oneparticularwave » Philosophy

Quote(s) of the Day: from Another Roadside Attraction May 4, 2008

Posted by ~V~ in : Politics, Images, Philosophy, Quote of the Day , add a comment

“Normally,”

said Marvelous,

“the Institute
concerns itself
with probing
relatively specific
problems
and
situations.”

For example, the State Department
and the Defense Department signed
a joint contract with us for a study of Iceland.

They wanted to know where
Iceland was going in the modern world,
whether she would be likely to constitute
a threat.

Considering her history and her racial character, her current state of economic growth, scientific activity and political ambitions, what should be America’s long-range policy in regards to Iceland?

In our twice-weekly seminars, where
we would pool the results of individual research and think sessions, we dined on fish heads and mead and piped in rímur music, that’s how immersed in Iceland we were.

. We even turned the air conditioner up as high
. as it would go to get the feel of the climate.
.
. The assistant director caught a terrible cold
. and missed ten days.
.
. That study was top secret, naturally,
and I’m violating security by mentioning it,
but what the hell.

You see, generally, what kind of projects we undertook?

“Yes, I see,”
said Amanda.

“It sounds ever so important.”

Was Amanda giggling
or clearing her sinuses?
Marx Marvelous
could not tell which.

“It is necessary
that man extend his vision
beyond the political realities
of the present,”
said Marx,
somewhat defensively.

“When science can assist him in that, it is his duty.”

~ from Another Roadside Attraction

a novel by Tom Robbins

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Quote(s) of the Day: from Bucky Fuller April 30, 2008

Posted by ~V~ in : Images, Philosophy, Quote of the Day, Web Resources, How To: , add a comment

*

Now there is one outstandingly important fact
regarding Spaceship Earth,

and that is that
no instruction book
came with it.

*

The Things
to do are:

the things
that need doing,
that you see need
to be done,

and that no one else
seems to see
need to be done.

You
never
change
things
by
fighting
the
existing
reality.

To
change
something,
build
a
new
model
that
makes
the
existing
model
obsolete.

~ Richard Buckminster ‘Bucky’ Fuller (1895–1983)

Every picture tells a story:

click on any image
(in this post & pretty much
everywhere else on this site)
to learn more…

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Comix: xkcd - Startling April 26, 2008

Posted by ~V~ in : Images, Philosophy, Comix , 2comments

xkcd: A webcomic of romance, sarcasm, math, and language.

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Picture/Quote of the Day: from Kurt Vonnegut April 11, 2008

Posted by ~V~ in : Images, Philosophy, Quote of the Day, Picture of the Day , 1 comment so far

So it goes.

Kurt Vonnegut, Jr.
(November 11, 1922 – April 11, 2007)

God

Bless

You,

Mr. Vonnegut.

YouTube Video of the Day: The Tao of Jack LaLanne April 5, 2008

Posted by ~V~ in : Video, Images, Spirituality, Philosophy, YouTube Video of the Day, How To: , add a comment

from The Jack LaLanne Show, c.1950s

timeless words of wisdom from
François Henri “Jack” LaLanne,
aka the ‘Dalai LaLanne’…

know Jack, know peace:
official site | IMDb

~~kōans~~ quotes: Wikiquote
BrainyQuote | ThinkExist

Picture of the Day: from the Voyager Tarot - 0 Fool-Child April 1, 2008

Posted by ~V~ in : Images, Spirituality, Philosophy, Picture of the Day , 3comments

because an image speaks volumes in an instant.

(click on image to see full-size)

Like the fetus and dependent child, you live on faith
in the order of the universe. You know that you are taken
care of. In accepting this higher law, you can be the Fool;
you can relax, be yourself, take risks, play.

As the innocent Fool and wide-eyed Child, you are open
and curious. That receptive state of mind makes you
intuitive, original, spontaneous, and present.
You allow your natural genius its expression.

Like the child, you have tremendous vitality, a youthful
energy that wants to move about, experience,and learn.
If you occasionally fall on your face, that’s part of growing.

As the number of this card - zero - you are like spirit;
you are everywhere and nowhere, lost and secure,
young but wise, silly yet serious. You follow the spirit
rather than the practical and conventional.

Taking such a leap of faith may allow you to be fooled
in a worldly sense, but also gives you a rebirth through
a mystical, transcendent experience which brings
a breath of fresh air, a new life, and a new beginning.

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Why go on? March 25, 2008

Posted by ~V~ in : Uncategorized, Politics, Video, Images, Spirituality, Philosophy, Portland, New Orleans, Sounds, Quote of the Day, Song of the Day, Picture of the Day, Web Resources, YouTube Video of the Day, Comix, How To: , 8comments

Why do i even do this?

i get hundreds of visitors a day @ this site, and people are hotlinking to it
left and right, but no comments, no thanks, no nothin’.

Does anybody out there even like what i’m doing here, or is this site just a source of free music and photos for your LiveJournal or MySpace or Facebook profiles or message board posts to try and help you look cool to your friends?

i’m tired of always sending letters and never getting any back.

~~i think i’m gonna quit this exercise in futility and delete everything pretty soon, so~~ download all you can while you still can, kids…

Picture of the Day: from the Voyager Tarot - II Priestess February 2, 2008

Posted by ~V~ in : Images, Spirituality, Philosophy, Picture of the Day , add a comment

because an image speaks volumes in an instant.

(click on image to see full-size)

As the Priestess, you symbolize the law of knowledge;
you know the truth. Through inner stillness
and equilibrium, you see what lies below the surface.

You know yourself. Equanimous and balanced like your
number, two, you are able to see yourself objectively.
Through your dreams and meditations,
you allow your moon subconscious to rise
to the surface of conscious awareness.

In your watery receptivity, you are the reflecting pool —
a mirror to others. You are a counselor, a wise owl.
Like the dolphin, you tune in to others through vibrations.
As the Temple of Delphi, you are an oracle. You see.

The Queen Nefertiti as a Priestess symbolizes your ability
to bring metaphysical perceptions into the material world.
You can apply the psycho-spiritual arts
in a practical, influential, worldly way.

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YouTube Video of the Day: Louis Armstrong - What a Wonderful World January 1, 2008

Posted by ~V~ in : Video, Philosophy, Sounds, YouTube Video of the Day , add a comment

Ladies and gentlemen, Mr. Louis Armstrong:

Pops explains… (1.1MB mp3)

from 1968
originally broadcast on BBC Television

the band: Tyree Glenn - trombone
Joe Muranyi - clarinet | Marty Napoleon - piano
Buddy Catlett - bass | Danny Barcelona - drums

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“YouTube Video of the Day”

see my YouTube videos and favorites

Picture of the Day: from the Voyager Tarot - XII Hanged Man December 12, 2007

Posted by ~V~ in : Images, Spirituality, Philosophy, Picture of the Day , add a comment

because an image speaks volumes in an instant.

(click on image to see full-size)

The upside-down Hanged Man symbolizes the law of
reversal. As in the crucifixion of Christ, victory and success
are achieved in a manner opposite from any expected.
Instead of assertive movement and forceful resistance,
salvation is attained through passive surrender.

When feeling hung up, encircled, netted, and walled in,
wait it out. Assume a holding pattern. You are in suspense,
a limbo that demands you tread water.
Acceptance of your limitations brings expansion.

The octopus tentacles signify that you are under
constrictive influences beyond your control.
Surrender your ego. The feeling that you are drowning and
being dragged to the depths is the “dark night of the soul,”
the preparatory stage for rebirth and new life.

The Hanged Man is also symbolic of compassionate
self-sacrifice. Like Christ, giving yourself up for the good
of others enables you to transcend the ego and achieve
union with the great spirit of the Universe.

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YouTube Video of the Day: Pale Blue Dot December 7, 2007

Posted by ~V~ in : Politics, Video, Spirituality, Philosophy, YouTube Video of the Day , add a comment

THIS is here.

This is US.

∞ ∞ ∞

inspired by the essay Reflections on a Mote of Dust by Carl Sagan
and his book Pale Blue Dot: A Vision of the Human Future in Space

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Quote of the Day: from Jane Hirshfield December 6, 2007

Posted by ~V~ in : Images, Spirituality, Philosophy, Quote of the Day, Web Resources , add a comment

because i couldn’t have said it better myself.

Everything I think about the nature of this life
comes down to seven words:

Everything is connected;
everything changes;
pay attention.

And really, you only need the last two — if you’re paying attention, you’ll find out whatever else
you need to know.

~ Jane Hirshfield

Internet Map image by Chris Harrison

Jane Hirshfield photo by Shawn Cady Spelman

J.H. on the www: official site | Wikipedia

poets.org | csmonitor.com | poetryfoundation.org

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Picture of the Day: from the Voyager Tarot - V Hierophant December 5, 2007

Posted by ~V~ in : Images, Spirituality, Philosophy, Picture of the Day , add a comment

because an image speaks volumes in an instant.

(click on image to see full-size)

The Hierophant symbolizes the law of life mastery.
You are like a child learning through the tests of life,
and growing through experience into Buddhahood —
full enlightenment.

The Buddha’s bare feet on the ground symbolize that
the path to enlightenment is through the lessons
of this earthly plane. Like the flower which grows
out of the compost, it is out of the garbage of life —
the storms, rifts, and valleys — that you flower.

Like the Buddha, you are a sage who has already
mastered many tests. You are a guiding hand,
a teacher of others. Like the elephant, you can clear
the way for others. You are an enlightener like Venus,
the morning and evening star.
Listen to your inner voice of experience,
which is symbolized by the Buddha’s ears…

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Second Line… December 2, 2007

Posted by ~V~ in : Images, Spirituality, Philosophy, Portland, New Orleans , add a comment

. “Two years ago I was watching
. all the Katrina coverage on TV
. and knew another family coming
. down to do construction for the
. relief effort,” says Peter Spring.
. “I thought I’d join them, then
. thought about what I could offer
. with my own special skills
. and tools.”

Now living by the Mississippi
River in a warehouse that he
turned into a workshop and
performance space, Spring,
57, has donated hundreds
of musical instruments to
musicians, schools and churches
in New Orleans, while teaching a new generation of artists how to play. He’s been doing it since October 2005.

. His mission is personal.
. In 2002, Spring’s 22-year-old
. son, Steven, a talented
. musician in his own right, died
. of a rare form of bone cancer.
“The most amazing thing about my son is that not once through all the pain of his cancer did he complain or waste any time,” Spring says. “He just played as hard as he could right up to the end.
That’s what I had to live up to.”

Crushed by the loss of his son three years earlier, Spring was adrift when the floodwaters of Katrina began washing over the birthplace of jazz. Inspired to help, he founded the nonprofit Steven Spring Foundation, which he named after his son. Spring held a fundraiser in his hometown of Ashland, Oregon and began collecting instruments. By the end of September 2005 he had collected over 60 instruments — from pianos to flutes — loaded them all in a trailer, and started his first 2,800-mile road trip to Louisiana.

. “I feel a huge debt to this
. city — particularly the
. African-American people —
. for inventing jazz, which I think
. is the best thing that’s come out of America,” says Spring, who plans to stay in the city for three more years. “I have absolutely no doubt that I am in the right place doing the right thing.”

Spring arrived in New Orleans
soon after the city reopened,
at a time when most of New
Orleans remained uninhabitable.
On his first night, Spring repaired the piano at Donna’s Bar and Grill, a well-known jazz club on Rampart Street that had flooded after the hurricane. The next day he joined New Orleans’ first post-Katrina second line parade on Bourbon Street, marking the passing of the storm and the start of the city’s rebirth.

“At every point after deciding to do this, fortuitous things have happened that make it seem like it’s all been planned,” Spring says.
“Of course, that’s the essence of jazz.”