"I met an elephant friend of mine...."

 

a bit of snow on the ground yesterday morning...it was all melted in a few hours

it was colder this morning at around 17 degrees...all you can do is "handle your business"...when i crawl out of "beggers tomb" I make hot beverage and turn on the truck crank up the heater cook and eat some breakfast...then packed up the truck in about 4 hours and head into town...11 days in the forest...saw pronghorn, chipmunks, kaibab squirrels, robins, juncos and a bluebird kept me company for a few days,,,the raven friend visited several times a day to see if i had a spare mouse or chipmunk...what with the cold temperatures virtually no flies or mosquitoes...cold is survivable...heat is not...

seems there was another lame-brain with delusions of being an assassin...knives!?...this guy needs to be stood up in front of a firing squad within a month or so...i saw where on this date of april 28 Mussolini the Italian fascist leader was shot dead along with his girlfriend...i wish more people knew the definition of what a fascist is since the term gets used a hell of a lot incorrectly. 

going to write more later as i am fatigued after an early morning wake-up and a full day of laundry and groceries etc etc etc…

“I met an elephant friend of mine,                                                                                                                         I said to him, “You’re looking fine”                                                                                                                   He mentioned that he had lost some weigtht                                                                                                      And i asked him to breakfast at half past eight                                                                                                    That sounds good but now i must run                                                                                                                  And for breakfast I like a hot buttered bun                                                                                                          Of course I like two buckets of grain                                                                                                                   And a bale of hay, that should  be plain                                                                                                                 Half a barrel of water should be quite enough                                                                                                       I’m on a diet and it’s been pretty tough                                                                                                                  I’ll be there tomorrow and we’ll have some fun                                                                                                   But perhaps I’ll forgo that hot buttered bun….

i will call this poem “The elephants diet”….i came across a musician/poet online last week name jesse welles who writes a lot of songs in the style of Dylan/Prine etc etc and he wrote one called “Fat” to chastise the many chubby folks…his song called “Weed: has some pretty interesting lyrics not often heard …”give air a chance…."                                                                                                                            

"External things are not the problem..."

an image that is by chance...most of life is "a-causal" by chance I think
 

much said about the population of domestic bovines,,,perhaps too may people!

i think the nature of humans interactions with the world they live in is in the process of changing in somewhat the same way that it changed as spoken language developed and then written language developed...in the early morning there seems to be a lot of "electronic" information (i.e. the internet) which if not viewed with some degree of constraint will devolve into a morass of muck (bullshit) however if you view the right things in the right  order (like math...first addition, subtraction, multiplication, division then calculus etc, etc etc,) you are better able to understand the large amount of information... i am interested in the many predictions that folks are making about "the future of artificial intelligence" which seems to be the devil incarnate in some peoples view...although i was somewhat alarmed at a very cryptic dream i had which indicated that AI will indeed become all powerful...so what if this all powerful math based tool arranges things so the humans become extinct...sounds like a good plan to me...i predict ants or spiders or maybe those spiders that mimic ants will reign supreme...makes no difference to me...humans as they exist now will go extinct like every other living thing...goes with the territory...

a lot of the people in the federal legislature which is broadcast daily on C-SPAN bring up the term "PATRIOT"...in an interesting small pamphlet entitled "The Lexington-Concord Battle Road" published by the Concord Chamber of Commerce...it is a minute by minute account of what transpired in April  1775 in Massachusetts USA...this was before the USA was united and separate from England...the revolution of the USA began ...blood was shed, 73 British killed, 49 Americans (colonials) killed that day and the two forces would clash until it was resolved...there were American patriots and English patriots...innocents killed and brutal acts committed...yep that "revolution" stuff can get pretty messy...perhaps less revolution and more revelation would be helpful...

i came across some good youtube stuff such as Dr. Andrew Huberman's interview with Marc Breedlove "How Hormones Shape Sexual Development" (about 2 hours and 11 min) i recently heard a moron who was in government saying something about how god only made males and females..what a sadly uninformed view!..had this guy listened to this Marc Breedlove interview he might be better able to make intelligent decisions about the legal ramifications currently being adjudicated concerning so called "Trans" citizens...also "Hidden chamber found under Sedona" (AZ.) (11 min)" this is an interesting presentation by Luke Rockwalker who is a teenager on a bicycle with a pretty good camera...it is actually a sort of sinkhole and these guys had to climb down a tree to get into this crack in the earth..."Philosophize this #245" (30 min.) is a long awaited presentation entitled "The rival moral approach of the modern world-Alasdair Macintyre"...i am going to have to listen to this a few more times as it is pretty thick with information and ideas...i came across some music...actually it came across me as is often the case when the web world recommends various offerings..."The Rainbow Girls" have a bunch of good stuff and are accomplished musicians and vocalists not to mention sometimes politically strident...they do a good job on "Don't think twice" which has a bit of dancing by miss Cheyenne ...i also came across a song from long ago by Desmond Dekker who recorded "Israelite's" in 1969...very interesting fellow...and a very interesting video...there is a 3 hour video which i did not watch all of but it may be of some interest " 3 hour heavy rain walk in Shukugawara Japan" this will alter your psyche for sure...

"External things are not the problem. It's it is your assessment of them. Which you can erase right now." Marcus Aurelius "meditations"

"The heart thinks constantly."

 what remains of my wool gloves i found in a snowbank on the Siuslaw river at a boat launch near the mouth of Wittaker creek...some years ago in oregon

i picked up a great DVD collection for a buck at the pawn shop yesterday by the band the "Eagles" live from Melbourne, actually 3 DVD's...Joe Walsh sings a song he wrote called "One day at a time" about his getting sober...there are more vices in the world than most people know...

I'll start with some music recommendations...well hell there ain't no music recommendations in the notebook ...however there is an interesting presentation by Sierra Ferrel..."Let me show you my thingies"..she has a collection of stuff which she has gathered around herself to bring her comfort and solace...i also recall Florence Welsh inviting us into her home to have a look see and she had diaphanous gowns hanging all over the place...which is why she goes on stage with bright lights behind her revealing...well whatever...as i have brought up before some men seek "victims" more than lovers and i think a good example of this is the Vuecrypt presentation "This painting hides a sickening reality" (10 min)...this site has a lot of good art history...Fact Quickie has a good presentation called "The truth about Houdini's death"...who knew! ...also Gutsick Gibbon has some pretty academic presentations such as "New smallest human relative discovery. What does it mean?" (41 min) pretty detailed..."Japan zoo! Inside the worlds most interactive park feeding 2000 animals" maybe if you count the sparrows and the carp in the ponds..and the last image at the ringtailed lemur exhibit is a mongoose lemur i think certainly not a ringtail..."How gasoline is made, why it expires and what if it runs out."  (23 min) History of simple things...these folks make some great short videos about a lot of stuff...i worked in the petro/chemical industry quite a bit but never knew exactly how gasoline was made...now I know!...one of my favorite songs by elvis costello is "A good year for the roses"...i thought he wrote it but "The story behind "a good year for the roses" shows otherwise.from Tennessean(10 min)..."I rescued a wild roadrunner" from the Sweet hug (7 min) is pretty extraordinary video of a bird i thought was pretty dumb...i was wrong...if you haven't got a belly full of Epstein yet this is some interesting information...""Where did Epstein's money come from?" "If your'e listening" an Australian news presentation i think..this guy was a school teacher!...who knew!...

 "The heart thinks constantly. This cannot be changed. But the movements of the heart- that is, a persons thoughts- should restrict themselves to the immediate situation. All thinking that goes beyond this only makes the heart sore." from the I ching or book of changes

"Death: something like birth,..."

 soooorry!...this is the san francisco peaks as of this morning...the SNOW BOWL is open...

well, off this morning, knowing my room would be entered...same old, same old...i am trying to curb my thrift store habit...not to great success but sold my 5 dollar purchase at the "vintage" store for 10 bucks and donated a dozen DVDs to other thrift stores and picked up 5 free books on antique furniture and pottery etc and took them to the estate sale store where they need all the help they can get...then to the grocery to check out the scratched and dented reduced fare and got some muffins for 2 bucks and some peanuts for a buck sixty etc etc etc...the undercover personnel were leaving as i pulled into the parking lot which is standard for this town...did i mention i was on the "grassy knoll"...yeah that was me...made a mug of fresh brewed coffee at lunchtime...may make another...well enough chit chat let get down to the "nut cuttin'"...i probably shouldn't be eating a blueberry a pie while i write this but...a very interesting youtube presentation i recently watched is "Something non-human has been here a long time." (one hour and 30 min.) this is Jordan B. Peterson in and interview with Dr. Garry Nolan...both of these guys are respected scientists and the information is pretty amazing...i have only had two experiences in my life when i was unable to discern what it was i was seeing...both times i was in the desert and there were "lights floating in the air" above me...i have no idea what they were...along the same lines is from Wiley films "You eat other animals? Aliens question Humans (6 min)..."Night in space" is pretty funny as a science fiction comedy "12 min)..."little Chinese everywhere" (32 min) Yan and Flo tour Damascus, Syria which has been around for 11 thousand years...the food and crafts which they film sort of gives perspective to how long they have been around...why anyone might need a wooden inlaid chess set that has been in construction for 20 years i cannot imagine but they have such things...if you have the money...if you want older "Toumai" the new ancestor" (54 min.) Best documentary and two more." this is sort a "docu-drama" but has some great video of how a fossil skull when subjected to all the latest scientific tools can be re-created...even with flesh and hair!..

"Death is something like birth, a natural mystery, elements that split and recombine. Not an embarrassing thing. Not an offense to reason, or our nature. from "meditations of Marcus Aurelius  

"Nothing in the world is weaker..."

 yesterdays view of the "peaks"...ski slopes will be opened for a few more days

so now i can get a little "scribble therapy" done as i have rented a room in a motel...i notice on this mornings news that 2 elected officials have resigned their positions due to "sexual indiscretions"...perhaps more consideration should be paid to governing this country and less attention to the private lives of those elected...but then what would the 24/7 news machine use for fuel?...glad to know that i live in a country that has not been restricted in their quest for "NEWS!"...however...these news people do not tell you what to think but what to think about...therefor it is needed that people have a broad "frame of reference"...i still shudder at the notion of censorship of the internet insofar as to obtain a broad enough view of the world and an accurate understanding of what goes on  we need to rely on others to show us...from where i access the world it is apparent to me that such information that can be utilized in decision making can be had via the electronic media...i am partial to "YOUTUBE" as there is enough accurate information via the presentations to keep me intellectually stimulated..i have never seen twitter, or tic toc, or any other format but i have noticed that there are an increasing number of youtube presentations that are false and AI generated... alas this is always the case...since the government that i have paid my taxes to is currently contemplating "destroying the civilization" of Iran...(Persia has been around for quite a long time!) i would like to cast a vote to not destroy said civilization...one of the most engaging presentations i have seen recently is "Village life in Iran...making cheese and cheese bread" @ kand.matbaxi  (45min)...these lovely women are featured in several presentations...milking the cow, feeding the chickens starting the wood fire and making the bread...lovely sight and illustrates a people who seek independence not the overthrow of the world...also Huberman labs has a great interview called "The biology of aggression mating and arousal" with Dr. David Anderson (about 30 min),...also i was interested in the fate of "Itchy Boots" as she makes her way across Mongolia on her faithful steed "Frankie" the motorcycle...she almost got her ass in a jam when her bike became stuck in a mud hole...she managed to lay down the bike and collect some wood and get free from the quagmire and eventually get to her yurt hostel...she has overcome so many adverse situations i feel silly even mentioning this but a come-a-long might be a good addition to her "kit"...anyhow she is a true adventurer and i think has become quite addicted to the "adventure"...and i came across a good musical presentation at "Floyd Country Store" with Sarah Kate Morgan playing and singing "Single Girl"...this is not a view that favors marriage...(about  5 min.) great singing and playing... 

"Nothing in the world is weaker than water,/ But here is no better in overcoming the hard"...Lao-tzu

"I am defeated..."

surrounded by crooked timber....

if you have been paying attention...and why not, it cost little and may have great reward...there is good news and there is bad news...as always...the bad news is the same as it has been for thousands of years...humanity is being inhumane to the planet and its inhabitants...the good news is that humanity has managed to hurl 4 humans into space, further away from planet earth than any humans have yet to travel...sounds promising...however those of us who will remain committed to sustaining a comfortable life on planet EARTH realize that the surface of this planet will need some more nurturing as it has been abused for a long long time...to that end i would like to recommend some you tube presentations which promote planet earth..."growtreeorganics" has dedicated his time to making his property in the high desert of arizona more conducive to plant growth...also "A life on the sea/ the meateater podcast" is a good introduction for Heather Douville who is a Tlingit native alaskan who left that place where her ancestors lived to see some other places and came back to embrace the Tlingit culture...she has some excellent presentations, unblinking and unhesitant about what that entails...her cinematographer is Mary Margarett Smith Genett who does a great job...i was inspired by Bruce Mitchells presentation "Sous Vide Steak" about cooking a steak...thick and juicy...and bought a package with 2 and a half pounds of beef steaks...ate said meat over a five  day period and enjoyed it much...my blood work indicated that a component was lacking which is derived from meat mostly...i will have more blood work today which should indicate that component is no longer deficient...of course tony santoro has continued with a scathing evaluation of common practices which destroy the planets surface..."Crime pays but botany doesn,t" has some really good footage of how bulldozers are used to destroy one habitat to install another less appropriate habitat... also Gisele Benoit has some great footage of moose in "In the company of moose" which illustrates what patience in the field with a camera can achieve...on a social criticism observation i would like to acknowledge the work of Joseph Foreman AKA "Afroman" who documented how his home was invaded as he was targeted by dim witted government employees who described him as a kidnapper and drug dealer...he had the foresight to have his home surveillance cameras up and running and documented his front door being kicked in and his cash being stolen etc. etc etc...the story here is that rather than going into a violent lather he wrote humorous songs and put them online and for this he was sued by the guilty cops for 3.9 million bucks for defamation and they lost but he was required to pay half of the court costs...malarky!...if he has a go fund me site i might put a buck into his coffers...now there is a subject which is of vital importance and it seems to me the current view in some places is that "SOCIAL MEDIA"...(what in the hell is that!) is being condemned as responsible for harming children...first of all these children have, or should have, parental guidance...375 million bucks paid out by META for said "harm"...i can understand how watching enough of the wrong social media might make your judgement skewed towards depressing thought...however, the antidote is not no social media but better social media...more positive social media...more empowering social media...when i was about 19 years old i told my house mate that i had depression at times..."nausea in my brain" is how it felt...he was a psychology student and suggested that i read "I'm OK you're OK" was popular and he suggested that i read that...so i did... so i was better able to mange my depressive thinking...you have to balance the bad input into your brain with positive input or the depressive input dominates...i have been watching "Roads and Roads" which is a podcast with Jorma Kaukonen and john whats his face about Kaukonens work as lead guitarist with the "Jefferson Airplane" and his work with Jack Cassady the bass player in their incarnation as "Hot Tuna"...Kaukonen is now 81 years old and quite articualte as is Jack Cassady...i saw these two guys in Seattle in 1994 in what i think was a gymnasium with no seats...but i was able to stand next to the foot tall "stage" and enjoy a good concert...even worse accommodations were to be had when me and my girlfriend ms Debra (camp counselor) walked across new orleans to see Paul Butterfield with the band Kilimanjaro at Tipitinas...no seats so we sat on upturned beer boxes...Paul was pissed off and not much fun but his band was great...never went back to Tips again...i came across a good independent film entitled "Miss Meadows" which is about a school teacher...sort of...a school teacher who carries a pistol...and a grudge...sort of...you go girl!...i read a couple of good short stories recently...a Raymond Carver story entitle "A small good thing"...excellent...might make you cry...and "Babylon Revisited" by F.S. Fitzgerald has a single incident which i found quite depressing...there are some interesting biographies by KAZ ROWE including one of mr. Fitzgerald...well there is a lot left in the notebooks but the coffee is depleted and the fingers are cramping so i will close here

"I am defeated all the time, yet to victory i am born." R.W. Emerson

 

"I think about how many times..."

 television on the news channel...I think there are only three wars...yesterdays war, todays war, and tomorrow's war...except for that...there is much speculation about whether the commander in chief of the USA has made the right decision about whacking the leaders of Iran etc....I remember when I was about 4 or 5 years old and it was Christmas Day and I was laying on the floor of our little house while my father was assembling the Lincoln logs which Santa had brought...pappy had put a leadership figure on top of the plastic hill that came with the "cowboys and Indians" toys and said we need to take out the leaders first...good lesson...so when I think about whether the leadership of the country here I live is doing the right thing I always figure that if I can sleep at night without fear of being attacked  the leadership is doing their job...also when I hear about this country or that doing this or that thing it must be remembered that "Iran", china. Russian etc etc etc are geographic definitions and do to represent the inhabitants of those geographic places...the governments, and the persons who have political power in those governments are the ones who declare war, declare peace, declare how the resource are to be used...I think too few resources are used to promote art and music...and the trillions used to promote war might be used to promote health and education also...the newly formed DEPARTMENT OF RECYCLING (just kidding) has been so successful that there is enough money to have a musical instrument in every Childs hands that wants one...I watched some of my favorite movies again last week..."The cheap detective " always makes me laugh out loud, and "Captain Ron" does the same and now I watch "The Planters" which is a masterpiece also....not very highbrow but very entertaining...like the croissants and chocolate I eat is not very nutritious but makes me happy inside..."What 400 prostitutes taught Machiavelli about male weakness"(15 min) is an informative piece about humanity...and lets not forget about our reading..."Under the spotlight" by Simon Callow (10/17/24 New York review) is a very good article about how much people are on "stage"..."performance allows one to transcend ones physical and mental condition." I looked up on YouTube how many places there are to post blogs..it seems that video blogs are most popular and everyone wants the most "subscribers" they can get and to "monetize" their work...I have to be content with my 12 readers and two sponsors and maybe someday someone will give me my dime...probably not...however as long as I enjoy the scribbling I will continue... and as long as it allows me to transcend...the video is of one of my "assistants" who came around to see what I had left beneath the tree in the sandy wash..."I think about how many times I have fallen/spirits using me, larger voices calling..." Stephen Stills "Southern Cross"