This blog will be back after I get moved.
After 25 years in the village I am off to Brooklyn. The accumulated debris of 25 years is a major event to deal with. But a new chapter is about to open. Please check back near Halloween when the blog will be back and running. Till then write something every day.
9/21/2003
8/19/2003
Black Out 2003
NYC seems to be back to normal but each conversation starts with how did it effect you? Our crane camera man had the best story. He just put in a new pool on his 2-1/2 acre place in Brewster. They noticed the "fountain" in the pool had stopped spewing and stereo went silent so.... they made sure the beer was still cool and went back to partying. He lives in an area that has black-outs so at sunset he started the generator and watched a DVD. Life is tough.
This will be the first of a few stories.
NYC seems to be back to normal but each conversation starts with how did it effect you? Our crane camera man had the best story. He just put in a new pool on his 2-1/2 acre place in Brewster. They noticed the "fountain" in the pool had stopped spewing and stereo went silent so.... they made sure the beer was still cool and went back to partying. He lives in an area that has black-outs so at sunset he started the generator and watched a DVD. Life is tough.
This will be the first of a few stories.
8/08/2003
E-COOPS.ORG
I have been asked to exchange a link with E-COOPS.ORG. A new site for those in NYC looking for work and building a web community. It’s very new and he is just starting to get his links together. I hope it works and gets allot of traffic.
You'll find the link in my "recommended" area to the left and my link will be in his NY Bloggers area.
If you visit his site rate my blog at 8 or above. Actually I am looking get some traffic here so if you like my ranting pass the URL on to your friends.
Highlighted words are HOT links.
Links will open in a new window.
I have been asked to exchange a link with E-COOPS.ORG. A new site for those in NYC looking for work and building a web community. It’s very new and he is just starting to get his links together. I hope it works and gets allot of traffic.
You'll find the link in my "recommended" area to the left and my link will be in his NY Bloggers area.
If you visit his site rate my blog at 8 or above. Actually I am looking get some traffic here so if you like my ranting pass the URL on to your friends.
Highlighted words are HOT links.
Links will open in a new window.
Tar Baby.
Well the “Arnold” is in the race for Governor and from the first moment he was making news. The look on Leno’s face was priceless when he said he would be running. Rush Limbaugh is calling Arnold a closet liberal because Arnold said that he wanted businesses to come back to California so that the state government could collect enough tax revenues to provide social programs.
Of course only in California would a recall get Larry Flint, Gary Coleman and Ariana Huffington into a travesty of democracy. There is no question in my mind that like the 2000 election the Republicans will subvert the law to get what they want.
Al Gore gave a speech to the members of Move On.org. The gist of the speech can summed up in the following quote.
"Americans have always believed that we the people have a right to know the truth and that the truth will set us free. The very idea of self-government depends upon honest and open debate as the preferred method for pursuing the truth -- and a shared respect for the Rule of Reason as the best way to establish the truth."
"The Bush Administration routinely shows disrespect for that whole basic process, and I think it's partly because they feel as if they already know the truth and aren't very curious to learn about any facts that might contradict it. They and the members of groups that belong to their ideological coalition are true believers in each other's agendas."
Of course he was preaching to the choir. He went on to say
“Millions of Americans now share a feeling that something pretty basic has gone wrong in our country and that some important American values are being placed at risk. And they want to set it right.”
With the farce in California and the fact that many Americans have bought into Paul Wolfowitz’s idea of how America should conduct itself in the world. We are on a hard, mean spirited road that has no regard for the rule of law.
The sad part is we are reading every day of another American soldier dying and now we are seeing car bombs going off. If the resistance in Iraq has car bombs these are not just Ba’ath party members taking pot shots but a group that has bomb making resources and secret places to make those bombs.
Like Brer Rabbit we are stuck with both fists in the Tar Baby.
Highlighted words are HOT links.
Links will open in a new window.
Well the “Arnold” is in the race for Governor and from the first moment he was making news. The look on Leno’s face was priceless when he said he would be running. Rush Limbaugh is calling Arnold a closet liberal because Arnold said that he wanted businesses to come back to California so that the state government could collect enough tax revenues to provide social programs.
Of course only in California would a recall get Larry Flint, Gary Coleman and Ariana Huffington into a travesty of democracy. There is no question in my mind that like the 2000 election the Republicans will subvert the law to get what they want.
Al Gore gave a speech to the members of Move On.org. The gist of the speech can summed up in the following quote.
"Americans have always believed that we the people have a right to know the truth and that the truth will set us free. The very idea of self-government depends upon honest and open debate as the preferred method for pursuing the truth -- and a shared respect for the Rule of Reason as the best way to establish the truth."
"The Bush Administration routinely shows disrespect for that whole basic process, and I think it's partly because they feel as if they already know the truth and aren't very curious to learn about any facts that might contradict it. They and the members of groups that belong to their ideological coalition are true believers in each other's agendas."
Of course he was preaching to the choir. He went on to say
“Millions of Americans now share a feeling that something pretty basic has gone wrong in our country and that some important American values are being placed at risk. And they want to set it right.”
With the farce in California and the fact that many Americans have bought into Paul Wolfowitz’s idea of how America should conduct itself in the world. We are on a hard, mean spirited road that has no regard for the rule of law.
The sad part is we are reading every day of another American soldier dying and now we are seeing car bombs going off. If the resistance in Iraq has car bombs these are not just Ba’ath party members taking pot shots but a group that has bomb making resources and secret places to make those bombs.
Like Brer Rabbit we are stuck with both fists in the Tar Baby.
Highlighted words are HOT links.
Links will open in a new window.
7/27/2003
The Tour de France
Three weeks twenty one days nineteen days of hard riding. There is a champion with five consecutive wins and a determination to try again. It was Lance Armstrong’s hardest tour since he got off his bike in the mist in 1995. That was the year that Fabio Casartelli crashed on the descent of Col de Portet d'Aspet during Stage 15 of the Tour de France and died. Two days latter Lance won the stage and dedicated his ride to Fabio. I was lucky enough to meet Lance after his first tour win and I brought the picture of him winning that stage to sign. I said it was a great ride, he said it was the best day of his career. Now he is with a select group of riders that have won the Tour de France five times and stands with Miguel Indurain having won his five all in a row. But that is just the highlight of a hot, the hottest on record, tour that saw a massive crash the first day out. The best American besides Armstrong, Tyler Hamilton broke his collar bone in that crash and was not expected to finish. Instead he finished fourth overall and had the ride of his life on stage sixteen where he attacked and won the stage.
Go back to stage seven and listen to the heroics of France’s Richard Virenque take the day and go on to win his sixth pokadot jersey as King of the Mountains. We will never know what might have happened if Joseba Beloki had not crashed in front of Lance in stage nine. Beloki will be lucky to ever ride again having broken his femur at the bottom of a hairpin curve that sent Armstrong cross country to miss rolling over him. Beloki was second at that point and real threat.
Then there was the come back of Jan Ullrich. After missing the last tour with a blown knee he was back and dangerous. He tore up Armstrong in the first individual time trial making up a minute and a half bringing himself within thirty four seconds of the lead. At that point there was only fifty seconds separating first and third place.
The day after Lance’s disastrous time trial it was all he could do to hang on to a fifteen second lead as Ullrich powered up stage thirteen. At the end of the day eighteen seconds separated first and third. Never the previous four years had Armstrong faced such a tight race that late in the mountains.
Two days later Lance had recovered. Ullrich attacked on the Col de Tourmalet and dropped Lance who had to wait and be patient till his speed matched the German. He caught up to Jan and Ullrich again tried to attack, this time it didn’t work Lance held his wheel. The on the next and final climb for first time Lace attacked but it was short lived. A young boy held out a musette bag that hooked Lance's handlebars and he went down. Mayo rolled right over him. Tyler Hamilton seeing the yellow jersey down sprinted ahead and told Ullrich to wait which he did. Lance pulled himself up to the group then… he was off and running. He won his only stage in this years tour dropping the big German and the Kazak in his wake. It was not the two to three minutes we are used to seeing in the past but it was enough.
Then came the final time trial. Raining and dangerous the roads were an accident waiting to happen. Ullrich had to press to have any chance of a win and Armstrong kept the pace high. Their times jockeyed between Ullrich pulling ahead by six seconds and Lance pulling him back. Then Ullrich was down. Even though he got right up it was over. Lance could ease up and make sure he had a safe ride. His tour was won.
This was a great tour. Lance is the big story but each day brought heroics and valor.
There is no sport like the The Tour de France .
Highlighted words are HOT links.
Links will open in a new window.
Three weeks twenty one days nineteen days of hard riding. There is a champion with five consecutive wins and a determination to try again. It was Lance Armstrong’s hardest tour since he got off his bike in the mist in 1995. That was the year that Fabio Casartelli crashed on the descent of Col de Portet d'Aspet during Stage 15 of the Tour de France and died. Two days latter Lance won the stage and dedicated his ride to Fabio. I was lucky enough to meet Lance after his first tour win and I brought the picture of him winning that stage to sign. I said it was a great ride, he said it was the best day of his career. Now he is with a select group of riders that have won the Tour de France five times and stands with Miguel Indurain having won his five all in a row. But that is just the highlight of a hot, the hottest on record, tour that saw a massive crash the first day out. The best American besides Armstrong, Tyler Hamilton broke his collar bone in that crash and was not expected to finish. Instead he finished fourth overall and had the ride of his life on stage sixteen where he attacked and won the stage.
Go back to stage seven and listen to the heroics of France’s Richard Virenque take the day and go on to win his sixth pokadot jersey as King of the Mountains. We will never know what might have happened if Joseba Beloki had not crashed in front of Lance in stage nine. Beloki will be lucky to ever ride again having broken his femur at the bottom of a hairpin curve that sent Armstrong cross country to miss rolling over him. Beloki was second at that point and real threat.
Then there was the come back of Jan Ullrich. After missing the last tour with a blown knee he was back and dangerous. He tore up Armstrong in the first individual time trial making up a minute and a half bringing himself within thirty four seconds of the lead. At that point there was only fifty seconds separating first and third place.
The day after Lance’s disastrous time trial it was all he could do to hang on to a fifteen second lead as Ullrich powered up stage thirteen. At the end of the day eighteen seconds separated first and third. Never the previous four years had Armstrong faced such a tight race that late in the mountains.
Two days later Lance had recovered. Ullrich attacked on the Col de Tourmalet and dropped Lance who had to wait and be patient till his speed matched the German. He caught up to Jan and Ullrich again tried to attack, this time it didn’t work Lance held his wheel. The on the next and final climb for first time Lace attacked but it was short lived. A young boy held out a musette bag that hooked Lance's handlebars and he went down. Mayo rolled right over him. Tyler Hamilton seeing the yellow jersey down sprinted ahead and told Ullrich to wait which he did. Lance pulled himself up to the group then… he was off and running. He won his only stage in this years tour dropping the big German and the Kazak in his wake. It was not the two to three minutes we are used to seeing in the past but it was enough.
Then came the final time trial. Raining and dangerous the roads were an accident waiting to happen. Ullrich had to press to have any chance of a win and Armstrong kept the pace high. Their times jockeyed between Ullrich pulling ahead by six seconds and Lance pulling him back. Then Ullrich was down. Even though he got right up it was over. Lance could ease up and make sure he had a safe ride. His tour was won.
This was a great tour. Lance is the big story but each day brought heroics and valor.
There is no sport like the The Tour de France .
Highlighted words are HOT links.
Links will open in a new window.
7/23/2003
"THERE WILL COME SOFT RAIN"
There will come soft rain and the smell of the ground,
And swallows circling with their shimmering sound;
And frogs in the pools singing at night,
And wild plum-trees in tremulous white;
Robins will wear their feathery fire
Whistling their whims on a low fence-wire.
And not one will know of the war, not one
Will care at last when it is done.
Not one would mind, neither bird nor tree,
If mankind perished utterly.
And Spring herself when she woke at dawn,
Would scarcely know that we were gone.
SARA TEASDALE
There will come soft rain and the smell of the ground,
And swallows circling with their shimmering sound;
And frogs in the pools singing at night,
And wild plum-trees in tremulous white;
Robins will wear their feathery fire
Whistling their whims on a low fence-wire.
And not one will know of the war, not one
Will care at last when it is done.
Not one would mind, neither bird nor tree,
If mankind perished utterly.
And Spring herself when she woke at dawn,
Would scarcely know that we were gone.
SARA TEASDALE
7/11/2003
Heroes Just the Same
Today was one of those special days at the Tour de France . It was 90 degrees on the road from Nevers to Lyon, a total of 230 kilometers or 143 miles. At 35 kilometers Stuart O’Grady a strong and crafty veteran of the tour and Antony Geslin the third youngest rider on the tour sped up to take the first intermediate sprint points and then decided to keep on going.
The only thing harder than a two man attack on the peloton is a one man attack which is almost impossible. That is exactly what Geslin tried the day before for two hours before being caught. O’Grady and Geslin not only attacked, they put as much as 18 minutes between themselves and the pack (peloton). They kept the peloton at bay for four hot grueling hours. Their effort was heroic and like tragic Greek heroes, doomed to fail. They maintained the lead until the very last kilometer then the peloton bearing down on them at 70 kilometers and hour gobbled them up. O’Grady finished 20th Geslin finished 59th. The new king of the sprinters Petacchi whizzed by the entire field to an easy fourth win in this years tour.
Do we feel sad that O’Grady and Geslin did not beat the odds? Well… yes but tonight they are the talk of France. They are being praised for an epic effort and they will not be forgotten. They are why we watch the the Tour.
Yes Lance Armstrong will be the big story tomorrow as they encounter the mountains. The fight for the overall lead will begin as Lance and Jan Ullrich contest the worst the Tour has to offer.
But today was for two brave young men who risked all.
Highlighted words are HOT links.
Links will open in a new window.
Today was one of those special days at the Tour de France . It was 90 degrees on the road from Nevers to Lyon, a total of 230 kilometers or 143 miles. At 35 kilometers Stuart O’Grady a strong and crafty veteran of the tour and Antony Geslin the third youngest rider on the tour sped up to take the first intermediate sprint points and then decided to keep on going.
The only thing harder than a two man attack on the peloton is a one man attack which is almost impossible. That is exactly what Geslin tried the day before for two hours before being caught. O’Grady and Geslin not only attacked, they put as much as 18 minutes between themselves and the pack (peloton). They kept the peloton at bay for four hot grueling hours. Their effort was heroic and like tragic Greek heroes, doomed to fail. They maintained the lead until the very last kilometer then the peloton bearing down on them at 70 kilometers and hour gobbled them up. O’Grady finished 20th Geslin finished 59th. The new king of the sprinters Petacchi whizzed by the entire field to an easy fourth win in this years tour.
Do we feel sad that O’Grady and Geslin did not beat the odds? Well… yes but tonight they are the talk of France. They are being praised for an epic effort and they will not be forgotten. They are why we watch the the Tour.
Yes Lance Armstrong will be the big story tomorrow as they encounter the mountains. The fight for the overall lead will begin as Lance and Jan Ullrich contest the worst the Tour has to offer.
But today was for two brave young men who risked all.
Highlighted words are HOT links.
Links will open in a new window.
7/10/2003
All is right with the world
The Tour de France is under way and Lance Armstrong is in great position just one second out of first place with a team mate ahead of him. The US Postal team had a great day on the team time trial. They started off slow and were 14 seconds off the pace at the first time check but when all was said and done they had won their first ever team time trial. Their margin of victory was enough to put Victor Hugo Pena into the overall lead and the yellow jersey. He became the first Colombian to ever wear the ”Maillot Jaune”.
This could prove to be a hard fought tour with Jan Ullrich in the best shape since his win in 1997. Unfortunately Tyler Hamilton was involved in the huge crash on day two and is riding with two fractures of his collar bone. I don’t think he will make it up the mountains with that kind of pain. Too bad, it would have been great to see two Americans battle it out for the win.
Tommorow we see the first of the mountains. The tour is always won in the mountains.
So enjoy the tour and root for Lance but watch the small stories the breakaways and the little triumphs. A stage win in the tour can make a small town boy a hero for life.
It’s the best sporting event in the world.
The Tour de France is under way and Lance Armstrong is in great position just one second out of first place with a team mate ahead of him. The US Postal team had a great day on the team time trial. They started off slow and were 14 seconds off the pace at the first time check but when all was said and done they had won their first ever team time trial. Their margin of victory was enough to put Victor Hugo Pena into the overall lead and the yellow jersey. He became the first Colombian to ever wear the ”Maillot Jaune”.
This could prove to be a hard fought tour with Jan Ullrich in the best shape since his win in 1997. Unfortunately Tyler Hamilton was involved in the huge crash on day two and is riding with two fractures of his collar bone. I don’t think he will make it up the mountains with that kind of pain. Too bad, it would have been great to see two Americans battle it out for the win.
Tommorow we see the first of the mountains. The tour is always won in the mountains.
So enjoy the tour and root for Lance but watch the small stories the breakaways and the little triumphs. A stage win in the tour can make a small town boy a hero for life.
It’s the best sporting event in the world.
6/22/2003
Rain Rain Go Away!
In “Alice’s restaurant” Arlo Guthrie talks about the “Last Guy”. He says when you have it bad someone always has it worse than you. At some point there is the last guy and no one has it worse than him.
While it’s true our sailing season has been dismal so far, there is a couple who have it worse than us. Last weekend Oyster Bay saw 60 knots and lightning strikes everywhere. My friends Ron and Kathy are great sailors and cruise the Sound and points east each year in their Niagara 35, a beautiful Canadian boat. They had only gotten a one hour shake down cruise in before last weekend when they were hit by lightning. Now their boat is on a mooring close to the marina where the mast lays in the yard torn apart and the prospect of all the electronics, including every inch of wiring may have to be replaced. Even if the weather changes by the 4th they face a month of repairs.
There are many perks to owning a 25’ boat. I have a 44’ Cheoy Lee one side of me and Ron and Kathy’s 35’ Niagara on the other I am the smallest boat in the area, and the shortest mast for 200 yards.
The weather will change, and we will enjoy one of the greatest sailing areas in America soon.
Highlighted words are HOT links.
The link will open in a new window.
In “Alice’s restaurant” Arlo Guthrie talks about the “Last Guy”. He says when you have it bad someone always has it worse than you. At some point there is the last guy and no one has it worse than him.
While it’s true our sailing season has been dismal so far, there is a couple who have it worse than us. Last weekend Oyster Bay saw 60 knots and lightning strikes everywhere. My friends Ron and Kathy are great sailors and cruise the Sound and points east each year in their Niagara 35, a beautiful Canadian boat. They had only gotten a one hour shake down cruise in before last weekend when they were hit by lightning. Now their boat is on a mooring close to the marina where the mast lays in the yard torn apart and the prospect of all the electronics, including every inch of wiring may have to be replaced. Even if the weather changes by the 4th they face a month of repairs.
There are many perks to owning a 25’ boat. I have a 44’ Cheoy Lee one side of me and Ron and Kathy’s 35’ Niagara on the other I am the smallest boat in the area, and the shortest mast for 200 yards.
The weather will change, and we will enjoy one of the greatest sailing areas in America soon.
Highlighted words are HOT links.
The link will open in a new window.
6/21/2003
6/20/2003
”First Cities” at the Metropolitan museum
”First Cities” the exhibition now at the Metropolitan museum is a look at the great communities that arose and thrived in the fertile wedge that brought forth crops in the spring and stories to fill the seasons. Many of these ”First Stories” are ingrained through out the great religions of today.
The land between the Tigris and the Euphrates was silted over each flood period and became verdant when the water level dropped. The myths of the birth and death cycles can be found in the rhythm of these seasons. This was the land now called Iraq.
The vocabulary of images, idols and Gods is remarkable in their variations as well as their similarities. There is no question that these were an ancient people with long standing trade traditions. Beliefs as well as grain were traded freely. The show manages to point up the regional and individual cities traits that make each city stand out alone.
Certain rulers came to great power and skewed the regions wealth to put their gods to the forefront. High craftsmen kept ancient traditions and cities alive. The story tellers and craftsmen depicted their gods so beautifully that everyone in the region recognized and revered the story of that deity. This practice lasted and sustained the Byzantine mosaics and early Renaissance frescoes. These simple direct depictions of the gods created the first myths that traveled and took hold in the Mediterranean region.
The craftsmanship of the period is extraordinary in its precision and use of very simple tools. Lapis lazuli is used as the beard of a bull in the "Great Lyre" with bull's head and inlaid front panel, ca. 2550–2400 B.C. I love the scorpion god in the lower panel under the flowing Lapis Lazuli beard. In the "Standard of Ur," ca. 2550–2400 B.C.; Early Dynastic IIIA. Mesopotamia, Ur, (Click on ”Mesopotania” on the map.) The Lapis is used as a background to bring the white luster of the shell figures out in the light.
It was from these city states that the first laws were written. The first religions were transferred and assimilated by neighbors. After all when you are a good neighbor you support your friends even if you don’t buy their ideals. Isn’t that what we are all about? We claim to love freedom and the utmost freedom is of religion and that is why our government CANNOT take any oath, prayer or creed from any one religion. If we say ”In God We Trust” we have made a choice of one god over another. This goes against the freedom of religion. I’m sorry but the ”In God We Trust” that was put on our coins during WWII is hurtful to the republic. Acceptance of all Gods and credos is the only answer in a true democracy.
The ”First Cities” at the Metropolitan museum can help make the world understand that we are one people with similar yet gloriously different souls.
”First Cities” the exhibition now at the Metropolitan museum is a look at the great communities that arose and thrived in the fertile wedge that brought forth crops in the spring and stories to fill the seasons. Many of these ”First Stories” are ingrained through out the great religions of today.
The land between the Tigris and the Euphrates was silted over each flood period and became verdant when the water level dropped. The myths of the birth and death cycles can be found in the rhythm of these seasons. This was the land now called Iraq.
The vocabulary of images, idols and Gods is remarkable in their variations as well as their similarities. There is no question that these were an ancient people with long standing trade traditions. Beliefs as well as grain were traded freely. The show manages to point up the regional and individual cities traits that make each city stand out alone.
Certain rulers came to great power and skewed the regions wealth to put their gods to the forefront. High craftsmen kept ancient traditions and cities alive. The story tellers and craftsmen depicted their gods so beautifully that everyone in the region recognized and revered the story of that deity. This practice lasted and sustained the Byzantine mosaics and early Renaissance frescoes. These simple direct depictions of the gods created the first myths that traveled and took hold in the Mediterranean region.
The craftsmanship of the period is extraordinary in its precision and use of very simple tools. Lapis lazuli is used as the beard of a bull in the "Great Lyre" with bull's head and inlaid front panel, ca. 2550–2400 B.C. I love the scorpion god in the lower panel under the flowing Lapis Lazuli beard. In the "Standard of Ur," ca. 2550–2400 B.C.; Early Dynastic IIIA. Mesopotamia, Ur, (Click on ”Mesopotania” on the map.) The Lapis is used as a background to bring the white luster of the shell figures out in the light.
It was from these city states that the first laws were written. The first religions were transferred and assimilated by neighbors. After all when you are a good neighbor you support your friends even if you don’t buy their ideals. Isn’t that what we are all about? We claim to love freedom and the utmost freedom is of religion and that is why our government CANNOT take any oath, prayer or creed from any one religion. If we say ”In God We Trust” we have made a choice of one god over another. This goes against the freedom of religion. I’m sorry but the ”In God We Trust” that was put on our coins during WWII is hurtful to the republic. Acceptance of all Gods and credos is the only answer in a true democracy.
The ”First Cities” at the Metropolitan museum can help make the world understand that we are one people with similar yet gloriously different souls.
6/04/2003
"Men and nations behave wisely once they have exhausted all the other alternatives."
Abba Eban
I remember a story of King Arthur as a boy learning about the world from Merlin. Merlin would turn the young Arthur, who he referred to as “Wart”, into various animals. On one occasion Wart was turned into a bird. As he flew around Camelot Merlin asked him
"Wart, why do we have wars?"
"Because someone attacks," responds the young King Arthur.
"That’s right. They do it for boundaries," adds the Merlin.
"You humans just don’t understand," retorts Archimedes the Owl. He jerks his head in disgust and shakes out the irritation by vibrating his feathers. "You’re always killing off your own blood for those silly boundaries. You’re no smarter than an ant. You don’t realize that MIGHT DOESN’T ALWAYS MAKE RIGHT."
Arthur looks over at Archimedes, squinting his eyes as all children do when they’re very confused. "What are boundaries?"
"Imaginary lines on the earth," responds Archimedes. "When you’re a bird those stupid lines don’t exist. Of course we protect our home territories, but we do it in a different manner. We posture and squawk, but we don’t have gang wars against our own kind, like humans do
"Archimedes has a good point. When you see from a higher perspective, there are no boundaries, and so there’s no reason for fighting," says the Merlin.
Boundaries are very reason nations can exist but there was a time that the known world was made up of “city states. In the exhibition now at the Metropolitan museum there is a look at Mesopotamia’s ”First Cities”. The exhibit is from the heart of civilization, the land between the Tigris and the Euphrates, now called Iraq. The land now being readied for Bush’s attempt at ”nation Building. It was from these city states that the first laws were written. The Greek city states are what the west has patterned our architecture and our very form of government on.
The current “boundaries between Iraq, Iran and Turkey are now going to be looked at allot closer and the Iraq, Turkey border is going to contested either now or in the near future. The real boundaries are ethnic and religious and they sweep across the borders with little real consideration to the various ”nations”.
It may be that the ancient system of city states is more appropriate to the current situation. Look at the party in power here in the states. They take the view that states rights are equal to or more important than the nation and they have a point. Each region has its own needs and rights. Could Iraq be more unified with regions (states) of like minded people who then come together to form a nation? Where does it say that all the people in Iraq have to be one ”people”?
Even in Europe nations formed late and regions within countries are more important that the whole. Italy only became a nation 1861 (17 March 1861, Kingdom of Italy proclaimed; Italy was not finally unified until 1870)
Secular Arabs, Sunni’s and Shii need not be put into one pot and stewed together. It may be an easier solution for Bush and his “nation builders” but it is ultimately not up to them.
5/22/2003
Manet/Velazquez at the Met
The Metropolitan museum currently is showing Manet/Velazquez through the end of June. The premise is that when in 1838, King Louis Philippe opened the Galerie Espagnole at the Louvre, placing on view his extraordinary collection of hundreds of Spanish paintings French painting changed and was forever influenced by the Spanish. Whether you buy the premise or not the exhibition is extraordinary. It has 150 paintings by Velázquez, Murillo, Ribera, El Greco, and Zurbarán and masterpieces by the 19th-century French artists they supposedly influenced, among them Delacroix, Courbet, Millet, Degas, and, of course, Manet. The exhibit also includes more than 30 works by American artists such as Sargent, Chase, Eakins, Whistler, and Cassatt, who studied in France. You can see the way the compositions influenced the French and the backgrounds were done the Spanish way. The exhibit works hard to pair like subjects and compositions but a look at the painting itself shows that the French painters had another idea of what art was to look like. The Spaniards painted in the way paintings had been done since the renaissance with finished surfaces and attention to detail all in a very realistic way. One look at Manet’s paintings and you can see the subject is the paint itself. Bold strokes of color make up the facial features and realism is left behind. Certainly all the painting have recognizable subjects and the Americas Eakins and Sargent go a long way towards realism but the brushstrokes in the cloths and backgrounds are pure paint.
This is not a one visit type exhibit for two reasons. One, it is just too large to be seen on one go round and the academic challenge the curator has set up is worth thinking about. In my opinion the curator has to work to develop his premise but it is not without merit. The obvious correlation is in the compositions and the use of color. The rich earth tones are used to create subjects that grow out of the canvasses.
These shows are almost impossible to be seen on weekends. An afternoon towards the beginning of the week is best and it will have more people in it than you hope then.
I know I will be back and then it will be on to ”Art of the First Cities”.
The Metropolitan museum currently is showing Manet/Velazquez through the end of June. The premise is that when in 1838, King Louis Philippe opened the Galerie Espagnole at the Louvre, placing on view his extraordinary collection of hundreds of Spanish paintings French painting changed and was forever influenced by the Spanish. Whether you buy the premise or not the exhibition is extraordinary. It has 150 paintings by Velázquez, Murillo, Ribera, El Greco, and Zurbarán and masterpieces by the 19th-century French artists they supposedly influenced, among them Delacroix, Courbet, Millet, Degas, and, of course, Manet. The exhibit also includes more than 30 works by American artists such as Sargent, Chase, Eakins, Whistler, and Cassatt, who studied in France. You can see the way the compositions influenced the French and the backgrounds were done the Spanish way. The exhibit works hard to pair like subjects and compositions but a look at the painting itself shows that the French painters had another idea of what art was to look like. The Spaniards painted in the way paintings had been done since the renaissance with finished surfaces and attention to detail all in a very realistic way. One look at Manet’s paintings and you can see the subject is the paint itself. Bold strokes of color make up the facial features and realism is left behind. Certainly all the painting have recognizable subjects and the Americas Eakins and Sargent go a long way towards realism but the brushstrokes in the cloths and backgrounds are pure paint.
This is not a one visit type exhibit for two reasons. One, it is just too large to be seen on one go round and the academic challenge the curator has set up is worth thinking about. In my opinion the curator has to work to develop his premise but it is not without merit. The obvious correlation is in the compositions and the use of color. The rich earth tones are used to create subjects that grow out of the canvasses.
These shows are almost impossible to be seen on weekends. An afternoon towards the beginning of the week is best and it will have more people in it than you hope then.
I know I will be back and then it will be on to ”Art of the First Cities”.
You’ve got to love city kids these days.
Walking down Madison Avenue on a Friday afternoon can be daunting. There are office workers dashing out of every doorway and charging for the subways the bus stops or running into the streets to steal the taxi that just pulled over for a fare. A peaceful stroll it isn’t. Just as I was getting into the pace of things along came a teenager in the bus lane kicking his skate board. Madison goes north he was heading south and paid no attention to the bus that brushed by him. Behind me came his buddies weaving in and out of the pedestrians who were unnerved by the trio zipping along the sidewalk. The last of this group was younger and doing his best to keep up. As he came to a corner a woman was brought up short because he swooped right in front of her and he never slowed his pace. He kicked a couple of times to get his speed up at the same time he reached into his pocket a opened his flip cell phone. From the sound of his voice it had to be his mother. I heard him say “Yes, we’re on our way.” Skate board, baggy pants and a cell phone. The tools of daily life for the New York teenager.
Walking down Madison Avenue on a Friday afternoon can be daunting. There are office workers dashing out of every doorway and charging for the subways the bus stops or running into the streets to steal the taxi that just pulled over for a fare. A peaceful stroll it isn’t. Just as I was getting into the pace of things along came a teenager in the bus lane kicking his skate board. Madison goes north he was heading south and paid no attention to the bus that brushed by him. Behind me came his buddies weaving in and out of the pedestrians who were unnerved by the trio zipping along the sidewalk. The last of this group was younger and doing his best to keep up. As he came to a corner a woman was brought up short because he swooped right in front of her and he never slowed his pace. He kicked a couple of times to get his speed up at the same time he reached into his pocket a opened his flip cell phone. From the sound of his voice it had to be his mother. I heard him say “Yes, we’re on our way.” Skate board, baggy pants and a cell phone. The tools of daily life for the New York teenager.
5/16/2003
While listening to Elaine Pagels, she talked about a friend who had just died. She went to her church and the pastor asked if her friend was a “Christian” and she said “No”. She was told he was in HELL. She, of course, rejected this judgment.
When I was in Spain at Torrejon Air Force Base outside Madrid, attending “Catechism” we shared the church and the Sunday school with the Protestant and Jewish children. We were being taught about “original sin” and being told that only Catholics could be forgiven by God for our sins in the confessional. We had to clean up and get out because the Protestant Sunday school had to use the classroom in a couple of minutes. I asked (I was 8 years old) about the Protestants who were about to come into the class. I was told they couldn’t enter heaven because they didn’t believe as we did. From that day on religion became a study NOT a belief. After all how could the kid you played kickball with be a PAGAN and still be your friend? It couldn’t be true.
Elaine Pagels wrote the The Gnostic Gospels in 1979. Everyone has heard of the Quram’s Dead Sea Scrolls and their relation to the bible, to St. John and to Jesus. But the “Gnostic Gospels” are left out of the lexicon or canon. In 1945 a series of scrolls were unearthed that proved to be one of the earliest “gospels” of the Christian faith. They were banned and became a mark of rebellion for the “Gnostics”. This censorship forever marked the Christian faith. They allow for free thinking in relating your belief and the actual knowledge of the world. This was not allowed in the 3rd century. Christianity (there was only one “Christianity” in those days) was being dispersed to the masses in a very dogmatic and strict way. The Gnostic Gospels could not be part of the Bible because of their open relation to the hereafter and for their open reverence of the female in relation to God. I see a connection in the Gnostic Gospels to the matriarchal religions of the past as, I am sure, did the church “Fathers”. After all, hidden in the sands of Ephesus was the multi breasted statue of the last Goddess Artemis. She is last connection to great matriarchal religions and the Gnostic Gospels, also known as the Gospel of Thomas, acknowledged this.
How can we clean our desks off and make way for the next religious group after just hearing we are only ones to be able to get into heaven? How can we believe we will leave our good friends behind? How can this be true?
In a word. It CANNOT!! We are all children of this world. We are all children of Gaia.
“Bet you weren’t ready for that No! No! No!!” More to come.
When I was in Spain at Torrejon Air Force Base outside Madrid, attending “Catechism” we shared the church and the Sunday school with the Protestant and Jewish children. We were being taught about “original sin” and being told that only Catholics could be forgiven by God for our sins in the confessional. We had to clean up and get out because the Protestant Sunday school had to use the classroom in a couple of minutes. I asked (I was 8 years old) about the Protestants who were about to come into the class. I was told they couldn’t enter heaven because they didn’t believe as we did. From that day on religion became a study NOT a belief. After all how could the kid you played kickball with be a PAGAN and still be your friend? It couldn’t be true.
Elaine Pagels wrote the The Gnostic Gospels in 1979. Everyone has heard of the Quram’s Dead Sea Scrolls and their relation to the bible, to St. John and to Jesus. But the “Gnostic Gospels” are left out of the lexicon or canon. In 1945 a series of scrolls were unearthed that proved to be one of the earliest “gospels” of the Christian faith. They were banned and became a mark of rebellion for the “Gnostics”. This censorship forever marked the Christian faith. They allow for free thinking in relating your belief and the actual knowledge of the world. This was not allowed in the 3rd century. Christianity (there was only one “Christianity” in those days) was being dispersed to the masses in a very dogmatic and strict way. The Gnostic Gospels could not be part of the Bible because of their open relation to the hereafter and for their open reverence of the female in relation to God. I see a connection in the Gnostic Gospels to the matriarchal religions of the past as, I am sure, did the church “Fathers”. After all, hidden in the sands of Ephesus was the multi breasted statue of the last Goddess Artemis. She is last connection to great matriarchal religions and the Gnostic Gospels, also known as the Gospel of Thomas, acknowledged this.
How can we clean our desks off and make way for the next religious group after just hearing we are only ones to be able to get into heaven? How can we believe we will leave our good friends behind? How can this be true?
In a word. It CANNOT!! We are all children of this world. We are all children of Gaia.
“Bet you weren’t ready for that No! No! No!!” More to come.
5/13/2003
You’ve gotta love the French.
The “shrub” decided to invade Iraq and Cherq told him to stuff it. It was more fun to see Putin slam Blair in Russia when he wasn’t expecting it but the French should have gone along. Well that’s what Bush thought. And now today the working class has taken to the streets to protest lengthening the time it take to pay into their retirement. We, the “Super Power” of the world don’t have the chance to even engage in the conversation. We have a shaky social security that we must pay into till we reach 63 and the payments are based on what we paid.
The workers in France have shut down the most of the transportation in the entire country with just the hint that they would have to work 2 more years for their pension. They do not let the government get away with the least infringement on their entitlements. Here in the “Super Power of the world there is no guarantee of any pension EVER. And let’s talk about health care. My friend “L” who works here on a green card knows that he has to get on a plane to France if he gets seriously ill. The major companies that he works for here take taxes out of his check and claim him as an employee but “L” is a freelancer and receives NO benefits from any of the major companies that hire him. Well he’s a foreigner. Yes but I am not. I work as an employee for a few major companies and because each of them claim me as an employee I cannot claim self-employment nor am I entitled to any of the healthcare the give to “permanent” employees. I am a self-employed person and I have to pay my own health care yet I am not allowed the deductions for the business I am running.
I applaud the workers of France for laying down the line that the government cannot cross. They have a strong economy and yes they pay a hefty tax burden. But their children can see a doctor when they are sick and when they get old there will be a pension to keep, them without watching state after state do away with medicade.
We have a welfare state that is in deep trouble caught between the right and the left wasting people’s lives and amazing amounts of money. As we watch the stubborn left and the righteous right decimate any chance for a middle ground we watch our President wage war in the name of the dead at ground zero. The bombing in Saudi Arabia put the lie to that. Al Qada is alive and well bombing the C**P out Iraq was NOT in the name of terrorism. He stands on the podium and takes the accolades for being a war hero while strapping us with debt that we may never repay.
Yes you gotta love the French.
The blog will be updated about 2-3 times aweek during the summer.
The “shrub” decided to invade Iraq and Cherq told him to stuff it. It was more fun to see Putin slam Blair in Russia when he wasn’t expecting it but the French should have gone along. Well that’s what Bush thought. And now today the working class has taken to the streets to protest lengthening the time it take to pay into their retirement. We, the “Super Power” of the world don’t have the chance to even engage in the conversation. We have a shaky social security that we must pay into till we reach 63 and the payments are based on what we paid.
The workers in France have shut down the most of the transportation in the entire country with just the hint that they would have to work 2 more years for their pension. They do not let the government get away with the least infringement on their entitlements. Here in the “Super Power of the world there is no guarantee of any pension EVER. And let’s talk about health care. My friend “L” who works here on a green card knows that he has to get on a plane to France if he gets seriously ill. The major companies that he works for here take taxes out of his check and claim him as an employee but “L” is a freelancer and receives NO benefits from any of the major companies that hire him. Well he’s a foreigner. Yes but I am not. I work as an employee for a few major companies and because each of them claim me as an employee I cannot claim self-employment nor am I entitled to any of the healthcare the give to “permanent” employees. I am a self-employed person and I have to pay my own health care yet I am not allowed the deductions for the business I am running.
I applaud the workers of France for laying down the line that the government cannot cross. They have a strong economy and yes they pay a hefty tax burden. But their children can see a doctor when they are sick and when they get old there will be a pension to keep, them without watching state after state do away with medicade.
We have a welfare state that is in deep trouble caught between the right and the left wasting people’s lives and amazing amounts of money. As we watch the stubborn left and the righteous right decimate any chance for a middle ground we watch our President wage war in the name of the dead at ground zero. The bombing in Saudi Arabia put the lie to that. Al Qada is alive and well bombing the C**P out Iraq was NOT in the name of terrorism. He stands on the podium and takes the accolades for being a war hero while strapping us with debt that we may never repay.
Yes you gotta love the French.
The blog will be updated about 2-3 times aweek during the summer.
5/06/2003
Now that Peregrine is in the water and safely tied to her mooring I can get back to some writing.
The recent earthquake in Turkey that took the lives of 83 children and the Tornadoes in the midwest remind us that we are here at the mercy of much larger forces. Our existence can be fleeting and we need to make the best of every minute.
I hope you all caught the Dixie Chicks cover on Entertainment Weekly. Seems the “Chicks” haven’t lost any fans after saying they were embarrassed by President Bush. The cover shows everything they were called during the flap. They had a lot to lose and they continued to speak their mind hoping their fans would stick with them well the tour looks to be a success. That they managed to compete with the wars headline is a testament to the strange mix of reality and entertainment that fills the media.
After fifty years the secret papers of Senator Joseph McCarthy have been released. It’s a period in U.S. history that continued to undermine the democracy here until the end of the Viet Nam war. The xenophobic fear of communism that led to the cold war and our entering the Viet Nam war is still with us. The 58,000 dead American soldiers and the countless Vietnamese killed came straight out of the madness that McCarthy embodied when he was allowed to destroy U.S. citizens. Not until that last helicopter left the roof of the U.S. embassy in Siagon was the era over. Why did it take fifty years to get these papers out in the open? We have know for decades that the “McCarthy era” was an evil and a mar on our democracy. These papers should be part of every high school civics class.
The recent earthquake in Turkey that took the lives of 83 children and the Tornadoes in the midwest remind us that we are here at the mercy of much larger forces. Our existence can be fleeting and we need to make the best of every minute.
I hope you all caught the Dixie Chicks cover on Entertainment Weekly. Seems the “Chicks” haven’t lost any fans after saying they were embarrassed by President Bush. The cover shows everything they were called during the flap. They had a lot to lose and they continued to speak their mind hoping their fans would stick with them well the tour looks to be a success. That they managed to compete with the wars headline is a testament to the strange mix of reality and entertainment that fills the media.
After fifty years the secret papers of Senator Joseph McCarthy have been released. It’s a period in U.S. history that continued to undermine the democracy here until the end of the Viet Nam war. The xenophobic fear of communism that led to the cold war and our entering the Viet Nam war is still with us. The 58,000 dead American soldiers and the countless Vietnamese killed came straight out of the madness that McCarthy embodied when he was allowed to destroy U.S. citizens. Not until that last helicopter left the roof of the U.S. embassy in Siagon was the era over. Why did it take fifty years to get these papers out in the open? We have know for decades that the “McCarthy era” was an evil and a mar on our democracy. These papers should be part of every high school civics class.
4/29/2003
“My dictatorship has only one aim: to make any sort of new dictatorship impossible in Turkey”
Mustafa Kemal Ataturk 1881-1938
Is there a new Ataturk to be found in Iraq? Carving a new republic out of the dying Ottoman Empire Ataturk turned his countries future towards the west. In the present political environment the one thing that’s stands out in his vision for his country is the complete and militant separation of religion and state. On a visit to Istanbul I wondered through the book bazaar and ended up in front of the university. There was a small protest going on in front of the university it seems Islamic women students wanted to wear scarves to cover their heads. This is seen by the government as an expression of religion that is not allowed in school, the workplace or any civic situation. The group on the steps of the school numbered less than a hundred to the untrained eye but in the plaza before the school were three phalanxes of riot police all decked out in the latest gear of lexan shields, kevlar vests and helmets with visors but they were not carrying batons but automatic rifles. This was over wearing scarves! Oh did I mention the TANK????
No an Atataurk will not emerge in Iraq. There will be no separation of religion and state in the newly “liberated” Iraq. Saddam tried to run the country in a fascist socialist manner and denied the populist of their religious freedom. The religious will find a way to celebrate their belief and they demonstrated that in Karbala by chanting beating themselves with iron whips and slamming their heads with swords till their white robes were covered with blood, all the while calling for U.S forces to get out of Iraq NOW!!. This, I’m sure, was not the welcome Bush was hoping for.
We pride ourselves in separating our government from our religion. The reason is to protect different religions from being suppressed by a government dominated by any one religion. Turkey separates the government from the religions to protect the government. Iraq will have to find a way to bring their different faiths in line with a governing system that can encompass all the people of the region. Not an easy task.
Mustafa Kemal Ataturk 1881-1938
Is there a new Ataturk to be found in Iraq? Carving a new republic out of the dying Ottoman Empire Ataturk turned his countries future towards the west. In the present political environment the one thing that’s stands out in his vision for his country is the complete and militant separation of religion and state. On a visit to Istanbul I wondered through the book bazaar and ended up in front of the university. There was a small protest going on in front of the university it seems Islamic women students wanted to wear scarves to cover their heads. This is seen by the government as an expression of religion that is not allowed in school, the workplace or any civic situation. The group on the steps of the school numbered less than a hundred to the untrained eye but in the plaza before the school were three phalanxes of riot police all decked out in the latest gear of lexan shields, kevlar vests and helmets with visors but they were not carrying batons but automatic rifles. This was over wearing scarves! Oh did I mention the TANK????
No an Atataurk will not emerge in Iraq. There will be no separation of religion and state in the newly “liberated” Iraq. Saddam tried to run the country in a fascist socialist manner and denied the populist of their religious freedom. The religious will find a way to celebrate their belief and they demonstrated that in Karbala by chanting beating themselves with iron whips and slamming their heads with swords till their white robes were covered with blood, all the while calling for U.S forces to get out of Iraq NOW!!. This, I’m sure, was not the welcome Bush was hoping for.
We pride ourselves in separating our government from our religion. The reason is to protect different religions from being suppressed by a government dominated by any one religion. Turkey separates the government from the religions to protect the government. Iraq will have to find a way to bring their different faiths in line with a governing system that can encompass all the people of the region. Not an easy task.
4/28/2003
“The world is divided into two parts…
Those with boats and those without boats.”
Roy Fridge
A major part of my “Peregrination” is sailing. The blog has had to be put on the back burner while I have been getting Peregrine ready for launching.
We have had a cold spring after being teased in March with warm weather. The last few days have been warm and sunny so I have had to scramble and work every day on her. Now just one more coat of wax and…. SLASH!
Those with boats and those without boats.”
Roy Fridge
A major part of my “Peregrination” is sailing. The blog has had to be put on the back burner while I have been getting Peregrine ready for launching.
We have had a cold spring after being teased in March with warm weather. The last few days have been warm and sunny so I have had to scramble and work every day on her. Now just one more coat of wax and…. SLASH!
4/23/2003
It should be our care not so much to live a long life as a satisfactory one.
Seneca the Younger 3BC-65AD
Well now New Yorkers can have their cake and eat it too. A new study came out today claiming that,
New Yorkers Are Living Longer Than Ever Before
Tue April 22, 2003 05:32 PM ET
NEW YORK (Reuters Health)
Since 1990 the life expectancy of men in New York has grown seven years to 75 years old and woman can expect to live past 80. This exceeds the national average by 6 months. Who says New York isn’t a great place to live?
One reason is an over all emphasis on eating exercising. The other is the black population has made great strides in catching up on longevity although they lag behind the white population. Black males still die an average of 6 years before white males.
With Central Park available to everyone in Manhattan and Prospect Park in Brooklyn there are wonderful places to workout or just play. The biggest addition in Manhattan has been Hudson River Park. The park is a long promenade from Battery Park past the the site of the World Trade Center and on up the Hudson to Harlem. It is protected from the west side traffic, has rest stops and a couple of refurbished piers so you can get out over the water. It’s too long in coming but the park has made the waterfront an inviting and fun place, finally.
I can remember the days before the park was in and running along the river to the World Trade Center meant running among parked cars and idling busses. Now it’s a paved and landscaped promenade. A bike trip from lower Manhattan can start at Battery Park City, up the west side to 60th St. then over to Columbus Circle and into Central Park. It’s about 4.5 miles to the park and one loop of the park is 6 miles so a 15 mile ride can bring you right back to where you started with only a couple a city blocks getting into and out of Central Park to contend with. Whether you do the ride on a “city” bike or a 10 speed racer it can be a good little workout.
A nice "Peregrination".
Yes it’s easier to live longer and still live in the greatest city in the world.
Seneca the Younger 3BC-65AD
Well now New Yorkers can have their cake and eat it too. A new study came out today claiming that,
New Yorkers Are Living Longer Than Ever Before
Tue April 22, 2003 05:32 PM ET
NEW YORK (Reuters Health)
Since 1990 the life expectancy of men in New York has grown seven years to 75 years old and woman can expect to live past 80. This exceeds the national average by 6 months. Who says New York isn’t a great place to live?
One reason is an over all emphasis on eating exercising. The other is the black population has made great strides in catching up on longevity although they lag behind the white population. Black males still die an average of 6 years before white males.
With Central Park available to everyone in Manhattan and Prospect Park in Brooklyn there are wonderful places to workout or just play. The biggest addition in Manhattan has been Hudson River Park. The park is a long promenade from Battery Park past the the site of the World Trade Center and on up the Hudson to Harlem. It is protected from the west side traffic, has rest stops and a couple of refurbished piers so you can get out over the water. It’s too long in coming but the park has made the waterfront an inviting and fun place, finally.
I can remember the days before the park was in and running along the river to the World Trade Center meant running among parked cars and idling busses. Now it’s a paved and landscaped promenade. A bike trip from lower Manhattan can start at Battery Park City, up the west side to 60th St. then over to Columbus Circle and into Central Park. It’s about 4.5 miles to the park and one loop of the park is 6 miles so a 15 mile ride can bring you right back to where you started with only a couple a city blocks getting into and out of Central Park to contend with. Whether you do the ride on a “city” bike or a 10 speed racer it can be a good little workout.
A nice "Peregrination".
Yes it’s easier to live longer and still live in the greatest city in the world.
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