I had it with spam:

... now eat this:
...yeah right!
I don't need either. But as of lately I get so many spam-messages by e-mail, it is total injudiciousness - in other words, annoying bullshit. So the only rescue I can see out of this dilemma is to make my e-mail go "dead" for a while, or either diligently upgrade my spam filter, a task I do not enjoy.
I mean really, how many cars, homes, hot chicks and other gadgets can you buy in your neighborhood in a day. This is stupid - a ridicules mess!
We are living in a recession, if not even a depression. Got to keep the essentials straight and not open up new mortgages - either of the heart, soul or body (home). The sharks are getting desperate, I can see it now. Every little blood drop you are willing to bleed, they suck it up, they search it out. Merchants in despair are lousy predators though. Bad breath from a mile away.
So I just trot along, like a Grey Haired Monkey, stubborn and incorruptible - a bit slow at times. That's my method.
And there you go, this is a personalized spam-message just for you - to brighten up your day.
What else do we have to offer?

Lee is a master of many things. You should check out his BLOG, funny and depth coverage at the same time.
In other news. Tomorrow is Friday, actually the Friday before easter. Came early this year. In Europe you wouldn't work on this day if you could avoid it. Time to think about inward changes. But here we just hop on, waiting for the easter-bunny to poke its ears above the shrubs on Sunday.
Perhaps I will think about inner change while I work tomorrow.

Steer's, money and the golden calf

I don't know what comes first.
Went down with my truck to pick up a pack of cigarettes this evening and spotted an injured calf around the corner from my place. It was just lying there in the mud, helpless to move itself to the barn. I stopped and talked to the animal, trying to shoo it away, out of the nasty cold rain. It didn't move. Well it did. It got up and walked three steps, then collapsed again.

Today I was also pondering about the US economy. Banks and credit institutions have given loans to borrowers who have no money, except the assets they speculate on. The point is, those assets are not theirs. They are pebbles, framed on the prognosis of endless growth, your typical capitalistic frame of operandi.
Guess what, the US economy is in as bad of a shape as the calf I encountered on my after dinner mission. What I find amusing (or not), is the fact that the government is trying to bail out companies who have slandered their assets without second thoughts, all in the name to "recover the economy". Now, what is that supposed to mean? I truly believed until now, that we live in a Darwinists capitalist society, where the stronger of all will survive. I guess that is not so. There must be a hidden agenda I do not comprehend.
So the fifth largest trading company on the New York stock exchange the other day got bought up for a song by J.P. Morgan & Chase and on top of it the government pays half of the bill? Wait a minute, something is not quite right here. The culprits who speculated to own the golden calf ... and lost, now get MY (the taxpayers) money to continue their atrocities? I thought this was a straight forward game. The one who looses bites the dust. But no, the US Bush gang has to swagger and become socialists at convenience and pump in money they don't even have in the the first place in the name of supporting global cooperations, their buddy's per say. In the mean time the common man has no clue and lends his or hers millions of hours of labor and income to a cause that has no benefit to him at all.

What is a trillion? I don't know, I have never seen one. The only thing I know, is that the US government has accumulated a debt during the Bush era that has arisen to astronomical figures. It doesn't help to have a war either, who drains 16 billion a month and then ended up to be almost a 500 billion on this five year anniversary of insanity. (is that half a trillion?)

All I am trying to say is, the US is broke and the rest of the world is reacting accordingly. What escapes my good will of empathy is, that hardly any citizen in the US is concerned about this. This is like sleepwalking while being secretly drained of all life resources.

So much for the "golden calf rant".

After I picked up those nasty things that create blue smoke, I still worried about the young steer and stopped again on my way home. No change in the situation.
Finally I found out the farmers number and I made my call.

I wish I could do the same and call to the US government and warn them about the "golden calf", before it is too late -

...but I lost that number in the pile of mess abound.

pictures later, OK?

My Fortune Cookie told me today:
Try spearmint-flavored wallpaper in the bedroom.

... maybe I'll make a test run in my basement first before such a bold move.

a bit of local history

I got images from downtown Hillsdale yesterday, but I have a blockage to write or post much about them. You can though (as always) click on images to see them a bit bigger, if that tickles your fancy. Is bigger better?
So there, I'll give you a few lines anyway.
The Mount Washington Hotel (or "house") had been build in the early 1880's, an historical pearl within the context of American perspectives. After the turn of the century it was known as a very fine house for woman who are not afraid to show their true skin, may it be black or white, or any other color for that matter.
Times changed, and the once famous brothel turned into an ordinary establishment.

Across my driveway there used to be Mr. Miller, a very intelligent man, who made his fortune with advertisements for an established agency based in New York City. He had a lovely wife who tended the garden roses well, but she died of cancer - bless her soul.
Thereafter he got together with the woman who owned the "Mount" (Mount Washington Hotel) - a big fat lady called Marge. She was sweet and spiteful acrimoniously. But alas, she died soon after they met due to a heart attack (to much weight I guess), and then left poor Mr. Miller slip back into a lonesome chamber in his NYC loft.
Anyhow, the daughter took over. Are you following me? The daughter of the mother, who once was the lover of my neighbor who presently lives in New York and might as well be dead , who knows - this daughter now runs the "Mount Washington Hotel."
There you go, it took me all this time to tell you this, that I ate a hamburger there last night and that this thing actually tasted yummy, and the pickles on the side were fresh.

for your amusement only

In a smoky cafe over 20 years ago (actually it was smoke free even back then, besides the outdoors) I played some improvisational music with a troubadour from the deep down woods of Bavaria.
Two samples are uploaded on Gcast on the sidebar here, recorded life with a wobbly cassette player. If you click on "Posts" you will see the whole present list of originals. (only 4 so far).
"dr Fluss" (the river) is my favorite. The violin playing and improv actually worked out to my liking then, despite the monotonous melody line. "a liebesblues" was the antidote of what was going on in the mid 80's, the full servings of streamlined pop. I play the melody first on guitar, then switch to violin.
Look out for Gcast and press POSTS in the coming days or weeks. I might be tempted to load up some more stuff that is even older, from California back in the days ... or I might fabricate something totally new, like from 2008 with Lee or Pete on hand - or just me and my Chinese computer (no punch intended).
P.S. just uploaded a scratchy rehearsal from 1981 of a cover tune: One more cup of coffee by B.Dylan (beware, lead voice of me is OK, but my violin playing is sketchy. Nevertheless, I am proud to announce that this cover of that particular tune rivals the original)

photo of the "Altstadt Cafe" back-porch in Freiburg, Germany where Pesold and Zee played

Spitzer, Beijing Olympics - and dirty air

Dirty air all abound.
The governor of New York resigned today because the air was filthy. Prostitutes are a mans second to last answer. With all due respect, let us call them companions.
I have a lot of respect for the hard working woman who do these "escort services" for three and up to $5000 (thousand) an hour. Spitzer (the governor) might not even ever have used the opportunity of added sexual pleasures, nobody will ever know.
But spending thousand over thousands of dollars to walk beside a hot chick down the avenue is beyond my comprehension. It is actually unreal. I would personally never do such a thing. It would turn me off, not on.
So now he is done for, he resigned, that's that.
The dirty air conversation continues. The summer Olympic games are supposed to be in China this year, an other polluted breeze of air. Athletes may take their pollution-control masks along. The air is so bad, an average American infidel might drop to the ground within 10 minutes.
But that's not the point.
China has (in my book) one of the worst human rights records in history.
China is not in their right minds, they know nothing about Olympia on the Pelepones in Greece, the traditions where this "olympiad" came from, the honors required to give to the god Zeus. Nothing at all. Blank, blank, blank ....
I went to Olympia three times in my life, the place is astounding, the sculptures in equilibrium. I am glad the fires there last summer did not destroy everything. I wish to visit one more time,

So, back to the "dirty air". You, the consumer buys 86% Chinese products, from pocket knifes to under-garments, batteries to computers, shirts to wall paint. I challenge you to act otherwise, to buy locally if you can. But you will not do so, because you just have no choice. So you will stay a conformer, a good consumer - until the walls are crumbling a'down. (the € euro is now worth $1.50)
Thereafter, hail to fresh air!

my annual daylight savings rant

Over the years, supporters of Daylight Savings Time have advanced new reasons to support it, even though they were not the original reasons behind enacting DST.

One they say is safety. Some people believe that if we have more daylight at the end of the day, we will have fewer accidents.

In fact, this "benefit" comes only at the cost of less daylight in the morning. When year-round daylight time was tried in 1973, one reason it was repealed was because of an increased number of school bus accidents in the morning. Further, a study of traffic accidents throughout Canada in 1991 and 1992 by Stanley Coren of the University of British Columbia before, during, and immediately after the so-called "spring forward" when DST begins in April. Alarmingly, he found an eight percent jump in traffic accidents on the Monday after clocks are moved ahead. He attributes the jump to the lost hour of sleep. In a letter to the New England Journal of Medicine, Coren explained, "These data show that small changes in the amount of sleep that people get can have major consequences in everyday activities." He undertook the study as a follow up to research showing that even an hour's change can disrupt sleep patterns and "persist for up to five days after each time shift." Other observers attribute the huge spike in accidents on the first Monday of DST to the sudden change in the amount of light during driving times. Regardless of the reason, there is no denying that changing our clocks has a significant cost in human lives.

While some people claim that they would miss the late evening light, a presumably similar number of people love the morning light. And projects, postponed during the sun filled summer, will be tackled with new vigor when the sun sets an hour earlier each day.

Congress appears to have felt we were not having enough of a difficult time so in 2007 they passed a law starting Daylight Savings time 3 weeks earlier and ending it one week later. This will cost US companies billions to reset automated equipment, put us further out of sync with Asia and Africa time-wise, inconvenience most of the country, all in the name of unproven studies that claim we save energy.

One farmer on the radio said today, his herd of about 300 milking cows are startled. They muuhhed and looked at him in a disgruntled way: "What the heck are you doing so early in the barn?" He then decided to take it easy ... just an half hour earlier for one week. Thereafter switching to the change ...

In my view we should start a campaign to stop this madness. It is bad enough that the government taxes us out of existence, but taking away our "time" with flawed reasonings of "saving something" is too much to bear.

My friends, conspiracy theories left me lukewarm in the past. But now they are gaining momentum. I believe that "daylight savings time" is just a cover up for a psychological experiment, ordained by the government, to see how successful a few people can influence the masses without the "common man" to object. "Daylight Savings" is an illusion, a fabrication of the second world war when electricity was scarce during production times. With our factories presently illuminated 24 hours a day, we don't need this "savings" bullshit anymore.

to the mysterious one

Not long ago, a couple or weeks or so...
someone precious came back to life.
It had been years since the last contact.
So she said: ascending, birds, prayer, song - something moving upward.
She said this after I had used a chain saw to first cut the rough edges. The final image now rested in her palm.
She is a good lady, standing her own grounds and she helped me out without upsetting my own turf. So there you go, miracles are still possible.
As for the sculpture, it was due the other day. But somewhat later - I still will make it.
Cause this one is for the muse - and therefore I will take the proper time to do this without haste and all these enforcements of daily life that usually try to choke you into congested submission.

the dawn of days to come

March has that subtle promise. You are neither here nor there. Winter is not gone, but spring is in the air.
For Lee and I it was a voyage in a haunted house. Good spirits had left the premises, instead black poisoned mold had crept in. I could taste it on my tongue, bitter and acidic.
The owner is trying to redeem the place by us installing warped and moldy doors salvaged from a dumpster behind the Home Depot parking lot.
As you can see on the picture, I am trying to glue back a delaminated bi-fold door that truthfully belongs to the trash pile it came from.
"Winter" is not over in the USA, it merely started despite the change of season.
The chill of high oil prices, the falling US currency, unemployment rising... looks like a real recession to me. Can you convince me otherwise?

ok, I get it

when I put out a post about people I despise, I do not get a lot of sympathy, nor any comments. That's interesting.
So let me tell you this, I have all reasons today to abandon my negative stance and begin the next week with smiles and good will. How about that?
You can look forward to a "creative" post again in the next few days.
Be well, Zee.

fat cigars

"Hitler was deciding who was fit to live and who wasn't, was taking away people's freedoms, and was using the instrument of business and government to limit freedom. He was a classic leftist dictator."

"Why do you think I coined the term 'feminazi' to describe the most fervent pro-abortion women in this country? Well, what did the Nazis do? Killed people because they were inconvenient."

"Conservatism is about America and about each individual citizen. It's not about a political party triumphing or a political party pulling political strings in order to get the vote of this or that group -- that's what liberal Democrats do."

"Two of the candidates in this race are saying, 'It's my turn,' and the other one is saying, 'God's anointed me." (all original Rush quotes)

Sometimes I just melt down, watch a movie and go baaahhh and pass out. Sanity survival for the next 24 hours.

In the mean time Rush Limp and Annie Cut (where did I loose that missing "n" in that name???) can both kiss my ass.

Talking about movies, I finally broke down to mere crumbs on a leftover platter and abandoned my local video store and instead went with Netfllix. Me bad, since I foremost like to encourage and support local businesses. But they are so out of tune here that I couldn't tune in anymore.
With Netflix late fees are now a thing of the past, and the two movies I watch each month cost me less than five bucks.

Ann Coulter and Rush Limbaugh. What a mess. They are both addicts. She follows her sex and power drive whenever she opens her mouth, he follows his pills and addiction thing while shouting obscenities.

Dangerous liaisons.

beautiful night for a moondance...

The total lunar eclipse was quite a spectacle (partial coverage picture taken last night) , that's one thing. Other thing is, it explains why I was so out of it the last two days.
Blame it on the moon - good one.

It's a fantabulous night for a moon-dance
with the stars up above in the skies...

and whenever I touch you, you will tremble inside,
and then you know how much you
love me now,
you can't hide.

Just pick up one more moon-dance, you - and my love....

free lyrics rendering of the Irish Van Morrison dude

I lost it completely, _Z and Lindsay!

...it has absolutely nothing to do with Duchamp, instead with Ronchamp - Le Corbusier's chapel in Ronchamp to be more exact.
Had a long day yesterday. Silly excuse, but oh so true!
Sorry for the confusion. Me bad.

on my way home

On my way home, I visited the moon;
she always is there, in due time.
but is there anyone who would build a dome
of sublime construction?

giving shelter,
to those who are in need,
to those who yearn for feed?
Trickle that supply to them.
Do we have enough, is there end to pain?

And as the party starts again, just join the ball.
Less becomes more, and little is none.
It is time to know
that life is such.

_______________________

birds tend to land on buildings also

Last time I was in New Zealand (I've only been there once:) I did run into this cafe traveling towards north.
Good sandwiches, delicious. Beats all the vegemite sandwiches from the big Aussi neighbor. Not that I even ever came close to one, by all means... perhaps I'm just biased.
But looking at this adobe style construction, it reminds me of how buildings could be designed totally differently from the standard norm. (_Z take note)
More images tomorrow when I take some pictures of the cubical boring addition we just build. But there are some little surprises we sneaked in, you'll see!
Have a great Monday and a great start of the new week, with humor and affection.

an other "smoking" post

We live our lives like swimming olive-oil spots on the surface of boiling pasta water, waiting for the starch to break down. No matter if you smoke or not, there are steaming and hot times ahead.
Al dente please!




Just heard on the radio this lovely Sunday morning, that the British government is seriously considering to enact a new law for smokers. Of course all the Pubs and all other public spaces are already smoke free. But now comes this:
Every smoker will be obliged to get a SMOKERS LICENSE!
How do you get one? Well, you will have to go to a doctor first and get a statement that your health will not be seriously affected by smoking for the next year or so. Now that is total rubbish, if not even an oxymoron!
But it gets better yet. After you have been to the doctor and got his or her statement, saying that you will not get lung-cancer or any other smoking related disease for the next 12 months, (hahaha - they don't even know where cancer comes from yet) you need to go and purchase a license for about $20. Every time you buy cigarettes you will be required to show your license of health! No license, no cigarettes!!!

On the other hand, the US, and rapidly catching up in other countries, OBESITY is now the #1 cause of self-inflicted death (heart failure on the top of the list), surpassing the doom and gloom of the 27% of society who still wish to smoke.
So, 58% are overweight (26% thereof obese, that means wider than high) 10% are anorexic, add the 27% smokers to it and you will get the image that 95% of the population are on a murderous track of self-destruction. That leaves us with only 5% of "healthy" citizens. This is how statistics work, and this is the grounds whereupon our lawmakers make their decisions!

I made my own conclusions from these (very conservative) figures, namely that a salesperson should be required by law to have a tape measure and a scale at hand whenever a person wants to "supersize" anything, from a hamburger to a car, to a house.
That would be a healthy "measure"!

all she does is eat, sleep and piss - I wish I had that kind of life

All right, I have a cat (one of the two, this one is retired now). In human comparison she now hits her mid 80's. What a gal.
Nevertheless, even though gracious, she annoys the heck out of me when I dance over to the studio in the wee hours of the morning before going to work with a hot cup of coffee in hand and then she goes MIAUUUHHH. My nerves can't handle this audible signal that early in the day:
"give me more food, give me more sleep - screw your priorities, provider. To me you are instantly obliged and I just want to eat and sleep, don't you get it?"

I just smile and give her more food. That's all there is to that. I wish I had incarnated as a cat as well!
So there I was, considering a post that dealt with all the recent school shootings of last week. But it was truthfully too depressing to consider for now. Therefore this time the cat comes first.
Have a grand weekend you all!

Valentine? - be happy

Treat yourself and/or your lover of choice to something nice today.
Eat out, take a walk together, watch a funny movie ... anything together really.
________

If you can't do any of the above, you can also play this Valentine game!

________

P.S. All the contact info for the Haiku winners is in now. Thank you winners! Now I must ponder and then send you the prize. It will take a bit of time, but eventually ...

As always, be well, stay brave and enjoy life filled with light and laughter.
Yours, Zee.

give me more drugs (...or the needle and the damage done)

"Stimulus Package" - sounds like a pink, kinky deal at first - but all it shows for, is a planed blessing from the government.
This is how it works:
First the government took your money; then they spend it all and borrowed astronomical sums on top of it.
Now (the government) gives you a bit back ($600 in change or so in May). You, the consumer, will spend it on this and that in order to "stimulate" the economy while the big fat fishes grow even bigger and the government will tax that spending again from the little skinny fishes. They are fucking geniuses these politicians.
Spend a little, receive more. What a scam. It sounds like an overdose blowjob on 42nd Street. Unreal dude!
Wait, there is something else wrong with that picture. What do you actually "stimulate" with such an act? Who might be the fearful looser of such a stimulation? Could it be you or I?
Sure, something will happen if you hand out cash to about 150 million people. It is for the masses like winning a scratch ticket in the lottery. So what. The ones who really profit are the big companies, when all the sheep (ups, little skinny fishes) go to the stores to consume yet an other gadget that is totally unnecessary for their existence and which they couldn't really afford in the first place.
It seems just a bit absurd to me, that the US government, who is deep in dept, shares cash on (newly printed paper... what's that worth?) to it's citizens which doesn't even exist in the first place, awaiting a turn in tide by such actions.
The USDollar is way down compared to the Euro, and the Canadian Dollar runs higher as well.
Since we already have a war (or two or three) we can't possibly invent an other one to stimulate the economy. Bummer. I guess therefore we get this injection.
Will it work? Perhaps in the short run - but like with all drugs, the trip will fade away and leave an even more somber citizen behind, craving for an other "shot."
The root of the problem is not that we don't spend enough, we already spend more than we really need. The issue is put totally upside down. To have REAL growth we should start to conserve and save ... only that works in the long run. Everything else is like crack-cocaine, a short high followed by a long down.
I have a lingering suspicion that politicians like to have common folks to stay addicts - forever!

this is tricky buissenes - you all win a price! But only three will be recipients, bummer ...

The Haiku contest was splendid, here are the winners, so I needed to choose three for the price to be received. What a miserable ordeal, depressing to let others down. But here we have to go, after putting in all the Haiku's into a basket and pulling out three of them, here are the winners:

Jim, Cym, Laila
are the winners. Please contact me through e-mail and give me your info so I can send you the price.

picture out of studio window this afternoon

All others, be content that your contributions were sublime!


forget not my aim
to walk where wolves fear to tread
with peace in my heart.

Cym
-------------------------------------

forget not my aim
dare you ponder on the gain
of not caring less

Nazli
--------------------------------------

pain is in my soul
and as i turn the pages
i still see your smile

Laila
--------------------------------------

forget not my aim
i tried to throw through you once
stay out of my way

Seraphine
--------------------------------------

death is not a shame
only a flicker of flame
in life's endless game

Jim
--------------------------------------

forget not my aim
the heart is distant and rare
the dart is subtle

Gary
-------------------------------------

Tomorrow is hope
Sunrise brings us our warm rays
An endless life cycle

Lindsay
-------------------------------------


i will only say
once the jello's cleaned up
we will end the fight

Susan
-------------------------------------

a flower greets us
naked, wanton, and smiling
with sensual grace

Jim
-------------------------------------

A flower greets us
Such haughty apparition
As though Hope pervades

Lee
-------------------------------------

a flower greets us
there, on the sweet other side
each petal singing.

Miss Annie
_______________________________________

And a big thanks to Lee and Annie, the newcomers to this blog. If I were to be on a panel of judges, I probably would vote for your contribution.

XLll - how about simply stating #42 instead

Super-bowl? What a gag. Is that a leftover from the Roman Empire, with Roman numerals attached to it and all? Why are there no woman in this sport? Is this the only sport left where woman can't compete?
Whatever, that game bores me to death. A bunch of excused college kids come together, equipped with dick and head and shoulder harness, run and collide into each other, collapse on a pile of human sweat, get up and start all over again.
Maybe I am screwed, because I never follow the teams. If I would, I might spur up more excitement for this "super-bowl" event.
But who cares which team wins. Most of the players don't even reside in the state they are supposedly representing. Some of them are probably illegal aliens, cashing in on 70 million annual contracts. Better than picking apples I suppose.
Superbowl for the common person is like the lottery, a poor mans excitement and taxation to the "higher authority" - a waste of resources really, dullification! And if football is a sport, it is just labeled that way to be on the safe side. (OSHA requirements)
Next time someone annoys me, I just run him or her over, and scream "touch down".
Isn't that what we teach our children to believe in, knocking people over - watching football?

Stay brave?

I don't know what that means, "stay brave"! But an overwhelming crowd voted for that virtue to escape or endure the coming recession.
Fabulous in it's nebulous ways!
'Drive less' and 'plant your own garden' ended up as a distant third in this poll.
Second up was a surprise: 'Eat more fruit', 'help others in need' - and therefore 'make love more often'. Or without any conclusions, you can toss up the results in your own very order.
Hardly anyone decided to become a monk or a nun, or felt fear or relief. Survivalists were sparse.
In any case, the "stay brave wave" still startles me. I need some clarification!
Perhaps I will do a poll again sometime, why not one on who wins the the 'American Idol'?
But alas, I can not claim to watch TV at all. So there must be something else to poll - no?

( picture stolen)

Alright then, I closed my poll now because I'm sick and tired to see it every time I log in.

the most beautiful present, and a new haiku contest!!!

On that division knee wall in my studio, there is now a pinned up picture send by Gary. It is a native imagery of sorts, pretty awesome! And he included a handmade chocolate bar from Nelson as well, and I have to use restrain to not gobble it all up by myself. I would like to share a bite or two, it is delicious beyond means, to the point that you feel guilty for not sharing. All these wonderful treats just for winning a previous HAIKU contest!
So I thought to myself, perhaps I should do something similar as well and grant the winner a surprise price. So all you people who would like to participate, go just right ahead. The winner will be selected by random drawing from a basket containing the ten best of the haiku bunch .

The rules are simple:
1. Three lines only
2. Five, next one 7, and last line five syllables
3. I will make up some first lines (see below)and you only have to pick one and make up the rest. Easy!

The first lines to choose from are:
"forget not my aim"
"pain is in my soul"
"you go too far now"
"today I miss you"
"I will only say"
"we will end the fight"
"each morning we rise"
"a flower greets us"
"death is not a shame"
"tomorrow is hope"

Additional rules: You will have to incorporate one of these first lines in order to win a price, but you are welcome to compose them into the third line of your haiku as well ... Contest concludes when I feel like it. No bribes or mental tantrums accepted. All taxes and shipping costs for sending the price to the recipient will be covered by government funds, or other sources of dubious origin.

does cancerous growth equal an act of conspiracy?

It must be a myth of wishful and unrealistic thinking that unlimited growth and continuous overspilled consumption is the sustainable and driving factor in a economy that seems to be based solely on short term projections and personal margin profits.
As a tree grows, there will be limits to its height and size depending on species and location, soil consistency etc. There is no oak or pine tree that grew three miles high to my knowledge. And even if it could, that still would give a precise determined limit.

(image by unknown artist, stolen from the web)

Why is it then, that both politicians and economists alike expect the growth of global and national economies to grow forever, that companies expect higher yields every quarter?
This is like expecting the oak or pine tree to grow in hight forever, perhaps to the moon and beyond.
It seems to me, that there is something fundamentally wrong with this concept. It does not take in consideration that there are natural limits to expansion of any kind, with the exception of perhaps spiritual growth, which is not dependent on matter at all.
An average company expects to gain profit revenues of about 20% annually, or 5% for a quarter. In other words, the production output will have to increase in a continuous upward spiral. Does this "free-western-marked" model really work? Do common people become more and more prosperous by it?
No, except for a chosen few (within their lifetime).
And then there is this an other factor. Quite a few so called Western Industrialized countries experience lesser growth in birth rates compared to their larger increase in death rates. In other words, their population is declining.
So it makes absolutely no sense to expect 20% more Colgate toothpastes to be sold year after year in Switzerland while both the glaciers and the population is diminishing - unless of course you use that very paste for graffiti on some sidewalks, solid, until the next rain washes it all away or you use the glaciers moisture for artificial tears.

The long and winding point I am trying to make:
There are limits to physical growth! How come people pretend and snuggle into their minds that this illusion of endless growth is for real? This is too much for me truthfully to comprehend.
Is humanity ... ? Ah, forget that sentence.

Small is not beautiful, big is not beautiful. Proportionate on the other hand rules!
Call me an aesthetic pragmatist - I don't care if you do ...

chain saw saga

So I am a bit tired, but that is not an unusual thing when I have to work physically.
Bought a new chainsaw yesterday, totally unnecessary. Reasoning, I got pissed at my son for not taking proper care of the one we already have ( less than a year old).
Maybe it is not even his mistake, it could have also been a flaw by the manufacturer, who knows. Chainsaws, despite their brute action, are one of the most delicate power tools around. So I waltzed into the kitchen and handed him our defunct saw and said: "This one is for you to keep, I'll get myself a new one and you better don't touch it!"
He was not amused to say the least. I broke his pride and confidence. Now I feel guilty.
But what the heck, a man or woman needs to have a properly working chain saw around at all times if there are things to cut on the property.
Went down to the "social youth house" in Hillsdale last night to apologize to him, soothe the vibes and such. But most importantly, regain trust Came back home and then got stopped by a cop in my own driveway. What a riot! He said I was "weaving the meridian" - little did he know that I was just tired, tired of this "chain-saw-massacre".
Anyway, the cop left after a few minutes. I guess he also didn't know what to make of my Maine license plates on the truck. That helped!
On all other accounts, I do enjoy my weekend - what about you?

Remember the love shack?

Yes, the addition we build right now is not grand. But we have actually fun, and it also pays our bills. What more can you ask for in this season of recession and gloom? Actually, the addition will serve as an entrance to a doctors office. Interior pictures are lacking now, only today we put insulation into the ceiling. Gruesomely boring and itchy.
But there will be some fine organic sculptural details in the end on hand, believe it or not. I will take some final pictures then.
In the mean time, I ponder if I should put up a poll about the diverse candidates running, yes running for the presidency of the US, with all their precious attributes attached to that questionnaire. I don't know if it is worth the effort. But maybe it is. I am startled myself whom to vote for.
Should it be the colored guy, the dry lady, the wounded aging veteran, the preacher of all preachers, the mayor who did little but nevertheless got all the credits and praise for it?
The slate of candidates are boring at best, and some are useless. What are you gonna do? Stamp your foot on the ground and go eeni-meeni-minee-mo???
Well, we'll find out on "Super-Tuesday" what the US is all about. That's just around the corner.
Super What????
Oh, it's the game of who has most funds. The one with most assets and connections wins. That is what they call democracy in the USA!
Common man was once a voting partner, now he or she is just a slave of the system that depends solely on a slate of a handful elitists candidates.
For a generation the power in the US was held by only two families, the Bushie's and the Clinton's. . Shall this now continue? Wow, think about it. This is almost as traditional as the "House of Saud". Well, at least we let a woman drive a car here and let them otherwise also do whatever they please to do, without that danger of them being buried alive, ore stoned to death in the middle of a market place. I guess you could say we have progressed (compared to the Saudi's at least). But then - we still have this death penalty, and most executions happen in Texas, the Bushie country. We still have ways to. go!
And so this time around, elections in the US, are as exciting as to watch the stock market crash when you have no single fund invested in there. You just don't care.
What does that leave us with in national politics?
Not much. Perhaps we should watch more of them NBA games while sipping on a Bushweiser...
That'll distract us from all the real issues.
So be it.

It doesn't matter how you look at it

Two years ago I took this photograph (it is cropped here for obvious reasons). Now this lady will have a child in ten days from today. The skull of a sheep in her hands then, and now there is the transformation for a new aspiring life.
It is a miracle how these things happen.

Mr. Hofer, I will leave my blog settings as is, or else make all my friends moderators - what a party!!!

Insanity weaves rampant, and psychopaths are of abundance. But you Helmuth Hofer top the list. You can be proud of it ... if you wish.
For your information, I leave the posting options open - for now. I truly believe in equal opportunities, which is not to be confused with "freedom" or "democracy".
If this doesn't work, I will make all my regular and somewhat irregular posters admin and close the blog to public domain. They can post and see --- you will not see anything, because inaccessible!
Your choice "bud".
In the mean time I would like to inform you that there is no chance for you to enter the USA again. You are not anymore below the "radar screen", your passport and name is tagged, The FBI got back to me on that one despite their endless bureaucracy.
Have a splendid day - be courageous and fight the real enemy - - - for a change!

NY NY for Mirvat in Lebanon

For goodness sake, the beauty still remains. New York is a fabulous city, the Empire State Building, the wax-museum, the streets, the cafe's ... take it all or leave it.

Spend money, spend time, spend glandour - whatever you have, spend it!
It is ironic that Charlie Chaplin is depicted behind a wall that states the Wall Street crash of the 20's. Are we repeating a similar routine today? Not that I really care, my "stocks" are heaped up on a woodpile, wood - ready to be fired up and burned.
So Mirvat, way down in Lebanon - I hope your own fire is still alive. May the "Big APPLE" give you a kiss!

For all others, come to see New York before the final changes - it will be worth your while. If you are in an financial pinch, stay with us for a day or two and take a day trip down to the city from Hobbit-town. Sorry, I am not vegan - but I do steam up some mighty good vegetables. So if you are not religiously obsessed about food and also don't care about the separation of fork and knife, you are very welcome! Delicacies, laughter, and perhaps music will be on the menu.

"When and how should the US get out of Iraq?"

The swimming pool at Balad air base, as seen through the window of a Black Hawk helicopter, 44 miles north of Baghdad, Iraq, on Aug. 25, 2005. (photo AP)

On NPR tonight (National Public Radio) I followed several interviews about this topic. The people who spoke were writers, analysts, women-rights group representatives, common citizens, politicians and others.
A variety of views were illustrated, starting with the one that the US should pull out immediately, to the view that America has still the "obligation" to repair damages done and therefore should stay.
The "when and how should the US get out of Iraq" was a misleading question placed by NPR - or other folks who put such questions to mind. Phrased like this, it can't be the topic of a serious debate. It is actually misleading, because it embeds the notion that the US is still in control of the situation and can do whatever she wishes to do. But then ... it is not so.
An other point, the US has no intentions whatsoever to "withdraw" from the Middle East in the near or later future. There are too many reasons why to mention here, it would fill a whole page. No, it is not only about oil - even though Iraq has the largest reserve of crude besides the Saudis, making it #2 on Arab territory, soon #1, because they are dragging their feet to pump anything out. There are also strategic reasons to preserve a presence there, not to mention all the bonds that filter in and out of that complicated incestuous relationship the US maintains with Israel. But those things are only facets, or pebbles and stones that create an image of a mosaic. Some stones are still missing, the outcome of the picture somewhat uncertain.
Therefore it is idle to ask that question: "When and how should the US get out of Iraq". Because the US never will - voluntarily. Just like the Soviet Union, who was once embedded in Afghanistan for ten years, the US will remain both there and in Iraq to the bitter end. Even if it would come to it, that some politicians decide to draw back troops, let's say 120,000 (the plural majority) - there will still be tens of thousands left to maintain the military bases outside of Baghdad. And as you are very well aware, there are five or more large ones of them, with airstrips, inner sanctuaries including McDonald's, chapels, swimming pools and all. A miniature Americana on foreign soil. The US would never give them up, voluntarily. Never!
See, the US Embassy in Baghdad alone employs 5000 people, nestled in the "Green Zone", not counting local people who keep up this infrastructure, making it the largest hub of any foreign country ... anywhere. Do you really think that they are leaving or having the intent to depart - tomorrow?
I would say - NO!
Therefore the question should not be: "When and how should the US get out of Iraq" - but rather:
When and by whom will the US get kicked out of Iraq!?
You'll get some interesting analysis on that one I bet.
As we all watch this spectacle - we also must scratch our heads. When all is said and done, I probably have no single hair left on my skull.

multiplicaion

Back to "winter wonderland?". Still framing that addition which sometimes equals insanity. Slow, ingeniously slow... And so Lee picked up speed today, made things happen. Good for him. Thanks to him!
Tomorrow will be an other day,
I have no compulsion to comment on the Michigan wasteland around Detroit and the political components involved thrown out by the surge of political ambitions. May the have fun convincing automaker-workers to stay put despite ongoing struggles of the "big three" and the continuous production of bad cars that only serve present greed. The snow falls, so does fall my patience with this incompetent bunch of politicians. All of them!
I have that inclination that I might not vote this year at all. Would be a first time thing to do ... Maybe you can convince me to change my mind!

on a lighter note

Of course my nature is that I am always nagging and critical. But now I think my daughter did a fairly good job when assigned to do a self-portrait in art class in her senior year, actually it is damn good, 'cause it is painted in oil colors, they are not that easy to handle, and you would know it if you ever tried them out for yourself. So I'm not nagging now - instead I am rather pleased!

Why the Democrats will loose again

Too correct, no charisma, no mainstream knowledge, too righteous - that's Hillary's profile. Her husband on the other hand had charisma, was intelligent and had a "suck me baby" presence. Under his reign the US actually ended up with a surplus in their coffers - now we are spending trillions (how many zeros is that) on forlorn dreams in the Middle East paining the back of taxpayers with no end in sight and diving into a vortex of national debt like never before. The US economy is in shambles, to state otherwise would be an utter stinking lie. The dollar has lost all its luster. Bush and his administration killed the US - thoroughly, the economy, national prestige and also hope for the future.
But Hillary, or any other following new president, will have a hard time fixing this mess. It will take generations.
Hillary is not my girl, she will never win my heart, maybe she could have in the 60's - but not now. So what are we left with - Obama, Ruckabee, sorry Huckabee and Romney. And there is still Edwards, I would certainly vote for him. But he will not win the Democratic party's nomination, therefore not electable. Obama, if he actually wins, will have no chance. He probably will get shot and killed like the other Kennedy's before him and any of his youthful wisdom wasted on the pavement before it even could have splattered to the masses. That's what we call "the American way". Kill first, ask later! So what does that leave us with? Huckabee, an evangelist wannabe with humor on his side?

Back to my train of thought. The Democrats will not (again not) win this coming election, 'cause their nominees are either useless or unelectable. So the Repubs will win this despite their internal confusion. An other moron is on the horizon. If McCaine could win, I wouldn't mind at all, but all the others?...
I might have eyeballed Hillary differently when she still was a hippie - but for now, in this millennium, she has estranged herself to my taste. If I shall vote at all, I'll go for Edwards.
It is really too bad that the US has only a two party system. It's like watching a ping-pong game waiting for the ball(s) to drop from the table. And this very game here they call - democracy.

(pictures stolen from public domain)

The road ahead

So Hillary got defeated by Obama. Edwards was second, she was third. What a riot.
It shows you that the US is unpredictable. Mr. Huck, the evangelist leaning candidate won for the Repubs, in front of Guliani.
Before you know it we will have a black president in the US (if he doesn't get shot on the way).
But for now I will continue with the insanity to build in sub-zero temperatures. My friend is using a hot air paint stripper to melt of the ice on the wood that needs to be build onto. Pretty crazy, ehh??
Have a good weekend!

Seven Years have gone after 2000

Do you remember the craze at the millennium change? Well, seven years later we still stand. No computers gave up their "geist" then, nor did other communications collapse. At least the one of the electronic kind. Other sincere human relations in pure form have suffered since.
For the new year I wish for that those later ones will be reestablished.
Peace goes only as far as you dare to go!
HAPPY NEW YEAR TO YOU ALL!!!

of course there is lots going on

Peoples of fame an fortune killed in Pakistan - looks bad for the Middle East and not so great for the US. Pakistan was the US's wild card during the "fight against terrorism", an ally of sorts. Now this is all in shambles. Not my worries really. Instead I just drive by those fields here to go to that Radio Shack downtown to purchase a 2 Gig USB removable storage device. You might call that the most profane move. But you see, all of these political commotions and the adjoining violence and assassinations don't seem to concern me --- not yet, or maybe not anymore!
So how is it with you? Do you still have trust in the representation of your officials, the clerks and fools? Believe it, I lost confidence for now in public commotions and these elaborate propositions that lead nowhere by politicians of any color. What are we left with, what is there to do? You give me an answer - I will brood.