upon the harbor waters I rest upon my boat, tied to the bulkhead carrying out maintance tasks from a never ending list. I've been docked for two weeks now, most of that time waiting for two small parts that would save me $120 and restore the Nita Jacqueline to her sturdy sailing status. She is complete and now I have more land-based projects, namely, Balance the Bucks.
There is always something between us and where we want to be. Today it is playing music at the Sylvan Theatre in the shadow of the Washington Monument and sing a few songs about change from the perspective of a traveler with a diverse background. I bring the message, tried and true: Be the change you wish to see in the world. None of the "change you can believe" stuff.
I will be busy promoting this show, everyone will as we have no sponsors. You can't paly the game of greed and speak for and end to it, Del Goldfarb understands this. He's been paying for this out of pocket and doing everything personally. Small change from the norm, but paramount in meaning. There will be no signage from beer, car, or cleaning product companies. Just music from the soul to the ear hole.
After this I will be spending time with my mom, who is dealing with a cancer that has begun to advance. I will find a slip for my boat and be spending time in the house I grew up.
Being the same as you, I hope your adventures reach the horizon, and your dreams grow to the sun.
8/18/09
8/10/09
On the positive
The dreams of we. The imaginative perception we have of reality. This alone is proof we can handle the actions needed to be the change.
Truth is positive and therefore we must stand sturdy on step one: Reduce Consumption. Many problems we currently commit massive resources to will simply disappear once we become more responsible in our consumption. In fact, we have no idea how easy change is if we act rationally.
Who am I?
I am like most; I enjoy going out to restaurants and bars; I love to go to concerts and on trips; I've attended University; served in the Air Force; owned cars and have bought new clothes for no real reason. I have limited, if not cut these out of my live. There simply is no option, we must reduce our consumption.
How?
It requires two things: Knowledge and Imagination. Albert said: I simply imagine it and set out to prove it. He was wise. You too, can be wise through your actions. I would suggest taking you television and setting it on the curb. Doesn't that sound easy?
We cannot change by doing the same things, that is silly and crazy as putting the auto industry on life support. Think about this: The Air you breathe, the Water you drink. We must take that a little more serious than we do currently. Reduce.
Reduce, Reuse. Recycle garbage, and the point is to stop making garbage. IF you stop using it, they will stop making it. Again, IF YOU STOP USING IT THEY WILL STOP MAKING IT. All together now IF YOU STOP USING IT THEY WILL STOP MAKING IT.
Truth is positive and therefore we must stand sturdy on step one: Reduce Consumption. Many problems we currently commit massive resources to will simply disappear once we become more responsible in our consumption. In fact, we have no idea how easy change is if we act rationally.
Who am I?
I am like most; I enjoy going out to restaurants and bars; I love to go to concerts and on trips; I've attended University; served in the Air Force; owned cars and have bought new clothes for no real reason. I have limited, if not cut these out of my live. There simply is no option, we must reduce our consumption.
How?
It requires two things: Knowledge and Imagination. Albert said: I simply imagine it and set out to prove it. He was wise. You too, can be wise through your actions. I would suggest taking you television and setting it on the curb. Doesn't that sound easy?
We cannot change by doing the same things, that is silly and crazy as putting the auto industry on life support. Think about this: The Air you breathe, the Water you drink. We must take that a little more serious than we do currently. Reduce.
Reduce, Reuse. Recycle garbage, and the point is to stop making garbage. IF you stop using it, they will stop making it. Again, IF YOU STOP USING IT THEY WILL STOP MAKING IT. All together now IF YOU STOP USING IT THEY WILL STOP MAKING IT.
8/9/09
I read T.S Elliot as I wait for this coffee shop computer to sputter through the "add-on programs" and other at large speed sappers. It is poetry, that is, these computers. We develop such technology, capable of easing the burden of this or that. But in a thoughtless culture, to implement something like the Internet, always ends up increasing the dislocation between the individual and the moment. I have decided I like books better than computers.
People too, I like them like clouds; though sometimes I want sun or a bluebird sky, the occasional puff of vapor adds just the right amount of random beauty that makes each day unique. Like a computer though, many people seem to run the same program, and are bogged down with many distractions from the main task.
Many will argue what the primairy role of a person is, as if it was something we had a choice in. Yes, we decide what to wear, who to sleep with and what school to graduate from, but we still do the same as any other homo sapien sapien: justify our existance. This is a requirnment to any organizim that departs from the natural world; they must creat a purpose.
I once read a book of philosophy, or, western thought, that challenged the need for purpose. The auther stated that life itself was reason enough; to be alive is purpose enough to exist. This plays upon the simple beauty of being. I find distraction in goals as they tend to seperate the seeker from the reason they are alive; taking for granted that life is not a garrentee and that through their actions they serve to require the siffering of others.
To the one who believes someone will always be suffering: May you eat your words.
Yes, as the Buddah in you will say, "Suffering in the basic condition of life". It cannot be avoided. It is the exploitation and persicution that can be, only through the will of the individual to seperate their existance from these wholly dispicable lifestyles. A North American is the oppressor of the world. Even more, we are chained to our roll, making us more like slaves than a "free" people.
A word about Freedom
With power comes responsibility, the word freedom should be difined by both 'power' and 'responsibility'. If we are free, then how do we express our responsibility? Going to work for 40 years? Paying taxes? If we go into detail of the real-world implications of these we find at step one or two, contridiction. When we turn tail from condriction (things that undermine freedom) we sluff on our responsibility. Remember the American revolution? That is wat it took then to be free. What is it today?
Our president is perhaps the "saviour" some claim. But he is in a system that has murdered presidents for going overboard on being responsible to freedom. The best Obama could do is open the door for the people to stand up. Governments don't change countries, people do. this is a law of nature and a constant in history.
Freedom is important, but it is much more difficult to maintain than slavery. As individuals, it is easier to be oppressed; enslaved for we are not responsible for our needs. The consumate American will say "I go to work to earn for the things I need". I say yes you do, like a cotton picker went into the field to aviod a beating. If you don't go to work, you will suffer the same as any slave.
I don't argue that we should be aloud to do nothing and enjoy the fruits or another's labor, remember I am opposed to the American Republic that has exploited poor people the world over. I mearly propose that when we have a problem, we don't solve it with bombs. We shoudl all work to the fullest of our abilities, to benefit the community. Whenever we find ourselves justifying murder/war as a means to benefit the community, we must step back and see just how big our community is. War is a means to erase the oppisition; it is a declaration of superioruty. I am right about what I say, but it is not what I say that makes me right, it is because I will not murder you to be right mearly by the absence of your view. Ah, America.
Nothing is wrong with one community being a stranger to another, its called "cultural diversity". Confict will arise no matter how well aquanted a people are with another. This is why the subject of "Conflict Resolution" is a very good one to require at all levels of education. Many are quick to say "War is Natural" and yes, to an oppresive regiem marked by a superiority complex and poor education, war will naturally be the means employed to resolve conflicts. "Pre-emptive strikes" I think was the actions of this country. On the playground we call that starting a fight. War is not natural, conflict is. There are 5 ways to resolve conflict, war is one and is a means of brute force. Sophistocation America?
Aw, shame on me. All these posts, always the same point. I"ll try to "lighten up". I'll try to ignore the war too. Yea, that'll sure hasten change. And whats the big deal anyway? No of this matters, right? Or it does, that why we drop bombs in cities where babies sleep. Ah, america. What business do we have telling anyone else how to run a country?
Peace and love and cereal boxes
"Cash for Clunkers" Great! Change you can belive in! More investing in the auto industry. How hopeful! With love: YOU FOOLS!
People too, I like them like clouds; though sometimes I want sun or a bluebird sky, the occasional puff of vapor adds just the right amount of random beauty that makes each day unique. Like a computer though, many people seem to run the same program, and are bogged down with many distractions from the main task.
Many will argue what the primairy role of a person is, as if it was something we had a choice in. Yes, we decide what to wear, who to sleep with and what school to graduate from, but we still do the same as any other homo sapien sapien: justify our existance. This is a requirnment to any organizim that departs from the natural world; they must creat a purpose.
I once read a book of philosophy, or, western thought, that challenged the need for purpose. The auther stated that life itself was reason enough; to be alive is purpose enough to exist. This plays upon the simple beauty of being. I find distraction in goals as they tend to seperate the seeker from the reason they are alive; taking for granted that life is not a garrentee and that through their actions they serve to require the siffering of others.
To the one who believes someone will always be suffering: May you eat your words.
Yes, as the Buddah in you will say, "Suffering in the basic condition of life". It cannot be avoided. It is the exploitation and persicution that can be, only through the will of the individual to seperate their existance from these wholly dispicable lifestyles. A North American is the oppressor of the world. Even more, we are chained to our roll, making us more like slaves than a "free" people.
A word about Freedom
With power comes responsibility, the word freedom should be difined by both 'power' and 'responsibility'. If we are free, then how do we express our responsibility? Going to work for 40 years? Paying taxes? If we go into detail of the real-world implications of these we find at step one or two, contridiction. When we turn tail from condriction (things that undermine freedom) we sluff on our responsibility. Remember the American revolution? That is wat it took then to be free. What is it today?
Our president is perhaps the "saviour" some claim. But he is in a system that has murdered presidents for going overboard on being responsible to freedom. The best Obama could do is open the door for the people to stand up. Governments don't change countries, people do. this is a law of nature and a constant in history.
Freedom is important, but it is much more difficult to maintain than slavery. As individuals, it is easier to be oppressed; enslaved for we are not responsible for our needs. The consumate American will say "I go to work to earn for the things I need". I say yes you do, like a cotton picker went into the field to aviod a beating. If you don't go to work, you will suffer the same as any slave.
I don't argue that we should be aloud to do nothing and enjoy the fruits or another's labor, remember I am opposed to the American Republic that has exploited poor people the world over. I mearly propose that when we have a problem, we don't solve it with bombs. We shoudl all work to the fullest of our abilities, to benefit the community. Whenever we find ourselves justifying murder/war as a means to benefit the community, we must step back and see just how big our community is. War is a means to erase the oppisition; it is a declaration of superioruty. I am right about what I say, but it is not what I say that makes me right, it is because I will not murder you to be right mearly by the absence of your view. Ah, America.
Nothing is wrong with one community being a stranger to another, its called "cultural diversity". Confict will arise no matter how well aquanted a people are with another. This is why the subject of "Conflict Resolution" is a very good one to require at all levels of education. Many are quick to say "War is Natural" and yes, to an oppresive regiem marked by a superiority complex and poor education, war will naturally be the means employed to resolve conflicts. "Pre-emptive strikes" I think was the actions of this country. On the playground we call that starting a fight. War is not natural, conflict is. There are 5 ways to resolve conflict, war is one and is a means of brute force. Sophistocation America?
Aw, shame on me. All these posts, always the same point. I"ll try to "lighten up". I'll try to ignore the war too. Yea, that'll sure hasten change. And whats the big deal anyway? No of this matters, right? Or it does, that why we drop bombs in cities where babies sleep. Ah, america. What business do we have telling anyone else how to run a country?
Peace and love and cereal boxes
"Cash for Clunkers" Great! Change you can belive in! More investing in the auto industry. How hopeful! With love: YOU FOOLS!
8/2/09
heavy weather
Sailiong back into the Inner Harbor, Baltimore MD, I encountered two major thunder storms just after passing the Key Bridge. The first prooved to be just strong enough to prevent me from sailing my intended course, but forced me to hold my ground by tacking back and forth in a small zig-zag. The rain was intense and the wind was in the 30mph.
The second storm was more intense, forcing be to stop sailing all together, drop sails and let the boat take care of herself. She did very well, and being in such close proxcimity of the Keu bridge gave me a good point of reference to judge the habbit of the boat lying ahull: she acted as if anchored!
Thougn My experince was outstripped, the mistakes that got the best of me would of ruslted in a torn head sail. I was prepaired to navigate throught the bridge after drippong all sail but the need was washed away with the stubborne behavior of her full keel in the conditions.
I still have much worry about heavy weather, but I know at least the boat I trust can handle it.
Strong women make the sailor go round the world.
The second storm was more intense, forcing be to stop sailing all together, drop sails and let the boat take care of herself. She did very well, and being in such close proxcimity of the Keu bridge gave me a good point of reference to judge the habbit of the boat lying ahull: she acted as if anchored!
Thougn My experince was outstripped, the mistakes that got the best of me would of ruslted in a torn head sail. I was prepaired to navigate throught the bridge after drippong all sail but the need was washed away with the stubborne behavior of her full keel in the conditions.
I still have much worry about heavy weather, but I know at least the boat I trust can handle it.
Strong women make the sailor go round the world.
To the Love
Still, few understand it is they who must change; it is the American Life-style that is the culprit and it is the American individual that is the promise and hope, but only through individual actions. I don't mean we are each one, alone and must isolate ourselves, to the contrary. We must take individual action and do so in the thick of our culture with encouragement and a clear message: This system is rotten, completely, and we must grow a new one from the roots.
Recycling
There was a time when the call for conservation was a three-part harmony: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle. This is a hierarchy,based on effective conservation. The options to rearrange, or drop a step are not available; anything less is waste.
Today, after 30 years, recycling is common even if not practiced by everyone. what happened to step one? Why did we single out recycling? One might think it to be the most effective step of the "Three R's" but in fact it is the least. To recycle a bag, bottle, or other disposable product requires lots of transportation and processing, which is, despite the reason to recycle in the first place, highly consumptive in nature. And before we can boast the energy savings and reduction in pollution associated with making grocery bags, aluminum cans and plastic bottles out of recycled materials we must face the fact that these products are designed to be used once and sent back through the recycling process. This is not conservation but a clearly capitalistically motivated process.
Nothing is wrong with capitalism just as nothing is wrong with Communism or any other social system, they are tools for organizing and carrying out society. As tools, it is the manor in which they are wielded that can be scrutinized and deemed workable or otherwise. This form of capitalism is beneficial only to the rich, the rest of us are forced to work the majority of our lives for reasons presented under false pretences. IF there was truth to this system, why would a football player make more money that a school teacher/college professor/doctor? Why would parents be forced to leave their children at very early ages to people, who among other things, do not love the child? Yes, all arguments are ended when we look at education and the dwindling investment our country makes to the future of our children.
You can't send your taxes to the same people that buy bombs to solve problems and expect them to take education seriously. You must not take my word for it, you must look for yourself. Try calling your local government office and ask questions about important issues. Follow that up with your own research, like when you were in college, that's to say work for knowledge. I would be interested to know if you received that same prefabricated, highly calculated response that sheds no new light on already grossly neglected issues.
All arguments stop when we look at the treatment of information. From the media (yes, even NPR and John Stewart) to the EPA, and all other official channels of information there is a lack of factual information. Spin has become the focus and the quality of information has become sacrificial in the name of continuity; keep'em working. The product of all of this is apathy, and the result of that is continued increase in the severity of issues. The house is on fire, and your in the kitchen trying to get the dishes done before the fire department comes over. Don't forget to vacuum the living room.
Peace and Love are actions; Be the change
Recycling
There was a time when the call for conservation was a three-part harmony: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle. This is a hierarchy,based on effective conservation. The options to rearrange, or drop a step are not available; anything less is waste.
Today, after 30 years, recycling is common even if not practiced by everyone. what happened to step one? Why did we single out recycling? One might think it to be the most effective step of the "Three R's" but in fact it is the least. To recycle a bag, bottle, or other disposable product requires lots of transportation and processing, which is, despite the reason to recycle in the first place, highly consumptive in nature. And before we can boast the energy savings and reduction in pollution associated with making grocery bags, aluminum cans and plastic bottles out of recycled materials we must face the fact that these products are designed to be used once and sent back through the recycling process. This is not conservation but a clearly capitalistically motivated process.
Nothing is wrong with capitalism just as nothing is wrong with Communism or any other social system, they are tools for organizing and carrying out society. As tools, it is the manor in which they are wielded that can be scrutinized and deemed workable or otherwise. This form of capitalism is beneficial only to the rich, the rest of us are forced to work the majority of our lives for reasons presented under false pretences. IF there was truth to this system, why would a football player make more money that a school teacher/college professor/doctor? Why would parents be forced to leave their children at very early ages to people, who among other things, do not love the child? Yes, all arguments are ended when we look at education and the dwindling investment our country makes to the future of our children.
You can't send your taxes to the same people that buy bombs to solve problems and expect them to take education seriously. You must not take my word for it, you must look for yourself. Try calling your local government office and ask questions about important issues. Follow that up with your own research, like when you were in college, that's to say work for knowledge. I would be interested to know if you received that same prefabricated, highly calculated response that sheds no new light on already grossly neglected issues.
All arguments stop when we look at the treatment of information. From the media (yes, even NPR and John Stewart) to the EPA, and all other official channels of information there is a lack of factual information. Spin has become the focus and the quality of information has become sacrificial in the name of continuity; keep'em working. The product of all of this is apathy, and the result of that is continued increase in the severity of issues. The house is on fire, and your in the kitchen trying to get the dishes done before the fire department comes over. Don't forget to vacuum the living room.
Peace and Love are actions; Be the change
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