Buckcherry
You're a crazy bitch, but you fuck so good, I'm on top of it
You're crazy but I like the way you fuck me
Sponge
In a world of human wreckage
I'm plowed into the sound
Smile Empty Soul
I do it for the love
That I get from the bottom of a bottle
Kidneythieves
Space in your face I'm gonna drink the fucking ocean
Skip or trip to face the space or fake in this
Steve Earle
I heard a voice calling my name one day
And I followed that voice down a lost highway
Foo Fighters
Hello
I've waited here for you
Everlong
Seether
I'm so afraid of the gift you give me
I don't belong here and I'm not well
Counting Crows
Well I heard you let somebody get their fingers into you
It's getting cold in California
I guess I'll be leaving soon
Shakira
Estoy aqui queriendote, ahogandome
Entre cosas y recuerdos
Que no puedo comprender
Third Eye Blind
Just an old friend coming over now to visit you and
That's what I've become
Uncle Tupelo
And the hardwood floor is home
When morning comes twice a day or not at all
Saturday, July 21, 2007
Wednesday, July 04, 2007
New Poems at RadiganNeuhalfen.com
The End of the World
Archibald MacLeish
Jenny Kissed Me
Leigh Hunt
God said, “I made a man”
Jose Garcia Villa
Acquainted With the Night
Robert Frost
An Irish Airman Foresees His Death
William Butler Yeats
Archibald MacLeish
Jenny Kissed Me
Leigh Hunt
God said, “I made a man”
Jose Garcia Villa
Acquainted With the Night
Robert Frost
An Irish Airman Foresees His Death
William Butler Yeats
Saturday, June 30, 2007
Wednesday, June 27, 2007
Adam Waters and the Attack of the Zombie Computers
My old friend from California is, as he puts it, "hunting russian hackers and living quite well." He recently got his words and his mug in a couple news articles.
"'You do not expect banks, airlines or energy companies to be spammers because you assume they are secure and have a lot of guys and are highly incentivised to lock their networks down,' said Adam Waters, chief operating officer of Support Intelligence."
The BBC article is mentioned on the company blog, along with the BBC's security problems.
Friday, June 22, 2007
Do you suppose you'll find a room in Russia--or work?
“Where are you going, Vladimir Ilich?” said the landlord, holding Lenin’s hand and regarding him with pity. “What madness makes you want to return to Russia? What will you do there? Do you suppose you’ll find a room in Russia—or work? Take my advice, Vladimir Ilich, and stay here in peace.”
“I have to go,” Lenin replied.
And he left. He set foot on Russian soil with his little cap, his clean frayed shirt, his shabby coat—an army of one, stubby, pale, and unarmed. Over against him: the boundless Russian land, the sinister, brutalized muzhiks, the roisterous aristocrats, the all-powerful priesthood, the fortresses, palaces, prisons, and barracks, the old laws, the old morals, and the knout. The fearful empire, armed to the teeth. There he stood with his little cap, his tiny Mongolian eyes staring fixedly into the air, while inside him a dancing, whistling demon gnashed his teeth and spoke.
“All this is yours, Vladimir Ilich.”
--Nikos Kazantzakis, Report to Greco
“I have to go,” Lenin replied.
And he left. He set foot on Russian soil with his little cap, his clean frayed shirt, his shabby coat—an army of one, stubby, pale, and unarmed. Over against him: the boundless Russian land, the sinister, brutalized muzhiks, the roisterous aristocrats, the all-powerful priesthood, the fortresses, palaces, prisons, and barracks, the old laws, the old morals, and the knout. The fearful empire, armed to the teeth. There he stood with his little cap, his tiny Mongolian eyes staring fixedly into the air, while inside him a dancing, whistling demon gnashed his teeth and spoke.
“All this is yours, Vladimir Ilich.”
--Nikos Kazantzakis, Report to Greco
The T-34
From Wikipedia’s entry on the Soviet T-34 tank:
“In May 1944, the Wehrmacht had only 304 Panthers operating on the Eastern Front, while the Soviets had increased T-34-85 production to 1,200 tanks per month.
“‘Quantity has a quality all its own.’
--attributed to Joseph Stalin
“As the factory became surrounded by heavy fighting in the Battle of Stalingrad, the situation there grew desperate: stories persist that unpainted T-34 tanks were driven out of the factory into the battlefields around it.”
“In May 1944, the Wehrmacht had only 304 Panthers operating on the Eastern Front, while the Soviets had increased T-34-85 production to 1,200 tanks per month.
“‘Quantity has a quality all its own.’
--attributed to Joseph Stalin
“As the factory became surrounded by heavy fighting in the Battle of Stalingrad, the situation there grew desperate: stories persist that unpainted T-34 tanks were driven out of the factory into the battlefields around it.”
photo: Germany, Berlin, 1945 May
Wednesday, June 20, 2007
Calvin and Hobbes
This website contains the only writing I’ve come across that pinpoints the disturbingly subversive brilliance of Calvin and Hobbes. The visual and textual parallels to the Columbine High School shooting presented by the author, Douglas Ord, are brilliant in themselves.
“As brought to life both by Watterson's ‘magic’ and -- in a second order of activity within the strip -- Calvin's waking dream, Hobbes was obviously so much more than the stuffed animal that ‘others’ saw.
“As a truly noble beast, he became, at different times, the voice of sophistication, of charm, and of irony. A voice, that is, which was almost entirely denied, in Calvin's real world American suburban vicinity...
“But Hobbes, while being an awesomely indulgent and intelligent playmate, was also complex in a different way. As a presence, he both personified and contained the projection outward of a coiled spring rage that -- as kept within the waking dream -- could then rebound on Calvin harmlessly, as he and Hobbes bantered with one another, mocked one another, sometimes even thrashed one another, in the privacy of Calvin's backyard.
“How big was that rage, though, that potential for violence? In this there was a critical uncertainty, and even a mystery, because Hobbes himself had a night-time side that, apparently on Watterson's whim, could stalk and terrorize Calvin: the side that was captured in Calvin's own description: ‘homicidal psycho jungle cat’.”
“As brought to life both by Watterson's ‘magic’ and -- in a second order of activity within the strip -- Calvin's waking dream, Hobbes was obviously so much more than the stuffed animal that ‘others’ saw.
“As a truly noble beast, he became, at different times, the voice of sophistication, of charm, and of irony. A voice, that is, which was almost entirely denied, in Calvin's real world American suburban vicinity...
“But Hobbes, while being an awesomely indulgent and intelligent playmate, was also complex in a different way. As a presence, he both personified and contained the projection outward of a coiled spring rage that -- as kept within the waking dream -- could then rebound on Calvin harmlessly, as he and Hobbes bantered with one another, mocked one another, sometimes even thrashed one another, in the privacy of Calvin's backyard.
“How big was that rage, though, that potential for violence? In this there was a critical uncertainty, and even a mystery, because Hobbes himself had a night-time side that, apparently on Watterson's whim, could stalk and terrorize Calvin: the side that was captured in Calvin's own description: ‘homicidal psycho jungle cat’.”
Sunday, June 17, 2007
Literary Locales
"More than 1,000 picture links to places that figure in the lives and writings of famous authors"
Including a link to Roy Chapman Andrews' Flaming Cliffs of Mongolia.
Wednesday, June 13, 2007
Audacity
“It is, in fact, quite an act of ego to sit down in a room, while others are getting on trains and subways, and put one’s vision on paper, and then ask others to pay to read it. Not only to pay but say, ‘Isn’t he brilliant.’ It’s an act of audacity.”
--William Gaddis, in interview with Tom LeClair, 1980, collected in Paper Empire: William Gaddis and the World System, edited by Joseph Tabbi and Rone Shavers, 2007
--William Gaddis, in interview with Tom LeClair, 1980, collected in Paper Empire: William Gaddis and the World System, edited by Joseph Tabbi and Rone Shavers, 2007
Monday, June 11, 2007
In Praise of Slacking
“We had pleased ourselves with delectable visions of the spiritualization of labor.... [but] the clods of earth, which we so constantly belabored and turned over and over, were never etherealized into thought. Our thoughts, on the contrary, were fast becoming cloddish. Our labor symbolized nothing, and left us mentally sluggish in the dusk of the evening. Intellectual activity is incompatible with any large amount of bodily exercise. The yeoman and the scholar—the yeoman and the man of finest moral culture, though not the man of sturdiest sense and integrity—are two distinct individuals, and can never be melted or welded into one substance.”
--Nathaniel Hawthorne, The Blithedale Romance, 1852
--Nathaniel Hawthorne, The Blithedale Romance, 1852
Origin Story
“A great turning-point in the religious history of Mongolia came a few years later when Altan Khan, a powerful prince who was descended from Genghis, invited a Tibetan lama to come and see him and bestowed upon this figure the rank of Dalai Lama. Hence it was a Mongolian prince who created this title for the highest office in the Tibetan Buddhist church, and thereafter the links between Mongolia and the Yellow Faith grew from strength to strength.”
--Nick Middleton, The Last Disco in Outer Mongolia, 1992
--Nick Middleton, The Last Disco in Outer Mongolia, 1992
Sunday, June 10, 2007
The Steppe #6
The point of philosophy is to start with something so simple as not to seem worth stating, and to end with something so paradoxical that no one will believe it.
—Bertrand Russell, The Philosophy of Logical Atomism
—Bertrand Russell, The Philosophy of Logical Atomism
Sunday, June 03, 2007
Friends of Mongolia Rural Youth Scholarships 2007-2008
"Friends of Mongolia invites graduating Mongolian secondary school students and current post-secondary students under the age of 25 to apply for the Friends of Mongolia Scholarship, which provides one year full tuition at post-secondary institutions in Mongolia to successful applicants. The program is intended to address what is known as Mongolia's 'reverse gender gap' by providing opportunities for rural males to attend post-secondary institutions. Applicants must be male and able to prove permanent residency outside of Ulaanbaatar. For more information about the program and to receive a copy of the application, please visit http://www.friendsofmongolia.org/. Please distribute this announcement to eligible candidates. Deadline July 20, 2007."
Saturday, June 02, 2007
Commemorative 20,000-Togrog Note
I just learned of this note from Eberhard in Germany. I haven't seen any of these or even heard about them, but I'd like to get one.
This is the regular, non-commemorative note:
Friday, June 01, 2007
Karl Marx
“Religion is, indeed, the self-consciousness and self-esteem of man who has either not yet won through to himself, or has already lost himself again.... Religion is the sigh of the oppressed creature, the heart of a heartless world, and the soul of soulless conditions. It is the opium of the people.”
--Karl Marx, “A Contribution to the Critique of Hegel's Philosophy of Right,” 1843
Beyond the Great Wall
"It is the beginning of the twentieth century, and you hope to make your fortune by searching China for a missing archaeologist; if you can find him or the ancient cave of treasures he sought, you will be richly rewarded."
-Gamebooks.org
An Anonymous Email Message and My Response
Hello Mr. Neuhalfen,
I've read your post about Sri Chinmoy visit in Mongolia. First of all I apologize for my poor English and I hope you'll forgive me for that. I hope as proof of freedom of speech include this post in your blog.
I'm a fan of Sri Chinmoy so I'm not really legitimate to reply to your post. So don't trust me completely.
Although I would like to suggest you that when we are speaking about renowned people it's easy to find different opinions. Especially for people that are in the spiritual field. Christians should remember the beginning of their religion after all. Even San Francesco was criticized inside the church and he went in front of the Pope to prove he was not guilty.
If you could use Google at the time of Gandhi, you could find bad reviews from British but also from Hindu extremists. Same probably for Rev. Martin Luther King, bad review from KKK and also from who like Black Panther and other group thought that his non-violence approach was bad. On Mother Teresa there hundreds of negative websites.
I mention these three names on purpose. I've seen Sri Chinmoy be awarded by Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, the most renowned and internationally respected Indian cultural institution, with the Ghandi Peace Award. He received the award together with Coretta Scott King, the widow of Rev. Martin Luther King. I spoke also about Mother Teresa also because I was there when Sri Chinmoy and Mother Teresa met first time so I've seen how she appreciated the poems and the songs he wrote for her.
Are the words of Rick Ross who also have a very uncertain reputation if we enquire on Google
http://www.rrexposed.u2k.biz/time_line.htm
http://www.suburbia.net/~fun/scn/press/9309-nd.htm
more trustable of Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan or Mother Teresa?
About the fact that United Nations asked to Sri Chinmoy to change name, I think is interesting that they did not ask to interrupt the meditations, but to change name of the program. If they would be against the project they would stop it. So I see the permission to keep "The Sri Chinmoy Meditation at United Nation" as a real honour. Of course Sri Chinmoy has no statement in UN, is not employed nor any task is assigned officially to him. Please see the interesting story wrote about Sri Chinmoy and UN from Secretary General U Thant speech writer
http://www.aquaac.org/un/sprtatun.html
About your feeling with the music needless to say Sri Chinmoy is not a musician, but his improvisations on keyboards as any form of art cannot be judged by how complex they are. It's true that also a child can paint like Chagall, or Klee or Pollock. Even the famous speech of lotus of Lord Budda could be done by everyone. When he was asked to explain his teaching, instead of speaking he showed a flower in his hand, remaining silent. Also we could do the same. But probably the audience could not get the same reward.
Back to the music a great admirer of Sri Chinmoy's compositions is one that you mentioned in your post: Ravi Shankar. Is pretty common in art, some likes some not. Many times I've heard people that Pollock paintings are horrible or even scams....
Thanks and good luck for your writer activity
=====
Hello,
On the contrary, your English is fine, far better than my Italian: thank you for learning my native language. Even if your English were less than fine, no apologies nor forgiveness would be necessary.
In the very recent noise over “freedom of speech” in comment forums, I think this consensus is clear: you are not obligated to allow anyone to post anything to a website that you maintain. “Freedom of speech,” as articulated by the framers of the United States Bill of Rights, proclaims that the right to say whatever you wish shall not be infringed upon. “Freedom of speech” addresses spoken words, whereas “freedom of the press” addresses printed words, so perhaps “freedom of the press” is more appropriate here. Though they have since been inscribed in many nations’ founding charters to be emulated by many societies (Mongolia’s constitution proclaims the protection of these same “freedoms,” as I presume Italy’s does as well), how and with what authority these old American notions of “freedom of speech” and “freedom of the press” shall or should be applied to the World Wide Web is yet unsettled. “Freedom of the press” is not intended to mean that a person who operates a printing press is obligated to print whatever you wish, but it should mean that you may operate your own printing press and print whatever you wish. An appropriate analogy may be: if you wish to post your words to the Internet, you are free to maintain your own website.
Blogger, the entity that provides the resources that allow for me to maintain this website, is owned by Google Inc., a legal entity that is headquartered in California with offices in many countries. How is this relationship to be understood or moderated: an Italian citizen (I presume from your email address) in Italy (I presume again) interacting with an American citizen in Mongolia who maintains a website through a corporation that transcends physical boundaries? “Freedom of speech”? What entity has the authority to proclaim it and, importantly, to enforce it?
There is no such thing as a universal “freedom of speech” because there is no universal governing body with the authority to proclaim nor protect such a “freedom.”
It is perfectly legitimate for you to reply, and I can only express appreciation for your polite and considered words.
Yes, prominent figures always have both supporters and detractors.
Appeals to Christian faith—indeed, to any sort of faith whatsoever—carry little weight with me.
Gandhi and King and other political leaders—no matter how spiritually focused they may have been, nor how great their accomplishments may have been—were humans and therefore subject to human failings. Such failings, though they may be legitimately criticized, do not diminish their political feats.
Unlike Chinmoy, neither Gandhi nor King declared that they were capable of superhuman feats, such as lifting thousands of pounds with one arm.
Regarding Mother Theresa, I find the arguments of Christopher Hitchens to be rather persuasive.
Your assertion that Rick Ross’ statements might be questionable because his “reputation” might be questionable can be dismissed forthright as irrelevant: it is an example of argumentum ad hominem, one of the most commonly invoked of the formal logical fallacies. To expressly dismiss your assertion: a person with a criminal record is not incapable of identifying and speaking truth.
I specify “identifying truth” because much of the content on Ross’ site was not written by Ross himself, but by journalists for various periodicals, which Ross himself only reprinted, including Andrea Kannapell of the New York Times, Patricia Andrews of the Miami Herald, Alex Ginsberg of the New York Post, and Brian Howard of CityPaper.net.
In my post, the first quotation that I listed from Ross’ website is attributed by Ross to Mike Ervin of the Chicago Tribune.
I read through the speech, which apparently was never delivered; it is not even stated for whom the speech was written. After Weymen Huckabee’s references to a “God” and the will of this “God” and random stories purporting supernatural attributes of the U.N. Meditation Room (dynamite fuses go out all the time: is each place in which a dynamite fuse has gone out a special place?), the speechwriter, Donald Keys, reveals that Chinmoy was “asked from within” to associate himself with the U.N. Keys then claims that “Sri Chinmoy had a particularly poignant and deep relationship with U Thant,” but rather than support this claim with a statement by Secretary-General Thant, which would have been substantial, he presents a statement by Chinmoy, which is not substantial. I could say that I had a deep relationship with Thant, and you could quote me, but that is not as convincing as Thant saying that I had a deep relationship with him.
My opinion: it was an uninspiring concert.
The mythical, anecdotal Buddha is a cool character. I disagree with your assertion that his speech could have been made by anyone: I do not think that an ordinary teacher, when asked to explain her teachings, would have enough imagination, confidence, and self-restraint to be capable of simply displaying a lotus.
I've read your post about Sri Chinmoy visit in Mongolia. First of all I apologize for my poor English and I hope you'll forgive me for that. I hope as proof of freedom of speech include this post in your blog.
I'm a fan of Sri Chinmoy so I'm not really legitimate to reply to your post. So don't trust me completely.
Although I would like to suggest you that when we are speaking about renowned people it's easy to find different opinions. Especially for people that are in the spiritual field. Christians should remember the beginning of their religion after all. Even San Francesco was criticized inside the church and he went in front of the Pope to prove he was not guilty.
If you could use Google at the time of Gandhi, you could find bad reviews from British but also from Hindu extremists. Same probably for Rev. Martin Luther King, bad review from KKK and also from who like Black Panther and other group thought that his non-violence approach was bad. On Mother Teresa there hundreds of negative websites.
I mention these three names on purpose. I've seen Sri Chinmoy be awarded by Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, the most renowned and internationally respected Indian cultural institution, with the Ghandi Peace Award. He received the award together with Coretta Scott King, the widow of Rev. Martin Luther King. I spoke also about Mother Teresa also because I was there when Sri Chinmoy and Mother Teresa met first time so I've seen how she appreciated the poems and the songs he wrote for her.
Are the words of Rick Ross who also have a very uncertain reputation if we enquire on Google
http://www.rrexposed.u2k.biz/time_line.htm
http://www.suburbia.net/~fun/scn/press/9309-nd.htm
more trustable of Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan or Mother Teresa?
About the fact that United Nations asked to Sri Chinmoy to change name, I think is interesting that they did not ask to interrupt the meditations, but to change name of the program. If they would be against the project they would stop it. So I see the permission to keep "The Sri Chinmoy Meditation at United Nation" as a real honour. Of course Sri Chinmoy has no statement in UN, is not employed nor any task is assigned officially to him. Please see the interesting story wrote about Sri Chinmoy and UN from Secretary General U Thant speech writer
http://www.aquaac.org/un/sprtatun.html
About your feeling with the music needless to say Sri Chinmoy is not a musician, but his improvisations on keyboards as any form of art cannot be judged by how complex they are. It's true that also a child can paint like Chagall, or Klee or Pollock. Even the famous speech of lotus of Lord Budda could be done by everyone. When he was asked to explain his teaching, instead of speaking he showed a flower in his hand, remaining silent. Also we could do the same. But probably the audience could not get the same reward.
Back to the music a great admirer of Sri Chinmoy's compositions is one that you mentioned in your post: Ravi Shankar. Is pretty common in art, some likes some not. Many times I've heard people that Pollock paintings are horrible or even scams....
Thanks and good luck for your writer activity
=====
Hello,
On the contrary, your English is fine, far better than my Italian: thank you for learning my native language. Even if your English were less than fine, no apologies nor forgiveness would be necessary.
In the very recent noise over “freedom of speech” in comment forums, I think this consensus is clear: you are not obligated to allow anyone to post anything to a website that you maintain. “Freedom of speech,” as articulated by the framers of the United States Bill of Rights, proclaims that the right to say whatever you wish shall not be infringed upon. “Freedom of speech” addresses spoken words, whereas “freedom of the press” addresses printed words, so perhaps “freedom of the press” is more appropriate here. Though they have since been inscribed in many nations’ founding charters to be emulated by many societies (Mongolia’s constitution proclaims the protection of these same “freedoms,” as I presume Italy’s does as well), how and with what authority these old American notions of “freedom of speech” and “freedom of the press” shall or should be applied to the World Wide Web is yet unsettled. “Freedom of the press” is not intended to mean that a person who operates a printing press is obligated to print whatever you wish, but it should mean that you may operate your own printing press and print whatever you wish. An appropriate analogy may be: if you wish to post your words to the Internet, you are free to maintain your own website.
Blogger, the entity that provides the resources that allow for me to maintain this website, is owned by Google Inc., a legal entity that is headquartered in California with offices in many countries. How is this relationship to be understood or moderated: an Italian citizen (I presume from your email address) in Italy (I presume again) interacting with an American citizen in Mongolia who maintains a website through a corporation that transcends physical boundaries? “Freedom of speech”? What entity has the authority to proclaim it and, importantly, to enforce it?
There is no such thing as a universal “freedom of speech” because there is no universal governing body with the authority to proclaim nor protect such a “freedom.”
It is perfectly legitimate for you to reply, and I can only express appreciation for your polite and considered words.
Yes, prominent figures always have both supporters and detractors.
Appeals to Christian faith—indeed, to any sort of faith whatsoever—carry little weight with me.
Gandhi and King and other political leaders—no matter how spiritually focused they may have been, nor how great their accomplishments may have been—were humans and therefore subject to human failings. Such failings, though they may be legitimately criticized, do not diminish their political feats.
Unlike Chinmoy, neither Gandhi nor King declared that they were capable of superhuman feats, such as lifting thousands of pounds with one arm.
Regarding Mother Theresa, I find the arguments of Christopher Hitchens to be rather persuasive.
Your assertion that Rick Ross’ statements might be questionable because his “reputation” might be questionable can be dismissed forthright as irrelevant: it is an example of argumentum ad hominem, one of the most commonly invoked of the formal logical fallacies. To expressly dismiss your assertion: a person with a criminal record is not incapable of identifying and speaking truth.
I specify “identifying truth” because much of the content on Ross’ site was not written by Ross himself, but by journalists for various periodicals, which Ross himself only reprinted, including Andrea Kannapell of the New York Times, Patricia Andrews of the Miami Herald, Alex Ginsberg of the New York Post, and Brian Howard of CityPaper.net.
In my post, the first quotation that I listed from Ross’ website is attributed by Ross to Mike Ervin of the Chicago Tribune.
I read through the speech, which apparently was never delivered; it is not even stated for whom the speech was written. After Weymen Huckabee’s references to a “God” and the will of this “God” and random stories purporting supernatural attributes of the U.N. Meditation Room (dynamite fuses go out all the time: is each place in which a dynamite fuse has gone out a special place?), the speechwriter, Donald Keys, reveals that Chinmoy was “asked from within” to associate himself with the U.N. Keys then claims that “Sri Chinmoy had a particularly poignant and deep relationship with U Thant,” but rather than support this claim with a statement by Secretary-General Thant, which would have been substantial, he presents a statement by Chinmoy, which is not substantial. I could say that I had a deep relationship with Thant, and you could quote me, but that is not as convincing as Thant saying that I had a deep relationship with him.
My opinion: it was an uninspiring concert.
The mythical, anecdotal Buddha is a cool character. I disagree with your assertion that his speech could have been made by anyone: I do not think that an ordinary teacher, when asked to explain her teachings, would have enough imagination, confidence, and self-restraint to be capable of simply displaying a lotus.
Wednesday, May 30, 2007
Monday, May 28, 2007
Friday, May 25, 2007
The Narrative
"By better understanding how life stories are built...people may be able to alter their own narrative, in small ways and perhaps large ones...
"'When we first started studying life stories, people thought it was just idle curiosity — stories, isn’t that cool?' said Dan P. McAdams, a professor of psychology at Northwestern... 'Well, we find that these narratives guide behavior in every moment, and frame not only how we see the past but how we see ourselves in the future.'
"Researchers have found that the human brain has a natural affinity for narrative construction. People tend to remember facts more accurately if they encounter them in a story rather than in a list, studies find; and they rate legal arguments as more convincing when built into narrative tales rather than on legal precedent...
"During a standard life-story interview, people describe phases of their lives as if they were outlining chapters, from the sandlot years through adolescence and middle age...
"Depending on the person, the story itself might be nuanced or simplistic, powerfully dramatic or cloyingly pious. But the point is that the narrative themes are, as much as any other trait, driving factors in people’s behavior, the researchers say.
"'We find that when it comes to the big choices people make — should I marry this person? should I take this job? should I move across the country? — they draw on these stories implicitly, whether they know they are working from them or not,' Dr. McAdams said."
--Benedict Carey in The New York Times
"'When we first started studying life stories, people thought it was just idle curiosity — stories, isn’t that cool?' said Dan P. McAdams, a professor of psychology at Northwestern... 'Well, we find that these narratives guide behavior in every moment, and frame not only how we see the past but how we see ourselves in the future.'
"Researchers have found that the human brain has a natural affinity for narrative construction. People tend to remember facts more accurately if they encounter them in a story rather than in a list, studies find; and they rate legal arguments as more convincing when built into narrative tales rather than on legal precedent...
"During a standard life-story interview, people describe phases of their lives as if they were outlining chapters, from the sandlot years through adolescence and middle age...
"Depending on the person, the story itself might be nuanced or simplistic, powerfully dramatic or cloyingly pious. But the point is that the narrative themes are, as much as any other trait, driving factors in people’s behavior, the researchers say.
"'We find that when it comes to the big choices people make — should I marry this person? should I take this job? should I move across the country? — they draw on these stories implicitly, whether they know they are working from them or not,' Dr. McAdams said."
--Benedict Carey in The New York Times
F.I.R.E.
"Dear Friend of F.I.R.E.,
"The Flagstaff International Relief Effort (F.I.R.E.) needs your help now! We are urgently trying to raise $15,000 to make the 2007 distribution trip happen.
"We have over 20 tons of warm winter clothing, educational and medical supplies ready to send to Mongolia. One container is full of warm winter clothing, including over 10,000 hand knit items. The second container is full of educational and medical supplies.
"We need $15,000 by July 15, or we will not be able to ship the containers and will have to cancel the distribution trip.
"When the 2 containers arrive they will be met by a team of clothing and medical volunteers who are standing by, ready to buy their tickets and pay their own expenses to conduct medical training and distribute the items to orphanages, hospitals, schools and thousands of needy children and their families.
"Please help us to...
--Personally distribute 8 tons of clothing, including over 10,000 hand knits, to over 10,000 of Mongolia's poorest children and families.
--Assist over 1 dozen schools with educational supplies and English books.
--Provide 450 boxes of medical supplies to 14 rural hospitals and clinics.
--Train medical professionals at over a dozen hospitals.
--Send children to school, aid the disabled, warm the cold....
"A donation of just $20 from each person who receives this letter will take us to our goal. Any assistance you can provide will be tremendously appreciated.
"I am confident that with your help we will be able to complete another successful distribution trip to Mongolia, continuing to help the most vulnerable members of society to improve the quality of their lives. Please help us in this time of urgent need to deliver these supplies and training.
"Thank you!
Meredith Potts
Executive Director
"P.S.Please send tax deductible contributions to the address below by July15, 2007. You can also donate directly from the internet. Please use the link below.
"P.P.S.To view a 5 minute video clip of our 2005 distribution trip please use the link below.
107 N. San Francisco St., Suite 4
Flagstaff, AZ 86001
USA
Office: 1-928-779-1966
Fax: 1-928-774-5562
Wednesday, May 23, 2007
Xeer tal
The first chapter of The Steppe in Mongolian, translated by B.Narantsetseg of Chinggis Khaan University.
Tuesday, May 22, 2007
Sunday, May 20, 2007
Sri Chinmoy
Went with Marc today to listen to some guy speak at the UB Palace. "Who's speaking?" I wanted to know. "Some spiritual teacher."
Six full-size buses were parked in front of the UB Palace, each bearing a computer-printed A4 sign "Shri Chinmoi" in the windshield.
The UB Palace was packed. It turned out it was not a lecture or a reading, but a musical concert, and it was free.
It also turned out to be farcical. Set up on the stage were many Indian stringed instruments and flutes along with several electronic beat-boxes reminiscent of my brother's old electronic Casio keyboard that he had when we were kids in the '80s. Some old dude doddered around onstage between the instruments, sitting with one and playing on it until he seemingly got bored and then moving on to another one. I can only describe the stringed instrument playing as "awful" (this is the land of the morin khuur, after all, and no Ravi Shankar was this guy); I couldn't tell if he was trying to play music on the stringed instruments or just trying to tune them. The electronic sounds were cool, but they didn't seem like anything that I couldn't have produced myself after 20 minutes with a keyboard. On a few occasions, choirs of sari-clad folks from the theater seats congregated in front of the stage and sang a tune.
After the concert, the buses in front loaded up with the people in the saris, most of whom had European facial features. I was mildly interested to find out who this old guy was. I said "Hello" to one older pale-skinned lady in a sari, but she avoided my eyes. I heard a few of the sari people speaking Russian.
Anyway, I got home and googled this "Shri Chinmoi" guy. I discovered that President Enkhbayar awarded him the Friendship Medal last Wednesday. I also discovered that he is a con-man cult leader:
http://www.rickross.com/groups/srichinmoy.html
"Inside the entrance there's a picture of the grimacing Sri lifting a barbell with one arm; the caption says it weighed 7,063 pounds. That's right--7,063 pounds. With one arm. The Sri has lifted elephants and airplanes with one arm too. A man with a beer belly looks at the picture and says 'So how come this guy isn't in the Guinness book of records?'"
"Sri Chinmoy labeled a visit to Japan he undertook as 'a delegation of about 100 members of the United Nations and Sri Chinmoy,' despite the fact that there was no official backing of this trip. Other events of Sri Chinmoy's organization, including concerts and sporting events, have attempted to portray an official connection with the U.N."
"Arnold Markowitz, director of the New York Jewish Community cult hotline and clinic said, 'Sri Chinmoy has produced the most psychiatric casualties of the meditation groups that I've experienced.'"
Six full-size buses were parked in front of the UB Palace, each bearing a computer-printed A4 sign "Shri Chinmoi" in the windshield.
The UB Palace was packed. It turned out it was not a lecture or a reading, but a musical concert, and it was free.
It also turned out to be farcical. Set up on the stage were many Indian stringed instruments and flutes along with several electronic beat-boxes reminiscent of my brother's old electronic Casio keyboard that he had when we were kids in the '80s. Some old dude doddered around onstage between the instruments, sitting with one and playing on it until he seemingly got bored and then moving on to another one. I can only describe the stringed instrument playing as "awful" (this is the land of the morin khuur, after all, and no Ravi Shankar was this guy); I couldn't tell if he was trying to play music on the stringed instruments or just trying to tune them. The electronic sounds were cool, but they didn't seem like anything that I couldn't have produced myself after 20 minutes with a keyboard. On a few occasions, choirs of sari-clad folks from the theater seats congregated in front of the stage and sang a tune.
After the concert, the buses in front loaded up with the people in the saris, most of whom had European facial features. I was mildly interested to find out who this old guy was. I said "Hello" to one older pale-skinned lady in a sari, but she avoided my eyes. I heard a few of the sari people speaking Russian.
Anyway, I got home and googled this "Shri Chinmoi" guy. I discovered that President Enkhbayar awarded him the Friendship Medal last Wednesday. I also discovered that he is a con-man cult leader:
http://www.rickross.com/groups/srichinmoy.html
"Inside the entrance there's a picture of the grimacing Sri lifting a barbell with one arm; the caption says it weighed 7,063 pounds. That's right--7,063 pounds. With one arm. The Sri has lifted elephants and airplanes with one arm too. A man with a beer belly looks at the picture and says 'So how come this guy isn't in the Guinness book of records?'"
"The Toronto Council on Mind Abuse alleged that Chinmoy has misrepresented his status regarding the UN."
"The guru holds meditation meetings at the UN building in Manhattan, but has no official 'delegate' status."
"Sri Chinmoy labeled a visit to Japan he undertook as 'a delegation of about 100 members of the United Nations and Sri Chinmoy,' despite the fact that there was no official backing of this trip. Other events of Sri Chinmoy's organization, including concerts and sporting events, have attempted to portray an official connection with the U.N."
"Arnold Markowitz, director of the New York Jewish Community cult hotline and clinic said, 'Sri Chinmoy has produced the most psychiatric casualties of the meditation groups that I've experienced.'"
"Other national cult watchdog groups and mental health professionals also alleged Sri Chinmoy heads a 'destructive cult' with as many as 1,500 devotees."
"His followers engage in intensive chanting and meditative trances, adopt a distinctive dress, and avoid contact with non-members. Disciples address him as 'The Supreme.' Sri Chinmoy claims to have super-normal powers - including having written 843 poems in 24 hours, created 16,031 paintings in one day, and lifted 7000 pounds with one arm."
Tuesday, May 15, 2007
Roerich
Ernst is writing a biography of Roerich.
I first saw this painting at the Tretyakov Gallery in Moscow in 1999. I purchased a print of it, the first print of a painting I had ever bought.
The Internet Sacred Text Archive
"...the largest freely available archive of online books about religion, mythology, folklore and the esoteric on the Internet."
Sunday, May 13, 2007
The Red Wheelbarrow
"The Red Wheelbarrow"
William Carlos Williams
1883-1963 American
so much depends
upon
a red wheel
barrow
glazed with rain
water
beside the white
chickens.
>>Unsimple.
William Carlos Williams
1883-1963 American
so much depends
upon
a red wheel
barrow
glazed with rain
water
beside the white
chickens.
>>Unsimple.
Saturday, May 12, 2007
Center for the Study of the First Americans
"North, Central, and South America were the last continents to be populated by humans."
The Center for the Study of the First Americans features a photo gallery of sites in the United States, Mexico, and Russia.
The Problem of Other Minds in Machines
If I cannot know whether another human experiences a mental life in some way comparable to my own, how can I know whether a machine experiences one?
"It looks as if no scientific answer can be expected to the question of how or why we differ from a mindless body that simply behaves exactly as if it had a mind. The good news is that this difference makes no objective difference; the bad news is that it continues to make a subjective difference, one that cannot be explained away."
--Stevan Harnad, "Other bodies, Other minds: A machine incarnation of an old philosophical problem," Minds and Machines, 1991
"It looks as if no scientific answer can be expected to the question of how or why we differ from a mindless body that simply behaves exactly as if it had a mind. The good news is that this difference makes no objective difference; the bad news is that it continues to make a subjective difference, one that cannot be explained away."
--Stevan Harnad, "Other bodies, Other minds: A machine incarnation of an old philosophical problem," Minds and Machines, 1991
Sheered Off
"What is the greatest thing in the world?" Ah Chun demanded with abrupt irrelevance.
Mamma Achun pondered for a moment, then replied: "God."
He nodded. "There are gods and gods. Some are paper, some are wood, some are bronze. I use a small one in the office for a paper-weight. In the Bishop Museum are many gods of coral rock and lava stone."
"But there is only one God," she announced decisively, stiffening her ample frame argumentatively.
Ah Chun noted the danger signal and sheered off.
"What is greater than God, then?" he asked. "I will tell you. It is money. In my time I have had dealings with Jews and Christians, Mohammedans and Buddhists, and with little black men from the Solomons and New Guinea who carried their god about them, wrapped in oiled paper. They possessed various gods, these men, but they all worshipped money...."
--Jack London, “Chun Ah Chun”
Mamma Achun pondered for a moment, then replied: "God."
He nodded. "There are gods and gods. Some are paper, some are wood, some are bronze. I use a small one in the office for a paper-weight. In the Bishop Museum are many gods of coral rock and lava stone."
"But there is only one God," she announced decisively, stiffening her ample frame argumentatively.
Ah Chun noted the danger signal and sheered off.
"What is greater than God, then?" he asked. "I will tell you. It is money. In my time I have had dealings with Jews and Christians, Mohammedans and Buddhists, and with little black men from the Solomons and New Guinea who carried their god about them, wrapped in oiled paper. They possessed various gods, these men, but they all worshipped money...."
--Jack London, “Chun Ah Chun”
Monday, May 07, 2007
American Gulag
Guantanamo Bay in National Journal
"But then there's the prisoner's Casio watch. According to the Defense Department files, his watch is similar to another Casio model that has a circuit board that Al Qaeda has used for making bombs. The United States is using the Qaeda-favored Casio wristwatch as evidence against at least nine other detainees. But the offending model is sold in sidewalk stands around the world and is worn by one National Journal reporter."
Mongolia Investment Forum in New York
Here is an article on investment in Mongolia from The UB Post last month. The adverse effects of the Windfall Tax law are mentioned as expected, but there are also some surprises, such as concern over the railway and the idea to export energy to China.
"Entree Gold has drawn-down their investment by around 50 percent since 2002. The Western Prospector Group withdrew over US$3 billion capital outlay from the country after the windfall profits tax was adopted hastily last year...
"There are 15 strategically significant mineral deposits, where government participation is indefinite...
"Another barrier in trading with Mongolia is surface transportation links. Most of the cargo traffic is carried by the railway. Mongolia’s railway gauge is different from Chinese railway system, which has a standard gauge of 1,435 mm while it is 1,524 mm in Mongolia. Each carriage has to be lifted in turn to have its bogies changed...
"'We are looking principally at four sectors of the Mongolian economy. The first one is upgrading the railway. It would cost US$129 million to upgrade and increase the capacity of the railway system. It’s considered to be a key constraint of the Mongolian economy’s growth,' said James Hallmark, Millennium Challenge Corporation’s Country Director for Mongolia...
"'The windy southern province in Gobi, which shares a border with China on the south, is a good place to build wind power stations and export the energy to China... We should export energy to China rather than coal,' said Alan Fontaine, CEO of Newcom Group."
Saturday, May 05, 2007
Tuesday, May 01, 2007
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