We seldom take a moment to realize what we have at our fingertips.  We have with a flip of switch, light.  We have air kept at our desired temperature, humidity, and even filtered.  We have instant entertainment.  We have refrigeration and instant cooking.  Electricity is tamed and brought to our door (well more like to a side panel) by a massive infrastructure, that is largely taken for granted by us.  Our lives, our world is shaped by an inexpensive luxurious and valuable infrastructure.  This computer I’m typing these words into would not exist without the electric grid, nor would the ubiquitous internet, or for that matter television.   Electric infrastructure converts massive amounts of energy into an alternating current that is safely and effectively delivered to your home, and then to all the wondrous devices that make your day what it is today.  Furthermore, without this electric infrastructure, we would not have the industries that are dependent on electricity to deliver the muscle that powers them.  And for this industry and electricity we owe our living.  We make a wage that is dependent on this infrastructure, and we give a very small portion back to pay for our use of this electric energy.   A couple hundred a month buys an incredible life convenience.

Maybe we should make sure our politicians respect and take care of our electrical infrastructure… for without it our lives could be very difficult and very constrained.

 

This Poem Writes Itself

 

Shuttered and rest easy

No light, no dark, no thought

Feel the light and hear breezy

 

Where are we on this morn

Nowhere, not here nor there

Hear a fair and waking horn

 

In my subconscious streams

In my mindless thoughts

Chasing clouds and dreams

 

In distant words and pages

Stories, poems and books

Literary ideas from the ages

 

Birthing ideas slow and unsure

Toddler learning to walk

No ideas yet fully mature

 

Philosophy and theology

Twisted vines of same genius

Limited by this poor biology

 

A poor poet brings nothing home

The work writes itself

If it is to be alive and be a poem

 

A service of love in time

To let the words out on page, and

Bring it together in fortunate rhyme

 

 

 

 

 

Congratulations Mr. Bob Dylan – Nobel Prize Winner!!

Much is being made of a song writer winning the Nobel Prize for literature… well in my opinion Mr. Bob Dylan is a poet without compare.  Poems in ancient times were meant to be song or performed, and if Mr. Dylan has this ability to perform his poetry, in my opinion it is no less wonderful poetry.  Poetry should make us think, and feel. We should see depth and define our own meaning to poems.  One of my favorite Dylan poems follows:

My Back Pages

Bob Dylan

 

Crimson flames tied through my ears

Rollin’ high and mighty traps

Pounced with fire on flaming roads

Using ideas as my maps

“We’ll meet on edges, soon,” said I

Proud ’neath heated brow

Ah, but I was so much older then

I’m younger than that now

 

Half-wracked prejudice leaped forth

“Rip down all hate,” I screamed

Lies that life is black and white

Spoke from my skull. I dreamed

Romantic facts of musketeers

Foundationed deep, somehow

Ah, but I was so much older then

I’m younger than that now

 

Girls’ faces formed the forward path

From phony jealousy

To memorizing politics

Of ancient history

Flung down by corpse evangelists

Unthought of, though, somehow

Ah, but I was so much older then

I’m younger than that now

 

 A self-ordained professor’s tongue

Too serious to fool

Spouted out that liberty

Is just equality in school

“Equality,” I spoke the word

As if a wedding vow

Ah, but I was so much older then

I’m younger than that now

 

In a soldier’s stance, I aimed my hand

At the mongrel dogs who teach

Fearing not that I’d become my enemy

In the instant that I preach

My pathway led by confusion boats

Mutiny from stern to bow

Ah, but I was so much older then

I’m younger than that now

 

Yes, my guard stood hard when abstract threats

Too noble to neglect

Deceived me into thinking

I had something to protect

Good and bad, I define these terms

Quite clear, no doubt, somehow

Ah, but I was so much older then

I’m younger than that now

It Must Be Here

 

It must be here, somewhere

I just cannot see it, I swear

 

Open my mind, it must be here

Close now, search, it is near

 

More effort, more thought

The desire, driven, sought

 

Remember like in a dream

Toss and turn in sub-conscience stream

 

Cannot feel calm nor rested

Cannot quit, cannot be bested

 

There a glimpse, just beyond

Encouraging, urging me on

 

Its there in all its perfection

Then turn and lost connection

 

The glimpse, the taste, entice

Maze-like the world to the mice

 

It must be somewhere, someday

And I’ll be there somehow, someway

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

My Friends the Trees

 

Hello trees big and tall

Hello trees leaves and all

 

I know what you would like

To take a walk, to make a hike

 

But I ask you here to stay

On this bright and sunny day

 

I love to nap in shade of trees

If you’ll just stay here pretty please

 

I will happily build a pen

Just to keep my trees in

 

Then I know I’ll see all of them

My friends the trees, when I awaken

 

Dance and shake with wind

Just don’t wander away again

 

Thank you Trees!

 

 

We love image of self, strong and perfect… Yet we really know love when weak and flawed

I was thinking yesterday as I had a salad for dinner, on account I’m on diet… well sort of, sometimes, maybe :-), that …

Salads don’t fill me, they just wear me out!

Isn’t fat, natures way of saving energy for later… count me as a saver!

I was told celery requires more energy to eat then you can get from eating it… where is evolution’s play here?

I’m watching football commercial – people grunting and working out hard so they can have a (flavorless) light beer – they call that putting on a happy face?  I say forget the grunting and have a great IPA, you’ll smile much brighter!

I find it interesting these people that live to 110 and everyone asks them what is their secret… of course answers vary all over, but no one ever says the truth, which is “great genes”

… live long and prosper, and remember to enjoy!

Evaluate

Understand

Target

Transform

Implement

Be…  What You Need to Be!

We are featured with a presidential campaign by two parties this year that appear to be about relative character and temperament, and virtually policy and plan free.  I have the impression of an expensive high school class president competition.  Who do you like the best, based on looks and personality instead of issues, or more accurately who do you like the least worse.   Much has already been written about this, so I won’t dwell further on what I think about the candidate.  If you’ve read my material, you know where I am on this.  What I find important to consider in the next layer of the onion analysis, is why does the american voting public and our vaulted free press seem to be enamored with the discussion of temperament, lies/half-truths, influence, ethics, etc…  All items that would certainly factor into decision making, however…  Issues that get discussed are items like immigration, because of extraordinary claims of wall building and deportations that are not cost effective or productive, and yet from the Hillary we don’t get a plan or policy in response we get a defamation of Trump for outrageous claims and approach… and the press reports and gets rich.  We have a commander-in-chief back-to-back with Matt Lauer and we get no thoughts on strategy, no insight to decision making.  We get a denigration of existing policy and the “generals turned to rubble”, and we get the “no ground troops” statement and a lot about why they have the temperament and insight and the other does not.  The whole event was enough to make one want to puke, both candidates offered nothing of substance and a whole lot of high school class president positioning.  

Why not a serious journalist that understands international events and help hold the candidates to a serious discussion of the issues and strategic response?  No offense to Matt Lauer, he does great work on those human interest stories.    But that is telling too.  Are we as a voting public viewed by these politicians (Trump is one too, gotta be after how many position back flips he’s done) as uninterested in real policy and plans.  Does the press believe that its entertainment ratings are more important than the issues?  I’ve often heard, follow the money.  Well in this case the money is about entertainment.  This election season is a boon for the networks and a bust for the american people.   I hope for sake of our country that the upcoming face to face debates are more substantial.