This world, as I see it.
Professor Batty has an amazingly creative circle of friends. One of them posted this Whitmanesque poem on the last day of February. It's called, "Being in Love."
Wednesday, March 01, 2006
Tuesday, February 28, 2006
Turn of Month
Turn of Month
28 February 2006
Sun peeked in and looked about
Didn’t like what it saw, so went off to pout
Rain swung by for awhile as well
Decided it preferred an inland dell
High tide’s come and ebbed away
Just been a cyclical kind of day
Last day of the month means party’s about over
Last day to bask in privileged clover
Tomorrow starts a new month meant for someone new
Think I hear my Big Boy and his favorite mew
Christians may mark tomorrow as the start of Lent
But here we remember the eldest heaven sent
Max and his siblings were born six years ago
And ever since he claimed me, my life has been flow
28 February 2006
Sun peeked in and looked about
Didn’t like what it saw, so went off to pout
Rain swung by for awhile as well
Decided it preferred an inland dell
High tide’s come and ebbed away
Just been a cyclical kind of day
Last day of the month means party’s about over
Last day to bask in privileged clover
Tomorrow starts a new month meant for someone new
Think I hear my Big Boy and his favorite mew
Christians may mark tomorrow as the start of Lent
But here we remember the eldest heaven sent
Max and his siblings were born six years ago
And ever since he claimed me, my life has been flow
Monday, February 27, 2006
Still Mulling
Still Mulling
27 February 2006
Gift giving has always been a complicated thing for me, both more and less than it ought to be, if others are to be believed. The most meaningful gifts come from the heart, not the wallet, but something of the head has to be involved as well.
When I was very young, sit-coms and other family fare invariably presented breakfast in bed as the ideal way to please parents. This, of course, didn’t fare so well in my real life laboratory. In fact, after the first disastrous endeavor, (not nearly as catastrophic as anything depicted on television,) the deed was forbidden. Cleanup was bearable, but the waste was not. Those were harder times when tales of two loaves per penny were still common. Foolish child that I was, I considered this a lifetime ban. All right, I admit it: laziness shored up the tenet long after logic had undermined it.
The gift of a deed is not in the doing, I think, nearly as much as it is in the timing of the deed. When I was young, Mother was the whirlwind. As time passed and she was in a position to reap the whirlwind, she would have been far more appreciative of the unexpected, unsolicited deed. Now, I see my whirlwind just below the horizon with none to stand between me and my own reaping.
27 February 2006
Gift giving has always been a complicated thing for me, both more and less than it ought to be, if others are to be believed. The most meaningful gifts come from the heart, not the wallet, but something of the head has to be involved as well.
When I was very young, sit-coms and other family fare invariably presented breakfast in bed as the ideal way to please parents. This, of course, didn’t fare so well in my real life laboratory. In fact, after the first disastrous endeavor, (not nearly as catastrophic as anything depicted on television,) the deed was forbidden. Cleanup was bearable, but the waste was not. Those were harder times when tales of two loaves per penny were still common. Foolish child that I was, I considered this a lifetime ban. All right, I admit it: laziness shored up the tenet long after logic had undermined it.
The gift of a deed is not in the doing, I think, nearly as much as it is in the timing of the deed. When I was young, Mother was the whirlwind. As time passed and she was in a position to reap the whirlwind, she would have been far more appreciative of the unexpected, unsolicited deed. Now, I see my whirlwind just below the horizon with none to stand between me and my own reaping.
Sunday, February 26, 2006
Reflections on Mom
Reflections on Mom
26 February 2006
When I was still living at home and Mom was still alive, she’d make sure we knew that her birth month was coming, and why that mattered. Now, she didn’t ask much – just one day, but somehow she never quite seemed to get what she really wanted. She was a fairly conventional lady: referred to herself and her peers as “girls”, believed that a woman’s role was to support her man and raise the children, believed that life was meant to be lived without complaint. All she asked of us was just one day. She didn’t make a big deal out of it, though she did expect to be let out of the kitchen and taken to a “nice” dinner with her twin that day. She did figure that since there were two of them, that ought to carry enough weight to warrant her one day of release, once a year. And, of course, she liked pretty little things with big price tags, though her idea of big was actually pretty modest, in keeping with the rest of her. Looking back, it’s easy enough to see why she didn’t think she was asking too much.
We didn’t think it was too much, either; at least, not the shiny little things with the big tags. That was the easy part. We were all working and money was flowing pretty freely back then. Her keeping us mindful of the timetable was really all the help any of us needed. Spending money was such an easy salve for noisily twinging consciences that were all too easily salved. That one day, though, that was the hard part. Somehow, I don’t know that she ever got that one day. I look back now with regret and understanding, too late. The words and the gifts came all too easily, the simplest of gestures and thought not easily or early or eagerly enough. The woman gave so much to so many so freely. She deserved a more generous family.
Now when I look back on my own birth month haul and think of what I sought vs. what I got, I understand all too well… too late. The objects are dutiful; the actions priceless. Those actions would have been so much more validation of worth, so much more appreciation of services rendered, so much more lasting in gratification than the objects she accumulated over the years. We thought we loved her; did she?
26 February 2006
When I was still living at home and Mom was still alive, she’d make sure we knew that her birth month was coming, and why that mattered. Now, she didn’t ask much – just one day, but somehow she never quite seemed to get what she really wanted. She was a fairly conventional lady: referred to herself and her peers as “girls”, believed that a woman’s role was to support her man and raise the children, believed that life was meant to be lived without complaint. All she asked of us was just one day. She didn’t make a big deal out of it, though she did expect to be let out of the kitchen and taken to a “nice” dinner with her twin that day. She did figure that since there were two of them, that ought to carry enough weight to warrant her one day of release, once a year. And, of course, she liked pretty little things with big price tags, though her idea of big was actually pretty modest, in keeping with the rest of her. Looking back, it’s easy enough to see why she didn’t think she was asking too much.
We didn’t think it was too much, either; at least, not the shiny little things with the big tags. That was the easy part. We were all working and money was flowing pretty freely back then. Her keeping us mindful of the timetable was really all the help any of us needed. Spending money was such an easy salve for noisily twinging consciences that were all too easily salved. That one day, though, that was the hard part. Somehow, I don’t know that she ever got that one day. I look back now with regret and understanding, too late. The words and the gifts came all too easily, the simplest of gestures and thought not easily or early or eagerly enough. The woman gave so much to so many so freely. She deserved a more generous family.
Now when I look back on my own birth month haul and think of what I sought vs. what I got, I understand all too well… too late. The objects are dutiful; the actions priceless. Those actions would have been so much more validation of worth, so much more appreciation of services rendered, so much more lasting in gratification than the objects she accumulated over the years. We thought we loved her; did she?
Multimedia As Cultural Vehicle
Watching a dvd is like reading a book: when the tale is done, the screen goes blank, like the closing of a cover on that final page. Silence ensues, and there is time to reflect and to ponder what has just passed through your sensory apparatus, brain paths, and thought processes. One is free to pursue lines of thought beyond the final page, the closing scene; unless, of course, one makes the conscious effort to become engaged with something else.
When a book is done, there is the possibility of picking up another, of course. When a dvd is done, on the other hand, a mere push or two of a button will bring up further sensory input, whether from regular television broadcasts or from supporting materials on the dvd. If, however, one eschews cable or DSL subscription and lives in a signal-free region, then viewing dvds becomes even more like reading books. One must perforce rise to select and input a fresh dvd if one is to go on viewing materials, just as one must make a conscious choice of new reading materials. This time gap plays a significant role in the formulation of one’s response to the material experienced, for without a period of gestation, there is inescapable overflow and intermixing of impressions from the uninterrupted flow of input, comparable to the experience of reading multiple books concurrently.
The educational system as it is currently designed encourages such multi-tasking. High school and college students, even an increasing number of middle and elementary school students, are all being taught in departmentalized institutions. In such a setup, each teacher or instructor is allowed to focus on a particular discipline, while students are expected to absorb all the subjects to which they are exposed and to take everything in holistically while retaining a compartmentalized clarity of “it” all. While this is particularly useful in our increasingly computerized society, it yields a very different impression and leads to assessments of material at variance with those of yore.
Yes, of yore. Who uses such language any longer? Jokesters writing script material for the now defunct television series, Friends, did. Fantasy writers hearkening back to the days of heraldry do. Players of certain computing games might. The general public, however, is increasingly distanced from such language, making literature commonly read but a few decades ago as difficult to comprehend as Orwellian newspeak was in its time.
Despite the ways in which advances in technology are distancing language and knowledge base from the past, however, the fact that dvds can and do incorporate multiple sensory inputs, including sight and sound, words, pictures, and music, makes dvds both viable and vital. Multimedia brings together many of the arts through which culture has traditionally been expressed, preserved, and conveyed, from imagery through music and narrative. If multimedia is the new vehicle for literature and thus for culture, then it should be recognized and embraced as such. Whether we close one cover before opening another or stream disparate discs together, these are the bards of our lives.
When a book is done, there is the possibility of picking up another, of course. When a dvd is done, on the other hand, a mere push or two of a button will bring up further sensory input, whether from regular television broadcasts or from supporting materials on the dvd. If, however, one eschews cable or DSL subscription and lives in a signal-free region, then viewing dvds becomes even more like reading books. One must perforce rise to select and input a fresh dvd if one is to go on viewing materials, just as one must make a conscious choice of new reading materials. This time gap plays a significant role in the formulation of one’s response to the material experienced, for without a period of gestation, there is inescapable overflow and intermixing of impressions from the uninterrupted flow of input, comparable to the experience of reading multiple books concurrently.
The educational system as it is currently designed encourages such multi-tasking. High school and college students, even an increasing number of middle and elementary school students, are all being taught in departmentalized institutions. In such a setup, each teacher or instructor is allowed to focus on a particular discipline, while students are expected to absorb all the subjects to which they are exposed and to take everything in holistically while retaining a compartmentalized clarity of “it” all. While this is particularly useful in our increasingly computerized society, it yields a very different impression and leads to assessments of material at variance with those of yore.
Yes, of yore. Who uses such language any longer? Jokesters writing script material for the now defunct television series, Friends, did. Fantasy writers hearkening back to the days of heraldry do. Players of certain computing games might. The general public, however, is increasingly distanced from such language, making literature commonly read but a few decades ago as difficult to comprehend as Orwellian newspeak was in its time.
Despite the ways in which advances in technology are distancing language and knowledge base from the past, however, the fact that dvds can and do incorporate multiple sensory inputs, including sight and sound, words, pictures, and music, makes dvds both viable and vital. Multimedia brings together many of the arts through which culture has traditionally been expressed, preserved, and conveyed, from imagery through music and narrative. If multimedia is the new vehicle for literature and thus for culture, then it should be recognized and embraced as such. Whether we close one cover before opening another or stream disparate discs together, these are the bards of our lives.
Saturday, February 25, 2006
Objects vs Deeds
“A word is dead
When it is said,
Some say;
I say
It just begins
To live
That day.”
~Emily Dickinson~
These pithy words have been attributed to Emily Dickinson, though I’ve never been able to find them in any publications of her collected works. Over the years they have stimulated some spirited discussions, mostly concerning whether one prefers yelling or the silent treatment. As a person who grew up with one each of such parents, (yeller and silent one,) I was fascinated by people’s responses to the question. The discussions made me realize why my own parents had always been so concerned about what my habit of voicing my opinions in public places might say to others about them as parents and as people. (Yes, paranoia runs rampant in my family, as much because of nurture as nature.) This month, however, these words popped back into my head under very different circumstances.
A long-standing practice of mine is to take the entire month of February to celebrate life, specifically mine. This has led to some valid concerns regarding the common practice of gift-giving. Now, I have repeatedly stated that objects are not as significant to me as actions. An object, after all, is given once it is transferred to the recipient, whereas attitudes, deeds, and treatment can last so much longer. That, I suppose reasonably, has become the source of discontent for those more materialistically-oriented, primarily because of the seemingly endless nature of service vs. object. Now I ask you: would you prefer an expensive object or a month of service? (Explanations appreciated.) (
When it is said,
Some say;
I say
It just begins
To live
That day.”
~Emily Dickinson~
These pithy words have been attributed to Emily Dickinson, though I’ve never been able to find them in any publications of her collected works. Over the years they have stimulated some spirited discussions, mostly concerning whether one prefers yelling or the silent treatment. As a person who grew up with one each of such parents, (yeller and silent one,) I was fascinated by people’s responses to the question. The discussions made me realize why my own parents had always been so concerned about what my habit of voicing my opinions in public places might say to others about them as parents and as people. (Yes, paranoia runs rampant in my family, as much because of nurture as nature.) This month, however, these words popped back into my head under very different circumstances.
A long-standing practice of mine is to take the entire month of February to celebrate life, specifically mine. This has led to some valid concerns regarding the common practice of gift-giving. Now, I have repeatedly stated that objects are not as significant to me as actions. An object, after all, is given once it is transferred to the recipient, whereas attitudes, deeds, and treatment can last so much longer. That, I suppose reasonably, has become the source of discontent for those more materialistically-oriented, primarily because of the seemingly endless nature of service vs. object. Now I ask you: would you prefer an expensive object or a month of service? (Explanations appreciated.) (
Great Truths Floating around the Internet
GREAT TRUTHS THAT LITTLE CHILDREN HAVE LEARNED:
1) No matter how hard you try, you can't baptize cats.
2) When your Mom is mad at your Dad, don't let her brush your hair.
3) If your sister hits you, don't hit her back. They always catch the second
person.
4) Never ask your 3-year-old brother to hold a tomato.
5) You can't trust dogs to watch your food.
6) Don't sneeze when someone is cutting your hair.
7) Never hold a Dust-Buster and a cat at the same time.
8) You can't hide a piece of broccoli in a glass of milk.
9) Don't wear polka-dot underwear under white shorts.
10) The best place to be when you're sad is Grandpa's lap.
GREAT TRUTHS THAT ADULTS HAVE LEARNED:
1) Raising teenagers is like nailing Jell-O to a tree.
2) Wrinkles don't hurt.
3) Families are like fudge...mostly sweet, with a few nuts.
4) Today's mighty oak is just yesterday's nut that held its ground.
5) Laughing is good exercise: it's like jogging on the inside.
6) Middle age is when you choose your cereal for the fiber, not the
toy.
GREAT TRUTHS ABOUT GROWING OLD:
1) Growing up is mandatory; growing old is optional.
2) Forget the health food; I need all the preservatives I can get.
3) When you fall down, you wonder what else you can do while you're
down there.
4) You're getting old when you get the same sensation from a rocking chair
that you once got from a roller coaster.
5) It's frustrating when you know all the answers but nobody bothers to
ask you the questions.
6) Time may be a great healer, but it's a lousy beautician.
7) Wisdom comes with age, but sometimes age comes alone.
THE FOUR STAGES OF LIFE:
1) You believe in Santa Claus.
2) You don't believe in Santa Claus.
3) You are Santa Claus.
4) You look like Santa Claus.
SUCCESS:
At age 4 success is . . not peeing in your pants.
At age 12 success is having friends.
At age 16 success is . . having a drivers license.
At age 35 success is . having money.
At age 50 success is . . . having money.
At age 70 success is . . . having a drivers license.
At age 75 success is . having friends.
At age 80 success is not peeing in your pants.
Always remember to forget the troubles that pass your way;
BUT NEVER forget the blessings that come each day.
1) No matter how hard you try, you can't baptize cats.
2) When your Mom is mad at your Dad, don't let her brush your hair.
3) If your sister hits you, don't hit her back. They always catch the second
person.
4) Never ask your 3-year-old brother to hold a tomato.
5) You can't trust dogs to watch your food.
6) Don't sneeze when someone is cutting your hair.
7) Never hold a Dust-Buster and a cat at the same time.
8) You can't hide a piece of broccoli in a glass of milk.
9) Don't wear polka-dot underwear under white shorts.
10) The best place to be when you're sad is Grandpa's lap.
GREAT TRUTHS THAT ADULTS HAVE LEARNED:
1) Raising teenagers is like nailing Jell-O to a tree.
2) Wrinkles don't hurt.
3) Families are like fudge...mostly sweet, with a few nuts.
4) Today's mighty oak is just yesterday's nut that held its ground.
5) Laughing is good exercise: it's like jogging on the inside.
6) Middle age is when you choose your cereal for the fiber, not the
toy.
GREAT TRUTHS ABOUT GROWING OLD:
1) Growing up is mandatory; growing old is optional.
2) Forget the health food; I need all the preservatives I can get.
3) When you fall down, you wonder what else you can do while you're
down there.
4) You're getting old when you get the same sensation from a rocking chair
that you once got from a roller coaster.
5) It's frustrating when you know all the answers but nobody bothers to
ask you the questions.
6) Time may be a great healer, but it's a lousy beautician.
7) Wisdom comes with age, but sometimes age comes alone.
THE FOUR STAGES OF LIFE:
1) You believe in Santa Claus.
2) You don't believe in Santa Claus.
3) You are Santa Claus.
4) You look like Santa Claus.
SUCCESS:
At age 4 success is . . not peeing in your pants.
At age 12 success is having friends.
At age 16 success is . . having a drivers license.
At age 35 success is . having money.
At age 50 success is . . . having money.
At age 70 success is . . . having a drivers license.
At age 75 success is . having friends.
At age 80 success is not peeing in your pants.
Always remember to forget the troubles that pass your way;
BUT NEVER forget the blessings that come each day.
Wednesday, February 22, 2006
Hybrid
I was looking at blogs and came across this amusing link prefaced by this query:
What do you get when you cross Star Wars with Whole Foods?
http://www.storewars.org/flash/index.html
What do you get when you cross Star Wars with Whole Foods?
http://www.storewars.org/flash/index.html
Multitasking and CPU Speeds
Multi-tasking and CPU Speeds
(Or the Lack Thereof)
22 February 2006
I’ve never been fast… quick, of occasion, but never fast. I’m one of those sad souls who feel compelled to turn full attention to one task at a time. This makes savoring experiences much easier, I think, but it does limit the number of experiences one can fit into one lifetime. So it was with some surprise today that I found myself actually multi-tasking. Turns out when a CPU takes an interminable amount of time to load a graphics intensive program or subset, there’s just so much Freecell or Minesweeper one can play before going stir-crazy. Thus it was that I find myself at the end of the day with laundry, dishes, housekeeping, and even record-keeping all done with the afternoon stretching out before me, never mind the evening. Even JJ and Max seem satisfied with the attention each has received today, between vigorous games and long love fests. The only real downside I see is a sense of nagging guilt that I have not given my work my full attention, but what is one to do while awaiting the loading of a screen, (besides silently scream)? Seriously, now what’ll I do with myself? Guess it’s finally time to start that great manuscript that has floated in and out of my head ad nauseum…
(Or the Lack Thereof)
22 February 2006
I’ve never been fast… quick, of occasion, but never fast. I’m one of those sad souls who feel compelled to turn full attention to one task at a time. This makes savoring experiences much easier, I think, but it does limit the number of experiences one can fit into one lifetime. So it was with some surprise today that I found myself actually multi-tasking. Turns out when a CPU takes an interminable amount of time to load a graphics intensive program or subset, there’s just so much Freecell or Minesweeper one can play before going stir-crazy. Thus it was that I find myself at the end of the day with laundry, dishes, housekeeping, and even record-keeping all done with the afternoon stretching out before me, never mind the evening. Even JJ and Max seem satisfied with the attention each has received today, between vigorous games and long love fests. The only real downside I see is a sense of nagging guilt that I have not given my work my full attention, but what is one to do while awaiting the loading of a screen, (besides silently scream)? Seriously, now what’ll I do with myself? Guess it’s finally time to start that great manuscript that has floated in and out of my head ad nauseum…
Tuesday, February 21, 2006
More Random EMail
More Random E-Mail
21 February 2006
SOME GOOD QUESTIONS
1. Ever wonder about those people who spend $2.00 apiece on those little bottles of Evian water?
Try spelling Evian backwards: NAIVE
2. Isn't making a smoking section in a restaurant like making a peeing section in a swimming pool?
3. OK.... so ! if the Jacksonville Jaguars are known as the "Jags" and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are known as the "Bucs," what does that make the Tennessee Titans?
4. If 4 out of 5 people SUFFER from diarrhea...does that mean that one enjoys it?
5. There are three religious truths:
a. Jews do not recognize Jesus as the Messiah.
b. Protestants do not recognize the Pope as the leader of the Christian
faith.
c. Baptists do not recognize each other in the liquor store or at
Hooters.
6. If people from Poland are called Poles, why aren't people from Holland
called Holes?
7. Do infants enjoy infancy as much as adults enjoy adultery?
8. If a pig loses its voice, is it disgruntled?
9. Why do croutons come in airtight packages? Aren't they just stale bread
to begin with?
10. Why is a person who plays the piano called a pianist but a person who
drives a racecar is not called a racist?
11. Why isn't the number 11 pronounced onety one?
12. If lawyers are disbarred and clergymen defrocked, doesn't it follow that
electricians can be delighted, musicians denoted, cowboys deranged,
models deposed, tree surgeons debarked, and dry cleaners
depressed?
13. If Fed Ex and UPS were to merge, would they call it Fed UP?
14. Do Lipton Tea employees take coffee breaks?
15. What hair color do they put on the driver's licenses of bald men?
16. I was thinking about how people seem to read the Bible a whole lot
more as they get older; then it dawned on me .....they're cramming for
their final exam.
17. I thought about how mothers feed their babies with tiny little spoons
and forks, so I wondered what do Chinese mothers use? toothpicks?
(Offensive, but I let the Baptist crack go, so might as well give equal time, I guess...)
18. Why do they put pictures of criminals up in the Post Office? What are
we supposed to do, write to them? Why don't they just put their
pictures on the postage stamps so the mailmen can look for them
while they deliver the mail?
19. If it's true that we are here to help others, then what exactly are the
others here for?
20. You never really learn to swear until you learn to drive.
21. Ever wonder what the speed of lightning would be if it didn't zigzag?
22. If a cow laughed, would milk come out of her nose?
23. Whatever happened to Preparations A through G?
24. As income tax time approaches, did you ever notice: When you put the
two words "The" and "IRS" together it spells "THEIRS"?
21 February 2006
SOME GOOD QUESTIONS
1. Ever wonder about those people who spend $2.00 apiece on those little bottles of Evian water?
Try spelling Evian backwards: NAIVE
2. Isn't making a smoking section in a restaurant like making a peeing section in a swimming pool?
3. OK.... so ! if the Jacksonville Jaguars are known as the "Jags" and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are known as the "Bucs," what does that make the Tennessee Titans?
4. If 4 out of 5 people SUFFER from diarrhea...does that mean that one enjoys it?
5. There are three religious truths:
a. Jews do not recognize Jesus as the Messiah.
b. Protestants do not recognize the Pope as the leader of the Christian
faith.
c. Baptists do not recognize each other in the liquor store or at
Hooters.
6. If people from Poland are called Poles, why aren't people from Holland
called Holes?
7. Do infants enjoy infancy as much as adults enjoy adultery?
8. If a pig loses its voice, is it disgruntled?
9. Why do croutons come in airtight packages? Aren't they just stale bread
to begin with?
10. Why is a person who plays the piano called a pianist but a person who
drives a racecar is not called a racist?
11. Why isn't the number 11 pronounced onety one?
12. If lawyers are disbarred and clergymen defrocked, doesn't it follow that
electricians can be delighted, musicians denoted, cowboys deranged,
models deposed, tree surgeons debarked, and dry cleaners
depressed?
13. If Fed Ex and UPS were to merge, would they call it Fed UP?
14. Do Lipton Tea employees take coffee breaks?
15. What hair color do they put on the driver's licenses of bald men?
16. I was thinking about how people seem to read the Bible a whole lot
more as they get older; then it dawned on me .....they're cramming for
their final exam.
17. I thought about how mothers feed their babies with tiny little spoons
and forks, so I wondered what do Chinese mothers use? toothpicks?
(Offensive, but I let the Baptist crack go, so might as well give equal time, I guess...)
18. Why do they put pictures of criminals up in the Post Office? What are
we supposed to do, write to them? Why don't they just put their
pictures on the postage stamps so the mailmen can look for them
while they deliver the mail?
19. If it's true that we are here to help others, then what exactly are the
others here for?
20. You never really learn to swear until you learn to drive.
21. Ever wonder what the speed of lightning would be if it didn't zigzag?
22. If a cow laughed, would milk come out of her nose?
23. Whatever happened to Preparations A through G?
24. As income tax time approaches, did you ever notice: When you put the
two words "The" and "IRS" together it spells "THEIRS"?
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