Saturday, April 17, 2004
ROARING THUNDER FROM DOWNUNDER [coolmel]
just want to share this. not because i agree with everything but because i recognize the partialities with both parties, not to mention my own bias.
In light of Frank Visser being away and not updating his website of integral discourse, I thought it important to share Ray Harris' response to Ken Wilber's recent comments about the site as soon as possible... I've certainly found it enlightening, and with Ray's permission " Yes, go ahead. I'm still debating whether to blog or not to blog - it could be a huge diversion, who would read it anyway...?" (good point;) I've included the full text here... It will likely be posted more formally in other locations soon...
WHAT I REALLY MEANT TO SAY WAS...
Some critical observations about Ken's recent suggestions...
this intellectual foodfight is interesting. but i really don't give a shit right now. first, because i'm not a denizen of the higher intellectual domains, and, second, i would rather join Britney's mahasamadhi in the bathtub.
(Ray, stop debating. you should blog.)
Posted on
12:36 PM
Friday, April 16, 2004
ICE CREAM W/ SAINT MONA [wrench]
went visiting santa monica yesterday. needed to hoof, wander it, be outside, smell the kelp beds, watch some of the world's most posh pedestrians pass me by. I found this wonderfully tiny juice pad w/ smoothies, shakes, etc. went inside ready to juice up when I glance downward, and lo and behold: gelato, italian ice cream. the only food, it is said, that italians eat while on the streets. damn! is this stuff good. I proceed to dip my little taste-test shovels in three different flavors: vanilla bean - pretty good. hazelnut - mmm VERY good. and coconut - ding ding ding ding! I order what's called a "triple" of the coconut. the cashier looks at me like "dude, that's alot of coconut," and explains that I can actually pile up on three flavors (hence "triple"). I opt for this, exchange bones, and ask, "by the way, are you italian?" (she had an accent). negatory - she's what? estonian? didn't quite catch it. anyhow, I end up walking out the proud handler of this mountainous scoop dish, w/ a big honkin' ball of coconut sinking into the vanilla bean and hazelnut underneath. walk to the edge of the pier and suddenly this gust of wind enswirls matt, spilling dollops of the float boat scoop heaven I'm holding all around me. torrents of spillage, and I'm sipping while dripping, a dancing hollering matt hoping to avoid the spit splat of vanilla bean hazelnut coco milk, a soup I slurp off my fingers. I lean against the santa monica pier, a mess, my beak sunk into these deigo snow balls. stuck together, me and the sea.
Posted on
3:01 PM
VENICE BEACH REDEMPTION: THE PHOTOLOG [.j.evonne.]
The Venice Canals at Sunset, 4.15.04
Posted on
2:25 AM
Thursday, April 15, 2004
COUNTERPUNCH: MEAN GREEN IN ACTION [Paul]
It's not that Diane Christian's recent interpretation of The Passion for ultra-left Counterpunch.org is wrong--it's just partial. Very partial. The classic characteristic of any pre-integral value system ("tier 1") is the belief that its values are the only ones worth holding. Therefore, the interlocutor will often denounce all other perspectives. Christian: "The Passion Story is not a whodidit vengeance saga, though it’s often played that way. Nor is it a mystery about how blood heals and washes and works, though it’s often interpreted that way. It’s about the human suffering of death, about the misery of the flesh when tortured, about the terror of pain and cruelty and death...." Read: only CHRISTIAN'S intepretation is correct. Ah, but what can you expect--she teaches at "the Berkley of the East."
Posted on
4:14 PM
WOW, I LOVE ANSWERING THE PHONE HERE [.j.evonne.]
After 3 hours of early morning sleep on a long restless Thursday I answer the phone still half in dreamland:
(in a growl) Hello?
(on phone) Hi, hello, is Matt there?
(waking up) Ah yes, he's here, but he's writing....can I ask who's calling?
(bewildered on phone) This is Greg, Greg Kurstin.
(mindblown jen) Greg! Oh, wow, it's nice to hear your voice. I'll get Matt for you...
Long story short, he's playing tomorrow night at the Knitting Factory in LA. For those of you who have not seen Greg play with Beck, Geggy Tah or Action Figure Party, this man is the most amazing jazz pianist I've ever heard. MattyD toured with AFP for a year; their unreleased live album is an instant modern jazz classic.
It's rare for this rockNroll girl to get so excited about seeing a performer for the first time, but wow, Greg Kurstin. This makes me far too happy for words.
Posted on
1:34 PM
MULDER'S PRAYER [coolmel]
i wrote this poem years ago when i was still an X-files junkie (screw Mulder, it's Scully that i miss). i considered including this in my flowetic anthology, but nahhh, i'll just publish this junk here.
MULDER'S PRAYER
19980930-0024
alien beings speak to me,
are you really what they claim to be,
bulging eyes and pitch-dark pupil,
slender bodies, gray-skinned, little?
alien beings reveal to me,
your clandestine identity,
what makes you hide behind those masks,
performing tasks behind our backs?
alien beings show yourselves,
is there a need to defend ourselves?
bestow our honor by fighting fair,
to live or die, we do not care,
alien beings confer with me,
the secrets of our galaxy,
have you ever been here before,
if so, why did you walked out our door?
alien beings disclose the truth,
share a slice of the forbidden fruit,
just glad to know and clear the fuss,
that space's not wasted on bums like us.
(also lovingly dedicated to Joe >8)
Posted on
1:00 AM
Wednesday, April 14, 2004
AN ODE TO YUPPIEDOM [Paul]
I hate poetry, but I love wireless technology. 5 years ago I was a Luddite wandering the woods of Fredonia, NY, plotting the end of Civilization. Now I have a fucking iBook, a cell phone, and might even get one of these, all because spirit (or is it just ego?) refuses to declare its allegiance to any one sphere, bio, noo, physio, or "other." Now I can sit in a cafe listening to CNN and Muzak, be in constant communication with everyone I know and/or love, and do work while traffic goes by and Odwalla chills in its fridge. Am I but a lucky (er, sometimes), priveledged node in a global brain? Doesn't seem so bad sometimes. (ps: TM 19 will be out soon, I promise.)
Posted on
6:38 PM
THE BUSH (NON)HAIKU [.j.evonne.]
This is a short poem made up entirely of actual quotations from George
W. Bush. These have been arranged, only for aesthetic purposes, by
Washington Post writer, Richard Thompson.
MAKE THE PIE HIGHER
I think we all agree, the past is over.
This is still a dangerous world.
It's a world of madmen and uncertainty
And potential mental losses.
Rarely is the question asked
Is our children learning?
Will the highways of the Internet
Become more few?
How many hands have I shaked?
They misunderestimate me.
I am a pitbull on the pantleg of opportunity.
I know that the human being
And the fish can coexist.
Families is where our nation finds hope,
Where our wings take dream.
Put food on your family!
Knock down the tollbooth!
Vulcanize society!
Make the pie higher!
Make the pie higher!
Posted on
3:34 PM
HAIKU FOR THE GODS OF COOL [coolmel]
dusted my guitar
passion for music comes forth
now i play the blues.
i could rant all day long about my guitar heroes... the way they expressed their emotions and made love to their guitars; the years and countless hours they've dedicated to mastery; their passion for music and transcendence without the spiritual bull. whenever i see and hear these gods play they send shivers up and down my spine. unfortunately, two out of three had already taken the shuttlebus to nirvana. but the One who remains in samsara continues to bend steel, minds, and hearts, as he surfs the Kosmos and asks the question, is there love in space?
Posted on
11:00 AM
ODE TO CHANNON [wrench]
come rain or shine,
heaven or high water,
in sickness and in health,
for richer or for poorer,
for true or for partial,
my boobie never fails to open me up to
the beginning and the end of us: Love.
(big wet smooch!)
pda and puppy eyes,
matty
Posted on
1:22 AM
Monday, April 12, 2004
FREE DIGITS! GET YOUR FREE DIGITS HERE! [.j.evonne.]
Lawrence Lessig is a pioneer in the open source media publishing world. His book Free Culture is the first to be published by a major publisher (Penguin) under a Creative Commons License, the proud badge of self-publishers around the world. Now eAsylum.net offers a 'remix' of Lessig's work with wiki-style links to his references from throughout popular culture. Lessig examines copyright law, property ownership and structures needed for creating a healthy environment for idea exchange beyond the architecture of the global marketplace.
The debate over creative property ownership heats up in the wake of numerous DMCA-related lawsuits including the filesharing witchhunts. This battle between artists, corporations and the government will continue to rage for many years as we learn to map the possibilities of the internet age but one thing is clear: freedom is infectious. Good ideas want to be shared.
"Free Culture" popup audiobook
Posted on
8:31 PM
Sunday, April 11, 2004
THE PASSION OF THE PIE [wrench]
"pastiera napoletana" is a centuries-old italian desert traditionally served on easter sunday. it most likely originated in the ancient monasteries of naples, its name meaning "wheat" or "grain" pie, almost like an italian cheesecake. many an italian noni or grandmother have endured the 9 hour ordeal required to make the pie, groaning at the mere mention of it, urging their daughters and granddaughters to turn back now, forget easter cooking, save yourself. the kitchen before pastiera is quiet, peaceful, serene - but, afterwards, there's baking flour on the floor, on the ceiling, w/ little projectiles of dough stuck to the walls. the process is hell, no doubt, but the result is pure heaven. the quickest way to describe pastiera is that it looks like apple pie but tastes like fruit loops. that, of course, doesn't do it justice; it's more like tasting a bite of mediterranean spring. the ingredients are: ricotta cheese, buckwheat, orange flower water, candied orange rind, citrus, short crust pastry, flour, sugar, egg yolks, and pork fat (to bind it all together). customarily, the dish is served cold, a day after it's been made, and regardless of whether the meal takes place in posh restaurant or peasant home, the pie is brought out in the pan it was cooked in. it's also custom to have a slice for breakfast every day of the week immediately following easter. my zia or aunt clara swears up and down that this is the last year she's making pastiera. apparently, she's been saying that for years :)
Posted on
8:12 PM
FLYING DOG [coolmel]
no wonder Boulder is a premiere party place.
liquor stores are like Starbucks -- only bigger and more colorful.
(happy easter bunny.)
Posted on
3:48 AM
