Monasticism.Blogspot

Blog. The musings of Fr. Peter-Michael Preble.

Pastor of St. Michael's Orthodox Church of the Romanian Orthodox Archdiocese.

Posts on religion, religious issues, politics, and quite a few posts in his archive.

The First Person to Jump Off the Brooklyn Bridge

The first person to jump from the Brooklyn Bridge was Robert Odlum, a swimming teacher from Washington, at 5:45 PM, May 19th, 1885. Here's the rest, a post at Reflections From the End of the Night.

Byzigenous Buddhapalian

Blog to check out.

Miscellaneous spiritual, aesthetic, cultural, and political explorations by a world citizen.

Would appear to have a Democratic point of view, anti-McCain point of view, meaning intelligent.

Lots of interesting things, lots of links to other blogs.

My only negative is it has more pictures of buildings than I want to see. So probably some architectural interests as well.

Lots of Good Looking Stuff

PIGLIPSTICK.

Politics, culture, videos, liberal point of view, anti-Bush, intelligent, lots of graphics, interesting videos and things. Check it out.

Bush on Clinton and Obama

George Bush weighed in Friday on the Democratic candidates in an interview with an Italian journalist.

"I thought it was a really good statement, powerful moment when a major political party nominates an African-American man to be their standard bearer. And it's good for our democracy that that happened. And we also had a major contender being a woman. Obviously Hillary Clinton was a major contender. So I think it's a good sign for American democracy."

This is the kind of thing our pathetic president should have been saying over the years. He's been such a partisan hack, so oblivious to the notion that he's the president of the entire country, that you just don't expect to hear anything of graciousness or a sense of things coming from his lips.

One of my biggest objections to Bush is that he chose to go it alone, not caring for the rest of us.

Kino No Tabi

There is a world. You can't think of it as Japan or America or anywhere really that you've been.

This book is book one of "The Beautiful World." By Keiichi Sigsawa. First published 2000, Media Works, Tokyopop. This one, English translation, published 2006. Marketed to teens, young adult fiction.

It has episodes in the life of Kino, a young woman, and Hermes, her motorcycle. Hermes has a consciousness, talks, and is an actual character throughout.

Kino travels and stays in countries, or cities, for three days tops. She didn't always travel. When she was just about grown up, an old man came to her town, and stayed with her family. His name was Kino. He questioned the customs of their country, which included having a physical operation when you were 12, making you a grown-up. He assembles the motorcycle from the scrapheap.

Kino leads Kino-to-be to question this growing up business, a serious thing there. In the process he's killed, then they're coming at her with the knife, she gets on the motorcycle and leaves home. Doesn't call, doesn't write.

From there on, the book gets going. These episodes take her to various countries, like her own country, each with some peculiar ways. There's a city that has one survivor in it, because in the process of governing, everyone else got killed. So it's a functioning city with massive graveyards. There's a country of competing cities, who have overcome war between themselves, but this is won by keeping a common enemy in the middle, and periodically going out to massacre them. The book ends up with a city (country) where you compete for citizenship in a series of personal battles, more or less to the death.

Kino and Hermes have conversations, they rest and relax, there's some humor.

Everything seems to be making some statement, about government, the choices we make, mass behavior, personal awareness, and so on. There's one episode that reads like a real parable. Some guys working for 50 years but separately. Something like this: One is polishing railroad tracks, one is dismantling the tracks, and he's followed by another putting the tracks in place.

Kino is tough. She carries two guns, one a more conventional gun which can be shot over and over. And one that has a liquid 'bullet,' which needs careful preparation, good for one shot.

The book reads in a light, breezy way. The customs are so bizarre -- but really, if we could detach ourselves from our own customs, we could see that some of them approach or reach absurdity as well.

The story continues on beyond this book, as the cover says there is an eight-volume series. A piece of the back cover blurb says, "a critique on the inherent beauty of imperfection, oscillates between philosophical and winsome, while remaining consistently and overwhelmingly imaginative."

John and The Amazing Monochromatic Backdrop

As someone who studies and consults on the psychological effects of color for a living -- I consult for big bucks; you know the color of the sky, blue? That was me -- I found the image of John McCain's pale white head against the solid green background last night very nice, very nice indeed.

There's something about the color green that is suggestive. Obviously, we use it as a color suggesting the environment. Some places of course it wouldn't literally pertain, but that's beside the point. Also, green is the color of our money. You can look at the graphic there and if you were to squint at it and picture it a little larger horizontally, you can see John McCain's suggestion. That he's like other great presidents. A presidential head in the center of money. It's a very prosperous color in that regard. Seriously, draw an oval around him, and you've got a rival for Franklin on the hundred.

Now, since the speech, some have made light of the setting. You've got Barack Obama (booo!!!) surrounded by a sea of admiring supporters, full of life, bouncing to the beat, buoyed by their glad spirits, a sea of color in amazing liveliness. Color, all the colors in a rich, glad harmony, a happy profusion that really was kaleidoscopic, memorable, exciting. And not just the people -- blacks, whites, browns, young, old, Orientals -- but their signs, and clothing, all bobbing and waving with high energy, and all the breathtaking flashiness you can imagine. Clearly disgusting. And then you have John McCain (yaaay!!), much more humble than Obama, a man who decided on a color (green) and stuck with it, not trying to be flashy, not trying to show off his supporters, several scattered out in a small hall. Because McCain knows where the focus needs to be, on the man himself running for office. The crowd is anonymous, and should not be part of the equation. No one's voting for them.

Seriously, I was enthusiastic for McCain's presentation, but I had one beef. My biggest criticism is the way McCain was framed during the speech, that they didn't have a tight enough shot of his head. The green was good, but it should have been just at the edges, with his face filling up most of the screen. People like a president who's close, very close to them. But we need to find the positives with what we have. He filled up the screen adequately, he managed a brave smile when it seemed appropriate, his thin, remaining white hair appeared to be nicely in place. He went along with the flow, a comfortable, meandering flow.

If I were consulting for the McCain campaign, I'd counsel them to get rid of the crowd all together. Too distracting! With silence, the viewing audience can concentrate more on the content. Keep the single green background -- that's good -- but go in for a very tight shot on his head. Have him pause longer between sentences. It would make the tone seem more serious, which you want in a president. As for the smiles, what he's doing is good. But one suggestion: try for harmony. Such as look left, smile. Speak three sentences. Look right, smile. A pattern like that will keep the audience at home engaged and pleased. He says "my friends" a lot. That's also good. But have him add adjectives to spice it up, such as "my dearest friends," "my treasured friends," and "best friends forever."

As far as further analysis of the color, hmm, what more can I say? Yes, I'm a consultant, but what else is there? I think I mentioned it was green. Let's see, checklist here, green with some white print, white hair, pale skin, and some darkness in his suit. All looks real good, very good.

The Rise and Fall of the Third Term

Underground Reads

Interesting concept, a guy in New York asking strangers on the subway what they're reading. Then he posts the results to this blog, Underground Reads. That sounds like it could be very mundane as well as very interesting.

The blogger, named Garth, is an English teacher at High School for Public Service in Brooklyn, and also a writer.

One of his posts involves the book pictured, and Garth gives this report:

Manhattan bound 2 Train, Winthrop to Grand Army Plaza Jackie felt caught with "trash." As soon as I asked her if we could discuss her book, she started laughing. She was reading The Undomestic Goddess, by Sophie Kinsella. "It's an escape," she called her experience of reading the book, which was recommended by a friend. "It's about a woman who quits her job as a lawyer a job as a house keeper, even though she can't cook and clean."

So, if you don't want to be caught with trash, don't read where this guy might be lurking!

Spiritual Technology For A New Aeon

An interesting looking blog, Augoeides, Spiritual Technology for a New Aeon.

By a guy, who says, "I am a Thelemite and ritual magician who has been practicing for more than 25 years. I have a degree in experimental psychology from Saint Olaf College, a well-regarded Lutheran school that has a surprisingly good collection of Aleister Crowley's work, and have been involved in Ordo Templi Orientis since 1995 and Masonry since 1997. In the mundane world, I have worked as a software developer since 1992."

First thing I see, looks like he thinks meditation is simple and right-there-already for you. Instead of having to pay out big bucks to get started What follows is a quote:

1. Sit comfortably with your spine straight. Cross-legged is fine, Lotus is better if you can do it - but don't wreck your knees.


2. Pick a mantra, a simple sound that you can repeat over and over again. The classic "AUM" will work fine for this.


3. Close your eyes and begin repeating the mantra.


4. Do this for twenty minutes every day.

"Now aren't you glad you read this blog? If you're interested in trying out the technique I just saved you $2500!"

That's a refreshing approach (getting back to me, end of his quote).

I see magick, witchcraft, Llelwellyn stuff, Beliefnet, Thelema (hate to say, I've heard of that but have no idea what it is,) Kabbalah, mysticism.

Naked Covers

Wow, cool, the White Album for books.

I saw this story at the Joseph Likes blog.

Penguin is publishing some books with blank covers, so the reader can draw his or her own cover.

I like the idea a lot!

Let's keep books around, and not let anything happen to them.

George W. Bush -- A Mistake

Louis is on the right track with his new blog, George Bush: A Mistake. "My goal is to convince the Republicans to vote for Democrats, and anyone else to go for Democrats," which is a worthy goal.

I would put this blog in the category of "It shouldn't be necessary for an ordinary citizen to have to do this, because the obvious should be obvious to everyone." But the feeling is real -- why can people (media, whoever, lifelong Republicans) not see this?

You have to wonder about people sometime. If they were bit by a snake a hundred times, would they still reach in the hole and say, "Nothing bit me." In other words, it's best to recognize what's going on with our government, and vote for change.

I Feel Like...

...you feel when you think you're late for a meeting, or have missed a class, or worse, have missed a final exam. Like when you sleep in, the alarm doesn't work, you wake up and realize there's no way you can make it where you need to be.

It's disconcerting. But there aren't any meetings, any appointments, anything I can think of.

John McCain Still Young

This year the Democrats have been making "hay" out of John McCain's age. Without exception, they have been saying that he is too old, that he should be younger.

To their objection we chime in: A man has no say-so over when he is born. This is a matter rightly left up to his parents. From time immemorial it has ever been such, and, despite political caviling, we feel that we can state with confidence and clarity it shall ever be!

We wish to state our own opinion today, that there is nothing wrong with John McCain's age. We declare, also with confidence, that he can still be a fine president -- a great president -- no matter when he was born. And history proves our case.

I believe we can all agree on this one fact, that John McCain was born in 1936. In our everyday way of thinking, that's quite a ways back. The car had been invented by then but not much else.

1936! They say, "How in the world can anyone serve as president who was born in 1936?" I've heard it over and over, and as one who is sick and tired of hearing it, I feel I can speak for others who would say they also are sick and tired of hearing it.

Let's turn to the book. What does history teach us? Our first president, George Washington, was born in 1732¹. Our second president, John Adams, was born in 1735². In fact, the first twelve presidents were all born in the 1700s³. Right on the face of it you can see that if they were all born that long ago, there should be no problem with McCain's relatively recent birth year of 1936.

There have been numerous great presidents. Our history is a proud one, whether it has been a time of peace and plenty or of war and bloodshed. Troubles have at time run rampant over our land and the world, but it was at those times that presidents have stood the test and have brought us through. But were they not "too old" to get the job done? Not at all. Abraham Lincoln, one of our better-known presidents, was born in 1809⁴. He wasn't too old, was he?

Lincoln was preceded by Fillmore and Pierce, both born in the 1800s⁵, and they were followed by numerous others, including two born in the same year, Grant and Hayes in 1822⁶. (This coincidence was apparently not a problem.) So, being born in the 1800s was not an automatic disqualifier back then and it should not be now.

When we come to the 20th century, we might assume that every "modern" president was born in the 1900s. But that would be an assumption that should not make rashly, for the very simple reason that it would be wrong. In fact, several of our presidents in the 20th century were also born in the 1800s⁷. These include Theodore Roosevelt, born as far back as 1858⁸! The great Democratic president who led us in World War II, Franklin D. Roosevelt himself, was born in the 1800s, in 1882⁹. To us, that is aged, and factoring in his handicap, he had some strikes against him. But FDR declared his generation the Greatest Generation, then set out to prove it so.

That brings us to the 1900s. We had presidents born in the 1900s starting with John F. Kennedy. He was born in 1917¹⁰. Ronald Reagan in 1911¹¹. Up through President George H.W. Bush (1924¹²), all of our presidents were born before John McCain.

The case has been made. The facts have been gleaned, sorted through, and presented. The year a man was born has never been a disqualifier for the highest office in the land, and it should not be now. John McCain, born as we said in 1936, could still make an excellent president. We say this based primarily on his merits, a matter of opinion. But we say it also based on the inarguable principle of precedent. Others -- many others -- born earlier than John McCain -- have served as president with great distinction. Now -- today -- this is no time to declare it otherwise.

¹ Borgna Brunner, editor-in chief, Time Almanac 2004, Needham, MA, 2003, p. 112.
² Ibid.
³ Ibid.
⁴ Ibid.
⁵ Ibid.
⁶ Ibid.
⁷ Ibid.
⁸ Ibid.
⁹ Ibid.
¹⁰ Ibid.
¹¹ Ibid.
¹² Ibid.

Graduation

Is there anything more boring than graduation? Let me run through a few possibilities, then dismiss them: 1) Watching barbers give haircuts; 2) Waiting for charcoal to get white; 3) Listening to Mitch Miller records; 4) Interstates. No, all those things are more interesting than graduation.

Fortunately, I don't have to go to any graduations this year. The only thing I like about graduation is hearing its theme song, "Pomp and Circumstance." It's perhaps the most perfect endless song. It just keeps shuffling along as long as people are shuffling in. One year I sat in a position where I had a great view of the band. The band conductor keeps them going through the generations and cycles of that song's duration. But with the last kid, the one who's name starts with Zzzz, the band members' eyes jump down to the big final finish, and they carry out the song's ultimate destiny and it is resolved.

One other year I was smart enough to sit up on the very last row of the bleachers and they had open windows right there. There was just the slightest breeze, but the gym was totally hot. Looking down around the room, with no air conditioning, the programs were being put to necessary use as fans. But with our slight breeze we were the most comfortable folks in the room, along with our fellow backbenchers.

Another year I was trying a whole psychic, empathic, yet mischievous thing. A kid sitting a couple rows down and right at the edge of the bleachers was playing a handheld video game. I was trying mental effort, kinesis, willpower, and the same kind of shifting power you use when bowling, to make his hands heat up to an unbearable temperature so he would lose his grasp on the video game and it would go crashing to the floor. As it turned out I either wasn't successful at this, or my better angels, whom I am barely on speaking terms with, interceded to spare him and to save me from psychic inflation. I was just watching Excalibur the other day, and you might remember that part where Arthur abuses his powers with his sword and defeats Lancelot in combat? I was doing the same thing, seeking to do something unjust, and something spared me the grief. (Or perhaps what I was attempting is impossible. But coincidences aren't impossible.) How great it would've been, but I'd have paid for it in some way!

Graduations. So terrible.

I Was Wrong, Thankfully

This is embarrassing. I wasn't too accurate yesterday in my assessment of David Cook's chances on American Idol. Even tonight I was thinking he was going to lose, which would have left David Archeleta as the winner. But that wasn't to be, and it was the best outcome.

Not that it matters too much to me personally. Both will have recording contracts, red carpet treatment, brunch at the finest hotels. And I'll still be sitting here in my underpants, occasionally looking out the window, watching for my ship to come in. I keep saying if I sit here long enough, singing in the shower on bath day, Clive Davis will come to my door.

As it is, actually, is I don't sing well. I'm like Frank Sinatra in that I have lost my range with age. The big difference between me and Frank is that my range was already very limited. A few octaves lower than dog whistles and a few octaves higher than a low rumble. Middle C. That was the one note I could hit. And now even that's gone. My singing is essentially that one day, Mondays, when I shower.

I like to sing the song "Supper Time," an old church song. I don't know if you know it, but I have expansive gestures for it, especially two parts. It goes, "When I was but a boy in days of childhood, I used to play till evening shadows come." Then the next line has my hand going back and forth in about a three foot alternating wave: "Then winding down an old familiar pathway." And the next line has me miming big elephant ears, each two foot wide: "I heard my mother call at set of sun." Of course the chorus is so familiar it need not be quoted.

As for David Cook, a Kansas City boy, yea! Kansas City! The Plaza! Westport! Crown Center! Other things, what's that big farmers' market, City Market!

American Idol

"Let's get ready to rummmmmmbbbbbbble." That guy was on American Idol tonight. Did you know he has that phrase copyrighted, has the rights to it in some way, maybe like a trademark? And that he probably does make a fine living going around to events saying it?

They had a whole boxing theme, as it was David Cook vs. David Archuleta in the finale. The finale competition, that is, because the finale-finale is tomorrow.

Then it was time for the singing, and our favorite, David Cook, let us down. Since it was a boxing theme maybe he took a dive for some reason. His first song sounded pretty good (and actually I preferred each one to David Archuleta's songs), but David A. had the advantage in sounding more popular, more mainstream. Also David C.'s songs, except the first one, didn't seem to have that special quality in touch with the evening. They just sounded like typical songs, and David A.'s songs sounded like they were meant to convey something about him, about the competition, and about his feelings.

So Simon Cowell had it right, that it was a knockout on David A.'s part. It could be David C. sees some advantages to coming in second. One of those theories. But who knows.

The Moon

The moon tonight is big and bright, clap clap clap clap.

Maybe it's a full moon, certainly full-ish. And a crisp yellow, at least five minutes ago.

I had a clear shot at it through a clearing in the trees. Very nice. It looks so close.

I wonder about the astronauts who landed on the moon, if they think about that every time they look up and catch sight of it. That would be a mixed blessing. But probably it'd be worth it to have that added perspective, of what it's like to be there, and what it's like to see here from there.

I don't know -- I think you'd be walking around like a marked man, someone with secret knowledge. Like "I know more than you know about the moon!"

See Ya in 2011!

Someone was just telling me the oldest line in the book tonight, which is how "Time flies." I say it sure does, things are always coming around, like the next morning.

(I need to make an indepth study of why it seems like time goes faster when you're asleep.)

But I really didn't think I had a blog sitting here quite this neglected, the last posts in 2005. That goes way back. Somehow this one got forgotten!

So...in case that happens again, I'll make a point of doing something else here in 2011.

Oh My Gosh

The last post at this blog was 2005. I actually had a pretty nice background, a cool, lightly fading color scheme with Kafka in there and some German dada nightclub sign, and a picture of some other artsy looking guy, I can't remember who. But blogger had an upgrade since 2005 and when I did the upgrade all my old stuff disappeared. And now I wouldn't know how to get it back. Not that it was all that great, but it had more character than this.

But so little time for messing around with such things! I've already messed around quite a bit today, with this or that. I have a few other blogs, and am trying to loosen up a bit and post a few things. I was picturing today what it'd be like to sit here all day and do this. Of course you'd run out of experiences to talk about. And life requires more than commenting on yourself commenting on things! Like reading, going to parades, going out to eat, joining clubs, visiting relatives, trying to make friends, volunteering for offices, being a secret crimefighter when everyone else is asleep, etc.

One big trouble with being a secret crimefighter these days would be that there are video cameras everywhere. So there you are, swinging from a wire in an alley, skulking around in the dark, just you and your utility best. But because of all the video cameras, they see you there, and it's suddenly no longer a secret. "We've got a male subject, stretch underwear, mask, cape, and a bat ears. What shall we do with him?"