Light April showers - déjà vu all over again - the lightening,
the contrasting paces of both the vehicles and the pedestrians, the swish-wish
of the wipers - the swiss-swass of tires on the wet asphalt. But it is only
when it drizzles - a Seattle drizzle. This does not occur during a hard driving
rain nor in ominous thunderstorms. It does not happen when ozone rents the air nor
while tornadic winds blow down trees. It has to be subtle. Drama destroys
the ambiance. Something subtle and quite that tries to lull you asleep. So it
has been all day. Today was almost an
umbrella day buy not quite
Only two Oxbridge graduates were killed in all of the French
and Napoleonic wars from 1793 to 1815
History is an endlessly interesting argument where evidence
is everything and storytelling is everything else – Jill Lapore – The Whites of
Their Eyes, 2010 p47
A convict stands a better chance of being granted parole if
his case comes up right after the judge has had breakfast (70%) than if it
comes up right before lunch (25%)
Our institutions were built on a
former reality and don’t do well in the modern context – Wes Jackson – Becoming
Native to This Place, 1994 p16
Main Street Merchant meetings
Talk about
the Fourth
The parade
Not
about the flood
This time
The water is suppose to continue
Rising
If someone from the media
Has an
inquiry
Refer them
to me
She seems to be their spokeswoman
Very
officious and gadding about
The other one is busy coordinating
Things
She has the latest news bulletin
From the
Corps. She has a
Cellphone
to her ear
Am I late for the meeting; Am I Late?
Has it
already begun?
The are five people in the middle
Of the
street conferring
Small town politics can happen
Anywhere.
Business on
A hot July day while wearing
A tee-shirt
and shorts
You don't have to go very far
You don't have to go very far
The global village that television
was supposed to bring is less a village than a playground – Wes Jackson –
Becoming Native to This Place, 1994 p88
NPR received all of $2.7 million of Federal money in 2010.
Jerry Falwell’s Liberty University received $446 million during the same period
Laughter on American television has taken the place of the
chorus in Greek tragedy. It is unrelenting – Jean Baudrillard – America,
1988 p49
British women consider themselves old at 30 years of age,
while British men do not think they are old until they are at least 58
Here were two grown men discussing
“beauty” seriously and with dignity as if they and the topic were as normal as
normal topics of discussion between men such as soybean prices – B H Fairchild
– The Art of the Lath, 1998 p11
The incidence of Americans disabled by mental disorders - significant enough to qualify for SSI or SSDI -
increased five fold during the last 20 years. The increased incidence rate for
children was over five times greater. Mental illness in now the leading
disability for children in the U.S. An NIMH survey reported that 46% of the
respondents met established criteria for having a mental illness.
It will be an awful thing if we quit
being human before we become extinct – Wendell Berry
Money creates a network of self-interest. There is no need
to resort to a conspiracy theory.
When you go to confession and
entrust your sins to the safekeeping of the priest, do you ever come back for
them? An yet the atmosphere in a bank is that of the confessional – Jean
Baudrillard – America, 1988 p81
A conspiracy
So huge as
to transcend
All of
humanity
Every life form conspires
Every creature conceives
The biomass teems
Spiritual omnivores on
The edge of
extinction
We are different but not
That
different
It seems to be a characteristic of
life that no matter what level of organization, the juvenile stage is
characterized by an excess of potential energy and an inefficiency in the use
of energy… But we have seldom considered a corollary – that an excess of
potential energy can generate a juvenile condition – Wes Jackson – Becoming
Native to This Place, 1994 p87
No comments:
Post a Comment