The Place : a small, racially and ethnically mixed neighborhood of long-term families and gay fixer uppers now seeing an influx of me-uppies [all about me and my property value, conservative suburbanites scratching an urban itch] The Time : the 21 st century The People : a representative assortment of people, products of their times “Is this a weed?” I asked my neighbor living to the right of me. She shuddered, then disdainfully pronounced, “Of course it is; it’s going to take over your garden!” “I don’t care,” I responded, “it grows well in this soil, fits with the xeriscaping, and, I like the ...
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Cup Stacking Will Defend America (Notice the Bob Dylan Book and the Official Cup Stacking Mat) As the days and weeks evolve, I often think to myself, since when, did Pop America become a society of sissies. Since when, did it become posh, to be the pocket protector sporting nerd of the world? People, this is a wake up call. Actually, that is far too polite. This is the garbage truck coming at three AM and knocking over your trash can so you can snap out of your lethargy. Now is not the time for "summer soldiers or sunshine patriots." As available as news ...
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(Photo Credit: Randy Montoya) Photo not really related other than it is a big awesome machine designed to experiment with nuclear fusion (apparently successfully too) but it is kind of how I imagine the "nerve centre" for the machine in the following story. Perhaps that title caught your attention and it's not just a gimmick to get attention but part of the theme of today's reading. I'm talking about "The Machine Stops" written by E.M. Forster in 1909. The fact that you saw that title and decided to read on anyway shows that you have free will of your own and aren't subordinated easily ...
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Amazing: scientific studies recently published in “Scientific American” are just beginning to acknowledge the importance of the body, in particular, body memory that prompts cognition. DUH. CRINGE. Obviously, these brain researchers have no background in the arts and never bothered to give any credence to either child development studies or to the amount of literature and art research concerning the role of movement in therapy, education, articulation, etc. I’m sure any artist still working in 3 dimensions could hav e instructed them on the role between body memory and the mind. As children, our primary mode of learning is to t ouch, crawl, stick ...
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Note: This post is about egalitarianism and transparency. In other words, it's about democracy. A friend of mine once said to me, "I hate it when I go home to visit my parents and they automatically start treating me like I'm twelve. But I hate it even more when I start acting like it." I laughed because I once thought the exact same thing. It's easy to fall into these absurd power structures and childish roles, and we regularly give up our hard-earned independence because it's comfortable. Don't think; just do. Don't act; react. How many times have we been told "because I said ...
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