Christian Love ?

The "Rev." Terry Jones displays the height of "Christian Hypocricy".

The "Reverend", head of the Dove World Outreach Church in Gainesville, Fla., plans to burn copies of the Qur'an, the Muslim holy book, on September 11.

Having forgotten, or never known of, the admonitions contained within the Bible against violence, hate and revenge perhaps the "Reverend" can recall the nazi book burnings that led inevitably to the burning of humans, or the cautionary tale from "Fahrenheit 451". But that would require reading.

Heinrich Heine, a German poet in the 19th Century said this now infamous quote, "Where they burn books, they will ultimately also burn people".

Open Letter to President Barack Obama

Your candidacy for the presidency initially inspired a great deal of optimism; however, I have been disheartened recently by a number of positions you have taken especially in the realm of foreign policy. You have recently publicly embraced the doctrine often referred to as exceptionalism – the idea that the United States is somehow entitled to behave on the international arena in ways that we would condemn if other nations behaved in an analogous manner.

Application of this worldview by your administration has now become quite evident. I refer here to the use of robot military drones to attack suspected terrorist positions with deadly force anywhere in the world that is deemed necessary regardless of national sovereignty or national borders often causing the deaths of innocent civilians. These attacks have been launched against peoples in Pakistan, Somalia, Tunisia and Afghanistan. In addition, you have apparently approved of extrajudicial killing of even American citizens abroad who are suspected of terrorist activity.

This is the behavior of a rogue nation – these acts are justified by a right of power without the requirement of the rule of law. This is not only morally reprehensible, but it also sets a precedent that other sovereignties can emulate whenever they feel justified by what they believe are national security interests.

The further escalation of the war in Afghanistan will, in my judgment, ultimately damage your presidency, for there is no real winning or losing in this conflict. Furthermore, the continued use of American military power In Afghanistan, our extraordinarily large military budget that overshadows the rest of the world, our extensive bases throughout the world are striking examples of our will towards empire and the destabilizing effect it has on the prospects for world peace.

I urge you, Mr. President to reconsider your foreign policy priorities and incorporate the same humanitarian and compassionate principles that you have utilized so effectively within the framework of your domestic agenda.

The Park Cafe

Dream of having

an eye exam lately ?

Mooooo !

(watch video)

Just for fun

Age of Inception

From the moment the movie “Inception” was released, polls have shown it’s appeal is split along generational lines. Many “older” moviegoers hate the film while younger people have nothing but good things to say about it. According to Henry Jenkins, a professor of cinema at USC, this has everything to do with video game experience. He says “Inception is first and foremost a movie about worlds and levels, which is very much the way video games are structured.” While I agree that gaming experience may be a factor, I’d say a bigger reason is that members of prior generations don’t understand, or accept the film’s premise. As DiCaprio’s character describes it, conscious experience is not a literal transcript of the world, but an ongoing process of virtual construction by the mind. Although this premise has scientific merit, it is not widely known or embraced by the majority of tradition-bound Americans.

Kerry: this is what I meant by a cohort effect when trying to understand differences of opinion. I'll post Dr Henry Jenkins reply next. It’s way brilliant..!

woman

Mother and Child
Pablo Picasso
1922

"From woman, man is born; within woman, man is conceived; to woman he is engaged and married. Woman becomes his friend; through woman, the future generations come. When his woman dies, he seeks another woman; to woman he is bound. So why call her bad? From her, kings are born. From woman, woman is born; without woman, there would be no one at all. O Nanak, only the True Lord is without a woman"......Guru Nanak

Working memory

It was interesting for me to see a recent study in neuroscience that supports my theory of reading comprehension ~~>[Pragmatic inferences in reading]. Bear with me while I try and explain (or you can duck out now and I won’t be offended). What they found is that working memory interacts with the senses in order to produce a stable view of our surroundings and reduce errors of perception. For one thing, it has to identify signals that are the result of actual sensory events and filter out extraneous signals that are produced by fluctuations inside the nervous system itself (like those caused by changes in activity levels, neurotransmitter concentrations, circadian rhythms, etc..). Neuroscientists refer to this as the ‘sensory orientation’ function. The visual areas in the brain must distinguish changes in actual sensory events from changes in internal activity in order to follow the ‘genuine’ action. They claim that the brain makes this estimate based on principles of ‘Bayesian inference’, which are not much different than principles of ‘Pragmatic inference’. It works something like this. Incoming signals that are considered likely to occur based on the contents of working memory are boosted, whereas signals considered less likely are held in abeyance and immediately suppressed if subsequent events don’t do anything to rehabilitate them. These findings were published in the August 26th journal PLoS One ~~> [Sensory adaptation for a changing brain]. Hah!

The Last Lecture

magnanimous

What we are

is a Gift of God

What we become

is our Gift to God

Bang Bang

The Garden Of Earthly Delights

The Garden of Earthly Delights
Hieronymus Bosch (c. 1450–1516)

The Garden of Earthly Delights is a triptych painted by the early Netherlandish master Hieronymus Bosch (c. 1450–1516), housed in the Museo del Prado in Madrid since 1939. Dating from between 1490 and 1510, when Bosch was about 40 or 50 years old, it is his best-known and most ambitious work. The masterpiece reveals the artist at the height of his powers; in no other painting does he achieve such complexity of meaning or such vivid imagery.

The triptych is painted in oil and comprises a square middle panel flanked by two rectangular wings that can close over the center as shutters. These outer wings, when folded shut, display a grisaille painting of the earth during the Creation. The three scenes of the inner triptych are probably (but not necessarily) intended to be read chronologically from left to right. The left panel depicts God presenting Adam to Eve, while the central panel is a broad panorama of sexually engaged nude figures, fantastical animals, oversized fruit and hybrid stone formations. The right panel is a hellscape and portrays the torments of damnation.

Art historians and critics frequently interpret the painting as a didactic warning on the perils of life's temptations. However the intricacy of its symbolism, particularly that of the central panel, has led to a wide range of scholarly interpretations over the centuries. 20th-century art historians are divided as to whether the triptych's central panel is a moral warning or a panorama of paradise lost. American writer Peter S. Beagle describes it as an "erotic derangement that turns us all into voyeurs, a place filled with the intoxicating air of perfect liberty". (read more)

Be Here Now

My eyes are on fire

My hair is on fire

My skin is on fire

The sky is on fire

The world is on fire



Be The Miracle

The Cube

It's called Earth

signs of life

The Mowing - Devil
Or, Strange NEWS out of
Hartford - shire

Being a True Relation of a Farmer, who Bargaining
with a Poor Mower, about the Cutting down Three Half
Acres of Oats: upon the Mower's asking too much, the Farmer
swore That the Devil should Mow it rather than He.
And so it fell out, that very Night, the Crop of Oat
shew'd as if it had been all of a flame: but next Morning
appear'd so neatly mow'd by the Devil or some Infernal Spirit,
that no Mortal Man was able to do the like.
Also, How the said Oats ly now in the Field, and the Owner
has not Power to fetch them away.

Liscensed, August 22nd, 1678.

Become Samurai

The Art of Peace
Morihei Ueshiba

The Art of Peace begins with you. Work on yourself and your appointed task in the Art of Peace. Everyone has a spirit that can be refined, a body that can be trained in some manner, a suitable path to follow. You are here for no other purpose than to realize your inner divinity and manifest your innate enlightenment. Foster peace in your own life and then apply the Art to all that you encounter.

One does not need buildings, money, power, or status to practice the Art of Peace. Heaven is right where you are standing, and that is the place to train.

All things, material and spiritual, originate from one source and are related as if they were one family. The past, present, and future are all contained in the life force. The universe emerged and developed from one source, and we evolved through the optimal process of unification and harmonization.

The Art of Peace is medicine for a sick world. There is evil and disorder in the world because people have forgotten that all things emanate from one source. Return to that source and leave behind all self-centered thoughts, petty desires, and anger. Those who are possessed by nothing possess everything. (read more)

Fresh talent ~ just love that voice

Me and You Happy Together

Karmic Law

What you put out into the world

comes back to you

How you live your life

determines what kind of life you will have

Minamata

W. Eugene Smith
Tomoko Uemura in Her Bath
Minamata, 1972


People who are easily shocked

should be shocked more often

Thou Art God

"I am only an egg"

Stranger in a Strange Land is a best-selling 1961 Hugo Award-winning science fiction novel by Robert A. Heinlein. It tells the story of Valentine Michael Smith, a human raised by Martians on the planet Mars, after his return to Earth in early adulthood. The novel explores his interaction with—and the eventual transformation of—Earth culture. The novel's title refers to the Biblical Book of Exodus. According to Heinlein in Grumbles from the Grave, the novel's working title was The Heretic. Several later editions of the book have promoted it as "The most famous Science Fiction Novel ever written."

When Heinlein first wrote Stranger in a Strange Land, his editors at Putnam required him to drastically cut its original 220,000-word length, and to remove some scenes that might have been considered too shocking at the time. The resulting edited version was, according to Heinlein, 160,067 words. (He joked about sending in the last 67 to the publisher on a postcard.) In 1962, this version received the Hugo Award for the Best Science Fiction Novel of the Year. After Heinlein's death in 1988, his wife Virginia arranged to have the original uncut version of the manuscript published in 1991 by Ace/Putnam. Critics disagree over whether Heinlein's preferred original manuscript is in fact better than the heavily-edited version originally published. There is similar contention over the two versions of Heinlein's Podkayne of Mars.

While initially a success among science fiction readers, over the following six years word-of-mouth caused sales to build, requiring numerous subsequent printings of the first Putnam edition. The novel has never been out of print. Eventually Stranger in a Strange Land became a cult classic, attracting many readers who would not ordinarily read a work of science fiction. The late-1960s counterculture, popularized by the hippie movement, was influenced by its themes of individual liberty, self-responsibility, sexual freedom, and the influence of organized religion on human culture and government, and adopted the book as something of a manifesto.

In 1968, Tim Zell (now Oberon Zell-Ravenheart) and others formed a neo-pagan religious organization called the Church of All Worlds, modeled after the religion founded by the primary characters in the novel. Except for correspondence with Zell (a lengthy letter to Zell appears as a letter to "a Fan" toward the end of the book in Grumbles from the Grave) and a paid subscription to the Church's Green Egg magazine during the 1970s (as Heinlein refused to accept a complimentary subscription), Heinlein had no other connection to the project.

Stranger was written in part as a deliberate attempt to challenge social mores. In the course of the story, Heinlein uses Smith's open-mindedness to reevaluate such institutions as religion, money, monogamy, and the fear of death. Heinlein completed writing it ten years after he had (uncharacteristically) plotted it out in detail. He later wrote, "I had been in no hurry to finish it, as that story could not be published commercially until the public mores changed. I could see them changing and it turned out that I had timed it right."
(read more)

Talent department

Disco Heaven

Kill Bill

Mona Lisa Smile

Among the works created by Leonardo da Vinci in the 1500s is the small portrait known as the Mona Lisa or "la Gioconda", the laughing one. In the present era it is arguably the most famous painting in the world. Its fame rests, in particular, on the elusive smile on the woman's face, its mysterious quality brought about perhaps by the fact that the artist has subtly shadowed the corners of the mouth and eyes so that the exact nature of the smile cannot be determined. The shadowy quality for which the work is renowned came to be called "sfumato" or Leonardo's smoke. Vasari, who is generally thought to have known the painting only by repute, said that "the smile was so pleasing that it seemed divine rather than human; and those who saw it were amazed to find that it was as alive as the original".

Other characteristics found in this work are the unadorned dress, in which the eyes and hands have no competition from other details, the dramatic landscape background in which the world seems to be in a state of flux, the subdued colouring and the extremely smooth nature of the painterly technique, employing oils, but laid on much like tempera and blended on the surface so that the brushstrokes are indistinguishable. Vasari expressed the opinion that the manner of painting would make even "the most confident master ... despair and lose heart." The perfect state of preservation and the fact that there is no sign of repair or overpainting is extremely rare in a panel painting of this date. (read more)

Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci
(April 15, 1452 – May 2, 1519)

Something funny

Clementine Lunar Orbiter

Clementine (officially called the Deep Space Program Science Experiment (DSPSE)) was a joint space project between the Ballistic Missile Defense Organization (BMDO, previously the Strategic Defense Initiative Organization, or SDIO) and NASA. Launched on January 25, 1994, the objective of the mission was to test sensors and spacecraft components under extended exposure to the space environment and to make scientific observations of the Moon and the near-Earth asteroid 1620 Geographos. The Geographos observations were not made due to a malfunction in the spacecraft.

Near side of the moon - (zoom in)

Clementine was launched from Space Launch Complex 4 West at Vandenberg Air Force Base, California using a Titan II launch vehicle. The mission had two phases. After two Earth flybys, lunar insertion was achieved approximately one month after launch. Lunar mapping took place over approximately two months, in two parts. The first part consisted of a five hour elliptical polar orbit with a periapsis of about 400 km at 30 degrees south latitude and an apoapsis of 8300 km. Each orbit consisted of an 80 minute lunar mapping phase near periapsis and 139 minutes of downlink at apoapsis. After one month of mapping the orbit was rotated to a periapsis at 30 degrees north latitude, where it remained for one more month. This allowed global imaging and altimetry coverage from 60° south to 60° north, over a total of 300 orbits.

NASA announced on March 5, 1998 that data obtained from Clementine indicated that there is enough water in polar craters of the moon to support a human colony and a rocket fueling station.
(read more)

Clementine image of the far side

If you have even a rudimentary knowledge of aerial photography you can enlarge this image of the far side of the moon and you will begin to see something funny. (see more)

The Buddha

The Buddha's final words were, "All composite things pass away. Strive for your own liberation with diligence."

At his death, the Buddha told his disciples to follow no leader, but to follow his teachings.

Some of the fundamentals of the teachings of Gautama Buddha are:

The Four Noble Truths: that suffering is an ingrained part of existence; that the origin of suffering is craving for sensuality, acquisition of identity, and annihilation, that suffering can be ended; and that following the Noble Eightfold Path is the means to accomplish this.

The Noble Eightfold Path: right understanding, right thought, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, and right concentration.

Dependent origination: the mind creates suffering as a natural product of a complex process.

Rejection of the infallibility of accepted scripture: Teachings should not be accepted unless they are borne out by our experience and are praised by the wise. See the Kalama Sutta for details.

Anicca (Sanskrit: anitya): That all things that come to be have an end.

Dukkha (Sanskrit: duḥkha): That nothing which comes to be is ultimately satisfying.

Anatta (Sanskrit: anatman): That nothing in the realm of experience can really be said to be "I" or "mine".

Nibbana (Sanskrit: Nirvana): It is possible for sentient beings to realize a dimension of awareness which is totally unconstructed and peaceful, and end all suffering due to the mind's interaction with the conditioned world.

According to tradition, the Buddha emphasized ethics and correct understanding. He questioned the average person's notions of divinity and salvation. He stated that there is no intermediary between mankind and the divine; distant gods are subjected to karma themselves in decaying heavens; and the Buddha is solely a guide and teacher for the sentient beings who must tread the path of Nirvana themselves to attain the spiritual awakening called bodhi and see truth and reality as it is.

The Buddhist system of insight and meditation practice is not believed to have been revealed divinely, but by the understanding of the true nature of the mind, which must be discovered by personally treading a spiritual path guided by the Buddha's teachings.
(read more)

In Persuit of Someone Else (You've Lost Yourself)

All the things you thought you knew
Have suddenly become unglued.

Waking up, you know that something's missin'
You call for help but no one seems to listen

Inconsolable, you're an ashy shell of what you were
You ask yourself, "How can I go on without her?"

Answers never come . . .
Your answers just won't come
Doesn't help, you don't know who you're askin'

The mirror just won't show you who you are
Empty Reflection sure won't get you far.

Crumbling beneath the pressure of not getting what you wanted -
Does it make you wonder why you want it?

Why do you even want it?

Answers never come
Your answers just won't come
'Till you find out who you're askin'.

Have you forgotten who you are, or have you never known?
How can you benefit from reaping if you don't know what you've sown?

Don't you know you are your own foundation?
There's a life in you that's brimming with creation!

. . . But answers never come
Your answers just won't come
Doesn't help you don't know who you're askin'.



(YOU need to reignite your passion.)

Intermission

Failure

The greatest failure is the failure of the imagination; the inability to think that things can be other than they are; the lack of openness to the deeper layers of the human psyche; the unquestioning of all too popular assumptions; the ready acceptance of the lies that all vested interests in society tell and the deadening and depressing thought that nothing will ever change.

The Wave, 1971 by the sculptor Sinisca, Vatican Museum.

Many years ago I heard one of our Irish Senators say that the reason there was so much bloodshed on the streets of the North of Ireland (happily now a nightmare from the past and long gone!)could be directly attributed to a singular lack of imagination. How accurate this politician was - Senator David Norris - veritably goes without saying. When imagination fails, or is not even tried in the first place, then all mediation and dialogue which are the essence of diplomacy are committed to the dunghill of failure. Conflict at all levels - familial, national and international - is the result of the brekdown in our ability to imagine that things can be different, that dreams of peace and harmony are possible, that they are not just pipe dreams or pie in the sky.

What is greatly needed today on all levels of society - in local communities, in cities, in towns, in clubs and indeed in countries and in international affairs are statesmen and stateswomen with imagination, people with dreams and visions that are realizable, practicable, and feasible. But, I suppose, all real change starts at the bottom, in local communities, in our very own families, where we encourage each other to follow our dreams; where we encourage each other that we can make a difference here and now where we are, that as the Bard of Avon once said, that "we are the stuff that dreams are made on," that humankind can redeem itself as well as wreaking sheer havoc, if not possible extinction, upon itself if only it has the courage to dream that things can be different.

I'll finish this wee post with one of my favourite quotations:

Some people see things as they are and say why. I dream things that never were and say why not.  Robert Kennedy on his brother JFK; original quote from G.B.Shaw.

Now or Never

"Out, out, brief candle!

Life's but a walking shadow,

a poor player that struts and frets his hour upon the stage

and then is heard no more:

it is a tale told by an idiot,

full of sound and fury,

signifying nothing."

Macbeth

. . .

Heaven...

heaven is a place...

a place where nothing...

nothing ever happens...

Talking Heads