sunburst, musings on the go

Stupidity Tax to save the World

2012-01-30T12:51:00.000-05:00

I have a new concept, it is called the "stupidity tax". While Obama raves about normal statue of taxation for people with over one million Dollar income, the G20 people in Davos chitt chat in hotel rooms of how to solve the "Euro crisis", Brussels will be next, same spiel.
Despite Obama's energetic speech when he addressed the Union, the question remains, and that is a question also to the "occupier movement":
can emphasis on growth and a "smart" budget work? It does not belong into my vocabulary, that you can shrink and be lean and grow at the same time, that is an oxymoron.

They better make up their minds, those politicians and bankers, the CEO's of larger companies, the investors who invest in blind faith.
Hence I propose a "stupidity tax" - only payed to me, for people who just blab in Davos and other places. I will keep 10% as overhead for the administrative costs, the rest will be donated to viable and needed projects around the world for people in need.

The "stupidity tax" is 5% of your annual income.

Once the world becomes a bit more sane, this tax will not be needed anymore and all goes back to normal. In the mean time - donate!

pastel

2012-01-22T03:50:00.001-05:00

The moon rises in the east,
just like the sun
to whom it may concern
reflections have begun.
-----------------------------

I wish you could visit me here again
after you left your wild flowers
gathered on a common pasture,
dried up now, colors still imbued
and life goes faster and faster
we build our own towers
but will they ever sustain?

Now, it is not about moon and flowers
we tend to survive by will and fate
which lies in our heart, a fragile gate

Love is like a broken arrow buried in your flesh
you know it is there, but it is beyond rescue
the whole web of things these days will test you
it is time to escape this mesh

Love is like a Big Mac from MacDonald's
you taste one slice, then you discover number two
will and heart combined
isn't it fascinating?
you will just have to bite through.

I wish you could visit me here again,
after wild flowers have dried
I certainly have tried
but I am still in pain.

I have no grasp on this

2012-01-18T02:46:00.001-05:00

Since I live in Switzerland, I got accustomed to the reality of Swiss radio.
It goes like this: 10% World News, 20% National News, 40% Financial News - the other 30% are dedicated to sports and traffic irregularities, and the weather of course.
The biggest chunk of reporting tries to analyze the financial sector. I listen to it, but as much as I do, I understand less and less. Perhaps I am just stupid, but the so called "financial crisis" in Europe makes no whatever sense to me at all. All I hear, is that countries wish to borrow money from other countries, and preferably with low interest rates. Now Standars & Poors downrated several European States, which leads again to a credit crunch.
Now, you must correct me, show me the way to understand. Why is it so, that all countries need to borrow money from other states (especially the United States) to fill their coffers?
How can this work? You borrow money from each other, then again from each other just to make the government work ... somewhat, until the next crisis.

This is a bit complicated, because I have had not the energy to think this through. So I will act as Simple Simon! Here are my questions.
When states borrow money from states who have no money either, where does the actual money come from, or be held?
How can nations get away with flabbergasting debts and continue on that course, while we citizens are ordered to keep a sane fiscally balanced household otherwise greedy banks will chop our head off with two digit interest rates and penalties.
And Italy whines - if they have to pay more than 4% interest on loans for their state coffers.
I guess my question really is: How come that capitalism got so harsh, that it defeats it's own means and direction?
Unlimited growth, and expansive profit gains for each quarter can not be the future, it is against all common sense. No government can expect longevity on such premisses and borrow money from something, which there is not, in order to maintain a certain status quo.
They just found some fossil collections of Darvin's in a drawer. Perhaps Darwin was right after all: The world evolutes around the fittest for survival.
But how does that apply to nations? Borrow less? Be more self-sufficient?
I have no specific recipe, just like the demonstrators at Wall Street. But I have a feel that this whole system will come to a halt, just like the cruise ship on the Italian coast.

Stairway to what?

2012-01-15T06:57:00.000-05:00

In the German language, sky and heaven have an identical name, there is just one word for it: "Himmel".
God lives in the "Himmel", clouds pass randomly there above, the sun sets there. It is an interesting fusion. The English tongue differs.
You either go to heaven or hell, but while your at it, you might watch the splendor of the sky.
Language reflects an interesting issue about the mentality of cultures. I wish I could speak them all!

this one is for Nova, just because I happen to like her

2012-01-13T19:47:00.001-05:00

Ok Nova, not all is gloom and doom, there are brave and honest people out there. People who care about each other and the environment. There is a strain of hope. I happen to experience such a community in my house at first hand. Five families living under one roof.
And then we had Cheese-Fondue together to ring in the New Year, ice and snow abound.
The party was outside - as you can see in the picture.
I am encouraged by a lot of things these days, the movement who started in Wall Street NY and spread all over, but mostly I am thrilled by the potential the youth, the next generation carries and presents to us.
2012 will be great!

New Year Post

2012-01-03T05:15:00.001-05:00

This is (was) the heating means for the great Goetheanum in Dornach, Switzerland. It is about 1500 feet away from the main building, maybe more. Who knows. Anyway, as youth and children we explored the "heating channel" dug deep underneath the soil. It was aery. We thought we were Tintin, a French cartoon character, with a little white dog, and a flashlight, exploring the cavities of the unknown.
So we went underground from the main building until we arrived at this "Heitzhaus", scary stuff, climbed out of the window, and praised the day.
Those were the days where fear was no option, there was no solution, only adventure. King was the one who dared the most. I was only crowned once, leading this adventure. The stakes weren't high, but the adrenaline flowed in abundance. After all, we moved in a cavity without clear outcome. Kind of a trip. That was then, what is it now?
For the New Year I am mostly pissed off. I will tell you why.
I hate that the BBC reports about North Korea as if they know what is going on, for days on end, without any kind of substantial facts. News about NO news. Pathetic.
I despise the European so called financial crisis, it is all bogus. Darwinistic economics have plagued our globe for centuries. Why do we "wake up" now?
What is the "Wall Street" demonstration all about? Why does it spread globally, even to Davos (Switzerland)? I think they have a point, even though they have no particular remeedy.
Earthquakes are in abundance, in Christ Church New Zealand and even Switzerland. Go figure. Mother nature says no, we stupid humans continue. Fatalities are preprogrammed. It is a shame.
I must say that 2012 will be a decisive year. No, not because the Mayan calendar or any other kind of other sublime message, it is decisive because we, as people of this earth, want it to be so.
Start locally, thereafter think globally. that's my sequence.
Best wishes - Lukas.

what's in a name

2011-10-29T15:26:00.000-04:00

Force International Security Assistancesoldiers - that is what they call the mercenaries now (on BBC), those people who are hired to kill others if needed. A couple of them got killed today in Kabul. Tough luck.
Never had a great liking of them - I will shed no tears.
A real soldier kills and dies for his country, those mercenaries die for money and greed.
Blackwater (it has been renamed to something else right now) deserves absolutely no sympathy or empathy. All they create is humans who wish to kill for hire. Why the US army even considers these folks is beyond my comprehension.
For good money these people can be hired, to do their dirty deeds wherever...
What if Donald Trump comes along and says: First we will take Manhattan, then we'll take Berlin.

Does it really matter?

2011-10-21T21:04:00.000-04:00

...to the United Nations, the way in which Muammar Gaddafi met his end does matter. The UN Human Rights Commissioner, Navi Pillay, has said she wants a full investigation. (source BBC)

The UN plains had been there as well, bombing places, people got hurt and killed. What is there to investigate? There is no such thing as an ethical assassination. If successful, the outcome is always death. End of "investigation"...

Does it really matter if he got killed by a rifle or a pistol, by a nervous rebel or soldier? I believe Gaddafi preferred it this way anyhow - instead of being dragged in front of some court of justice.

History goes on without him now, no more Beduin tents in Central Park of New York City. I kind of miss that gesture. But since he was an asshole and not a servant to his people, he now faces his maker and the 17 virgins that come with the package of death. Maybe the "maker" will scrap the deal with the virgins, who knows. Somehow I do not think he deserves them - but this is from the mouth of a non Muslim, so it probably does not count. After all, I am an infidel.

Let me glance at the "investigation part" for one more moment. It is kind of absurd. I talked to a man in Libya two days ago and he admitted that all he had was fear in his heart until Gaddafi was out of the picture. (talked to him on Skype) --- So now his fears can cease. No more investigations please!

moth

2011-10-20T06:33:00.000-04:00

It was a dirty day in little Switzerland,
unreal for a country that hates dust.
The trains were still on time, they always are
but the tick tock of my inner clock failed to synchronize

I wonder if trains have consciousness, do they know what they deliver from A to B or Z?
do they know that boring Basmati rice is traveling in my bag and only spices,
preferably from south-western Thailand will save the day?
The trick of moving on is not speed but pace

The life I live in is unstoppable
and I see images flying by through windows
where greasy spots blur the imagery, left by an innocent child
who was searching for a clear view and the truth

But I can close my eyes, ignore everything around me
and listen to the pounding of my heart, are you still there?
The train rattles along and whispers sweet nothingness as answer
an other disappointment, a ride without purpose

Then came the moth who shunned the light and sat on my knee
I looked at that thing and had to think about you, I don't know why
I was imagining how it would be, if we could share a stretch
maybe not from A to Z, perhaps from B to L - does it matter? Yes it does - at least for me.
__________________________________

Human Trade

2011-10-18T06:01:00.000-04:00

One human Jewish Foot-soldier is worth or equals 1,000 Palestinian captives.
That in itself tells a story.
No comments.
One Swiss cow is definitely worth 1,000 Jersey cows raised in the US.
Human trade or beastly trade, what the heck is the difference.
How many Palestinians would it take to free one Polarbear from a doomed iceberg - five, or perhaps after all ten?
It might take only one Jew to stop global warming and also stop the decay of the North Pole.
We call this fair trade.
And we all pay the price!

Is it possible to hide?

2011-10-16T17:47:00.002-04:00

Ich fang diesen Post mal auf Deutsch an, warum auch nicht - das ist ja auch eine Sprache, eigentlich eine subtile Sprache, vielseitig und farbig, philosophisch geeignet, und dann auch noch alles mögliche andere.
Ok, für all die Anglosaxen:

I might as well start this post today writing my first sentence in German, why not, it is a language after all with fair choices and possibilities. Actually, German combines French intellectualism with British soul and Prussian precision, unfortunately without Far Eastern flair. But you just can not have it all. Instead push for diversify and just learn locally whatever needs to be addressed at the moment, wherever you can be of help or assistance.
All right, back to the German tongue.

Etwas verstehe ich aber noch nicht. Es hat damit zu tun mit der gegenwärtigen, sogenannten Finanzkrise in Europa, und auch mit all diesen Weltbanken überhaupt welche jetzt plötzlich "gerettet" werden müssen damit der normale Bürger sein Gemeinwohl nicht verliert. Das ist doch absurd. meine Seele, meine Genügsamkeit, mein tägliches Gemüse welches ich verspeise - ist doch nicht abhängig von dem Wohlsein der Banken?

Do you not find it interesting, that even in the capital of Mac-Donald-Land, namely New York - Manhattan (it sure is not Washington, sorry) the common people protest on the streets and voice their opinion about uncontrollable globalization of resources, those who only serve business interests , not the fair trade kind, but the kind of the demon of financial institutions, who suck all the living blood available, like a vampires out of the scared and trembling human being, the common man, while they are (the vampires that is) are ravaging and thirsty, lust, greed and deceit is their craving for ever more. The little bit of sustenance people have like you and me, we - who are forced constantly to share without consent to the ones who have hoarded for generations, drop our droplets of personal blood - this is unacceptable and disgusting. Hence I sympathize and can understand all this protest around, not only in NYC, all the rest of the world as well.

Ich verstehe etwas nicht ganz. Wie kann es sein, dass Regierungen in Europa sagen wir müssen unbedingt sparen, Stellen kürzen, Programme streichen, Menschen wegschieben und trotzdem die Konjunktur, den wirtschaftlichen Wachstum ankurbeln, mehr Profit machen, jedes Quartal mindestens 4%.
Das ist doch einfach absolut unmöglich, geradezu absurd... Wie kann man sich besinnen, die finanziellen Ausgaben im Staat zu drosseln und gleichzeitig wachsende Erwartungen im Wirtschaftswesen zu haben, dass das kapitalistische Gedankengut oder System immer wieder weiter wachsen tut als ob es keine natürlichen Grenzen des Wachstums und Profits geben würde. Ich bin ja offiziell kein Buddhist, doch ich habe Sympathien - "take care of the resources you already have - and you will enjoy the multiplication of plenty". Not such a bad idea ...

basically what I mentioned above is: There is no unlimited expansion of anything living. I suppose humans have to accept this and find their place and domain within a world which should not participate in cancerous growths of any kind or some sort of Darwinistic scheme of the survival of the fittest. Come on, we can do better.

Can a Swiss Emmentaler cheese be a country?

2011-09-23T08:26:00.002-04:00

You have seen this map before. It is a disaster. A permanent refuge camp within a country. So as I understand, mister President M. Abbas from Palestine will today try to convince the United Nation assembly, that his state is actually a state. These must be desperate times, since he very well knows that the US will veto such a move to accept Palestine as the 194 State (or so) in the world community.
Why Emmentaler cheese? Well, it has holes all over the place, just like Palestine, holes and walls and guarded fences created by Israeli settlements. A nightmare, though the Swiss cheese still tastes good.
I have absolutely no clue what the solution or answer is, how the Arab population within Israel can become their own. It is though a fact, that in the near future people of Arab origin will be the majority in the state of Israel. Then what? What will Israel do then?
Since I am alive and half-way awake, I hear the sermon of peace talks. This has been going on for 35 years now. Nothing came of it. Israel, together with her big bully the USA, insists and insists, Palestine is a wreck shooting cheap rockets, keeping fear and misery alive on both sides.
I do not believe it can be done. There will be neither peace, a Palestine State, or any kind of solution between the Arab world and Israel in my lifetime.
This is not a prediction, this is as confirmed as if you were watching with patience a snail eat holes into the awesome lettuce in your garden. Inevitable. Somehow as inevitable as the Swiss Emmentaler Cheese holes.

Brandenburg

2011-09-17T17:36:00.000-04:00

Normally I am not inclined to do any kind of reviews. Today I break the habit.
There is this work from J.S. Bach called "Brandenburgische Konzerte", a masterwork that drags on and on, pleasant, but what was he thinking... do we want to sit here all night?
So my wife comes along and visits me in Europe and hands me these CD's. I kind of had the attitude, heard this before - done that. So i did not pay immediate attention. Tonight I did - and I was struck.
The music was not only recorded in a professional and superb way, it rocked! I think Bach would have been proud of it.
The way they (Akademie für alte Musik) made it interesting, is to shift the the beat, the contrapunkt, just so slightly. It made the whole thing interesting, alive and jazzy. What also helped was that some of the more important wind instruments are being played on wooden gear. Gives an other timber.
If you ever fell asleep during the Brandenburg Concerto, listen to this recording, it will wake you up, make you alert. I guaranty.

http://store.harmoniamundi.com/brandenburgische-konzerte.html

2,000,000,000

2011-09-15T15:50:00.001-04:00

I find it kind of amusing, that a 31 year old lad gambled away two billion Dollars while employed as an investment banker for the Swiss bank UBS.
Think about it, that is a lot of money.
I was also thinking to have a cup of coffee this morning, but I did not have the change.
His losses could have been my wins for a cup of coffee for the rest of my life.

an other one

2011-09-09T10:28:00.000-04:00

I hate to be too personal, but sometimes you have no choice

2011-08-25T12:48:00.001-04:00

I cut my heart into several peaces
throughout my life
and one sliver
belongs to you.
It is impossible to know where you are
because only a whole heart can know
any whereabouts.

I am tempted to get a needle and a string,
mend it all.
Unfortunately that is absolutely out of question.
Some peaces can never be sown together again.
You left me here stranded in disarray,
it is not your fault,
neither is my pain.

When I think of love, it is never perfect
just an image of good will and sacrifice.
One day it is gold, and an other day silver.
And mostly it is just a deep longing
of some sorts,
until the inevitable happens.
Did it happen to you?

Stairway to heaven

2011-08-22T04:03:00.000-04:00

Tripoli - Syria - interesting, some kind of Democracy sweeping the region? I am not sure that "democracy" is a viable concept though. Presently it only serves the ones who earn the big bucks. The followers of the golden trail, the immeasurable fortune of cunning illegal money, in our pockets.
I am still afraid about Lebanon, the tiny country bordering Syria. I am still afraid about Israel, the true aggressor of the Middle East. These bombings of the Gaza Strip were uncalled for. This is not democracy, this is terror. Where is the so called "free world"? Free?
Perhaps it is in your backyard, the instance of relevance, the beauty of the moment.
Think small, that is democracy.

ARE YOU PLANING TO BECOME A VEGETARIAN?

2011-08-18T12:48:00.001-04:00

I don't know if it is Swiss ignorance or imported trash

meat from some obscure Eastern European country.

Somebody forgot to castrate those piglets when they were three weeks old. My meatballs, with all due respect, tasted foul, despite all the delicious seasoning.

It is a shame. Why cant they cut out the balls before the BOAR taste takes over. Makes you want to be a vegetarian.
My Lord, it is not a big deal, I did it when I was eighteen. You take a sharp razor knife, cut them open, squeeze the balls out, put some sterilizing compound on the wounds - and 12 hours later they are running and snorting around the mother as nothing has ever happened. Those were the days...
Now you can't do that anymore. It is against the law, perhaps the law of stupid humans who have little knowledge about nature and animals. Now you would have to tranquilize the pig, make it not suffer, then remove the balls. I believe the trauma is worse on the latter.

It is time to become a vegetarian. The playing-field is so uneven. The earth is tired. For every pound of meat, we waste acres and acres of land just to produce a small amount of calories.
OK, so I am not going to be a fanatic. I will still eat what I can hunt myself, the deer, the turkeys and so on...
But for the pigs who do not get their balls cut out in time, I will refrain. They just taste like shit.

I do admit

2011-08-15T18:32:00.001-04:00

I do admit that I am crazy, my aim is known, but not my method how to sustain such presence, that is a secret =
Moments expire, tick tock, the shadow image remains, the truth is hidden behind skimpy curtains, as we do need to find excuses to hide, eradicate that red tint in our faces, it works, so far,,,,,,so far

Columbine in Norway

2011-07-23T08:13:00.003-04:00

As I type this, I am listening to the Norwegian radio station. I understand about 3/4 of it. It is something, not all, but something. Norway is a "small" country, 5 million people mostly settled in coastal areas. The vastness of the rest of the country is hardly populated, reindeer make their tracks.
It makes me sad, that youth has been slain, just because an extremist right wing knucklehead has not been given the right medications at the right time. I suppose this kind of stuff will happen more often in the future, people are just loosing their minds.

First time in Oslo alone, I was then 17teen, ordered an Irish Coffee, outlandish expensive. But you had a sense of that the world was intact, strolled down the avenues, the streets. People nodded, greeted and then passed you by. It was wholesome then.
Now you have crazy maniacs crossing the streets, everywhere. You can not anticipate their next move, a fierce look will not shun them anymore.
Kill or get killed seems to be the latest fashion. I am very sure I will not subscribe to this.
Is this becoming a world of chickens, an animal farm where everyone is picking without brain and consciousness, with a chicken heart? Are common human values gone?

Joshua Walters: On being just crazy enough | Video on TED.com

2011-07-01T09:04:00.001-04:00

Joshua Walters: On being just crazy enough | Video on TED.com

... and sometimes it depends how lucky you are - haha, good one!

Nirvana or not?

2011-06-24T09:39:00.000-04:00

I hate being a free-lancer, it was not always so. Today my present gig, close to Basel, is finished and done. Now what - back to the cows where my appartement is? And then what? I am tired of improvising life in a society that leaves hardly any room for improvisotianatial artists at large... Now I dream about a steady job at "Joe`s Garage", changing oil, repairing a clutch. But I am not a mechanic, so forget that. OK, not all is bleak - I do have some good leads within my field of work. But it is kind of tiersome to start all over again. Blessed be the burgeois folk who have one job for a lifetime (and then a pention to retire). I do not live in that world (by choice) but I still envy "the other side".

Clouds

2011-06-19T19:07:00.000-04:00

I am sure I do not understand everything about clouds. These pictures were taken around 5 AM out of my window, each about ten minutes apart.

Beauty and depression, form and floating change as a jetliner scrapes a straight line into the sky before your eyes, completely out of tune, still remarkable.

I think our minds go a bit like that. Metamorphosing shapes in neverending transformations and we are facinated but also burdened by the strait lines, the one who goes from A to B.

Would it not be great if we could play a bit more - and appreciate in our minds the formidable and healthy opposition between a cloudy and a sunny day, a curved flexible image - and a straight line?

I am starting to get angry again, not a good thing

2011-06-02T13:31:00.000-04:00

Syrian government troops have heavily bombarded Rastan, near Homs, in the centre of the country, killing at least 15 people - who fucking cares?
There are thousands of people who get killed by traffic accidents each day. People who get killed by doing their job, a brick who flies on their head whilst walking down the lane. Crippled, dead, or somewhat disintegrated.
I rebel against insanity, the stories you are being told, the madness in Eurasia, the stories about incest on the train from Vladivostok to Peking. (Got to be on that train one day).

You know, it used to be simple, but now it is not so.
I ride the train from here to there. All people have "plugs in their ears", they shut off, I do the same thing now, I am almost ashamed. I am ashamed that I can not reach out, so I dull myself with music and vibes. That is really not excusable!
But then there are moments of divine perfection. You look at a face near you and he or she smile´s reassuringly.
Then you know that you have lived for a good day in the present!
A smile can change the world, believe me.

just a kiss away

2011-06-02T10:34:00.003-04:00

Give me shelter
Never bothered to listen to the lyrics as a kid, just loved the screaming voices of the Rolling Stones.
This version makes it easier to comprehend content. In my view these people from "Playing for Change" do a darn good rendering.
Enjoy!
All right, I do not have a super fast connection, so above link from their homepage might not work for you either. Found it on YouTube, here it is:

sunburst, musings on the go: I converted to Islam

2011-05-11T17:26:00.000-04:00

sunburst, musings on the go: I converted to Islam

2011-05-11T17:00:00.000-04:00

I converted to Islam

2011-05-11T09:56:00.000-04:00

I converted to Islam, because when I die I will have 11 virgins serving my needs each day. One for each day of the week and four in reserve, just in case...
Well, who knows if they have weekdays in heaven.
Fabulous. I also keep my Christian belief so I can travel to either Paradise or Hell. Could be adventurous journeys.
There is also something to be said about remaining a Gnostic, believing that there might be something like a spirit world, but so far it has not proven to be so, therefore it remains a questionable issue.
But that is not enough. I have to become a Zen person also, because I like the tranquility of their ways. And just in case, I will enroll as a Hindu, who knows what that will do.
You get my drift, the more the merrier. When one belief option fails when you die, a different and more viable one will replace it, just like changing airplane carriers and riding on the one with the most appealing fare and services.
In other words, humanity with all our present progress, is still as stupid as they were in the Middle Ages when they burned witches of progress and celebrated the act as a cleansing towards the service to an unheard and unseen God. Now we have better technology, but a stake still remains a stake. Just now the disguise of it is perhaps a bit more diffused.

I do not exactly know what the purpose of this post is, it came to me after a midd-day-nap. But what I do know is, that if all religions would find a common denominator, a lot of troubles in this world could be eased.

The common denominator would be: There is spirit in the heavens, so is there on earth.

... and forget the 11 virgins, that is a stupid myth, created long after the Koran was written

earth n sky

2011-05-04T06:39:00.002-04:00

I believe I put out the link on Facebook. But here it is again on the blog, the final version of Earth and Sky, my brother on the cello this time, we scrapped my scratchy violin.
For those who still do not know the story, I was truly taken aback when half an hour before the funeral services I got to know that I had to play a girls favorite song "Cowgirls don´t cry" from Brooks & Dunn. The girl was 18, and died in her sleep. Three weeks later, after the autopsy, it actually turned out that she has had a heart failure. Her ashes are now buried below a beautiful exotic flowering tree. I believe it is some kind of plum tree.

Sorry for the not very well organized slides. Had no patience to do anything fancy. But YouTube requires visuals for upload. The audio is fine though, that is for me the most important part.

OK, no political nagging today.

Ha, the devil is dead, hmmn?

2011-05-02T04:50:00.000-04:00

This might be the biggest or largest conspiracy of all times.
I watched BBC and CNN live coverage this morning, with all their smart background info, comments from retired generals, footage of celebrating people in New York, interviews of people who were barely ten years old when 9 11 happened, jubilating.
There is no footage of his body, his body now dropped into the ocean (according to islamic tradition so they say - don´t know where that comes from, certainly I did not read that in the Koran).
It is kind of odd.
Here is my conspiracy theory (and you all know that in general I hate those things).
Bin Laden was dead for quite some years. But somehow, perhaps to put closure to a chapter "they" had to do this action. Raid a villa close to Islamabad, adjoined to a military compound.
If it had been the true Bin Laden, it would have been of utmost importance to capture him alive, if not only just to show the whole world that it is actually so!
Now they dropped "him" into the waters, according to Islamic law. That is bullshit.

just update

2011-04-20T02:56:00.000-04:00

Went to Neuchatel yesterday, needed to be near water. The lake is actually pretty nice and the town is charming. I just sat there basting in the sun, vitamin D my friends. On my travels as a nomad I observed more and more that the French speaking Swiss region is much more cheerful and polite than other places. Children still greet you on the streets, grown ups too. Total strangers, with a smile on their face. Refreshing. These days I run more and more into people who have a story to tell, sometimes quite astonishing and also valuable. I am not sure what this shift is all about, but I suspect that times are in change, the old must leave to make place for a new openness between human beings.

In that vein I would like to announce that two of my songs will be played on the radio tomorrow (Thursday), 8PM central European time, in Freistadt Austria. Here is the link:
http://www.frf.at/index.php?ordner_id=200
Just an other attempt for openness.

I am not quite certain what this world is aiming for, the future is a bit misty in this shadow of present unruliness and natural disasters.
It seems to me that we all need to compound focus, faith, compassion and optimism. In loss of that, the boat will sink. A tragedy indeed!

The fountain of youth

2011-04-16T00:25:00.001-04:00

Went to visit Basel the other day, had a blast, smiled a lot, watched the people. It is a diverse city, a fine cultural mix of peoples of all countries and different paths of life. From the beggar to the banker, to the old lady on the park bench, there is always something happening. Sit down at that bench, exchange a few words with that lady. Little efforts, but those moments will eventually change the world, your efforts to be human to an other human being. Simple as that.
The fountain of youth and rejuvenation is in our own hands, I can not prove it, but I believe it is so. And the fire of passion only burns as long as you kindle it with desire.
Thirty years ago I was a waiter across this fountain of Tinguely. Of course it was a love affair. It is always like that. She was a blond super orthodox, awesomely pretty religious knucklehead. I fall for blonds, can not help it.
So I revisited today my "fountain of youth", smiled, took a picture and then left...

Life is that way.

About Tinguely: Tinguely's art satirized the mindless overproduction of material goods in advanced industrial society.
Tinguely grew up in Basel, but moved to France as a young adult to pursue a career in art. He belonged to the Parisian avantgarde in the mid-twentieth century and was one of the artists who signed the New Realist's manifesto (Nouveau réalisme) in 1960.

Oh, the person on this picture is totally random, I believe he is cheering up his little son, that is how I remember it.

Fukushima, and then what?

2011-04-12T07:35:00.000-04:00

I am not sure if I can express myself adequately anymore. There are too many simultaneous shifts to follow and to record. We sure live in a time of great challenges.
The civil war in Libya and the Ivory Coast. Why do get exited? They are always at war, even in so called times of "peace". Same thing in the Middle East. People think they have a purple/jasmin/lavender revolution. Perhaps it is a good thing. I will not judge. But on the bottom of it, it is always the same fucking story: Who rules whom!
Japan is a bit different. Japan is a very fine groomed society from what I can perceive from my Eastern friends. They do not fight amongst each other, perhaps some street-thugs do so now and then, but that´s about it. The society at large, they have a sense of unity and respect for each other. I like that.

What I do not like, is the earthquake and all the following consequences. It is a bit too much to bare, even if you are thousands of miles away. I mean, you all know the latest details, why waste my breath...

What I would suggest, we will find new ways to communicate locally. And that must also be true for countries that are presently not in unrest. It means us all.

My credo is: Politicians are fine just to keep some of our infrastructures running, as servants for the people. Beyond that, let them perish. Same old story.
Democracy does not work, you figured that one out by now. Democracy is a fine marketing tool to persuade the masses to obey and bow to a sliver of the elite. They then do what they want. Hey, it is the "Greek Way", that is the cradle of so called Democracy. (have some olives, I like them. Can not give you the branch with the dove. That would be exuberant. )
Democracy my ass, we all will have to decentralize, pick up a pitch and a fork, do it ourselves whatever there is to do as humans for humans, and let the ruling parties wither in their ways...
Enough for today, and no sexy pictures either...

Am I an old-fashioned punk who only likes sardines as bait?

2011-03-30T20:31:00.000-04:00

Have you read the BBC web-pages lately - the language there is awful.
Here is an example:

"Our problem we need help - communication, radios, we need weapons,"

What the hell is this: "our problem we need help"

I mean sorry, English is not my mother-tongue, neither did I study that language. My written English is often crude, my spoken English ornamented with colorful expressions. If you meet me on the street, I would not appear to be an Shakespearian scholar. In the contrary, I like simple talk. But the BBC is going too far, too many a times. It just pains me. Language is the breath and expression of our souls, and once we start to castrate bits and pieces, the punctuation's, the flow of the melody - we are doomed to digress to stone age times.

So, the proper sentence is: Our problem is that we need help - simple as that, just a few more punches on the key-board, two more words. Big deal - ah? Yeah, big deal actually.
I see the same nonsense happening on Swiss and German news outlets, degrading my present status quo of a human being to the level of a Neanderthal cave citizen.

Language does matter - have no doubt about it. What has this to do with Sardines? Well, I opened a can today, I suppose they where from Portugal, tasted a chunk, but it wasn´t that grand, tasted like bait to me.
Sometimes bait is the only way to go, but not always.

FuWhat

2011-03-29T10:57:00.000-04:00

I believe I have a personal crisis.
It is hard to avoid the news, or the not so news from Libya.
In the mean time Fukushima is on the sideline, for us all. And it should actually concern us prominently, it should be THE topic of the day, every day.
But no, this is not so. Diversions all around.

I have a problem with this. Because I really don´t care who will drive the camel fleet to the next oasis in Libya - Gadaffi friends, rebels, or muslim brotherhoods, or some other kind of tribe or ethnicity. Frankly, I don´t give a rats ass how they figure it out. Democracy you see, is as lofty as an unwritten blank page. So you can´t defend an unwritten blank page with fighter jets and then call it liberation. How arrogant have we become to believe that we can figure it all out for them, and that the so called West will save civilians and prevent internal slaughter within nation states, this time Libya?

If you have three pence to the penny, you know that the above actions are totally absurd. History is made by deeds of inspiration, not force which is sole nuisance and retardation, sometimes necessary perhaps, but not in this very case.

Instead we should focus on the 100´000 and more people who died in Japan, actually no, we should not do that. Rather - we should concentrate and support all those who are still alive, who need shelter, who need comfort.

And - the Fukushima thing is not over yet - a wake up call to us all.

(PS that painting has "evolved" and has become very dark and black lately. I am gonna change it in due time)

Glow

2011-03-23T06:33:00.001-04:00

I miss the old good pirate times on Green Island. I also know that this is a rerun from an earlier post ... so what, I just feel nostalgic.
I suppose there are three kinds of sea-born pirates these days, the ones in the Caribbean (though I have never met one in person), Somalia (never would like to meet one) and the ones on the coast of Maine, a very upbeat and friendly bunch indeed!
All other pirates, those goofy heads from banks, insurance people, politicians and what have you not who always stay on the mainland, those are not even worth being called pirates, they are just thieves; there is a difference...

after what?

2011-03-20T10:32:00.000-04:00

I shaved today, I guess some male people do that. Not sure if its for the appeasement towards the other gender or has some altogether other kind of cleansing function, I mean I am really not sure.
And then you have Aftershave, basically alcohol with a smell. You are supposed to put this on after your done. I really don´t know what this is good for. Does it save my skin or does it attract butterflies. Heck, this is over my head!
So today I tried out something new. I put the aftershave on first, and then after that I shaved with the razor. What a miracle - it worked. After this experiment I still smelled like a pimp. No matter how you do it, you can not ever do it right. My conclusion, aftershave is a well thought out marketing gimmick with a lot of odor, nothing more.

I kind of liked Gaddafi, but now he is out of luck

2011-03-19T07:07:00.001-04:00

For over thirty years he ruled Libya, sometimes with charm, taking interviews from foreign reporters in a Beduin tent in the middle of the desert, he was like "the King of Arabia" even though he lives in Africa. He should have become an actor in a Hollywood flick, I believe he would have done well, at least in earlier years.
Now it is all over. The Arabic world is in turmoil, and also the sisters and brothers in North Africa are shouting and crying out for democracy to begin. Can´t stop that train!
I try to learn that lesson, that gesture how we can and learn from history. Gaddafi (how do you spell his name in Arabic???) on the other hand did not care, he doesn't give a rats ass. (about the people)

His glamourous life is over, and he never managed to be a star. Kind of sad, but oh well, I will get over it.

I lost my cool

2011-03-17T15:13:00.001-04:00

Look at this, there is a helicopter dumping seawater at the Fukushima nuclear plant. Wow, how amazing. Could it be, that I MISS THE POINT here? Where is the fleet of aeroplanes, the ones which dump water during wild-fires and such. I mean, there is such a thing, isn`t there ... or was I just stupid and dreaming the last twenty years?
A helicopter to seize a nuclear melt down. That is quite something! What else do you got? Tractors? Come on, this is Japan we are speaking about, not Gadaffi, ah well, that of course is an other issue, want even go there right now, but the so called West must figure that one out, promptly. Where are we - ah yes, sideways by the saltwater balloon dropped from the helicopter who then saved the world. Did it?
As you can see, I am back to my own cynical well-being again. I am not overly proud now of all my conduct lately, but I also I find this stuff what is going on right now inferior, this dabbling dizzy way my compatriots and their life's and their livings are slewed in a coma whilst being awake, this is becoming a pathetic drama with no real director in sight, and the backdrop, oh the backdrop inexcusable, or should I say politely: Is it not?
When my most adored teacher and friend left this world about four years ago, he said - Lukas, I am tiered, I can not deal with the zombies who incarnate on this globe anymore, therefore I will leave now.
Of course this sketch is not finished, but I will also leave you now, new life adventures in ten minutes, that is if I make it in time...
I did not go, I suppose the train left ten minutes ago without me.
Instead I watched Karate Kid number 2 tonight. It seemed to be appropriate, all imagery was about balance, measure and beauty. Something we need. And when it came to the scenes between the beautiful and composed Japanese young woman and the Karate Kid... I just felt tears in my eyes, could not help it.

Now, that is just a movie I am reflecting about. But what are we going to do in real time?

PRAYERS to the PEOPLE of JAPAN

2011-03-12T17:00:00.000-05:00

I will not post any grotesque image to underline my point. You can find them elsewhere (everywhere).

In quiet pose I sit here, contemplating. It is not the forthcoming death toll that will be shocking. The abrupt shift of nature which affects hundreds of thousands is the massacre. Nature has no pity, conscience or or convenient answers to humans. We are both pawns and creators of life, and if there is a God, he probably wished it to be so.

The earth does not contemplate, shall I have an earthquake or rather a flood today... the earth as a living being subsequently follows laws other than the rational of human beings, laws that are not yet well understood.

I wonder how much more tremulous days we have to experience before the tidal waves will calm.
But for now, to the many brave and courageous people in Japan - my heart stretches out over the oceans in support.

the theorem of survival

2011-03-08T17:25:00.000-05:00

survival - it is spoken like that, is it not? YOU open your mouth, and before you know it, something quite strange enters into it. It could be junk food in Biel (Swizerland) while waiting for a friend to arrive, or it could be anywhere, it could be a fish with poisonous toxins, it could be also at MacDonalds once again where you wait for the BIGMac to get smothered in plentiful of ketchup to soothe the general aroma. (perhaps there it is, where pickles are served - if and when you are the golden child).
I am not trying to bitch about things, since I could not care less about them McDonalds and all their prosperous walkabouts. They will drown in saturated grease, a bit at at a time.
Fastfood hence makes my ordinary life not jive.
The theorem of survival, well - I will get back to that.

sunburst, musings on the go: pics

2011-03-08T03:30:00.000-05:00

pics

2011-03-08T03:29:00.000-05:00

bathroom news

2011-02-25T00:30:00.002-05:00

My own biography unfolds as the world is twisting, roaming and groaning, stretching towards freedom, taking unfathomable hits by nature and in general tries to survive through all this turmoil.
Twisted metal and piles of rubble dominate Christchurch in NZ, people get shot with life ammunition in Tripoli. Where is it all gonna go?
A folly fox, called Romeo by the people, got trapped on the 72nd floor in a new construction building in London. There he had lived with splendid views of the city for about two weeks before his discovery - odd news.
My own personal news are so pitiful compared to what is reported all around the globe, my aftershave placed above the bathroom sink, and jet another job change, leaving the present location behind after three months of adjustments. Kind of strenuous.
Petty bathroom news, a single persons mundane journey towards betterment or something...

Mist

2011-02-21T15:55:00.000-05:00

Sorry, no frivolous news today. No kinky pictures either. All is covered in a misty fog. My work-situation is changing once again. That shouldn't concern you at all, the details unimportant.
I still live for music and harmony though, that equilibrium you know. That sounds simple, but it is still a quest of never ending twist and turns.
As Australia rocks through the bits and peaces of natural devastations, the Middle East is going through other kind of changes. I can't fathom what it all means and where it all will end.
Perhaps I am totally naive that I request a halt of imperialistic ambitions, a stop of people controlling and punishing others because they are weaker or because they belong to a religion of this and that...
Perhaps I was never to say this: Give humans a chance and let the zombies and apes stay second this time around.
The problem is, as the mist evaporates, the fog is still arising.
Humans are the most pathetic forms of living tissue, completely unable to take care of themselves. It is hence they believe in God and in other phenomenal issues. That avenue might coheres a window of some kind of relief. A blessing to some, perhaps detrimental to others.
I am not an atheist, nor a gnostic. Those labels are irrelevant anyway because they are pure inventions of human intellect. They mean nothing.
I still believe (believe!) in some form of super-sensible being or reality that has a handle on things ... maybe. That might sound funny to you after all what I have said before; but belief is a risky avenue...
Didn't you know?
What is yours?

contemplation row

2011-01-31T17:07:00.000-05:00

you have to be honest, it is not always easy to take care of a male person who has constant epileptic seizures and a "hysterical drama queen" who also shows a tendency towards violence ... and this ongoing simultaneously.
That is my life now, to attend - to be gracious and to be observant.
The reward is clear, you tackle the lows and the peaks - and if and when you succeed, bliss awaits you around the next corner. Tranquility has merit.
Nature, towns and circumstances around here are very interesting, I will be doomed to send more pictures and text shortly. But have patience, my new beginnings are still fragile.

Fragmental beginnings

2011-01-17T00:38:00.001-05:00

The view from my window is quite pleasant, the rooms empty except for the few belongings I took along in a suitcase. It is kind of refreshing to not have to have so much stuff anymore.
Work is fine but exhausting - everything is new, that's why!
Have my own internet access since yesterday and will participate here and there more again in the days to come.
Today only these images - soon more.
Must go ... right now!

Back again, work done for the day.
This is my mental diary style, images, impressions, not many words.
Not many words for you...
And I presently save my breath and comments not to specify political, ecological and economic issues. You know it all, if you truly wish to know it all - and therefore you can create your own very picture without any problem. This is the curse of being connected with no possibility of making any difference, through the internet that is. An abstract kaleidoscope of impressions dancing in front of your eyes and mind. What can I do to better such a situation, not only my own, but perhaps the one of my neighbor, or my surrounding community? That is a question that pops up for me a lot these days. It actually does. And since I am now in the profession to take care of people with special needs, this question has become even more urgent: What can I do for the "Common Man/Woman"? (additionally) A question to ponder. I hitch hike a lot these days, and people stop. What I see in their behavior and reactions is: I don't mind to connect, tell me your story! Isn't that a natural urge that often gets pushed under the carpet, the possibility to exchange your own observations of how life is for you and how you deal with it, even if it is with a stranger?

it is going to be a New Year

2010-12-27T22:10:00.000-05:00

It is going to be a New Year, no matter what!
I wish you all new strength, light, power, warmth and insight - perhaps an inner power, more energetic than the nuclear plant I happened to take a picture off.

It is also my duty and desire to thank you all for following my windy ways in 2010. This, your comments, were actually sometimes a source of inspiration and comfort despite the wicked digital media it was carried on. Gary, Cym, Lindsay, the Dutch lady, and many others who's names are well known, helped me toddle along. I thank you all for that!

I believe, we arrived (once again) at a pivotal point in human history. Even though I experience a rather stable situation (economically) in Switzerland in the present, the turmoil of anxieties on all other levels continues ... everywhere.
In many ways I would characterize the year 2010 as a year of demolition and renewed orientation. The BP spill, the loss of Obama-Hope, Haiti (ongoing), the financial collapse (ongoing), ... and so on - are just reminders of times to come. I am not trying to sketch a bleak picture, but I am well aware of the hurdles. Times must get worse before they be better. As I watch the new full moon rise, I feel the power embedded in my own biography. Reflections indeed. My new mantra must be earth bound, not stellar.

Switzerland is small, a tiny place. I mean, there is nothing you can hide, not even money, if you have such - that "bank-secrecy" has become a myth. Switzerland is like an ant-hive, well organized, functions key, precision adored. And then there is beauty in traditions. Since I have been here, my cholesterol and blood pressure levels have gone through the roof due to the consumption of fine cheeses and fine wine. I suffer and enjoy simultaneously. What a dilemma!

Went to an old fashioned cotton weaver-factory today. Most of the production is now outsourced to Asia, the stalls empty, triste. So my brother in law rented some space, he is an engineer, and helps to create and manufacture bicycles with added power of electric motors. His design will be world famous - that I know... :) No, kidding aside, I wish him good luck.

For all of you out there, I wish you good luck as well. May the New Year be fruitful, pleasant and plenty.
(you sort this out, will yah)

Sincere greetings, strength and compassion for the New Year,

Lukas.

2010-12-14T02:30:00.000-05:00

Good day everyone!
As life in general continues its mysterious and turbulent ways, my personal situation has settled somewhat.
I am situated in an area where the worlds most prestigious watches are being manufactured - and I kidd you not, the landscape is exactly as on this picture. The watchmaker studios are nestled in rather small towns, and even villages. La Chaux de Fonds is probably the most unique of these places. Designed like Manhattan, the structure resembles a checker board, the only place of its kind in Switzerland. Le Locle, a small neighboring township build in the typical Jurassic style with crooked streets and also old (15, 16, 17...th century) houses is the birthplace of the Chronograph and also the manufacturing town of Tissot watches. It is amazing to stand there and look at that not very large Tissot building surrounded by medieval structures.
Where I live, I smoke my last cigarette of the day outside. It is dark and I listen to the harmonic composition of cowbells from the neighboring farm. The barn is a half-open structure and the sound can escape. Sound in darkness. Peace.

versus

2010-11-27T09:40:00.002-05:00

Keep the old mysterious inheritance
And add the becoming self-reliance
In inner soul spheres, it rejuvenates
And should awaken strength towards all of what is presently in demand
My outer practical work is life,
And that is what impregnates my path today, that is my present whereabouts and also my task.
Rudolf Steiner (Wochenspruch)

With all the convoluted and kind of sometimes unpractical suggestions and presentations, I do like Rudolf Steiner's straight forward thinking and approach. A mystic in some ways, perhaps an initiate. The point is, that he scattered around initiatives and concrete suggestions of how to improve your meditative life without the help of an external "guru". His aim was clearly that you become "self-reliant". Of course, most Anthroposophists (lacked the genius) to follow such a path (is this nasty to put it so arrogantly this way?) Nevertheless, a seed was planted by him and it might take yet an other generation for fair results to appear.

My own path is going to change "subito" as well, in three days I will change once again location and job. I am looking very much forward to do this, though I do have to admit that I am a just a little bit nervous - "stage fright" you could say...

As I write this there is snow, it's beautiful and calm. What a blessing. The world finally (in my eyes) puts on a protective coat.

Fun and Fear

2010-11-14T04:40:00.000-05:00

Two of my people I presently take care of and two kids in anticipation of this modern "fairies-wheel" to do radical loops with high speeds. The annual "Herbstmesse" (fall-fair) in Basel has always been a big event.
The "loops" in my life also contribute to excitement, at times scary and other moments outright exhilarating.
When was the last time you re-invented yourself, crossed an unknown border, went on a journey without a fixed destination, stood on top of a cliff in your dreams and spontaneously decided: Yes indeed, I am able to fly!

bare bone scorpio

2010-11-12T04:47:00.000-05:00

November, the view from my desk, the temporary auberge or refuge until the final push.
Did you know that scorpions are the only animals who are able to commit suicide (besides the human species)?
There is a beauty in this. Scorpio is the sole sign in the Zodiac (astrologically speaking) who brings pure clarity of thinking and reason. We aught to respect this. It is not just a wavering mood like Taurus, the opposite sign (in the zodiac) who is filled with endless emotional deliberations (that's me).
But I do content. Switzerland in its narrow ways has opened up broad avenues. First of all, I met old helpful friends - then of course also: I got a decent job!
Scorpio is the quality who demands that you sober up and start to use your embedded qualities and talents, your rational thinking as well.
I am extremely content that all this "scorpio power" worked towards my advantage. In that respect, homage to Scorpio!
There are many funny things to tell about how things actually work out in the old country, but I will post those occurrences at a later point.

the tower of power

2010-08-22T09:51:00.000-04:00

There was a time when silver oxide was a predominant to capture images. There was also a time when metal structures hovered on hill tops. People stood there and kept watch in case of wildfires.
Both are essentially gone. Satellites have replaced the towers and the "watch-woman" is retired - but I found some images of old I took about 15 years ago of this, placed them on the lawn and used the digital capture device for reproduction...

I really don't have a punch line for this post, nothing of interest to say. Sorry.

But I must say - I always loved her face.

the world is comfortably insane

2010-08-20T06:42:00.000-04:00

There are complaints out there that the new environmentally designed "Sun Chips" bag made by Frito Lay which can be composted - is too noisy when opened. There are 20 million people homeless in Asia. There are millions of chicken eggs on recall in the US because of a bacteria outbreak. The economy, despite of the dance of all the witch doctors, is a miserable recovery. And the word "recovery" should be eliminated all together from the dictionary. We cut our lawn and expect the grass to be greener on the other side of the fence. How idiotic.
The flowers in my garden still bloom, on the other hand - for each blossom that withers a soldier dies in a foreign country. An islam meeting place to be opened close to "ground zero" in Manhattan, New York, stirs peoples minds as if that would change anything. There is little logic behind all this.

Horizon

2010-08-11T20:11:00.000-04:00

Leaving Hobbittown will be tough. I will miss my four 'a clock afternoon tea, the smoke rings evaporating from a cob-pipe, the fresh smell of Basil in the garden and in general; tranquility.

But it must be so. Even in my old age changes present opportunities. When you look at this picture, you will gaze into the far distance. That is where Alsace is at, and that is the place I will put my foot down, for now. The US has become a gambling pit, a Casino of sorts lately. It is time to face an other reality.

The other picture here depict my supportive wife and friends from Europe who urge me to make a move.
Today I got a job offer in the US which I shouldn't refuse, but I already booked my ticket Europe bound. Destiny works mysterious ways.

BeePee

2010-08-02T08:46:00.000-04:00

the BP thingy

2010-07-25T03:42:00.007-04:00

OK, so here are the lyrics:

Look at me now, I am BP
I will promise you plenty of energy
the world shall burn - all it's fuels
sail away with me on this ship of fools.

Look at me now, I am BP
and I have a brilliant strategy
suck out all the oil from below the sea
yeah, I'll give you plenty of energy

All is well when you gaze out to the sea
all looks swell from your condo's balkony

Seagulls are covered in black molasses
the oil spill grows bigger while we drag our asses
fisherman miss out on their daily catch,
help me Sir, do you have a latch?
I wanna stop this spill, and go for the kill
though to succeed to stop this mess - I guess I never will!
The ocean is polluted and a general saluted
while I give you this - and here is the key
I deliver you plentiful of energy
and don't forget my name, it's simply: BP!

Politicians scratch their heads
repeat what all ghost-writer said
and without even blinking
they speak loud what they are thinking,
I am BP and I give you energy

All is well when you gaze out to the sea
all looks swell from your condo's balkony

So the Gulf is infected and the shores not protected
put more platforms up, fill the missing gap
'cause I am BP - and I'll give you energy

I am here to stay, take your liberties away
forget them now - I have no more to say.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Beware, above text is a draft. The copper relief of the image is over 20 years old, hanging on the entrance wall of a restaurant - it's called "Nordic Light". I get free meals there whenever I appear. Kind of cool.

Earth and Sky - final

2010-07-23T23:09:00.004-04:00

The easiest way to download this song as an mp3 file, if you want to keep it, is to click on the top right logo (imt) of this player which gets you to the host site; type "zayart" into the search window (top right) - and voila, there is the song, ready for download to your hard-drive as an mp3.

Ok, so this is the final version for now. This is what the father of the girl will get. It is still a bit rough, but so be it. At least there is more structure now, some guitar noodling on my part while my brother plays the rhythm, and then I added violin. All recorded instruments were a "one take situation", all improvised on the spot. The violin was shuttled over via internet and added to the multitrack.

So the other day I went to a concert, Camille Saint-Saens Violin Concerto No.3; and then the barely fifteen year old violin player was absolutely spectacular, sound wise, and also in her ease to communicate with the orchestra; fabulous!
Oh, I should mention her name, just in case you are in the vicinity of her giving a performance. Her name is Sirena Huang.You will be in for a treat if you catch her preforming.
But I can tell you this much, despite her fame, she is totally sane and natural and hates and loves exactly what every normal teenager would hate and love. I mean I might simplify here, but that is the sense I got from her webpage and from the miniscule interaction I had after her concert. Whatever, she is great, don't miss out on her if she happens to play in your town.

PS. There is a low resolution (video) version of my song on uTube, audio Ok, video bad.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1UIY9UB5Z5k

Hot dogs again

2010-07-04T15:41:00.003-04:00

It's that time of year again when I ponder what the United States of America is all about. Is it a new empire that put closure to an old one? Is it a continent that was populated by extremist religious groups not tolerated anymore in Europe? Is it a Democracy? Well, the "founding fathers" clearly said: No to that, leaving the states in an ambivalent free for all experiment. So what is it then, the land of the free, with awesome sculptures carved into the rocks of Mount Rushmore?
Did the Indian's blood fertilize the lands properly? Did the two party system evolve to anything else but a Duocracy?
Does the Hamburger taste better in the USA than in Hamburg - Germany? Besides, maybe the US burger is better since most obese, fat, ugly people live on this continent and most other continents are spared of such ... for now. (Sorry obese people, I just had to say it that way). And why do we American opportunistic peoples only invest into the infrastructure of "Now" - and not the future? Why do we wait to call for international help to clean up the worst oil spill ever ... until six weeks down the road? Why don't we use our plenty abundance of resources wisely which would suffice for all of us? What's wrong with this "Independence"? Have we become cowards not able to live up to our dreams and expectations, do we have an issue jumping over our own shadow?
All right, today I am not using charcoal, but real wood - ash wood that is, to get my fire going. And then, we will have all kinds of meats and vegetables roasting on that fire, celebrating the 4th of July!
As Lincoln would have said: Let the fireworks begin!

will you pull me out of here?

2010-06-29T14:53:00.001-04:00

Whilst in Puerto Rico early this year, the divide between poor and affluent people became more than ever obvious to me. This "SUV" the guy sits on does not radiate hope for a ride into a bright future. And then a few blocks away you will find posh Mega Casinos where gambling sets the tone of the day. All these hundred of thousands of Dollars each day down the drain, no, not down the drain, instead enriching those who are already rich. Is there a method to this madness?

I listened to a radio report today that workers in China get about $1 a day to assemble some of Apple's iPhones components for all the humans who have forgotten the skill to talk face to face, ten hours a day, seven days a week. No real raise in sight. They are now protesting. Something unheard of a decade ago. It looks like the workers will get modest improvements ... but still!

I have the belief that the world, because everyone of us 90% slaves are affected by it, need to locally refigure their situation and give the middle finger to bureaucracy, hedonistic government games, Altzheimer riddled politicians - but most of all an inner shift of consciousness to that "the Kingdom has failed", it is a continuos string of betrayal, ordained by the rich to the poor. We may call us a Democracy in the US, the constitution and all. But in reality we are just suckers to the ones who control cash flow. We are not "free"!!!

Murdoch, that media man who controls the majority of our press, just declared the other day, that the US didn't buy Alaska from Russia to save the Moose or the Reindeer, but that drilling for oil would be continuous. What does he know? He is a Aussie citizen who got his home passport taken away when he bought the American citizenship. He has no respect for the working people here, and he definitely has no sense of history.

That is a good example, the one who holds cash - rules.

hope

2010-06-20T12:12:00.008-04:00

I lost my head, but I still have wings to fly.
Most people believe that the head is the most important entity. Well, it is important, but not THAT important.
We humans always think (emphasis on think) that all riddles and maladies of this world find a solution through the use of what we call intelligence, based in the physical neurological system of our daily decaying bodies.
Reality shows us that this is not so. The conflict of Israel and Palestine is not "think". Afghanistan and Iraq is not "think". The oil spill is very little "think".
No, all this is a warped reality of human commotions and emotions gone awry.
Greed, stubbornness, religious misconceptions and survival instincts all rule human society - unless of course, we chop off our head. The displacement of the heart has become obvious in our times. It is time we use our wings. Angels did it, why can't we? The only way to grow and make your wings flourish, is by centering your primal energy into the middle region - the heart.
Then you will be able to rise above, and solutions might be found.

Carved picture frame in walnut wood by me, the image is from Greece

Silence is silver, conversation is gold - and then there is black gold

2010-06-02T16:11:00.004-04:00

IfItWasMyHome.com - Visualizing the BP Oil Disaster
(this is a link, click on it)

This is starting to piss me off.
BP, with all their promises and attempts is not able to stop the flow of oil into the Gulf?
There is a moratorium for the next six months for offshore drilling in the US.
So I believe that BP just let it slide, don't care if they can cap the well or not, as long as they can perform the "ultimate solution" - namely having two "relief rigs" drilling right by; of course not ready until sometimes in August.

In the mean time oil will spill out.
By not managing to cap the well, BP will circumcise the moratorium for off-shore drilling - a free ride again and pump the black gold into their coffers of that particular oil field. Very clever. It's all about money, not people.
In the mean time they dispense thousands of tons of chemicals on top of the sea and on the bottom just where it gushes out. God knows what that will do to the environment. Did I say environment, did I say natural habitat? Did I say long term?
Humans are such pitiful creatures, they don't even grow fur to protect themselves. They need clothes made of cotton and wool, all from nature and in the same breath they destroy their resources they depend on. Pathetic. Unless you wish to call a Nylon dress "clothing" - which of course again is derived from crude oil.
So get your windmills up, your solar-panels, whatever you can do - and kiss goodbye cooperations who wish to dominate our daly life.

Life as it can be

2010-06-01T09:06:00.000-04:00

When I travelled up to Vermont, close to the Canadian border to visit my son, I observed and realized how living and

working can be done differently.
In a small house by a creek, there was no electricity, instead propane lights at night. Very sufficient actually. Forget WiFi and all that stuff, cell phones barely work there - if at all.
There is a certain tranquility about that.
It had been raining for several days, the pathways to the cottage drenched and soggy - and we were "just there". Then came the question: "You must be bored, shall we go somewhere, do an outing, maybe to town?" I said no, I am fine with this, I actually have no desire to socialize with others right now...
So I asked him: "Are you ever bored here?" - he answered, no. I keep too busy to ever experience that state of mind.
He does fine stonemasonry, building patios and indoor custom-cut floors with amazing patterns, building outdoor bread ovens, while also taking care of a herd of cattle at the adjunct organic farm.

Why do I bring this all up? Yes, it is because I sincerely believe in that the "healing" of the planet can not be left to the hands of cooperations (like BP) or even the government.
The little steps we do locally are much more powerful. Not noticed at first, but then shown to be very effective.
I wish you all to make your "local steps"!

The first one is always the most astounding

2010-05-22T15:24:00.003-04:00

The first poppy popped
and it reminded me of my first love
delicate yet powerful, truly astounding

Flowers and woman are in common, so I stopped
admired the beauty and a dove
was cooing in the surrounding

Then we think back to this day
and in many ways we fled our conversations
which could have happened right now - fatigue

It is startling to see how many games humans play
to artificially alter their situation
believe me, today was not that day, not that kind of gig

Gary Moore - Still Got The Blues ... and me too!

2010-05-13T17:22:00.001-04:00

the poppy saga of Afghanistan

2010-05-13T08:48:00.000-04:00

All right, so 87% of the world market's opiates are produced and grown in Afghanistan, opium and the derivatives - like heroin; and the US is the largest consumer of such. The beautiful white poppies who calm down mankind once processed.

I have red ones in my garden, and they are spreading, not as potent as white ones. It is probably totally illegal to grow them, but I like their beauty. Just look at them, that makes me content, don't need to chew the seeds.

Mysterious Blight Destroys Afghan Poppy Harvest

By RICHARD A. OPPEL Jr.

Published: May 12, 2010

Up to one-third of Afghanistan’s poppy harvest this spring has been destroyed by a mysterious disease, according to estimates revealed Wednesday by United Nations officials, potentially complicating the American and NATO military offensives this summer in the country’sopium-producing heartland.

Enlarge This Image

Asmaa Waguih/Reuters

Marines patrolled in Helmand Province in April while an Afghan girl harvested poppy. This year's blight might drive up opium prices, aiding insurgents.

Notes from Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iraq and other areas of conflict in the post-9/11 era.

Go to the Blog »

The Taliban’s public relations strategy against the offensives includes trying to convince local residents that Western troops will destroy their poppy crops, and in recent weeks Afghan farmers have started blaming the American and NATO militaries for spreading the disease, United Nations officials say. In many places, the blight has wiped out more than half of individual poppy fields.

The American military — which has decided that widespread eradication can be counterproductive to winning over Afghans — emphatically denies any involvement, and United Nations officials say the disease is naturally occurring.

Besides fueling the propaganda war, the blight might also help the insurgency by giving prices a boost. Reduced production is causing prices for fresh opium to soar as much as 60 percent, after years of declining prices, according to the executive director of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, Antonio Maria Costa.

While there is no evidence that the disease will return next year, the rising prices may make it harder to persuade farmers to give up the crop, he said.

The price increase is also raising by hundreds of millions of dollars the value of opium stockpiles held by traffickers and insurgents. The opium trade is believed to provide the Taliban with a large portion of their budget.

Greek

2010-05-09T11:37:00.006-04:00

Greek

If a fish swims in
a pond without sunlight
it still keeps to the
Greek sense of peace
and the oceans gentle breeze
and the sun's soft warmth
comes up over the hills
gently touching me
and all the world around me
will come to a stand still
unless the wheels keep spinning
and Greek food makes me fill.

So we had that game last evening, waiting for the food to come. It was in a Greek tavern. There were four of us, my wife, my daughter and her man-friend.
The rules were such. You write three lines and then fold the paper, leaving the last line exposed. Handing it over, the next person continues to scribble. We did four rounds, then the food arrived - delicious. It was my birthday present!
Above is one example of the four "poems". It's hilarious and just fun, by simply trying to do it, you'll see people sweat before they get hot. Give it a try!

Is there a tomorrow?

2010-05-03T10:05:00.000-04:00

I certainly bore you to death by again picking up this subject. But now it's definitely closure time.
Tree planting, a plum tree I believe last Saturday in honor of Emily. I came a bit late, so I was not able to join the bunch of people to ride a horse up the dirt road - unfortunately! Haven't been on a horse for many years, would have liked to do so now. But oh well, maybe I can persuade the family to give me a horse and then take a ride at a later point. I am rusty, need to replenish.

Did you know that horses are one of the oldest species of animal life on earth, genetically speaking? They survived the dinosaurs, maybe because they were more intelligent than them.
I wonder how the human species will do in the future, is there a tomorrow?
They, the humans, are a beautiful and soul-full creature, but somehow they seem to have a hard time connecting to all what is around them.

Power/Energy/Life

2010-05-01T08:50:00.008-04:00

What is power, which kind of power, who exercises it?

In Cape Cod in Massachusetts, there is a fair amount of opposition to an offshore windmill project that would generate a fair amount of energy. The reason, it could potentially kill some seagulls and it would also be an out of the ordinary sight for day-sailors cruising the bay.

In the mean time we follow the news of probably the worst oil spill in the United States caused by a defunct oil-digging rig run in the Gulf by BP, 1.5 million gallons so far oozed.
They can’t even plug the thing to stop the oil spilling out more, because the well is 5000 feet deep. This might go on for months. Devastation is inevitable.

Well, my opinion is, I'd rather see a few seagulls chopped up by windmills off shore than having to witness the destruction of vast habitats of the magnitude this oil spill will surely provide, not to mention about the loss to the fishermans who are all grounded for now.

I am not basically against off shore oilrigs, as long as they are save. But I lean more towards energy independence that would supply energy without the dependence of fossil fuels.

Until people fully understand the havoc wreaked upon this country, as well as the rest of the world, by the capitalists corporations amongst us, there is little hope that we will see much change to our energy or economic policies.

Exploitation rules - the poor continues to get poorer, the middle class is disappearing, and the corporatists like BP will, once again, walk away unscathed.

Clouds of all kinds

2010-04-20T20:22:00.005-04:00

Look at the bright side, Europe is being fertilized by a cloud of volcanic ashes from the Iceland eruption.

It is good for the earth, and less convenient for air travel, oh well.

I don't give my right ass cheek (is that called: I don't give a damn?) about the Air Lines and their losses which supposedly amount to more $$$ compared to that event of September 11th. And all the people stranded? So what. Take a walk and look around you, you might even find something interesting, an other human being with a story, a glimpse of a biography. No reason to huddle in the airport.
Let the clouds fly by freely.
This event reminds me of an early Joni Mitchell song: "Both Sides Now"

The first verse goes like this:

Bows and flows of angel hair and ice-ream castles in the air
And feather canyons everywhere, I've looked at clouds that way
But now they only block the sun, they rain and snow on everyone
So many things I would have done, but clouds got in my way
I've looked at clouds from both sides now, from up and down and still somehow
It's cloud illusions I recall; I really don't know clouds ... at all.

Talking about tunes, with the help of my brother I got the "Earth and Sky" song done, now we can move on.

As always, stay healthy, be content and stick with your sense of humor.

Greetings and regards, the Zee-Man

PS the picture was taken today, lots of fine formations but I only post this one, we are overdosed as is by images...

Spring Quake

2010-04-14T10:50:00.002-04:00

All right, an other earthquake in China today with devastating consequences. There has been a lot of earthquakes lately. An unusual amount actually; I wonder why.
It seems like the earth is revolting, sending tremors to wake you up, something urgent perhaps.
Is the earth a being?
Do we take adequate care of this "being"? I suppose we do not, unless you believe the tremors are a result of Einstein's theory of relativity.
Now in the mean time, spring is here in the Shire. All good the Hobbit would say, smoking his pipe solemnly at four a clock at tea time.
You would think that humans are rational creatures, but that is sketchy. They mostly only care for their immediate satisfaction, that carrot which dangles in front of the donkey's nose.
Earthquakes? It is a wake up call to forfeit the carrot, yeah - that's it!

Eggs and Easter

2010-04-04T17:42:00.001-04:00

So, I am not quite sure why and who invented the egg thing at Easter. Nevertheless, I bought four dozen of eggs, colored them and pretended to be the "Easter Bunny" and placed them randomly on my neighbors yard.
Was kind of fun.
They still have children of that age.
But what does it mean? Fertility, spring, abundance?
For Christ's sake, he was nailed at a cross - so what about these eggs?
Sure the eggs are charming and the kids have fun. But is there a deeper meaning behind this?

The lyrics to the song of the previous post

2010-03-28T09:46:00.002-04:00

Earth and Sky

This time it took my breath away

Little did I know what was taken?

Just got a call the previous day,

Play for us– “Cowgirls don’t Cry”

And I didn’t even know why this song why?

Was it a farmer who loved country songs?

Or something sentimental, the family wants?

Was it an accident, or a natural death?

Who was that life that now had left?

Chorus:

By angels’ breath we feel

That life is never taken

When you cross the border between earth and sky

And I gladly sing “Cowgirls don’t cry”

They filled the firehouse, the chapel was too small

Three hundred people, with children and all

I stood in there trembling wondering why?

I had to play this song, “Cowgirls don’t Cry”

As it turned out at the memorial scene

It was for a girl that was just eighteen

She loved her horses, that’s how she got by

And she loved the song “Cowgirls don’t cry”

Chorus:

By angels’ breath we feel

That life is never taken

When you cross the border between earth and sky

And I gladly sing “Cowgirls don’t cry”

She died in her sleep, quite naturally

But I can’t understand why she went away

There were no drugs, her heart just fine

No seizures in the brain to cross that line

And I just played the song “Cowgirls don’t cry”

Chorus:

By angels’ breath we feel

That life is never taken

When you cross the border between earth and sky

And I gladly sing “Cowgirls don’t cry”

Bootleg scratch of "Earth & Sky" and health insurance (<--- click this title for sound) CD, with a few other songs will be avaiable, remastered of course, in late summer

2010-03-23T11:27:00.022-04:00

It has come to my attention, that the US congress has passed a bill yesterday to catch up (a little) to the rest of the "developed" countries in this world. So, any move is fine in that direction in my book, even if it means to count little steps at a time. We don't live in the Wild West anymore and our children deserve better than that, not driving around in a stage-coach searching for gold in barren land, this is not an option anymore.
The Pilgrims are long gone, face it - those days are over!
Now we are "just" people and we have to live up to that reality and find our ways.
And then, the children will inherit the glory or the mess we create - it is up to us how we shape or prepare the future for them.

By the way, I finally figured out how to embed my audio sketch of this song "Earth and Sky" in a somewhat clumsy way - just click on the header of this post, and it will start playing. Next week, we (my brother and I) will record a "proper" version. I will keep you updated. Keep in mind, there are many booboos on this one, it really is just a personal exploration of a draft leading towards a final version.
Picture: Maratha's Vineyard about three weeks ago.

The egg has hatched

2010-03-14T10:16:00.011-04:00

Was busy writing lyrics for the previous (departed girl) event.
They are done and the melody is 99% finished. Now comes the tedious part of recording this song.

PS. On that little wonderful Apple music recording machine, you see a flickering image of Seraphine's blog. She needs a bit of moral support these days, lost her job or something (am in the same boat). But I wouldn't mind if you say hello to her and give her some words of encouragement. Thanks!
http://encoreseraphine.com/

We are waiting for spring here in the north eastern corridor, I believe it is just around the corner. The absolutely non logical manufactured time change has happened to day: Spring forward an hour. For what? It doesn't really matter what number you give the time of day, it is arbitrary anyway. You wake up with the sun, then you go away, to do whatever needs to be done.
It really burns down to the manipulation of masses, that much I have learned.
You don't "save" energy by changing the clock, where it naturally goes "tick-tock".
This is my annual rant about manipulation
a gentle touch to describe the situation
all I know, that the sun is true
and I hope that you are following it too

I can't fathom this

2010-02-23T17:22:00.006-05:00

Just came back from a memorial service, don't do that stuff very often. Played violin on a song called "Cowgirls don't cry" - kind of pathetic song, last minute call, practiced 40 minutes tops, much too little.
Why a country song at a memorial? Well I asked that myself as well. So I thought this would be a nostalgic tribute to a farmer who died naturally in his 80's, that's how it sounded at first when I got the call to play there yesterday. I was wrong.
In this case, as I found out about two hours before the ceremony started, it was all about a young lady who would have turned 19 next May. She just simply died in her sleep, no drugs, no brain seizures, no heart attack, no poisoning. Kind of a mystery really.
In any case - she loved horses, (hence the cow-girl song) she could "die for them", and maybe she did...

"Cowgirls don't cry -ride baby ride, when you fall get yourself up from the mud, it's just a lesson for life."
(or something of that nature...)

I was going to do a recording of this gig, but in the last moment decided: No go! I don't know, it just didn't seem right and I was very moved by this transitional experience.
Sometimes I wonder if there are people out there who "depart" to the spiritual realm by choice or by will - simply without using any assistance from drugs or any other substances.
I really do...
(this is a picture of her, not by me)

The coffin was transported on a horse-wagon to the fire department's locality because the chapel was too small to accommodate three or for-hundred people.
Cowgirls don't cry - I sometimes wonder why.

Brandaris

2010-02-17T11:19:00.001-05:00

So here is the story. Two days ago I went to New York City to meet up with a friend. Parked the truck at the "Cloisters" and kept calling on the cell phone until the microwaves turned my ear purple. I had no luck. Then I drove to 139th Street in Harlem and crashed into their lives, a beautiful woman from the US and beautiful man from the west coast of Africa. Don't worry, they are my friends and have "crashed" in my shire before.
Subway, go downtown, find Brandaris with phone or without. After checking out every possible hotel on 40th Street (because I knew that much of his location) I turned back empty handed, no Brandaris to be found. I went back to Harlem, had an awesome time with my friends and a superb fresh, delicious fish dinner. Sleep.
Next morning I drove back (two hour drive) kissed Manhattan good bye, and was depressed. Where was this Brandaris? Later in the morning I get a call: "Hoi, do isch dr Christian!" I was delighted.
We had spend 12 years together in a Waldorf School in Basel and haven't seen each other since. That's 30 years plus...
Next day he came up to "The Shire" and we talked about the past a lot - and sometimes of the future. It was the most refreshing human encounter I had for a long time. He drives trains in Switzerland you see, a completely different view of world-circumstances. And they are always on time. You could have guessed that!
Now, the reason why I didn't find him in New York, is that his real name is NOT Brandaris, that is only his artist name, taken from a light-house named
in the north of Germany. And I had believed he had changed his to this.. No wonder the hotel concierges gave me blank looks.
Well, there is much more to this story - of course. But I will not tire you with juicy details.
All is good, and as Christian did say, the "Waldorf Mafia" is stronger than the Sicilian cartel. On top of it, we don't even have to go on a killing spree to maintain our power.
Thank you Christian for being such a fine person to see me and consolidate with me after more than three decades.

Correction: "Brandaris" is a existing light-house in the Netherlands, and Christian's dream was always to be a light-house-keeper

Amunioucoto

2010-02-12T09:28:00.007-05:00

So the Canadian geese are coming back, what a surprise. It is almost like Winter Olympics in Vancouver, bringing it all back home.

St. Valentine's Day

by Norah Pollard

My father was unable to hug me

or talk to me. He could never say

"I love you." He was too shy.

Too, his mind was in

another world.

But whenever he came home from his journeys,

he'd bring me presents—Little Lady Toilet Water,

that grand midnight blue Stetson,

those many Waterman and Parker pens,

the pocketbook with the brass eagle clasp.

And for all occasions, overblown cards

with the puffy scented satin heart or rose

on the ront. Inside, his scraggy signature,

"To my Paddy, from her Daddy."

When you did not give me

a Valentine today,

I was undone.

And I wept in the shower

even though I am an adult and know

gifts are materialistic shallow

commercially driven wasteful crap.

But why, why could you not have

Wasted some mute love on me?

an other kind of beach

2010-02-08T21:54:00.000-05:00

So there you go. "visited" Martha's Vineyard for a few days. Couldn't stay there much longer, just did my job. Crown-molding in this case. Beautiful island. The Kennedy's also live and die there.
It was not like Puerto Rico, not at all. It was bitter cold. Even the seawater at the shore was frozen.
Nevertheless it was the ocean - and that always frees my mind, no matter what the temperature is.
And then I took a break on the second day, waltzed down to the beach, found a dead seal with his head chopped off. I tried to redo this seals history in my mind. Was he or she a-washed ashore, just 'cause the animal was old of age? I don't know. Perhaps a freak fisherman killed the thing because the animal was getting into his lobster traps. Nobody will ever know.
So yes, this working gig turned out all right, though the circumstances were tough, like chopped off heads. You never know when you loose your fingers.

Do you sometimes in life feel like a dead seal chopped off his head with no return?
Just curious.....

Ok, I'm back...

2010-01-31T08:52:00.009-05:00

The Spaniards defended themselves from this castle in the 1600's. In the background a floating city, largest boat I have ever seen in the 21st century
pristine beach

the food is delicious, and so is the surrounding, people are friendly

... reluctantly back! This was my first visit to the Caribbean, and I was impressed. The glossy brochure images you always see actually became reality. The sea water, azure-blue, crystal clear, in the upper 70's Fahrenheit. The air upper 80's. I believe one reason why the water looks so alluring, is that the sand below is almost white, making it a perfect situation to reflect and assimilate the blue sky above.

$577 later, a tip for the chambermaid and a few dollars for food, I am scratching my head: Why didn't I stay longer? Oh well, it was a teaser - they got me hooked!
Now I am back to 12F (-10C) again, or something thereabouts and will attempt to endure more cabin-fever.
The job situation in the US is still in dire straits - and I am hurting. I have to reinvent myself to blast away the blues, go back to my roots. I used to to teach violin, rather successfully I must say, but that was years ago. Now I am tempted to pick up the thread, because even during this recession parents still want their kids to play an instrument, at least in my vicinity (the Hobbit shire). And then in March, I will find out if I get this craft-teacher job in September. Cross your fingers.
I apologize, this must be a lot of personal ramblings. But sometimes I need to vent that as well!
Be healthy, do good, and be back... greetings, Lukas.

Anger doesn't help much

2010-01-15T14:12:00.002-05:00

Seneca addresses the question of mastering anger in three parts: 1. how to avoid becoming angry in the first place 2. how to cease being angry and 3. how to deal with anger in others. Seneca suggests, in order to avoid becoming angry in the first place, that the many faults of anger should be repeatedly remembered. One should avoid being too busy or deal with anger-provoking people.

Personally, I am not angry at anyone, but I am unsatisfied. The catastrophe in Haiti made my head spin. It shows how fragile we all are.
Don't quote me on this, because I lost track after the first billion dollars. I believe the US is spending somewhere in the vicinity of three billion a month in the Middle East. Unbelievable - and this for what, eight years now?!
Well, maybe I am a "little bit angry".
All these resources could have found a constructive place, a betterment for civil society. But no, they just got squandered, blown away, literally! We, the United States could be energy independent, right now. But no politician dares to open the proper page in the cookbook, the recipe there shall remain a secret as long as Exxon, Mobile and all the others rule.
It's sad, and yes - I am "a little bit angry".

Post Scriptum: I hope we will run out of fossil fuels soon, in particular oil. Then we can reinvent our approach to a more healthier way to live, and all the armies in Sudan, Nigeria and the Middle East have nothing more to fight for.

What can we do, for real?

2010-01-13T02:35:00.000-05:00

I am flying out to the Caribbean next week for a few days, was hoping to gain some sun-rays, relax and recuperate. Now this!

Haiti is one of the most impoverished nations in the western hemisphere to start off with, now they are in shambles.

The earth-quake destroyed the infrastructure of an already nimble and fragile nation. How can we help?

I feel stupid now to fly to this area just to gain regeneration for my own egoistic reasons.

a new decade of fear?

2010-01-10T10:25:00.004-05:00

I am really sick of it, I had it, I quit, opt out, or whatever. The fear-mongering tactics of the government grind down my nerves. OK, so there was this incident lately of a fellow who boarded a plane on Xmas from Amsterdam, fire-bomb explosives in his underwear. Just think about it, it is almost funny, a guy with "loaded diapers".
But that's not the point. The issue is more volatile than that. Soon (they already started) each passenger on an airplane will be strip-searched, either by a machine, or by incompetent humans. Wonder when they let you, or force you to fly naked.
Even then, there is no guaranty. I bet you, that people can swallow enough explosives into their stomach to create a major hazard, in plastic liners, ready to explode on command.
Whatever, thousands of people either die or get severely crippled in car accidents every day in the USA. Nobody talks about them. It is an un-proportional move to call this an emergency, a threat to the nation, a terrorist attack. Even if that guy had succeeded, blown up the plane, killed 290 something people, it would have been a tragedy, but compared to the statistics of every day's death toll, a minuscule droplet into the bucket.
I am urging you all, to disconnect from the theorem of fear. It creates bad blood and clouds our vision.
Instead, courage is on demand and asked for. We have to stop this paralyzing witch hunt, Osama Bin Laden is dead. That's a fact. All right, it might be Fatamorgana, spelled without the "ph" , so I substitute the "f" now ...

the cut...update, I turned blue

2010-01-06T19:36:00.005-05:00

Legend has it, that there was a mighty strong man, some called him a giant. His name was Ophorus. He observed the angst and need of poor people to cross a large river. They could not afford the ferryman. So by his good heart he choose to live in a simple hut just by the riverbed, and whenever someone called for him, he escorted them over to the other side for free.
One evening he heard the voice of a child: Can you carry me over? Of course, he said. And as he was wading through the waters his load got heavier and heavier. It was almost a miracle that he made it to the other side. The last steps before he went ashore he said to the child: I have carried and helped hundreds of woman and man much bigger than you, but none were as heavy as you. I felt right now that I was carrying the whole world on my shoulders. The child nodded and said: Yes indeed you did, you just carried the whole load and burden of the world. He looked at the child's face in astonishment and at that point realized that he had carried the Christ child over the river. From thereon his name was known as Christophorus.

Purple Hands and White Snow

2010-01-05T19:04:00.013-05:00

Ok, so I promised

I promised Sera that I would finish my woodcut within 48 hours, of course a silly venture. But I took it at heart and opened up an oil paint tube to do some test prints. The tube had a hole and mushed the paint all over me. Nevertheless, test prints are done and they look oh kay.

The winter is upon us and so is the snow. Therefore the picture on the right just to give you an idea.

Oh yes, the woodprint will depict somehow Christophorus carrying a child across a river, might it be the river Jordan, I don't know?! The image will be posted tomorrow or so, got to keep the Sera-deadline.

HAPPY 2010

2010-01-01T09:52:00.001-05:00

A new decade, new yearnings, new dreams, new options. Maybe delightful surprises. May this new decade, starting with twenty-ten, will turn out to be good for you all. The last one kind of sucked in my book, except for a few brilliant moments.

HAPPY NEW YEAR TO YOU ALL

It's not over yet

2009-12-26T14:58:00.000-05:00

I guess they call this "boxing-day", not quite sure how it originated and I am not going out of my way to research it either...
But my imagination runs wild. Boxing-day must have been invented by some 1800's middle/upper class Victorian families who gave their gratitude to the maids and servants right after Christmas-day with all the bullshit they received triple and quadruple and stuffed it for the servants into left over boxes. Made their conscience clean and their puritan hearts pure again.
Nowadays it's a different story. You box up your misfits, and the book you never wanted and bring it back to Walmart, Barnes&Nobles or any other store with receipt in hand to get a rebate, your money back or at least a voucher of sorts. Why don't we give presents instead to our beloved ones that mean something to them, are precious and unique, something useful. How many espresso-coffee makers can you store in your basement with good conscience?
The so called Holy Days, there are twelve of them, just started. Give your loved ones a surprise present that startles but not overwhelms in the next coming days (forget the third expresso-machine you already gave before) and put a drop of light into someones life without spending lots of money. I am 100% convinced that it will work miracles and that it will be appreciated.
So you still have a chance. After the "rave" of Dec 24/25th... there are still 11 holy nights.

what am I supposed to say?

2009-12-22T14:19:00.001-05:00

Perhaps you carve a spoon - that's a beginning, it might lead to feeding those who do not have their own means to do so. Let's say the people in Africa. Big continent - have you ever been there?
All right, we in the so called western-hemisphere are needy too. The other day I got catapulted out of my lazy chair when I learned that all people who do have more than $10,000 unsecured debt will be forgiven up to 60% of their dues (New York State). I am not quite sure where I am going with this... But this remarkable thought did strike me: Max out all your credit cards NOW and then claim 60% interest and harvest within a month or two. Splendid. But I am not a pervert, hence I will not push an attempt into that direction, that scam and all the rest of it.

no reality whatsoever

2009-12-17T18:26:00.006-05:00

Of course the picture on the right is old (just testing your memory, I did post it then:), three weeks old maybe. Now everything out there is covered in snow and the temperatures are ghastly, ice all over the place and on top of the snow the crisp remains of fall preserve themselves until next spring; frigate.

A bit of enthusiasm will bring this "playing for change" to you and your well-being while contemplating arctic air and climate change.
I involuntary watched FOX news today, they are still debating if "global warming" is for real or if it is just a hoax. I believe that we should change this global warming thing, and name it CLIMATE CHANGE instead!
It is not the 0.25% degrees of "warming" in annual rise of temperatures that matters in a pure analytical way, using statistics and other data, it is the negligence of humans to observe shifts in nature which can impact us all. The dabbling discussions about carbon-emissions in Copenhagen stalled, but we shall not! Climate change is all about human deeds and failures, and that is why climate-change is the key phrase - let's forget global warming, that indeed is a hoax.

energy

2009-11-28T11:17:00.005-05:00

The Fox Islands Wind Project is a community-based wind development that will provide residents of North Haven and Vinalhaven Islands (Maine) with clean, renewable energy from three 1.5-megawatt turbines. The turbines are nearly 400 feet tall and the project is the largest community-based wind project on the East Coast. As a matter of fact, it will make these two sistering islands virtually energy independent. It is the first project on the East Coast of the US who made it possible for 1300 or so islanders to use wind instead of fossil fuels.
I do not have the statistics in front of me, but they do exist, and the savings of spitting out Carbon monoxide and such is enormous. It is something in the vicinity of burning 10'000'000 gallons of gasoline ... or more, the equivalent of thousands of acres of cut trees (and their emissions) and so on.
So I am happy, even though my friend Ethan moans and groans about the "noise" from the propellers, he is just an oversensitive kid, not knowing priorities in life yet.

OK, there is always the question of demand, usage and storage of energy. So the cable to the mainland was not "cut". Excess electricity will be fed back to the grid. I sometimes wonder about this, how it will work out in the future when more and more solar and wind energy "farms" sprout up, either on private ground and or sponsored by commercial interests. Someone has to maintain "the grid", someone has to pay for the maintenance of it, the sole logical storage and sharing of electric energy.
In the mean time I am very proud that finally an island in the US, and it is my island, became quasi energy independent.
I hope many more islands will follow suit. Fossil fuels will run out at some point, still in my lifetime, that I know. It is better to invest into a future of zero fossil fuels now than talking the avenue of waiting forever until some kind of blasé miracle will (not) happen.

usually pictures posted here are mine, sometimes I cheat and post modified copies of others (2% or less maybe?) anyhow, to see the full sized images, click on the pic...

language

2009-11-14T18:32:00.001-05:00

Just learned a new one today: "Enhanced interrogation". It was used in a response on NPR radio by a interviewee during some kind of questioning of what Guantanamo peoples will face, in evidence what they said before and after they had been tortured, and how their trial in New York will be affected by these two different kind of "evidence-statements". Needles to say, the morbid part of my mind started laughing out real loud. Enhanced interrogation procedures are synonymous with torture, no doubt. The guy who did the interview put it that way, the gal who answered questions, chose a "political correct" answer.

This makes me wonder about "correctness" in general and how we name and label things.

A person with down-syndrome was called Mongoloid in the 70's, probably not the right labeling. But "they" wouldn't care less. Now, down-syndrome has been disenfranchised in the 90's to: Mentally disabled. In 2000 something, it changed again - to mentally disadvantaged.

That's just one example.

The other day my wife was telling by the dinner table that a friend from New York would come up with her African friend (actually husband) for Thanks Giving, a holiday that is celebrated in the US. My daughter exploded: You can't say it this way mom, that's putting the guy down!

I got upset. There is nothing wrong or incorrect to say where a person comes from, may it be Africa, Japan, Europe or from Australia or anywhere else.

I got upset, because it is in our minds where we create separations and borders. And the beautiful language of "political correctness" will never be able to eradicate hindrances, no matter how soft we phrase our wordings.

The trend to remedy social inadequacies by using smooth terminology in hopes to dilute definitions is a blatant and desperate move of a society who has lost their language to speak.

I have been called a "white nigger" in a "black nigger bar" in Harlem NY, and I am proud of it!
After dancing around, the checking out of this and that, the diminishing level of testosterone and all the other bullshit gone, we decided to be regular humans, no color, no label.
I gave his woman a hug and left the club, he smiled.

We all should stick to the truth and say things the way they are, describing them how they really are and not hide behind soft language. That doesn't mean that you can't be polite. But political correctness now has taken over almost any avenue to be direct, to actually voice an issue.

On that note, be courageous!

it's all over now

2009-11-10T10:56:00.000-05:00

All leaves have fallen, trees are barren. And again the "Indian Summer" tickles some flowers out of a dormant state - in this region.
It is kind of spooky, that Scorpio energy of November, neither here nor there, but ready to kill in an instant, randomly, self imposed.
The recent shooting and killings on a US military base are a "fine" example.
The mood and quality of Scorpio has virtue though. It defines with a surgeons precision where you stand and what you aim for. It kills the beast within yourself.
The resurrection (or counter image) of the Scorpio is the Eagle, same precision, same keen observational skills.
Let the Eagle take over!

crossings

2009-10-10T11:38:00.000-04:00

... and the waters surround me again for a few days - my heart is breathing with lightness

helena

2009-09-21T06:50:00.000-04:00

I am not going to stress the point
as the flow of unopened parcels remain concealed
and what the present has in mind thus still perpetuates.
The love I carry for you is indefinite,
you're being immaculate and complex.

Then the hound-dogs bark
and the coyote's whimper -
and still you will stand there
with a halo around your head
defeating atrocities from without and within.

And by the movement of a thumb
you can clear the plate, clean as shining diamonds.
Those are the good days, the days of bliss
as they radiate in brilliance,
immaculate - overseeing all situations once again.

.

fall haiku's

2009-09-16T19:39:00.005-04:00

Answer from Seraphin
one could assume then
when sunflowers learn to cry
kisses become seeds

lindsaylobe said...
Sunflowers true seed lies within the kernel.
Sunflower seeds fruit of the plant
Ripened in the sun
Seeds hidden in kernel husk

I like that one

2009-09-16T09:22:00.008-04:00

Particle Physics

by Julie Kane

They say two photons fired through a slit
stay paired together to the end of time;
if one is polarized to change its spin,
the other does a U-turn on a dime,
although they fly apart at speeds of light
and never cross each other's paths again,
like us, a couple in the seventies,
divorced for almost thirty years since then.
Tonight a Red Sox batter homered twice
to beat the Yankees in their playoff match,
and, sure as I was born in Boston, when
that second ball deflected off the bat,
I knew your thoughts were flying back to me,
though your location was a mystery.
______________________________________________________________________________________________

I had some weird comments lately with Asian scripture, hence I temporarily had posting restrictions on my blog. Well, they are ALL LIFTED now, with the exception that I will moderate comments who relate to a post that is more than 14 days old. Sorry for the temporary inconvenience.

harvest

2009-09-15T13:50:00.002-04:00

Haven't been around that much, have I? Took that Chevy to the levy - but the levy was dry...
After a rainy June and the half of July, we had a fairly decent August. But the weather turned now, there is chill in the air at night. Melancholy about summer's days past.
But then there is the harvest, and it is a good one this year, the labor in spring payed off. The fruit of the earth accumulated the energy of the sun-season and is ready to be harvested as a healthy bounty.
Obama speaks a lot these days about health and health-care, how we could invest in it so that generations after us also receive opportunities of healing and growth. I believe it is the right push, 'cause what you sow today will once bear fruit in the future. In this debate, Republicans in the US act like a bunch of rednecks participating at a street corner binge-fest. Once the swine-flue hits them, they might change their minds ... and it will hit them.
Maybe they have the "mind-flue" already, who knows. It is just incomprehensible, that in the largest industrialized nation/economy health care is on the bottom of the list and provides the least effective coverage for those in need.
While politicians debate, I can only wait...

see you on the other side

2009-09-05T20:28:00.004-04:00

to say the truth, those pictures are mine - but who cares, we all share...

I'm sucking on your sagging tits of mercy...

2009-08-28T20:25:00.003-04:00

...this line popped up in my mind when I gave notice to quit my job just yesterday.
At 6:30 AM I roll in with a beat up Ford pick-up truck,
she rolls out whenever she wants in her Mercedes Benz.
Twelve hours later I leave.
That was my day.

She cares little what I did - or did not do that day.
She is all about protocol, procedure, inherited traditions
Beyond her written memos all stays blank
Creativity is doomed to recipes of frozen foods
Did you follow each step by step?
Now see, you did good, yes you did!

I gave notice to leave, until they can find
an other one who can suck the sagging tits of mercy
and drool upon lost droplets of grayish milk
__________________________________________________________________________

of course the above is the "dramatic" version; the people in question are actually very fine people - just couldn't stand the vibes anymore from the only four (no man) running the place, their mental state - or should I say instability - have a range from bi-polar manic depressive to borderline Alzheimer's . If the "caretakers" are such, it makes it less enjoyable to take care of the actual "tenants" who are shizophrenic and live on heavy drugs and love alone.
I will find a new job now.

dog days of summer

2009-08-26T16:33:00.008-04:00

Praise the dreams
that fair laundry wears
touched by light breezes
in late summer warmth.

The stain is gone, so is the sweat
sweet smell of flowers to be instead
waiting, turnaround -
dog days are here

Young girls turn giddy
the boys act like fools
and before you know it
they are back in schools

Every last drop I savor,
as it's dripping from my skin
the salty dog days of summer
did finally move in.