the problem with college history textbooks is that they are such a condensation they are not true in any fundamental sense of the word.
besides draining all the blood out of the subject.
the left is dead. social issues are a red herring. the supposedly massively liberal administration is indistinguishable from the previous supposedly conservative administration on military, financial, and government powers.
on the playing board are abortion, gay rights, whether the capitalists give you 26 weeks unemployment or the socialists give you 52 weeks.
Obama cannot survive such a coordinated propaganda attack. The left is dead precisely because they are so indistinguishable from the right. They tried to implement the slightest social engineering, the decision has been made to replace him. The insanity of the socialism charge with the man who did not change anything fundamental seldom gets noticed by the left, and is levied by the right. The issues that have been building for a generation, militarism, insolvency, financial decline, governmental impotence and irrelevance, have been blamed on our two years of socialism.
Monday, September 06, 2010
Sunday, June 13, 2010
Sunday, May 30, 2010
propaganda
the survival of america is dependent on the outcome of a war of propaganda. its hard not to, at times, be pessimistic. it seems that the most powerful are amoral. they have no moral compass, no moral creed, no overriding belief, no fear of hell, no assurance of retribution.
you can try to counter this with logic, but then, supposing, you come into a position of power and temptation, what are you going to use to guide you? what altruistic philosophy would you use?
since religion has been proven scientifically to be a bag of unlikely events, an official creed has not been universally in place. is a creed possible, or is the new religion so formless it cannot have a mass manifestation? right now i would say our religion is electronic entertainment. and pursuit of the dollar and power for the minority driven to rule.
a new religion, if valid, would really benefit and be helpful. what is it? what fate falls to the faithless? emptiness. what faith falls to the optimistic? surety.
should the newly and formlessly faithful fight the propaganda war, or should they pursue the way of manifestation?
you can try to counter this with logic, but then, supposing, you come into a position of power and temptation, what are you going to use to guide you? what altruistic philosophy would you use?
since religion has been proven scientifically to be a bag of unlikely events, an official creed has not been universally in place. is a creed possible, or is the new religion so formless it cannot have a mass manifestation? right now i would say our religion is electronic entertainment. and pursuit of the dollar and power for the minority driven to rule.
a new religion, if valid, would really benefit and be helpful. what is it? what fate falls to the faithless? emptiness. what faith falls to the optimistic? surety.
should the newly and formlessly faithful fight the propaganda war, or should they pursue the way of manifestation?
Sunday, May 02, 2010
Obama has finally realized the implosion of the economy is a bad thing
It seems that president Obama has finally discovered that it is a problem when the country's economy implodes. In the meantime he has wasted his first year. Most of his policies, surely well-meaning, would have made the economy worse - cap and trade, enlarging healthcare, taking over GM while bailing out banks. Perhaps now he or his advisors have realized that difficult or not, all these dreams of lowering the ocean, providing universal quality healthcare for the least of these, they all rest or fall on the foundation of the strength of the American economy, an economy whose basic soundness is taken for granted, but for which signs of a long term decline seem unmistakable. What are people supposed to do for a living in the American future? Farming? Manufacturing? What comes next?
In World War 2, America outproduced industrially the rest of the world combined (according to the PBS series WW2). How far we are from that. The iron age started around 1000 BC. The cultures that could work iron were able to conquer or prosper over those who were slower. America won two world wars with its know-how and ability. For too long, we are throwing that culture away. We have been told that we are in a post-industrial society, an information age, a service economy. These are just as insubstantial as selling mortgages, collecting them into abstract packages, marking them up, selling them again, insuring them to fail - everybody making a lot of money, then adding that whole enterprise to the gross national product, and saying our economy grew.
We face this basic problem of national debt and insolvency with a poisoned atmosphere. Has there been hatred of any president like this? It’s scary. I hear on public airwaves that Obama is ruining this country on purpose. I have heard that he wants to usher in 100 years of tyranny. What would be the proper treatment of an elected official sworn to uphold the constitution who is ruining the country on purpose and wants to usher in 100 years of tyranny? The right seems to have it in their hands now for the power to swing back their way, yet they seem to feed on propaganda. I don't see Obama winning another term, but we may be beyond the point where one political party or the other is going to lead us out of this. We need a post-political society. The propaganda war is for political and economic control. The society itself is not served by allowing the two parties to manufacture the debate terms. Candidates take cheap shots and elect themselves with 30 second attack ads. It is in the country's best interest for both sides to acknowledge the honor and good intentions of their opponent, and have a real debate on the real problem. I do not care who is worse, Clinton or Bush or Obama. They represent factions and personalities, the simplification of the political argument - the dress, the dolt, socialism - not the real issues. It would be constructive if the media would also realize that the implosion of the American economy is an important issue. Pundits - we have a problem. We are the inheritors of a 600-year industrial revolution, from Leonardo down to Edison and Ford, a remarkable succession of wise men and scientists who built the western world. It would be foolish not to take some pride in that, but also to realize the drive for new things is human, has nothing to do with government, and why now is it so hard to manufacture the very things we need? How long can an economy prosper when everything comes from overseas? What do you do?
In World War 2, America outproduced industrially the rest of the world combined (according to the PBS series WW2). How far we are from that. The iron age started around 1000 BC. The cultures that could work iron were able to conquer or prosper over those who were slower. America won two world wars with its know-how and ability. For too long, we are throwing that culture away. We have been told that we are in a post-industrial society, an information age, a service economy. These are just as insubstantial as selling mortgages, collecting them into abstract packages, marking them up, selling them again, insuring them to fail - everybody making a lot of money, then adding that whole enterprise to the gross national product, and saying our economy grew.
We face this basic problem of national debt and insolvency with a poisoned atmosphere. Has there been hatred of any president like this? It’s scary. I hear on public airwaves that Obama is ruining this country on purpose. I have heard that he wants to usher in 100 years of tyranny. What would be the proper treatment of an elected official sworn to uphold the constitution who is ruining the country on purpose and wants to usher in 100 years of tyranny? The right seems to have it in their hands now for the power to swing back their way, yet they seem to feed on propaganda. I don't see Obama winning another term, but we may be beyond the point where one political party or the other is going to lead us out of this. We need a post-political society. The propaganda war is for political and economic control. The society itself is not served by allowing the two parties to manufacture the debate terms. Candidates take cheap shots and elect themselves with 30 second attack ads. It is in the country's best interest for both sides to acknowledge the honor and good intentions of their opponent, and have a real debate on the real problem. I do not care who is worse, Clinton or Bush or Obama. They represent factions and personalities, the simplification of the political argument - the dress, the dolt, socialism - not the real issues. It would be constructive if the media would also realize that the implosion of the American economy is an important issue. Pundits - we have a problem. We are the inheritors of a 600-year industrial revolution, from Leonardo down to Edison and Ford, a remarkable succession of wise men and scientists who built the western world. It would be foolish not to take some pride in that, but also to realize the drive for new things is human, has nothing to do with government, and why now is it so hard to manufacture the very things we need? How long can an economy prosper when everything comes from overseas? What do you do?
Monday, April 12, 2010
why are people wrong?
this is not exactly art, but in its own screwy way its got something to say.
i am struck by how often people divide themselves into two camps and both sides think the other is absolutely nuts. thats the observation, now the attempted explanation...
Why are people wrong?
Never mind that some people are right, they are in the minority. Most people are wrong. Ask anybody. Those guys, they don’t have a clue.
Politics is religion. All sides, all creeds, have their faithful and true believers. It colors how they see things. Their way is right, and they will fight and argue for it. The stupidity and calumny of the other side is scarcely to be comprehended.
Religion is religion (no argument there) .
Science is religion.
Art is religion.
Each have their adherents who cling to it as the truth, as the important, the relevant. It informs and shapes their perceptions, their actions, their wishes and desires.
People look for recognition. They are motivated by recognition. Whether it be hitting the most home runs, writing the best book, being elected to the highest office in the land, or quietly being a good accountant.
The first impulse is that somebody out there has figured this all out. And so you become a follower. Somebody is worthy and can teach or lead. Whether it be politics, art, religion.
People who have religion have figured out the most important questions in life. Never mind that different religions have completely different practices. In some you sit in the dark and try to see inside your mind. In others you kill other people who don’t follow your rules, like communists. Others you cant play cards, or dance. Some you cant wear short skirts.
Some young people do as they are told. They cross themselves. They believe that adam and eve were our first parents. Sometimes they have doubts. Maybe those who tell me what to believe are wrong. its called free will. Its very inefficient. Everyone has to grapple with the same problems and reinvent the mental solutions. That’s where teachers come in, but sooner or later, they all are wrong. maybe in a subtle way, or a gross way, but what great student has not differed with his teacher?
But that’s putting the best light on it. Even plato was wrong. what never seems to change, is putting belief into the next big thing. I guess people cant motivate themselves unless they believe in something. Art, politics, science, the children, the environment, baseball. When religion goes away, something has to come in to fill that need. Atheism is a religion. They have meetings, they pass the hat, they say hallelujah, they have a building fund. everybody has a religion. If they are a republican, a democrat, a monetary acquisition specialist, that’s it, that’s what they do, that’s who they are, that’s what they believe in. getting mine, getting yours, becoming known, getting respect, finding love, being secure in the search for the answer, the formula , finding your own individualized code that brings satisfaction.
Why are people wrong? why do other people not get it? Why do other peoples religion look wrong? why do other people on a different path leave you cold? look at the way she fixes her hair. look at him suck up. the bosses in this place are stupid. the workers in this place are stupid. the president is an idiot.
In search of something they can hang onto to help them know who they are and what they do, in search of a code that brings mental sureness, they have adopted a core belief that necessarily must oversimplify the problem/solution so as to be possible to follow. It may even be false, but it’s a motivating belief. For some reason, people must have beliefs to function. They cant walk without legs, and they cant function without beliefs, but it blinds them. Their evidence always points to the same conclusion. Whatever side they are on, they only see the evidence that supports their beliefs, and the other side thinks they are crazy and shortsighted, and living in error. Their beliefs predict how they will see new evidence. that’s what I believe. I cant understand why you wouldn’t agree with me.
This religion can be art, politics, sport, or even religion. But if religion falls, and fall it must if they want you to believe what science or your own experience can easily disprove, then the next big belief will fill the cavity.
People will believe in something, they have a belief spot that cannot be empty, but they also cannot see it or easily examine it. Its like looking at your own eyes. We can see these big beliefs easier in other people if we do not share them. Believing in the republican or democrat party, Catholicism, scientology, nationalism, fundamental Christianity, anti-communism, science, atheism, the pursuit of money or power, technology. It doesn’t matter what core belief people have, by definition, if its not really, really the truth, they will eventually come into a situation where it does not help them. Some of them will cling to what they know, some will abandon hope, most will start the process over of coming into a new or more complex, nuanced belief.
How many religions and core beliefs has there been since history began and how many of them were right? Most of them were wrong. people are wrong. we are still wrong. we are trying to get it right. Its not easy. Our beliefs prevent us from seeing things as they are. Rather than try to figure things out, figure out what you believe. Religion has many forms. If we didn’t have one though, what would we do with ourselves? I believe in…that’s what motivates me. Everything else is secondary.
i am struck by how often people divide themselves into two camps and both sides think the other is absolutely nuts. thats the observation, now the attempted explanation...
Why are people wrong?
Never mind that some people are right, they are in the minority. Most people are wrong. Ask anybody. Those guys, they don’t have a clue.
Politics is religion. All sides, all creeds, have their faithful and true believers. It colors how they see things. Their way is right, and they will fight and argue for it. The stupidity and calumny of the other side is scarcely to be comprehended.
Religion is religion (no argument there) .
Science is religion.
Art is religion.
Each have their adherents who cling to it as the truth, as the important, the relevant. It informs and shapes their perceptions, their actions, their wishes and desires.
People look for recognition. They are motivated by recognition. Whether it be hitting the most home runs, writing the best book, being elected to the highest office in the land, or quietly being a good accountant.
The first impulse is that somebody out there has figured this all out. And so you become a follower. Somebody is worthy and can teach or lead. Whether it be politics, art, religion.
People who have religion have figured out the most important questions in life. Never mind that different religions have completely different practices. In some you sit in the dark and try to see inside your mind. In others you kill other people who don’t follow your rules, like communists. Others you cant play cards, or dance. Some you cant wear short skirts.
Some young people do as they are told. They cross themselves. They believe that adam and eve were our first parents. Sometimes they have doubts. Maybe those who tell me what to believe are wrong. its called free will. Its very inefficient. Everyone has to grapple with the same problems and reinvent the mental solutions. That’s where teachers come in, but sooner or later, they all are wrong. maybe in a subtle way, or a gross way, but what great student has not differed with his teacher?
But that’s putting the best light on it. Even plato was wrong. what never seems to change, is putting belief into the next big thing. I guess people cant motivate themselves unless they believe in something. Art, politics, science, the children, the environment, baseball. When religion goes away, something has to come in to fill that need. Atheism is a religion. They have meetings, they pass the hat, they say hallelujah, they have a building fund. everybody has a religion. If they are a republican, a democrat, a monetary acquisition specialist, that’s it, that’s what they do, that’s who they are, that’s what they believe in. getting mine, getting yours, becoming known, getting respect, finding love, being secure in the search for the answer, the formula , finding your own individualized code that brings satisfaction.
Why are people wrong? why do other people not get it? Why do other peoples religion look wrong? why do other people on a different path leave you cold? look at the way she fixes her hair. look at him suck up. the bosses in this place are stupid. the workers in this place are stupid. the president is an idiot.
In search of something they can hang onto to help them know who they are and what they do, in search of a code that brings mental sureness, they have adopted a core belief that necessarily must oversimplify the problem/solution so as to be possible to follow. It may even be false, but it’s a motivating belief. For some reason, people must have beliefs to function. They cant walk without legs, and they cant function without beliefs, but it blinds them. Their evidence always points to the same conclusion. Whatever side they are on, they only see the evidence that supports their beliefs, and the other side thinks they are crazy and shortsighted, and living in error. Their beliefs predict how they will see new evidence. that’s what I believe. I cant understand why you wouldn’t agree with me.
This religion can be art, politics, sport, or even religion. But if religion falls, and fall it must if they want you to believe what science or your own experience can easily disprove, then the next big belief will fill the cavity.
People will believe in something, they have a belief spot that cannot be empty, but they also cannot see it or easily examine it. Its like looking at your own eyes. We can see these big beliefs easier in other people if we do not share them. Believing in the republican or democrat party, Catholicism, scientology, nationalism, fundamental Christianity, anti-communism, science, atheism, the pursuit of money or power, technology. It doesn’t matter what core belief people have, by definition, if its not really, really the truth, they will eventually come into a situation where it does not help them. Some of them will cling to what they know, some will abandon hope, most will start the process over of coming into a new or more complex, nuanced belief.
How many religions and core beliefs has there been since history began and how many of them were right? Most of them were wrong. people are wrong. we are still wrong. we are trying to get it right. Its not easy. Our beliefs prevent us from seeing things as they are. Rather than try to figure things out, figure out what you believe. Religion has many forms. If we didn’t have one though, what would we do with ourselves? I believe in…that’s what motivates me. Everything else is secondary.
Monday, December 28, 2009
humans are social
humans group themselves into social units. even within a medium sized town in a homogenized state, you have the westside team in competition with the eastside. tribes everywhere, overlapping memberships, family units, national groups, race, religion, political persuasion. otherwise, without the ability to form working social groups, how would you build roads, municipal buildings, sewers, run airports, pass law.
two million years ago, pre-humans came out of the trees. so say the anthropologist. where did these slow small creatures sleep that they were not dragged off in the night by the tigers? by the fire. at this same time, the size of the jaw and the stomach grew smaller, in time measured by evolutionary units, and the size of the brain grew larger. the large brain required protein. people were not chewing fibrous plants hours a day, like cattle. they were cooking meat by the fire. how did these slow small creatures hunt and kill?
in australia, the aborigines hunt in the heat of the day. animals do not sweat, they want to sleep and rest in the shade in the middle of the day. hairless humans sweat. they run down their prey, even antelopes. the native australians run after their prey hour after hour, when the sun is highest, until they can kill a heat exhausted animal with a spear from 10 feet away.
the fire becomes the center of the tribe, necessary for warmth, safety, food. the ritual of keeping the fire, the work of tending the fire, the tribe must cooperate, it must both specialize and work together to live together.
whatever the facts regarding the life of jesus, the story of jesus evolved as the churches formed. christianity succeeded because the story of jesus that evolved supported or allowed a social group to come together and form a social unit that became integral to everyday life. the church became an institution of the community. the church members held fast to each other and considered one another to be brothers and sisters, in the same family, bound by ties real and everlasting. christianity was a social success. it built a community, a civilization. it did it because thats what people needed it to do. the story was molded until it was suitable to form a society.
fracturing occurs as naturally as cohesiveness. the environment constantly changes. a hunting society faces different challenges from an agrarian one. there are natural size limits to groups. everybody has a consummate ability to be part of more than one group at a time. i am an american, a member of my state, of my family, of my corporation, a fan of certain sports teams, my church, my race, a citizen even of earth. i have allegiances to all these.
the genius of christianity, and of any religion that inspires true service, is that it allows those who build it to be part of an eternal family, that transcends any other limits to membership. the founder, jesus, was a man who did not profit from his position. he never had sex, he never had possessions. he did not live like a king, he lived like the least of men. the popes lived like a king, but that is to be expected. the story built a civilization the likes of which the world has never seen. its a tough act to follow.
the golden rule is in some form probably in every religion, has been mouthed by countless prophets, and ignored universally. jesus, who lives the golden rule, institutionalized it, because his power comes from the one true god. christianity has the authority of the only almighty god.
greed is an irrational self interest, like a parasite which fills it stomach and kills its host. christianity and religions like it have kept greed in check. in so doing, they not only provided for the greater good, they kept the greedy from killing themselves. regardless of the literal truth or mythological character of the founding story of christianity, its built on a greater truth, or at least, it has served humanity.
when thinking of the next socializing myth of society, it has to have integrity, like a work of art, not assembled from a checklist by a committee. people need society to persevere. society needs organizing principles. even though the story of christianity seemed improbable, it was the vehicle for a greater truth. that did not happen by accident or design.
two million years ago, pre-humans came out of the trees. so say the anthropologist. where did these slow small creatures sleep that they were not dragged off in the night by the tigers? by the fire. at this same time, the size of the jaw and the stomach grew smaller, in time measured by evolutionary units, and the size of the brain grew larger. the large brain required protein. people were not chewing fibrous plants hours a day, like cattle. they were cooking meat by the fire. how did these slow small creatures hunt and kill?
in australia, the aborigines hunt in the heat of the day. animals do not sweat, they want to sleep and rest in the shade in the middle of the day. hairless humans sweat. they run down their prey, even antelopes. the native australians run after their prey hour after hour, when the sun is highest, until they can kill a heat exhausted animal with a spear from 10 feet away.
the fire becomes the center of the tribe, necessary for warmth, safety, food. the ritual of keeping the fire, the work of tending the fire, the tribe must cooperate, it must both specialize and work together to live together.
whatever the facts regarding the life of jesus, the story of jesus evolved as the churches formed. christianity succeeded because the story of jesus that evolved supported or allowed a social group to come together and form a social unit that became integral to everyday life. the church became an institution of the community. the church members held fast to each other and considered one another to be brothers and sisters, in the same family, bound by ties real and everlasting. christianity was a social success. it built a community, a civilization. it did it because thats what people needed it to do. the story was molded until it was suitable to form a society.
fracturing occurs as naturally as cohesiveness. the environment constantly changes. a hunting society faces different challenges from an agrarian one. there are natural size limits to groups. everybody has a consummate ability to be part of more than one group at a time. i am an american, a member of my state, of my family, of my corporation, a fan of certain sports teams, my church, my race, a citizen even of earth. i have allegiances to all these.
the genius of christianity, and of any religion that inspires true service, is that it allows those who build it to be part of an eternal family, that transcends any other limits to membership. the founder, jesus, was a man who did not profit from his position. he never had sex, he never had possessions. he did not live like a king, he lived like the least of men. the popes lived like a king, but that is to be expected. the story built a civilization the likes of which the world has never seen. its a tough act to follow.
the golden rule is in some form probably in every religion, has been mouthed by countless prophets, and ignored universally. jesus, who lives the golden rule, institutionalized it, because his power comes from the one true god. christianity has the authority of the only almighty god.
greed is an irrational self interest, like a parasite which fills it stomach and kills its host. christianity and religions like it have kept greed in check. in so doing, they not only provided for the greater good, they kept the greedy from killing themselves. regardless of the literal truth or mythological character of the founding story of christianity, its built on a greater truth, or at least, it has served humanity.
when thinking of the next socializing myth of society, it has to have integrity, like a work of art, not assembled from a checklist by a committee. people need society to persevere. society needs organizing principles. even though the story of christianity seemed improbable, it was the vehicle for a greater truth. that did not happen by accident or design.
Thursday, December 10, 2009
obama as a divisive figure
i voted for obama. when obama came to evansville, before the election, before he had the nomination won, i went to see him. the newspapers had already declared the race over. hillary was too far behind, there werent enough votes left. she would have to win almost all the remaining races. she almost did too. the right wing radio commentators were hammering obama every day. they had audio of his pastor screaming god damn america. obama was dying in the heartland. hillary was starting to win every race, about 10 in a row. this day she won in pennsylvania. the speech in evansville was going to be the concession speech for obama. obama had given a single speech on race. i had expected a rock concert. i had expected to be swept away with the crowd, the speech. i wasnt. he did not incorporate any of the race speech into his campaign speech.
obama had a stage, the media had a larger stage. the seats behind obama were empty, then a diverse group was led out from the tunnel and seated directly behind him, where the tv cameras would see them. then they were handed signs. the campaign video started. all the faces were black. the only white faces were young people in their 20's. nobody who could be described as a business man, as a laborer, not even a white working union man. obama gave what seemed like a lackluster speech, not addressing, not touching the entire race issue, which i had come to hear, and what was i felt like had completely changed the dynamic of the race. he did not acknowledge the problem, that if the primary season were another couple weeks, another couple races, he would have lost. i left feeling like he had no political instincts and he had no chance in the fall.
then mccain picks the unknown, the untruthful, the inexperienced, the disingenuous, the good speech reader, sarah palin, who cannot give an interview and is not allowed to by the boys in the campaign. then the economy appears to die before our eyes in one day or one week, and obama, still championed mightily by the media, is led to the inauguration. we voted against the previous president as much as we voted for the next one.
less than one year into his presidency, he appears to have 5 issues. i think he has the wrong position on every one of them.
the war - the U.S. cannot solve the world's problems. Afghanistan has not had a central government in 40 years, since the last king left, or so i am told. Except for the nuclear weapons next door, there is not a single reason America has to be interested in Afghanistan.
the financial system - Obama has caved to the bankers. this government is bought and sold and Obama must look the other way.
the medical reform - of course its a train wreck coming if nothing is done. the only new buildings in town are medical buildings. soon the medical industry will be the largest industry in america. employers and employees can neither afford what is coming. any medical bill which comes out of congress seems guaranteed to increase payments to the medical industry and accelerate the eventual bankruptcy of everybody else.
global warming - the average citizen does not want to put a dime into this. the global warming scientists have zero track record predicting the future. they cannot predict the weather in a month, and they assure everyone they know exactly what will happen 50 years from now. cap and trade is for sure a scheme to get rich. it is for sure a paper market to get rich doing nothing. it will for sure be bought off.
jobs - american industry is in shambles. american industry is in a 50 year decline. in world war II, american industry outproduced the rest of the world combined. somewhere along the line, working hard boring jobs in unhealthy slave labor conditions became very unpopular. smokestack industries, company towns, mindless factory jobs, they all went overseas where low paid labor can do it for half the price and we can buy it back cheaper than we can make it. the problem is, we are living on our parents inheritance. what do you do? america is obsessed with play, sports, sex, entertainment, scandal, all things that people who do not have to work can obsess over. you dont have to do anything in america. we have freedom from all that. the day is coming when the reserve is spent.
in the '50s japan started producing cameras and transistor radios, then motorcycles and cars. there is actually quite a lot of job satisfaction in building something new the world has never seen. its a form of art, and in america its becoming a lost art. it still happens, but not in every town. many kids grow up with no shop, no skills, no working fathers. mexico now is starting to produce all the appliance goods that are too expensive to ship from overseas. japan has moved their car production to america. japan can build cars in america cheaper and better than america can build cars in america. america has become impotent. just look at congress, what exactly do they do? they campaign. they posture. and the president, he passes on financial reform, i would say that is more important to our health as a nation than afghanistan. he passes on meaningful medical reform, the lobbyists and opposition are really too much for him. the medical industry will not allow a bill to pass that does not benefit them. he fights his war for honor and safety, hundreds or thousands of human beings will die for that. he talks brilliantly about global warming. he gives me no confidence, if global warming were a threat, he could attack the root cause. another paper market, tax credits, bureaus, would be the result. somebody would get rich. the hucksters would fleece the chumps.
when a system is too large to fix, it has to fail. the president is irrelevant. the only things he can pass contribute to the problem. we have a system where nobody can be elected who is foolish enough to speak his mind. the conclusion is that everybody elected is good at talking, but cannot take the risk of saying something which will be used against them and cause them to lose 51% of the people. the critics will employ the media to saturate the airwaves with a single phrase, as if the entire person were a single sentence.
obama has a gay man in some kind of high position in education. the right wing calls him the education czar. god help us if the right wing were to take power, but it seems like any moderate republican could win in 2012. we have a story line in america that racism, phobias, hatreds, are our only problem. i think the pie is disappearing. a gay man who in the past has been more involved in gay issues than in education issues, is not the guy most americans want in a room alone with their school child, or promoting change in the school. call it phobic whatever, the country is at long term risk of serious decline. education sucks. we have fake super-violent wrestling on prime time tv, we have media sensation sex scandals, we have jerry springer paying people to hit each other and look pathetic, and drawing an audience. we have 50% of all children on food stamps at some point in their life, and 80% of black children. we have areas in every major city that you cannot walk thru at night.
we have a flourishing illegal drug trade. we have so many things going on that only people who do not have to work can possibly afford to waste their time on. if drugs are against federal law, then everybody who draws a government paycheck should be tested. everybody who receives government assistance should be tested. if the jails are not large enough to hold everybody, then change the law, because the current policy of apprehending a small percentage is hypocritical and unfair. but we are unable to change laws in any meaningful deliberative way.
we need education. we need writers, researchers, scientists. we need thinkers. somewhere we occasionally need a politician, maybe a one term politician, who has the will to tell the american people the truth. we certainly need some journalists who can research,think and write. the american people, if they want to continue the lifestyle they are accustomed to, they need to mind their business.
obama is not the problem, it existed before he was born. but he does not seem to be politically gifted. the only things i see him doing are things that do not matter or make things worse. he does not know how to make the country come together. he gives his enemies the tools they need to defeat him. he would have not been president if he had not manufactured the public fight with jeremiah wright, but i have a feeling it was somebody else who finally convinced him and came up with that scenario. i hope i am wrong, i wanted him to do well. but i think its time for post-political america, where the american people lead themselves, no leader will come for us.
obama had a stage, the media had a larger stage. the seats behind obama were empty, then a diverse group was led out from the tunnel and seated directly behind him, where the tv cameras would see them. then they were handed signs. the campaign video started. all the faces were black. the only white faces were young people in their 20's. nobody who could be described as a business man, as a laborer, not even a white working union man. obama gave what seemed like a lackluster speech, not addressing, not touching the entire race issue, which i had come to hear, and what was i felt like had completely changed the dynamic of the race. he did not acknowledge the problem, that if the primary season were another couple weeks, another couple races, he would have lost. i left feeling like he had no political instincts and he had no chance in the fall.
then mccain picks the unknown, the untruthful, the inexperienced, the disingenuous, the good speech reader, sarah palin, who cannot give an interview and is not allowed to by the boys in the campaign. then the economy appears to die before our eyes in one day or one week, and obama, still championed mightily by the media, is led to the inauguration. we voted against the previous president as much as we voted for the next one.
less than one year into his presidency, he appears to have 5 issues. i think he has the wrong position on every one of them.
the war - the U.S. cannot solve the world's problems. Afghanistan has not had a central government in 40 years, since the last king left, or so i am told. Except for the nuclear weapons next door, there is not a single reason America has to be interested in Afghanistan.
the financial system - Obama has caved to the bankers. this government is bought and sold and Obama must look the other way.
the medical reform - of course its a train wreck coming if nothing is done. the only new buildings in town are medical buildings. soon the medical industry will be the largest industry in america. employers and employees can neither afford what is coming. any medical bill which comes out of congress seems guaranteed to increase payments to the medical industry and accelerate the eventual bankruptcy of everybody else.
global warming - the average citizen does not want to put a dime into this. the global warming scientists have zero track record predicting the future. they cannot predict the weather in a month, and they assure everyone they know exactly what will happen 50 years from now. cap and trade is for sure a scheme to get rich. it is for sure a paper market to get rich doing nothing. it will for sure be bought off.
jobs - american industry is in shambles. american industry is in a 50 year decline. in world war II, american industry outproduced the rest of the world combined. somewhere along the line, working hard boring jobs in unhealthy slave labor conditions became very unpopular. smokestack industries, company towns, mindless factory jobs, they all went overseas where low paid labor can do it for half the price and we can buy it back cheaper than we can make it. the problem is, we are living on our parents inheritance. what do you do? america is obsessed with play, sports, sex, entertainment, scandal, all things that people who do not have to work can obsess over. you dont have to do anything in america. we have freedom from all that. the day is coming when the reserve is spent.
in the '50s japan started producing cameras and transistor radios, then motorcycles and cars. there is actually quite a lot of job satisfaction in building something new the world has never seen. its a form of art, and in america its becoming a lost art. it still happens, but not in every town. many kids grow up with no shop, no skills, no working fathers. mexico now is starting to produce all the appliance goods that are too expensive to ship from overseas. japan has moved their car production to america. japan can build cars in america cheaper and better than america can build cars in america. america has become impotent. just look at congress, what exactly do they do? they campaign. they posture. and the president, he passes on financial reform, i would say that is more important to our health as a nation than afghanistan. he passes on meaningful medical reform, the lobbyists and opposition are really too much for him. the medical industry will not allow a bill to pass that does not benefit them. he fights his war for honor and safety, hundreds or thousands of human beings will die for that. he talks brilliantly about global warming. he gives me no confidence, if global warming were a threat, he could attack the root cause. another paper market, tax credits, bureaus, would be the result. somebody would get rich. the hucksters would fleece the chumps.
when a system is too large to fix, it has to fail. the president is irrelevant. the only things he can pass contribute to the problem. we have a system where nobody can be elected who is foolish enough to speak his mind. the conclusion is that everybody elected is good at talking, but cannot take the risk of saying something which will be used against them and cause them to lose 51% of the people. the critics will employ the media to saturate the airwaves with a single phrase, as if the entire person were a single sentence.
obama has a gay man in some kind of high position in education. the right wing calls him the education czar. god help us if the right wing were to take power, but it seems like any moderate republican could win in 2012. we have a story line in america that racism, phobias, hatreds, are our only problem. i think the pie is disappearing. a gay man who in the past has been more involved in gay issues than in education issues, is not the guy most americans want in a room alone with their school child, or promoting change in the school. call it phobic whatever, the country is at long term risk of serious decline. education sucks. we have fake super-violent wrestling on prime time tv, we have media sensation sex scandals, we have jerry springer paying people to hit each other and look pathetic, and drawing an audience. we have 50% of all children on food stamps at some point in their life, and 80% of black children. we have areas in every major city that you cannot walk thru at night.
we have a flourishing illegal drug trade. we have so many things going on that only people who do not have to work can possibly afford to waste their time on. if drugs are against federal law, then everybody who draws a government paycheck should be tested. everybody who receives government assistance should be tested. if the jails are not large enough to hold everybody, then change the law, because the current policy of apprehending a small percentage is hypocritical and unfair. but we are unable to change laws in any meaningful deliberative way.
we need education. we need writers, researchers, scientists. we need thinkers. somewhere we occasionally need a politician, maybe a one term politician, who has the will to tell the american people the truth. we certainly need some journalists who can research,think and write. the american people, if they want to continue the lifestyle they are accustomed to, they need to mind their business.
obama is not the problem, it existed before he was born. but he does not seem to be politically gifted. the only things i see him doing are things that do not matter or make things worse. he does not know how to make the country come together. he gives his enemies the tools they need to defeat him. he would have not been president if he had not manufactured the public fight with jeremiah wright, but i have a feeling it was somebody else who finally convinced him and came up with that scenario. i hope i am wrong, i wanted him to do well. but i think its time for post-political america, where the american people lead themselves, no leader will come for us.
Tuesday, December 01, 2009
unexplored treasure
random
the one lesson of history, there is unexplored treasure to be found. you can bring something new into the world. everything we have was done by somebody. common everyday objects, like rocks, have metal, steel and copper, in them. the air can carry radio waves. love sleeps in the beast. the hubble telescope which can see back in time 13.7 billion years is in the first flaked flint tool.
if you wish to support someones theory, you comment on what they "meant".
if you wish to destroy someone's theory, you argue with what they "said".
the one lesson of history, there is unexplored treasure to be found. you can bring something new into the world. everything we have was done by somebody. common everyday objects, like rocks, have metal, steel and copper, in them. the air can carry radio waves. love sleeps in the beast. the hubble telescope which can see back in time 13.7 billion years is in the first flaked flint tool.
if you wish to support someones theory, you comment on what they "meant".
if you wish to destroy someone's theory, you argue with what they "said".
Tuesday, September 08, 2009
following a code that brings satisfaction
following a code that brings satisfaction.
First you must FIND a code that brings satisfaction. Then you must try to follow it. Here it is - Create. Make something. Do something. Those that know they create their own reality will do better. What is so fascinating about the world? The endless example of creativity, that it exists, that it is infinite in all directions, that there is no end, no last word, no all encompassing theory. It evades capture. Its bigger and smarter and more beautiful and we are of it.
I dont want to overplay the negative, but i believe there are some hopeless, amoral people in this world. Religion has crumbled for them. They no longer can believe in Noah's ark, or heaven or hell, or salvation. They wont make it unless they have a natural awakening. Those that know they create their own reality will do better. They wont despair. They look at the impossibility of anything so complex as this planet existing by accident, and they know they have that creative power in their own hands. They know that if we have gotten this far, we will probably continue on. somehow things line up and work out, no matter what group is in power. human beings want to live and somehow they get what they need. so relax, and find that thing you enjoy making, because the creative power is the feeling you are looking for.
(Joesph Campbell, the academic who studied mythology and religions - he said religion and mythology were the same thing, it just depended on whether you were talking about yourself or the other guy. many of "my facts" about the history of religion come from him. )
The first religion we have evidence for was about 200,000 years ago, little shrines in caves to cave bears. man worshipped animals, or did he? he hunted, killed and ate animals. he lived on animals. he killed everyday. man poured the animals blood onto the ground, the earth drank, and next year the animal returned, to be killed and sacrificed again. The first religion grew out of the experience of killing and eating. Rather than hating, man loved, worshipped, the animals which gave him life. The caves of lascaux are a shrine, just as the medieval cathedral.
Around the equator are the plant religions. The plant religions are the religion of death, sacrifice, from rot comes life. The goddess is the womb of earth. you plant people when they die.
Around 3500 BC the learned people noticed the mathematical movements of the planets through the fixed stars, and just as people before had imitated animals and plants, now the king and queen were the sun and moon, the court the planets, and the cycles of the seasons drove the society.
From these three traditions, come our religions, more or less.
When Cain, the planter, killed Abel, who lived on animals, Cain went and started cities. The old way was dying, even though God preferred it. Abels blood spilt on the ground and cried out to God. Abraham's God Yahweh was a warrior God, certainly Male. The Canaanites, planters, were the lovers of the goddess, the abomination as Abraham's people called her.
First you must FIND a code that brings satisfaction. Then you must try to follow it. Here it is - Create. Make something. Do something. Those that know they create their own reality will do better. What is so fascinating about the world? The endless example of creativity, that it exists, that it is infinite in all directions, that there is no end, no last word, no all encompassing theory. It evades capture. Its bigger and smarter and more beautiful and we are of it.
I dont want to overplay the negative, but i believe there are some hopeless, amoral people in this world. Religion has crumbled for them. They no longer can believe in Noah's ark, or heaven or hell, or salvation. They wont make it unless they have a natural awakening. Those that know they create their own reality will do better. They wont despair. They look at the impossibility of anything so complex as this planet existing by accident, and they know they have that creative power in their own hands. They know that if we have gotten this far, we will probably continue on. somehow things line up and work out, no matter what group is in power. human beings want to live and somehow they get what they need. so relax, and find that thing you enjoy making, because the creative power is the feeling you are looking for.
(Joesph Campbell, the academic who studied mythology and religions - he said religion and mythology were the same thing, it just depended on whether you were talking about yourself or the other guy. many of "my facts" about the history of religion come from him. )
The first religion we have evidence for was about 200,000 years ago, little shrines in caves to cave bears. man worshipped animals, or did he? he hunted, killed and ate animals. he lived on animals. he killed everyday. man poured the animals blood onto the ground, the earth drank, and next year the animal returned, to be killed and sacrificed again. The first religion grew out of the experience of killing and eating. Rather than hating, man loved, worshipped, the animals which gave him life. The caves of lascaux are a shrine, just as the medieval cathedral.
Around the equator are the plant religions. The plant religions are the religion of death, sacrifice, from rot comes life. The goddess is the womb of earth. you plant people when they die.
Around 3500 BC the learned people noticed the mathematical movements of the planets through the fixed stars, and just as people before had imitated animals and plants, now the king and queen were the sun and moon, the court the planets, and the cycles of the seasons drove the society.
From these three traditions, come our religions, more or less.
When Cain, the planter, killed Abel, who lived on animals, Cain went and started cities. The old way was dying, even though God preferred it. Abels blood spilt on the ground and cried out to God. Abraham's God Yahweh was a warrior God, certainly Male. The Canaanites, planters, were the lovers of the goddess, the abomination as Abraham's people called her.
Wednesday, February 06, 2008
media as ouija board
the media can select whichever candidate they want. have you ever been in a group that did not have group-think? peer pressure? professional standards? orthodoxy? all the media has to do to float their candidate is print a flattering picture and a positive headline. so for instance, mccain takes control, flattering picture, huckabee surprising wins, flattering picture, romney cobbles together a few wins (actual headline cnn), no picture. romney has nearly twice as many delegates as huckabee, but huckabee is hot! since the media is objective, the authority, the record of all that goes on, a good headline and picture are worth more than any amount of advertising dollar.
when i was 12, and the neighbor kid had a ouija board, we asked it who is your secret girlfriend? and it always knew. it was uncanny. i almost believed i wasnt pushing it. this is what the media is doing. they may not know who their candidate is, but as they figure it out, they write the objective stories that incidentally promote the winners. later they can help tear them down. on the whole then, they are completely objective.
when i was 12, and the neighbor kid had a ouija board, we asked it who is your secret girlfriend? and it always knew. it was uncanny. i almost believed i wasnt pushing it. this is what the media is doing. they may not know who their candidate is, but as they figure it out, they write the objective stories that incidentally promote the winners. later they can help tear them down. on the whole then, they are completely objective.
Monday, August 14, 2006
I don't know
I don’t know how you write on a regular basis, without getting pompous and in love with your own words.
Lets try to swallow it whole. Noah, who built an ark, and got a pair of every animal in the world on it. As reasonable people, we are not going to buy that. Take the main premise of the new testament, jesus is the son of god, a human not like any other human. Sorry, not going to buy that. Not accepting either of those stories, that would pretty much rule out a bible written by god.
There are a lot of true things in Christianity. Unfortunately it is not the main beliefs.
The main story, an entirely righteous man is put to death by a government and crowd of people. Right there you have a very profound idea. A man so pure that he offends the status quo not just a little, but put to death by cruel torture. A man who says blessed are the meek is put to death by the strong.
The life of jesus is a testament of testing and faith. He is true to his ideals. He tells peter to put away the sword. He says to turn the other cheek, to render unto Caesar. He erupts at the commercialization of the faith. This is a man of principle, someone who has found his own understanding. Likely he has been misquoted. Chances are near 100%. Assume he was a human like you, and give up trying to hold on to a single all too convenient answer to everything. Reclaim the initiative. You neither need to be saved, nor could you by someone else. There is no logical mechanism between believing jesus was sent here by your god and that belief itself being your salvation from eternal torture. That’s just silly.
Through the years the clergy and priesthood have contemplated jesus life and found many good teachings and woven them into Christianity. Compassion for all, whether poor, sick, hungry, Everyone has value. If you do it to the least of these, you do it to me. Love and responsibility, the temptations of life should be examined. The structure of society should protect the poor, the leaders should bow to a higher power. Western civilization can count its strength related to its partnership with the church. The church has usually had more of a direct impact on the citizens than the government. It’s the church more than government that has civilized and founded customs.
Society needs a re-newed institution. Salvation is not dependent on believing that truth happened back when over there. This is getting to be too heavy to carry. Truth is not local and its not an event in time. Its right now, right here. Relax. Its at hand.
Lets try to swallow it whole. Noah, who built an ark, and got a pair of every animal in the world on it. As reasonable people, we are not going to buy that. Take the main premise of the new testament, jesus is the son of god, a human not like any other human. Sorry, not going to buy that. Not accepting either of those stories, that would pretty much rule out a bible written by god.
There are a lot of true things in Christianity. Unfortunately it is not the main beliefs.
The main story, an entirely righteous man is put to death by a government and crowd of people. Right there you have a very profound idea. A man so pure that he offends the status quo not just a little, but put to death by cruel torture. A man who says blessed are the meek is put to death by the strong.
The life of jesus is a testament of testing and faith. He is true to his ideals. He tells peter to put away the sword. He says to turn the other cheek, to render unto Caesar. He erupts at the commercialization of the faith. This is a man of principle, someone who has found his own understanding. Likely he has been misquoted. Chances are near 100%. Assume he was a human like you, and give up trying to hold on to a single all too convenient answer to everything. Reclaim the initiative. You neither need to be saved, nor could you by someone else. There is no logical mechanism between believing jesus was sent here by your god and that belief itself being your salvation from eternal torture. That’s just silly.
Through the years the clergy and priesthood have contemplated jesus life and found many good teachings and woven them into Christianity. Compassion for all, whether poor, sick, hungry, Everyone has value. If you do it to the least of these, you do it to me. Love and responsibility, the temptations of life should be examined. The structure of society should protect the poor, the leaders should bow to a higher power. Western civilization can count its strength related to its partnership with the church. The church has usually had more of a direct impact on the citizens than the government. It’s the church more than government that has civilized and founded customs.
Society needs a re-newed institution. Salvation is not dependent on believing that truth happened back when over there. This is getting to be too heavy to carry. Truth is not local and its not an event in time. Its right now, right here. Relax. Its at hand.
Saturday, January 28, 2006
when diverse people come to the same conclusion
kurt vonnegut had a great 5 minute interview on npr this week.
some paraphrased excerpts.
we are what we pretend to be.
karl marx got a bum rap, all he was trying to do was take care of a lot of people. communism is totally disgraced now, with the fall of communism, but i cant help notice that we are in hock to the chinese who seem to be better at business than we are. capitalism also collapsed in 1929.
(my friend henry always said the same thing. marx did not have a plan, he did not organize society, he saw the industrialization of britain, and he knew there was a problem. he documented the problem more than he designed a society. lenin designed communism.)
its obvious to an anthropologist that extended families and tribes are terribly important, cannot do without them. we are terribly divided politically, you can see it in the debate between teaching evolution and intelligent design. the scientists are behaving tribally. our bodies are miracles of design, scientists are pretending to have the answer. natural selection cannot be the answer. the other side, the christian religion, is not thinking about it, they are just acting tribally.
Nietsche: only a person of deep faith can afford the luxury of skepticism.
Vonnegut: That something wonderful is going on, i do not doubt it, but the explanations i hear do not satisfy me.
end of interview.
there is a third point of view in the evolution - intelligent design debate that does not believe a word of genesis is literally true or the word of god, but also has a deep faith that life would not exist if there were not an inherent intelligence deep in every molecule. joseph campbell says that all religion, all mythology, genesis included, is not meant to be literally true, its function is to be a way to see through the surface to the great reality behind it. of course its an intelligent design, we wouldnt be sitting here discussing it if it were not.
its a faith that there is something real, that if you stop believing the fairy tales of childhood, good will get you. there is a safety net of inherent good in the universe, in people. its what you believe after you believe nothing that is truly yours, and it seems like different people come to the same conclusion independently.
some paraphrased excerpts.
we are what we pretend to be.
karl marx got a bum rap, all he was trying to do was take care of a lot of people. communism is totally disgraced now, with the fall of communism, but i cant help notice that we are in hock to the chinese who seem to be better at business than we are. capitalism also collapsed in 1929.
(my friend henry always said the same thing. marx did not have a plan, he did not organize society, he saw the industrialization of britain, and he knew there was a problem. he documented the problem more than he designed a society. lenin designed communism.)
its obvious to an anthropologist that extended families and tribes are terribly important, cannot do without them. we are terribly divided politically, you can see it in the debate between teaching evolution and intelligent design. the scientists are behaving tribally. our bodies are miracles of design, scientists are pretending to have the answer. natural selection cannot be the answer. the other side, the christian religion, is not thinking about it, they are just acting tribally.
Nietsche: only a person of deep faith can afford the luxury of skepticism.
Vonnegut: That something wonderful is going on, i do not doubt it, but the explanations i hear do not satisfy me.
end of interview.
there is a third point of view in the evolution - intelligent design debate that does not believe a word of genesis is literally true or the word of god, but also has a deep faith that life would not exist if there were not an inherent intelligence deep in every molecule. joseph campbell says that all religion, all mythology, genesis included, is not meant to be literally true, its function is to be a way to see through the surface to the great reality behind it. of course its an intelligent design, we wouldnt be sitting here discussing it if it were not.
its a faith that there is something real, that if you stop believing the fairy tales of childhood, good will get you. there is a safety net of inherent good in the universe, in people. its what you believe after you believe nothing that is truly yours, and it seems like different people come to the same conclusion independently.
thoughts
i know there is truth, and i know it can be apprehended directly. i have never been a good member of the tribe. i know i am a part of the human race, but it seems like the tribe is always mucking around in things i am not interested in. i have always been more a lone voice crying out in the wilderness, than a leader or a follower. that may be why i have had a hard time ever really getting into a partnership
i have never seen white light while drifting off to sleep. but i have seen it many times while drifting off from a meditation. it always happens in a reverie, and its always unexpected, breaking forth suddenly and almost violently, shaking me back to awakened consciousness. you have to tune your body, harmonize yourself through meditation. you have an inner life. it is possible to ignore it.
there are nerve bundles, nerve centers. kundalini is a focus of moving energy thru the body, concentrating on the energy centers, increasing the attention and consciousness of the existence of them, building their awareness as centers of power and energy.
shabda yoga says that you can hear spirit. listen to it deeply.
mantra meditation is the repetition for the sake of mental concentration, losing the preoccupation on all the other things, and just watching yourself silently repeat a word as if it were a thought, watching it bubble up from the source of thoughts and ideas, following it inward.
i think all 3 of these basically lead to the same experience, they support each other, its easy to switch from one to another, use whichever one seems to be working best.
i have never seen white light while drifting off to sleep. but i have seen it many times while drifting off from a meditation. it always happens in a reverie, and its always unexpected, breaking forth suddenly and almost violently, shaking me back to awakened consciousness. you have to tune your body, harmonize yourself through meditation. you have an inner life. it is possible to ignore it.
there are nerve bundles, nerve centers. kundalini is a focus of moving energy thru the body, concentrating on the energy centers, increasing the attention and consciousness of the existence of them, building their awareness as centers of power and energy.
shabda yoga says that you can hear spirit. listen to it deeply.
mantra meditation is the repetition for the sake of mental concentration, losing the preoccupation on all the other things, and just watching yourself silently repeat a word as if it were a thought, watching it bubble up from the source of thoughts and ideas, following it inward.
i think all 3 of these basically lead to the same experience, they support each other, its easy to switch from one to another, use whichever one seems to be working best.
Monday, July 18, 2005
The next not so big thing
I have been reading some of the computer historians, causing me to reflect on my own current thought. Whenever I use the computer too long, I get a pain between my shoulderblades. We got infatuated with PCs running DOS. Then engaged when we made the first DBASE program, or Lisp, or even LOGO graphic on a 64 bit. We got married when the world wide web came along, and began conducting relationships and business over the internet. A revolution!
Now that the divorce has begun, or at least the separation, I would rather spend an hour on the computer, and go outside and trim some trees, or get a glimpse of that baby blue heron. We have always been a part of something that is bigger than the world wide web. I think buddha said that, or could be fairly translated as having said it, but we had to see it on a tv screen to really appreciate it. The internet is a big change, as big as photography, the invention of trains, or even the automobile or tv. Maybe even rivals the printing press or the growth of cities. But like them, it doesn't provide content. Its a better printing press.
The problem with computers is that they have no brain. Whenever I sit down to sputter out a few thoughts, I invariably start a new file. The computer is a filing system with no system. A nervous system with no center. Perhaps google is starting to address the problem, putting search on the desktop, at least making a system database. But its barely a beginning. Its the basic challenge to making the tool more rational. The desktop operating system itself is flawed by a lack of organizational skills. The internet is a collection of these inherently unorganized units. The organization of files is the basic problem we spend so much time and money trying to figure out how to store, retrieve and link together with PLM, ERP - solutions that are huge unwieldy rigid unrelenting expenses. But the basic disorganization exists at the PC level.
Now that the divorce has begun, or at least the separation, I would rather spend an hour on the computer, and go outside and trim some trees, or get a glimpse of that baby blue heron. We have always been a part of something that is bigger than the world wide web. I think buddha said that, or could be fairly translated as having said it, but we had to see it on a tv screen to really appreciate it. The internet is a big change, as big as photography, the invention of trains, or even the automobile or tv. Maybe even rivals the printing press or the growth of cities. But like them, it doesn't provide content. Its a better printing press.
The problem with computers is that they have no brain. Whenever I sit down to sputter out a few thoughts, I invariably start a new file. The computer is a filing system with no system. A nervous system with no center. Perhaps google is starting to address the problem, putting search on the desktop, at least making a system database. But its barely a beginning. Its the basic challenge to making the tool more rational. The desktop operating system itself is flawed by a lack of organizational skills. The internet is a collection of these inherently unorganized units. The organization of files is the basic problem we spend so much time and money trying to figure out how to store, retrieve and link together with PLM, ERP - solutions that are huge unwieldy rigid unrelenting expenses. But the basic disorganization exists at the PC level.
Sunday, July 17, 2005
the old iceberg theory
this morning i woke suddenly from a deep sleep - squalling, fighting cats outside my window. the neighbor tomcats terrorize my peaceful, fixed cats. i chased him off, went back to bed. then i remembered the dream i was having as i awoke. it was not profound, but i was there, on a roller coaster, trying to keep things from falling out, and later telling someone who had also been on the ride about it. there were details, conversation, thoughts, i was sitting then i was standing. to me in the dream, it was not a question of whether it was real or not.
now, what really struck me, is, how many other dreams like that with people, things, words, details, did i have last night that i dont remember? i only remember this one because i woke suddenly in the middle of it. how many other rich complete situations have happened to me this year that part of me knows about and part of me does not remember?
why does the unconscious seem to have more going on than the conscious? why does the unconscious seem to have so much to do? why does the conscious seem to be so in the dark? unknowing. I have forgotten more than i know.
the scientists belittle and dismiss, oh that is just a brain rewind, a chemical sputter, a hormonal balancing. campbell says myths are an attempt to tell the unconscious story to the conscious. there is a pattern with meditation. deep concentration leads to dreamlike images, if the conscious mind stirs, they are chased away. meditation is a search for unconscious light. behind every unconscious fluid image, is light. when it bursts through, that is the only goal of meditation.
perhaps the great novelists learn how to let their unconscious weave a story, without letting their conscious self step in and police the action. the conscious can handle the grammar. characters and events which ring true and have their own existence have to come from a richer source.
now, what really struck me, is, how many other dreams like that with people, things, words, details, did i have last night that i dont remember? i only remember this one because i woke suddenly in the middle of it. how many other rich complete situations have happened to me this year that part of me knows about and part of me does not remember?
why does the unconscious seem to have more going on than the conscious? why does the unconscious seem to have so much to do? why does the conscious seem to be so in the dark? unknowing. I have forgotten more than i know.
the scientists belittle and dismiss, oh that is just a brain rewind, a chemical sputter, a hormonal balancing. campbell says myths are an attempt to tell the unconscious story to the conscious. there is a pattern with meditation. deep concentration leads to dreamlike images, if the conscious mind stirs, they are chased away. meditation is a search for unconscious light. behind every unconscious fluid image, is light. when it bursts through, that is the only goal of meditation.
perhaps the great novelists learn how to let their unconscious weave a story, without letting their conscious self step in and police the action. the conscious can handle the grammar. characters and events which ring true and have their own existence have to come from a richer source.
Tuesday, March 15, 2005
pre-disposition
There must be some appreciation of magic.
Can you imagine a world without life, a barren world inhabited only by mineral? In a billion years, in 5 billion years, if there were not some pre-disposition to life, there would not be the slightest stirring. No molecules would assemble themselves into a conscious being.
Can you imagine a world without life, a barren world inhabited only by mineral? In a billion years, in 5 billion years, if there were not some pre-disposition to life, there would not be the slightest stirring. No molecules would assemble themselves into a conscious being.
Saturday, March 05, 2005
the man who awoke
there is not a christian bone in my body.
no one took down the words of jesus in his native aramaic.all the texts are in greek. you would think that if someone thought this was god, they would record his actual words. contrast that with the buddhist tradition, where a mechanism was set in place immediately to record the actual words. buddha says he awoke, but he was otherwise an ordinary man. mark, the earliest gospel, was not set down til 40 years after the passion. the last several verses of mark were added even later. it has the fewest miracles, the least dogmatic. what follows is 300 years of increasing miracles and increasingly complex religious doctrine. jesus the man becomes god. with the nicene creed in 325, the foundation for the inquisition and religous wars was laid, from oppressed to oppressor. the monks of the nag hammadi library responded to the edict to burn all non-approved texts by burying an urn containing copies of their non-canonical texts. they were found 1600 years later. one of them, the gospel of thomas, is thought to be contemporary with the gospel of john, early in the second century. it contains the sayings of jesus, and only the sayings of jesus, no miracles, no crucificion, no resurrection. the gospel of john goes out of its way to discredit thomas, it contains the doubting thomas stories, thomas the most dense of the apostles. he wasnt even there when jesus returned from the dead to give them their charge. only he and judas were missing. none of the other gospels have anything bad to say about thomas. what we have here is a religious rivalry, and finally we have the text to compare the actual disagreement. thomas, hebrew for the twin, has jesus say that the light is within and it is available to all now. jesus says what i do, you can also do, hence the twin theme. some scholars think these sayings may be closer to the actual words than the other gospels. they contain much the same material as the traditional gospels, but are less adorned, less edited. they may be the closest thing in writing to the words of the man so many call their savior, suppressed by their own church.
"Love your friends like your own soul, protect them like the pupil of your eye."
i could have been a thomasine christian, jesus the man who awoke.
no one took down the words of jesus in his native aramaic.all the texts are in greek. you would think that if someone thought this was god, they would record his actual words. contrast that with the buddhist tradition, where a mechanism was set in place immediately to record the actual words. buddha says he awoke, but he was otherwise an ordinary man. mark, the earliest gospel, was not set down til 40 years after the passion. the last several verses of mark were added even later. it has the fewest miracles, the least dogmatic. what follows is 300 years of increasing miracles and increasingly complex religious doctrine. jesus the man becomes god. with the nicene creed in 325, the foundation for the inquisition and religous wars was laid, from oppressed to oppressor. the monks of the nag hammadi library responded to the edict to burn all non-approved texts by burying an urn containing copies of their non-canonical texts. they were found 1600 years later. one of them, the gospel of thomas, is thought to be contemporary with the gospel of john, early in the second century. it contains the sayings of jesus, and only the sayings of jesus, no miracles, no crucificion, no resurrection. the gospel of john goes out of its way to discredit thomas, it contains the doubting thomas stories, thomas the most dense of the apostles. he wasnt even there when jesus returned from the dead to give them their charge. only he and judas were missing. none of the other gospels have anything bad to say about thomas. what we have here is a religious rivalry, and finally we have the text to compare the actual disagreement. thomas, hebrew for the twin, has jesus say that the light is within and it is available to all now. jesus says what i do, you can also do, hence the twin theme. some scholars think these sayings may be closer to the actual words than the other gospels. they contain much the same material as the traditional gospels, but are less adorned, less edited. they may be the closest thing in writing to the words of the man so many call their savior, suppressed by their own church.
"Love your friends like your own soul, protect them like the pupil of your eye."
i could have been a thomasine christian, jesus the man who awoke.
Thursday, March 03, 2005
the religion of science
part1
the imagination, the big bang, the appearance and expansion of life
or
the religion of science
consider the big bang. everything that cannot be seen, cannot be recreated, is not proven, is a theory. consider the big bang from the physicist point of view, and assume they are essentially correct. at one point, all the matter that is now spread was condensed to maximum concentration in one spot. this changed time from the way we know it now. it also changed space. space and time were somehow warped around this super concentration. for some reason, perhaps they know why, this ball exploded and flung its atoms out, and time and space became as we know it.
what preceded the concentration of matter? did it condense from a previous universe? do universes expand, then contract, collapse, boil for a while in a ball, then expand again? where did the atoms come from in the first place? where did the laws of physics come from?
at some point as these bits of rock were hurtling through space, presumably away from each other, life emerged. on this the scientists and the christians virtually agree. it arose from a single seminal event. all species come from the first mutation. all humans come from adam.
whether it was a part of life at the beginning or not, at some point, mind arose. the power that life has to imagine things it cannot see, like the big bang. its important for people to reconcile their imagination with what they believe to be the truth. they want to see the big bang as it really was. they want to see the beginning of life in their mind as it really was. no one wants a theory which comforts them but which is ultimately not true. we believe what we see, what is true is what would have been seen.
in many ways, the emergence of life is like the big bang. from a seminal event, it is still expanding. there is a drive in all of us to see and hear things beyond the present. to see the future, to know the past. the power of mind is the imagination to see things which cannot be physically seen, in the past or future. to see them truly as they were or will be.
by seeing it, people want to be present at the big bang, the beginning of life. they dont want it to take place without them. they want to be a part of it. they want to help cause it, to be a part of the genius which created it. to be a part of the creator. to be a partner in creation.
the expansion of matter, life and mind
if there is a meaning to life, as in, what is the meaning of life, it must also be the meaning of matter. we think when matter expanded, it changed the qualities of time and space. when mind expands, it can see and understand things which cannot be physically seen. where will that lead?
underlying all this of course, is my belief that the qualities of mind preceded the big bang, that they are not created from matter, that matter is not sufficient as the base material of intelligence. it proceeds from itself. mind creates matter. matter is not able to create mind.
i cannot ignore my experience. my experience seems to tell me that i am a being of mind, more than of matter. my matter can be dissolved, but it seems to exist to give my mind a playground. mind is playing in this world.
how many in their 80+ years here have looked back at the beginning and imagined they could see the creator and know what took place, how it happened, why, where they stood. we use their theories, their speculations, as our own base. how much would we know without the others who like us are looking through time and space? how much of what we are is because of others just like us, looking and wondering.
what does that phrase mean, they share a common vision?
what is the vision of what we are expanding to?
the imagination, the big bang, the appearance and expansion of life
or
the religion of science
consider the big bang. everything that cannot be seen, cannot be recreated, is not proven, is a theory. consider the big bang from the physicist point of view, and assume they are essentially correct. at one point, all the matter that is now spread was condensed to maximum concentration in one spot. this changed time from the way we know it now. it also changed space. space and time were somehow warped around this super concentration. for some reason, perhaps they know why, this ball exploded and flung its atoms out, and time and space became as we know it.
what preceded the concentration of matter? did it condense from a previous universe? do universes expand, then contract, collapse, boil for a while in a ball, then expand again? where did the atoms come from in the first place? where did the laws of physics come from?
at some point as these bits of rock were hurtling through space, presumably away from each other, life emerged. on this the scientists and the christians virtually agree. it arose from a single seminal event. all species come from the first mutation. all humans come from adam.
whether it was a part of life at the beginning or not, at some point, mind arose. the power that life has to imagine things it cannot see, like the big bang. its important for people to reconcile their imagination with what they believe to be the truth. they want to see the big bang as it really was. they want to see the beginning of life in their mind as it really was. no one wants a theory which comforts them but which is ultimately not true. we believe what we see, what is true is what would have been seen.
in many ways, the emergence of life is like the big bang. from a seminal event, it is still expanding. there is a drive in all of us to see and hear things beyond the present. to see the future, to know the past. the power of mind is the imagination to see things which cannot be physically seen, in the past or future. to see them truly as they were or will be.
by seeing it, people want to be present at the big bang, the beginning of life. they dont want it to take place without them. they want to be a part of it. they want to help cause it, to be a part of the genius which created it. to be a part of the creator. to be a partner in creation.
the expansion of matter, life and mind
if there is a meaning to life, as in, what is the meaning of life, it must also be the meaning of matter. we think when matter expanded, it changed the qualities of time and space. when mind expands, it can see and understand things which cannot be physically seen. where will that lead?
underlying all this of course, is my belief that the qualities of mind preceded the big bang, that they are not created from matter, that matter is not sufficient as the base material of intelligence. it proceeds from itself. mind creates matter. matter is not able to create mind.
i cannot ignore my experience. my experience seems to tell me that i am a being of mind, more than of matter. my matter can be dissolved, but it seems to exist to give my mind a playground. mind is playing in this world.
how many in their 80+ years here have looked back at the beginning and imagined they could see the creator and know what took place, how it happened, why, where they stood. we use their theories, their speculations, as our own base. how much would we know without the others who like us are looking through time and space? how much of what we are is because of others just like us, looking and wondering.
what does that phrase mean, they share a common vision?
what is the vision of what we are expanding to?
Wednesday, March 02, 2005
Is a bear catholic?
does the pope shit in the woods?
a linguistic analysis for posterity
my generation - the self indulgent baby boom, the generation which says, til death do us part, but especially right now, or at least til this new feeling goes away - has two stock replies to signify yes to an all too obvious question, what a later generation conveniently shortened to, "duh". They are - Is the pope catholic? and Does a bear shit in the woods? Both of these responses lie next to each other in the brain, being interchangeable. On an old phonograph playing a worn out record, sometimes the needle would jump to the next track, skipping lines. That is the origin of the saying, does the pope shit in the woods. Its a jumping of tracks in an aging baby boomers mind, using rote responses to call back the crazy years. However, Are Bears Catholic? is a legitimate theological question, because it is possible they were blessed by the same Irish priest who said to the Maya, domini, domini, domini, youre all catholic now.
a linguistic analysis for posterity
my generation - the self indulgent baby boom, the generation which says, til death do us part, but especially right now, or at least til this new feeling goes away - has two stock replies to signify yes to an all too obvious question, what a later generation conveniently shortened to, "duh". They are - Is the pope catholic? and Does a bear shit in the woods? Both of these responses lie next to each other in the brain, being interchangeable. On an old phonograph playing a worn out record, sometimes the needle would jump to the next track, skipping lines. That is the origin of the saying, does the pope shit in the woods. Its a jumping of tracks in an aging baby boomers mind, using rote responses to call back the crazy years. However, Are Bears Catholic? is a legitimate theological question, because it is possible they were blessed by the same Irish priest who said to the Maya, domini, domini, domini, youre all catholic now.
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