Wim-o-weh...................

The Tokens.......................................The Lion Sleeps Tonight

Forgive........................

"Life is an adventure in forgiveness."
-Norman Cousins


image courtesy of

The View from the Ledge...............

Jeff sees more clearly than most.  Do go visit.


"But as he and I both know, strength is not in the muscle – it’s in the heart."

Stringing words together in a most interesting manner..........................

.............Fred Reed rants, this time, about what passes around here for capitalism.  Rant here.  Concluding excerpt here:
"Yes, yes, I know. This tirade is for naught. The arms makers will continue giving oral satisfaction to the withering udder of the Great Federal Cow with the ardor of a lonely sheep herder. Bohica. (That was an ageist, ttwo-animal bovine-antaomical metaphor with sexual reference. Patent applied for.) But I subscribe to the principle that a leper is happiest when he understands why his fingers are falling off."

Prick the bubbles...................

Christopher Hitchens, the anti-totalitarian, picked up the mantle of George Orwell.  So says Anthony Lock in an interesting essay on that subject at the Humanist.  Essay here.  Excerpt here:

"Try as best as you can, he challenged us, to not allow one belief to squander clear thinking about another, especially in regards to those so-called bubble personalities that become protected from criticism. It’s a kind of worship whereby anything deemed negative against the topic or person, even the act of criticizing, is illicit. This is totalitarian, he warned: a control over one’s head and what can be said, creating corrosive preconceptions."

Choices........................

     "Choose the way of life.  Choose the way of love.  Choose the way of caring.  Choose the way of hope.  Choose the way of believing in tomorrow.  Choose the way of trusting.  Choose the way of goodness.  It is up to you.  It is your choice.  You can also choose despair.  You can also choose misery.  You can also choose making life miserable for other people.  You can also choose bigotry.  But what for?  It doesn't make sense.  It's only self-flagellation.  But I warn you that if you decide to take full responsibility for your life, it's not going to be easy, and you're going to have to learn to risk again.  Risk - the key to change."
-Leo Buscaglia, Living, Loving & Learning

Beguiling, yet chimerical.............................

"Scientists often strive for special status by claiming a unique form of 'objectivity' inherent in a supposedly universal procedure called the scientific method.  We attain this objectivity by clearing the mind of all preconceptions and then simply seeing, in a pure and unfettered way, what nature presents. This image may be beguiling, but the claim is chimerical, and ultimately haughty and divisive.  For the myth of pure perception raises scientists to a pinnacle above all other struggling intellectuals, who must remain mired in constraints of culture and psyche.
     "But followers of the myth are ultimately hurt and limited, for the immense complexity of the world cannot be grasped or ordered without concepts. 'All observation must be for or against some view if it is to be of any service.'  Objectivity is not an unobtainable emptying of mind, but a willingness to abandon a set of preferences - for or against some view, as Darwin said - when the world seems to work in a contrary way."
-Stephen Jay Gould, Dinosaur in a Haystack

Eclectic.............................

A smattering of recent blog headers from friend Doug.  A day
without Eclecticity is like a day without sunshine.

I'm looking for.........................

Moody Blues............................................Question

More good questions..................

thanks leah

Another important question...........

Questioning authority..............Part 1

image modified from here

Questioning authority................Part 2

Question authority......................Part 3

Question authority....................some more

So, which is easier..............Answering questions or questioning answers?..........................$10 please

Philosophical questions...............

About good questions.................

courtesy of

An important question..............

Watch at least until :42...............You'll be amazed

Billy Stewart...................................Summertime

Experimenting..................

"We all have a need for freedom, too. One thing Thoreau says is that: 'Birds never sing in caves.' And neither do we. In order to learn, you've got to be free. You've got to be free to experiment, to try, free to make mistakes. That's the way you learn. I can understand your mistakes and I profit greatly from mine. The secret is not to make the same one twice. But I need to be free to experiment and try. Give me that chance. Allow me the freedom to be and to be myself and to find the joy in need. Don't give me your hang-ups! Let me find and overcome my own."
-Leo Buscaglia, Living, Loving & Learning

image courtesy of

The art of happiness...........

"We are all so restless that we fail to rest; to look inward more than outward; to let our eyes rest on nature as well as man.  To be happy you must have a sense of being, always knowing you are part of a wonderful world, reflecting upon the joy of your being, physically, mentally, emotionally; meditating upon the mystery of the universe, marveling at the magic of nature and of human nature."
-an unknown author quoted here

image courtesy of

We are going to have to be stubborn today.......

The all-swagga blog posted about one of my all-time heroes, Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain - here

Strength takes many forms........

"It is the weak who are cruel. Gentleness can only be expected from the strong."
-Leo Rosten

image courtesy of

Continuing education.....................

"Students should be taught that failure is a process, not an obstacle."
-Scott Adams


The above quote comes from a year-old essay Adams wrote for the WSJ.  You can, and maybe even should, read it here.

Questions worth asking..................

Some groovy dancing...............

Lee Dorsey...............................................Ya Ya

Unlimited......................

"There are no 'mere' men.  Moral splendor comes with the gift of life.  Each person has within him a vast potentiality for identification, dedication, sacrifice, and mutuality.  Each person has unlimited strength to feel human oneness and act upon it.  The tragedy of life is not in the fact of death but in what dies inside of us while we live."
-Norman Cousins, Human Options

A predisposition.....................

"The purpose of life for man is growth, just as the purpose of life for trees and plants is growth.  Trees and plants grow automatically and along fixed lines; man will grow as he will.  Trees and plants can only develop certain possibilities and characteristics; man can develop any power which has been shown by any person, anywhere.  Nothing that is possible in spirit is impossible in flesh and blood.  Nothing that man can think is impossible in action.  Nothing that man can imagine is impossible of realization.  Man is formed for growth, and he is under the necessity of growing.  It is essential to his happiness that he should continuously advance. Life without progress becomes unendurable, and the person who ceases from growth must either become imbecile or insane.  The greater and more harmonious and well rounded his growth, the happier man will be. There is no possibility in any man that is not in every man; but if they proceed naturally, no two men will grow into the same thing, or be alike.  Every man comes into the world with a predisposition to grow along certain lines, and growth is easier for him along those lines than in any other way.  This is a wise provision, for it gives endless variety."
-Wallace Wattles, The Science of Being Great

On doing good..................

"If one is to go good, it must be done in the minute particulars.  General good is the plea of the hypocrite, the flatterer, and the scoundrel."
-William Blake

Confucius say.........................

Passing Mount Thai, Confucius came on a woman who was weeping bitterly by a grave.  The Master sent Tze-lu to question her.  "Your wailing," said he, "is that of one who has suffered sorrow on sorrow."  She replied, "That is so.  Long ago my husband's father was killed here by a tiger.  My husband was also killed, and now my son has died in the same way."  The Master said, "Why do you not leave the place?"  The answer was, "There is no oppressive government here."  The Master then said, "Remember this my children: oppressive government is more terrible than tigers."
-The Sayings of Confucius

Evolving.......................

     "The people you meet regularly - friends and relatives, workmates who bug you, people who are particularly awkward to deal with - let them be your teachers.  When they make you uncomfortable and drive you crazy, use that as a test of your composure and strength.  Step back and watch; don't react.  Bit by bit you'll see how, perhaps, you've let others exert control over you in the past because they knew they could trigger your negative reaction.  When you don't react, you are free; you'll get a clearer perception of how best to handle interpersonal situations."
     "Become a silent observer of life and a compassionate observer of yourself.  You are not your emotions or your body or your personality and its ego.  These are only parts of what you are.  In fact, you're a divine energy that is evolving, operating through the complexities of body, mind, and emotions to comprehend itself as a spiritual angel, an eternal spirit that is growing and learning, poised in infinity and currently doing 'human being.'"

-Stuart Wilde,   Infinite Self

Youngster Van...................

Them...........................................Here Comes The Night

Three things.................

"I have a great hope for tomorrow.  And my hope lies in the following three things - Truth, Youth, and Love."
-Buckminster Fuller

Dwell in the energy..............

     "Enlightenment, peace, and joy will not be granted by someone else.  The well is within us, and if we dig deeply in the present moment, the water will spring forth.  We must go back to the present moment in order to be really alive.  When we practice conscious breathing, we practice going back to the present moment where everything is happening.
     "Western civilization places so much emphasis on the idea of hope that we sacrifice the present moment.  Hope is for the future.  It cannot help us discover joy, peace, or enlightenment in the present moment.  Many religions are based on the notion of hope, and this teaching about refraining from hope may create a strong reaction.  But the shock can bring about something important.  I do not mean you should not have hope, but that hope is not enough.  Hope can create an obstacle for you, and if you dwell in the energy of hope, you will not bring yourself  back entirely into the present moment.  If you re-channel those energies into being aware of what is going on in the present moment, you will be able to make a breakthrough and discover joy and peace right in the present moment, inside of yourself and all around you."
-Thich Nhat Hanh,  Peace Is Every Step

for readers who care about such things, the paragraph preceding the two transcribed above is to be found here

Unwise.....................

        Four O'Clock Fantasy

I look at you with lust - so smooth and long,
So firm, cream-filled, yet softening to my tongue,
Your sleek, smooth covering heaven to my eyes.
My conscience pricks, I know I am unwise,

Your sensuous shapeliness invades my soul
With urgent passion to consume you, whole.
In my desire to press you to my lips
I feel you slowing sinking to my hips.

It breaks my heart to leave you lying there....
"Yes - how much is that chocolate eclair?"

-Yvonne M. Fee

Freezing..................

"Words are the freezing of reality."
-Timothy Leary

Rohn on the whyness of goals.........

     "Let me share with you an intriguing thought.  The real value in setting goals is not their achievement.  The acquisition of the things you want is strictly secondary.  The major reason for setting goals is to compel you to become the person it takes to achieve them.  Let me explain:
     "What do you think is the greatest value in becoming a millionaire?  Is it the million dollars?  I don't think so.  No, the greatest value is the skills, knowledge, discipline, and leadership qualities you'll develop in reaching that elevated status.  It's the experience you'll acquire in planning and developing strategies.  It's the inner strength you'll develop to have enough courage, commitment, and willpower to attract a million dollars.
     "Give a million dollars to someone who does not possess the attitude of a millionaire and that person will most likely lose it.  But take away all the wealth from a true millionaire and in no time he or she will build a new fortune.  Why?  Because those who earn their millionaire status develop the skills, knowledge, and experience to duplicate the process again and again."
-Jim Rohn,  Seven Strategies for Wealth and Happiness

A good question..................

"If we cannot be happy in spite of our difficulties, what good is our spiritual practice?"
-Maha Ghosananda

Less..........................

"We think much less than what we know. We know much less than what we love. We love much less than what there is. And to this precise extent, we are much less than what we are."
-R. D. Laing, The Politics of Experience

Not facebook, but maybe blogging......

photo courtesy of

The gospel truth..........

thanks mark

Totally frustrated...........................

by a balky computer.  Will try to do better tomorrow...........

Faith and Reason..................

"Next to romantic love, religion is the area of human life where reason is most easily swept away.  Against faith, reason has little chance with the great majority.  This is clear enough from the most general statistics.  Millions of Christians believe in the Trinity; millions of Moslems deny it. They cannot both be right; reason has failed in one case or the other.  The Zoroastrians believe that the world is governed by two deities - one good, one bad.  Buddha and Confucius manage to dispense with the idea of a personal god altogether, the one accepting an all-embracing deity into which we are at last absorbed, the other dispensing with theology almost wholly and substituting a manual of human conduct.  Now truth is a consistent whole.  And if it is reason that gives us truth, it can hardly have been reason that tells us that God is one and two and three, that he is a person and not a person, that he is both good and bad."

-Brand Blandshard,  Four Reasonable Men

Gibran on money....................

"Money is like a stringed instrument.  He who does not know how to use it skillfully will only hear discordant notes."

"Money is like love; it kills slowly and painfully the man who keeps it and gladdens the man who shares it.   
     Yet love is the source of faith; as for money it is the sourse of love without faith."

-Kahlil Gibran,  The Eye of the Prophet

A poem for Monday

        The Future

For God's sake, be done
with this jabber of "a better world."
What blasphemy!  No "futuristic"
twit or child thereof ever
in embodied light will see
a better world than this, though they
foretell inevitably a worse.
Do something!  Go cut the weeds
besides the oblivious road.  Pick up
the cans and bottles, old tires,
and dead predictions.  No future
can be stuffed into this presence
except by being dead.  The day is
clear and bright, and overhead
the sun is not yet half finished
with his daily praise.

-Wendell Berry

Things you need to know.............

Since 2004, maggots and leeches have been characterized as living medical devices under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act.   Part of the story is here.  Ah, the wonder of it all!

On a Sunday afternoon.................

The Young Rascals.............................Groovin'

GIGO.................................

This actually makes me feel safer............

The reading list from the U. S Army's Chief of Staff-   here

Thanks Michael

Inexorably.........................

Walter Russell Mead continues to hammer away at the continuing collapse of the "blue" model. As the wise men have said, "that which cannot continue, won't."  Full post is here. Excerpt here:

Arithmetic, when it finally comes into play, is as nonpartisan as gravity. In Detroit, as in many other cities and states facing dealing with the fallout from blue it is Democratic politicians who end up making cuts much more devastating and hurtful than anything Paul Ryan has ever proposed.

Procrastination does not pay. If Detroit’s leaders had behaved intelligently, making reasonable and prudent cuts, rejecting  over-the-top union demands and laying the economic foundations for the city’s turnaround, nothing as serious as these cuts would have been needed. But a combination of Blue ideology, short term thinking and greed have brought the city to its knees. It will take much more than this to put Detroit back on the right path, but this is at least a step in the right direction.

Time.............according to Poor Richard

     "It would be thought a hard government that should tax its people one tenth part of their time, to be employed in its service:  But idleness taxes many of us much more; sloth, by bringing on diseases, absolutely shortens life. 'Sloth, like rust, consumes faster than labour wears, while the used key is always bright,' as Poor Richard says. - 'But dost thou love life, then do not squander time, for that is the stuff life is made of,' as Poor Richard says.  - How much more than is necessary do we spend in sleep! forgetting that 'The sleeping fox catches no poultry, and that there will be sleeping enough in the grave,' as Poor Richard says."
    " 'If time be of all things the most precious, wasting time must be,' as Poor Richard says, 'the greatest prodigality'; since, as he elsewhere tells us, 'Lost time is never found again; and what we call time enough always proves little enough': Let us then up and be doing, and doing to the purpose:  So by diligence shall we do more with less perplexity. 'Sloth makes all things difficult, but industry all easy; and, he that riseth late, must trot all day, and shall scarce overtake his business at night; while Laziness travels so slowly, that Poverty soon overtakes him.  Drive thy business, let not that drive thee; and early to bed, and early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise', as Poor Richard says."
-Benjamin Franklin, The Way To Wealth

Sunday's verse..........................

1  The wise woman builds her house,
But the foolish pulls it down with her hands.


2  He who walks in his uprightness fears the Lord,
But he who is perverse in his ways despises Him.


3  In the mouth of a fool is a rod of pride,
But the lips of the wise will preserve them.


4  Where no oxen are, the trough is clean;
But much increase comes by the strength of an ox.


5  A faithful witness does not lie,
But a false witness will utter lies.


6  A scoffer seeks wisdom and does not find it,
But knowledge is easy to him who understands.


7  Go from the presence of a foolish man,
When you do not perceive in him the lips of knowledge.


8  The wisdom of the prudent is to understand his way,
But the folly of fools is deceit.


9  Fools mock at sin,
But among the upright there is favor.


10  The heart knows its own bitterness,
And a stranger does not share its joy.


11  The house of the wicked will be overthrown,
But the tent of the upright will flourish.


12  There is a way that seems right to a man,
But its end is the way of death.


13  Even in laughter the heart may sorrow,
And the end of mirth may be grief.


14  The backslider in heart will be filled with his own ways,
But a good man will be satisfied from above.[a]


15  The simple believes every word,
But the prudent considers well his steps.


16  A wise man fears and departs from evil,
But a fool rages and is self-confident.


17  A quick-tempered man acts foolishly,
And a man of wicked intentions is hated.


18  The simple inherit folly,
But the prudent are crowned with knowledge.


19  The evil will bow before the good,
And the wicked at the gates of the righteous.


20  The poor man is hated even by his own neighbor,
But the rich has many friends.


21  He who despises his neighbor sins;
But he who has mercy on the poor, happy is he.


22  Do they not go astray who devise evil?
But mercy and truth belong to those who devise good.


23  In all labor there is profit,
But idle chatter[b] leads only to poverty.


24  The crown of the wise is their riches,
But the foolishness of fools is folly.


25  A true witness delivers souls,
But a deceitful witness speaks lies.


26  In the fear of the Lord there is strong confidence,
And His children will have a place of refuge.


27  The fear of the Lord is a fountain of life,
To turn one away from the snares of death.


28  In a multitude of people is a king’s honor,
But in the lack of people is the downfall of a prince.

29  He who is slow to wrath has great understanding,
But he who is impulsive[c] exalts folly.

30  A sound heart is life to the body,
But envy is rottenness to the bones.


31  He who oppresses the poor reproaches his Maker,
But he who honors Him has mercy on the needy.


32  The wicked is banished in his wickedness,
But the righteous has a refuge in his death.


33  Wisdom rests in the heart of him who has understanding,
But what is in the heart of fools is made known.


34  Righteousness exalts a nation,
But sin is a reproach to any people.

35  The king’s favor is toward a wise servant,
But his wrath is against him who causes shame.

The Holy Bible
New King James Version
Proverbs 14:1-35