Reviews: KQED interview with Barbara Kingsolver

I found the book, Spiritual Envy by Michael Krasney,  at the E Branch of my Local Library here in Lakeland.   The book pricked my interest because I have always been interested in people's search for spiritual answers, especially atheists and agnostics.  How do Spiritualists and Agnostics shape their point of view.   Also the book had a forward written by Joyce Carol Oats.   Michael Chabon stated that the author, "sets the standard by which all public affairs and cultural radio is measured.  He is a Bay Area cultural institution."


So I looked up Kresany's show on KQED, and found a great interview with Barbara Kingsolver.  Kingsolver politely states her environmental position in her new book: Flight Behavior.  Her gentle spirit is respectful to all. She knows how to bridge the biological scientific position with the people who need natural resources for their livelihoods    She also knows how to explain the complicated scientific questions with "real life."

"People need fiction we will always come home to our stories." (Paraphrased from the Interview)
Kingsolver loves how readers engage with her books.   She is fascinated with how every reader can interpret the story in new and unique ways.  She illustrates  that reading books and engaging in conversation is a key to being a good citizen to the community in which one lives  .  The books act as "a new medicine" to cure what currently affects you, or at least begin a search for an elixir.

I look forward to reading Flight Behavior as the subject of the book sounds invigorating and timely.     



 Here is the interview, enjoy:


Here is a book excerpt from Flight Behavior as provided by Good Reads: "the intensity, glory, and absolute assuredness if my mind's flight made it very difficult for me to believe once i was better, that the illness was one i should willingly give up....moods are such an essential part of the substance of life, of one's notion of oneself, that even psychotic extremes in mood and behavior somehow can be seen as temporary, even understandable reactions to what life has dealt....even though the depressions that inevitably followed nearly cost me my life." 

Musical Notes and Mathematical Tragedies

Resources to Find Good Music

Tune Find is a great resource to finding songs to your favorite T.V. shows and movies.
The music played in Sons of Anarchy and Supernatural is fabulous.   The tunes set up the feel and keep fan interest in tune (no pun intended, or maybe there was).

Etymology: Word Histories and Mythology

Bull Moose Party:  Theodore Roosevelt ran for president as an independent party, outside of the two party system.   Roosevelt survived an attempted assassination in October 1912 during the campaign.  The attempt happened before his speech in Milwaukee Wisconsin.   The bullet hit his glass case and speech.  He addressed the crowd, "I don't know whether you fully understand that I have just been shot, but it takes more than that to kill a Bull Moose.   The bullet is in me now, so that i cannot make a very long speech, but I will try my best." 
"I can tell you with absolute truthfulness that I am very much uninterested in whether I am shot or not." 

Poetry Museum

To Grandma Pearl Influenced by Allen Ginsberg's Poem to Aunt Rose

My grandmother was a head case with a bitter stinging tongue, but despite her hard exterior, she was my grandma, and I was her grandson.  And I will always love the moments we spent together.

Grandma Pearl - might I see you
with your bent back, purple hair, and your kitchen guilt
of osteoporosis - and a punishing grey tongue
your worn thin dresses
sweeping the floor in Denver on the linoleum,
past the one painting you did,
in the basement
where dreamland rendered
between red painted bricks of your home,
(hysterically) the nice Grandson watching,
while you apply more red to white canvas,
Suffern dreams danced-
Aunt Ruth, Uncle Bob, a stranger with a platform
in his pocket
and huge young bald head
of Denver Nazi Order

-radio spoke bad news
Alan Berg gunned down.
at the hands of a white supremacist

Grandma
Bruce Pierce is dead, Bruce Pierce is in Eternity, Bruce Pierce is with
Ginsberg and William Burroughs.

Though I see you walking still, a ghost in Highland Town Center,
down the aisle, observing my customer service
limping a little with a humped back,
in what must have been a worn thin,
overworked dress,

praising my father, the Dentist, on his visit to Denver
-see you bent over in the kitchen
cooking Macaroni despite Osteoporosis
and lighting the Sabath candles
to bring in one more Passover.

Bruce Pierce is dead and Alan Berg is not speaking
The fuel Berg spilled is not aired
Uncle Harold with his well groomed style,
Greg is married to a beautiful art teacher,
Andy guitar in hand, a monument in San
Francisco Chronicle playing psychedelic muse.

last time I saw you was the hospital
and you had lost that viperous bite
you were on your way out, headed east, 
towards New York 
and your dreams of Swan Dives into a stilled  Suffern Lake.   

Men Naked in the Woods

The King Finds Himself Without Clothes and Reading Pascal's Pansees: 

You were driving home and the car radio broke!   You remember the feeling?   You found nothing to distract you from dealing with your inner voice?  The voice that says, "Hey stupid where are you going?"   A primal fear arose and stalked your weakened mind. I know that you know what I mean?  Don't you?  Did you want to scream and fill up the void with your own noise?  Why did your mind search to find something to break your silent meditation? Did the eternal silence of infinite spaces frighten you?   Why is it; a king can master a kingdom joyfully, but masters himself  miserably?  


157: Pascal's Pansees
Contradiction:  contempt for our existences, to die for nothing, hatred of our existence.

162:
He who will know fully the vanity of man has only to consider the causes and effects of love. The cause is a je ne sais quoi (An intangible quality that makes something distinctive or attractive.) and the effects are dreadful. This je ne sais quoi, so small an object that we cannot recognize it, agitates a whole conutry, princess, armies, the entire world.  
Cleopatra's nose: had it been shorter, the whole aspect of the world would have been altered.

Interest of the Saturday Afternoon Club

Syndicalism Official Flag

•  Location: France

Year    No. of Machines    Total Horsepower
1839          2,450                33,000
1851          5,672                 71,000
1861         15,805              191,000
1871          26,146              316,000
1881          44,010              576,000
1891           55,967               916,000
1901            75,866            1,907,000
1910              82,238           2,913,013[ 3]

Louis Levine. Syndicalism in France (Kindle Locations 241-247).

• The World's Largest Burger King is on Gulf Street, in Kuwait
• 1912 October 14th in Milwaukee, an assassin attempted to kill Theodore Roosevelt, the attempt was not successful. Roosevelt survived because the bullet hit his manuscript and eyeglass carrier before reaching his body.  
• He coined the term Bull Moose Party from the incident when he said, "I don't know whether you fully understand that I have just been shot, but it takes more than that to kill a Bull Moose.   The bullet is in me now, so that i cannot make a very long speech, but I will try my best." He was one tough Rough Rider.    "I can tell you with absolute truthfulness that I am very much uninterested in whether I am shot or not." 

Reviews: Ponche from Lush

Ponche from Lush is a bath soap that men will steal from their girlfriends.  
The smell is earthy and sweet.  One comes out of the shower ready to get festive for the season.  And it will remind you of the time you enjoyed a sunset on the Mexican Beach, drinking Ponche, and hugging your favorite Senorita.  Okay, I haven't been to Mexico, but I can dream, right?

So girls if you want to make your special someone feel special than definitely buy this shower Gel.  Also Ponche has not been tested on Animals, so there will be no guilty vibes inside any bottle.        

PONCHE SHOWER GEL

Christmas

This packs a ponche – with orange juice and a shot of tequila

Inspired by traditional Mexican Christmas punch – this shower gel is bright, boozy, fruity and uplifting.

Freshly squeezed orange juice, plum and cinnamon infusions, a good shot of tequila and a fruity fragrance all add up to your own little party in the shower.  But this is one party punch that will hit the spot without leaving you with a headache the next day! 

Feel refreshed and ready to face the morning.   So good, you will want to have another one for the road.

Musical Notes and Mathematical Tragedies

What Are You Listening To?

   Jazz  

and                                   

 Lee Ronaldo!

1. Albert Ayler Live in Greenwich Village: The Complete Impulse Recordings discovered this album from the book 1,000 Recordings to Hear Before You Die.   The album is at times challenging as it is a Jazz Battle between Albert Ayler and his band mates.  
2. If you are into something smoother, why not try Robert Glasper.  His music blends a nice groove with a hip hop sensibility to offer a mood that is relaxed yet will not lull you to sleep.
3. Blackilicious and Friends: I love these hip hopper jazz droppers and they have a new album.
4. Lee Ronaldo was featured in Amoeba Record's "What's In Your Bag".  I was not sure who he was but knew he was in Sonic Youth.  His musical talent is outstanding, and seem to fit my mood today.  He has that old REM sound but with his own unique spin.   Also his lyrics are poetic and give one a full range of pictures to fit your mood.   Sit down.  Pour some Glen Levitt on the Rocks.  And as you sip, relax, smile... and do whatever.  

Mathematical Tragedies

Can Binary Star Systems Harbor Habitable Planets?

Astronomers recently announced the discovery of a short period Earth-mass planet in the Alpha Centauri system. Could Earth-mass planets exist in the habitable zones of binary stars?

Etymology: Jeep

Jeep Brought Home to Popeye

Jeep a great vehicle, but where did they get that name?  I know where Tacoma is?  I know what a Super Nova is!  Impalas run fast!  But where did they get that name for the ultimate fun on four wheels?

The name, Jeep, came from a moment in 1936 when Olive Oyl (Popeye's Girlfriend) delivered a package that contained a small animal.   The sound the creature made was JEEEP!

And then Popeye deemed the new Pet, "Your Name will be Eugene Jeep!"...

Now to the vehicle:The U.S. Army needed an all purpose vehicle for military use.   The U.S. manufacturers came out with the G.P.  (General Purpose).  But what type of name is G.P:  (Gang Plank, Go Push it, Genuine Particle).   The army privates pronounced it geep, the vehicle then became known as Jeep.   The general enlisted grew affection for a vehicle named after Popeye's lovable pet.

By far FORD is more popular than Jeep or Oldsmobile; according to the NGRAM viewer.

Poetry Museum: Frank O'Hara

In Remembrance to a Poem by Frank O' Hara

A Day in the Life

It is 11:10 in Lakeland, a Tuesday,
two days after the World Series,
it is 2012 and I brush my teeth pearl white,
because I will get off the cozy couch in my abode
at 1:15 and then go straight to Publix,
and I don't know who will buy my chicken.

I walk up the freezing, tree lined, dead end street
and open the mailbox with my small golden key
a stack of unwanted bills and political ads
greet my blue oil pocked hands.

                                        I go on to my deli
and Miss. Calmwater (first name Bernice I once heard)
doesn't even tell me to cut the salami thinner.
And I ponder O'Keefe as I exhibit the slice,
or did I re-imagine film-scenes  from the Artist,
that dog stole the show, and made me smile; or
was I thinking about which friends I would call,
the images were practically lulling me to sleep,
with salami on my slicer.

And then I am asked to help Ms. Cherry
I tread on to the kitchen cautiously
but my feet slip Chaplinesque from the grease
spilled onto the floor.  I wake up from my dream
and stab the dead chickens.

And I am sweating a lot, because it is time to go
homeward bound, and so much to clean;
while Patsy Kline sings the lines to Crazy
written by Willie Nelson.
                                  I push my broom faster.  
 
Influenced by the Format of The Day Lady Died by Frank O'Connor.

Notes on the Poem:
What I like about O'Hara's writing is the  narrative is told in his Poem. He writes in the present tense during the whole poem, which gives us a feeling of walking with the author.   I had trouble with the line, becuase I will get off the 4 : 19 in Easthampton  The reason for the trouble was Lakeland has no complicated bus line,  so I had to think of what he was saying and how I could relate it to my locale.   You gain greater insight into a poem by attempting to relate the intent to your own condition.


  

Interest of the Saturday Afternoon Club: On Asses

Proverbs on Asses

• The ass that brays most, eats least.

• Every ass thinks himself worth to stand with the kings horses.

Feast of the Ass

A pretty girl was placed on an ass to commemarate the exodus, she was paraded through town and then through a church where everyone would bray.  The Priest was to bray three times.  The feast was celebrated January 14th.  

George Fox, the founder of the Quakers,  stood on a chair for three hours before he spoke to a gathering of friends.  He spoke the words of the LORD.

On Monsters

On Monsters and Especially the Damnation Game, and Hell Raiser by Clive Barker

from the Institutes of the Christian Religion

Seneca's complaint, as given by Augustine De Civit. Dei, c. 10, is well known.

"The sacred immortal, and invisible gods they exhibit in the meanest and most ignoble materials, and dress them in the clothing of men and beasts; some confound the sexes, and form a compound out of different bodies, giving the name of deities to objects, which, if they were met alive, would be deemed monsters."

Calvin, John (2008-04-03). Institutes of the Christian Religion (Kindle Locations 1845-1848). Signalman Publishing. Kindle Edition.

Anything constructed outside of God's will becomes an ugly perversion of what had one purpose and then takes on a monstrosity, a compound out of different bodies.   Frank has to reassemble his destroyed body through the blood of other people.   This is the monster that is created in Hell Raiser.   We see a man who in order to live most shred men and profit from their skins.    

Reviews: On Reviewing

Dietrich Eckart  

My opinions are my opinions, so do not read too much into them! I do not believe anyone has true critical insight... and will not edify my position and tell my readers that I have it right, and they have it wrong.   Professors commit this crime in order to maintain their position, at highly ranked Universities.  


Ueber Goethe's Faust. At the fifty-third page I came to a dead stop. Except quite incidentally neither Goethe nor Faust had as yet been mentioned. These fifty-three pages had been entirely devoted to what seemed to my rather unmetaphysical mind a not very luminous or edifying dissertation on the difference between Ansicht and Einsicht--between mere Opinion and true critical Insight; and, as far as I could discover, the only conclusion as yet arrived at was that the writer possessed an exclusive monopoly in the last-mentioned article.

Cotterill, H.B.. The Faust-Legend and Goethe's 'Faust' (Kindle Locations 35-39). manybooks.net.

Checkout these early reviews on Classic Books at Flavor Wire.

Musical Notes and Mathematical Tragedies: Fractals

What am I currently listening to on Spotify.

1. Dan Deacon America discovered from the review, in  the September Issue of Mojo Magazine.  His sound is very ambient and seems to be the sound of the Zeitgeist of our current American Dream.



2. Blackalicious: My favorite hip hop band just released a new album. 



3. I first heard The Reverend Paytons' Big Damn Band at a Flogging Molly concert.  Also listened to Doo Rag.



4. Bill Fay- Life is People discovered from the  review, in the September Issue of Mojo Magazine. He is the voice of the invisible worker, and his Life is People shares a unique perspective.  The album at times shares the pain that is the modern condition.  



5. And my list of 50+ Greatest Electronic Records ever Produced according and influenced by Mojo Magazine.   Mojo Magazine, the best rock and roll magazine ever produced, released their 50 greatest Electronic Records of all time in the September Magazine.   The Spotify list is three days long and is full of ambient noises to keep you company, while reading your favorite novel.  Or writing your favorite novel.  

Mathematical Tragedies: Fractals

rho = sin(a * phi)^b + cos(c * phi)^d + sin(e * theta)^f + cos(g * theta)^h

Etymology: Sacrifice

History

Sacrifice was borrowed from Old French, ultimately combining two parts the Sacri which means to set apart as sacred, and facere to make.   So a sacrifice means to set apart something in order to make it dedicated to a Deity.   Abraham sacrificed his son, in order to set apart a nation for God. 

Quote

 To give anything less than your best is to sacrifice the gift.
Steve Prefontaine

Read more at http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/keywords/sacrifice.html#g2TTZSSj915H71t4.99

Ngram Popularity

Sacrifice was a word that hit its most popular use in the period right before the Civil War.   Sacrifice was the highest form of works for a citizen to do.   The word was often used in conjunction with the Christian Church, and especially concerning Jesus Christ mighty work.

Interest of the Saturday Afternoon Club: For Children Only?

Chitty Chitty Bang Bang was written by the same author who brought James Bond, Ian Fleming.

Spy Kids and El Mirachi were directed by the same director, Robert Rodriquez.

Donald Duck appeared in anti-Nazi propaganda films, created for the U.S. Government, during World War II.

Reviews: Spotify Service

I love Spotify because one can find almost any song one desires.   Currently I am listening to Chet Akins and Les Paul on the Album Chster and Lester as recommended by 1,000 Albums to Listen to before you Die.   It is groovy.
My buddy Tim and Mike last night had a lot of fun finding reggae songs, and old UB40 songs to listen to.  Mike is excited about his wedding and was looking up songs he wanted at the reception.
 I also found an obscure band called Do Rag, who wowed me one night at a live show at the Fox Theatre in Boulder Colorado.  The band only has a 7" and Spotify Found it for me.
  I also listened to Reverend Paytons' Big Damn Band.  They opened up for Flogging Molly.   All in all the service is fantastic and I highly recommend it.

Musical Notes and Mathematical Tragedies

What am I listening to currently, week of 10-18-2012:

1. Jarvis Cocker (known for his stint as the frontman for Pulp).  I love his quirky lyrics, they tell of a life so normal that it seems to be odd.  I love writers and Jarvis Cocker is definitely a  humorous writer:
   
   And so I come to you filled with guilt and self-loathing
   And I am praying that you could make me good
   And so I fall upon your neck just like a vampire
   Yeah, like a vampire who faints at the sight of blood  
2. London Phillharmonic's The Greatest Video Game Music. 
3. Unashamed Ad for Spotify  
   I am now subscribed to Spotify and think that it is such a place of discovery for music.   Check it out and I bet you will love the service.  

Mathematical Tragedies the history of Pi

1699:	Sharp used Gregory's result to get 71 correct digits
1701:	Machin used an improvement to get 100 digits and the following used his methods:
1719:	de Lagny found 112 correct digits
1789:	Vega got 126 places and in 1794 got 136
1841:	Rutherford calculated 152 digits and in 1853 got 440
1873:	Shanks calculated 707 places of which 527 were correct

 2012 Rothbard finished scarf of Pi.  

Poetry Museum

Ode to James Schulyer's: A Man In Blue 
by Gregory D. Rothbard
Entranced by Moby Dick on You Tube, this October afternoon
a grey cat is stalking string
around the living room, (he stealthy
pounces on it).  Next door
guinea pigs sleep.  "You got
a zoo."  sort of. A square metal bird cage
holds a tweaked "love-bird", pecking a wooden rod.
"You got a zoo..." The Melville day
lapses from drops to waves.   Grass,
 weather-beaten, as Orson Welles'  beard....
is stretched, ordered, pious above his wearied flock
"wide and high as an idea of heaven"
in which Melville turns his face like God upon exposed eyes,

John Houston amused at the dialogue.

and says, "There is something I must tell you!"
to Sir Orson Welles.   "In the First Movement
of my Ninth, think of it as if soldiers
going off to war first thing tomorrow,
in terms of other sermons.  A Pastors Prayers,
heavenly hymns ." Sir Orson Welles
in a white oxford, worn with suspenders says, 
"Let me read it for you."

Italics are words taken directly from the Poem.  I had no other way to write it... I want to give credit where Credit is due.  

Men Naked in the Woods

I went to Egypt and Israel for a month in my final year of college.  The trip was tremendous.  When I went to Israel, and stood before the wailing wall, I had no clue what to say.   So I said, "Shama Israel, Adonai Elohaino, Adonoi Echad."  Those words were so fitting for I was asking God to tell me and shape me into the man he so desired.

Men Naked in the Woods

On Romans 7
In the fire I am
Consumed.
Passions thwarted,
But arise anew.
Behind curtains,
A candle lit view:
I'm doomed.  

Interest of the Saturday Afternoon Club

Foot of Hercules, is the idea
that something can be deciphered
by one of its parts. 

The Word Dixie comes from the Louisiana Dix, or $10.00 bank.

Columbus brought Chilies from the Caribbean to Spain in 1493.

William James wrote, "The Ocean is a damned wet disagreeable place."

Reviews: Cool Ideas

Independent minds float, on freedom of ideas.

I love the freedom of E books because:

1.  One does not have to go somewhere to get the book.The bookstore, library, or bookmobile does not have determine what you read.
2. The reader can choose the price they are willing to pay for the books, or how much they can afford to pay in order to get a book. 
3. Classic books are free and can be found most easily.  This has increased the reading of 19th century literature.  I am appreciating ROMANTIC writers, because of Good Reads and Guttenberg.org.
4. No back aches. Imagine if I had to lug around 303 books in my backpack, I could not move the bag.  Lets see 303 books each book a pound, that is 303 pounds.  Eecks. 
5. The Humble EBook group has even allowed the buyer the role in how the funds are to be divided.  One can give 90% to the author, 5% to the Publishing Company, and 5% as a donation to the chosen charity.   

Musical Notes and the Tragedy of Math

What 5 Artists or Albums are you listening to right now?  A New Weekly Installment, inspired by my brother Andrew Rothbard.    I am no guru of one sound, and my eclectic tastes at times need refinement. (week of 10-11-2012)

Wowzer: Spiders (Rock and Rolled Me)

1.   Black Francis - Frank Black (off of Spotify)
2. Spiders: A band from Sweden that sound like they come out of the 1970's and great bands like Aeorosmith (Toys in the Attic), Blue Oyster Cult, and The MC 5.  Wowzer!  I am a fan of Southern Rock and Bluesy Chunky Music.  
3. Septembers Mojo collection.
4. The Digital Underground 
   (Italic means off of Spotify). 
5. Digster's Awesome Seven Hour Playlist for October and Rock and Roll.  

Check out the Cool Guys at Amoeba Records and their interviews with stars who shop there, and what lies within their bag.

Poetry Museum

Haiku to someone that Wrote In

Like a Big Moon Pie,
Like the moon, and sweet tasting, 
Life is a TURNIP? 

Interest of the Saturday Afternoon Club

In Synch with Numbers?

1. Grant's Overland Campaign, during the civil war (May 4 – June 24, 1864) lasted exactly forty days.  

• Casualties and losses
  55,000[2]	32,000[2]

   
2. What Really Happened at Promontory Point Utah: 

•  The Official Picture was this one, can you spot any one that is Chinese or Asian? 

• Chinese Americans had a large part in creating the Trans Continental Railroad.

 3. Synesthesia: Is a condition that some people see numbers and Letters as colors.  Here is an example of how one might see:

 



Thoughts worth pondering:

h
How many stripes does a Zebra have?  Both Black and White?
Why was the Zebra never tamed, or husband like its cousin the horse?

Musical Notes and the Beauty of Mathematics

It is impossible to cut a sandwich into thirds, one part will be bigger than another, unless you have a bit left over.  Look 1/3 + 1/3 +1/3 = 3/3 but then again it should be 100%, right? 1/3 equals .33 so if we are to write 1/3 into decimals we get:  .33 + .33 + .33 = .99 where did the .01 go? Hmmm, very interesting. 

Checkout the Mathematical Problem of the Week:
Math Counts 
Math Forum and Drexel Math Department

Poetry Museum

Poetry and Music are interconnected in a relationship of delighting, crushing, and seething bewilderment    Feliks Kornaski, the Polish Writer, Songwriter and Cabaret Performer, wrote the song Red Poppies on Monte Cassino.  The song is a psalm to the savage violence of World War II.

  

Red poppies on Monte Cassino, | Czerwone maki na Monte Cassino

Instead of dew, drank Polish blood. | Zamiast rosy piły polską krew...

As the soldier crushed them in falling,| Po tych makach szedł żołnierz i ginął,

For the anger was more potent than death.| Lecz od śmierci silniejszy był gniew!

Years will pass and ages will roll, | Przejdą lata i wieki przeminą,

But traces of bygone days will stay, | Pozostaną ślady dawnych dni!..

And the poppies on Monte Cassino | I tylko maki na Monte Cassino

Will be redder having quaffed Polish blood. |Czerwieńsze będą, bo z polskiej wzrosną krwi.

Krysia Jopek, the author of   Maps and Shadows,  introduced me to the beauty of Feliks Kornask. 

Top Three Third Quater

The Best Reads July through September 2012

This was a slow period for books that really engaged me. There were a number of great books that I have not finished as of yet including, Thomas A. Lindsay History of the Reformation, George Fox's Auto-Biography, and Uncle Silas by J. Sheridan Le Fanu. 

However, there were three that stood out:

1. The Freedom of Self Forgetfulness (Tim Keller) (Religion)
• Keller is the man.  He is such a great pastor, with the power to illuminate all sorts of topics.  My church currently is reading the marriage book by him.
2. The Metaphysical Club (History)
• I hate to list a book as a favorite for one I did not finish.  But this one is too good to pass up.  It tells the history of the period in the development of Pragmatism and the shaping of American Thought.  If you ever wondered why the 19th century is such a pivotal point in the American Experience look no further.  The book even answered why Thoreau's list of seeds was so pertinent for the American Character.  The Metaphysical Club is a great book to savor, and I have checked it out from the Lakeland (Florida) Library numerous times.
  
3.  Some of Your Blood (Horror)

• A tale about Vampires written by Theodore Spurgeon.  One of my first books by this author.  The book follows the psychological recovery of a boy who has an awful secret.  

Read More: The Top  Top 9 Books Read So Far

 

Musical Notes and the Beauty of Math: Art Ensemble of Chicago

Numbers Synch?

Jacob soujourned for 130 years.
 1+3 = 4
J A C O B  name equals
1 1 3 6 2
add all up you get 13
1+3=4
Is this just a synch or is there value in this knowledge?  You tell me?
The Number four can represent Strong Sense of Order, struggle against limits, steady growth, and foundation for achievement.  The negative for the numbers is that the person or thing identified can become confusing.   Hmmm... this seems to be JACOB in a nutshell.   

Musicology

Introducing: The Art Ensamble of Chicago

 
Jazz is 
the music
of the
Beat Upon
Street

 

Etymology-Eavesdrop

Etymology of Eavesdrop 

The term originally referred to the water that falls in drops from the eaves of a house.   Then, in a moment of frustration, due to flooding of one's abode by their neighbors drip, the English adopted Eaves drop into a law.   One needed a special permit before one could build, in order to avoid annoying accidents, so that one's eave could not drip water onto anther's land.   The term of the interloper who hears the message of another and spreads the gossip around was first used in the 14th century.   The term saw the act of eavesdropping as a flood of half truths, and innuendos, thus flooding a town with slime.  Yuck!   Now with the advent of new technology, eavesdrop refers to the electronic eavesdropping carried on by the government, or your neighbor today.

Ngram Popularity

The Word Was most popular between 1820 - 1840 but is seeing a current resurgence.   Below is how John Milton used the word Eavesdrop in his book the Prose Works of John Milton.

 

Gematria for the Word Eavesdrop

Eavesdrop
514514967
6   9   5  15 7
15   5  22
20  22
42
6
A strong sense of responsiblity, artistic, a nurturing disposition, community oriented, balanced, sympathy for others, humanitarian, unselfishness, love of home and domestic affairs, freely renders service to others.
Negative Traits:
Self righteousness, obstinacy, stubborn, dominates family and friends, meddling, egotistical, and susceptible to flattery, outspoken.

Next Week: Walnut.

Lost in Translation: Uncle Silas

O nuit, nuit douloureuse! O toi, tardive aurore! Viens-tu? Vas tu venir? es-tu bien loin encore?
And repeating these lines of Chenier, with upturned eyes, and one hand lifted an an indescribable expression of grief and fatigue, he sank stiffly into his chair, and remained mute, with eyes closed for some time.   Then applying his scented handkerchief to them hastily,  and looking very kindly at me he said- "Anything more, dear child?
 Uncle Silas is quoting the opening lines of a poem written in French by Chenier.  The poem tells of the seperation between lovers, one loving the night, and the other the day:

O night, painful night!
o you, late morning, do you come?
are you going to come?
 are you well far yet?
Ah! sometimes on a mountainside,
then on again ', randomly I turn
and m' agitates, and nowhere
Find that Marais ' impatient, bitter insomnia.
A worried illness and making only a burning fever.
You sleep, beautiful D'.z.. ' ;
 It ' is that you, it ' is my love
 Holding my eyelid open Montparnasse ' day.
If you again ' had wanted.
Gods! that cruel night could Entrepreneural
' flow faster and more beautiful.
My soul, like a dream, around your aerobatic sleep.
Reading me tomorrow as your alarm clock.
You see, like you, if my heart is peaceful.
J have raised for you on my painful layer my head dwelt;
seated, and full of yourself.
The nocturnal torch that shines me sees Me,
sounds plaintive and mixed caresses.
Pour over paper my heart and my tenderness.
You sleep, beautiful D'.. .z, your eyes are closed.
Your breath of balmy sighs rose

For you tonight that Entrepreneural ' escapes too fast
a sweet insomnia will leak! (English)

Interest of the Saturday Afternoon Club

Elias Disney worked on the great White City, constructed for Chicago's World Fair in 1893.  He told stories, to his sons Roy and Walt, about a magical kingdom by a lake.  

Fort Meade, Florida, became the first city in Central South Florida.  The city got its start in 1849.

My cat bit my hand at 1:29, Thursday,  the 20th  of September.  

Musical Notes and the Beauty of Math

Watch The Movie on YouTube

Numerology states that numbers have more meaning than quantity.   In fact the ancient priests believed that every thing could be assigned a number, and that this number could be associated with the nature of the thing.
Gematria: is the system of assigning numerical values to a word or phrases in the belief that words or phrases with identical numerical values bear some relation to each other, or bear some relation to the number itself as it may apply to a person's age, the calender year, or the like. 
IRON MAIDEN
9965   419455
18+11  5+13+10
9+2      18+10
11          28
             10
               1

As a whole their value is a three which means self expressive in many ways, verbalization, inspiration, and keen imagination, artistic gifts, acurate impressions, and insights never ending optimism happy and fun loving, enjoys life fully.
Negative:  Scattered Energies, Exaggeration, Unfinished Projects, Lack of Direction, moodiness, self-centeredness.

But Iron has a score of 11
Spirituality is emphasized more, but in essence the two traits, positive and negative apply.

Maiden has a score of 1
Initiator of action, a pioneering spirit, inventive ideas, independent, courageous.
Negative Traits: boastfulness, willfulness, egotistic, aggressive.  

So now, enjoy the video, Iron Maiden's "the Number of the Beast". 

Etymology: Word History - Quicksilver/Mercury.

 History of the Word:  

Quicksilver-Liquid Silver. The history of the word comes from Latin. One needs to know that Quicksilver comes from two words: cwic and seolfor. Cwic means running, moving, shifting.

Mercury

points to the God Mercury. Mercury was the "god of commerce and the fleet footed messenger of the gods."This God exemplified the type of material that Quicksilver was.  The silver that ran and was not solid, that moved between the fingers like jelly.  

NGram Viewer Popularity of the Word: The Word's highest use was between 1820-1840.

The Merriam-Webster New Book of Word Histories ( Miriam Webster Inc., 1991),385

The Numerological Value of the Word Mercury

Mercury
4593397
99697
18 15 7
18 22
40
4: According to Wikipedia this word has a strong sense of order and values, struggles against limits, steady growth, highly practical, scientific mind, attention to detail, foundation for achievment, a genius for organization, fine management skills.
Negative Traits: Lack of imagination, caught up in detail, stubborn fixed opinions, argumentative, slow to act, too serious, confused.

Poetry Museum: Philip Whalen

Philip Whalen described poetry as the "graph of the mind's movement."   He writes in a Zen Buddhist contemplative, empathetic view on the world.   The poem the Slop Barrel Slices of the Paideuma for all Sentinet Beings.is a zen poem that captures the moment in between time where change is inevitable.
 Paideuma means "a people's whole congeries of patterned energies from the ideas down to the things they know in their bones."*  He attempts to objectively see the world as it really is.  His poems allow us a glimpse of a frozen moment in a period of flux.

Hugh Kenner, The Pound Era, Berkley, Calif., 1971, p. 507.
My own attempt to write a Haiku to Philip Whalen:

9AM Pacific University

Lumber Truck Braking,

One Morning at Pacific.

I'm Sleep walking.

Men Naked In the Woods

Do we have to like the characters in a story we are reading?  Or do we have to like everything about our buddy or accountability partner?

  I believe that no matter how vile, one must have a part that we can relate and share empathy with. There, have been plenty of characters that might not be someone I would invite home to dinner. However, there must be a part of the character that is redeemable. or at least a hope that the character will become better in the end. The hope does not need to be fulfilled but if there is no hope than most likely the character will bore us in the end. We must also feel that the character shares a journey with us.  We must also feel equally yoked.  Our friend must not hold his character over us and make us feel like we are nothing and he/she is everything.   This will build towards a manipulation trap.  

Interest of the Saturday Afternoon Club

Blaise Pascal is said to have always carried a watch attached to his left wrist-band. He said in his writing that one can feel late or early, but he knows the time according to his watch.

Festum Fatuoran: A Drunken orgy where Pious Monks ate out other horny monks and maybe a nun to celebrate ones fallen nature.  Hutten an ally of Luther hoped that the Monks would "devour one another that ye may be consumed one of another."

Nietzsche father was a protestant pastor.  Nietzsche claimed that God was dead.  Do you think he might have had some father issues?

Reviews: Mumma Shana

Mumma Shana is a novel that explores what it is to be trapped by tradition.  Dorie a Jewish woman finds love caught between the cracks of two faiths: Judaism, and Christianity.   She looks for an answer to fill the gaps in her life. At first she thinks this is with guys.  She looks for her knight in shinning armor, only to find men whose shine has lost its luster.  She  finds herself in relationships that abuse her as a woman.  However, she holds onto a hope that she will find the glue to connect the pieces.  The mosaic will make her whole in a shattered world.

I do not believe that reading from the point of view of a female, makes me a better guy.  I find this viewpoint to be a good gateway to understanding my wife and friends. at    Mumma Shana by Dana Wolf is my romance for the year.  The author asked me to read this book, and I was given a review copy. As it was a bit girly the book took a little prodding from the author to finish it. 

I am glad I got prodded.    

I am  in love with the main character Dorrie, I want to save her and build a place for her, that is if I was not married.  The book is a pleasure and shows one woman's thoughts towards the men she loves. I came away with a fuller sense of the magnitude of love in my marriage. A great book for any man that asks, "Why does she feel this way?" Why do women stay with creeps?  Why did my wife stay with me when I was an asshole?  This book is a piece of beauty although tragic.

Mumma Shana has great insight.  I also love the description of her struggles with fitting into a Goy and Jewish world.  This has been a struggle for me and my family for ever.  My mother had an orthodox conversion from Christianity (Lutheranism) to Judaism.  Then I found Christ in my life and could not let go.   The whole emotional playground is profound, and I am thankful that a writer  has attempted to write of the struggle in a way that is real, authentic, and enriching.     *

The over use of colloquial words, drew me away from the narrative.   (eg.  Last Straw used in 83% read))  I already knew that Dorrie was at her last straw with Peter;  because of all of the description used before-hand.  Danna do a great job of developing the plot, she needs to trust her readers ability to understand her words.  This is her first novel, so I believe this will develop more in her writing career. **

* **This note was written to the author on  9.13.2012

Musical Notes: Mamma Shanna

These were the top songs for the time that the book is set at its conclusion:

(1991)

Etymology: Word History - OK

OK:The history of the abbreviation is deep, and has many stories linked to it.   OK is most likely the deliberately misspelled oll korrect. Many American humorists from the 1820's deliberately misspelled words.  They did this in order to look like Country Folk/Bumpkins.

Off To Kinderhook

OK may have gone into Obscurity had it non been for Martin Van Buren, the democratic candidate in 1840. Martin Van Buren was the current president.  The Campaign for re-election captured the craze of saying Ok and associated it with Martin Van Buren's home town: Old Kinderhook, New York. This was a catchy way to remember to vote for Van Buren was a vote for OK. The Whigs re-incorporated OK to a new meaning for the departure of the current president.   The Whigs flaunted the departure of Van Buren with the saying "off to Kinderhook."
The Myth around OK is fascinating and has a number of stories connected to it.   As far as The Merriam-Webster New Book of Word Histories knows, the Martin Van Buren campaign was the biggest influence on this use of that word.

Quote

“Some people wear their smile like a disguise. Those people who smile a lot, watch their eyes. I know 'cause I'm like that a lot. You think everything's ok, and it is . . . 'till it's not.” Ani Difranco quotes 

Ngram Popularity

OK is currently at its height of popularity.   


The Merriam-Webster New Book of Word Histories ( Miriam Webster Inc., 1991), 329-331