One touch of nature makes the whole world kin.

My brother in law is fond of Teri's garden, especially her lemons, which he holds dear, or so he likes to intimate:



Though, I will confess that, as is often the case in such interrelationship (and I, in this, am no exception), I have little in common with my brother-in-law—no one's ever accused him of being the brightest light on the Christmas tree (certainly not me)—but even I must concede him recognition for his occasional (and far in between) moments of illumination, which I do unbegrudgingly—giving credit where credit is not only due but richly deserved—my brother-in-law can be a man of profound wisdom when it comes to the simplest (and most important) things in life:

"Heaven is under our feet as well as over our heads."

OK, true; my brother in law didn't say that—not exactly in that way (that was Henry David Thoreau - giving credit where credit is due)—but the point remains.

Nature is loved by what is best in us (says Ralph Waldo Emerson—again, not to be confused with my brother-in-law):

Teri's lemon...

The apricot from Penélope's tree...





The lychee off Aiko's garden...







The earth is what we all have in common.



And so, this toast is for you, dear brother...



Skål!

MORE >

Sweet Mystery of Life

I know... I am surprised that the gentleman from Seattle is not already on top of that story by now...





Or that story:





I do not have the pretension of filling in for the gentleman—I would never presume. But you know how it is... Somebody's got to do it.


MORE >

What's your poison?

Die Liebe ist ein wildes Tier
Sie atmet dich sie sucht nach dir
Nistet auf gebrochenen Herzen
Geht auf Jagd bei Kuss und Kerzen
Saugt sich fest an deinen Lippen
Gräbt sich Dinge durch die Rippen
Lässt sich fallen weich wie Schnee
Erst wird es heiss dann kalt am Ende tut es weh



Amour Amour
Alle wollen nur dich zähmen
Amour Amour am Ende
gefangen zwischen deinen Zähnen



Die Liebe ist ein wildes Tier
Sie beisst und kratzt und tritt nach mir
Hält mich mit tausend Armen fest
Zerrt mich in ihr Liebesnest
Frisst mich auf mit Haut und Haar
und wirbt mich wieder aus nach Tag und Jahr
Lässt sich fallen weich wie Schnee
Erst wird es heiss dann kalt am Ende tut es weh


Amour Amour
Alle wollen nur dich zähmen
Amour Amour am Ende
gefangen zwischen deinen Zähnen

Die Liebe ist ein wildes Tier
In die Falle gehst du ihr
In die Augen starrt sie dir
Verzaubert wenn ihr Blick dich trifft

Bitte bitte gib mir Gift
MORE >

Everything is political — or not

MORE >

And daisy-stars, whose firmament is green

MORE >

Making Wednesday just a wee bit brighter

-


MORE >

Woman of Labrador

Note: I promise I won't do this too often, but I just love this song and wanted to share... originally posted on Outside the Interzone.

I was leaving a comment on driftglass' 2000th post (pop over and wish him well), and Figgy Duff's album "After the Tempest" came to mind. The lead song is a musical adaptation of the wedding blessing from Shakespeare's The Tempest.

Honour, riches, marriage-blessing,
Long continuance, and increasing,
Hourly joys be still upon you!
Juno sings her blessings on you.

Earth's increase, foison plenty,
Barns and garners never empty,
Vines and clustering bunches growing,
Plants with goodly burthen bowing;

Spring come to you at the farthest
In the very end of harvest!
Scarcity and want shall shun you;
Ceres' blessing so is on you.

I couldn't find this on the YouTubes, but I did find this Woman of Labrador, from their next album, Weather Out the Storm. Now there's a few things you should know about this song:

1) Pamela Morgan has one of the most beautiful voices that has ever graced mankind, possibly the most.
2) If I was to compile a list of songs that I think capture the essence of feminism, this would be in the upper part of that list.
3) The beauty, power, sadness and strength of this song combine in such a way that I simply cannot listen to it without crying (and crap, I apparently can't even write about it without crying). Consider yourself warned.

If you like celtic/folk with a contemporary sound, Figgy Duff, though not as well-known as they deserve, were some of the pioneers in this sub-genre, and I don't think anyone has done it better.
MORE >

Drink Responsibly

Now available -- with or without a straw.


MORE >

The call of the new rite

"Now they designate that Paschal season by her name, calling the joys of the new rite by the time-honoured name of the old observance."
---Bede, "De temporum ratione"

Ostara (1884) by Johannes Gehrts.

Un carillon ding dong
Fait un peu de ping pong
Dans l'espace léger
Les cloches se répondent
Aux quatre coins du monde
Qu'y a-t-il de changé ?
---S. Lama/ Y.Gilbert, "Qu'y a-t-il de changé ?"

On Dec. 2, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) delivered a timely speech about Milton Friedman’s Legacies, in which he argued that Friedman’s ideology is responsible for the current Economic Crisis and "the enormous damages" it has caused to the middle class and to working families, here and throughout the world at large.

They said Libertarianism had never been tried before---until then.

The following goes to the heart of it:

Friedman earned his bread by denouncing government at virtually every turn. He, like his acolyte, former Federal Reserve Chair Alan Greenspan, believed that a largely unregulated free market constituted the most superior form of economic organization imaginable.

Right-wing economists have argued that we can simply trust wealthy people and large corporations to do the right thing. Recent history has demonstrated what a silly idea that is.

The Senator's main point was that our country is due for a transformation:

1. We have endured years of right-wing ideology and we are eager to move in a different direction.

2. This last general election represented a repudiation of right-wing economic arguments.

3. We will see a major reordering of social and economic priorities.

It has now been barely three months since the Obama administration took office and although I understand how there are those who will find the question a little bit precocious, I think Easter makes it a propitious time to ask:

How is the transformation going?

Are we already living in a world dominated by for-profit corporate entities in which governments' political power has become so limited that no meaningful change can really take place (Jennifer Government comes to mind), or "yes" can we, still?

Yes, can we?

The world we live in remains in large part a world devastated by ongoing invisible and not so invisible economic wars in which nations are struggling for control of the markets and for their very own economic survival. The sacrifice of Human rights and social expectations is considered a necessary casualty of war and is justified in the name of competitiveness and economic efficiency, just as slave-labor was justified from 1654 until 1865 within the boundaries of much of the present United States.

A "change of direction" would be good. But direction to where? Direction, how? By what means? The international community? What international community?

If "unregulated free market" (aka "turbo-capitalism," "market fundamentalism," "casino capitalism," "cancer-stage capitalism," and "McWorld") is the disease, what is the cure? Regulations? How does one go about fostering the kind of global integration that better provides democratic representation, advancement of human rights and more egalitarian states? Do the nation-states of the world (including a Super Power such as the USA) still have any real say in the economic control of their individual destinies? How does one regulate the world?

Does Barack Obama know?

Do you?



MORE >

Grass and Lightning

Do April showers bring May flowers?

Is it just the rain? Or does lightning too have something to do with it?

A good question.

A question that was submitted to Joel Block and Deborah Byrd for Earth and Sky:

Listener: "Why does my grass look greener after a lightning storm? Is it true that lightning acts like a fertilizer for plants?"

DB: Lightning can help produce a form of nitrogen that's useful for growing plants. Lightning can cause oxygen and nitrogen in Earth's atmosphere to combine -- to form nitrogen oxide -- the main nutrient in lawn fertilizers. But that's not the whole story -- does the nitrogen oxide created during a lightning storm really cause your lawn to look greener?

JB: And the answer to that is probably no. Lightning produces nitrogen oxide -- but storm winds generally blow it thousands of kilometers away. What's more, it can take days for the nitrogen oxide created in a lightning storm to wash down to the ground. Nitrogen oxide produced in a storm does add nutrients to the soil -- but only much later and in places far from where the storm took place.

DB: So if your grass looks greener after a thunderstorm, you might want to consider a different explanation. It might be because of the extra rain -- and the quick return of sunshine. That's our show for today. Thanks for joining us.

I asked Caravan Palace the same question---I just had to---and here is what they had to say:


MORE >

Spleen and Ideal

BETSY: I looked at those great, glowing stars.

I felt the warm wind on my cheek. I breathed deep and every bit of me inside myself said, "How beautiful!"

PAUL: Everything seems beautiful because you don't understand.

Those flying fish -- they're not leaping for joy. They're jumping in terror. Bigger fish want to eat them. That luminous water -- it takes its gleam from millions of tiny dead bodies. The glitter of putrescence. There's no beauty here. Only death and decay.

BETSY: You can't really believe that.

(A falling stars passes by)

PAUL: Everything good dies here -- even the stars...

The dialogue, above, is from "I walked with a Zombie" (1943):
The movie was partially inspired by Jane Eyre and is not a "zombie movie" in the common sense of the term. Ambiguity is at the core of the film and it is never established for certain if Jessica is a zombie or not, or that Voodoo magic is really effective:

I Walked with a Zombie ... presents a complex picture of human relations and offers multiple explanations for events portrayed without definitively endorsing any of them. Frequently it is not even clear whether something is real or imaginary, or whose version of events should be accepted. Even the film’s conclusion, although satisfying, leaves room for interpretation about what really happened and why.
---Sarah Boslaugh, Not coming to a theater near you

MORE >

20090214

Como el candor de una rosa




MORE >

May I recommend . . .

. . . the house blend.

It is made from one of Klawer Wine Cellar's well known fortified dessert wines, with Muscat tones, infused with ROOIBOS and the BUCHU herb, known for its many healing properties.

It has an unique silky smooth finish and leaves the palate with a spicy lingering aftertaste . . .



Rooibos, from Afrikaans “Rooi” (red) and “bos” (bush), is part of the richest biome in the World.

Loose Red Bush tea can be enjoyed in a traditional way, or it can also be savored by simmering the tea in a open pot.
MORE >