Friday, April 25, 2008

Trust and...

these are more entries to Post Secret

you can find a link to the site on the left but be forewarned the images and ideas expressed are not tame. None the less I think this site provides an interesting commentary on the shape of our world.

Tuesday, April 15, 2008

According to the 20 or so respondents to my very scientific poll. Chickens and fish won the vote for least wrong to eat. Tigers on the other hand won the vote as the least appealling meal choice. Crafty buggers! They run a shifty campaign! I even heard they were running for the demoncrat nomination for President - hey wait scratch that I was thinking 'cougar' - - SILLY ME!
Just Kidding!

Thursday, April 10, 2008

the sound of one's own voice

"These anthropologist0s are like monks of scholarship who, having made the discipline their divinity, accept celibacy and dedicate themselves to the cloistered life." -(characterization of anthropologists in popular fiction, as 'revealed' by Jeremy MacClancy in a short essay entitled THE LITERARY IMAGE OF ANTHROPOLOGISTS)

It struck me how it's not just anthropologist who can be recognized for having made, "the discipline their divinity."

Wednesday, April 2, 2008

Tribute to my wife and her ilk...

Dignity is rare. All too often we get duped by masquerading frauds like selfish ambition, individualism, and the proclivity toward the self-alienation of personal comfort. The curious thing about dignity is it is impossible to achieve in one's own efforts - we are all subject to the whim of others for its endowment in our lives. There are many things we can do to disenfranchise ourselves from receiving dignity - and unfortunately we all done enough to disqualify ourselves from it. So dignity becomes an act of grace.

There is little else that is as undignified as the prospective loss of my waste elimination system. I can't imagine a how a diaper could help me maintain a sense of personal poise. Age is feared as the harbinger of death but even more it is old age that is feared as that period of time when we will eventually lose the ability to corral the resources of our personality to cover up the ugliness we've closeted all our lives. And nastiest of all is the fact that we WON'T be dead - to avoid it all.

Some of what I enjoy most about our new life, is the stories that Char regales me with. Ever so careful not break any issues of confidentiality she tells me the sad, funny, frightening, surprising and frustrating stories of the lives of the 'clients' on her case load. She is devoted to doing her job to the best of her ability but she really is not interested in her own track record. I can tell as she talks about the man with schizophrenia who is dying of cancer that she really is an agent of dignity. It could be that case after case might eventually wear her into that jaded dark suspicion that runs rampant in the 'caring' professions. People always ask me how my wife is doing. I usually tell them that she loves her job. But I realized something today she does not love her job so much as she loves the people she gets a chance to care for - and I know she is real good at bringing them dignity.

photo credit: paul shoulA lot of this sorta came together for me tonight when I was doing some investigating about a new documentary I heard about on the radio today. Here's a video and some links to a few other things related to the Young@Heart octogenarian chorus. Enjoy!

Stayin Alive

I wanna be sedated

Tuesday, April 1, 2008

cute

here's the link to MarkO's post to view the vid

anxious heroes

A Brief History Of Anxiety (yours And Mine): Yours And MineThis afternoon I listened to Q as I do most afternoons on my way home from school. I listened to the host interview Patricia Pearson about her new book: A Brief History of Anxiety (Yours And Mine). (See this NY Times review) Now I mean no disrespect to those who suffer from anxiety but I could not help drawing the connection between the rise of anxiety in our society and the prevailing winds of fear that are a steady gale.

This was my comment on the story

Dear Q:

Anxious? Maybe that's a good thing! Maybe in a day when fear mongering is the vehicle for everything from insurance to politics to infotainment, anxiety should not just be expected but revered. Maybe in a day where we indulge ourselves in fear like fine wine - craving it like fore-play - an anxious response is completely appropriate. Is it time to stop calling anxiety a disease or dysfunction and start aspiring to it a one of the finer virtues of our 'enlightened reality'?

Just wondering...

No really, I'm wondering - I'd like to know - I mean soon - okay now. PLEASE!

Q | CBC Radio