You and no one else.....................................

The Rolling Stones...................................................Miss You

Some Further Words............................

Let me be plain with you, dear reader.
I am an old-fashioned man. I like
the world of nature despite its mortal
dangers. I like the domestic world
of humans, so long as it pays its debts
to the natural world, and keeps its bounds.
I like the promise of Heaven. My purpose
is a language that can repay just thanks
and honor for those gifts, a tongue
set free from fashionable lies.

Neither this world nor any of its places
is an "environment." And a house
for sale is not a "home." Economics
is not "science," nor "information" knowledge.
A knave with a degree is a knave. A fool
in a public office is not a "leader."
A rich thief is a thief. And the ghost
of Arthur Moore, who taught me Chaucer,
returns in the night to say again:
"Let me tell you something, boy.
An intellectual whore is a whore."

The world is babbled to pieces after
the divorce of things from their names.
Ceaseless preparation for war
is not peace. Health is not procured
by sale of medication, or purity
by the addition of poison. Science
at the bidding of the corporations
is knowledge reduced to merchandise;
it is a whoredom of the mind,
and so is the art that calls this "progress."
So is the cowardice that calls it "inevitable."


I think the issues of "identity" mostly
are poppycock. We are what we have done,
which includes our promises, includes
our hopes, but promises first. I know
a "fetus" is a human child.
I loved my children from the time
they were conceived, having loved
their mother, who loved them
from the time they were conceived
and before. Who are we to say
the world did not begin in love?

-Wendell Berry   (the whole long poem here)

Don't you wonder how the story ends..........?

via

Just a reminder............................................

via

Fifty years ago.........................................

On the TV.........................Danger Man with Patrick McGoohan

Next..................................................

via

A clue as well..........................................

Test time.........................................

About a dozen of these are easy.  Another dozen require some thinking.  Another dozen will take you outside the box.  A half dozen are beyond my ken.  Full test is here.  All you do is figure out what words the letters stand for.  Sample question here:

8 = S. on a S. S.

thanks craig

Just because..........................................

Grand Funk Railroad.............I'm Your Captain/Closer to Home

I can't say anymore............................

The Moody Blues..................................Nights In White Satin



extended studio version here

Wishful thinking..........................................

The Lovin' Spoonful......................................Summer In The City

Fifty years ago...........................................

Terry Black...................................................Unless You Care

I see your face..........................................

Martha and the Vandellas.............................Nowhere To Run

This may have a familiar sound to it...........

Spirit.......................................................................Taurus

It's the journey.........................................

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

"With rare exceptions, there is no reason why we cannot be more noble, spiritual, generous, learned, perceptive, caring, patient, kind, and vigorous.  Why should we settle for being mediocre in any of those virtues?"
-Michael Wade

One Art............................................

The art of losing isn’t hard to master;

so many things seem filled with the intent

to be lost that their loss is no disaster.

Lose something every day.  Accept the fluster

of lost door keys, the hour badly spent.

The art of losing isn’t hard to master.

Then practice losing farther, losing faster:

places, and names, and where it was you meant

to travel.  None of these will bring disaster.

I lost my mother’s watch.  And look! my last, or

next-to-last, of three loved houses went.

The art of losing isn’t hard to master.

I lost two cities, lovely ones. And, vaster,

some realms I owned, two rivers, a continent.

I miss them, but it wasn’t a disaster.

- Even losing you (the joking voice, a gesture

I love) I shan’t have lied.  It’s evident

the art of losing’s not too hard to master

though it may look like (Write it!) like disaster.

-Elizabeth Bishop

Fifty years ago.................................

The Blue Rondos......................................................a twofer

Seems about right...............................

When.................................................

"When peace is more valued than the entertainment of the insatiable ego, it will be discovered to be ever present and available."
-David Hawkins

Dual mandate..............................

Merle Hazard

Head out......................................

     Don't yearn, act.  Take fifteen minutes of each day to visualize, as though granted, the condition or circumstance you want.  Create a mental setting, see yourself with the object of your desire.  Become a part of it, let it become a part of you.  Allow it to be you.  Then rise, head out, and do something that moves you toward your dream - something powerful and positive.

     Remember, you have to travel toward your dream.  It is very unlikely that, unaided, your dream will find you.

-Stuart Wilde

Fifty years ago..................................

The Beach Boys................................................Hushabye

So I bought this book............................

...............titled Dr. Seuss and Philosophy:  Oh, the Thinks You Can Think!    I've noticed over the years that philosophers tend to confuse me.  Perhaps I was hoping that my old friend Dr. Seuss would help me sort things out.   The first chapter, an essay by Benjamin Rider, was based on Oh, the Places You'll Go (to save you the trouble of rummaging around your attic trying to find your old copy, the complete text is posted below.).  Rider concludes his essay like this:

The ending of Oh, the Places You'll Go! is thoroughly positive.  Dr. Seuss assures us that, if we take his advice and set off boldly along the journey of life, we'll do great things.  But how can Seuss be so confident of success?  Aren't some setbacks and slumps just too much to overcome?  Don't even the best choices sometimes fail to work out?

     Once again, I thing Dr. Seuss's answer to these questions is similar to the ones Socrates and other ancient philosophers would give.  Socrates and most ancient philosophers argued that, in the final reckoning, the external events of life aren't what matter most.  If you don't actually fly ahead of other people or win games or manage to move a mountain, that's not important.  What matters is the attitude you have about life, the choices you make in the face of what life gives you.  Seuss and the ancient philosophers agree that someone who has the courage to question and find her own path and the wisdom to face problems and challenges with equanimity, who develops rational abilities to make good decisions about her life, will almost certainly succeed in life.

Enjoy the rest of Dr.Seuss's story, Oh, the Places You'll Go!

Any direction you choose......................

Congratulations!
Today is your day.
You're off to Great Places!
You're off and away!

You have brains in your head.
You have feet in your shoes.
You can steer yourself
any direction you choose.
You're on your own.  And you know what you know.
An YOU are the guy who'll decide where to go.

I don't choose to go there.............................

You'll look up and down streets.  Look 'em over with care.
About some you will say, "I don't choose to go there."
With your head full of brains and your shoes full of feet,
you're too smart to go down any not-so-good street.

And you may not find any you'll want to go down.
In that case, of course,
you'll head straight out of town.

It's opener there
in the wide open air.

Don't stew......................................

Out there things can happen
and frequently do
to people as brainy 
and footsy as you.

And when things start to happen,
don't worry.  Don't stew.
Just go right along.
You'll start happening too.

OH!
THE PLACES YOU'LL GO!

Soar to great heights...........................

You'll be on your way up!
You'll be seeing great sights!
You'll join the high fliers
who soar to high heights.

You won't lag behind, because you'll have the speed.
You'll pass the whole gang and you'll soon take the lead.
Wherever you fly, you'll be best of the best.
Wherever you go, you will top all the rest.

Except when you don't.
Because, sometimes, you won't.

An unpleasant bump................................

I'm sorry to say so
but, sadly, it's true
that Bang-ups
and Hang-ups
can happen to you.

You can get all hung up
in a prickle-ly perch.
And your gang will fly on.
You'll be left in a Lurch.

You'll come down from the Lurch
with an unpleasant bump.
And chances are, then,
that you'll be in a Slump.

And when you're in a Slump,
you're not in for much fun.
Un-slumping yourself
is not easily done.

Do you dare.........................................

You will come to a place where the streets are not marked.
Some windows are lighted.  But mostly they're darked.
A place you could sprain both your elbow and chin!
Do you dare to stay out?  Do you dare to go in?
How much can you lose?  How much can you win?

And IF you go in, should you turn left or right ...
or right-and-three-quarters?  Or, maybe, not quite?
Or go around back and sneak in from behind?
Simple it's not, I'm afraid you will find,
for a mind-maker-upper to make up his mind.

You can get so confused
that you'll start in to race
down long wiggled roads at break-necking pace
and grind on for miles across weirdish wild space,
headed, I fear, toward a most useless place.
                                              The Waiting Place ...

Escape...........................................

... for people just waiting.
     Waiting for a train to go
     or a bus to come, or a plane to go
     or the mail to come, or the rain to go
     or the phone to ring, or the snow to snow
     or waiting around for a Yes or No
     or waiting for their hair to grow.
     Everyone is just waiting.

     Waiting for the fish to bite
     or waiting for wind to fly a kite
     or waiting around for Friday night
     or waiting, perhaps, for their Uncle Jake
     or a pot to boil, or a Better Break
     or a string of pearls, or a pair of pants
     or a wig with curls, or Another Chance.
     Everyone is just waiting.

NO!
That's not for you!
          Somehow you'll escape
          all that waiting and staying.
          You'll find the bright places
          where Boom Bands are playing.

'cause you'll play against you.......................

With banner flip-flapping
once more you'll ride high!
Ready for anything under the sky.
Ready because you're that kind of guy!

Oh, the places you'll go!  There is fun to be done!
There are points to be scored.  There are games to be won.
And the magical things you can do with that ball
will make you the winning-est winner of all.
Fame!  You'll be famous as famous can be,
with the whole wide world watching you win on TV.

Except when they don't
Because, sometimes, they won't.

I'm afraid that some times
you'll play lonely games too.
Games you can't win
'cause you'll play against you.

All Alone!
Whether you like it or not,
Alone will be something
you'll be quite a lot.

And when you're alone, there's a very good chance
you'll meet things that scare you right out of your pants.
There are some, down the road between hither and yon,
that can scare you so much you won't want to go on.

But on you will go
though the weather be foul.
On you will go
though your enemies prowl.
On you will go
though the Hakken-Kraks howl.
Onward up many
a frightening creek,
though your arms may get sore
and your sneakers may leak.

A Great Balancing Act...........................

On and on you will hike,
and I know you'll hike far
and face up to your problems
whatever they are.

You'll get mixed up, of course,
as you already know.
You'll get mixed up
with many strange birds as you go.
So be sure when you step,
Step with great care and great tact
and remember that Life's
a Great Balancing Act.
Just never forget to be dexterous and deft,
and never mix up your right foot with your left.

98.75% guaranteed.................................

And will you succeed?
Yes!  You will, indeed!
(98 and 3/4 percent guaranteed.)

        KID, YOU'LL MOVE MOUNTAINS!

So ...
be your name Buxbaum or Bixby or Bray
or Mordecai Ali Van Allen O'Shea,
you're off to Great Places!
Today is your day!
Your mountain is waiting,
So ... get on your way!

Songs from the War To End All Wars.........................

Armistice Day....................................

Gethsemane.....................................

The Garden called Gethsemane   

In Picardy it was,   

And there the people came to see   

The English soldiers pass.

We used to pass - we used to pass   

Or halt, as it might be,

And ship our masks in case of gas   

Beyond Gethsemane.

The Garden called Gethsemane,   

It held a pretty lass,

But all the time she talked to me

I prayed my cup might pass.   

The officer sat on the chair,

The men lay on the grass,   

And all the time we halted there

I prayed my cup might pass.

It didn’t pass - it didn’t pass -

It didn’t pass from me.

I drank it when we met the gas   

Beyond Gethsemane.

-Rudyard Kipling

Kipling's only son died fighting in the First World War. 

 His story is here.

Let there be light.....................................

"Darkness cannot drive out darkness, only light can do that.
Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that."
-Martin Luther King Jr.

image via

The Best...............................................

    Many times we insist on having all the best things because that's the only way we can ensure "quality of life" for ourselves.  I can neglect myself in every other way, but if I have the best watch or pocketbook or car or square footage, I get to tell myself I'm the best and how much I deserve to have even more of the best.
     What I know for sure:  Having the best things is no substitute for having the best life.  When you can let go of the desire to acquire, you know you are really on your way.
-Oprah Winfrey,  What I Know For Sure

Fifty years ago.....................................

On the TV:  Andy Williams/Julie Andrews......Language of Love

Now is the time...................

.....................................................to unshackle your mind.

If a problem seems insoluble:
     break the rules.
Challenge your assumptions.
Change your viewpoint.
Change the questions.
Construct absurd scenarios.
Let your mind roam free.

-Patrick Lindsay,  Now Is The Time: 170 Ways To Seize the Moment

Instructions...........................................

via

Today.............................................

A thousand stars......................................

Michael Stanley Band................................................Lover



#12 on this list

What we want...............................

In a poem
people want
something fancy,

but even more
they want something
inexplicable
made plain,

easy to swallow -
not unlike a suddenly
harmonic passage

in an otherwise
difficult and sometimes dissonant
symphony -

even if it is only
for the moment
of hearing it.

-Mary Oliver

Meanwhile, three thousand light years away.......

“We are an impossibility in an impossible universe.” 
-Ray Bradbury

photo (enlargable and explained) courtesy of

Making music...............................

Serendipitously, just last week, after a rather long hiatus, I pulled out the old saxophone and started practicing making those fun squeaking noises on it again.

Creating a life style.................................

“I insist on a lot of time being spent, almost every day, to just sit and think. That is very uncommon in American business. I read and think. So I do more reading and thinking, and make less impulse decisions than most people in business. I do it because I like this kind of life.” 
-Warren Buffett

Fifty years ago....................................

The Drifters............................................He's Just A Playboy

Mark me down as a contrarian..................

I’m a contrarian. I’m all for contrarian investing, but there are so many opinions out there today that it’s nearly impossible to be a true contrarian anymore. You will always be able to find someone that disagrees with you these days. As James Osbourne (@BasonAsset) put it on Twitter last week: “I don’t know” may be the last true contrarian investment strategy.

via

I don't even know where to begin...............

"Honest accounting is worth a lot in the long-run, even if the market won’t pay up for it in the short-run."
-David Merkel, as excerpted from here

Every.............................................

"The inner worth of every human being is infinite."
-David Hawkins

Yep.............................................

thanks

The extended version..............................

Buffalo Springfield.................................................Bluebird



#38 on this list

At the core............................................

 "At the core of all well-founded belief, lies belief that is unfounded."
-Ludwig Wittgenstein

Verse................................................

8 Philip saith unto him, Lord, show us the Father, and it sufficeth us.

9 Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Show us the Father?

10 Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? the words th at I speak unto you I speak not of myself: but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works.

11  Believe me that I am in the Father, and the Father in me: or else believe me for the very works' sake.

12  Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father.

13  And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.

14  If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it.

15  If ye love me, keep my commandments.

The Holy Bible
King James Version
John 14:8-15

So sorry...........................

....................................Apologizing for a lack of sensitivity.

Otherwise known as a "win-win"....................

Via Meadia looks again at falling oil prices: 
In the meantime, the world’s petrostates, which require a much higher price of oil just to balance their national budgets, are feeling the pinch, while American oil continues to flow and the U.S. economy reaps the benefits.

Neither science nor art...........................

I know I am getting old and I say so,
but I don’t think of myself as an old man.
I think of myself as a young man
with unforeseen debilities.  Time is neither
young nor old, but simply new, always
counting, the only apocalypse.  And the clouds
— no mere measure or geometry, no cubism,
can account for clouds or, satisfactorily, for bodies.
There is no science for this, or art either.
Even the old body is new — who has known it
before? — and no sooner new than gone, to be
replaced by a body yet older and again new.
The clouds are rarely absent from our sky
over this humid valley, and there is a sycamore
that I watch as, growing on the river bank,
it forecloses the horizon, like the years
of an old man.  And you, who are as old
almost as I am, I love as I loved you
young, except that, old, I am astonished
at such a possibility, and am duly grateful.

-Wendell Berry
Sabbaths,   2005  VII

Fifty years ago....................................

On the TV:  Ginger Rogers visits Hugh O'Brien on Hollywood Palace

Verse.............................................

18.  The followers said to Jesus, "Tell us how our end will be."
       Jesus said, "Have you discovered the beginning, then, so that you are seeking the end?  For where the beginning is, the end will be.  Fortunate is one who stands at the beginning:  That one will know the end and will not taste death."

-The Gospel of Thomas

back story here

On habits...........................................

"Habit is habit, and not to be flung out of the window by any man, but coaxed downstairs a step at a time."

-Mark Twain

“The truth is that everyone is bored, and devotes himself to cultivating habits.” 

-Albert Camus

“The fixity of a habit is generally in direct proportion to its absurdity.” 
-Marcel Proust

“The chains of habit are too weak to be felt until they are too strong to be broken.” 

-Samuel Johnson

“I won’t pick up your bad habits. They look heavy and I’ve got a bad back.  Plus, I have my own bad habits already.” 

-Jarod Kintz

“Bad habits are like having a sumo wrestler in the back of your canoe rowing the opposite direction.” 
-J Loren Norris

“The best way to stop a bad habit is to never begin it” 
-J. C. Penney

“A nail is driven out by another nail; habit is overcome by habit.” 
-Desiderius Erasmus

“Cultivate only the habits that you are willing should master you.” 
-Elbert Hubbard

On and on...................................

16.  Once when the Master was standing by a stream, he said, Could one but go on and on like this, never ceasing day or night!
-The Analects of Confucius
Book IX

If hanging around.....................................

................with Kurt Harden doesn't make you a better person, well, you're just not trying.   Thanks Kurt.