VEGETARIAN?

Fifth of July the day after 4th of July, also known as
Independence Day - we celebrated having a barbecue, listened to patriotic music and songs, some good ones, some rather faded ... and gobbled down tons of meat.
Question - could you do without it, would you be able to eat only vegetables and perhaps dairy products, and then once in a while a couple of eggs mixed into your food? Could you do it?
I know I could, and often I follow this kind of diet in long stretches, feels just fine...
You see, if you are even only slightly concerned about food distribution around the globe, and perhaps world hunger, then you will know about the fact that it takes about ten times more acreage to produce one unit of animal protein compared to growing - let's say beans, or other crops of that nature.
So, all your non-smokers, and diligent which-hunters, could you imagine to be a vegetarian?

Tell ME!!!

I couldn't decide

I couldn't decide if I should cut my wig or stop smoking, or both. So I came here to make a compromise - cut my hair with one of these buzzing machines ... and continue smoking. It was the fourth of July, Independence day here in the US. The Brits got booted then, but they still have a grip on our throats. Colonies never change charisma, and face it, the US is a colony at heart. They never parted properly after the tea-party in Boston was spoiled. Sure, Washington and others did a great deed, the modern formula of Democracy was born, retrieved from a concept that was inaugurated in ancient Greece. Where am I going with this? I actually don't know.
All I know, is that the State of the Union on this 4th of July is still shaky - that Democracy in the general population is still phrased with that "what can I have next?" question - instead of looking at the slogan "how can we share sensibly what we have?"
But fireworks will distract that mission, let us not come to our true senses. And forget the smokes, which oh so insensitively escaped from my cigarette and escaped as whimsical puff into the bedroom of my brothers wife's son. I got reprehended twice for smoking outdoors "close to vicinity" - while the grill was spewing monoxide and other goodies into the air.
I hate nerds, especially on independence day, when all the people of New York State payed a fair price to finally get back into the crown of the statue of Liberty. It is now open again. But climbing stairs just a bit higher leaves no warranty towards freedom. You see, the difference between Democracy and Freedom is such: Democracy is a concept, Freedom is a vision.
On that note, Happy celebrations for Independence Day.

in between fractions

I guess he burnt his heart out, so Michael Jackson made it to be 50 in human years. Pretty good record. And some of his early stuff was brilliant, no matter if you liked his genre or style. You got to give him one thing, he was a sensitive, skillful artist who strived for perfection, both in dance and music. His pedophile charges of recent only reflects on his psychological and physical loneliness, his alteration of skin color and his other bodily changes, a sign of permanent insecurity and maybe also the fact that he had a rare skin disease that would have left him blotchy after the pigments go on a rampage - hence his effort to turn "white". Oh well, I wish I had the ability to whisk out 60 or 70 records and get away with it at 50 in my lifetime. So, bless his soul - he did good timing to die when he did!
John Lennon died with a bullet and Jackson bought all his rights and also the one of the Beatles catalog. Perhaps dancing with the devil only brought Michael a heart attack.
The only one who survived so far is Mick Jagger, he greeted Satan: "Pleased to meet you, don't I know your name???"

Noe for mine Norske venner

Det går en strøm av slitere fra verksted og kontor. I huset venter fruene, å får kjøkkenet som mor. De få som er igjen har kun en chance, og går i heksedans.
De tusen marionetter spreller inn i tusen hjem, med teddybjørn i senga og små ting å vise frem, men ute maner månen uten stans: Kom til heksedans. Lalala ...
Jeg ser en naken kvinne, hennes tro er uten tvil. Hun bærer ingen fane, som et sverd er hennes smil, hun varmes av sin synd og sjette sans - og går i heksedans.
En mann i mørket roper at hans kirke er en skog, at stahet er hans styrke, og at hans våpen er en plog. Han vandrer som en Kristus uten krans, ut i heksedans. Lalala ...
På gullstol sitter biskopen og nører sine bål. Hans himmel er en vakker drøm, hans vilje er som stål, men ute synges sårt om skjebnen hans, i en heksedans.
De følger kun sin egen lov og sår sitt eget frø, mer religiøs enn paven og mer radikal enn rød. De spår en bedre verden med sin glans, fra en heksedans. Lalala ...

__________________________________________________________

Yes, I have been absent for a month. Oh, by the way, press the pause button on the player below before you get too annoyed. That will stop the circus of blasting sound.
The song is from a friend of mine - he recorded it late 70's.
I am not going to translate this whole Norwegian "Heksedans" song for you, but I will translate one line:

A man in darkness shouts out that his church are forest trees,
that stubbornness his only strength and his weapon a plow with ease,
he walks like Christ without the crown of thorns - into a witch-dance breeze...
____________________________________________________________

The creativity at my new job is limited (taking care of war-veterans) in how to cook soggy fish sticks because many of them refuse to wear their dentures, if they have any in the first place. So there is not much to report from that side.
I could tell you hilarious stories of the characters and their behaviorism of those four woman I work with. But general decency, and a certain refusal to blab out personal info into public domain, restricts me from telling the juicy bits.
On my own personal avenue, I gradually and cunningly systematical clean up my work space. Now that I have four days a week to my disposal, I might even get a second wind and start to be creative again -
All is well, but transitions come hard ... at times.

(picture: one of my clients as we celebrated independence day)

Add to my Page

Peace Through Music

The eighth session "Playing for Change" is good. The link is below in case I don't manage to embed this thing. Enjoy!
Playing For Change: http://shar.es/MYQ
...for change

Last frost (I hope) the day before yesterday. Covered my tomatoes, peppers and beans. They all survived.
I am such a "garden-nut" these days. This actually represents my present ways and tranquility, the prime choice of drug, my only salvation. The hardships of keeping a chemical balance, a rescue remedy of mental health - this activity neutralizes the brain, immediately, while digging into the earth (that's a fact) and then speaking to flowers and vegetables alike and so on. You will then notice them prosper and flourish. I wish I had the same ability with humans, dig into their dirt, shaking it loose, and watch those new blossoming buds sprout. There is a long way towards this goal, but I will keep trying. In the mean time the "blogshere" will receive the pulled out weeds, my sarcasm, spite, and the never ending mission to provoke - and sometimes positive things.
You see, without occasional disturbance, we might as well be dead.
Cheers and regards,
Zee (Lukas)

123

...more later

what does it take?

So yeah, I watched a movie last night called "City of Ember". The sun was setting and the light reflected a ghost image on my laptop screen. There I was, together with the actress, common reflections, so I had to take a picture, hence what you see of my monitor on the left is from 12 or so hours ago.

Do you remember the Limerick contest?
I am so sorry that I did not follow up on this one and did not do the "drawings" to choose three winners.
So, in my despair I changed the rules!
Whoever sends me their postal address via e-mail (my e-mail should be on the blogger profile) will receive a hand written postcard with a bit of an illustration, nothing fancy. (personalized)

You'll have a great weekend then!!!!!

From Pigs to Swines

It is an odd sentiment of humans that they often see themselves as a separate entity of the global ecological community. The world is not made like this. Animals, plants and humans live together, they are interconnected.
I will kill ants with a swift punch of my index finger if they dare to come too close to my desk. Honey bees I catch with bare hands and escort them gently out of my studio. Animals who disturb my vegetable garden, I shoot them at blank point; flowers that grow on my lawn, I don't cut grass there and leave those plants to strive. My philosophy is to keep a kind of balance.
When God tossed Adam and Eve out of Paradise, He involuntarily (or voluntarily) gave them the power to destine their future in regards of "life and death". This resulted in this form of "freedom" we now enjoy today...
This freedom is a subtle thing, and this by all means doesn't make us instantly superior to the rest of the living creatures on this globe. We are all co-dependent. As a matter of fact, since we enjoy all this "power" and "freedom", the responsibilities did increase.
The Avian Flue, the Nile Virus, the Mad Cow disease and now the Swine Flue are just responses and products of our own failures. We presently stopped to comprehend and act responsibly in accordance with the laws embedded in nature, all those creations and creatures who are part of our well being in this world.
Does it really surprise you that disease spreads the globe?

He pulled out

After decades on Wall-Street he moved to the countryside and started a small scale farm.
The other day I helped him with odds and ends on the structure of his house yet to be finished in its entirety. The dwelling has an almost perfectly round footprint (twelve facets I believe) and its interior finished tastefully by the former businessman, now turned farmer.
Hopefully I will be allowed to take some more pictures soon, the dwelling is quite stunning really.





As for now, you will have to content with mother-pig and her piglets. They bring good luck! ... at least it is so in the German speaking world.
"Du hast Schwein gehabt" translates to: You had unexpected luck! (literally, you have had "pig").
Have a great and luck-enriched weekend!








(as always - you can enlarge the pigs, uhps ... the pic's by left clicking on them)

Pirates

What are your thoughts about the latest pirate hype? I have mixed feelings. One thing I do not understand and where there is very little info: Where does all the ransom money go to? Does it feed back to the people of Somalia in one way or an other; and then, which people? Everybody is talking about the heroic adventures in the gulf of Aden, nobody explains what lies behind it. Who then is afraid to talk?
It is actually interesting to point out, that until now the people in their speedboats are being called pirates - and not terrorists. Why? The common approach had been always to stamp any agitation as terrorism that goes against the grain of imperialistic capitalism. Why now this sudden change of mind?
__________________________________________________________________
update by Lindsay, a moderate and very knowledgeable person:

Somalia piracy arose after the invasion by Ethiopia (you will recall large-scale backing by the USA for Ethiopia to invade Somali as part of the so called war on terror) leaving the country in a perpetual state of anarchy without effective coastal patrol to quell the rising opportunistic overseas illegal fishing within its coastal waters.

Somali fishermen were able to obtain small-arms and portable rockets left over from the civil war and joined together to attack against these illegal fishing fleets.

Over time that purpose changed completely along with their growing sophistication in armory to finally represent the current piracy and ransom demands directed against ships operating in the nearby busy shipping routes.

Not much is known about the money trail except it would have to be supported by bankers - probably in Africa and Europe.

I doubt if much money materially goes back to the Samalian peoples although presumably the pirates will want to keep various groups ‘on side’ so to speak. But there are reports that most of the money goes back into re equipping the “Mother ships’ which guide the speedboats. - Recent reports estimate refurbishments of over $ 300 Million.

my work

Some of "my residence clients" relaxing. Gradually I am putting together the bits an pieces of their stories when they voluntarily talk about their past. War and it's aftermath broke their bodies and psyche, but not their spirits despite that almost all of them used drugs and alcohol to chase the demons away.
As the individual puzzles form coherent pictures, I will attempt to sketch their individual bios.
This should be interesting!

bending all over?

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Equilibrium

Equilibrium is the basis of Great Work.
Alchemical saying


...I wish I had a bit of that in these turmoil times, but everything moves fast, too fast to catch a glimpse of what is essential. Sometimes I think we live in this big scheme that urges us to catch up, indoctrinates us with that notion that we always are a bit behind.
Why do we subscribe to that foolish thing that time works against us, that I don't know. The essence in my view is to make time, and not just to simply follow time blindly. This way we create a state of equilibrium around us, living in the present. instead of lurking in the past or the future.

No big or large stories today. You all know what is going on, either in your personal life, or the global community.
On my own threshold I do something that could be described as micro-management. What is that? Well, I got my new job taking care of war veterans. That is one aspect. Besides of working 12 hour shifts three times a week, the employment is brilliant. What makes it work so well, is that the staff, the boss and the "resident clients" are wonderful people. So, despite the fact that my pay is a third of what I used to earn, I am content.
And so, as long as I get by somehow and find people who are able to put a smile on my face once in a while, the world and my work is a good place to embrace. Hovering here still around freezing temperatures, but crocuses on the lawn saw the day of light.

The bitching and moaning about politics, the postings of sensual ladies, the updates of real time musical jams, the serious contemplations of environmental issues, poems and such - and don't forget, the mundane, will continue. Don't worry, just stick around.

I wish you all a good week (speaking on Tuesday, my day off)

Music To My Ears

So I finally secured and accepted, committed to - what have you not, a new job.
It is music to my ears!
The people I work with seem to be truthful, dedicated and open to creative input, and so on.
So yes, I am excited.
Their pay is not exuberant, but the schedule is totally fair, so I will still be able to do other things (like music and sculpture) on the side.
Just installed a new rack above the piano in the studio to hang up instruments. We'll see how that goes.
Be well all. Beware, my posts will become sluggish in the near future, sentiments will focus on personal things at hand and not this blog (unless I get whiled up and feel the urge to talk anyway...).
Will still visit my favorite blogs now and then, don't worry!
Cheers, Zee.

Limerick contest

An investor at Wall Street, New York
ate his pork with a knife and a fork
when stocks went a tumbling
he started some fumbling
and killed himself just like a dork

(just a silly example of mine. you'll do better)


Basically five lines. Lines three and four are shorter, constructed of two anapests each and again rhyming with each other. Thus, the overall rhyme structure of a, a, b, b, a, with the beat pattern

a:da-da-daah da-da-daah da-da-daah
b:da-da-daah da-da-daah

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The three winners (randomly picked) will receive a hand-painted simple postcard on quality watercolor paper.



cart in disarray in Vinalhaven Maine