgrimage to Rome. This house, in turn, founded several others, and around it grew a town which became a see city, though now subsumed into the archdiocese of Dublin. Served as abbot for several years. When he saw that the monastery was well-established, he withdrew to live as a hermit. Four years later, however, he returned to Glendalough at the entreaty of his monk, and served as abbot until his death at age 120.
King Colman of Ui Faelain entrusted Kevin with raising his son. Noted as a man who did not always like the company of men - but was at home with the animals, as some of the legends surrounding him show:
During a drought, Kevin fed his monks with salmon brought to him by an otter. When one of the monks considered making gloves out of the otter's pelt, it left and never returned.
Once during Lent, while he held his arms outstretched in prayer, a blackbird laid an egg in the Kevin's hand. He remained in that position until the baby bird hatched.
A cow which habitually licked Kevin's clothes while the saint was in prayer gave as much milk as 50 other cows.
Lacking milk to feed the son of King Colman, Kevin prayed for help. A doe arrived to provide for the baby. When the doe was later killed by a wolf, Kevin chastised the killer; the wolf then provided the milk herself.
A young man with severe epilepsy received a vision that he would be cured by eating an apple. There were, however, no apple trees about. Kevin, seeing the lad's need, ordered a willow to produce apples; twenty yellow apples appeared on the tree.
In his old age, King O'Tool of Glendalough made a pet of a goose. As time passed, the goose also became aged and weak, and finally unable to fly. Hearing of Kevin's sanctity and power, the pagan king sent for him, and asked that he make the beloved goose young. Kevin asked for a payment of whatever land the goose would fly over. As the goose could no longer take flight, O'Toole agreed. When Kevin touched the bird, it grew young, and flew over the entire valley that was used to found the monastery of Glendalough.
A boar was being chased by a group of hunters with their dogs. It ran to where Kevin sat praying under a tree, and cowered beside him for protection. When the dogs saw the saint in prayer, they laid on their stomachs, and would not approach the boar. When the hunters decided they would ignore the man and kill the boar, a flock of birds settled in the tree above the praying saint. The hunters took this as a sign, and left man and beast alone.
Born
c.498 at the Fort of the White Fountain, Leinster, Ireland
Died
3 June 618 of natural causes
Name Meaning
fair begotten; of gentle birth (= Coemgen/Kevin); valley of the two lakes (= glen da locha)
Canonized
1903 (cultus confirmed)
Patronage
blackbirds, archdiocese of Dublin, Ireland, Glendalough Ireland, Ireland
Representation
blackbirds; monk or hermit with a blackbird sitting on his outstretched hand
Images
Gallery of images of Saint Kevin [9 images, 194 kb]
Famous KEVIN's in History
This is the first historical personage credited with the first name of 'Kevin'
St. Kevin...
Also known as
Caoimhghin; Coemgen; Coemgenus; Comegen; Keivin; Kevin of Glen da locha; Kevin of Glendalough
Memorial
3 June
Profile
Son of Coemlog and Coemell, Leinster nobility.
Baptized by Saint Cronan of Roscrea,
and educated by Saint Petroc of Cornwall from age seven.
Lived with monks from age 12.
Studied for the priesthood in Cell na Manach (Killnamanagh).
Student of Saint Eonagh.
Priest, ordained by bishop Lugidus.
Monk. Acquaintance of Saint Comgall, Saint Columba, Saint Cannich, and
Saint Kieran of Clonmacnois.
Following his ordination, he lived as a hermit for seven years into a cave at Glendalough, a Bronze Age tomb now known as Saint Kevin's Bed, to which he was reportedly led by an angel. He wore skins, ate the nettles and herbs that came to hand, and spent his time in prayer. Word of his holiness spread, and he attracted followers, including Saint Moling.
Founded the monastery at Glendalough, which included relics brought back during a pilgrimage to Rome. This house, in turn, founded several others, and around it grew a town which became a see city, though now subsumed into the archdiocese of Dublin. Served as abbot for several years. When he saw that the monastery was well-established, he withdrew to live as a hermit. Four years later, however, he returned to Glendalough at the entreaty of his monk, and served as abbot until his death at age 120.
King Colman of Ui Faelain entrusted Kevin with raising his son. Noted as a man who did not always like the company of men - but was at home with the animals, as some of the legends surrounding him show:
During a drought, Kevin fed his monks with salmon brought to him by an otter. When one of the monks considered making gloves out of the otter's pelt, it left and never returned.
Once during Lent, while he held his arms outstretched in prayer, a blackbird laid an egg in the Kevin's hand. He remained in that position until the baby bird hatched.
A cow which habitually licked Kevin's clothes while the saint was in prayer gave as much milk as 50 other cows.
Lacking milk to feed the son of King Colman, Kevin prayed for help. A doe arrived to provide for the baby. When the doe was later killed by a wolf, Kevin chastised the killer; the wolf then provided the milk herself.
A young man with severe epilepsy received a vision that he would be cured by eating an apple. There were, however, no apple trees about. Kevin, seeing the lad's need, ordered a willow to produce apples; twenty yellow apples appeared on the tree.
In his old age, King O'Tool of Glendalough made a pet of a goose. As time passed, the goose also became aged and weak, and finally unable to fly. Hearing of Kevin's sanctity and power, the pagan king sent for him, and asked that he make the beloved goose young. Kevin asked for a payment of whatever land the goose would fly over. As the goose could no longer take flight, O'Toole agreed. When Kevin touched the bird, it grew young, and flew over the entire valley that was used to found the monastery of Glendalough.
A boar was being chased by a group of hunters with their dogs. It ran to where Kevin sat praying under a tree, and cowered beside him for protection. When the dogs saw the saint in prayer, they laid on their stomachs, and would not approach the boar. When the hunters decided they would ignore the man and kill the boar, a flock of birds settled in the tree above the praying saint. The hunters took this as a sign, and left man and beast alone.
Born
c.498 at the Fort of the White Fountain, Leinster, Ireland
Died
3 June 618 of natural causes
Name Meaning
fair begotten; of gentle birth (= Coemgen/Kevin); valley of the two lakes (= glen da locha)
Canonized
1903 (cultus confirmed)
Patronage
blackbirds, archdiocese of Dublin, Ireland, Glendalough Ireland, Ireland
Representation
blackbirds; monk or hermit with a blackbird sitting on his outstretched hand
Images
Gallery of images of Saint Kevin [9 images, 194 kb]
This is to Family and Friends and all those Kindred Spirits I've been blessed to meet...
'Irish Heartbeat'
Words and Music by Van Morrison
Oh won't you stay, stay awhile
With your own ones.
Don't ever stray,Stray so far
from your own ones.
This old world is so cold.
Don't care nothin' for your soul
You share with your own ones.
Don't rush away, rush away
From your own ones.
Just one more day, one more day
With your own ones.
For the world is so cold.
Don't care nothin' for your soul
You share with your own ones.
Bridge:
There's a stranger
And he's standing at your door.
May be your best friend
Might be your brother,
You may never know.
I'm going back, going back
To my own ones.
Back to talk, talk awhile
With my own ones.
For the world is so cold.
Don't care nothing for your soul
'Irish Heartbeat'
Words and Music by Van Morrison
Oh won't you stay, stay awhile
With your own ones.
Don't ever stray,Stray so far
from your own ones.
This old world is so cold.
Don't care nothin' for your soul
You share with your own ones.
Don't rush away, rush away
From your own ones.
Just one more day, one more day
With your own ones.
For the world is so cold.
Don't care nothin' for your soul
You share with your own ones.
Bridge:
There's a stranger
And he's standing at your door.
May be your best friend
Might be your brother,
You may never know.
I'm going back, going back
To my own ones.
Back to talk, talk awhile
With my own ones.
For the world is so cold.
Don't care nothing for your soul
Monday, June 19, 2006
G I V E Y O U R S E L F A B R E A K
The tree grow branches from it's trunk which grow twigs, which in turn grow leaves and seeds.
The seeds fall, and new trees are grown, continuing the process.
Where does one tree leave off from the other?
The beauty of one tree owes it's essence to it's forebear.
Likewise, the knot on a branch may be the scar left over from another.
It is a flow, my friend.
We are part of something that flows that is much greater than ourselves.
Our beauty can be attributed to our forebears, as can many of our 'faults'.
It's never 'all you'.
If someone offends you, they are offending your entire line, from whence you came, and from where you go.
Likewise if someone pleases you.
And remember this rule when dealing with others.
No one is ever truly 'alone'.
The tree grow branches from it's trunk which grow twigs, which in turn grow leaves and seeds.
The seeds fall, and new trees are grown, continuing the process.
Where does one tree leave off from the other?
The beauty of one tree owes it's essence to it's forebear.
Likewise, the knot on a branch may be the scar left over from another.
It is a flow, my friend.
We are part of something that flows that is much greater than ourselves.
Our beauty can be attributed to our forebears, as can many of our 'faults'.
It's never 'all you'.
If someone offends you, they are offending your entire line, from whence you came, and from where you go.
Likewise if someone pleases you.
And remember this rule when dealing with others.
No one is ever truly 'alone'.
Saturday, June 17, 2006
F I R S T
First World, Star, Sun, Moon, Wind, Tree, Garden, first River, first Ocean, Seashell, Arrowhead, House, Man, first Woman, Toy, Birthday Party, Forest, Music, Church, School, Cub Scouts, Friend, Car, Family, Street, first Camp Fire, first God, first Spirit, first Silence, Gumball, Girl, first Swimming Pool, first Country, City, first Coin, first Bible, Smile, Breath, first Laughter, first Cry, Voice, first Thought, Myth, Story, first Wound, Sugar, first Salt, first Vacation, first Work, Street, Lamp-post, first Basketball, Yard, Bumble Bee, Firefly, Butterfly, Seagull, first Cardinal, first Sassafrass, first Woods, Mud, Sidewalk, Kiss, Crush, first Boat first Knife, Flag, Football Team, first Sycamore, Flashlight, Sky, Desert, Canyon, Crater, Cactus, First, First First!
I remember.
First World, Star, Sun, Moon, Wind, Tree, Garden, first River, first Ocean, Seashell, Arrowhead, House, Man, first Woman, Toy, Birthday Party, Forest, Music, Church, School, Cub Scouts, Friend, Car, Family, Street, first Camp Fire, first God, first Spirit, first Silence, Gumball, Girl, first Swimming Pool, first Country, City, first Coin, first Bible, Smile, Breath, first Laughter, first Cry, Voice, first Thought, Myth, Story, first Wound, Sugar, first Salt, first Vacation, first Work, Street, Lamp-post, first Basketball, Yard, Bumble Bee, Firefly, Butterfly, Seagull, first Cardinal, first Sassafrass, first Woods, Mud, Sidewalk, Kiss, Crush, first Boat first Knife, Flag, Football Team, first Sycamore, Flashlight, Sky, Desert, Canyon, Crater, Cactus, First, First First!
I remember.
I N S I D E
Inside Mother's watery womb.
Born into the Inside of Earth's atmosphere.
Even when we leave the atmosphere, we are inside a vacuum.
Or inside the pull of gravity.
Or inside a solar system which is inside a galaxy which is inside a cluster.
Inside Mother's watery womb.
Born into the Inside of Earth's atmosphere.
Even when we leave the atmosphere, we are inside a vacuum.
Or inside the pull of gravity.
Or inside a solar system which is inside a galaxy which is inside a cluster.
Tuesday, June 13, 2006
[Luke won a game of poker on a bluff]
Dragline: Nothin'. A handful of nothin'. You stupid mullet head. He beat you with nothin'. Just like today when he kept comin' back at me - with nothin'.
Luke: Yeah, well, sometimes nothin' can be a real cool hand.
-and in honor of my dad...Happy Father's Day!
Dragline: Nothin'. A handful of nothin'. You stupid mullet head. He beat you with nothin'. Just like today when he kept comin' back at me - with nothin'.
Luke: Yeah, well, sometimes nothin' can be a real cool hand.
-and in honor of my dad...Happy Father's Day!
Popular Poem
The Bridge Builder
An old man, going a lone highway,
Came, at the evening, cold and gray,
To a chasm, vast, and deep, and wide,
Through which was flowing a sullen tide.
The old man crossed in the twilight dim;
But he turned, when safe on the other side,
And built a bridge to span the tide.
"Old man," said a fellow pilgrim, near,
"You are wasting strength with building here;
Your journey will end with the ending day;
You never again must pass this way;
You have crossed the chasm, deep and wide
Why build you the bridge at the even tide?"
The builder lifted his old gray head
"Good friend, in the path I have come," he said,
there followeth after me today
A youth, whose feet must pass this way.
This chasm, that has been naught to me.
He, too, must cross in the twilight dim;
Good friend, I am building the bridge for him."
-this is for the real life builder who went before me and shared this poem with me in his old age...PawPaw
The Bridge Builder
An old man, going a lone highway,
Came, at the evening, cold and gray,
To a chasm, vast, and deep, and wide,
Through which was flowing a sullen tide.
The old man crossed in the twilight dim;
But he turned, when safe on the other side,
And built a bridge to span the tide.
"Old man," said a fellow pilgrim, near,
"You are wasting strength with building here;
Your journey will end with the ending day;
You never again must pass this way;
You have crossed the chasm, deep and wide
Why build you the bridge at the even tide?"
The builder lifted his old gray head
"Good friend, in the path I have come," he said,
there followeth after me today
A youth, whose feet must pass this way.
This chasm, that has been naught to me.
He, too, must cross in the twilight dim;
Good friend, I am building the bridge for him."
-this is for the real life builder who went before me and shared this poem with me in his old age...PawPaw
Monday, June 12, 2006
Rave On, Jean Jacques!
I had no idea of things in themselves, although all the feelings of actual life were already known to me. I had conceived nothing, but felt everything. These confused emotions, which I felt one after the other, certainly did not warp the reasoning powers which I did not as yet possess; but they shaped them in me of a peculiar stamp, and gave me odd and romantic notions of human life, of which experience and reflection have never been able to wholly cure me.
-taken from Rousseau's Confessions
I had no idea of things in themselves, although all the feelings of actual life were already known to me. I had conceived nothing, but felt everything. These confused emotions, which I felt one after the other, certainly did not warp the reasoning powers which I did not as yet possess; but they shaped them in me of a peculiar stamp, and gave me odd and romantic notions of human life, of which experience and reflection have never been able to wholly cure me.
-taken from Rousseau's Confessions
Saturday, June 10, 2006
You've got to look at life the way it oughta be
Looking at the stars from underneath the tree
There's a world inside and a world out there
With that tv you just don't care
They've got violence, wars and killing too
All shrunk down in a two-foot tube
But out there the world is a beautiful place
With mountains, lakes and the human race
This is where I wanna be
And this is what I wanna do
--taken from 'Krafty' by New Order
Looking at the stars from underneath the tree
There's a world inside and a world out there
With that tv you just don't care
They've got violence, wars and killing too
All shrunk down in a two-foot tube
But out there the world is a beautiful place
With mountains, lakes and the human race
This is where I wanna be
And this is what I wanna do
--taken from 'Krafty' by New Order
henri bergson's time
it is so easy to get caught up in 'linear, scientific' time.
we are awakened by alarm clocks, and begin our day rushing around getting ready in order to be at work on 'time'.
then, we plan our day, oftentime by the hour, if not the half or quarter hour.
meetings, tasks, appointments, all are appointed their 'time'.
but this 'linear, scientific' time, which is measured by our clocks, has littile to do with TIME.
'linear, scientific' time is measured as if it is a ray shot from a raygun and travels in a straight arrow...from a beginning to an end.
but step outside our clocks for just a moment, and it is judged that at first, our earth moves in an elliptical orbit around our sun, rendering TIME something that is not straight as an arrow at all, and relative to orbit around our sun is elliptical.
so TIME is curved, and just like anything that is curved, can flow.
so this TIME flows...unmeasured by the sun's position in the sky, or by a clock...not by minutes or hours.
we all have experienced this flow TIME. you can go to work on your car, and the time flies by (it's actually flowing). you can be at work and get into a groove with the tasks at hand, and where has the TIME gone? it's already time for lunch!
when experiencing this flow of TIME, a window opens up to a faculty all humans contain. not intelligence, but intuition.
when experiencing TIME as flow, our intuition is brought to the fore and we can have a heightened experience of the spiritual.
for in the flow of TIME, as opposed to the straight arrow flight of scientific time, is where one can experience the Divine, the Mythical, the Mystical, other realms represented by fairy tale and story.
when experiencing TIME in this way, everything seems to feel like everything is going to be just fine. when we think of our loved ones, living or dead, we know they are safe and deeply happy.
how many times, when you were worried about something as a child, did your mother exhorte you to 'get busy doing something'.
you fought the urge at first, preferring the worry state to movement, but if your mother persisted, then you indeed did 'get busy doing something'.
and what happened? you experienced the flow of TIME. as a matter of fact, more often than not, your mother had to pull you away from this magical realm to tell you it was time for dinner!
how did things seem when you stepped outside scientific time and stepped into the flowing river of TIME?
like all was right with the world.
you forgot what you were worrying about.
our mothers tell us, and we find later in life they are right.
when going through a hard time, we are admonished that 'this too shall pass', and that things will get better.
and sure enough, the things do pass (flow) and things then get better.
and the best way to spend our scientific time is to step outside it like our mothers taught us and into the flow of TIME.
get busy doing something, and all of a sudden, everything is okay.
so there is time and there is TIME.
one is scientific and makes us age and worry that we won't keep up with it, and is linear and shoots like an arrow from a starting point to and end, where we are caught in the middle.
but then there is TIME...where there is no beginning, no end, just flow, where we can let our spirits experience something beyond the existential....something significant.
I wish you the best of TIMEs!
as a postscript, i offer the following insights...
in time, we do something.
in TIME we do SOMETHING.
time can be heard by the ticking of the clock.
TIME can be heard by the rushing flow of the wind.
in time, only the individual can experience his minutes and hours.
in TIME, we partake in the same flow that all sentient beings have ever, do, and will partake.
so time is particular, relative to the individual,
while TIME is general, and absolute to the multitude.
lastly,
time, which is measurable, passes away,
while
TIME, which is immesurable, endures.
it is so easy to get caught up in 'linear, scientific' time.
we are awakened by alarm clocks, and begin our day rushing around getting ready in order to be at work on 'time'.
then, we plan our day, oftentime by the hour, if not the half or quarter hour.
meetings, tasks, appointments, all are appointed their 'time'.
but this 'linear, scientific' time, which is measured by our clocks, has littile to do with TIME.
'linear, scientific' time is measured as if it is a ray shot from a raygun and travels in a straight arrow...from a beginning to an end.
but step outside our clocks for just a moment, and it is judged that at first, our earth moves in an elliptical orbit around our sun, rendering TIME something that is not straight as an arrow at all, and relative to orbit around our sun is elliptical.
so TIME is curved, and just like anything that is curved, can flow.
so this TIME flows...unmeasured by the sun's position in the sky, or by a clock...not by minutes or hours.
we all have experienced this flow TIME. you can go to work on your car, and the time flies by (it's actually flowing). you can be at work and get into a groove with the tasks at hand, and where has the TIME gone? it's already time for lunch!
when experiencing this flow of TIME, a window opens up to a faculty all humans contain. not intelligence, but intuition.
when experiencing TIME as flow, our intuition is brought to the fore and we can have a heightened experience of the spiritual.
for in the flow of TIME, as opposed to the straight arrow flight of scientific time, is where one can experience the Divine, the Mythical, the Mystical, other realms represented by fairy tale and story.
when experiencing TIME in this way, everything seems to feel like everything is going to be just fine. when we think of our loved ones, living or dead, we know they are safe and deeply happy.
how many times, when you were worried about something as a child, did your mother exhorte you to 'get busy doing something'.
you fought the urge at first, preferring the worry state to movement, but if your mother persisted, then you indeed did 'get busy doing something'.
and what happened? you experienced the flow of TIME. as a matter of fact, more often than not, your mother had to pull you away from this magical realm to tell you it was time for dinner!
how did things seem when you stepped outside scientific time and stepped into the flowing river of TIME?
like all was right with the world.
you forgot what you were worrying about.
our mothers tell us, and we find later in life they are right.
when going through a hard time, we are admonished that 'this too shall pass', and that things will get better.
and sure enough, the things do pass (flow) and things then get better.
and the best way to spend our scientific time is to step outside it like our mothers taught us and into the flow of TIME.
get busy doing something, and all of a sudden, everything is okay.
so there is time and there is TIME.
one is scientific and makes us age and worry that we won't keep up with it, and is linear and shoots like an arrow from a starting point to and end, where we are caught in the middle.
but then there is TIME...where there is no beginning, no end, just flow, where we can let our spirits experience something beyond the existential....something significant.
I wish you the best of TIMEs!
as a postscript, i offer the following insights...
in time, we do something.
in TIME we do SOMETHING.
time can be heard by the ticking of the clock.
TIME can be heard by the rushing flow of the wind.
in time, only the individual can experience his minutes and hours.
in TIME, we partake in the same flow that all sentient beings have ever, do, and will partake.
so time is particular, relative to the individual,
while TIME is general, and absolute to the multitude.
lastly,
time, which is measurable, passes away,
while
TIME, which is immesurable, endures.
the great pythagoras
perhaps the greatest discovery pythagoras imparted was form and number.
he realized the significance form and number play for things.
the basis, the great quaternion, which is 1,2,3,4.
but it isn't just the numbers, it's the form.
arranged as follows...
________1________
_______2_3_______
______4_5_6______
_____7_8_9_10____
ranging from top to bottom,
one, monad...completeness
two, dyad...tension
three, triad....spiritual
four, quatrad....earthy
sum the numbers to get to the transcendant number, ten.
pythagoras applied number and form to things to manifest beauty.
the musical scale is attibuted to pythagoras.
1:1 is the octave
1:4, the fourth
1:8 the eighth.
by arranging tonal notes according to these scales, beautiful music was discovered.
ionic rationality manifested in beauty.
it may seem elementary to us now, but before pythagoras, it was not widely held that if you changed the number in a thing, you changed it's essence. or that if you changed the form of a thing, you changed it's essence.
so pythagoras moved beyond the fact that number and form can count for the existence of thing, it also provides significance for the thing.
the universe imparts itself to humans on symbolic terms.
though a thing is made up of electrons, atoms, quarks, and superstrings, it manifests itself symbolically to us as a chair, or a table, or a wall.
and though the earth speeds through space at roughly 1400 miles per hour, it manifests itself to us as stable, solid, and unmoving.
so though the universe is rather complex and dynamic, it manifests itself in rational ways that through observation, can be predicted.
and so the underlying rationalisty of the universe gifted to us by the ionians and the greeks.
for though a thing's existential qualities on a basic level may appear chaotic, complex and without meaning, it is manifested as ordered, simple and quite meaningful.
it is left to the ant to experience a field of grass, wildflowers and domesticated plants as just stem after stem of stalks to climb up and over...trapped in an infinity within boundaries.
but it is left to the man to traverse the field in three foot strides and conquer the infinity in a short amount of time, enjoying the beauty of the field as he strides across it.
so while the universe expresses itself to us, man, in symbolic terms, it also gifted us with the preferred perception of it.
the universe, then, is scaled to the size of man.
and so man is the measure of things.
gifted with the preferred perception of the universe, he is the crown jewel of creation.
things are complex and chaotic enough that they must be learned about empirically, through experience.
but the symbolic manifestation of the universe sparks something in us we just know without experimentation.
a tree's leaves and branches will give us rest in the shade.
drinking water from a stream will quench our thirst.
and so on.
so though it is wise to become skeptical through experience, it is not wise to throw out the baby with the bathwater and question everything.
deep down, you know what is important and what is not.
thus the triumph of rationality.
perhaps the greatest discovery pythagoras imparted was form and number.
he realized the significance form and number play for things.
the basis, the great quaternion, which is 1,2,3,4.
but it isn't just the numbers, it's the form.
arranged as follows...
________1________
_______2_3_______
______4_5_6______
_____7_8_9_10____
ranging from top to bottom,
one, monad...completeness
two, dyad...tension
three, triad....spiritual
four, quatrad....earthy
sum the numbers to get to the transcendant number, ten.
pythagoras applied number and form to things to manifest beauty.
the musical scale is attibuted to pythagoras.
1:1 is the octave
1:4, the fourth
1:8 the eighth.
by arranging tonal notes according to these scales, beautiful music was discovered.
ionic rationality manifested in beauty.
it may seem elementary to us now, but before pythagoras, it was not widely held that if you changed the number in a thing, you changed it's essence. or that if you changed the form of a thing, you changed it's essence.
so pythagoras moved beyond the fact that number and form can count for the existence of thing, it also provides significance for the thing.
the universe imparts itself to humans on symbolic terms.
though a thing is made up of electrons, atoms, quarks, and superstrings, it manifests itself symbolically to us as a chair, or a table, or a wall.
and though the earth speeds through space at roughly 1400 miles per hour, it manifests itself to us as stable, solid, and unmoving.
so though the universe is rather complex and dynamic, it manifests itself in rational ways that through observation, can be predicted.
and so the underlying rationalisty of the universe gifted to us by the ionians and the greeks.
for though a thing's existential qualities on a basic level may appear chaotic, complex and without meaning, it is manifested as ordered, simple and quite meaningful.
it is left to the ant to experience a field of grass, wildflowers and domesticated plants as just stem after stem of stalks to climb up and over...trapped in an infinity within boundaries.
but it is left to the man to traverse the field in three foot strides and conquer the infinity in a short amount of time, enjoying the beauty of the field as he strides across it.
so while the universe expresses itself to us, man, in symbolic terms, it also gifted us with the preferred perception of it.
the universe, then, is scaled to the size of man.
and so man is the measure of things.
gifted with the preferred perception of the universe, he is the crown jewel of creation.
things are complex and chaotic enough that they must be learned about empirically, through experience.
but the symbolic manifestation of the universe sparks something in us we just know without experimentation.
a tree's leaves and branches will give us rest in the shade.
drinking water from a stream will quench our thirst.
and so on.
so though it is wise to become skeptical through experience, it is not wise to throw out the baby with the bathwater and question everything.
deep down, you know what is important and what is not.
thus the triumph of rationality.
Friday, June 09, 2006
a long time ago, i said
yeah. yeah, i will follow.
and many times i looked
at the path ahead
and i said,
'hey, who carved this path?'
and the ranger in the forest said
'why you did, son'
this same old path
i've travelled down
so many times before.
and before i said
'i will play'
and sat at the table
where the cards were dealt
and looked at my hand
and looked at the dealer
in the mirror
and i said 'who dealt this hand?'
and the dealer in the mirror
said 'why you did, son'
and i folded and i said
'i can't play this game no more!'
and when i said
'i'll be like you'
and then i suffered
and talked out of my head
and as i traipsed through
all the grave yards,
i said 'hey, who carved these stones?'
and the caretaker said
'with your hands they were built'
and so i brought the ghosts
home with me
and haunted my house with
those who'd gone on
before me.
and the gardener offered me
his grapes.
grapes from the vine, he said.
and they looked so good
i said, yeah, i'll take and eat
and those grapes were so sweet
but boy, did they leave a bitter aftertaste!
and with puckered lips i sputtered
'who grew those grapes!'
and the gardener said,
why look at your green thumbs, my boy,
it's written in the stars
who grew those grapes!
and then i went home,
and they looked at me and said
'hey, you're not from around here,
are you?'
a stranger in my own house!
and i said, 'hey, i built this house!
and i'll sleep in this bed!'
and the porter came
and threw me out of my own house!
so as i spent the rest the day
panhandling for a flop house
three squares and a cot
under bad lighting, i tell you.
and then on the way back,
i gave a bum five bucks
through the rolled down window
and he said
'i'm beholden to you, brother!
now watch that traffic
out there so you don't
get run over!'
and on the way down
my street it hit me,
that's what's wrong
with the world!
not enough bums
and not enough fivers
to give away!
and this time when
i arrived,
my beautiful wife
greeted me with a kiss
and my beautiful son
said 'where have you been?'
and i said,
'out there in the world, son...
out there in the world.'
yeah. yeah, i will follow.
and many times i looked
at the path ahead
and i said,
'hey, who carved this path?'
and the ranger in the forest said
'why you did, son'
this same old path
i've travelled down
so many times before.
and before i said
'i will play'
and sat at the table
where the cards were dealt
and looked at my hand
and looked at the dealer
in the mirror
and i said 'who dealt this hand?'
and the dealer in the mirror
said 'why you did, son'
and i folded and i said
'i can't play this game no more!'
and when i said
'i'll be like you'
and then i suffered
and talked out of my head
and as i traipsed through
all the grave yards,
i said 'hey, who carved these stones?'
and the caretaker said
'with your hands they were built'
and so i brought the ghosts
home with me
and haunted my house with
those who'd gone on
before me.
and the gardener offered me
his grapes.
grapes from the vine, he said.
and they looked so good
i said, yeah, i'll take and eat
and those grapes were so sweet
but boy, did they leave a bitter aftertaste!
and with puckered lips i sputtered
'who grew those grapes!'
and the gardener said,
why look at your green thumbs, my boy,
it's written in the stars
who grew those grapes!
and then i went home,
and they looked at me and said
'hey, you're not from around here,
are you?'
a stranger in my own house!
and i said, 'hey, i built this house!
and i'll sleep in this bed!'
and the porter came
and threw me out of my own house!
so as i spent the rest the day
panhandling for a flop house
three squares and a cot
under bad lighting, i tell you.
and then on the way back,
i gave a bum five bucks
through the rolled down window
and he said
'i'm beholden to you, brother!
now watch that traffic
out there so you don't
get run over!'
and on the way down
my street it hit me,
that's what's wrong
with the world!
not enough bums
and not enough fivers
to give away!
and this time when
i arrived,
my beautiful wife
greeted me with a kiss
and my beautiful son
said 'where have you been?'
and i said,
'out there in the world, son...
out there in the world.'
Monday, June 05, 2006
New Order's 'Wating for the Sirens Call'
What does this ship bring to me
Far across the restless sea
Waiting for the sirens' call
I've never seen it here before
There she plies a lonely trade
Cutting through the breaking waves
Drifting slowly from her course
She is lost forever more
We all want some kind of love
But sometimes it's not enough
To the wall and through the door
With a stranger on the shore
I won't desert you
I don't know what to say
I really hurt you
I nearly gave it all away
I've got it all wrong
Cause you were not the wrong one
And I don't know where to turn when you're gone
When you're gone
Gotta catch the midnight train
First to Paris then to Spain
Travel with a document
All across the continent
City life is flying by
The wheels are turning all the while
Get on board we can't be late
Our destination cannot wait
All the stars and all the worlds
Filling up this universe
Could never be as close as us
Will never shine as bright on us
I won't desert you
I don't know what to say
I really hurt you
I nearly gave it all away
I've got it all wrong
Cause you were not the wrong one
And I don't know where to turn when you're gone
When you're gone
I won't desert you
I don't know what to say
I really hurt you
I nearly gave it all away
I've got it all wrong
Cause you were not the wrong one
And I don't know where to turn
when you're gone
How many times must I lose my way, hey
How many words do I have to say, hey
What can I do just to make you see
That you're so good for a man like
A man like me
What does this ship bring to me
Far across the restless sea
Waiting for the sirens' call
I've never seen it here before
There she plies a lonely trade
Cutting through the breaking waves
Drifting slowly from her course
She is lost forever more
We all want some kind of love
But sometimes it's not enough
To the wall and through the door
With a stranger on the shore
I won't desert you
I don't know what to say
I really hurt you
I nearly gave it all away
I've got it all wrong
Cause you were not the wrong one
And I don't know where to turn when you're gone
When you're gone
Gotta catch the midnight train
First to Paris then to Spain
Travel with a document
All across the continent
City life is flying by
The wheels are turning all the while
Get on board we can't be late
Our destination cannot wait
All the stars and all the worlds
Filling up this universe
Could never be as close as us
Will never shine as bright on us
I won't desert you
I don't know what to say
I really hurt you
I nearly gave it all away
I've got it all wrong
Cause you were not the wrong one
And I don't know where to turn when you're gone
When you're gone
I won't desert you
I don't know what to say
I really hurt you
I nearly gave it all away
I've got it all wrong
Cause you were not the wrong one
And I don't know where to turn
when you're gone
How many times must I lose my way, hey
How many words do I have to say, hey
What can I do just to make you see
That you're so good for a man like
A man like me
Friday, June 02, 2006
This from the almighty Foo Fighters. From their latest offering entitled 'In Your Honor'
"In Your Honor"
Can you hear me
Hear me screamin'
Breaking in the muted skies
This thunder heart
Like bombs beating
Echoing a thousand miles
Mine is yours and yours is mine
There is no divide
In your honorI would die tonight
Mine is yours and yours is mine
I will sacrifice
In your honor I would die tonight
For you to feel alive
Can you feel me
Feel me breathing
One last breath
before I close my eyes
This suffering
For receiving
Deliver me into the other side
For you to feel alive
For you to feel alive
For you to feel alive
"In Your Honor"
Can you hear me
Hear me screamin'
Breaking in the muted skies
This thunder heart
Like bombs beating
Echoing a thousand miles
Mine is yours and yours is mine
There is no divide
In your honorI would die tonight
Mine is yours and yours is mine
I will sacrifice
In your honor I would die tonight
For you to feel alive
Can you feel me
Feel me breathing
One last breath
before I close my eyes
This suffering
For receiving
Deliver me into the other side
For you to feel alive
For you to feel alive
For you to feel alive
