words upon a page flow from fingers
tendon puppet threads tangle back to little gray cells
choreographed by ???
well that's the question isn't it?
spirit and soul.
words to fill the role.
water in a hollow bowl.
A quick brown fox jumped over the lazy dog's back.
Friday, October 25, 2013
Dogma Runs Rampant, aka. "Yo', Son, Leash That Bitch!"
On Facebook, a friend who self identifies as a libertarian activist complemented, and shared a video excerpt from a interview with Russel Brand. A friend of his swiftly commented, "A far left tyrannical redistributionist is your new hero?" and they then proceeded to defuse the challenge and reaffirm their relationship by jointly constructing an interpretation which better fit within the bounds of accepted group dogma.
It's hilarious to me at this point how swiftly and judiciously some folks police any indication that one of their perceived peers may have drifted from the fold of pre-approved orthodoxy. Even within groups which like to claim distinctions of superior rationality. For instance, I find if one turns down the volume or ignores the words to focus on tone and body language, fundamentalist Atheists are pretty much indistinguishable from fundamentalist Baptists ... or Muslim fundamentalists or Hindu fundamentalists ... fundamentalists et al.
Tribal social primate formulas. One can plug in most any philosophical stance or 'cause' they wish. Regardless of the specific terms, the formula—the patterns, the relationship of the variables— stays the same.
And people wonder why anyone other than engineers and such should wish to learn algebra?
It's hilarious to me at this point how swiftly and judiciously some folks police any indication that one of their perceived peers may have drifted from the fold of pre-approved orthodoxy. Even within groups which like to claim distinctions of superior rationality. For instance, I find if one turns down the volume or ignores the words to focus on tone and body language, fundamentalist Atheists are pretty much indistinguishable from fundamentalist Baptists ... or Muslim fundamentalists or Hindu fundamentalists ... fundamentalists et al.
Tribal social primate formulas. One can plug in most any philosophical stance or 'cause' they wish. Regardless of the specific terms, the formula—the patterns, the relationship of the variables— stays the same.
And people wonder why anyone other than engineers and such should wish to learn algebra?
Tuesday, October 22, 2013
Sharp Tip
Checked this out from the library as a kid. Took me from from inept to shaving hair off my arm with my Boy Scout knife within minutes of finishing the book. Freehand.
The book suggests some gadgets to up-the-ante a bit if ya' wanna' get extra tricky, but—unlike the author—I don't bother to check my edges with an electron microscope. The basic method requires nothing more than a pair of grindstones. One fairly course, the other quite fine.
Thursday, October 17, 2013
GMOverkill
Personally, I'm not so concerned about the safety of GMO foods for human consumption as I am about the collaborative corporate/government relationship surrounding them.
It's been little reported that before more recent hubbub over whether to require labeling for GMO foods, that the GMO industry lawyers won cases (California?) preventing others from stating the simple fact that their products were GMO free on relevant labels. The court decided that the mere possibility that consumers might infer something about GMO products from this statement of fact warranted legal intervention.
Also, that the WikiLeaks files exposed that U.S. Ambassadors were officially directed to act as lobbyists (and extortionists) on behalf of GMO producers internationally doesn't sit to well either.
I suspect people would be less likely to leap to fearful conclusions if the industry had been more open to start with. Shady arrogant shite doesn't seem to have done much to build trust.
Oh, and then there's the patenting lifeforms and attempting to corner the market on food issues...
Forcing family farms to destroy heirloom seed stocks ... while conversely patenting every existing strain they can ...
Something life threatening seems to be going on, it just might not be the foods themselves.
It's been little reported that before more recent hubbub over whether to require labeling for GMO foods, that the GMO industry lawyers won cases (California?) preventing others from stating the simple fact that their products were GMO free on relevant labels. The court decided that the mere possibility that consumers might infer something about GMO products from this statement of fact warranted legal intervention.
Also, that the WikiLeaks files exposed that U.S. Ambassadors were officially directed to act as lobbyists (and extortionists) on behalf of GMO producers internationally doesn't sit to well either.
I suspect people would be less likely to leap to fearful conclusions if the industry had been more open to start with. Shady arrogant shite doesn't seem to have done much to build trust.
Oh, and then there's the patenting lifeforms and attempting to corner the market on food issues...
Forcing family farms to destroy heirloom seed stocks ... while conversely patenting every existing strain they can ...
Something life threatening seems to be going on, it just might not be the foods themselves.
Friday, October 11, 2013
Prison Economics
I came across something/someone... not even recalling if it was text or vid at this point... Anyway they listed a number of things currently made in prisons and the associated market shares. All military uniforms for instance, and much more day-to-day military equipment. The stereotypical example of license plates got mention as well.
It struck me that almost everything on the list was stuff that it would be politically prohibitive to defer to an offshore company. But were all items of the sort which in other circumstances often would be outsourced. I can't imagine folks tolerating contracts for Army uniforms being given to a sweatshop in Bangladesh. Or license plates being subcontracted to a firm in Mexico. Yet, these very same items are being produced by incarcerated individuals paid sweatshop wages here at home. A few dollars a day.
Perhaps a prison labor movement is needed to draw attention to this. In areas in which prison labor accounts for more than 50% of production strikes would be immensely powerful. And the situation lends itself to a strong 'two pronged' approach as well in that groups outside the prisons have direct economic interests involved as well. Having low wage prison workers suppresses jobs and deflates wages for those on the outside. And deprive external entrepreneurs and corporations an opportunity to freely get a share of the respective markets.
It may be effective to focus on motivating Americans to give more attention to our prisons through addressing the money issues first and foremost. Other moral concerns would piggy-back on such attention. Much simply by sharing the spotlight of increased focus and wider awareness.
It struck me that almost everything on the list was stuff that it would be politically prohibitive to defer to an offshore company. But were all items of the sort which in other circumstances often would be outsourced. I can't imagine folks tolerating contracts for Army uniforms being given to a sweatshop in Bangladesh. Or license plates being subcontracted to a firm in Mexico. Yet, these very same items are being produced by incarcerated individuals paid sweatshop wages here at home. A few dollars a day.
Perhaps a prison labor movement is needed to draw attention to this. In areas in which prison labor accounts for more than 50% of production strikes would be immensely powerful. And the situation lends itself to a strong 'two pronged' approach as well in that groups outside the prisons have direct economic interests involved as well. Having low wage prison workers suppresses jobs and deflates wages for those on the outside. And deprive external entrepreneurs and corporations an opportunity to freely get a share of the respective markets.
It may be effective to focus on motivating Americans to give more attention to our prisons through addressing the money issues first and foremost. Other moral concerns would piggy-back on such attention. Much simply by sharing the spotlight of increased focus and wider awareness.
Reflection
I've heard that 'world as a mirror' is a favorite metaphor of Sufism... hmm, Something to RUMInate on perhaps... ;-)
Thursday, October 10, 2013
911 Musings
I remember tiring of the media blitz and walking the bike path along the river with two friends and a frisbee.
The uninterrupted sky—devoid of air traffic—cast a layer of serene peacefulness over the urban greenspace below.
And over us as well.
The wanderers who made their way through tree shadows and sunny grass fields.
Alive.
----------------------------------------------------------------
A little while ago a friend posted [on facebook]...
"i just saw "let's start a new kids game, cowboys n muslims" ugh. please take 3 steps back mankind."[sic]
...on another thread.
hmm, ...
"let's start a new kids game, cowboys n muslims"
...is a doozy.
Multifaceted in its reflections upon the American zeitgeist.
As it brings to mind the range of xenophobia, self interest, and generally warped impressions that shaped the conflicts leading to that which it references. i.e. 'Cowboys-n-Indians'.
I've heard it said that those who are aware of history are doomed to watch those who aren't repeat it.
It's interesting, to me, how despite regularly tacking on rational qualifiers what carries through to most—through the jingoism that's been swirling around for over a decade—is 'cowboys-n-MUSLIMS'. Not 'cowboys-n-Al Queda' or any such more specific version. Details and fine distinctions seem to be a challenge for mass minds. The original 'Cowboys-n-Indians' lumped a quite diverse range of peoples into one convenient target as well. [Funny that I don't recall ever hearing any major news outlets refer to "the SAUDIS who attacked the World Trade Center..."]
It's so much easier to avoid introspection when an amorphous 'them' lurks in the shadowed corners.
I'm imagining a movie scene in which a despot's regime hires caricature artists to draw life size paper images which are then placed in front of people as they are brought before a firing squad. Defendants made to wear masks throughout a trial. And so on. [hmm, could be a blank mask and then have the competing attorneys take turns drawing features upon it... but I digress...]
Sigh...
It's sad that many lives were intentionally destroyed simultaneously September 11, 2001. It's sad that many lives have been intentionally destroyed before and after.
It's encouraging that there are heroes willing to rise to the occasion—often risking life and limb—to pull survivors through the aftermath of tragedy.
Would heroes exist without tragedy and villainy? Or are they two sides of a single coin. Inexorably bound?
Sigh...
I don't know...
I don't know...
Do you?
Peace y'all.
-Kev-
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