Starry Heavens, Moral Law, and Climbing Around On Rocks

Looking for ghosts at Devil's Den.

February 12, 2022

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The kids played this game they call Ding on the drive home from Gettysburg. They say "ding" when they see a mailbox. And when they see a billboard. And when they see any sign. Or telephone pole. Or flag. Or anything blue, or purple. Or anything interesting. 

Thousands upon thousands of rapid-fire "dings." The Buddha himself couldn't devise a more perfect test of one's will. 

When one recognizes that slight flutter of that amorphous thing that is about to become rising anger, it can be disintegrated. It's possible to lose your self by focusing your intention on the sensations of being alive. With no self, there's no anger.

They played Ding for like 20 minutes- "ding-ding, ding, ding-duh-ding, d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-ding, ding, duh-ding, duh-ding, duh-ding-ding-ding.” 

I enjoyed it! They could have gone on all day. My Buddha consciousness was stronger than any armor- there was no need for armor! 

It was as if Darth Vader struck me down, and I became more powerful than he could possibly imagine. It was as if I was protesting the Vietnam War through self-immolation and remained in the lotus position. It was as if I was in Bob Dylan’s Dream:

“Ten thousand dollars at the drop of a hat, I'd give it all gladly if our lives could be like that.”

I imagined myself at 80, with my kids hitting their 40’s. Wouldn't I pay $1 per ding to go back and relive the exact moment I nearly had the compulsion to destroy? As they say in the funny pages, the best things in life are free.

February 12, 2022

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Having donuts with a couple of turkeys.

February 12, 2022

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Darwin was very special, for letting us know we're not so special after all...

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I can't get over this astronomical coincidence... the two arguably most significant people of the 1800's were born on the same day, February 12, 1809. Happy 212th birthday to Abe Lincoln and Charles Darwin.

February 12, 2021

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Tolstoy on Lincoln- "We are still too near to his greatness, but after a few centuries more our posterity will find him considerably bigger than we do. His genius is still too strong and powerful for the common understanding, just as the sun is too hot when its light beams directly on us."

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Lead impeachment manager Jamie Raskin buried his son Tommy the day before Trump's Insurrection. His son was named for the endlessly quotable founding father Thomas Paine. Raskin ended his damning case against Trump with this quote from Paine- "Tyranny, like hell, is not easily conquered; yet we have this consolation with us, that the harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph." Time for any impartial juror to convict Trump, bar him from ever holding public office or trust, and defeat tyrrany again.

And if not, then forget about those cowardly Senators. Any future Trump bid for office will be struck down by the judiciary citing the 14th amendment. Is it a surprise that we already have laws on the books against inciting insurrections? We already have a Constitution equipped to deal with tyrrany and injustice, for any in power who wish to follow it, thanks to Paine and others.

February 12, 2021

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Watching The Wizard of Oz with Gretel and Zuzu for the 100th time. Gretel asked if we can go visit the Munchkins. Dead, they are all dead (except one.) I told her it's a movie and it happened a very long time ago... euphemism.

February 12, 2017

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George Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue premiere on this day in 1924, in a concert titled "An Experiment in Modern Music", in Aeolian Hall, New York, by Paul Whiteman and his band, with Gershwin playing the piano.

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On this day in 1994, four thieves broke into the National Gallery of Norway and stole Edvard Munch's painting The Scream. We all know the paintings reaction.

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Bill Clinton was acquitted by the United States Senate in his impeachment trial on this day in 1999, for fibbing about his sex life.

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Russian existentialist philosopher, Lev Shestov, joined us on this day in 1866.

“In Paradise everything is permitted, except curiosity.”

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Alice Roosevelt Longworth, writer and eldest child of Teddy Roosevelt, was born on this day in 1884. I love this quote.

"If you haven't got anything nice to say about anybody, come sit next to me."

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Ari Shaffir was born on this day in 1974, about 2 weeks before me. The opening of his comedy show, Jew:

"Alright, let's talk about the Bible. The original Bible, the Torah, not your shitty remake. Not your all-girls-version of the Ghostbusters Bible."

It only gets better from there!

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Christina Ricci joined us on this day in 1980.

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Other notable birthdays- Joe Garagiola (1926), Ray Kurzweil (1948), Darren Aronofsky (1968)

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Immanuel Kant left us on this day in 1804.

"We are not rich by what we possess but by what we can do without."

Huh, Thoreau must have plagiarized him.

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Sal Mineo was murdered in a Hollywood back alley on this day in 1976.

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Other notable deathdays- Dziga Vertov (1954), Jean Renoir (1979), Charles M. Schulz (2000)

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My thanks go out to someone for making this great list... now I don't have to think about it.

The things Obama did, that if Bush did, Democrats would have gone crazy over.

http://www.buzzfeed.com/bennyjohnson/things-democrats-would-have-freaked-out-about-if-bush-had-do

February 12, 2013

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Alternet- The Top 10 Most Inhuman Henry Kissinger Quotes

Hillary Clinton's friend. #8 is proof he doesn't even believe in democracy.

On Chile- “I don't see why we need to stand by and watch a country go communist due to the irresponsibility of its people. The issues are much too important for the Chilean voters to be left to decide for themselves.”

https://www.alternet.org/2013/04/top-10-most-inhuman-henry-kissinger-quotes

February 12, 2016

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Hollywood Reporter- Cinematographer Group Rips Oscars Treatment: “We Cannot Quietly Condone This Decision”

They are doing cinematography and editing during commercials? Guillermo del Toro said he won't presume to suggest what to cut, but I will: sound editing, sound mixing, all 5 songs, score, visual effects, and animated features which can compete with the regular features. But then if it was up to me there would be a half hour in memoriam, and themed montages filling in all the cracks. 

Guillermo del Toro makes an impressive argument- "Cinematography and Editing are at the very heart of our craft. They are not inherited from a theatrical tradition or a literary tradition: they are cinema itself.”

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/behind-screen/american-society-cinematographers-president-issues-statement-2019-oscars-1185826

February 12, 2019

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The Hill- Most voters think Trump will be reelected, less than half think he should be: poll

So a majority of people think Trump does not deserve to be reelected but will be. It will be a self-fulfilling prophecy unless they change their attitude. If everyone who shares this notion takes action he'll be sent to the trash bin of history, with his torn up speech. Elections can often be predicted not by who people say they are going to vote for, but by who people believe will win. If I know one thing- Trump people KNOW he will win, overlooking the bubble they are in, the same way many on the left did in 2016... but if the minority knows he will win and the majority has trepidation, the minority wins. I know one more thing- if people want to vote against him, and don't, and he does win, we deserve him!

http://hill.cm/JVq9SUg

February 12, 2020

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Vivian Maier

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Kurt Vonnegut, The Sirens of Titan- "There is no reason why good cannot triumph as often as evil. The triumph of anything is a matter of organization. If there are such things as angels, I hope that they are organized along the lines of the Mafia."

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Fyodor Dostoevsky- “We're always thinking of eternity as an idea that cannot be understood, something immense. But why must it be? What if, instead of all this, you suddenly find just a little room there, something like a village bath-house, grimy, and spiders in every corner, and that's all eternity is. Sometimes, you know, I can't help feeling that that's what it is.”

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Ben Franklin- "Educate your children to self-control, to the habit of holding passion and prejudice and evil tendencies subject to an upright and reasoning will, and you have done much to abolish misery from their future and crimes from society."

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Jack Kerouac- "In all this welter of women I still hadn't got one for myself, not that I was trying too hard, but sometimes I felt lonely to see everybody paired off and having a good time and all I did was curl up in my sleeping bag in the rosebushes and sigh and say bah. For me it was just red wine in my mouth and a pile of firewood…”"

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Jean-Paul Sartre, Nausea- "You know, it’s quite a job starting to love somebody. You have to have energy, generosity, blindness. There is even a moment, in the very beginning, when you have to jump across a precipice: if you think about it you don’t do it. I know I’ll never jump again."

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Chris Rock- "Black people yelling "racism!" White people yelling "reverse racism!" Chinese people yelling "sideways racism!" And the Indians ain't yelling shit, 'cause they dead. So everybody bitching about how bad their people got it: nobody got it worse than the American Indian. Everyone needs to calm the fuck down."

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Descartes- "If you would be a real seeker after truth, it is necessary that at least once in your life you doubt, as far as possible, all things."

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George Carlin- “Men are from Earth. Women are from Earth. Deal with it.”

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DH Lawrence- "The vast mass are these middling souls. They have no aristocratic individuality, such as is demanded by Christ or Buddha or Plato. So they skulk in a mass and secretly are bent on their own ultimate self-glorification."

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Charlie Kelly- "You're telling me that you believe that Christ comes back to life every Sunday in the form of a bowl of crackers and you proceed to just eat the man?"

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Kant- "Two things fill the mind with ever-increasing wonder and awe, the more often and the more intensely the mind of thought is drawn to them: the starry heavens above me and the moral law within me."

Addendum

1.

The Ding Game reminded me of this old Myspace Blog.

My absurd netflix review of Two-Lane Blacktop

Two-disc Criterion set... huh??? I can't imagine a worse movie. If you're thinking of seeing it, please do a search for "cinetropic two lane blacktop screenplay."

(I'd love to give you the url but I can't... for reasons beyond my control.)

Read a page or two of script, and then happily reject your notion of seeing it. It's Easy Rider plus American Graffiti, minus everything that made them good. To say the characters were one-dimensional would be giving them one dimension too many. It's been billed as an existential road movie... yeah, with about as much depth as watching Sartre silently drive over to Simone de Bouvier's house only to find her not at home. It had perhaps the worst ending ever. I'd say it's obvious they ran out of money- there's no way it could have been intentional. Some people like watching bad movies so they can laugh at them, but there's not even anything to laugh at. It's just, nothing. Maybe that's the point.

If you still want to watch it, I'd say this movie was made for you.

.....................................................

Netflix wouldn't let me post a url or criticize their policy for not letting me post a criticism of their policy of not letting me post a url... but apparently an absurd, veiled criticism of their policies isn't detected by their filters. When, oh when, will an online dvd rental company with a Bill of Rights come into being? I'm getting ready to burn my netflix flag.

Since it's just us, here's a bit of script:

The boy starts to pump gas. He looks over the Car in awe as the gas pump dings.

BOY: Chevy block?

DRIVER: Yeah.

Ding.

Boy (looking in the window as be pumps the gas) : See you got a roll cage.

Ding.

The garage mechanic comes out from underneath the car and walks toward them, wiping his hands on his jeans. He is middle-aged and openly curious about the Car.

Ding.

GARAGE MECHANIC: Lot of work.

Ding.

BOY: Is it a 396?

Ding.

DRIVER: 454.

Ding.

Boy: No shit.

GARAGE MECHANIC: What kind of transmission?

Ding.

DRIVER: Four-speed.

Ding.

GARAGE MECHANIC: You build the headers?

Ding.

DRIVER: Yeah.

Ding.

The old man in coveralls walks over to the Car and looks on.

Boy: How fast does she go?

Ding.

DRIVER (vaguely): Depends on who's around.

Ding.

OLD MAN (looking at the pump): Never heard so much bell ringin'. Thirty gallons and she's still goin'.

Ding.

GARAGE MECHANIC: I don't believe we got a machine to properly shut you boys down. Nossir. Old Perky Sams might have done it but he done got his leg smashed.

2.

Another Myspace Blog

February 12, 2007

Jesus, Mary and Trader Joseph's

I'm not going to say that my recent trip to Trader Joe's helped me see God, but I will say that their $6 sushi platter made me understand why the fish is the symbol for Jesus. Maybe the Catholics were on to something with their transubstantiation, but somewhere lost their way when they decided to serve crackers. Switch to anything other than a "cracker" to become one with, and they might skim off a few of the less devout from the Nation of Islam. Switch to Trader Joe's sushi and the most ardent Buddhist will become so high in the spirit of Jesus that he'll see the Virgin Mary in the bomb-scarred earth of Vietnam.

We could bait bin Laden out of hiding with their sun-dried tomato and basil hummus. If he ever sees how cheap their pita breads are, he'll become convinced of the wisdom and necessity of the American Empire. The Bay Area coffee will soon have San Fransisco poets reciting Leviticus. Legend has it that the Cuban Mojito Simmer Sauce is a cure for stomach cancer. Listening Castro? If the Cuban people ever discover Trader Joe's Cuban black beans their rafts will displace so much water that their former island will sink. Renounce communism, find capitalism, and belief in God will follow. And from God, Heaven- where the streets are paved with Panda licorice, houses are made of blue corn tortilla chips, and pomegranate soda flows from every faucet.

3.

And yet another, same day...

Sincerity vs. Insincerity, Sincerely

The Delaware County Welcome Center, I love this place! The people are conversational. They offer me coffee. They are genuinely happy to see me.

There's one lady who was an exception. She reminds me of Wanda Sykes, except that what she lacks in humor she makes up in pure contempt. She used to bitch and bitch and bitch, but now she likes me... ever since I went Dale Carnegie on her. I gave her pouty old puss the nicest hello ever and she cracked, "Oh I'm doing pretty good. How about you?" Gotcha. Ever notice that when you pretend to be friends with someone you become friends with that person? Why is that? Can good come from insincerity? Do the ends justify the means? Seems so in this case.

You know what they say about loose lips and how they are prone to sinking ships? My lips were loose during my last visit. The handicapped door opener was broken which made it harder for me to take in my handcart. It only opened one door, rather than opening both in tandem. I tried it again and it didn't work again. The worker said lightly, "It's a system. You're working against the system."

I said, "Yeah, and it never helps to go against the system." That, was, the stupidest thing I ever said. I tried to explain myself, "That is, unless it's a bad system." Why can't I just keep my mouth shut sometimes?

He countered, "Oh no, it's a good system."

"Yeah, but if it was a bad system, it would be good to go against it." I searched him for a look of understanding. Nope, none. And why should there be? He smiled. I smiled. I left.

I went to the bathroom and found a religious tract. Two fiery hands reached up to the words- "The Shocking Truth Is..." Then on the inside- "Jesus Christ WILL NOT save you unless to realize the following..." Some dude ruined the plumbing as I read "You are separated from God." Truer words were never written. I wonder if Dale Carnegie's insincerity separated him from God or brought him closer. Either way he was still smiling.