Kosmic Highway

2006-07-31T23:52:00.000-07:00

This is gonna be a big post.

Although I'm behind the times on this, there has been a lot of uproar over some of the latest statements coming from philosopher Ken Wilber that I think are well worth investigating and I thank my friend Jesse for pointing this out to me. First of all, let me note that I think very highly of Ken Wilber. I believe that his work points emphatically to a new philosophical/methodological direction that, as he would say, transcends and includes the movements that have come before such as modernism and post-modernism. He remains the only active philosopher I can think of who is fearless enough to reimagine what faith and spirituality are without discarding them as only tools or rehashing ancient concepts. I won't go more into his philosophy here, although I do plan to do a very positive post on his upcoming book, "Integral Spirituality," and the recent interviews he gave for What is Enlightenment? magazine.

What is in question is an essay he recently posted on the blog at www.kenwilber.com that acidically attacked what he deemed unfair criticism of his work. In later posts, he wrote the essay was in part a test to see how people would react to his rant. He notes it was in part to see who was at a high enough developmental level to not rush to judgment over swear words and horrific analogies. It was also, Wilber writes, designed to push his critics to embrace Wilber's latest philosophic journeys and leave their older positions behind.

Lines have quickly been drawn. Many Wilber supporters have called the post genius and have praised both the substance of his attacks and the method in which he delivered them. Over at the main site for Wilber criticism, it has been alleged that this is nothing more than Wilber becoming more a cult leader and Integral Philosophy becoming more about agreeing with everything Wilber says and does.

The substance of Wilber's argument, however, is believable, at least to someone like me who has not been following all the minutiae of the Integral movement. The gist of the essay he wrote is simply that he is tired of defending himself against poorly researched essays that seem to be designed to do nothing more than push Wilber down a notch. A negative reaction to the post on the basis of Wilber being caustic is an over-reaction and Wilber may even have a point in that those that get in a fit when someone--especially a "spiritual" someone--gets angry and uses foul language, needs to check in with themselves and see whether or not it is the worldview they have accepted that has stunted them. Furthermore, Wilber may be right that there are only a certain number of people who can remove themselves from their cultural worldview (including those who trash their cultural worldview but do not move beyond it).

Am I arguing that Wilber is wholly correct and not guilty of anything? Naw. I'll get to that. But a troubling quality of modern discourse appears to be the expectation that everyone keep their cool no matter what they are confronted with. It is more professional to remain calm, collected, and studied. Furthermore, the "pluralist" left-wing meme that Wilber characterizes as "Green" tends to be very careful about anger; perhaps because it arose out of the 1960s hippie movement as it did. What this has done is put the ball in the court of those who can either clinically and professionally argue or shout with rage all sorts of nonsense from Iraq is about to launch a nuclear attack on the West to there is nothing wrong with torture etc. etc. Those that want to fight back in the Democratic Party (now uniformly identified with bloggers) are called "reactionaries" "nuts," "wingbats" by many of those in power in the party. No, the best response they say is to calmly and professionally disagree a la John Kerry in his 2004 campaign. The obvious problem with this is that once a disturbing suggestion has been made, even calmly, a "professional" response does not resonate with an audience. The philosophy of "let's look at what they're saying carefully" does not get anything done. There are now two exceptionally conservative supreme court justices on the Supreme Court because Democratic Senators did not want to come across as too partisan (among other reasons) and risk political capital in raising hell with a filibuster. What I am getting at is there is a tendency in the established left and progressive worlds (including spiritual movements) to only accept neutral or positive attitudes about anything controversial. That doesn't mean overreacting is positive. French footballer Zinedine Zidane let his team down in the World Cup final by headbutting the Italian player who insulted him and perhaps his family. The French team lost the game minutes later in a shootout. Nonetheless, a harsh response can be an appropriate responses to criticism, lies, and slander. Otherwise we have little hope of fighting against a radical far-right agenda delivered softly with a smile. Otherwise, we have little hope of convincing people to evolve!

However, once we have allowed that Wilber has a right to defend himself bluntly and even caustically against criticism that trashes his work, did he cross a line? I have to think so. It's not the "suck my dick" comment or some of the other uses of profanity. To be offended at these words seems a little childish to me. However, when Wilber personally attacks one of his critics for having a manuscript that has not been accepted for publication and attacks the owner of the major Ken Wilber criticism (not always negative) Web site (Integral World), Frank Visser, for being an unpleasant person to be around and for only criticizing Wilber because he feels "left out" is both nasty and assumptive. If you are defending your work, you defend your work as caustically as you like, but personal attacks seem beneath someone like Wilber. Even as a metaphor, "pissing in the eye sockets" of decapitated critics, does not seem a decent response. Furthermore, no apology was coming for those statements. If Wilber is not fudging a bit in saying the whole thing was a planned test, it actually makes it even worse. In this case, Wilber sat around and played with personal attacks and still decided to go ahead with it. You can still make a caustic, emphatic, and even profanity-laced attack without getting personal.

I do not think that Wilber has become a cult leader, and I certainly don't think that he is any less of a important thinker (as "Integral Spirituality" proves), but it is alarming to see Wilber write some of what he did. It is alarming because it seems to indicate that Wilber (as some gurus have done) has allowed any action he makes to be without fault under the defense that he is at such a high level of consciousness that only a few people can truly understand his methods. I've seen this side of Wilber before. His novel "Boomeritis" was SUPPOSED to be a poorly-written book once it got reviewed as such. Often in "One Taste," the year-long journal Wilber published, he seems to feel that anything he does gets a free pass as long as he admits he is doing it. If he name drops, its alright because Wilber will write something like, "Now that I'm being a big time name-dropper let me tell you who else came by to see my this weekend." Or allowing for certain (rather harmless) behavior by saying, "an integral person will do this." OK, but that's not a defense in itself. WHY is it okay for an integral person to do this, considering some people will wonder. Now Wilber writes that most of the criticism against him is being leveled out of resentment. What's his proof for that? Such a statement sounds far more like a man who is convinced of his own superiority.

Perhaps even this essay is falling into a trap though. What matters most is Wilber's ideas. Despite what he might yell at certain people, we are all free to dissect them the way we choose. The only people who might be seriously seriously bothered by this kind of rhetoric are those who are convinced that Wilber must be perfect and this shatters their illusion. Well, as he's always said, he's a pandit not a guru. And while Wilber and his Integral Institute might be becoming more codified and less tolerant of criticism, the ideas are what matter most. What will be too bad, however, is if Wilber continues in this line of thinking for it will set up a wall between
those who accept whatever Wilber says unconditionally and those who do not as those who are developed enough and those who are "not there yet." If Integral Philosophy is to be a true movement and not a new codified religion, criticism--no matter how lame--needs to be better addressed and integrated into the movement. As the Buddha himself once said, and I paraphrase, "Don't just accept what I say is true, investigate it for yourself."

2006-07-18T00:22:00.000-07:00

Traveling--I took a little road trip to southern Arizona the other day, through the 114 degree desert. My experience in Tombstone was rather puzzling for me. For here was Tombstone as it looked in the days of Wyatt Earp. You can stroll down the raised wooden sidewalks and past buildings that have only been refurbished since those days of the Wild West. Although there is a more modern part of town where Tombstone residents mostly live, the heart of the town--dirt streets and all--has been preserved.
Yet, I was troubled. For, almost every business in the heart of Tombstone was geared towards tourists. From the trinket shops to the jewelry stores to the many stores that name themselves after the famous O.K. Corral such as "The Jewelry Corral," or "The Gift Corral." Never mind that the gunfight that is recreated everyday at the O.K. Corral did not actually take place in the O.K. Corral. The graveyard where many of the 19th Century dead rest contains some wooden tombstones with modern inscriptions designed to be crazy examples of dry 19th-century wit. Gangs of actors dressed up in 19th-century gear walk the streets in preparation for gathering tourists together for paid gunfights.

In other words, Tombstone survives as a tourist spot. Yeah, the town is the "real thing," but the way it is presented is not so different from Frontierland in Disney Land. I'm also mildly disturbed by the gunfights. In ninety years are we going to be visiting a touristy version of Compton where actors portraying gang bangers shoot each other to the delight of 22nd Century tourists? The fact that people were going around shooting people in duels or in fights is not a great legacy. It's what people want to see but it becomes a spectacle, not a recreation of the dark and chaotic times that produced those duels. People leave smiling, not disturbed or thankful that those days are gone (although one could argue if they really have gone).

Another troubling thought came to mind, though, and that is could Tombstone have survived without being essentially a theme park? The answer is probably not. True, they could have tried to make it less tacky--a more upscale gallery town, perhaps--but with outany major industry, government center, or college, it seems like it would be hard to create a healthier community. That would take a lot of effort. Who wants to move to Tombstone to start a business or a family today? We also live in a time where most people in this country travel to see spectacles and relax in a similar cultural environment to home but by the ocean or in the mountains, let's say. Tombstone fits the bill. It's a theme park. Because I feel traveling is about experiencing the cultural life of a different place, exploring an environment, and appreciating the architecture of other times, I can't imagine returning.

It annoys me that there often seems to be a choice made between "preservation" and "theme park making" on the one hand and destruction to make way for modernity on the other. The choice is not helped by this age of the corporate chain. If Tombstone were less "touristy" some of those local trinket shops would be Barnes and Nobles and CVS. So I guess the Tombstone I would like to see--a thriving community built around keeping its historical architecture in tack but also attracting a variety of local stores built for both locals and tourists--may be impossible today. Far less tourists would come to that more laid-back Tombstone than the theme park that exists today. On the other hand, there is Bisbee, Arizona, but I'll save that for my next post.

2006-07-11T22:21:00.000-07:00

I'm listening to Ray Manzarek's new album on Napster right now. It's the soundtrack to the film "Love Her Madly." You might know Manzarek's name as he was the keyboardist for the Doors. I wanted to mention the record because it is one of the few albums I've heard by '60s artists that maintains a high level of artistic integrity, staying close to the reasons why the artist was good in the first place while adding modern ideas to their palette. Here, Manzarek creates a dark psychedelic landscape, punctuated by organs and electronic elements that never threaten to over-dominate the music and work atmosphericly as opposed to being there just to "update" the music. Not every track worked for me. But, I was wowed by the compositions--almost all instrumental--and at how potent they are. One of the major problems about rock artists past the age of 40 even is that their music becomes increasingly staid, as if all they can talk about is how serene life is. And I'm glad it is for them. But it doesn't often make for good music. Manzarek's new record packs a wallop of a punch and man if it isn't 5 times as good as Pink Floyd guitarist Dave Gilmour's recent record, "On an Island," which will get far more press attention.

LINKS:

Cool story about a town in Indiana that is aiming for powering itself all on renewable energy. Heartwarming on a day when Tony Blair announces the future of energy in the U.K. is nuclear.

Another good environmental story on religious leaders finally taking some initiative on global warming.

This sums up my opinion on rejections of wind farms precisely. Far from being eye sores, I think wind farms look pretty cool and I'm damn happy seeing them as I know they're helping save us from nasty co2 emissions. So they ruin your view. Tough. All that smog isn't natural either.

Floyd's Syd Barrett passed away today. Here's him with Floyd in 1968 in the promo for "Jugband Blues."

2006-07-11T21:56:00.000-07:00

In the excellent collection of early Buddhist Suttas, "The Long Discourses of the Buddha," the Buddha makes some cutting statements in the sutta, "What the Teaching Is Not." As I mentioned in my last post, the Buddha appears adamant that one accept praise and criticism with honesty. All too easily, we gush at praise as it confirms that we are on the right track or we snap at criticism. All this is rather irrelevant though and prevents us from honestly progressing as human beings. It's my opinion that we actually know the truth about ourselves but we are often afraid to really look at it. The Buddha's diamond hard teaching calls us to accept what is true and what is not true and address it. Not that we should beat ourselves up over faults or deny praise, but if we are to see things as they are, we need are awareness to be as crystal as possible.

I still debate about other aspects of the Buddha's teachings. In the very next section of this Sutta the Buddha notes that he has not attention to entertainment of any form, comfort, pleasure, power, romance, and questions of doctrine. In essence, the Buddha calls upon his followers to lead monastic lives, although it should be pointed out that these temptations and desires do not disappear in the monastic life. Many modern American Buddhists have rejected the monastic life as essential for enlightenment and have said that enlightenment can arise in situations where desires are more plentiful. The question is--no matter where one is--to avoid attachment. I do agree. However, if I were to renounce my possessions save all that was necessary and work on my desires, I know I would face a difficult path but one that was focused on achieving a true understanding of life and not one that included upon the attainment and maintenance of things, friends, and experiences. I would want to avoid a somewhat sugar-coating of what the Buddha is actually saying. Nonetheless, has my experiences with friends, loved ones, art, music, literature, poetry, travel helped me to gain a perspective on the world, including a spiritual outlook? Without a doubt, yes. And these experiences and entertainments have led me to a passionate outlook on life. Am I too obsessed with some things, too concerned with "ownership" instead of enjoyment (i.e. buying and not renting/borrowing), too overly concerned with chasing those things that bring me pleasure and not enough time on meditation? Yeah, that too.

The question remains though, if the lotus of dharma awareness can be awakened through numerous teachings of experience, meditation, teachings, art, and music one small petal at a time--can one find oneself in a similar place in awareness as had one been furiously only devoted to the path all that time? It probably depends on the person and I don't know the answer. Probably not. However, I do know that life is incredibly rich, and the world of experiences opens doors all the time if one is aware. And the more one is aware the more doors open.

2006-07-04T23:32:00.000-07:00

It's July 4th and I'm thinking about America: this huge crazy, sometimes out of control country. As much as I find many things to complain about it from our current administration to a middle-American society that doesn't seem to approach any issue as long as they can guzzle whatever it is they choose. Nonetheless, there are many positive attributes to American society and to our history. Although I am often complaining more than praising today's American politics and society, I don't want to get to the point where that anger or discomfort means we have nothing left to celebrate. Georgia10's post "Freedom" on Daily Kos goes there today. In the article she writes that "Freedom" in America now is "meaningless," nothing more than a catch-phrase used by the radical right to bomb other countries, take our civil liberties away, "muzzling" our press and "bankrupt"ing "our grandchildren."

She notes:

My fellow Americans. They who congregate at parks and houses, who feast today on BBQ ribs and beer. Who love this country and think it's the greatest and it will live forever, but who think nothing of their phones being tapped, or their emails being scanned. Who think nothing of the disturbing similarity between Bush's "signing statements" and royal edicts, who think nothing of a war that wasn't supposed to be a war. Who drink, and eat, and watch the fireworks. They thow back their heads and laugh, celebrating an America that doesn't exist, looking up at fireworks, at the American sky that's bawling.

So sure, celebrate Freedom--she looks so pretty today in red, white, and blue, dolled up for the occasion like a corpse at a wake.

Tomorrow, when the rocket's red glare simmers back down into that seething anger at what our nation has become, when the afterglow fades away and that dark reality sets upon us again, it's back to the status quo. Back to "Freedom," Republican-style.

Happy fucking Fourth of July.

I'm often defensive of Daily Kos against those who call it the radical Left wing of the Democratic Party. I think using swears might not be to everyone's taste, but geez the anger against bloggers for standing up and fighting against the truly horrific actions this administration has done is bizarre. Lying to get us into war with Iraq that has killed tens of thousands, well, the opponents of angry bloggers say, let's write polite disagreements. I also agree with this writer that what is being done in the name of "Freedom" has been appalling. But that does not mean those who celebrate America on July 4th, those who continue to take pride in this country are some sort of naive nitwits who can't see they live in a fascist state. Anger is more than appropriate. But anger shouldn't cloud what is accurate. Despite the heinous misuse of the word "freedom" and despite the evils of this administration, this nation remains one of the most free and prosperous in the world. We need to change course radically and we need to wake people up to the lies and out-of-touch nature of this administration. I think we need to be honest about our history--recent and not-so-recent that is not always pretty. But we do not need to cover everything with dirt and bury our flag in shame. Things have indeed gotten bad but we are not, however, a fascist or right-wing Christian nation. Not yet. Hopefully, never.

I was thinking about this while watching the fireworks because there was a lot of fratties and sorority girls around drunkenly massacring patriotic songs. This type of behavior often passes for patriotism. It made me pretty sick. Those who want to better America are treated as traitors. Those who slavishly praise it, even unintentially mock it through their drunken parties, are the "real Americans." Nonetheless, I don't want to get to the place where that is all I see. Then I become another person who only sees the good or the bad. The Buddha said when someone praises or criticizes the Dhamma and the Sangha do not become elated or angry, think of what they have said, and remark "that is true" for what is true and "that is not true" for what is not true.

LINKS:

Now that I've criticized a writer at Daily Kos. How about I praise one? Kos had this so-sad-its-funny post about Sen. Ted Stevens (R-AK)--who is a leader in the debate about keeping the internet open or not. Keep in mind he is Chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee, which amongst other things, helps pass legislation regulating or deregulating the Internet. Therefore, its rather shocking that everything he writes about the Internet is not onlywrong but in outer space. I will give him this, though, the Internet is truly "not a truck."

I'm glad that apparently some U.S. generals are balking at a plan to attack Iran. I've not so glad the plan is apparently on the table. Really good interview with journalist Seymour Hersh.

Well, enough politics: Here's Donovan lip-sinking to his "Hurdy Gurdy Man" in 1968.

2006-06-06T23:40:00.000-07:00

What the Bleep Do We Know--Down the Rabbit Hole

As my friend Michael put it this is less a sequel or a director's cut, as it is advertised, and more a remix of the original film that I rather disliked (see earlier post). For this new version the directors seemed to be receptive to the criticism leveled at their original film; that the facts presented were unproven or had major caveats to them and that many of the ideas seemed muddled. Their decision to cut many of the rather boring and often cheesy plot sequences in favor of new and archival interview sequences was a good one. The ideas presented on quantum physics are now more clear and discussed in greater depth. Furthermore, some of the more dubious facts were removed or clarified, putting them in a more proper context.

So far so good. After sitting through half the film I still felt some of the "facts" needed still better clarification but I was generally interested and felt I was learning something about a particular view of quantum physics. However, the second half continued to be dominated by Ramtha, the guru of the filmmakers, which gave me even greater pause than the first time around. If the filmmakers were sensitive about the criticisms of the film the first time out and worked to change them, they remained steadfast in keeping Ramtha in. This, of course, means they either felt that despite criticisms of her major role as a commentator in the film she belonged as an important part of the film or felt hand tied by the fact that she is their guru to remove her.

With a better first half, the second half of the film--which deals in the possibilities of self-actualization tangentially related to the possibilities of quantum physics--seems even worse and more out of place than the first version of the film. It seems more a deceptive advertisement for Ramtha brand therapy especially when one considers the possible experts that could be on the screen in her place. The ideas explored seem rather odd too. One reading would be that all negativity is something we need to be freed from so that we can become simple sprite-like beings as portrayed in the narrative. That doesn't seem like true conquering of negativity nor does it place value on what the negativity may be pointing out in perhaps unhealthy ways but that are nonetheless important.

Links:
*I'm going to cut back on the number of links per entry as I realized that, now back at home for a bit, I was neglecting my blog partly because I didn't want to spend the 30-45 minutes collecting and writing about the links I found. I'll still collect just as many links but I'll be spreading them out more. As I don't think any one (all three of you) reading this blog is doing so for "news of the day" we all should still sleep well at night.

David Sirota weighs in on the fantastic victory John Tester received tonight for the Democratic Party nomination for Senator of Montana and how it may affect the kind of successful Democratic politicians of the future. (via Daily Kos)

Keith Olberman on Bill O'Reilly's offensive retelling of history in which the victims of a 1944 massacre in World War II were not the Americans--as is what happened--but were Germans at the hands of the Americans. O'Reilly does this in order to paint the recent crimes in Iraq at the hands of U.S. Marines as not all that important in the broader context. I've never seen Olberman so upset.

Nancy Giles on the recent bizarre decision to cut homeland security funding in New York and Washington D.C. by massive amounts.

The Byrds play "Mr. Tambourine Man" on television (on one of those wacky barren late '50s-early '60s sets with random images: here, giant birdhouses). They look far more raw than they would later playing the same song--dubbed--on the Ed Sullivan Show.

2006-05-11T00:03:00.000-07:00

(NOTE: I'm hitting the road on and off for the next three weeks so this may be last entry for some time. Nonetheless, I may find time to get out a post or two, probably without any links)

I watched "What the Bleep Do We Know?" the other night. So much to say about that movie and the informative Wikipedia link above is a really good even-handed, in my opinion, summary of the film and its claims.

In a nutshell, the documentary film establishes itself as a look inside the daring world of quantum physics, then applies that to biology, psychology, and spirituality. Interviews with "leaders" in these fields are intercut with the story of a woman, riddled with anxiety, who eventually learns to be in harmony with herself.

As an experience I found the interviews fascinating and the story of the woman less so as she interacts with very one-dimensional people in her wanderings around Portland. The worst parts of the film are the horribly annoying "cell people," animations of cells that are constantly wacky and, for me, undermine the seriousness of the movie's claims.

But the movie undermines itself in other ways. It presents several "facts" that just are not true or are unproven, presents the findings of respected quantum physicists next to more fringe characters as if they all agree on the same things and further more integrates all of this with interviews with scary guru Ramtha, the 35,000 year old warrior who is channeled through the body of a middle-aged woman. She is also the guru of the films' makers. None of these experts is named until the end of the film, making it seem that Ramtha has as much of a right to be there as these physicists.
What should be a fascinating film about consciousness and quantum physics ends up feeling like a recruitment video for a certain kind of therapy.

It's not that I don't appreciate the film's final message, that we are more in control of our "universe" than we think due to neurology, quantum understandings, and biology. Through meditation and changing perceptions, we really do change more than we think we can. I agree. I also understand the need to present this information in a way that is accessible to the average movie goer. However, it comes off as a bit superficial. All these amazing developments in these fields, and the film sums it up by saying, "don't worry be happy." Hey good advice, but there are far more radical ideas at work here, ideas that really challenge us to build deeper and more meaningful lives for ourselves and our world than just ridding ourselves of our addictions to feelings. At the beginning of the film we are introduced to amazing discoveries in physics but the conclusion seems to say, this means we can all reset oursevles on tranquil mode. I felt I was watching two different movies.

I also don't like being duped into thinking I'm getting these amazing insights--all these experts agree on these phenomena--when some of them are false, one bizarre guru is treated as an "expert," and no challenges are made to any of it. It comes across as a documentary when what it is is a promotional film. That's not to dismiss some of the amazing ideas discussed in it, I still learned a great deal, but I suffered through a lot of chicanery to get to it.

LINKS:
(This oughta hold you for a while...)

The NSA has been secretly gathering data on "tens of millions of Americans."(via McJoan at Daily Kos) As McJoan says, obviously us liberals just continue to be paranoid...but of course nothing unconstitutional could be going on, which is why the NSA refuses to give Justice Department lawyers clearance to investigate the matter.

Constitutional Law scholar Jonathan Turley discusses just how unconstitutional all this is and how bizarre the nomination of the domestic spying tzar Gen. Hayden as head of the CIA is. A Must see interview with Olberman. "I've never seen a president so uncomfortable in his constitutional skin."

Also neo Marxist at Kos posted this interesting article on the possibility of the U.S. beginning to drill in Florida coastal waters despite a ban on off-shore drilling in order to combat Cuba, China, and India drilling in the area.

Excellent Jon Stewart report not only on the former CIA man who questioned Rumsfeld after a speech but on the awful media coverage that followed.

Another Stewart winner. You gotta wait till the end for the clincher.

Al Gore to narrate a documentary on climate change, "Deadwood."

I liked this smattering of wisdom on zen and the game of Go."

I'm glad to read the Pteranadons of Texas are still hot news to some. (via The Anomalist)

Via Cynical-C, this is way bizarre.

Ladies and Gentleman, the Circular Kitchen Doesn't this remind you of a space-age design from a 1950s catalogue? (via Cynical-C) Hmmm...well maybe it will catch on like that "microwave oven" and that "television set."

Bizarre battle over whether Stephen Merritt (of Magnetic Fields) is a racist. My biggest shock, there's actually a three-way debate about Stephen Merritt going on? (via Advanced Theory)

Beatles: "Nowhere Man" Live in Japan (1966)

2006-05-09T00:46:00.000-07:00

Just some links today, I don't feel like writing.

LINKS:

Ken Wilber's revamped personal website is looking pretty groovy. For all us Wilber fans out there, yeah, it still has the massive ego photo section but at least this time the Wilber photos aren't flying at us through space.

This hack of Google Maps that shows what will be underwater if/when the seas rise due to global warming can be frustrating to use but its disturbingly fascinating. (via Boing Boing)

The Guardian is reporting on this idea as if its new, but I could have sworn I've heard this universe is far older than the Big Bang before. Like one trillion years older. Nonetheless, it's a pretty mind-numbing theory. (via The Anomalist)

Great live video of the Beach Boys in the UK in 1964 including one of my Beach Boy favorites, "When I Grow Up to Be a Man."

2006-05-08T01:30:00.000-07:00

Paul Butterfield's Blues Band is responsible for one of the most insanely psychedelic pieces of music I've heard. The fact that its from 1966, before most psychedelia even took off the ground is astounding. The track, "East-West" is the last cut on the album of the same name but there's very little before it that gives any indication that the band is about to hit the stratosphere. "Work Song" gets kinda out there but that seems like a one off. Even the beginning of "East-West" gives little hint of what's to come. The guitar work sounds a little more free, exploring different tonalities like states of mind but it stays somewhat in the blues universe. When the harmonica kicks in about 1:30 into the piece, there's a convergence there that starts something more cosmic (or kosmic), those long held sustained tones on the mouth organ and intense work on the instrument brings the rest of the band with it to the brink of . . . and then the guitar kicks in to some Eastern chaotic solo sounding a bit like Dick Dale slowed down and spaced out with enough space between the notes to allow for thoughts to get out of town. It builds though, no stopping points, into new frames of thought, hitting plateaus and then ascending past them. Fuzzed out sustained tones from another guitar form intense counterpoints to the free solos on-top. Rock Raga as the instruments seem to grow louder and send each other on to their own trips. Then the harmonics returns, see-sawing while the guitar approaches the center of it all, and all tones raise up to ... quiet space and the tempo relaxes for the last six minutes of the song. Cosmically inflected and holding secrets in the lightness of the notes but the ascension has stopped only to be heard between the notes and in certain phrases that arise and a sense of intensity that almost seems to be building but ends up quieting down, finding the blues walking styles and then once more reaching again for the sounds of the spheres before leaving us there, hanging.

LINKS

I did not get to play much of this mind bending video game during the school year. I fear I will spend many a free hour trying to figure out these puzzles. Dare to get sucked in? It's Here. Love the spooky photography too. Reminds me a bit of The Maze stylistically.

Via Cynical-C, a scan of the first Superman comic. I didn't think I would get involved, but it was pretty cool.

He also linked to this fascinating Web page on the history of children supposedly raised by animals.

For those of you in L.A. Yahoo Picks linked to this blog of one man's search to find the best L.A. taco.

Yeah, I have an immortality complex. I get goosebumps when Aubrey de Grey mentions the first person to live to 1,000 is alive today. Damn Interesting has a piece on the theory of caloric reduction to live an extra 10-20% longer, a path I'd be hard pressed to follow. I just love food too much and it's not even a guarantee. Still, it's interesting. They also apparently had this fascinating article on de Grey a while back and this interview with de Grey and Kevin Perrott.

Ah..."Bilbo Baggins," by Leonard Nimoy. Groundbreaking video. Groundbreaking man. Renaissance Man. I wonder why the song was not used when Bilbo makes his first appearance in Peter Jackson's "Lord of the Rings." I also wonder what the hell inspired this song and who was its audience? After watching the video more than a couple times, I admit I am as clueless as ever.

2006-05-06T05:25:00.000-07:00

Posting at dawn today. Another sleepless night. Oh, well. An opportunity to watch the dawn. I was speaking earlier about living in "real" time as well as constructed time and I have to say that performing salat before sunrise as the sky is lighting up is a pretty amazing experience. The birds chirping the background. One aspect of Islamic prayer that I truly revel in is the fact that the day is divided at moments dictated by the sun into prayer times that turn one's heart inward. The Qur'an actually does not dictate what each prayer has to include, so arguably (and conservative Muslims would disagree) it can serve as a guidepost to meditating or giving thanks, whatever your cosmic bag is. Although I tend to lag behind in this practice, I find it enormously useful to have certain times when practice is called for. Otherwise I just keep bouncing from project to project--yeah I'll meditate later--oh, maybe after I listen to this CD--oh, now I'm hungry...

In "101 Diamonds" Sheikh Nur and Sheikha Fariha of the Nur Ashki Jerrahi Tariqat translate in inspired English (so it's not a literal translation but a meditation) the following Hadith (a saying of the Prophet Muhammad). This Hadith is a transmission "from the Most High:"

"I am the One beyond equal, free from any reality other than My Reality. Therefore, those who pledge their devotion and worship to any other than Me are not with Me, and belong instead to that illusion which they choose over me."

LINKS:

George Lucas finally does good and will be releasing the original Star Wars series as they were before he messed with them on DVD.

I don't know if I would ever want these, but maybe I'll be the only one without floating books in a few years.

This video, from a French prank show I guess, just got funnier and funnier. (via Mirabilis)

Are we getting close to proving the existence of a Malaysian Bigfoot? Here's more.

One Good Move posted some excellent Jon Stewart clips lately. Here's a good one about the "crisis" over what language in which to sing the National Anthem. This was an excellent look at Bush's hypocrisy over gas policy. And this was too funny not to show, from 2005, when then recently appointed CIA head Porter Goss (and now recent departee amidst scandal) reacted to Bush' comments on catching Bin Laden in a very interesting manner.

2006-05-04T00:32:00.001-07:00

A couple of days ago I rewatched the 1931 James Whale version of Frankenstein. Some of it has dated as have a lot of early horror films but one technique I enjoy thoroughly that I don't see much in modern films is the truly silent space; letting an image completely speak for itself. I am almost completely convinced that this was not a wholly stylistic move but one dictated by the limitations of sound technology of the day. My friend Gabriel and I agreed one day that music can change the mood of a scene completely. Yeah, and now I realize how powerful it is when you take the sound away, you feel the hold of a another psychological reality, more so when it is only done for a few seconds.

A well-done aspect of the movie is to make Frankenstein's monster sympathetic while also showing him as a brute force that, if he was to live, would continue to kill. That all the male characters (well maybe not Dr. Frankenstein's best friend who is trying to steal Frankenstein's fiancee with bad acting) are severely flawed, yet heroic at the same time. I say all the male characters because the female lead spends the whole move trying to figure out why her fiancee has gone insane. That she sticks with him even after she is assaulted by the menacing creation on her wedding day is pretty heroic in and of itself.

An interesting tidbit I had forgotten is that Dr. Frankenstein's hunchback assistant is not called Igor but Fritz. Ygor only shows up, apparently, in "Son of Frankenstein." (1939)

A bit more from yesterday's anti anti-faith rant:

This is from Randall Styers' Making Magic(2004). It just reiterates some of what I was saying yesterday:

Max Weber has shown, a disenchanted world is more effectively subject to exploitation by capitalism and rationalized modern science. For good or ill, religious institutions remain one of the few social forces capable of challenging the unbridled power of the nation-state and the alienation and commodification of capitalist economic structures. As the sacred evaporates into a dematerialized fog, all objects, locations, and identities are rendered equally subject to the regimentation of the market.

And one more thing...in an interview with Shambhala Sun, Harris ridicules the irrational faith of a Buddhist who believes his or her roshi was actually born in a lotus. Fine. Who has that harmed? Our president on the other hand believed or wanted to believe there were weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. Who has that action harmed? Oh, about tens of thousands of dead Iraqis and a couple thousand Americans, that's all.

LINKS:
With gas in Phoenix now $3.10 a gallon down the street from me, here's a link to finding the cheapest gas in your area.

I love re-cut trailers. This version of Sleepless in Seattle is one of the best I've seen in a while.

Speaking of Washington state, this article from the Longview Daily News up there has a cool summary of Bigfoot history.

A few days ago I posted a link to the new, more progressive drug laws in Mexico. Well, it's good to see that the U.S. doesn't stop these days to be backward thinking about our own politics we make sure other countries remain backwards too. And they listen.

Here's the video for the "rock" version of Andrew Lloyd Weber's "Phantom of the Opera." You can totally see why they wanted Freddie Mercury to do the film version. It looks and sounds almost right out of a Queen video. Good cheezy fun. Some cool images.

2006-05-03T02:10:00.000-07:00

For some reason Sam Harris' The End of Faithhas been picked up lately by a few sites for discussion even though it's a year or two old. I have not read the book, only glanced through summeries and reader comments but I think I get the gist. Faith is the most dangerous belief soceities have, Harris argues. The unwavering belief in a particular God, scripture, and ethical system endangers the planet as believers will soon have, if they do not have already, weapons of mass destruction with which to attack those who do not share their beliefs. Their lack of fear of death will lead to the death of thousands more. It is time, Harris argues, that we lose our superstitious beliefs and approach life and death rationally to progress towards a peaceful and scientifically sounds and progressing secular world where--perhaps mystical experiences will be given some weight--but we will understand them with a scientific mind and perhaps a modicum of mystery.

That's that then. It's a rather stale old argument and in watching the supposedly religiously-fueled violence around the world it's rather interesting that it is always the fundamentalist "crazy" state that is to blame and not the colonialist powers whose rational and exploitive needs who could be the culprit. Nor could it be the fact that we export valueless drivel across the oceans in pop culture, bad food, and sexploitation. I'm not arguing at all for a negative view of the West or Western culture but when someone makes these kinds of pro-secular arguments that reduces all religion to fundamentalist driven rage or "idiotic" non-rational beliefs, it does not give due course to the horrific things "rationa" thought has given us. Rational thought is not neccessarilly kind, wholesome, and genuine either.

Nonetheless, this kind of argument gets lavish praise in all the trendy magazines and newspapers that do not tend to review any interesting mystical or religious texts. The only available argument is religion=bad, science=good, whatever insights religion has, they will be confirmed in better terms by science. It looks at people who have faith as rather misled teenagers while the adults are all the secularists. Geez, the New York Times critic noted it "articulates the dangers and absurdities of organized religion so fiercely and so fearlessly that I felt relieved as I read it, vindicated." Yawn.

It's not that I don't agree with Harris' disappointment in religious movements: the largest Christian and Muslim ones as of late seem to be enganged in entrenchment and protection of centuries-old "values" without any conception of the damage these interpretations of scripture do to individuals and the environment. But to argue that rational secularists are not believers in a type of ideology is rather lame.

Without writing a massive paper, I'd just like to say this. I personally do not ascribe to a faith that is opposed to science. I question frequently. I do not buy many dogmas except as metaphor. I know there are people who do buy them and I respect them as long as they do not force other people to accept those dogmas or use them to promote intolerance. So, at some level I'd agree with Harris that those people--and there are many--who would use violence to protect dogma are dangerous. I would also agree that such naivite as refusing to teach evolution in school is ridiculous.

That said, faith and even dogmas seem to point to something. Maybe its not what the religions say but they point to something greater than us. And unless science teaches a new way for us to reverence that something and fall into a quiet place in our soul we will need faith. As I said before, science can fill one with awe but not necessarily values or ways of experientially searching for truth. I wish religion, in general, was more experiential in nature, but even those that are not tend to offer values and metaphors that are radical in nature. That they also offer outmoded ways of thinking that can be dangerous is true too. But there are more constructive and intelligent ways of tackling that then calling for an "end of faith." As the athiest philosopher Jurgen Habermas noted, religion seems to be the only force capable of fighting against the utter materialism of modern culture and self-serving and destructive corporate (and usually secular) interests.

LINKS
I'm not the only one in a fighting mood these days:

Unitarian Universalist minister Dan Harper has a rousing sermon on progressive religion at his blog.

Even more impressive was Middle East expert Juan Cole's straw-that-broke-the-camel's back epic and angry post about an unscrupulous reporter slamming him after breaking into Cole's private email discussions, which leads to a mighty call to resist war against Iran. I don't agree with everything he says but I do agree with his fighting spirit and his general points. (graphic war photos at link)

Although I know secularism has its roots in certain Christian ideas, I just can't help but note that the increasing danger to the polar bears and hipposwould obviously be mitigated if we just let such healthy secularists as oil executives and big business take the lead.

Yup those nice execs at Winston cigarettes are lookin' out for us. And look so are Hanna-Barbara too! Yabba-Dabba-(cough)

On a lighter note...er...sort of...miribilis links to a fascinating New York Times article on chef Heston Blumenthal's quest to recreate medieval recipies. Well, some of them. Read this:

"I had came across a manuscript of Le Viander de Taillevent. He was the chef to the Palais Royal in Paris. I think it was the 14th century.. . .And in there was this wonderful — wonderful? fascinating as opposed to wonderful; it's not the right word — recipe for how to roast a chicken. You take the chicken, and you pluck the chicken while it's still alive, and you baste the skin with a mixture of soya, wheat germ and dripping, I think it was. And apparently this makes it look like the skin's been roasted. You then put the head of this live chicken under its tummy and rock it to sleep. Then you get two other chickens and you roast them. And you bring these three chickens out on a tray to the table. You start carving one of the roasted chickens. And. . .the one that is still alive but sleeping goes sort of 'Wha!' — head pops up — and it runs off down the table."

. . .

"And that's Part 1. Then you take this poor chicken, and you kill it, and you stuff its neck with a mixture of quicksilver, which is mercury, and sulfur, and then stitch it up. And apparently — obviously I haven't tried this at home, or at work — the expanding air in the neck cavity as you roast causes the mercury and the sulfur to react and somehow creates a clucking noise."

. . .

"And then you bring this clucking chicken back to the table. So you've taken a live chicken and made it appear dead, and then you've brought it back to life again."

Let's end on a light note. I don't like the editing on this, but any chance to see Kerouac read is worth it. I'm going to start giving the link to these clips as well so you can watch the film in a smaller size to get better quality/speed if you so wish: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kQZ9Lv5pwwk

2006-04-30T00:31:00.000-07:00

I love ancient poets who refer to themselves in the third person. Usually this involves some praise of simple pleasure. Take Alkman for example who wrote in the middle of the Seventh Century B.C.E.

Get him that enormous cauldron on the tripod
so he can bloat his stomach with every food.
It is cool but soon will boil with good soup
which gobbler Alkman likes sparkling hot,
especially in the cold season of the solstice.
The glutton Alkman abstains from fancy dishes
but like the demos eats a plain massive meal.

I might try writing that way a bit. Might help the practice of focusing on the simple things and not crazy dreams of circumnambulating the world or finding pokemon. "Gotta Catch 'em All."

LINKS:

Crooks and Liars is displaying part of Colbert's performance at the White House Correspondent's Dinner and sarcastically nailed almost every major issue. Crooks and Liars notes, "As he walked from the podium the president and First Lady gave Colbert quick nods, unsmiling, and left. E&P's Joe Strupp, in the crowd, observed that quite a few felt the material was, perhaps, uncomfortably biting." Yeah, and President Bush's video in which he "searched" for Weapons of Mass Destruction under the White House furniture was all in good humor.

Onegoodmove has some of the rest.

Some good news is air quality is actually improving slightly.

Turns out that whole Bosnian Pyramid story was hype. I was kinda suspicious but when I saw BBC reporting on it, I thought oh, ok. Guess everyone has been duped.

2006-04-29T00:12:00.000-07:00

From the Rig Veda Burial Hymn:

Listen to parts of this evocative burial hymn from the Veda:

Those who are alive have now parted from those who are dead. Our inviation to the gods has become auspicious today. We have gone forward to dance and laugh, strethicn farther our own lengthening span of life.

I set up this wall for the living, so that no one llse among them will reach this point. Let them live a hundred full autumns and bury death in this hill.

I take the bow from the hand of the dead man to be our supremacy and glory and power, and I say, ‘You are there; we are here. Let us as great heroes conquer all envious attacks.

I am struck, first of all, by the vigor in which the composer(s) both set themselves apart from death and the dead one (while praying for his safety and health in the afterlife) as well as glorify the living. There is the same sense that we today feel at funerals, “not for us,” we are here and continue “to dance and laugh,” we hope. Although one does hear of greater attempts in our society not to have funerals simply being a an affair of sorrow, it is difficult for us to remove ourselves from the cloud of death. I know it is for me. But death can serve to remind us of the joy of being alive; to be thankful for that experience even if the most wise sages beckon us not to be attached to it. If we knew we only had one day left to live—and let’s say we knew in our hearts we would continue afterwards—I think of how rich every experience would seem, and all the intensity of the senses. Ken Wilber speaks of the pre/trans fallacy that obtaining enlightenment is not simply returning to the joy of childhood but is richer and built on deeper experiences and not dominated by the massive ego of childhood. Nonetheless, a part of truly appreciating being alive is to experience the freshness of everything without judgement. Not to remove it—for how would we fix society’s ills—but I can remember growing up in Boston and how these little light blue lights that guided our way around Harvard University at dusk seemed so luminously brilliant to me. That color and its small size felt so otherworldly and transcendent to me then whereas now I might simply note it. However, when I quiet my mind of all the overload of various information and issues I find its still there. The vivid freshness of experiences never dulls it only recedes to the background as logical, "to do" information dominates and the experience is no longer new. And so we go “forward to dance and laugh” regardless of whatever life throws our way for “we are here.” Whatever one's views of the afterlife are, death is a real loud bell to "be here."

LINKS:

Mexico is posed to legalize light possession of some illegal drugs. We are dropping miles and miles behind this issue. That alcholism, for example, is far more damaging to communities and families than pot smoking is just one little start to the hypocritical nature of American drug laws.

Bill Kristol is given a tougher interview by Colbert than in the real media.

$4 billion in Iraq war money is just gone and "untrackable"

John Lydon records an introduction to punk fashion for a new exhibtion at the Met. As ridiculous as he can be, you've gotta give him this, unlike most rockers he does actually say things of interest.

Potentially excellent new blog tracking developments with philosopher Ken Wilber. It's off to a good start as it criticizes the increasingly insulated atmosphere of the integral world.

This is the best site I can find for photos of the bizzare world of deep sea fish. I'm really really constantly amazed at these creatures. I just wish there was more on them on the Web.

Interesting blog by a Lutheran minister.

Great Dylan performance--1964:

2006-04-22T19:49:00.000-07:00

MADRID, NEW MEXICO

Madrid rolls in rather unexpectedly on the long mountain pass between Albuquerque and Santa Fe. There is miles and miles of empty rock desert with hardly any traffic and then suddenly you are in an artist's colony. Perhaps it was because my friends and I visited in the winter or perhaps because we ate in a large saloon with large stuffed animal heads and no other tourists in site but one thing I enjoyed immensely about the little town was that--unlike a lot of other artist's colonies today this one did not feel overly catered to the tourist, overly precious. It's business was obviously selling art but the galleries were in older, interesting buildings, the coffee shop had no heat in the seating area. The community had obviously made a conscious choice not to gentrify everything to the bougie tastes of the city folk out for a day in the country.

The drive itself, Route-14 is known as the Turquoise Trail and Rough Guide notes it "may be one of the oldest throroughfares in North America." Off from it we drove winding roads to the top of the Sandia Crest to watch the sunset over the spread of Albuquerque, which seems so quiet and still from so high up. The fact that it was so cold up there meant I could not hold my camera without shaking explains why most of my photos are simply a blur. A visual memory of extreme cold.

Links:

The skivvy on the new Bush proposal to fight oil price hikes. Some of it is decent, if way late. But it also includes rolling back environmental standards. Sick.

This blog on television in Japan could be promisingly funny. (via BoingBoing)

There's been a lot lately of value on Damn Interesting: One was this piece on NDE's. I didn't know that the experiences shifted in different cultures and religious traditions. Then there was this fascinating look at potential audio evidence of a sea creature larger than anything else out there. Be sure to check out the link at the bottom of that page to their article on the "Wow" signal.

Via Plep, cool photos of Nebulae.

Cynical-C had some real winners lately: Pagan Island looks like a serious and comprehensive look at post-colonial Polynesian religion and culture. Then there was this photo essay of this theme park in Egypt that puts ours to shame. Finally, Japanese Spiderman is truly filled with more pathos than the American version. And if you think I'm being serious about all these platitudes, you really gotta check these items out.

The Beach Boys sans Brian Wilson in 1971 on David Frost. Man, check out Mike Love's whiskers...

2006-04-22T01:45:00.000-07:00

The Rig Veda again (10.72): A very interesting hymn, which features a beautiful contradiction, in that it states "the quarters of the sky were born from her who crouched with legs spread," and later it states they were born "from the earth." Sometimes it feels as if in our popular society we examine such texts too far in our manner of thinking. We locate contradictions to come to the conclusion that they must have missed the contradiction proving the ancients were, well idiots. Either that or some complex power negotiation was going on. Less understood is the idea that two truths can be true or can be accessed at different times or are linked together through a process long forgotten. Another possibility is that the purpose is almost purely metaphorical so that what it is absolutely "true" is unimportant. I noted earlier about the Veda's insistence on the ultimate mystery at the heart of reality. Of course, I'm not trying to prove the validity of everything that is in the Rig Veda. Only that such seeming contradictions indicate to me a playfulness with metaphor and truth that we seem to have lost. When the moon rises, it is stunning to think of what is actually occurring. Yet, it is also true to say that the goddess is rising in her white majesty if that is a trope that works. For to say that more accurately reflects what is going on inside the person and how the beauty of the moon is shifting their heart.

Links:

The alternative to fossil fuels is...sugar?

Grist examines the new environmental proposals before congress.

I've been linking to these guys a lot. But this article on the psychology of prison life is Damn Interesting.

All musicians should have a free archive of downloadable live shows like at the official Bob Dylan site.

1916 cartoon: Dreamy Dud Resolves Not to Smoke...peyote apparently. Although its slow at first, it was movin' a lot faster than Krazy Kat did.

You're the biggest rock and roll band on the planet at the height of your popularity. You are playing in front of thousands of apparently young female fans in Japan. How do you open your show? Smoke? Lighting rig magic? Media presentation? How about tuning up for about a minute? Ladies and Gentleman, the Beatles:

2006-04-21T01:50:00.000-07:00

There is quite a lot--subject wise--I have not written about yet on this blog. One is the world of art. This is the Madonna of the Franciscans (c. 1300) by Duccio, who I hope to post a bit more about in the future. One aspect of this work I want to point out is just how even how age--on one hand has "destroyed" the image, it has also enriched it. When art or architecture is perfectly restored something is lost in the process. Perhaps its easiest to just call it "time." Time is lost in the process of restoration. The image or the building still references another time but it no longer seems to reveal the distance of human time between then and now. Amazing changes happen as well. I love how the angels now seem to materialize out of the nothingness of the cosmos, their faces sometimes partially lost in that other dimension. There is so much that calls to me from this work. The deep blue of the Virgin's gown. The fact the Virgin actually seems filled with mystery unlike today's almost anime-style cutsise Virgin Marys. The great distance of the divine from the monks even though the divine reaches out to bless them. The divine may be splendorous, the image seems to say, but even monks are barely able to receive a blessing, so tiny and remote are they from divine majesty.

Links:

Hopefully, this report is correct about global warming. Hopefully, it also won't get people to forget about it.

Speaking of the environment, I agree with Kos, this is the most moronic move by an issue group this year.

But the Earth continues to yield such things as the Bosnian Pyramids.

And Bush's popularity continues to drop, even with his base...even according to Faux News.

Great Jon Stewart take on Rumsfeld and Iran.

I have yet to finish reading this Rolling Stone article by historian Sean Wilentz on Bush as the worst president ever, but I like what I've read.

The blog of an Episcopal priest who digs wandering around England.

Via plep, a Website devoted to Negro spirituals. I want to check out those mp3s.

This version of "Final Countdown" rocks! (thanks to Advanced Theory)

The Beach Boys' other uber-genius, Mike Love, is annoyed he doesn't get credit for writing "Kokomo." (from 1993)

But as my friend Mike and I agreed the other night, Mike Love as a Beach Boys is pretty fine. This is the promo video for "Good Vibrations." I didn't know such a thing existed. It's not at all what I thought it would be. Supposedly directed by Brian Wilson, it's kinda an amateur surreal take on the Beatles films. I can't say I like all of it but some of the images are pretty cool.

2006-04-19T02:03:00.000-07:00

Once again, my fingers are tracing the Rig Veda and once more I draw close to the mystery brought forth by the text. In Hymn 10.121, the commentary I have points out that while the text later directed the heart's attention to the god Prajapati, the original text allows only mystery to envelop the listener. If the commentary is correct and the questioning part of the text, the "who?" is rhetorical, then truly we are back at the center of the mystery again. No human thought can truly sing the "who" of majesty (or as the Sufis would say, the "HU" of majesty). Even from a more secular standpoint--who can pinpoint in thought the majesty and mystery of the universe even if we should be able to say just how large it is and how many stars it has in it. Any compartmentalization succeeds at only destroying the intense scope of it all so we can pretend we truly grasp it.

(BTW I'm not totally happy with this translation but I could cut and paste it, so voila)

1. IN the beginning rose the Golden Embryo, born Only Lord of all created beings.
He fixed and holdeth up this earth and heaven. What God shall we adore with our oblation?
2 Giver of vital breath, of power and vigour, he whose commandments all the Gods acknowledge -.
The Lord of death, whose shade is life immortal. What God shall we adore with our oblation?
3 Who by his grandeur hath become Sole Ruler of all the moving world that breathes and slumbers;
He who is Lord of men and Lord of cattle. What God shall we adore with our oblation?
4 His, through his might, are these snow-covered mountains, and men call sea and Rasa his possession:
His arms are these, his are these heavenly regions. What God shall we adore with our oblation?
5 By him the heavens are strong and earth is stedfast, by him light's realm and sky-vault are supported:
By him the regions in mid-air were measured. What God shall we adore with our oblation?
6 To him, supported by his help, two armies embattled look while trembling in their spirit,
When over them the risen Sun is shining. What God shall we adore with our oblation?
7 What time the mighty waters came, containing the universal germ, producing Agni,
Thence sprang the Gods' one spirit into being. What God shall we adore with our oblation?
8 He in his might surveyed the floods containing productive force and generating Worship.
He is the God of gods, and none beside him. What God shall we adore with our oblation?
9 Neer may he harm us who is earth's Begetter, nor he whose laws are sure, the heavens' Creator,
He who brought forth the great and lucid waters. What God shall we adore with our oblation?

Links:

Some monastery web sites are fairly dull. Abbaye Saint-Benoit's site is a cool little trip into that sanctuary.

Great part two in a Daily Show series looking at the evil power that is Denmark.

Via Daily Kos, a new study finds "corporate markups and profiteering are responsible for spring price spikes, not rising crude costs or the national switchover to higher-cost ethanol, as the oil industry claims." Regular unleaded is upping near $3.00 in Phoenix.

One of my favorite music blogs, Chromewaves posts a new Dean Wareham/Britta Phillips instrumental cut from the film "The Squid and the Whale." Ah, to be married to Britta Phillips and making music like this....

I'm actually not that big a fan of Joan Baez post-60's, but I do like the song "Diamonds and Rust," about a post-relationship call to her from her ex-partner Bob Dylan. I like this version even better:

2006-04-18T01:49:00.000-07:00

Semonides (late seventh century B.C.,) appears to have been a man of rather dour mood, but is words cut straight to the heart of the matter, even if the span of centuries between us means that what I infer from his words might not be what he intended.

From "The Darkness of Human Life":

A Thousand blackspirits waylay man with unending grief and suffering. If you listen to my counsel, you won't want the good things of life; nor batter your heart by torturing your skull with cold remorse.

From "Life and Death":

Later we will have a long time to lie dead yet the few years we have now we live badly.

And Finally from "Brevity of Life":

Poor fools! in islands of illusion, for men have but a day of youth and life. You few who understand, know when death is near the food you give your soul must be supreme.

Links:
Politics 1 interviews quixotic candidate for 2008 Democratic nomination, Mike Gravel (Scroll down a bit)

At least one-half of Woodward/Bernstein is still questioning the motives of the powers that be. An excellent Vanity Fair piece. (via Daily Kos)

From Cynical-C Blog, cool video of an octopus changing colors.

The height of cool: Sinatra and Presley duet in the late 1950s. Sadly, about twenty years later they would both be caricatures of this.

2006-04-14T23:40:00.000-07:00

Something stood out in the Rig Veda passage I quoted a couple days ago and it was this (this is from a different translation to add some variety):

The life force that was covered with emptiness, that one arose through the power of heat.
4. Desire came upon that one in the beginning; that was the first seed of mind.

It strikes me that desire is one aspect of the spiritual or religious life that is always, always talked about. From fundamentalists to neo-Buddhists, the goal of religious life often seems to be to control or pass over desire. It is our lowest self. The part we most share with other creatures of the world. It leads us places where we don't need to go causes all sorts of difficulties for us and those around us. But desire seems unescapable. Indeed, if we can imagine the Real with human characteristics (not so hard since we've been doing it for eons) we might note that, yes, as the Vedic hymn states "desire came upon one in the beginning." Desire causes us to create, to share, to help. Even if one only thinks of the Real, of God, one desires the contemplation and companionship of the Real. If one's ego has merged with the Real, it seems likely one would want others to "come home" as well.
Better than a model of always fighting desire, another model would be to accept the ends of our desire might not be achieved or not in the ways we would like.

Instead of rigidly controlling what we might want to do the point rather is to come to a place where to not do such a thing would be natural and with ease. Also to ask "what good is coming out of this desire?" If it's only egoic satisfaction then its time to turn down the burners a bit. Mindfulness. It's like that, yah. If the aroma of mindfulness is like incense, the aroma of ego is like garbage.

Links:

Just what we need: LESS scientific input on emissions.

Keith Olberman on the bio labs in Iraq that some of us knew were never bio labs but now we all know. Sure can trust our leadership on Iran!

Speaking of which, this freaks me out. "The Decision Has Been Made." I know Iran presents a thorny problem, my concern is that our administration does not see it as a thorny problem. And after Iraq, I know I'm right on this.

The Virgin Mary is appearing daily to a New Hampshire man. (via The Anomalist)

A Roman Catholic priest's blog. I'm not quite sure why he calls himself "The Exorcist" though.

Grace Episcopal Church in Providence, RI offers a U2 Eucharst. (via Advanced Theory)

Speaking of music, anyone want to buy me a ticket to Chicago to see Os Mutantes reform?

2006-04-14T02:19:00.000-07:00

I was thinking of writing about the Beatles today, but the crazy deal is, their music just does not inspire me to write. I truly love 99% of their music but I can't think of a thing to say about it. Maybe part of it is that while I enjoy listening to their music I'm not usually too emotionally involved in it. To quote a title from one of their songs, "I Feel Fine," but therefore not elated, mystically aware, depressed, angry, lonely. That's not to say there are not exceptions that I will write about some other time but I just felt like getting this out there.

In contrast, I feel like I get a lot of inspiration to write about the Beach Boys and certainly track-for-track the Beatles are more consistant. But there is no veil between what Brian Wilson writes and what he seems to be feeling. I also am pretty wild about the simplicity of the emotion. In almost any situation there are tons of complexities, but it often comes down to, "I'm scared," or "I'm blown away," at the heart of it.

Take "The Beach Boys Today," "When I Grow Up (To Be A Man)" grows out of the phrase, "will I dig the same things I dug when I was a kid." At the end, with the counting off the years (and I'm still in the song) and the phrase "Won't Last Forever," the bittersweetness of getting a bit older sinks in. From "Please Let Me Wonder," one of the most beautiful and devoted love songs I've heard that captures the awe of being in love to "She Knows Me Too Well," with its lengthy-relationship-themed lyrics and sweeping harmonies and on to the heartbreaking "In the Back of My Mind," which so heartbreakingly expresses the doubt that creeps in with so much in life. At the end of the record you get one of the greatest gifts a band or composer can give to you, in my opinion, and that is that tho' the particulars may be different in general you are communicating with someone who understands the world in the same way you do and who has given you that vision rolled up in sound.

LINKS

In which Walmart proves to have some good in it.

Blast from the Past--Former Senator Mike "Reading the Pentagon Papers" Gravel (D-VA) enters the 2008 Presidential Campaign as a long-shot. I do think its high-time we had national referendums, by the way.

Free Gregorian Chant MP3's via Our Lady of Guadalupe Seminary (hat tip to Mirabilis)

Mirabilis also posted this link to a collection of historical Broadsides at the National Library of Scotland.

Via The Anomilist comes this article about a recently discovered Catfish in Africa that catches some of its food on land. Cool video too. Although it kind of freaked me out a bit too.

The sad thing about this fake Titanic II trailer is that I could easily see it happening.

Judas Priest to record concept album based on Nostradamus? Now that's Advanced.

Unheard Beatles tracks to be released on new album and um...also...be played as part of a circus as background music. "You say you want a revolution."

How about a "Krazy Kat" cartoon from 1916? The best part about it...absolutely nothing happens.

2006-04-12T03:04:00.000-07:00

RIG VEDA

10:129

1. THEN was not non-existent nor existent: there was no realm of air, no sky beyond it.
What covered in, and where? and what gave shelter? Was water there, unfathomed depth of water?
2 Death was not then, nor was there aught immortal: no sign was there, the day's and night's divider.
That One Thing, breathless, breathed by its own nature: apart from it was nothing whatsoever.
3 Darkness there was: at first concealed in darkness this All was indiscriminated chaos.
All that existed then was void and form less: by the great power of Warmth was born that Unit.
4 Thereafter rose Desire in the beginning, Desire, the primal seed and germ of Spirit.
Sages who searched with their heart's thought discovered the existent's kinship in the non-existent.
5 Transversely was their severing line extended: what was above it then, and what below it?
There were begetters, there were mighty forces, free action here and energy up yonder
6 Who verily knows and who can here declare it, whence it was born and whence comes this creation?
The Gods are later than this world's production. Who knows then whence it first came into being?
7 He, the first origin of this creation, whether he formed it all or did not form it,
Whose eye controls this world in highest heaven, he verily knows it, or perhaps he knows not.

Some have spoken of this beautiful hymn with reverence for its agnosticism. Really, though, its not agnosticism but the fragrance of mystery that permeates its lines. It allows for the creation of the Vedic Gods and a higher God "the first origin of this creation." But "whether he formed it all or did not form it . . . he verily knows it, or perhaps he knows not."

The depth of this mystery is so valuable. It is like a firefly in a pitch black country light. Hold it like a lantern, eh? So many of us, so many, from athiests to agnostics, to priests and sages, teach with absolute certainty. I do not doubt that much of what has been said by the world's mystics and saints has a deeper truth than I can even comprehend. But as for ultimate truth, there is only speculation and the soft glow of mystery. We must always remember this humble lesson on our searches in all aspects of life.

Links

Lou Dobbs and Bill Maher agree on the evils of corporate power and give some much needed props to Ralph Nader, who despite his ill-advised 2004 presidential run, has been speaking to deaf ears for too long about this.

One Good Move also put up this great Daily Show bit on Feingold's Censure motion a while back.

Crooks & Liars has one of the best television reporting jobs yet on the President's leaking up, noting--unlike many other "reporters"--that its not just that the President leaked material. He leaked material that was untrue.

The immigration question is incredibly thorny, but this post on Daily Kos made some deft points on health care for aliens.

Cynical-C links to a powerfuly disturbing Daily Kos blog on a recent trip to Haiti.

A roadtrip from Oregon to Baja by a couple of surfers. Although I was disappointed that when they got to Baja, they pretty much just surfed, looking at their photos I have to admit I felt the bug to learn how. Also, one of their shots shows them buying their same "magic" gasoline from the same vendors in Catavina that we did on our non-surfing Baja trip. But more on that some other time. (via Yahoo Picks)

Damn Interesting has been living up their name lately. This article on anti-panzer dogs was bewildering. This one on human consciousness after decapitation was as well, if also pretty gruesome.

The New York Times recently did a lengthy piece on Sedona. Although, gee, why was I not surprised to find out the writer does not have the "spiritual gene." Time to make fun of all those mystical New Agey types again. Not that they don't deserve it sometimes.

Speaking of religion, Spooky Tooth recorded an experimental electronic mass in the early 1970s. Sadly, from the clips I listened to it sounds neither listenable nor laughable. Just kind of painful.

Via Mirabilis, Wallace and Gromit based on true monster rabbits?

Finally, congratulations to Francine Busby who won tonight's special election in CA-50. Although some are depressed the turn out was so bad amongst Democrats so that she will face a run-off in June, every blow counts.

2006-04-07T01:27:00.000-07:00

Spring in Phoenix

You can't really tell much of a difference from winter or fall here. It's subtle. What has puzzled me is just how chilly and rainy it has gotten here in the last couple weeks compared to winter, let's say. In winter the temperature drops hard at night. Within an hour of dusk you need a jacket. Now, the day doesn't get warm until around noon. Clouds greet you in the morning then disappear only to roll back at dusk. Although there is much to say about Phoenix's lack of distinct seasons, one aspect I do enjoy is the sense of temperature change most of the year between day and night. There is a clear distinction between the easy warmth of the day and the slight chill of the night. Instead, of one long day, each day seems like two in a sense. Night really feelsdifferent than day. I just wish I could see more stars. Still, in New York I could see only a couple planets. But, ever since traveling out in the desert last week here and in the Baja desert last month I'm realizing how important it is to appreciate--to some degree--natural time. When dusk falls, when the stars rise, when the temperature rises and falls as opposed to the time imposed--sometimes beautifully--by society.

Links

Amazing picture taken by Cassini

The world's oldest person.

Seemingly another reason to avoid food by mega corporations.

This faux interrogation of Al Franken by Stephen Colbert had me cracking up more than once. From a few weeks ago but priceless.

Fascinating piece about the massive, unused hotel in North Korea.

Everyone seems to be fascinated by the recently uncovered Gospel of Judas. For good reason. This looks fascinating. In this version of Jesus' life, Jesus asks Judas to betray him.

I'm increasingly of the opinion that the Ventures "Hawaii 5-0" might be one of the greatest songs put to vinyl in the rock era. Certainly one the best instrumentals. This video only increases my certainty. Thanks to it, just for this moment, I now believe the Ventures have a monopoly on the title "coolest band ever."