2023.07.02
I'm not fully endorsing this view but I think it's thought-provoking...
Here's what I suspect: mentally healthy people, if they still exist, aren't healthy because of the constant presence of positive feelings of self. They are healthy because of the habitual absence of any feelings of self at all. (I guarantee you this is already a thing in psychology or some 19th century German philosophy but it's proving stubbornly resistant to my Googling.) Where we've gone wrong as a civilization in terms of understanding confidence is in thinking of it as a presence, as an emotion. But I think what we perceive as confidence is simply not constantly thinking about yourself and your value. That's more real and sustainable to me than thinking about yourself all the time and consistently feeling good about what you find. Unfortunately it seems like not thinking about yourself is what many modern people find hardest of all.Personally my guess is that the problem is people getting driven by too much raw emotion connected to how they want the world to be different (sometimes themselves included). I'm not sure I fully avoid "thinking about yourself and your value" - but when I do consider myself in an evaluative way, it's with a weird dose of "fixed mindset" that assures me I'm an ok mix of smart, funny, and capable, and that's not going to change (but! In return I shouldn't look too hard for where my limits actually are - that's my deal with my "positive fixed mindset devil").
UPDATE: On FB Nick (who has a set of challenges based on his albinism) sent me this HealthyGamer_gg video, and I wrote back:
Yeah, that's a pretty good video. Like when I think of what knocked me down a few levels - not getting into a high school NASA internship, swinging and missing with getting into the top of the Ivy league (only swung because of their invitations probably based on SAT scores), chasing an intermittently requited big romance in college (another mindful big swing but then I couldn't let go of the bat or whatever the metaphor is), a few chewing outs at work for slacking off (mostly slacking because of anxiety about the task showing the limits of my competence)... those are all specific events that were those nuggets of trauma it talks about.
But here's the thing - the video focuses on where the lost confidence doesn't have its roots in reality (like the "wet butt" water bottle mocking example) but, sometimes the traumatic event really has its basis in reality. And so I think the problem is acceptance of what those limits are, along with some confidence that you can muddle through whatever happens, and through mindfulness still find parts to enjoy and savor. Not getting too emotionally attached to outcomes you would hope for, I think that's the most important part of the non-attachment a Buddhist might encourage.
And it's a balance, because a dose of somewhat naive optimism - sometimes (but not always) less grounded in reality than the depressive "why bother" - is a good motive force. But like I get you - like for me "it's better to try and fail" seems like bunk, because "not trying and not succeeding" gets about the same results (except for not providing practice) but is much easier on the ego.
2022.07.02
(yes the eyes are clipped from Snowball of "The Secret Life of Pets" at her insistence...)
Witches probably have black cats because they don't want to deal with white fur on their clothes
If SCOTUS accepts The Independent State Legislature doctrine, state legislatures can award their electoral college votes to whichever candidate they want. Republicans are making up bullshit about a "stolen election" in 2020 because they are exploring plans to absolutely highjack elections -- completely dropping any idea of any vote mattering (except for whatever votes, gerrymandered or otherwise, produced the majority of state legislators.)
Donkey Kong when it was going to be a popeye game!
via suppermariobroth
2021.07.02
Sometimes it feels like we're on the last spins of a crazy whirling washing machine before it tips over. But, even if that pessimistic view is true, that "human intelligence" was just another of mother nature's experiments that didn't quite work out, the process is long and slow compared to a human lifespan.
Like, humanity might survive civilization crashing. Go back to some of the roots, with old folks talking about a golden age when metal tubes full of people could fly in the sky and many people could have a cart that could magically go faster than a deer could run. Sometimes that end result doesn't sound so awful! But then we've lost our only chance to get through the asteroid strikes that took out the dinosaurs.
best info fast. Judge whether good enough [to] hit S.H. [Saddam Hussein] @ same time. Not only UBL [Osama bin Laden].
Go massive. Sweep it all up. Things related and not.Via How Rumsfeld Deserves to Be Remembered:
Americaâs worst secretary of defense never expressed a quiver of regret.
On my blog and social media I often observe deaths of famous figures with an RIP, whether I like them or not. But not Rumsfeld. Fuck this guy. Rarely has someone with so much power been wrong about so much and cost so many lives. We spit on his grave.
Oh and while we're at it: apparently we're not done with racist dumbass puritan shitbaggery about weed.
2020.07.02
★ ★ ★ ★ | Rule the World Easy McCoy |
I like the big percussion and general sound of this. From an Old Navy Ad... |
When I Meet My Maker Toots Earl & Etienne Lecomte |
Crazily authentically old sounding for a new song. via "What We Do in the Shadows" -- great series! |
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You'll Never Walk Alone Marcus Mumford |
A little shmaltzy, and hasn't moved me yet, but it might. Mentioned in the Anthropocene Reviewed Podcast. |
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Knight Rider for 8 cellos Samara Ginsberg |
Awesome instrumental cover. Somewhere on Twitter... |
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★ ★ ★ ★ | Love Is Like a Bottle of Gin The Magnetic Fields |
Sodden song. The "Watch Out for Fireballs" Podcast quoted "Love is like a bottle of gin / But a bottle of gin is not like love" |
Shit Kickin' Indigo Girls |
Awesome the Indigo Girls have been making music together for so long. The "Baby Geniuses" Podcast mentioned the new album, though they liked "Country Radio" better. |
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★ ★ ★ ★ | Let Me Live / Let Me Die Des Rocs |
Suicide Girls energy. Youtube recommendation off of the Easy McCoy piece above. |
★ ★ ★ ★ | Too Young to Remember Florrie |
Love shouty girl choruses like this, that little pop of "Hey!" via Arun's gift of songs. |
★ ★ ★ ★ | Dumb Ways to Die Tangerine Kitty |
Was this from a funny public service message? via Arun's gift of songs. |
You Must Be Out of Your Mind The Magnetic Fields |
Nice old torch song. My friend Leigh mentioned this as her favorite Magnetic Fields song after I posted "Love is Like a Bottle of Gin" |
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★ ★ ★ ★ | Unbelieveable Tom Jones & EMF |
Loved this song in high school... surprised the collaboration with Tom Jones didn't make it onto one of his albums of duets... Forget how I found out about this but been meaning to rip it from Youtube for a long time. |
2019.07.02
Diane said her primary interest is where I discover new music, so I tried to keep closer track. Not sure if there are real surprises- soundtracks (esp commercials/trailers and HBO shows), random tweets, tumblr entries, personal recommendations, youtube recommendations, or random impulses.
- Love the Way You Lie (feat. Rihanna) (Eminem) I've been listening to Rick + Morty's co-creator's 2011 podcast, "Grandma's Virginity Podcast", and this song came up. I love the big boom percussion it uses, and the Rihanna chorus, some of the lyrics are hard to listen to.
- O-O-H Child (The Five Stairsteps) One of the groups at a Cora's dance recital played this. Hoping to tap into the optimism.
- Systematic (feat. Nas) (DJ Shadow) Catching up on "Silicon Valley" that has some of the best end credits hiphop.
- Tainted Love (Pomplamoose) Youtube has learned that I love me some Pomplamoose, so this recommendation came up.
- Christine's Tune (Aka Devil In Disguise) (The Flying Burrito Brothers) Some random tweet. Partially I just like saying "Flying Burrito Brothers", and the twang in general.
- On a Roll (Ashley O) I love the subversion of turning Head Like a Hole into bubblegum pop, and I love the sound of the result. (see the shirt below too...)
- Black Suits Comin' (Nod Ya Head) (Will Smith & TRĂ-Knox) Slate had a movie raps over closing credits article and mentioned this "vaguely nu-metalish" example.
- All Through the Night (Anna Nalick) Her Breathe (2am) is so good, I wanted to hear her second best song
- The One Moment (OK Go) - I was seeing something about Rube Goldberg machines, and this group is the master of that kind of video...
- Man of La Mancha (I, Don Quixote) (Brian Stokes Mitchell & Ernie Sabella) Saw "The Man Who Killed Don Quixote" so this song was in my head - fun sing along.
- Ronald McDonald vs the Burger King (Epic Rap Battles of History) A youtube subscription, one of the better sounding ones in a while, except for the author-self-insert.
- Take Me to Church (Hozier Cover) (Neon Jungle) Tumblr pointed me to this beautiful cover- I had to persuade some UK friends to grab me an MP3 though - hate those weird country restrictions!
- Right Place, Wrong Time (Dr. John) Got to see him in concert, but I wanted something else to mark his passing... this one has such an interesting sound to start with.
- Space Cadet (Sesame Street's David) Had this 33 as a kid - funky little disco bit with that great "comin' to the rescue" hook, and I love David's enthusiasm unpacking his space cadet gear. (Weirdly I stole the name for this for my repackaging of the theme from Moon Patrol...)
- Funkier Than a Mosquita's Tweeter (Ike & Tina Turner) Melissa suggested me this bit o' funk
- Tomboy (Princess Nokia) Someone on twitter linked - "my little titties and my fat belly" refrain skirts that line between self-empowerment and exploitation...
- The Story of O.J. (JAY-Z) A lot of the N-word, but man - this cartoon is amazing and difficult, in going over the racist types from pop-culture. (also, that, "he's like 'I'm not black, I'm OJ!' ......ok" is amazing)
- Doin' Time (Lana Del Rey) Melissa didn't know the original Gershwin reference, and I didn't get it was a Sublime cover....
- Prince Ali (Will Smith) I'd sought out a version of this song before - just love its big brass approach, and Will Smith's throaty genie adds to it, especially the ending section.
- (Jesus Hits Like the) Atom Bomb (The Blind Boys of Alabama) I'm fascinated, scared, and titillated by the apocalyptic side of religion - this one comparing Jesus' return to a bunch of nukes is especially catchy.... (also I think the Blind Boys of Alabama are one of the longest running groups of all times.)
2018.07.02
5 Star
- Take On Me (MTV Unplugged) (a-ha) Beuatiful song beautifully done. "It's no better to be safe than sorry" is a great line.
- Touch It (Remix) [Featuring Mary J. Blige, Missy Elliott and Rah Digga] (Busta Rhymes) I adore the structure of this, with each artist doing half a verse in low-key, "get-low" style, then the yell of "Turn It Up!" brings out the high intensity flow.
- Hit the Ground Running (Desi Valentine) I knew I was going to love this from the snippet I first heard in a Coors Ad.
- Asylum (Desi Valentine) Valentine was my find this month. Such a great old school motown sound.
- Wheels On The Bus (Matthew Lewis/Julie Frost) Nice light funky cover of the kids song, played at Cora's Dance Recital (though did they include the Rosa Parks vs?)
- California Dreamin' (Sia) Biiig cover. Also played at Cora's dance recital, but slight trigger warning for that video with lots of scenes from the apocalyptic movie "San Andreas"
- I Need Never Get Old (Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats) I got into a big dumb debate with EB about the merit of this guy's voice vs Desi Valentine. Rateliff is a bit rockabilly and his band is a little too clean, but big and tight, great song.
- Killing Me Softly With His Song (Roberta Flack) It's almost weird not hearing the sitar or whatever it is from the Fugees, but Flack is so strong
- Drowsy Maggie Punjabi Celtic (The Snake Charmer) "When a 200 year old Traditional Scottish Folk song gets a Punjabi Dubstep revival by The Snake Charmer."
- Give Me an Answer (Low Roar) Heard about this as it was released a year ago but has some weird tie-in with the upcoming PS4 game Death Stranding in it.
- The Second Line (Hustlers Brass Band) Humbling to hear such a staple of my own repertoire played so well... I need to get better at walking basslines.
- Dirty Harry (Gorillaz) Been on a Gorillaz Kick because of their lore-laden new release.
- Clint Eastwood (Gorillaz) And I always wondered where "I got sunshine, in a bag" came from, and the hiphop break is great.
- Old Fashioned Morphine (Rising Appalachia) This type of music is so dark and sweet and sexy.
- Thrift Shop (Live) (Vitamin String Quartet) Kinda goofy cover of a kinda goofy song.
- Just What I Needed (The Cars) School of Honk is doing this song. Funny how much it leans on the first 4 notes of Pachabel Canon.
"Rules are made to be broken!"
"Ees exact OPPOSITE of what they are for!"
2017.07.02
- The Devil Came Up To Boston (Adam Ezra Group) Local greatness.
- Mother Mother (Tracy Bonham) This kind of uses the same descending riff my Atari Game used, also heard in Britney Spears' Circus
- Habits (Stay High) (Tove Lo) Kind of a pairing with Mother Mother.
- Beautiful (Christina Aguilera) Cornball to like this song? Don't care. Video is lovely.
- Material Girl (Cassandra Beck) Heard this cover at a wedding. Trying to think of the philosophy of "material" but maybe I'm mixing up substance and essence.
- I Feel Good (Pomplamoose) Love these covers, and Nataly Dawn's Susanna "Bangles doing Walk Like an Egyptian" Hoffs-like vibe.
- Pirates Of Penzance: I Am The Very Model Of A Modern Major General (Martyn Green) I like the only-semi-scripted attempt to come up with rhymes.
- It Ain't My Fault (Brothers Osborne) Lyrics are pretty good, dig the guys delivery.
- Homemade Dynamite [Explicit] (Lorde) Not sure how much I dig this one yet.
- Mushaboom (Feist) Lovely softer song.
- Lip Gloss (Lil Mama) Mostly I just love the big percussion slam. (Overall I like The Fifth Element Remix (Eclectic Method) Fun use of samples from the movie. www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZEpcqgalcuo">this mashup with 'Tequila' better, it fills out the space a bit better.
- Mission: Impossible (Main Title) (John E. Davis & Lalo Schifrin) Just wanted the classic version of this song. Loved trying to march to the rhythm for Tufts' Pep Band's once a football season time taking the field.
- Crazy In Love (Patrick & Eugene) Not my favorite cover of this, but not bad.
- Come Together (Godsmack) Harsher cover.
Just watched "Get Out", great stuff.
Completely inconsequential lesson learned: women with bangs are like Clark Kent and his glasses for me. Would have taken me a long time to realize the actress was Marnie from "Girls".
2016.07.02
This is the last Prairie Home Companion???
2015.07.02
Still funny and cool to see a photo I took show up on my tumblr feed! I remember that happening with a photo I posted of Maureenâ 's cat Murphy, that got turned into a MOAR! MOAR! MOAR! meme
So, assume you're two parents. One kid: You can double team. Two kids, play it man-to-man. Three or more, all you can do is run a zone defense...
Oh, Apple. If I "Arrange by Size" I'd really like to sort by size, not in a chunk of "From 1 MB to 100 MB"
Plus, please straighten out that thing where newly added files sometimes get shown as "No Date" in finder. That's serious amateur hour crap.
2014.07.02
They may call me a 'rube' and a 'hick,' but I'd a lot rather be the man who bought the Brooklyn Bridge than the man who sold it.
Discontent comes in proportion to knowledge. The more you know the more you realize you don't know.
Why the hell would they move the firework to Thursday instead of Saturday? Isn't that just obvious?
2013.07.02
Three sound clips I had used a decade ago as intros to party mix CDs: No 4- or 5-stars. Exclamation points mark out the more visually interesting videos.
- !Press Hop (DJ Steve Porter) Hey, remember 4 years ago when we were all finding out about autotune?
- !Celebrity Skin (Hole) Not the concert version where Courtney Love has the song living up to its title.
- William Tell Overture (Grimethorpe Colliery RJB Band & Major Peter Parkes) One of the few classical songs that I know I like that I didn't have.
- !!Older (They Might Be Giants)
- Move Prudence (dj BC) Not sure if you can still grab a copy of this, "Dear Prudence" behind Beastie Boys. The only track on "Ill Submarine" I liked.
- !Come Get It (Yummy Bingham) It's repetive but I like the sweeping horns of the sample.
- !!Big Machine (Acoustic Version) (Mark Duplass) Very sweet scene from the movie.
- Immigrant Song (Tomoyasu Hotei) Not quite the cover I've been listening to (but it is by the guy who did Battle without Honor or Humanity.
- Dark Knight Rises (Spine Punch Surgery Mix) (Auralnauts) From the same folks who did Bane Outtakes, a dubstep remix... good stuff.
- !Fireflies (Owl City) Schmaltzy, but sweet...
- !Crazy Kids (Ke$ha) I dig the will.i.am-ness of the chorus.
- !Bounce (Iggy Azalea) Its been pointed out this video and song are extremely co-opted of Bollywood-ish themes. I dig it though.
- !I'll Form the Head (MC Frontalot) Geekcore tribute to Voltron. Still think they should have had all 5 pilots, not just 3.
- !Money (Musical Cast Recording) Been meaning to get this Broadway standard for a long time. This video is actually clips from the new Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.
Ugh. The pilgrimage to Mecca could be a killer.
fuck this fake nostalgia bullshit, props to the 80s for drawing inspiration from the future, a time that DIDN'T EVEN EXIST YET
the closer-up the thumbnail, the farther from reality #aphorismsOfTomorrow
Amtrak, Assault, Axel, BC, Class, E-Z Rock, Flack, Fresh, Jay-R, Jazzy Jeff, John, M.I.F., Mc Fear, Moule, Mystic, Shadow, Steve Porter, Topcat #postyourDJs
Neologism from Wendy M: "Jackass of All Trades". I need to find opportunities to use that.
2012.07.02
Open Photo Gallery
There was a blimp with "US NAVY" emblazoned on the side. Some kind of shore patrol, I assume?Me and my new outdoor hat...
And then some fun with the waterproof canon Amber got me last year...
I think premature abstraction might be more evil than premature optimization.
2011.07.02
They have a few more in the series, about the lovable giant dog and his clumsy, Waiting-for-Godot-like attempts to tell the world about its upcoming extinction... (I think I like this better than the the owner is actually Hitler in hiding interpretation of Marmaduke...)
Extenuating circumstance to be mentioned on Judgment Day: We never asked to be born in the first place.
I need to find out where to talk about Earth Defense Force 2017: Insect Armageddon. This is a good game.
2010.07.02
--By Maris Wicks, from Cool Wonder Woman Costume Redesigns That You Won't See At DC -- mostly more traditional imaginings, but some awesome ideas.
So making the rounds is word of a new costume for Wonder Woman (SPOILER: she gets a very-90s jacket.) I like the design, but after reading this awesome roundtable on Wonder Woman's costume changes through the ages I gotta think it ain't no how permanent... (probably a lot less a deal than her "depowering" in the 1970s when she basically became Emma Peel...)
--
http://www.slate.com/id/2259350/ - "Toxo" - how a cat-based parasite predicts the winner of the World Cup. Maybe best not to think about it too much, especially cat owners.
Sneaking in games of "Strategery" during bathroom breaks. May be getting addicted to confidence-boosting microdoses of victory.
Damn it, I've just gone through I don't know how many months w/o thinking about eye floaters and now I can't stop noticing them.
2009.07.02
--2009.01.29; I kind of angstily doodled this in the iPhone app "sketches" during the meeting they were announcing layoffs. (Though I didn't know what my fate was at that point.) |
Commuting with a work laptop has caused me to stop carrying around my tablet PC, but lately I've been longing for an electronic doodlepad I'd have on me all the time (preferably with some super-easy way of adding doodles to my "of the Moment" blog). An iPhone being poked at with a finger lacks the finesse even my clumsy style needs, but I have hopes for the Pogo stylus that has gotten some good reviews. (If that doesn't pan out, I might look at Colors! for the homebrew DS.)
We judge ourselves by what we feel capable of doing, while others judge us by what we have already done.
Thunderboomers! (That word is so cute, almost to the point of cutesy. Is it a New England thing or more widespread?)
http://www.retrocomedy.com/2009/07/15-creepiest-vintage-ads-of-all-time.html - hyper creepy ads from back in the day
http://mikelynchcartoons.blogspot.com/2009/06/200-characters-from-dick-tracy-1931.html - awesome 200 Dick Tracy b+w characters!
http://www.politicsdaily.com/2009/06/22/obama-signstobacco-bill/ - banning clove cigarettes? Fuck the government! "won't somebody think of the children??" my soon to be libertarian ass. Seriously, this is nanny state crap at its worse, not to mention arguably discriminatory against Indonesia. God DAMN this ticks me off, and I barely ever smoke anything.
3 George Washington Tidbits from Mt. Vernon and some reading after:
* "A hundd. thousand men coming one after another cannot move a Ton weight; but the united strength of 50 would transport it with ease." --letter to William Gordon, 1783. Interesting he picked on the number 50, the current # of states...
* "A glass of wine and a bit of mutton are always ready, and such as will be content to partake of them are always welcome. Those who expect more will be disappointed."
* Washington was a slaveholder, albeit somewhat more enlightened than some of his peers. One of the men had the name "'Slamming' Joe", which by 1799 standards is a hella cool name.
2008.07.02
Quote of the Moment
You learn something every day... ...and then forget it every night
Brilliant Hack of the Moment
--SpindlyQ, founder of Glorious Trainwrecks (who run that game jam I join every month) has made a way of playing the old Mike Tyson boxing game with the GameCube Bongo Controllers... "Mike Tyson's Jungle Beat"! It brings back a buch needed element of physicality to the game.
Personal and Professional Geekery of the Moment
Here mostly for reference: On kind of a lark, but useful for my team at work, a kind of dumb and slow 3D grapher of test results.
But also, a VERY excellent introduction for experienced programmers, Dive Into Python. It's free, you can download the whole thing as a single HTML page... and it doesn't pretend it has to teach you the fundamentals of programming, it just walks you through the structures and pointing out similarities and differences with other languages such as Java and Perl and even VBScript and PowerBuilder.
At work people are pointing out I should be using Python and not Perl. Which is tough... I realize I've been doing Perl for 14 years! But with this introduction, I'm digging Python. It's like a middle ground between Perl and Java. The "white space matters" thing is a bit overplayed (just like "unreadable Perl code" is overdone...) you can put in as much white space as you want, you just need to get the indenting right.
That whole Coors "tells you when its cold" can makes me weep for civilization.
Got my group to call itself "Team Angry Manatee" for at least a month... YES!
2007.07.02
Sarah was our capable and befreckled tour guide:
This is me noodling around. Segways are pretty responsive (I was surprised that turning is done with a rotating thing on the handgrips, for some reason I thought it was all body language driven) and I don't need to be throwing my weight into it quite as much as I am here:
And then I had to harass the local wildlife.
So, I can scratch that of the list of things to do...
Article of the Moment
Infants quickly learnt that using tactics such as fake crying and pretend laughing could win them attention. By eight months, more difficult deceptions became apparent, such as concealing forbidden activities or trying to distract parents' attention.
--from this article on how people become fibbers much earlier than previously thought.
2006.07.02
Literary Bit of the Moment
The narrator Ethan is helping his mom load the body of a dead biker into her car
"With one big huff, I lifted Tim into the back, but he fell out with an unnerving thump. "Ethan, get him in the car."
I did that, and we backed out of the carport and driveway.
"Okay," Mom said, "let's find a nice big hole."
"Just for the record, Mom, this whole thing is creeping me out."
"Men should never discuss their feelings, Ethan."
"I thought women are supposed to like guys discussing their feelings."
"Good God, no."
2005.07.02
Yesterday boingboing posted a link to what might be the freakiest flash animation ever...a ragdoll woman manuequin falling through and sliding over an infinite amount of spheres. (You can grab the figure with the mouse and help her if she gets caught in a dead end.) EERIE.
Photos of the Moment
A few portraits of sorts taken during a recent trip to Chicago:
At the Häagen-Dazs at Navy Pier:
Afterwards, tired while walking around downtown searching for the Blue Line:(yet another "reflection")
2004.07.02
What strikes me as odd about this backlog is that it dates back to just when Mo was starting to bring up "The Conversations" last October...man that seems like a long time ago.
- A possible aid in the fight against spyware, it's Mike Lin's Startup Control Panel, which shows you just what's slated to start as your computer boots, and lets you remove any of it.
- Despite Douglas Adams' untimely death, it sounds like Hitchhiker's Movie might well be in good hands.
- Avant-Guarde retro-techno street art Space Invaders.
- A geekily obsessive mapping of the Simpson's hometown of Springfield...man, there have been a LOT of episodes of that.
- A comic making the rounds a while back, Al Franken's the Gospel of Supply Side Jesus.
-
--via Cellar.org's Image of the Day
2003.07.02
There's research that suggest cats vocalize mostly to humans, that it's really an adaption to living within a human world. (And lo and behold, here comes Murphy now. Actually, one of my first entries here was all about that cat and his vocalizations...)
Article of the Other Moment
Huh, Slate.com talks about how Strom Thurmond may have had a daughter with a black woman. Interesting, puts a different light on some of the events of his life.
Image of the Moment
--Ranjit took this awesome picture of a bee, you can see a slightly larger version at moonmilk.
Hobby of the Moment
I really think that dB drag racing is the dumbest hobby I have ever heard. People put tons and tons of amplifiers and stereos in their cars - often rendering them usesless as a means of transportation - in order to make as much noise as possible. Not play music, but noise, a 74hz tone. That's, like, enough to melt your brain, literally. I mean, I guess it's a little interesting from a street engineering standpoint, but yeesh, what's the point? (And I guess my feeling ties into the most people's dislike of car stereos that rattle windows from blocks away.)
2002.07.02
Link of the Moment
Making the rounds, John Cage's estate is going after people who are trying to muscle in on his silence.
Movie Quote of the Moment
"Ack Ack, let me tell you a little story. A story about a little fat kid who everybody made fun of, and nobody liked and he had a twin brother, and everybody said he never looked like his twin brother, but he wanted to..."
"Egg, where you that little boy?"
"No! No! But I used to beat the shit out him! 'Why are you so fat? Why are so ugly?' Aaagghh!"
"Great story, thanks."
2001.07.02
Autumn
Here on an autumn night in the sweet orchard smell,
Sitting in a pile of leaves under the starry sky,
Oh what stories we could tell
With this starlight to tell them by.
October night, and you, and paradise,
So lovely and so full of grace,
Above your head, the universe has hung its lights,
And I reach out my hand to touch your face.
I believe in impulse, in all that is green,
Believe in the foolish vision that comes true,
Believe that all that is essential is unseen,
And for this lifetime I believe in you.
All of the lovers and the love they made:
Nothing that was between them was a mistake.
All that we did for love's sake,
Is not wasted and will never fade.
All who have loved shall be forever young
And walk in grandeur on a cool fall night
Along the avenue,
They live in every song that is ever sung,
In every painting of pure light,
In every pas de deux.
Oh love that shines in every star
And love reflected in the silver moon.
It is not here, but it's not far.
Not yet, but it will be here soon.
"My grandfather was a painter ... was looking at me and he said "Harry, there are two kinds of tired, there's good-tired, and there's bad-tired. Ironically enough, bad-tired can be a day that you won. But you won other people's battles, you lived other people's days, other peoples agendas, other people's dreams - and when it was all over there was very little "you" in there, and when you hit the hay at night, somehow you toss and turn, you don't settle easy. Good-tired, ironically enough, can be a day that you lost. But you don't have to tell yourself, because you knew you fought your battles, you chased your dreams, you lived your days, and when you hit the hay at night, you settle easy - you sleep the sleep of the just, and you can say "take me away". Now, Harry, all my life I've painted... God I would've loved to be more successful, but I have painted and I have painted, and I am good-tired, and they can take me away."
--from Harry Chapin's Gold Medal collection
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Looking over the mundane diary, I realize that some recent events seem distant, and vice versa. In terms of my memory, life isn't as linear as I would have thought. Still, being able to review is a wonderful thing- a month is plenty of time-- a fraction of my life, but if I pay attention it's not time lost. At the end of the day I can look back, and relish all that I was; all that I am. (Later I think of it as "allowing each day to leave a footprint that I can later review"-- like that terrible footprints in the sand thing, but without jesus.)
I made the Mortality Guide this month's Ramble...
00-7-2
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If I were Han Solo, I wouldn't have named my ship the Millennium Falcon, I'd have named it "You have clearance to leave," cause I bet that would get me out of a lot of jams.
--Larry Hollister
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The intimacy of applying soothing balm on a sunburn (potential lovebite?)
97-7-2
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"Life's too short to worry about it
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