"Among the Reasons God May Temporarily Be Unavailable to Bless America": (1) because God has had it up to here with the assumption that prayers for national exemption from pain and tragedy deserve an answer; (2) because God is too busy processing Americans' prayers for their highschool football teams; (3) because God takes for granted that the bombs falling on Kabul are America's real prayers; (4) because such a tasteless and lurid efflorescence of red, white, and blue (including flags wrapped around church steeples) gives God a massive headache.
— Rev. Peter Laarman
taken from The Sun Magazine's February Sunbeams page
Friday, September 27, 2002
Thursday, September 26, 2002
rebel down under
rebecca and jeffrey are well past the half-way mark of their trip down under. every few days — sometimes longer than that if they are traveling hard — rebel writes a meandering streamy email of her own. she regales us about diving in the great barrier reef, camping in torrential downpours, driving on the left-hand of the road, or meeting the nicest people in the world.
her latest entry takes place in the heart of oz, and after reading her email you may believe that it is the heart indeed. rebecca takes a trip and weaves every day and extraordinary magic into her every day and extraordinary life. i spent some time looking up links to go along with her latest post and will try to hyper link sometime tomorow.
meanwhile, check out the rebel down under if you are interested or if you need an afternoon vicarious vacation.
sets, not sex
wednesday night i went to the movies with remington. i kinda corralled him into seeing "the four feathers." i'm sure if he'd had his own pick it woulda been some fancy shmancy palm movie [insert overdramatic eye rolling with back of hand to forehead]. okay, okay, i like palm movies as much as the next person. but i also like heath ledger and wes bently. and rem's a good sport, so he came with.
after the movie (which ended on a very bad and ridiculously obvious note), we headed tostarbucks a generic coffee shop attached to the mall for a little pre-sleepy-dream-time non-caffeinated tea. which turned into hot apple cider for the both of us, and me asking rem if he'd ever seen Lord of the Rings.
No, says Rem.
I told him I thought he should watch it for the sets alone. the sets were amazing
"can you watch a movie just for the sets?" i asked him. rem was the world's first online movie critic (no kidding), so i know he might watch a movie just for certain aspects. so i asked about the sets.
only he heard an "ecks" sound instead of an "etts" sound.
of course! he said, brandishing great vigorous belief in the fast-forward button.
oh, you should watch it, then, it has great sets! amazing sets! you should see the sets where the elves live. great elf sets. god. they're beautiful. gorgeous. stunning.
and in hind sight now i can see rem's brain working, churning, spinning, and spilling... looking at me with almost crossed eyes, trying to figure out what i was on and was i really only drinking hot apple cider. elf sex? beautiful? gorgeous? stunning.
pause. pause. pause.
"did you say setttts?" he asks, enunciating his t.
and then rolled his eyes and said, if you put this on your web site, do NOT use my name.
her latest entry takes place in the heart of oz, and after reading her email you may believe that it is the heart indeed. rebecca takes a trip and weaves every day and extraordinary magic into her every day and extraordinary life. i spent some time looking up links to go along with her latest post and will try to hyper link sometime tomorow.
meanwhile, check out the rebel down under if you are interested or if you need an afternoon vicarious vacation.
sets, not sex
wednesday night i went to the movies with remington. i kinda corralled him into seeing "the four feathers." i'm sure if he'd had his own pick it woulda been some fancy shmancy palm movie [insert overdramatic eye rolling with back of hand to forehead]. okay, okay, i like palm movies as much as the next person. but i also like heath ledger and wes bently. and rem's a good sport, so he came with.
after the movie (which ended on a very bad and ridiculously obvious note), we headed to
No, says Rem.
I told him I thought he should watch it for the sets alone. the sets were amazing
"can you watch a movie just for the sets?" i asked him. rem was the world's first online movie critic (no kidding), so i know he might watch a movie just for certain aspects. so i asked about the sets.
only he heard an "ecks" sound instead of an "etts" sound.
of course! he said, brandishing great vigorous belief in the fast-forward button.
oh, you should watch it, then, it has great sets! amazing sets! you should see the sets where the elves live. great elf sets. god. they're beautiful. gorgeous. stunning.
and in hind sight now i can see rem's brain working, churning, spinning, and spilling... looking at me with almost crossed eyes, trying to figure out what i was on and was i really only drinking hot apple cider. elf sex? beautiful? gorgeous? stunning.
pause. pause. pause.
"did you say setttts?" he asks, enunciating his t.
and then rolled his eyes and said, if you put this on your web site, do NOT use my name.
Tuesday, September 24, 2002
evil blogger (the service, not me)
stupid blogger dumped my template, so no posting for weeks. sorry about that folks. but i am back. ;)
nice little poem below.
nice little poem below.
Sunday, September 15, 2002
We can make a gate which opens to the world
(a poem)
Mismatched/Mixmatched
Believing that we can fall in love
We make a mistake.
Believing that we can trust each other
We become clumsy.
Believing that we could make our last stand
We take a chance.
In spite of ourselves
We can't help being gentle.
In spite of our love affair
We can't help being cynical.
When we are together with moonlight and candles and passion
Then no one is at fault.
When we share the candlelit telephone bill
Then we have a victorious marriage.
Working hard doesn't produce any comfort.
Loving you is more than the world can provide.
Although practicing meditation does not produce sourdough bread,
Practicing with you makes this tedious world good food.
Seeing you makes me smile without effort.
If you think we can make a world which is brilliant and kind and tender,
Let us love each other with no concern for our private world.
Let us love each other without wondering whether our love affair is good or bad.
Let us love each other until the dawn breaks.
And when it does,
Let us celebrate our love affair.
Let us marry ourselves to the continuous proclamation of true love.
We can pay the bills.
We can build a picket fence.
We can plant a rose garden.
We can make a gate which opens to the world.
I love you forever, because you are who you are.
— Vajra Regent Osel Tenzel
January 26 1980
L.A.
Mismatched/Mixmatched
Believing that we can fall in love
We make a mistake.
Believing that we can trust each other
We become clumsy.
Believing that we could make our last stand
We take a chance.
In spite of ourselves
We can't help being gentle.
In spite of our love affair
We can't help being cynical.
When we are together with moonlight and candles and passion
Then no one is at fault.
When we share the candlelit telephone bill
Then we have a victorious marriage.
Working hard doesn't produce any comfort.
Loving you is more than the world can provide.
Although practicing meditation does not produce sourdough bread,
Practicing with you makes this tedious world good food.
Seeing you makes me smile without effort.
If you think we can make a world which is brilliant and kind and tender,
Let us love each other with no concern for our private world.
Let us love each other without wondering whether our love affair is good or bad.
Let us love each other until the dawn breaks.
And when it does,
Let us celebrate our love affair.
Let us marry ourselves to the continuous proclamation of true love.
We can pay the bills.
We can build a picket fence.
We can plant a rose garden.
We can make a gate which opens to the world.
I love you forever, because you are who you are.
— Vajra Regent Osel Tenzel
January 26 1980
L.A.
Thursday, September 12, 2002
bbc :: nelson mandela
"One of the world's most respected statesmen, Nelson Mandela, has condemned United States intervention in the Middle East as "a threat to world peace".
He said that no evidence had been presented to support the claim that Iraq possesses weapons of mass destruction, while former UN weapons inspector in Baghdad Scott Ritter has said there is no such evidence."
factoid of the day: did you know that dick cheney was opposed to nelson mandela's release from prison?
ny times :: mccain
althought mccain supports a military action against iraq he also said today that it "may entail the risk of American lives and treasure" and that "Saddam Hussein is vastly weaker than he was in 1991."
the hospitable hostel obispo
want to visit slo and don't know where to stay? try hostel obispo, one of the easiest, nicest, and cleannest hostels in the united states. plus i'm friends with the proprietors. the site is nice and they have links to all things fun in slo town.
Wednesday, September 11, 2002
a year ago today
a year ago today i spent 17 hours in front of a tv set. and in the 18th hour i still wasn't sure that i believed my eyes.
a year ago today my heart was broken by every person i saw -- whether i knew them or not. and everyone seemed to extend themselves further -- the heart of humanity was opened to include other drivers, people in the check out line, strangers on the street.
in the days that followed i got the letter from tamim ansary and began to read blog's of strangers. it started with andy' chest. then i went to ultrasparky, east/west, and kottke. ultrasparky led me to jonno and sturtle.
more than a year ago i wasn't too fond of the world trade center. i felt in the past that they were a bit obnoxious, seeming to represent everything about america that is over the top and overconsuming and exploitive. and i guess needless to say, i don't feel that way anymore.
and today i think of my little ny friends: de and bean, both doing the brooklyn boogie and adding spice to the melting pot.
a year ago today my heart was broken by every person i saw -- whether i knew them or not. and everyone seemed to extend themselves further -- the heart of humanity was opened to include other drivers, people in the check out line, strangers on the street.
in the days that followed i got the letter from tamim ansary and began to read blog's of strangers. it started with andy' chest. then i went to ultrasparky, east/west, and kottke. ultrasparky led me to jonno and sturtle.
more than a year ago i wasn't too fond of the world trade center. i felt in the past that they were a bit obnoxious, seeming to represent everything about america that is over the top and overconsuming and exploitive. and i guess needless to say, i don't feel that way anymore.
and today i think of my little ny friends: de and bean, both doing the brooklyn boogie and adding spice to the melting pot.
Friday, September 06, 2002
insert your favorite carpenter's song title here
(or burt bacharach title)
you get the idea
what a nice, mellow birthday. a couple of bouquets of flowers, fun meandering day (okay -- it is noted: i overuse that word), a great sunset hike con mi madre, friends in from out of town, a palm movie -- which are always free on your birthday. we saw thirteen conversations about one thing, which i loved.
dan, knowing my giggle-induced appreciation of homestar runner, got me a tshirt and magnets of all the characters. when it came, however, one character was missing....
-----Original Message-----
From: Dan
Sent: Thursday, September 05, 2002 9:03 PM
To: Homestar Runner
Subject: order homestarrunner-3425 from Homestar Runner
To Homerstar,
What a load of crappy crap.
I ordered a t-shirt and 12 magnets for my Shmooper's birthday and when she opened her gift today there was no StrongBad magnet to be found. How can this be? Does trongBad know a secret way out of the big white envelope? Did he die being wrapped up in that little plastic sheath? What happened? Please rush a Strongbad magnet to fill the gaping void in my Shmooper's heart.
Dan
-----Original Message-----
From: HomestarRunner [mailto:homestarrunner2001@yahoo.com]
Sent: Thursday, September 05, 2002 9:03 PM
To: Dan
Cc: Maryaf
Subject: Re: order homestarrunner-3425 from Homestar Runner
Obviously, Dan, you haven't been paying attention lately...Strong Bad's been on vacation, which is undoubtedly why his magnet button wasn't included in the order for your Shmooper. But don't despair.......and keep this under your hat....Strong Bad is back (although he's not telling anyone yet) so we CAN get your Shmooper a lovely Strong Bad magnet button to go with her others.... we'll get it right out to you.....and by copy of this e-mail, we're letting your Shmooper know that this whole fiasco IS NOT your fault, but only due to the incredible lethargy of Strong Bad and the evil complicity of The Cheat.
Thanks, Dan, for being a Homestar Runner fan, and thank you for your order!! We really appreciate your support!!
- The Homestar Gang
you get the idea
what a nice, mellow birthday. a couple of bouquets of flowers, fun meandering day (okay -- it is noted: i overuse that word), a great sunset hike con mi madre, friends in from out of town, a palm movie -- which are always free on your birthday. we saw thirteen conversations about one thing, which i loved.
dan, knowing my giggle-induced appreciation of homestar runner, got me a tshirt and magnets of all the characters. when it came, however, one character was missing....
-----Original Message-----
From: Dan
Sent: Thursday, September 05, 2002 9:03 PM
To: Homestar Runner
Subject: order homestarrunner-3425 from Homestar Runner
To Homerstar,
What a load of crappy crap.
I ordered a t-shirt and 12 magnets for my Shmooper's birthday and when she opened her gift today there was no StrongBad magnet to be found. How can this be? Does trongBad know a secret way out of the big white envelope? Did he die being wrapped up in that little plastic sheath? What happened? Please rush a Strongbad magnet to fill the gaping void in my Shmooper's heart.
Dan
-----Original Message-----
From: HomestarRunner [mailto:homestarrunner2001@yahoo.com]
Sent: Thursday, September 05, 2002 9:03 PM
To: Dan
Cc: Maryaf
Subject: Re: order homestarrunner-3425 from Homestar Runner
Obviously, Dan, you haven't been paying attention lately...Strong Bad's been on vacation, which is undoubtedly why his magnet button wasn't included in the order for your Shmooper. But don't despair.......and keep this under your hat....Strong Bad is back (although he's not telling anyone yet) so we CAN get your Shmooper a lovely Strong Bad magnet button to go with her others.... we'll get it right out to you.....and by copy of this e-mail, we're letting your Shmooper know that this whole fiasco IS NOT your fault, but only due to the incredible lethargy of Strong Bad and the evil complicity of The Cheat.
Thanks, Dan, for being a Homestar Runner fan, and thank you for your order!! We really appreciate your support!!
- The Homestar Gang
Thursday, September 05, 2002
remington dahl — 007 and man of mystery
date: Wed 9/4/2002 11:05 AM
from: Remington Dahl
subject: On Sunday I came up to a stop light
On Sunday I came up to a stop light next to these two young babes who'd written "Honk if your a hottie" in the dust covering their back window. Being me, I tried but was completely unable to resist saying "Excuse me, but, the type of 'your' to which your sign refers requires an apostrophe after the 'u', and must end with an 'e'." Needless to say, they began massaging their breasts and telling me their deepest desires. All true but that last sentence. Their actual quotes were "Um... okay, dude. Thanks a bunch!" and "We'll be sure to correct that, professor." They wanted me.
They all want me.
- Me
date: Wed 9/5/2002 3:02 PM
from: Remington Dahl
subject: Last Weekend
Just a little something I like to do on the weekends...
from: Remington Dahl
subject: On Sunday I came up to a stop light
On Sunday I came up to a stop light next to these two young babes who'd written "Honk if your a hottie" in the dust covering their back window. Being me, I tried but was completely unable to resist saying "Excuse me, but, the type of 'your' to which your sign refers requires an apostrophe after the 'u', and must end with an 'e'." Needless to say, they began massaging their breasts and telling me their deepest desires. All true but that last sentence. Their actual quotes were "Um... okay, dude. Thanks a bunch!" and "We'll be sure to correct that, professor." They wanted me.
They all want me.
- Me
date: Wed 9/5/2002 3:02 PM
from: Remington Dahl
subject: Last Weekend
Just a little something I like to do on the weekends...
on this day
On this day in 1957, Jack Kerouac's novel On the Road was published by Viking Press. The Beat Generation classic was based on road trips Kerouac made with his friend Neal Cassady in the late 1940s. Kerouac started writing the novel on April 12, 1951, and finished on April 22. He taped together sheets of tracing paper to create a one hundred and twenty foot-long scroll.
shameless self-promotion warning
it's my birthday! and people all over the world are celebrating!
it's my birthday! and people all over the world are celebrating!
boston celebrates
jeff davis road
jeff's team celebrates in the early morning
somewhere in eastern europe the accordian ushers in birthday greetings
a theravedin monk and his theravedin pooch and their theravedin birthday hats
Wednesday, September 04, 2002
jeff davis road: pretzel power
last seen wearing a motorcycle helmet strapped with a lit and fizzing and going off firecracker, our newest vision of jeff includes pretzel logic.
the birthday that couldn't?
this year i thought i would do my birthday different. kind of slip off into the desert and wander amongst the saguaro and sandstone craggy hills, mom in tow. we'd meander and paint and draw and do yoga. visit my grandparents. see the sights. have a kind of slow, meandering birthday where it wouldn't matter if it was a special day or if there was cake or if people remembered, etc.
but all hell broke loose at work and created a non-vacation week for me. and now i will be here for my birthday. and i made a point of not really mentioning that it was my birthday. so now i think it will be this birthday non grata. and that wasn't really my goal at all.
something special. something ethereal. something slow simmering stunning. something adventurous. this has turned into meetings and timelines and pushing email.
meanwhile, it is raining.
i've never known it to rain here in september. and as i turned into the road that takes me to the office a couple drops hit my windshield. big drops. colorado-late-summer drops. it hasn't rained here since may and even that was meager.
and i thought, if it were to rain, well then, that might be the something. and it might be ethereal and a slow simmering stunning thing that might make my birthday perfect. so i'm holding my breath that it becomes a brilliant, late summer showery day tomorrow.
m.
but all hell broke loose at work and created a non-vacation week for me. and now i will be here for my birthday. and i made a point of not really mentioning that it was my birthday. so now i think it will be this birthday non grata. and that wasn't really my goal at all.
something special. something ethereal. something slow simmering stunning. something adventurous. this has turned into meetings and timelines and pushing email.
meanwhile, it is raining.
i've never known it to rain here in september. and as i turned into the road that takes me to the office a couple drops hit my windshield. big drops. colorado-late-summer drops. it hasn't rained here since may and even that was meager.
and i thought, if it were to rain, well then, that might be the something. and it might be ethereal and a slow simmering stunning thing that might make my birthday perfect. so i'm holding my breath that it becomes a brilliant, late summer showery day tomorrow.
m.
Monday, September 02, 2002
for all of you out there clamoring for war...
"In today's world expectations of war have changed. It is no longer realistic to expect that our enemy will be completely destroyed, or that victory will be total for us. Or, for that matter, can an enemy be considered absolute. We have seen many times that today's enemies are often tomorrow's allies, a clear indication that things are relative and very inter-related and inter-dependent. Our survival, our success, our progress, are very much related to others' well being. Therefore, we as well as our enemies are still very much interdependent. Whether we regard them as economic, ideological, or political enemies makes no difference to this. Their destruction has a destructive effect upon us. Thus, the very concept of war, which is not only a painful experience, but also contains the seeds of self-destruction, is no longer relevant."
— The Dalai Lama
from His Holiness the Dalai Lama's Message on the Commemoration of the 1st Anniversary of September 11, 2001
— The Dalai Lama
from His Holiness the Dalai Lama's Message on the Commemoration of the 1st Anniversary of September 11, 2001
treading water
no new news. just doing the ubiquitous treading of the water. working too much, and doing so in an unfocused manner. it's not that i mean to be unfocused, but that too many things demand attention. and if you try to give the right amount of attention to all things... well, nothing gets the right amount, does it?
i cancelled my vacation. postponed, actually. so the arizona meandering car journey will happen in the middle of next month with stops to see my extraordinary grandparents, boyce thompson arboretum, the petrified forest and its painted desert backdrop, canyon de chelly and the grand canyon.
and since i worked all day on saturday, today i am pretending that it is sunday. but it's monday which means that i got to enjoy a few things that are normally outside my nine-to-five reach, such as listening to New Dimensions. today's show was part three of an interview with the architect and forward-thinker, William McDonough. What an amazing mind. And though I've gone overboard on book buying lately and am considering putting myself back on the book diet, his book Cradle to Cradle might have to squeek into the ever expanding bookshelf before the disciplined rationing begins.
i am putting up all of rebecca's travelogues onto her own blog, rebel down under. no unique design, yet, but still a place for you to quench yer rebel thirst in the meanwhile.
i cancelled my vacation. postponed, actually. so the arizona meandering car journey will happen in the middle of next month with stops to see my extraordinary grandparents, boyce thompson arboretum, the petrified forest and its painted desert backdrop, canyon de chelly and the grand canyon.
and since i worked all day on saturday, today i am pretending that it is sunday. but it's monday which means that i got to enjoy a few things that are normally outside my nine-to-five reach, such as listening to New Dimensions. today's show was part three of an interview with the architect and forward-thinker, William McDonough. What an amazing mind. And though I've gone overboard on book buying lately and am considering putting myself back on the book diet, his book Cradle to Cradle might have to squeek into the ever expanding bookshelf before the disciplined rationing begins.
i am putting up all of rebecca's travelogues onto her own blog, rebel down under. no unique design, yet, but still a place for you to quench yer rebel thirst in the meanwhile.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)