OT ~ Welcome to Saturday!
Sit-a-while
on swinging porch
where tin-dippers and
sweet water
in cool touches
meet lips
from hand dug wells.
Good morning, good people,
Love Song
Your beauty, which I lost sight of once
for a long time, is long,
not symmetrical, and wears
the earth colors that make me see it.
A long beauty, what is that?
A song
that can be sung over and over,
long notes or long bones.
Love is a landscape the long mountains
define but don’t
shut off from the
unseeable distance.
In fall, in fall,
your trees stretch
their long arms in sleeves
of earth-red and
sky-yellow, a little
lop-sided. I take
long walks among them. The grapes
that need frost to ripen them
are amber and grow deep in the
hedge, half-concealed,
the way your beauty grows in long tendrils
half in darkness.
~ Denise Levertov, 1962
"There are now people who refer to themselves as “longevity entrepreneurs,” who see death not as a problem but rather as something to be eliminated. Instead of pursuing a good death, why die at all? Beneath the surface of this quest for eternal life seems to be an unwillingness on the part of its proponents to imagine the world without themselves in it."
"In a very fundamental way, this tendency is inhuman."
“You can think of death bitterly or with resignation, as a tragic interruption of your life, and take every possible measure to postpone it. Or, more realistically, you can think of life as an interruption of an eternity of personal nonexistence, and seize it as a brief opportunity to observe and interact with the living, ever-surprising world around us.” ~ Barbara Ehrenreich, Natural Causes: An Epidemic of Wellness, the Certainty of Dying, and Killing Ourselves to Live Longer,”
"this notion that our experience of life, though unique to us, is just part of a broader continuum. Our time here is but a blip, and when we leave, the great world continues to spin. As such, the appreciation of our own lives has much to do with the ever-increasing awareness of its relative brevity. It is this — an awareness and acceptance of our own mortality — that makes us human. And it is the impetus, I’d argue, for living our lives to the fullest. ~ Allison Arieff: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/18/opinion/life-is-short-thats-the-point...
Today's art ~ Vilhelm Hammershøi, Støvkornenes dans i solstrålerne (Dust motes dancing in sunbeams), 1900.
Hoping everyone has a safe, loving and fun holiday.
“Let us once lose our oaths to find ourselves,
Or else we lose ourselves to keep our oaths”
― William Shakespeare, Love's Labour's Lost
Comments
Morning Smiley7 and everyone
I dunno. My philosophy is different I guess. Every person is unique and every life as well.
It is incumbent upon us then to preserve and respect every life equally. From this perspective it is a good thing to want to extend life as it is the one thing we have and share.
I'm feeling 'Jazzy' this morning. So here's Grover ( Philly's own ) with a little 'light'...
Have a great day all!
I want a Pony!
Good morning, Arrow. I don't think that there is necessarily
a contradiction. To preserve and respect each/every life is certainly a good thing, yet there seems to come a time for many when consciousness degrades and many, having seen, done, and lived much find surcease welcome. I'm not sure that I would wish to be a functioning brain in a jar, and am confident that I probably would not at all like to be a malfunctioning brain in a jar, of, for that matter, in some semblance of a human body, especially if all of my energy and attention was single-mindedly devoted to self-perpetuation.
That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --
Virtual holiday treat for you, Arrow, please enjoy a
Cerveza and Ceviche on me while the waves tickle your feet.
When thinking on today's OT this week, Larbor Day and what that truly means was an obvious theme, but i didn't want to compete or bore myself and you folks with the same old platitudes. Upon more reflection, thoughts of Steinbeck moved front in the brain drawing me to generations of laborers toiling away for centuries, the magnanimity of the scope, each creature and plant chiming in as well laboring to survive--thoughts overwhelming my comprehension.
Reviewing my notes and bookmarks, i heard Tennessee's "Click." Barbara Ehrenreich, she knows a thing or two about labor and having saved the article Ode to Gray for use at some time it came to me to put the two articles together, giving them a platform to ask more questions.
Love the jazz
Always a pleasure to talk with you, be well.
Good morning, smiley ~~
Life has its ups and downs.
An up portends the possible,
how wonderful life can be.
The downs bring reminders,
of the other side we see.
Mother lamented,
this life is hard.
Taken aback,
it made no sense,
but being young
I brushed it off,
looking forward,
going straight.
Now time wanders on,
I realize,
her words begin
to resonate.
When my time arrives,
I’ll be ready
to tackle what lies ahead.
My expiration date is
akin to a new beginning,
and not something to dread.
Not interested in living forever.
We’re getting a lovely shower right now. I’m having an up.
Have a beautiful Saturday and weekend, however long it might be, everyone.
"The “jumpers” reminded us that one day we will all face only one choice and that is how we will die, not how we will live." Chris Hedges on 9/11
Well said:
Heh, endless ennui.
That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --
Sigh, indeed.
Not for me.
"The “jumpers” reminded us that one day we will all face only one choice and that is how we will die, not how we will live." Chris Hedges on 9/11
Showers, yeah, mean flowers; good morning RA.
Yesterday, in Mom's shaded room--her roommate, Bertha, was sleeping, and during our conversation, mom, soon to be 91, said from her wheelchair equipped with an alarm safety belt if she attempts to sand up without assistance, she shared her concerns reaching hard to complete sentences and thoughts; "need to get a new car so i can go see Mother."
Understand Grandmother walked on more than 30 years ago.
So much of the conversation in today's thread is appropos; decision to be made when the inevitable episode of next serious fall comes, the decision sits on my shoulders, wearily at times. When to say, no more emergency room visits, let Mom be as her living will directs us; but its so complicated; she's so fragile and childlike, ironically smiling more, the happiest she's ever been in a strange way ... i think its the constant love showered upon her by the aides and nurses at the facility, they all call Mom Mrs B. and i am deeply grateful for their being and dedication.
Mom was the hardest working person in the community, rising though the ranks in the local textile mill over 44 years of labor where she began as a teenager with an eighth grade education; becoming a department head, the highest paid woman in the Milliken corporation when she retired overseeing the quality of the cloth they manufactured.
Raised in the dominant Puritan dogma, to Mom and most everyone from like communities believed that life is supposed to be hard and work was the ruling part of salvation. unfortunately for those depression babies, The Edward Bernays' had a trap waiting for the spoils of their labor: turquoise kitchens and gadgets galore and shinning news cars can't forget the automobile and the magic credit making the purchase possible and in the end, material doesn't matter a damn.
Watching this as i grew, matriculated, scarred me in deep places, i'm still outraged at the con-game that took my mother and father's time away from family and the simple pleasures of life. A story played out in millions of homes to this day in a politic supporting the best carnie in a century.
Thank you for sharing your beautiful story.
Remembrances. So touching.
I was adopted by 45-year old parents. Born in 1908 (mom) and 1910 (dad), they were products of the depression and, I believe, taught me good values. I detest debt to this day.
My mother was bed-ridden for 2.85 years. After she passed, my dad told me, “I never want to live like your mom.” Ok. So, nine months later, he had a severe stroke. He had a living will in place. He was lucid most of the time, although his speech was mostly garbled. I fought the hospital staff to stop all extraordinary measures, for five days, as dad instructed. Finally, his doctor asked him what he wanted (after he kept removing the feeding tube). She began to cry and said to us, “he doesn’t want anything, but we take an oath to save lives.” I assured her we were fine with his decision and off to hospice he went, where he passed three days later.
There were times I felt like I was killing my father, simply by carrying out his wishes. It isn’t easy. It’s complicated. But it’s their life and if they can communicate their wishes to you, stay strong.
Peace, my friend.
"The “jumpers” reminded us that one day we will all face only one choice and that is how we will die, not how we will live." Chris Hedges on 9/11
ah, lovely, needed and appreciated reply, RA.
peace be with you, too, my friend.
These young people should bring a smile: Pop-Up Birmingham Sax Ensemble
No other musical piece
moves me like the Pachelbel Canon. Thank you soooo much. What a beautiful rendition.
"The “jumpers” reminded us that one day we will all face only one choice and that is how we will die, not how we will live." Chris Hedges on 9/11
Good morning smiley7. Satie before breakfast is something
to be experienced and of such things is living comprised. I have a surface knowledge of those who would prolong life indefinitely and find, as do you, the quest to be on the superficial side. To the extent that the quest and the behavior that it generates is all consuming, dominating one's existence, then one is not living, not really here, but elsewhere, and, except as an experiment, I cannot imagine doing it.
OTOH, I have no real issue with staying healthy if it is not at the expense of happiness and participation in life for so long as it is worth it. As I age I find myself more risk averse, more concerned with living according to some of the whims of preventive medicine, which, though limiting are also at times challenging and hence an adventure or part of the grand adventure. I am simply having less adventurous adventures, I guess.
I have "recently" added one pill to my daily regimen, lowered my blood pressure (almost always high throughout my life) and my resting pulse. I have dropped 40 pounds and am aiming to lose a bit more (not that extreme, I am at least 6'3", having been 6'4.5" in my prime). I am more active and enjoy it more and yet intentionally a bit more laid back - part of the process and part of the result, a nice feedback loop. But, I haven't been seeking to unduly prolong my life as much as to prevent its premature termination by heart attack or stroke, and therein lies, I think, a profound difference.
The adventure continues ...
Have a fabulous weekend.
That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --
Morning, el, in searching for meaning of the myths, i've most
agreed with and for lacking no competing argument that's changed my mind since i was around 35 years-old, reincarnation suits me, my intellect and my emotions.
Are we not like all creatures evolving, becoming better or striving to become so and isn't this natural?
The promise to reincarnate at the same place you achieved an go up in a new form intrigues; may it be so.
This discussion of prolonging life is new to me, having read little about the pioneer's work; however, this is close to me as well with the many diseases pounding away at the quality of my life, daily, causes befuddlement as one day i think, to hell with it all, "I'm going out with a roar." other days, i think i should hang in there with the white coats.
Just told a friend over beers last evening as we stood looking at the clouds over grandfather mountain, that, "that's all i want as i progress, all i want is the pleasure to see those mountain vistas, line in the nature, the moment of it all."
I believe, i fall into the category (if there is a such a thing as category) of quality of life over longevity for longevity's sake although Pluto makes a good point below, what if we can capture the wisdom each human has attained; but possibly we have already passed the wisdom along ...?
Congrats on the weight loss, i did it last year around thirty pounds, dropping from about 230 to 198 on a good day. Ironically, i've the normal blood pressure of an athlete. It's the pulmonary hypertension, the high pressure between my heart and lungs, pounding away at my lifestyle; ability to walk uphill normally is way gone. But hey, we're still here and the sun rises bringing light and colors if we choose to see.
Satie before breakfast; hey they should play it on the outside speakers at drive through breakfast joints. Morning sir, have a little Erik with your cholesterol and salt.
As always, my pleasure to converse with your good spirit. Eat well and have a blast this weekend.
Good day, Smiley.
I've been studying many of pictures of windows, lately, in a quest to fashion a window for a 1:12 scale I am building. Your first gray-scale is the perfect platonic form that all windows strive to achieve, I think.
On another note, I've closely followed the efforts of this latest batch of life extenders from Silicon Valley. I consider their work to be the god's unfinished work (although it may come from lesser beings who are blessedly well funded), for a decaying human body is a terrible waste of a consciousness that has barely begun its evolution.
We must get past this hurdle before we completely foul this incubator and wink out of existence.
____________________
The political system is what it is because the People are who they are. — Plato
Dust motes dancing in sunbeams is a marvelous window, Pluto,
smiling to know you think "it is the perfect platonic form that all windows strive to achieve,"
Love it when the little shared things become magic, poetry unintended, springs into action.
For instance: Almost, if not by spiritual guidance, yesterday afternoon after visiting Mom in special care facility in the Village of Sugar mtn., i thought to turn right and drive up the mtn to my friend's condo to see if she was in town knowing she had been away for weeks this summer, visiting her extended family in Costa Rica and Florida and as fate often has it, she was unloading her car, just the moment of her return from summer travels.
Coincidence, hardly, it's the spiritual connection i believe we all have or is at least available to us; happens often in my life, you start to call a friend you haven't talked with in a while and the phone rings and it's them; fun stuff to me.
Anyways, back to windows, and their importance to civilization; forgive me i can't recall the genius from my youth who educated us on the significance of man's first window, in a cave somewhere most likely, allowing people to live in a womb and look out into nature or the village becoming a part of a larger system allowing the first civilizations to flourish and bringing the first sense of community. Much more important than the invention of the Long Bow in the history of ideas.
I do recall Frank Lloyd Wright's focus on windows, how he would design homes with windows up high around the midpoint of the surrounding tress allowing the occupants to look out into and be a part of the forest. Very cool feeling in those homes, when i visited his works long ago.
Agreed, see my comment to el. I've little to no knowledge about this pioneering work, but i'm interested, would enjoy learning more.
Been my pleasure to follow your exquisite mind for years, keep-on-keeping-on and share more about you project if you wish. I would enjoy that.
May peace travel with you, old friend.
Cheers!
Keen observations this morning, folks; i'm late rising cause i
indulged myself last evening, cooking special $1.99 ground chuck at 3:30am EST topped with thick slice of tomato, thin slice onion and home made chilli.
Need lots of water, some coffee and a little walk to clear the grey matter before i respond to your good comments, looking forward; be back momentarily.
Cheers.
edit, fixed reply placement; music instead:
Curious, just noticed size of two images have been downsized ...
did someone make the size edit or did the system? If so, can i be educated to edit images from the web, too.
Is this a phone need as it changes today's presentation a little?
No biggie, just a surprise.
Afternoon smiley...
I decreased the default size of inline images in an effort to speed up the page loading time.
Cool, can i learn to size images from the web?
Sure...
I'll use the image code from the Open Thread banner to illustrate (you'll find this code on the first line of your OT from today).
You can adjust the image size by editing the width and height attributes (insert mouse cursor, backspace, and then add new size) . The ideal width is 500 pixels. Usually if you just change the width attribute the height will automatically adjust itself. If the width and height attributes aren't already inserted in the code then you can simply add them yourself as illustrated in the example above.
You can experiment with this in the text editor by making the changes and then by clicking the "Preview" button and you'll be able to see the changes. When you're done experimenting you can click the "Cancel" button or just leave the page.
-------------------------------
You can also change the attributes by uploading an image with the "Insert/edit image" icon above the editor, it's the first one on the left. When you click the icon you'll see a "Width x Height" box where you can insert the size attributes.
Any more questions just ask.
Thank you. I'll practice, and hey, hoping you and family
have a loving weekend and maybe even the time to wet a line.
Markets pushed beef and pork on sale this week, and although i've cut my consumption of red meat way down these past few years; i did take advantage of the good prices and portioned everything and put into my freezer.
Folks would probably laugh at me if they open the freezer, as something will invariably fall out, it's so stuffed. Hording food comes from my days in the theatre taking advise from the old pros "Don't spend money when you are working and when you do get paid, purchase a lot of food first, before anything else.
Late apple trees are bearing fruit now, so the frig is stuffed with apples; already made quarts of apple butter, and juice. Going to be a very tough week beginning Monday night, have to travel down the mtn. to clinic for tests and medicine and protect grannie's wishes, best i can from and unruly set of extended family i've not seen or interfaced with for around fifty years. Such is life, full of challenges.
Cheers Brother.
Here in corn, beans and cattle country...
Trump's tariffs are putting a hurt on the farmers and ranchers. It's said that inflation is under control but those that say that must not go to the grocery store. The best way to stave off the inflation is by stocking up now because the food wont be any cheaper tomorrow or the day after.
Tomorrow I will be canning. I'll put up quart number 157 of V-10 tomato juice. I've already put up over 100 pints of green beans and half a freezer of sweetcorn (sweetcorn freezes very well and tastes as fresh as ever when it's thawed out for eating). Got a bit of red rasberries frozen also from earlier in the season. After the juice is done then I'll be canning some carrots and then I'll be done for the season.
If we get to meet up this fall I'll bring some V-10 with me.
Hope the tests see you a clear bill of health.
Buenas tardes mi amigo.
You are my parents
Your canning and freezing efforts are nearly exactly like my parents. They didn't do V8 however, but my mom canned a veggie stew with the same ingredients.
I bow down before you. Ohmmmmm....
Marilyn
"Make dirt, not war." eyo
Good afternoon all...
Great thread. More food for thought. Not sure where I land as I am so not sure what consciousness even is. Have a safe and peaceful holiday.
a little humor to lift up spirits...
[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S6EOXT6_inw]
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Obviously, you know my mother's extended family, magi; :)
Love this, thank you for bringing it.
Can't top it, but hope you enjoy three tenors having fun.
Oh, happy day to you, Magi.
Smiley I just love your music selections...
The three tenors ... I remember that specific performance quite well.
Reading about JtC's canning capabilities, I bow in respect. I decided it is time to go vegetarian as of tomorrow. But I do want to eat fish. Do I then still count as vegetarian?
And I wonder how I will raise my own fish.
Did you know that Ireland produces the most plastic trash of all EU countries? GErmany isn't much better either.
These European countries produce the most plastic waste per person.
And then they come up with imo ridiculous plans to recycle more in the future.
Indeed, why not make no use at all of plastics and stop producing it as food containers. That would be radical.
mother earth news - how to raise fish to eat
I remember seeing something in Mother Earth back in the 70s on raising fish. Here are snippets from a recent article.
How to Raise Fish for Food at Home
feeding fish
water purification
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mimi, here's another better articlle
on raising fish. Seems labor intensive at first but it looks like once it gets going it might be less work. http://www.ecofilms.com.au/converting-a-swimming-pool-to-grow-fish/
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Hi mimi, in my book you count as a vegeterian who eats fish :)
Can't afford fish in markets usually and i don't purchase the fish that has been shipped to China frozen, then unfrozen for processing; packed in plastic, re-frozen and shipped back to the USA to supermarkets. From past reading that's around 80 percent of the market.
Luckily, i catch my own and freeze it for later or catch and eat same day; doing less and less fishing though because of health.
Pleasure is mine when folks enjoy the music; a little more for you, my friend.
Why do they do that to fish?
It doesn't make any sense to do that. Besides doesn't it raise the cost of them? Then there's all of the wasted fuel shipping it back and forth. Silly humans.
Which AIPAC/MIC/pharma/bank bought politician are you going to vote for? Don’t be surprised when nothing changes.
Hi snoopy, Terry Gross interview ...
'The Great Fish Swap': How America Is Downgrading Its Seafood Supply
July 17, 20153:13 PM ET
Heard on Fresh Air https://www.npr.org/2015/07/17/423490558/the-great-fish-swap-how-america...
GREENBERG: Well, wild salmon is very prized. Part of it has to do with the history of Alaska and its proximity to Asia. Long before Americans were really, as I say, hip to seafood, Asians were. And very early trade routes developed, particularly between Japan and Alaska. But as people started opening their doors to Alaska and Asia, it wasn't just the Japanese. Now it's the Chinese. Now it's the Koreans. And so there was this sort of natural conduit. But a weird thing is that a certain amount of Alaska salmon gets caught by Americans in Alaska, sent to China, defrosted, filleted, boned, refrozen and sent back to us. How's that for food miles?
GROSS: Confusing. Why is that happening?
GREENBERG: Mostly because we don't want to pay the labor involved in boning fish. And I think that - actually - well, then another thing is that more and more of that fish that used to go make that round-trip is actually staying in China because the Chinese are realizing how good it is, much to our detriment I would say.
GROSS: So when Alaskan salmon is sent to China to be de-boned and then it's sent back here, it's frozen twice ‘cause it's frozen on the way to China.
GREENBERG: Correct.
GROSS: Then it's frozen on the way back to the states from China.
GREENBERG: Yep.
GROSS: I thought - I've been told that you do not refreeze meat, chicken or fish.
GREENBERG: I wouldn't. I think that probably, most of the time, this is done under sanitary conditions and so it's permissible. I think that it’s really home chefs that are discouraged from that. But still when you double-freeze something - you know, every time you freeze a piece of fish, you more or less rupture the cell membranes if you don't freeze it quickly enough. And then when you refreeze it and freeze it again, any cell membranes that weren't, you know, ruptured the first time around have a chance of being ruptured again. So that double-frozen salmon you get can have a kind of flaccid, unpleasant texture to it, which is why sometimes there's an inconsistent nature to Alaska salmon.
GROSS: Isn't it expensive to ship the salmon back and forth like that, even though the labor is cheaper?
GREENBERG: The labor is so much cheaper that it makes the shipping cost effective. And actually, when you ship things via freighter frozen, the cost per mile is relatively low compared to, say, air freighting or train travel or, you know, truck freighting.
GROSS: So if we buy what we think is wild Alaskan salmon, do we know if it's been frozen, shipped to China, de-boned then refrozen and sent back to the States?
Insane isn't it, Snoopy?
yep, totally nuts, I would work on eating just the plants
and fish I could grow myself. My son is working on it. Without having the land. He sneaks it out from the edges of lots that nobody cares about. I think he and his girlfriend are 60 percent self-sufficient with what little they grow. Even though the hurricane lane had swept away most of his seedlings and all seemed to be lost, it grows again more than ever a couple of days later. Mother nature - magic.
makes me cry, I recognize the location and
remember the time when I was there. Not for that concert, but nevertheless...
Heh, magiamamma, smiley and snoopy, I fell asleep ...
I am so sorry to not have answered ... always the same thingy ... living in the timezone I am in I just can't function anymore if it's after 10 pm for me.
Hi, I could really try to raise fish and grow my food and say good bye to the world, if I had a piece of land. I don't and the land I am at, I have no permission to do anything on it or with it. I am not going nuts without a reason. Never forget it is all about the land and who owns it.
It is already Sunday morning here and I know you are already somewhere else, so I won't say anything but thank you for your comments. I will study them. Gimme some land and I'll work on it. Thank you friends, you are a lovely bunch of people.
Good day to you, mimi,
Years ago, i recall seeing aquaculture on a person's back porch, fish and vegetables feeding eah other, cleaning the water and so on; but a search this morning didn't return that particle article.
It's possible and were i young, boy howdy, would i try and give it a go.
Hey, i fall asleep often these days and am sure i miss returning good comments at times because of time differences; anyways, hope this is a good day for you and everyone.