5 a clock Guinness in Hillsdale

OK then, I'll elaborate.
The guy on the left has a BA from a college in visual arts and is now painting houses. The girl, I don't know her, she is the bartender at the "Mount" (the Mount Washington Hotel).
What's the point of saying this? The painter and her look out towards the second image here, Hillsdale "central", and ponder about their future, each in their own ways. As I was taking the pictures I asked myself the same question. Not so much the philosophical ones like: Where is this world gonna lead to. But more on a personal level, where will the pathways of my life lead me in the next few months?
Heck, I wish I knew!
I guess the myth of the starving artist is not a myth after all.

fall mood

Bare and barren branches
have had a history before they brake, off the trunk.
So no more whining is needed.
Nature took its course and sunk
to the ground what comes to be re-seeded.

Human souls are the same,
most shed history, barren
and broken while memory fades
like nail finger-clippings
lost on foreign soil.
Others - still reach for the sky.

© L. Zay

The frenzy about night shades

As I drive down my road I think to myself, what is this hysteria all about while I was watching the golden leaves scattered on the ground.
Simply put, potatoes, tomatoes and tobacco are all "nightshades" imbued with cancerous stimulants. One and the same family, all of them.
Let's say simply, that "Heinz" ketchup promotes cancerous diseases while advertising the "Lycen" factor to diminish heart disease, which might be correct. What a bargain though.
Now they start to ban smoking within 50 feet of official buildings, post a total smoking ban on campuses - etc, etc....
Who's health are we talking about?
Did anybody ever heard the phrase "mind over matter"?
I personally respect when somebody does not wish to inhale my second hand smoke, and I move away.
But when I then arrive at a parking lot, and several SUV's are idling, and I feel that particular day that perhaps they could shut off their engine during the time their female companions are shopping at WallMart - I only get back blank looks in their faces when I try to tell them that they could perhaps shut off their massive engines for that little while.
So what's that to do with smoking?
Easy, the health benefits gained by smoking bans for the general population is minuscule compared to the obese extractions of fossil fuel pollutants that will hover the whole globe for anyone which has to "inhale" and breathe all these toxins in the air for years to come by the exuberant consumption of western greed.
I mean seriously, a campfire with tofu grilled chunks cooked to perfection, will pollute more than burning four cartons worth of cigarettes.
I guess this legal public exercise is to get the little man down, or get all "the little man's " compliance.
Orwell was dead on, but he was wrong with the title of his book, it should have been called "2007", replacing the "1984".
Little did he know, being self raised on that "Animal Farm."

dogs were barking

Bukowsky once said that dogs were barking,
long into the night.
He stripped the stripper
and plugged his ears with cheap toilet tissue.
What a man.
He is dead now, I'm surprised he made it that long,
booze and general abuse took their toll, end of story.

Dogs are barking, everywhere these days
politicians and crooks want their ways
while we wait to remove cotton tissues
out of our ears and listen to issues
that really matter.
- it's a long way home I would say.

the shire

All right then, I'll have to admit that ...
the trees in the shire are gorgeous. Those shots were taken on my property.
No, it's not that bad here - problem is I am not really "HERE". So tomorrow I'll venture to the island again, pick up all the left over peaces, have a life music party with friends, fix the shingles on the roof that gone blown away in my absence, make peace with the place and then return to the "shire'. Winter-months have to be endured in hobbit style.
If I am quick enough, and inspired, I will post some music from the "music gathering" ,
after the weekend is over and the tape has been edited and I am finally really "here".

the writers almanac on NPR

The Hour
Maybe the moment recurs daily at six, when commuters,
freed from the staring computers,
elbow and bump in unsought intimacy on a station
platform with you, and frustration
rots what is left of your strength. Maybe the hour comes after
dinner, when televised laughter
seeps from a neighboring room; maybe the time is the dead of
night, when you ponder, instead of
dreaming. Whatever the time, you will escape it—by sinking
down with a book, or by drinking
secretly out in the dark studio, or by unbuckling
pants on a stranger, or chuckling,
one with a mob, in a deep theater. Soon, though, the hour
comes to corrode all your power,
pleasure and faith with the damp dread that it daily assigns you.
How you evade it defines you.

Poem: "The Hour" by Michael Lind, from Parallel Lives. © Etruscan Press, 2008

... sometimes NPR feeds me just what I needed to hear.

dividing waters (haiku)

Dividing waters
Create invisible lines
We can not trace them
___________________
OK, that's it - I'm in deep depression after I have left the surroundings of the salty ocean breeze.
People on the "Mainland" act harsh and superegoistic. Whenever I pick up the phone, there is no leisure, no contemplation, just business talk. I am tired of this, but I will endure the winter here in "the shire" - for whatever it is worth. Then I will be back to the island in spring...

gloom of scorpio

I was going to write something here ...
Wasn't it so, that this particular zodiac sign could be redeemed?
Scorpio, the only living thing that can take its own life without outer help or other measures. Fierce, but not graceful.
The eagle on the other hand elevates far above and with keen and unrivaled vision - spots out its pray. No poison involved, just skill.
It has come to my attention that the American Eagle has been swapped, transformed into a scorpio.
Now we will just have to wait and see if and when the US will commit suicide with its own poison and ram the tail into its rear.
The beauty of the eagle once reigned. It shall re-arise when the poison is gone, after the Scorpio's death has been reafirmed.

so what do you do when you come home?

I guess you bring some lobsters from the capital of lobster-fishing. Needles to say, if you have a migraine, those sea carnivores loose their bite and fail to simmer up your appetite. Still, my daughter showed a tremendous amount of appreciation despite her headache and other conditions.
Lobster is an aphrodisiac - so it will help you feel better, no matter what gender you are.

the beginnings of ends

In the beginnings there was the rock, pure granite.
The creases had weathered in time. The story goes, that Vinalhaven, the island off the mid coast of Maine in the US, drifted there all the way from Norway - long, long time ago. Of course that's a myth, but as so many stories have been told, myths add to this picture.
(I can't upload the image of choice tonight, 'cause blogger seems to have come to a halt ... OK, later!)

PS - so yes, Blogger cooperated today! Isn't that stone sexy - at least from a male perspective?

last supper, da Vinci

Want to explore a picture on the web that has the resolution of 16 billion pixels (172181 x 93611)!?!!!!
Click HERE and it will bring you there.
It is pretty spectacular how you can zoom in on minute details, see how Leonardo painted glasses that appear to be transparent etc ...
A journey for visual art lovers!

east and west

Last evening I took these pictures from the rising moon in the east and the setting sun in the west. (Full moon is today)
It made me think of the difference in qualities and why the sun is setting while the moon is rising, a metaphor of todays global situation.
The "moon-forces" are on the rise, while the "sun-forces" are veining. We should try to keep a balance. Think about it, Islam is moon. Turkey (the Ottoman empire) even has a moon on their flag; moon forces are the propellant of the middle east: Division between intelligence and the propulsion of universal compassion. So while the sun-forces drown today, the moon-forces rise. Why is that so?
Simple: The sun has lost its luster, the rays can't keep a balance by themselves. Humans disrespect the sun and with it all earth existence. The West is Not the Best ( mocking the Doors) - the west lost touch in how to meet the east, balanced - with confidence and less violence.
No matter what religious or spiritual background you have, the present issues can't be solved physically and confrontational, but that is what is happening right now in high gear. No, I am not a "peace-freak" and "tree-hugger" at all - don't get me wrong. There are times to die and there are times to live. But it strikes me, that nowadays we have been pushed out of equilibrium by "moon-forces" being on the rise on this planet.
The virtues of moon forces: Diversity, specialization, reflective intelligence, consciousness of rhythms in time.
The virtues of sun forces: Unity, illumination, aural intelligence, consciousness of time in space.
Both are needed, but none should overpower.

balistic

Isn't it interesting to note, that Bush urges for a defensive missile shield system in Europe, one that has failed to work in test runs in the US whilest the space shuttle on the other hand had a hard time going back and forth from the space station?

the long way home

While listening to "Thank you for the music" by Abba, the disgusting pop group from Sweden popular in the 70;s and 80's - I uploaded this picture and thought of roads and bends ahead.
Of course I like Abba now, they make me feel all sentimental about times when I still had emotions and opinions.
These days are gone - except ....
What else is new. The Ottoman empire starts to flex its muscles towards the Kurds. Former prime minister to Pakistan gets almost blown into pieces while returning to her country. California has a case of wild-fire devastation and AHHrnold calls emergency, no real help yet from the Terminator.
The Canadian dollar is worth more than the equivalent in US currency. The Euro trades for more than 1=1.42
Microsoft lost and withdraw their appeal in an EU court.
Apple has record stock marked gains.
What does this all mean?
Absolutely nothing.

Fall in Vinalhaven, Maine, US

On the steps of doom I loom
that's easy to figure, if you know me,
for all others they will have to learn
but it is not of my concern - anymore.

Politicians strive for proliferation and recognition -
it sure looks all the same to me, a wishy-washy addition.
No substance, no promise, no direction.
Is this what they call perfection?
And the house named earth stays barren
while you and I climbed that stairway to heaven
not knowing what to find.

Oh, shut up with your stupid rhymes
it is only the heart that finds,
death or recognition.

not in vain

Ok,ok - you have seen this pitiful rock, leaning at the edge of the Atlantic ocean before. My mistake. But hold on ... I will torture you now with a flood of new pictures. My next post will do that trick.
Cheers, and have a grand Scorpio month ahead!
(as always, click on the pick to see it big)

tears of fall

... and the rain beats on the window pane,
droplets only illuminated by grey skies.
Inside my heart I feel the pain
of outer natures demise.
And if I understand you correctly
not everything dies, just slumbers and takes hold.
We have to be bold and trust the course that life has given us,
a perpetuating force, perhaps this time resounding from an inner source.
__________________________________

I am starting a new sculpture, against all odds of resistance. Indiana lime stone. Strange matter; super homogeneous. I am also tempted to simultaneously start an other form in Vinalhaven granite, just to observe the difference of physical qualities. We'll see what happens.
Fall can be inspiring after all.

putting together little chips to complete a puzzle

Decentralisation is king, it rocks, literally!
The other day a woman appealed a court ruling and lost. She had downloaded one album on a "free site". Now she has to pay $900 and change to the record company PER SONG!!! That's insane - those monopolies (companies) never treated the artists fairly anyway. So what the heck, why should they reap in the profits while we just wish to hear music ...
Anyhow, the stupidity of that woman I can not judge - she was downloading from a centralized database and server, of course that is uncorrectable . Your moves and footprints are all over the place doing this kind of stuff.
I personally download albums before they even have been released in record stores, and I have no shame!
How do I do it? By bits and pieces. A fellow in Japan contributes to the puzzle, so does someone in Austria, Norway, Brazil, US, and so on ... untraceable !!
Mind you, I still buy "albums" (CD's) I like. The ones I love get my "dow", no question.
But again, decentralization is the key here. May it be in agriculture, education, music, and so on ....

c'est tres dure - all good things have to come to an end

All right Caleb, my days are objectively numbered here on "The Rock" even though I just ordered some $200 worth of stone chisels, hopefully coming early next week. I still intend to pound on this granite before I leave. I know it's crazy, but I love "final - haven" - a spared out pocket.
Tomorrow I will get my act together and start planing the catering job I have gotten to serve the party of an American Indian woman and an Aussie guy who recently got married. It will be fun. All the MikMaks will arrive ... pictures to follow:) I still listen to "radio banana" or whatever the heck that Swiss student radio station is called, broadcasting out of Lausanne - while thinking of you and the times we shared on "the rock".


These pictures were taken yesterday in "Old Harbor" of Vinalhaven. The smaller boats load Herring for bait used to catch lobsters. The fisherman finally got mad at me while I was taking pictures floating around and around on my small vessel, they shouted: "you must be from the IRS, go away tax-collector!" I smiled and waved, shouting back NO WAY, I hate that modern form of mobsters!! They smiled back and continued loading.

I came back by sunset and took the last pic from the shoreline ...
(left click on them for a larger image:)

Compassion and the internet

So yes, Buddhist monks are walking in Burma in red robes, their spirituallity burned on streets, tainted crimson.
In Dafour 200,000 people died since last spring, and there is no end in sight to that killing spree.
Iraq, ah - let's not even go there ...
There are lists on the internet to protest the Burmese government; it is like putting your digital signature on a useless cyber list in an illusionary attempt to create virtual change.
Signing internet petitions make no difference, they only make the bourgeoisie petitioner feel better for a day, or a couple of hours. A waste of time and effort in my view. None of you here who read and respond to this, have ever been to Burma, Dafour or Iraq.
So what do you really know? Little to nothing. And why do you even care?
Do you want ... justice? For whom - for you, for your self esteem?

Yes, I have an iota of compassion left for the peoples in trouble around the globe. But internet petitions are the ultimate failure to solve any conflict with satisfaction.
The internet just informs and entertains, is good for networking - but that's about all it can give. Right?