Good news! The crisis seems to be ebbing. Now all that remains is a few days of existential questioning that could be summed up (and possibly expedited) in asking, "and just why the fuck do I do this?", and then a dash of the "healing effect of time", and a tablespoon or two of " it could be worse", and I'll be good as new. Except I'm a week older.
Before I begin, a couple of housekeeping items.
PMT: I asked you a question on the previous thread.
To all, esp. WM & CA:
After several weeks, I finally got you. My "art" question earlier was a bit of a joke, a gentle poke at the earnestness of the high vs. Crude discussion. Your answers were pretty much what I expected, but naturally, disappointing for a voyeuristic SOB such as I am. So there.
The Wendell Berry thing failed to fire or is still incubating. No problem. I have a couple of pieces of suggested reading I'd like to direct you to.
The first is related to some questions and observations I have made re: religion and culture, especially political culture. A question I have been trying to illuminate for several years and concentrating on in my reading is why religious people behave as they do, which is to say in exact opposition to the ideals they profess. There was an essay in Sunday's paper by David Brooks (NYT columnist). It's probably headlined differently in local papers, but the first sentence is : Socrates talked. Try to find and read it.
Second, there is a book review in the April 15 New Republic titled The Collector. It contains some interesting ideas that are relevant to both your art discussion and my frustrating pursuit of a life of the mind integrated with a peasant vocation.
Could we return to our roots for a while? My head needs feeding.
I hope this looks better (in terms of formatting) on the blog than it does to me. I'm still unschooled.
Windhover, looking to the light.
38 comments:
WH, OK, a "Gotcha!" was in order. You never know when you might be being had. That is the advantage of being long distance invisible blog participants. For all I know there are loads of 160 IQ, back-to-the-earth farmers who bemoan the lack of taste (figuratively, not literally) in modern porn movies. If you're out there....let's hear from you. With a little luck, we may hear from a real connoisseur.
I think there really is still an interest in Wendell Berry. We get off on a lot of tangents here, and I'm finding as I get older, I lose track of things/people/words (endless list), if I don't keep my nose to the trail. Or at least I need to keep a list of things I should track. I have just put a pad of paper by my keyboard and written down the David Brooks essay and The Collector information as a reminder to follow up.
Now, if the arrival of the new patio table and chairs doesn't excite me to the point of forgetting where I put the list, we'll be just fine.
WH,
I read your post and your question. I rummaged over it for a bit yesterday, considering how to reply. I did not do so then simply because there are only so many hours in a day.
At first, thinking he might be a writer, I tried to recall whether Spanbauer's name rang a bell. Then I considered that, perhaps he was an acquaintance of yours who lived down here in my neck of the woods. After looking him up via Wikipedia, I discovered that he is indeed an author. Whilst perusing his entry there, I ran across a name associated with him that did ring a bell, Tom Palahniuk. I did not know why, but I figured that I had most likely heard of either one or both of them from a book review. Looking up Mr. Palahniuk's entry on Wikipedia, I see that he is the author of the book, Fight Club. I may have read his name in a review of the movie that was made based on that book. That is the extent of my (un)familiarity with them.
Promise, now that you have replied, I will explain. I don't know Spanbauer personally, either. What I know is that he is a gay man a novelist and a teacher, whose writing is from that perspective. At least one of his novels deals with the life of a young gay boy/man as he deals with the travails of growing up in a rural Western setting (Idaho in his case) with a not very tolerant father and community. HOW I know of him is that his brother was a very good friend of mine in the 90's. We were both involved in a so-called progressive farm group devoted to bringing fairness and coherence to federal farm policy. Good fucking luck, and I still have some lumps to show for it.
Anyway, Spanbauer fre're was a great guy who could be a body double for the actor Sam Shephard. I have been with him on several occasions when women asked for his autograph. We were sitting at the bar in the American Grill in Union Station in DC when two women from Spain asked to have their picture taken with him. I did the honors. We were drinking at the Old Ebbets Bar downtown across from the Treasury when two very attractive lady lawyers "spotted" him. Let's just say he was a generous and sharing type of friend. But I digress. The "loser" in that lottery (the one that got me) was a bookworm, and once she discovered that he wasn't Shephard, asked if he had a brother who was a writer. Small bed (I mean world) sometimes, isn't it?
So the other night my friends name popped into my head and I googled it and came up with his father's three year old obituary (he's a Jr.), and that led me Tom's website. And then I thought, because of the theme of his writing that you might be or might like to be acquainted with his work.
It's good to see you and hear from you. We out here and I have no reservation in using the royal we, still think of this as "your" blog, and ourselves as house guests with refrigerator privileges. May I hear a "Hell yeah" from the crew?
WH...Hell Yeah...oh and really, really Hang 'em High...we may be getting closer, although that is an ENTIRELY different conversation.
For the moment I am pressed for time(I know, unusal for me) but we have an upcoming kitty/Vet appointment in just a bit.
The Wendall Berry is for me, like CA, just momentarily off the radar but give me a bit to do some reading...and...apparently with the homework assignment we now have...I WILL get back in a few hours...it is 1:30 PDT at the moment so it will be around 4 or so. We are still limited to being indoors today as the air quality has hit seriously sucky today.
Glad to see you starting a post...I've been sitting on my hands, so to speak, since I was posting a lot a week or so back.
PMT good to see you rear your head and post periodically as I also feel we are guests at the banquet.
Let me try to locate the WH suggestions and I will get back...have been wine-less, by choice for few days...testing myself to see if I sleep better, am less fuzzy headed first thing in the morning...so far...no difference...so I guess tonite it will be wine time again.My ex-alcoholic Scotish friend says I am a wimp drinker anyway...
CA...Hope you are outside enjoying your patio...we still have 1 more day before outside is healthy again.
See y'all in a bit...WM
As long as we can use the royal "we", you'll get a "hell yeah" from this section of the peanut gallery.
I do love the internet. How about this WH? The End of Philosophy by David Brooks.
I think I'm on a roll. How about these apples? The Collector, review of "Reborn: Journals & Notebooks 1947-1963", by Susan Sontag.
Now, that I have them nailed, I will actually go back and read them.
PMT, re, Fight Club. I have to admit I saw the Brad Pitt/Ed Norton movie first and was so fascinated I went running to Amazon for the book. Now I should put Spanbauer on my reading list too.
I may or may not be back today. The new patio furniture is calling me "oooooh....woooooooh" (siren song?). It looks like BBQ tri-tip, salad and a bottle of red in my immediate future.
CA...I owe you a bottle of Folie à Deux...WOOT! Now, when I get back home I can read and answer...The siren call of of summer...AHHHHH!
Back in a few...
Oh...and WH a big thumbs up for now...
Quite frankly, I am disappointed to hear that your pornography query was a ploy. Despite the fact that the Swedes invented the medium, I find pornography to be a true American art form. Lest you think I am kidding, let me inform you that the first year I was able to vote for President of the United States, I voted for Larry Flynt. Shocked yet? Don't be. I see this as no different from the Mapplethorpe exhibit. People who push the boundaries, those who get people to say, "Oh my god! That's disgusting. That should not be allowed. Ban it, ban it, burn it, bur...." are exercising the First Amendment, the right to freedom of expression. Admittedly, any particular pornographer is not likely to be accused of producing 'High Art'. Yet, the field as a whole tests our convictions regarding freedom of expression. For me, nothing is more important.
I saw a video on YouTube today of a little boy dolled up in a nightgown with his hair curled and wearing lipstick. Not only was he dressed like a little tart, he was acting like one. It turns out that the video was an excerpt from some legitimate movie that I have not yet seen. The point is, there were plenty of comments about the video (of course) and one, in particular, caught my attention. This person wrote something to the effect of, "Ewww, he's touching himself". I felt compelled to reply because of the absurdity of the whole matter. As if it was not fucked up enough to think that the boy, or anyone else, should not have the right to touch himself, I could not help but feel that we as a society truly have our heads up our collective asses. If that film had depicted the boy wielding a pistol and shooting someone with it there would have been comparatively little said.
This is the Kali Yuga, our minds are occluded.
Okay WH...you really put the thumbscrews on friendship here...7 pages on the Sontag critique????
I never chose to read her even though I was aware of her...I'm not entirely sure that I would want to read her, even now...but, I am going to let that one ride for today...that is a lot of very interesting info and an extremely interesting piece of writing. It focuses quite directly on the art discussion, but also connects with the maorality issues in the second piece.
You have selected two very different topics for discussion, although there are some intersecting lines. I have been drinking some very nice Rioja...so I will take a stab at the first topic and then I have some scallops Provencal to get cooking.
I think that the group morality article takes a very interesting direction...It seems that even though we are raised with a certain set of standards and moral beliefs, they can be altered or corrupted by the company that we keep, a form of mob mentality. There are a couple of related issues with this...there is the religious issue that you mentioned and there is, currently the emerging political/moral issue of the torture memos that have been released. A moral wrong turn and pseudo-legal justification for immoral and internationally illegal acts. So where to go first...you know this is a several day discussion to feed that brain of yours.:o)
I think that as we grow up we assimilate a certain set of moral values based on the beliefs of our parents and those around us. They say that by the time a child reaches about 12-13 years of age that whatever is taught them about morality and life is pretty much a done deal...you are not going to substanially change the way they behave and see the world.
But, I think there are numerous situations that can change a person's perceptions of the world around them and especially religious beliefs. I had a very interesting discussion with my cousin when she was here. She described a path she had followed from atheist to fundamentalist to Catholic and back to where she started, atheist. A lot had to do with who she was with at the time and how it affected her perception of things. She started reading quite a bit and actually considered going for a Doctorate in Theology, but, I think, fortunately, she was removed from the influences around her and returned to her intial,original beliefs.
People who are often lonely can become prey to any number of the more fringe religions and can then become infected with their often radical rhetoric...I think that, as we have discussed before, organized religion is much more about power, control and money than about any religious aspect. To try and answer your question, I think that much of the right-wing, fundamentalist religion uses the Bible to assert the superiority of the white race...it isn't about "religion" at all...it essentially gives people the right to behave badly towards people whom they percieve as being less than they are...to deride other religions and beliefs. There is also a mob mentalitiy of righteousness that they believe sets them apart and above others whose beliefs are different.
It can occur anywhere. When I was in high school and required to attend whatever church where my dad was being paid as the choir director I ran across many who talked the talk but most definitely didn't walk the walk...it pretty much turned off to organized religion for the rest of my life...I think that it is, unfortunately human nature to behave in a despicable manor towards whomever is percieved as different and often, organized forms of religion are actually the motivator for the "holier than thou" syndrome...
Sorry...this is unusual, but I need to take a break for dinner...I may be back this evening(late) or I will pick this up tomorrow...I don't type as fast as I would like to think. Bill has been exceedingly patient about dinner...Will resume this and try to tighten it up a bit...Cheers, WM
PMT...bugger!!!! I just got this partial post up and you start a whole new issue...I have to agree with what you have said so far...but can't address it at the moment...bugger, bugger bugger!!!!
Okay, I am not going to go so "deep" as you people. First to PMT...my little nephew when he was 3 1/2 and I was babysitting him and giving him a bath...he was pulling on his penis. I said, "Why are you doing that, didn't I get you rinsed off enough?" His answer..."because it feels good". Turns out he was right on.
Hey, all...don't think I am ditzy and uninformed because of my looks. Okay, I just shared on the other blog today that I am not "degreed". I tend to disagree. I have learned many hard lessons in my life and am proud of where I have ended up. I just don't have time to "read" like you peeps obviously do. I just timed it out today. If I sleep 6-7 hours, I am gone roughly 10.5 a day. Gentle house maintenance comes next, whether cooking, laundry or something else. I figure I get about 2-3 hours of Jeannie time. I am not a big TV person so this is where I choose to use it. With you or someone else.
Windhover, you are so deep, I can't even comprehend how to respond to you. I know you have been hurting and am sorry for that. That is what I have tried to convey. I hope your demons from hell are now fading into non-existance. Some take time. AAHHSSOO (bowing deep).
Promisemethis...I just happened upon your blog by accident checking out your profile while reading the comments on the crossword blog. Were you so tortured as a young boy by being pushed down and taking it in the ass that you find in necessary to be such a pompass and egotistical asshole "know it all"? It seems like a defense mechanism. Dr. Y.S.S.
Dear Doctor:
I suppose that your prime motivation for posting on a blog where the participants are unknown to you and the conversation is private and well beyond your comprehension is to get someone to respond to you. Here is your response.
The very definition of pompOUS and egotistical is embodied in your behavior. Also you can't spell worth a shit.
If you should have a lucid moment and realize what a piece of shit you really are, please take that opportunity to extinguish your life, because it won't last. You may post again, but you will never get another response from me. If you contact me personally, in any medium, I will find you. You won't like me, either.
Windhover, believe it.
Dr. Y.S.S.,
How did you know?
There I was all of four years old standing at the top of the stairs. Plastic, green, army helicopter in one hand, a freshly peeled banana in the other, between my arms a huge box of something-or-other. I was ready to tackle that first gigantic step down. Suddenly, out of nowhere, my sister's foot declared, in no uncertain terms, "Get a move on!"
Imagine my surprise when after a few seconds of badump, badump, badump, badump I came to rest upon an angel's six foot cock. Talk about an epiphany. My eyes were finally opened and it was in that revelatory moment that I was imbued with all the wisdom of the ages. Naturally, I have spent all of the days since seeking out any and all opportunities to perform odd jobs for the sole purpose of making enough money to hire my sister's foot to once again send me head-long toward eternal bliss.
Thanks for asking.
Well, Promise,
It appears that chicken-shit motherfucker has run the women off for a day or so. Now how in the Hell are we going to know we're wrong?
Anyway, where was I? Oh yeah, porn. Well, like Rick Nelson wrote and sang in "Garden Party", you "can't please everyone so you gotta please yourself". And believe me, when the Irish is gone more than a day or two, I can still do that. But again I digress.
The porn quality question was a joke and a poke, but indicated no condemnation of the genre on my part. I have, as you might guess, viewed my share. I am aware of the exploitive nature of its production, but on the other hand little boys and girls are sold into sexual slavery in every country in the world, including this one, and where is the "moral" outrage from the censorious upper crust on that? Probably more than a few of them have one stashed in the basement. Like Ted Haggard preaching against gays and drugs, you can often sense what their own little twist is by what they rail against. My only real problem with porn is that I finally got bored with it. Just as "truth is stranger than fiction" and "you can't make this shit up", I have found over the few years that reality can actually surpass fantasy. But like you I am opposed to censorship in any context that I can think of at the moment. As for Mapplethorpe, I found it neither offensive nor repulsive.
On a humorous note, go back and read your reply and substitute, as I did in my first reading, the word "clock". I thought "six foot angel clock?", WTF does that mean? Then I reread. Oh..... Although, just in case Pascal wagered correctly, I hope some angels will have pussies
(what is the correct plural form, anyway?) when I get to heaven, cause I hear it's a happy place. No damn Coors Lite in the beer taps, only Guinness and Bass Ale. On second thought, maybe it will be like the later Star Trek, and whatever each patron desires will come out of the tap. If so, I think I'll have a Trappist Ale, probably Chimay Blue.
Looks like we may have weathered another little storm. Now if we can get the carcass out of the living room and clean the carpet (and my language), maybe the ladies will come on back. I miss 'em already.
Windhover, cooling off.
Windhover,
I am loath to patronize the women, particularly given their advanced age and what not. I am sure they have seen it all and are nowhere near shocked by any trivial happenings that might take place here in this miniscule corner of the world.
nothing! He merely, demurely awaits his spanking....
Alrighty boys, Don't forget, I'm Clear Ayes. I can recognize the "Good Boy / Naughty Boy Ploy" from a mile off. Either way, you were pretty sure to get a response from me.
The only reason I have been staying away today is to sift through "The Collector" article about Susan Sontag. WM is right WH...Seven pages...and a lot of it elaborations on elaborations. (I wonder who it is who deserves a spanking ??) So, I took time to look up the definitions of encomia, autodidact and a couple others that I should probably be embarrassed not to have known right off the bat. I have heard of her, but I'm also sure I have not read anything by her. I must have heard or read Sontag being quoted, because I knew she was a critic and writer. The Wikipedia article about her is probably pretty accurate and offers much more instantaneous gratification. (You fellas should be able to appreciate that.) Maybe I remember her from her defense of Salman Rusdie after the publication of The Satanic Verses and the fatwa that was issued against him.
I did find the comparison of her lines, "I'm checking on what's in the world. What's left. What's discarded. What's no longer cherished. What had to be sacrificed.", with "seeing and evaluating" as moral thinking/aesthetics in David Brooks article to be attention getting. Did my written grammar just fall overboard in that last sentence?
I liked the David Brooks article. I'll read it again...the second time is usually the charm for me. And for the record, there was absolutely no sexual connotation in that last sentence. I'm too used to watching my syntax around the corner.
We'll get back to PMT's subject at 11:26 soon. Same thing goes for Wendell Berry. Same thing for more on ART!! Nyahhhh, haaaaah, haaaah!!
Got to slap some BALT's together. That's BLT's with avocado slices tossed in for good measure. On a warm evening like tonight, we like to keep dinner simple and these sandwiches are a favorite.
Naughty, naughty...talking about us in front of our backs...Yes, I'm oldish and gray and I've earned every smile line and wrinkle and had a hell of ride getting here...and I'm snarky as hell...so back it down. CA has your cumulative number(s)tough guys...
Had to go stock up the larder so it took a bit to get back...now that you gentlemen have fed the troll I only have one more ORT for that tiny, sad brain that lives in the dark under the bridge...sorry troll-y, you are just sad and pathetic...no roaring ogre...Okay, I'm done now.(You like the use of those xwords? I have NEVER, EVER used the word ORT in my whole freakin' life! WOOT!)BTW, PMT...nice image...6 foot cock?...Wowsa! ;o)That would convert ANYONE!
I don't know exactly where to start as there is so much fun stuff out here right now...A comment perhaps on the porn and other things in that line...One of the burdens of the freedoms we enjoy is allowing people to exercise those freedoms...however much we may not see eye to eye with them...I do think that we have to draw the line when endangering people and especially children, comes into play. That is the dark side of the porn industry. The other stuff is just fantasy and silly and if it works for you, so be it, go for it(personnally it just makes me giggle). I haven't seen a lot of Maplethorpe, but the photo that PMT linked was beautiful. The human body is a wonderful thing in all its permutations...at the very least interesting and terribly much fun to draw.
I can still remember my first life drawing class in college at the tender, naive age of 17...from a very sheltered existence to naked guys(and women)...woo hoo! I can remember being blushingly emabarrased when one of the very attractive models(wearing the requisite jock strap/black bag thingy) came to see what I was drawing during his break...I had never been that close to a naked man before. A lot of people would consider what I was doing in that class...drawing naked people...to be awful,disgusting and sinful...yet these same people think it is ok to dismember and torture people in movies...all I can say is WTF! I really prefer the European attitude toward sex and nudity as opposed to the uptight Puritanism that still affects the majority of our society. I also have serious issues when people want to step into other peoples lives and bedrooms and make judgements on what is proper and acceptable.
I'm not quite ready to move to the Susan Sontag thing because now I need to read CA's link...
I think that there is another very current and political angle to the collective morality thing and I don't know if this a direction that WH wants to go and if I haven't had enough input on the original topic, please let me know.
The current political issue about the torture memos and the moral responsibility of this country to make right what went wrong for 8 years fits very neatly with the Brooks article. It is a case of people in power directing and changing things that they must have know to be morally reprehensible to fit a scenario that they wanted to follow...it was also legally wrong and against the treaties that this country helped to write along with the laws set down by this country regarding "do no harm". They were able to suck in and involve hundreds of people who were behaving in ways against all they believed in because they had been given flimsy "legal" and "moral" reasons for their actions and were led to believe that they were acting in the best interests of their country...even though history had proven it to otherwise...mass moral hysteria...
It is not dissimilar to people who get caught up in oppressive religions where their thought processes are twisted and warped and their behavior becomes more amoral than moral...WH touched on it with "he who doth protest too much..." How many people(sorry guys, mostly men) have been arrested, idicted and jailed for the very things they preach and protest about. That kind of "religion" preaches hate, not love, and intolerance, not tolerance...that is why, WH, that people can hold up the Bible, say they are Christian and behave in appalling fashion...
Ok... break time...and it is getting late for you right coasters...fresh salmon, locally grown asparagus...and baby red potatoes...simple, elegant...yummy. Bill read a few of the posts. I like to share so he knows how much I entertain myself here...may be back...or may not. There is a faint breeze and the weather is turning lovely...finally. I fear we are in for another long, hot summer and I am hoping that the land shift along the San Andreas is moving us fast enough northward that we can eventually escape the heat...oh yeah...I also monitor the weather, the USGS earthquake map and the Alaska Volcano watch website...told ya ...really geeky, but well-informed.
One more thing...Hang ;em REALLY high!...Smack yourself for me PMT...you too WH...we( the royal version) love you too much to leave...WM ;o)
ClearAyes:
When I read anything higher than the comics, I have a nearly worn out, taped together Merriam-Webster right here beside me. I bought a new one a few months ago for the day this one finally falls apart. Guess that makes me pompASS, too.
Windhover, autodidact.
Not really, curiosity is my teacher. She's very strict and demanding. 'night all.
Promisemethis...a six foot cock? Now that would be hard to take. Talking about porn. I had the opportunity to view some this winter. Hey, we are in the snow belt and had some bad weather. I drive 43 miles one way to work. Most of it in the winter is open fields. If you get 2"-3" of snow and wind is up forget it. I pack a bag. So needless to say if the weather becomes inclimate my work will put me up at a nearby hotel. Hence comes in the porn. Lonely, haven't had any in seven years...(not kidding) at a hotel alone. I figured the room was paid for, my toy was along; I'd decide to spring for a porno flick. What a waste of money as the chick took it up the ass the entire time. The twist that got me through was the ENORMOUS dick and the HUGE amount of OLIVE OIL used. I guess that is a staple now. I just use it to cook. Who knew? The whole thing left me disappointed. Oh, did I mention I was stranded two other times and did find some good porn...mainly "girls first audition". Look for Keeley, Windhover.
I can see we have moved into a new direction since I started and then got interrupted by finishing my post about porn. Hopefully, I didn't offend anyone here. I never know just where I fit in.
OK, not quite bedtime, but very brief. You both are going where I went with Brooks. If you read between the lines of the three "nice things", you can devise a perfect rationale for the 12 year (nee 1000) Reich 1933-1945. And his bee metaphor is spot-on. I "own" a couple of hives of bees. They are very structured and industrious, and yes cooperative. But when the hive is threatened they are vicious and ruthless (little neocons with wings).
I fingered the Sontag piece not because of an interest in her, but because of the arguments the essayist advances about the contradictions in her approach to intellectualism, and her lifelong impulse to "know". And for the fit of one section of the essay into the previous art discussion among the three of you, which mostly went over my head.
Bad start, but a good day. You guys carry on, I'm already asleep.
Windhover, nodding
Dammit, I've got to get to bed. I've got to quit checking after I post. But I came back to say this to Jeannie:
If you read back over the comments on just this thread, you will find that it is not easy to offend anyone here. It can be done; it was last night. But as long as the intent is not to insult, ridicule, or attack someone else, it's not likely offense will be taken. I have been rightly but gently chastised a couple of times; if your going to dish it out you have to be able to take it. The saving grace (to use a phrase from my Baptist past) is mutual respect. We have it and share it.
The only thing that troubled me about your post was the seven year thing. It ain't the family jewels you're sittin' on, give it up. I'm teasing you. Sort of.
Windhover, done.
Jeannie...dinner is cooking and you're doing fine...not much offends us and we are looking for answers mostly...who hasn't at one time tried to get the porn channel in a hotel...I didn't have the guts to do it at very fancy Reno hotel because I didn't want my bosses, who were picking up the tab to see it on the bill...chicken shit all the way around.
The idea here is to pose questions and throw out your thoughts about how you feel about things. We have some years on you but that doesn't mean that we don't value your input...
Just a thought, and please don't take this the wrong way...most of us have spent out lives reading and devouring any thing that catches our interest...You gave yourself about 2 hours in your day for Jeannie time...maybe take an hour of that and read something that interests you. I read food magazines and food books and cookbooks and I am a huge fan of British Mysteries. But, during my life, I have had periods of reading sci-fi fantasy and romance novels and whatever caught my interest. Since you work in a world of food, take a look in a used bookstore or on amazon or ecookbooks.com and see if there is something that catches your attention.
I spent most of my life in weird jobs that took 10-12 or more hours of my day and then still had to come home to 2 children and a husband to cook and take care of them. My husband worked nights so I had the additional responsibility of the the house and yard...etc. But, in all of that, I always found time to read. Remember, you are talking mostly with people who grew up without the internet...and you are about 13 years older than my oldest daughter...so be proud of who you are, what you have made of yourself...but...check out the world of reading...heck...read books about sailing...everything additional that you add to your life just makes all the more interesting.
Now...I really do have to get a rather late dinner on the table...my husband is, fortunately, very accomodating...it may have something to do with the fact that he is now awake during the day...retirement is great...I may check back in a bit if you want to rebut any of this...
cheers, WM
WH...will you effing get to bed...rejoin us in the morning!
WM, I am really taken aback that you think I am not a reader. Okay, I am unread when it comes to some of the reading materials Windhover said. But I do know how those different letters of the alphabet all come together for a great story. My favorite is "Green Eggs and Ham" as that was a food story in the beginning and the end.
WM, please!
I am sure the word that is going through Clear Ayes head right about now is the one she hurled at me a couple of weeks ago ... pedantic.
Of course Jeannie knows how to read
She took exception to a recent post of mine because she thought I was implying that she was stupid. I never said that and I am still a bit chagrined that we got off on the wrong foot over here. I respect her as a human being and I know that we have common interests.
Jeannie, I hope you get the opportunity to sail on a big ole boat like the one I linked to the other day. I said before that I am sure I would enjoy a day out on the lake with you and I meant it.
I had also planned to make a post regarding the whole 'glass-ceiling' thing. Unfortunately, real life got in the way. Let me just say that I empathize with you. I think that the men who perpetuate that faux institution are limp-dick blowhards who deserve a good kick in the balls.
Comment to you PMT, I would rather sail my own little 18' Lolita, when I have total control of the tiller and can make due with the jib lines. To hear the "hum" of the tiller and see your sail out catching the wind is the best fun ever as you tear across a lake. I like to be in control of my vessel...NO MATTER what vessel I am trying to navigate.
Duh! :oP
She just made it sound like she didn't have any time in her day to read...Obviously you(Jeannie) are bright and clever or you wouldn't be cruising through the crosswords every day...I just made the assumption that it was a time factor...Jeez, you guys...
PMT...is it time for a new picture/new day yet? Waiting.
PMT,
Can you tell me step by step how to get a picture taken by the Iphone camera posted here, either as an avatar or along with a new post, as each of you have done?
WH,
I suspect that you would need a PC.
When you make a new post, immediately above where you type the text is a row of buttons that are all word-processing tools. I believe that the first one lets you change the style of the font, the next allows you to change the size of the text, after that you have buttons to make any highlighted text bold or italicized. Third from the right on that row is a button that let's you add an image to the post. Once you click that button a small window opens up with a dialog that prompts you to either 'Browse' for an image that exist locally on your PC (not applicable to you) or to type in the URL of an image that resides on a web server somewhere. So....
You either need to use an existing image that is already out there on the web or find a PC to use to either upload your own picture to a web server or use that PC to access the blog and then use the option to upload a local image.
If you can use a computer at the Irish' place of business (no ... the other place of business), then the easiest thing would be to temporarily upload a picture that you took on your iPhone to that PC and then access the blog via that same PC, start a new post and use the Add Image button to upload the picture from the PC. You would use the same procedure for a profile picture except rather than start a new post, you would go to the Edit Your Profile page and use the Edit Photo link.
I hope this helps.
Feel free to email me If you have any questions. That is why I created the gmail account.
Ciao
Since PMT dashed my hopes of posting my picture here, I 'be done the next best thing. I've E- mailed it to each of you. Jeannie, sorry, but I think I sent it to your work e-mail, so you'll have to wait until tomorrow.
I took this picture with the Iphone (this explaining the lack of resolution) at about 6:30 Tuesday evening. I was chasing the f-----g goats out of the alfalfa yet again. A rain shower passed by just to the East (the direction I was facing) but the sun was still pretty bright behind me. The sky color only lasted a minute or so, but at one point the rainbow was double. I love these things. One more reason why I do what I do. It almost got my BP back to normal after cursing the goats, all their ancestors and unborn generations. Don't know how to curse properly? I'll loan you a goat.
No. I am not practicing my Ebonics. The damn Iphone changed I've to I'b done. Later It changed thus to this. Just tried again, caught it this time. Anyway I might just do the Ebonics, it sounds cooler than I am.
If you peope don't start posting more I'm going to see If I can recruit another troll.
Windhover, waiting
I got the photo WH. It immediately reminded me of "Polychrome, Daughter of the Rainbow", in The Road to Oz. It isn't exactly a portrait, but it will have to do until we get a photo of both you and PMT as avatars.
Today was a 'just enough time to post a couple of times over there' day. I'm on my way to chorus practice in about 10 minutes. Sorry, but no NextWordCorner for me this evening. Tomorrow is also an out of the house day. But like MacArthur, I PromiseMeYouEverybodyThis, I shall return.
OK, WH...hold your goats...
Took advantage of the cooler weather today to paint...I really hate it when I start something then have to be away from it for several days...I tend to lose sight of where I was going with it...
First, WH...I sent you an email about the photo. That is just beautiful and I am so impressed. I have enough problems with the computer, an iPhone is probably just too complicated.
Still trying to get my head around the Susan Sontag essay(its too long to call it an article). The impression I was getting from the author is that she lost her way at some point and essentially became a characature(sp?) of herself in later years. The things that she critiqued and was critical of in others was somehow not self-evident to her. In other words, if she held the mirror up to her own face, she was only able to see the surface...and was, ultimately, not truly self aware to her own shortcomings as an author, nor did she realize that when she was being the most true to herself was when she was using her great thirst for knowledge to open the eyes of others to the current pop culture world. I just know at some point, PMT is going to blow me out of the water here and probably justifiably...
I'm trying to relate this to artists, musicians, actors, authors, who get caught up in their own press. Those whose talent is not really at the level where they should be earning the public kudos being showered on them. We have all seen the "artist" in any media, who is embraced by critics and then the public and really have no particular foundation on which to build...they are like a quick blaze on the scene and are diminished and forgotten when public favor finds another "talent" to focus on. Kind of like a restaurant that becomes "the place to be seen" and you can't get reservations and the chef adds staff and borrows more money to improve the restaurant and the fickle puble finds another place to be seen...
There are people who truly have talent and vision, and I think this goes back to our other discussion, and I know that some of the talents that I am familiar with or have known, are often very self effacing and though aware of the talent they possess are wont to toot their own horn about it. It seems that they just keep moving forward and growing in their talent. When success eventually comes, in whatever form, they basically remain the people they were at the beginning. The danger is getting caught up in the public adoration that often comes from recognition and acceptance.
A fine example of the self-effacing artist is Wayne Thiebaud...still painting at 86 and still teaching in the Sacramento Valley as a professor emeritus. He still gets up and goes to his studio and paints every day. He is one the top US artists still alive and working today and his paintings command millions of dollars...He never stops learning and painting and drawing and teaching...living quietly and creating. He has never bought into all the hype about him and has remained true to himself and what he chooses to paint...for me he is the model I would base the rest of my life on.
It is often difficult to find what pleases you most as an artist...something that resonates with what you like, find beautiful, relate to and are interested in. When you make art, and start putting it out in public and among people who are "in the know"...a Susan Sontag, if you will, it is like putting your heart on your sleeve or, more graphically, standing naked in the subway at rush hour...you are putting yourself out there for criticism and ridicule...and I think, this is where, if what you are doing has meaning to you and is honest, you have a better time of weathering the storm because what you are doing pleases you first...which is, I think, most important...and, you just keep hoping that someone else will eventually agree with you.
OK...it is 9:30 EDT and I am going to post what I have written so far, if for no other reason than to keep WH from Troll-hunting and perhaps goat-kicking...My guess is that while I am muddling my way through this, CA has downed some anti allergy medicine and is stomping snakes and drinking wine on the patio...and there is another post waiting to be revealed.
WM...not waiting
This is from an actual deep sea diver's experience. It is posted on my wall...Are you having a Jelly fish kind of day?
Hi Sue, Just another note from your bottom-dwelling brother. Last week I had a bad day at the office. I know you've been feeling down lately at work, so I thought I would share my dilemma with you to make you realize it's not so bad after all. Before I can tell you what happened to me, I first must bore you with a few technicalities of my job. As you know, my office lies at the bottom of the sea. I wear a suit to the office. It's a wetsuit. This time of year the water is quite cool. So what we do to keep warm is this: We have a diesel powered industrial water heater. This $20,000 piece of equipment sucks the water out of the sea. It heats it to a delightful temperature. It then pumps it down to the diver through a garden hose, which is taped to the air hose. Now this sounds like a darn good plan, and I've used it several times with no complaints... What I do, when I get to the bottom and start working, is take the hose and stuff it down the back of my wetsuit. This floods my whole suit with warm water. It's like working in a Jacuzzi. Everything was going well until all of a sudden, my butt started to itch. So, of course, I scratched it. This only made things worse. Within a few seconds my butt started to burn I pulled the hose out from my back, but the damage was done. In agony I realized what had happened. The hot water machine had sucked up a jellyfish and pumped it into my suit. Now, since I don't have any hair on my back, the jellyfish couldn't stick to it. However, the crack of my butt was not as fortunate. When I scratched what I thought was an itch, I was actually grinding the jellyfish into the crack of my butt I informed the dive supervisor of my dilemma over the communicator. His instructions were unclear due to the fact that he, along with five other divers, were all laughing hysterically Needless to say I aborted the dive. I was instructed to make three agonizing in-water decompression stops totaling thirty-five minutes before I could reach the surface to begin my chamber dry decompression. When I arrived at the surface, I was wearing nothing but my brass helmet. As I climbed out of the water, the medic, with tears of laughter running down his face, handed me a tube of cream and told me to rub it on my butt as soon as I got in the chamber. The cream put the fire out, but I couldn't poop for two days because my butt was swollen shut. So, next time you're having a bad day at work...think about how much worse it would be if you had a jellyfish shoved up your butt. Now repeat to yourself, "I love my job, I love my job, I love my job."
Jeannie with the "blocked status" checking in. Windhover, my thinker; this is what has been worrying my brain for years. There is a frog in Australia called the "cane" frog that produces a hallucinogetic (sp)drug if licked. Who is the guy that actually picked up a frog and actually licked it? I'd like to party with that guy.
Where did Stonehedge come from?
How the hell did Michelangelo paint the dome in the Sistine Chapel?
Jeannie, Great story last night. I used to have a plaque on my desk at work that read, "It could always be worse". So true.
Sorry to everyone, I'm off and running this morning. Going "up the hill" to the wineries for lunch and a little wine tasting.
I'm not driving, so I will be doing some serious tasting. I'll try to check in later Yes, it definitely could be worse.
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