You Should Be A Poet |
 You craft words well, in creative and unexpected ways. And you have a great talent for evoking beautiful imagery... Or describing the most intense heartbreak ever. You're already naturally a poet, even if you've never written a poem. |
Saturday, August 25
Friday, August 24
Which fucked-up genius composer are you?
Nick Cave... dark and creepy. You're a bi-polar genius, with equal passion for the most degrading aspects of humanity, as well as the beauty & wonder of God and Heaven.
Take this quiz!
Thursday, August 23
This site simply PWNS with a capital O.
Paleo-Future
a look into the future that never was
Be sure to check out the series of German postcards from 1900 depicting life in 2000!
Postkarten
As well as many other parts of the site.
~
I used to be absolutely fascinated by this kind of thing and what it told us about the nature of human thought and prediction. And I still am. I like to look through encyclopedias or newspapers from the time just before, during, or just after something major happens, to see how it was viewed at the time, rather than through the editorial lens of history.
For example, looking up "Adolf Hitler" in a 1937 edition of an encyclopedia at the library at UCLA, and seeing what it had to say about him from an American perspective, since it was clear he was grabbing power and land in Europe and was a tyrant and open racist, but neither Britain, France, nor America was yet at war with Germany. What would they say about him? Would there be any speculation of the explosion soon to come by some particularly prescient author?
Or reading a blow-by-blow account of the 1883 eruption of Krakatau (Krakatoa) and feeling like I was there, seeing, hearing, and feeling it personally and thinking to myself "What the FUUUCK???"
~
So this site is like a dream come true. I could spend days on it.
Hmm, I just might do.
Paleo-Future
a look into the future that never was
Be sure to check out the series of German postcards from 1900 depicting life in 2000!
Postkarten
As well as many other parts of the site.
~
I used to be absolutely fascinated by this kind of thing and what it told us about the nature of human thought and prediction. And I still am. I like to look through encyclopedias or newspapers from the time just before, during, or just after something major happens, to see how it was viewed at the time, rather than through the editorial lens of history.
For example, looking up "Adolf Hitler" in a 1937 edition of an encyclopedia at the library at UCLA, and seeing what it had to say about him from an American perspective, since it was clear he was grabbing power and land in Europe and was a tyrant and open racist, but neither Britain, France, nor America was yet at war with Germany. What would they say about him? Would there be any speculation of the explosion soon to come by some particularly prescient author?
Or reading a blow-by-blow account of the 1883 eruption of Krakatau (Krakatoa) and feeling like I was there, seeing, hearing, and feeling it personally and thinking to myself "What the FUUUCK???"
~
So this site is like a dream come true. I could spend days on it.
Hmm, I just might do.
"Where Do They Make Balloons?"
(Flansburgh/Linnell)
Marmalade's from Scotland
Rugs from Pakistan
Mexico has jumping beans
And cars are from Japan
Clowns are from the circus
Barking comes from dogs
Eggs come from a chicken
And log cabins come from logs
But where, where do they make balloons?
But where, where do they make balloons?
New York has tall buildings
New Jersey has its malls
Pisa has a leaning tower
Will it ever fall?
The ocean has the fishes
London has a tower
In Holland they have windmills,
Lots of bikes, and pretty flowers
But where, where do they make balloons?
But where, where do they make balloons?
Spaghetti is from China
But Italians make it best
Ants can make an anthill
And monkeys make a mess
Hungary isn't hungry
And french fries aren't from France
Turkeys aren't from Turkey
They can't fly but they can dance
But where, where do they make balloons?
But where, where do they make balloons?
But where, where do they make balloons?
But where, where do they make balloons?
(Flansburgh/Linnell)
Marmalade's from Scotland
Rugs from Pakistan
Mexico has jumping beans
And cars are from Japan
Clowns are from the circus
Barking comes from dogs
Eggs come from a chicken
And log cabins come from logs
But where, where do they make balloons?
But where, where do they make balloons?
New York has tall buildings
New Jersey has its malls
Pisa has a leaning tower
Will it ever fall?
The ocean has the fishes
London has a tower
In Holland they have windmills,
Lots of bikes, and pretty flowers
But where, where do they make balloons?
But where, where do they make balloons?
Spaghetti is from China
But Italians make it best
Ants can make an anthill
And monkeys make a mess
Hungary isn't hungry
And french fries aren't from France
Turkeys aren't from Turkey
They can't fly but they can dance
But where, where do they make balloons?
But where, where do they make balloons?
But where, where do they make balloons?
But where, where do they make balloons?
"Birdhouse In Your Soul"
(Flansburgh/Linnell)
I'm your only friend
I'm not your only friend
But I'm a little glowing friend
But really, I'm not actually your friend
But I am.
Blue canary in the outlet by the light switch
Who watches over you?
Make a little birdhouse in your soul.
Not to put too fine a point on it,
Say I'm the only bee in your bonnet.
Make a little birdhouse in your soul.
I have a secret to tell
From my electrical well.
It's a simple message and I'm leaving out the whistles and bells.
So the room must listen to me,
Filibuster vigilantly,
"My name is blue canary, one note spelled l-i-t-e"
My story's infinite...
Like the Longines Symphonette, it doesn't rest.
There's a picture opposite me
Of my primitive ancestry
Which stood on rocky shores and kept the beaches shipwreck free.
Though I respect that a lot,
I'd be fired if that were my job,
After killing Jason off and countless screaming Argonauts.
Bluebird of friendliness,
Like guardian angels it's always near.
Blue canary in the outlet by the light switch
Who watches over you?
Make a little birdhouse in your soul.
Not to put too fine a point on it,
Say I'm the only bee in your bonnet.
Make a little birdhouse in your soul.
And while you're at it,
Leave the nightlight on inside the birdhouse in your soul.
(Flansburgh/Linnell)
I'm your only friend
I'm not your only friend
But I'm a little glowing friend
But really, I'm not actually your friend
But I am.
Blue canary in the outlet by the light switch
Who watches over you?
Make a little birdhouse in your soul.
Not to put too fine a point on it,
Say I'm the only bee in your bonnet.
Make a little birdhouse in your soul.
I have a secret to tell
From my electrical well.
It's a simple message and I'm leaving out the whistles and bells.
So the room must listen to me,
Filibuster vigilantly,
"My name is blue canary, one note spelled l-i-t-e"
My story's infinite...
Like the Longines Symphonette, it doesn't rest.
There's a picture opposite me
Of my primitive ancestry
Which stood on rocky shores and kept the beaches shipwreck free.
Though I respect that a lot,
I'd be fired if that were my job,
After killing Jason off and countless screaming Argonauts.
Bluebird of friendliness,
Like guardian angels it's always near.
Blue canary in the outlet by the light switch
Who watches over you?
Make a little birdhouse in your soul.
Not to put too fine a point on it,
Say I'm the only bee in your bonnet.
Make a little birdhouse in your soul.
And while you're at it,
Leave the nightlight on inside the birdhouse in your soul.
Wednesday, August 22
Hmm.
None of the red bars are showing up in any of these quizzes even though I pasted the code in correctly. I wonder if the server moved those pictures? Or if they're generated in the html in the post itself, then something is incompatible with Blogger's subset of the html standard and is not displaying them. Oh well. They're ugly, but it's not important which traits came in 2nd, 3rd, or 4th anyway. I'll edit them out some time. Doesn't even matter which came in 1st either, except that it's just fun to take quizzes. Hopefully the links to the quizzes themselves still work. That is the main point - not to show how I did, but to let other people take them for themselves. No one says you have to post your result.
None of the red bars are showing up in any of these quizzes even though I pasted the code in correctly. I wonder if the server moved those pictures? Or if they're generated in the html in the post itself, then something is incompatible with Blogger's subset of the html standard and is not displaying them. Oh well. They're ugly, but it's not important which traits came in 2nd, 3rd, or 4th anyway. I'll edit them out some time. Doesn't even matter which came in 1st either, except that it's just fun to take quizzes. Hopefully the links to the quizzes themselves still work. That is the main point - not to show how I did, but to let other people take them for themselves. No one says you have to post your result.
You have a 75% chance of surviving a zombie outbreak
You will probably end up killing a few zombies and saving some innocent people, but you would die just before it was over
Zombie Survival Test
Quiz Created on GoToQuiz
Your Score Is.... 100%!
Congratulations, you scored in the highest percentile. You don't let very many mispronunciations slip by. No sir, not you. You speak quite properly, and everyone is impressed with your command of the English language. But do keep in mind, you probably come across as bookish and pedantic!
Do You Pronounce Words Right?
Make a Quiz
| Which God or Goddess are you like? Your Result: You are your own God or Goddess Sorry to say, i have no answer that fits you. You are your very own person, and you like to do things your own way. You have stumped me this time, but i will soon make a quiz that will have your answer, just you wait... | |
| Satan | |
| Goddess Sekhemet | |
| Budha | |
| Goddess Bast | |
| The Christian God | |
| Jesus | |
| God Zeus | |
| Which God or Goddess are you like? Make Your Own Quiz | |
You Are 100% Genius!
You did very well on this quiz, and it seems that you are indeed a genius. Congratulations on achieving a great score. Well done!
The Genius Quiz
You know the Bible 87%!
Wow! You are awesome! You are a true Biblical scholar, not just a hearer but a personal reader! The books, the characters, the events, the verses - you know it all! You are fantastic!
Ultimate Bible Quiz
Create MySpace Quizzes
You Feel Like You Don't Fit In 91% Of The Time
You struggle, because you have not found your place. You wonder if you ever will. The world was not made for someone like you. That does not mean, though, that you cannot claim a piece of it as your own. You are unique, something many of your peers lack. You may not see it as an asset, but it can be. If you can learn to accept and embrace your uniqueness, you will one day find fulfillment. Remember that it always looks darkest before dawn. Stay strong.
Do You Have a Place in This World?
Create Your Own Quiz
You paid attention during 100% of high school!
85-100% You must be an autodidact, because American high schools don't get scores that high! Good show, old chap!
Do you deserve your high school diploma?
Create a Quiz
You are 96% Knowledgable regarding US State Capitals!
Excellent Work! Nicely Done! Thank you for taking this quiz. Be sure to check out the statehood quizzes here at gotoquiz.com!
Do You Know Your State Capitals?
Make a Quiz
John Dee.
I want to pass out
Pass out and expire
Never wake up to this painful place
Never open my eyes to its disgrace
I try
To do the best that I can
I am kind and courteous
The best kind of man
That I have learned to be
But there are seeds inside me
That won't let the minds
Of my kind rest easy
We who see too much
And are so afraid
We stretch out and wait
You who have it made, and don't comprehend
Begin annoyed and it turns to hate
Just do it, you say
But cannot say aloud
You want people like me gone
You want life to go on
With me out of the way
My mother thinks I'm rude and shameful
My stepdad think I'm disrespectful
My brother doesn't reach me much at all
My father thinks I live on Mars
My sister has had about enough with my scars
My ex-wife thinks I'm a monster
My ex-girlfriend probably thinks I'm a stalker
My best friend turned his back on me in a second
My neighbor begs of me not to let her be evicted
My cat uses me as a source of food
My daughter sends me emails that are sweet
Once in awhile, and I cling to them
Miss her so much, my tears pour
Down the white buttons of my shirt
And I hurt from head to toe
Those who would condemn me
And send me off to some institution
Do not care or don't know
What I've been through
The row I've had to hoe
The tiptoeing I've done
To keep everyone happy
Nobody knows the truth
Everyone speculates
When people ask me questions I answer them honestly
If it's not what they want to hear
They lay into me
But most people are fake no matter where you go
It makes me want to throw up
I have no friends and no family
I want to get away
I want to take another deep breath
No more for heaven's sake
I care deep inside more than anyone I know
But I am not shameless
I don't let other people die
On the vine of my pangs
If they ask me I will help them
Till the blood is gone from my veins
But the dignity and maturity
Of some people is stuck in their past
Frozen in time, and all they think of is a world
Where everyone moves just when they say
And this idea of empowerment
Devours their soul, it has made people selfish
In the present, grey day.
Which is a twisted game I will not play.
I want to pass out
Pass out and expire
Never wake up to this painful place
Never open my eyes to its disgrace
I try
To do the best that I can
I am kind and courteous
The best kind of man
That I have learned to be
But there are seeds inside me
That won't let the minds
Of my kind rest easy
We who see too much
And are so afraid
We stretch out and wait
You who have it made, and don't comprehend
Begin annoyed and it turns to hate
Just do it, you say
But cannot say aloud
You want people like me gone
You want life to go on
With me out of the way
My mother thinks I'm rude and shameful
My stepdad think I'm disrespectful
My brother doesn't reach me much at all
My father thinks I live on Mars
My sister has had about enough with my scars
My ex-wife thinks I'm a monster
My ex-girlfriend probably thinks I'm a stalker
My best friend turned his back on me in a second
My neighbor begs of me not to let her be evicted
My cat uses me as a source of food
My daughter sends me emails that are sweet
Once in awhile, and I cling to them
Miss her so much, my tears pour
Down the white buttons of my shirt
And I hurt from head to toe
Those who would condemn me
And send me off to some institution
Do not care or don't know
What I've been through
The row I've had to hoe
The tiptoeing I've done
To keep everyone happy
Nobody knows the truth
Everyone speculates
When people ask me questions I answer them honestly
If it's not what they want to hear
They lay into me
But most people are fake no matter where you go
It makes me want to throw up
I have no friends and no family
I want to get away
I want to take another deep breath
No more for heaven's sake
I care deep inside more than anyone I know
But I am not shameless
I don't let other people die
On the vine of my pangs
If they ask me I will help them
Till the blood is gone from my veins
But the dignity and maturity
Of some people is stuck in their past
Frozen in time, and all they think of is a world
Where everyone moves just when they say
And this idea of empowerment
Devours their soul, it has made people selfish
In the present, grey day.
Which is a twisted game I will not play.
I triple my efforts in the face of adversity.
No one can silence me, I speak a lingua franca
And all brothers and sisters who understand
Don't take a partisan stand
Unless it be from their own mind
I proceed to be what I am naturally
Death to the prisons and the aristocracy
Saying you can't do that, there's the rule of law
But I say that the law is full of flaws
No one can beat me, true to myself whatever else
I was born in a nuclear scare, cold war
Divorce hit me at the worst age of all
Informs my current downfall, so...
Di friends I once had, dem a rush out di place
People used to cluster to me don' know mi face
Hinternet of Babylon bring culture to waste
In the net of people who will not compensate
All the years mi wasted tryin' a mash up di place
Get mi bredren tinking there is more to human race
Yes, violence and downpression, but a promise of grace
Now dem all be wanting pieces of mi breathing space
Love is the answer but so few can find di way
Love come like star den flee to interstellar space
Me and mi kin of Amerindian race
Using metaphors to saturate your mental space
Nah place mi lovers in no trophy case
Nah gonna live in an imaginary place
Nah gonna tolerate accusative case
Nah gon' cede mi chances jus' fi fall into place
Nah gon' treat mi life as a material race
Gwaan and live yuh life in interplanetary waste
Mi more interested in di human face
White or black nah matter as we haffe push di pace
Hard pon di drums as Dr Alban once say
People rather dance and dismiss the negro race
Dance wit no thought pon this wicked disgrace
Bob Marley give I&I a key to reggae grace
White man spread culture dat a kill dem other place
Mingling with heathen gonna kill you wit haste
God no like human being dat tidy up him waste
Jah no like the God who divide up the race
Jah him send God to outer reaches of space
I&I jus love all colors with no spite or haste
Take yuh time brudda, dance pon di floor to di bass
Let the riddim guide you to the girl you muss chase
Let the music move you to the Hilbert space
I mon haffe know what time at mi parking space
Run out of quarter so mi no cyaan park di place
Pardon me a moment but I got to end this blaze
Dis a tribute to di HUMAN race! check it
No man separate what is One
No man curse what Jah bless
Higha man muss battle human ignorance
Babylon system jus' a mek no sense
No pope can silence I&I, mi speak a lingua franca
Like all bredren and sistren who a dance di rub a dubba
Don't tek no partisan stan' unless yuh sobah
Unless it be di one which starts it all ovah
Now me a go live out what is left inside of me
Babylon, promoters of dat aristocracy dem
Still sayin' yuh cyaan do that, yuh boun' fi break di law
But mi say dem laws a full a flaws!
What follow next for da people pon this globe?
What proceed after dem a launch another probe?
What can men of artistry do now to stem disease?
The one dat lead to fortune, fame and greed?
What follow next in a di struggle for di poor?
What mek di ignorant choose try di faith cure?
When smallpox vaccine it a cure dem fi sure
But now mi brain can truly say no more! Yo!
What follow people who refuse dem charge...
What done to people fi a nah thinking large...
What is di price of a Cuban cigar...
And wat di price of spreading human SARS?
What happen a people who refuse to pull dem weight...
What done to populace dem neck-up in dey hate...
What is the motive of the hydrogen bomb...
Email if ya know what going on!
What follow people of di human race.....
(fade)
No one can silence me, I speak a lingua franca
And all brothers and sisters who understand
Don't take a partisan stand
Unless it be from their own mind
I proceed to be what I am naturally
Death to the prisons and the aristocracy
Saying you can't do that, there's the rule of law
But I say that the law is full of flaws
No one can beat me, true to myself whatever else
I was born in a nuclear scare, cold war
Divorce hit me at the worst age of all
Informs my current downfall, so...
Di friends I once had, dem a rush out di place
People used to cluster to me don' know mi face
Hinternet of Babylon bring culture to waste
In the net of people who will not compensate
All the years mi wasted tryin' a mash up di place
Get mi bredren tinking there is more to human race
Yes, violence and downpression, but a promise of grace
Now dem all be wanting pieces of mi breathing space
Love is the answer but so few can find di way
Love come like star den flee to interstellar space
Me and mi kin of Amerindian race
Using metaphors to saturate your mental space
Nah place mi lovers in no trophy case
Nah gonna live in an imaginary place
Nah gonna tolerate accusative case
Nah gon' cede mi chances jus' fi fall into place
Nah gon' treat mi life as a material race
Gwaan and live yuh life in interplanetary waste
Mi more interested in di human face
White or black nah matter as we haffe push di pace
Hard pon di drums as Dr Alban once say
People rather dance and dismiss the negro race
Dance wit no thought pon this wicked disgrace
Bob Marley give I&I a key to reggae grace
White man spread culture dat a kill dem other place
Mingling with heathen gonna kill you wit haste
God no like human being dat tidy up him waste
Jah no like the God who divide up the race
Jah him send God to outer reaches of space
I&I jus love all colors with no spite or haste
Take yuh time brudda, dance pon di floor to di bass
Let the riddim guide you to the girl you muss chase
Let the music move you to the Hilbert space
I mon haffe know what time at mi parking space
Run out of quarter so mi no cyaan park di place
Pardon me a moment but I got to end this blaze
Dis a tribute to di HUMAN race! check it
No man separate what is One
No man curse what Jah bless
Higha man muss battle human ignorance
Babylon system jus' a mek no sense
No pope can silence I&I, mi speak a lingua franca
Like all bredren and sistren who a dance di rub a dubba
Don't tek no partisan stan' unless yuh sobah
Unless it be di one which starts it all ovah
Now me a go live out what is left inside of me
Babylon, promoters of dat aristocracy dem
Still sayin' yuh cyaan do that, yuh boun' fi break di law
But mi say dem laws a full a flaws!
What follow next for da people pon this globe?
What proceed after dem a launch another probe?
What can men of artistry do now to stem disease?
The one dat lead to fortune, fame and greed?
What follow next in a di struggle for di poor?
What mek di ignorant choose try di faith cure?
When smallpox vaccine it a cure dem fi sure
But now mi brain can truly say no more! Yo!
What follow people who refuse dem charge...
What done to people fi a nah thinking large...
What is di price of a Cuban cigar...
And wat di price of spreading human SARS?
What happen a people who refuse to pull dem weight...
What done to populace dem neck-up in dey hate...
What is the motive of the hydrogen bomb...
Email if ya know what going on!
What follow people of di human race.....
(fade)
Tuesday, August 21
Aryana
No red?
No black?
Shove her in the back
White
& Blue
This one's a Jew
Throw him on the stack
Black
White
Wrong and right
Purity is clarity
Now stand up and fight!
Protestant
Aryan
And, wait, he's American
What shall we do?
Just blow him up too
Life is war
War is hell
If you can take it, then
Might as well.
No white?
No green?
Maybe this one is clean
Extradite him though
Just to make him scream
Drape him all in black
Like a scarecrow in a dream
Beat him
And batter him
Till he makes up something mean
Something he ought not to do
Something we trained him well to do
This man is a Briton?
Just obliviate that fact
Or call him a denizen
Of the Asian rat pack
Who struts about strapped
With TNT ticking
You can't even look at
The man who is selling
That cigarette pack.
Blacker than tar
These men of Sudan
Black is Darfur
These days
Refugee camps
Spreading disease
Patrols across
The border with ease
Call in the UN
To talk a lot
And drop some food
And guns in the laps
Of the criminal traps
These thugs have got
Set up in hiding
Or in sunlight shining
A genocide thriving
Over black men
Blacker than tar
And black oil in the ground
Which is the Arab's crude pound.
No red?
No black?
Shove her in the back
White
& Blue
This one's a Jew
Throw him on the stack
Black
White
Wrong and right
Purity is clarity
Now stand up and fight!
Protestant
Aryan
And, wait, he's American
What shall we do?
Just blow him up too
Life is war
War is hell
If you can take it, then
Might as well.
No white?
No green?
Maybe this one is clean
Extradite him though
Just to make him scream
Drape him all in black
Like a scarecrow in a dream
Beat him
And batter him
Till he makes up something mean
Something he ought not to do
Something we trained him well to do
This man is a Briton?
Just obliviate that fact
Or call him a denizen
Of the Asian rat pack
Who struts about strapped
With TNT ticking
You can't even look at
The man who is selling
That cigarette pack.
Blacker than tar
These men of Sudan
Black is Darfur
These days
Refugee camps
Spreading disease
Patrols across
The border with ease
Call in the UN
To talk a lot
And drop some food
And guns in the laps
Of the criminal traps
These thugs have got
Set up in hiding
Or in sunlight shining
A genocide thriving
Over black men
Blacker than tar
And black oil in the ground
Which is the Arab's crude pound.
Triptych
The moon glowed gold tonight like
A tooth in the sky, curved to rend the flesh
Or just a horn of plenty gone to find itself some rest
Yes, the moon glowed gold tonight.
I was watching as it sneaked through the trees, yeah
Watch it travel in whatever way it pleased
A swarm of bees was buzzing all the day, yeah
I was sleeping for to make them go away.
To make everything the sun showed go away.
Now it's night again, Lord oh Lord
Time for all good men
To do the Christian thing and tuck in
But my spirit is tired; I don't know where it's been.
The city lights were dim and distant tonight
And I turned around, seeing black and white
Police car out of service made me nervous
Policemen are the Devil's children.
Now it's night again, Lord of Lords
Time for all true men
Who feel it in their hearts
To take shelter from the dark, unseeing.
What am I to be if not a human being?
What will all the people in the city think of me?
What will they whisper if they know that I'm not free?
What kind of coward is afraid of anything?
What kind of father will I make when the spring
Turns to summer and a mother feels I'm not worth a thing?
What about the fall when the animals call
What about the changing of the old roles for all?
What about love when the chill of winter crawls
Over mountains where the people make their sprawl?
What about the memories of names etched in a wall
Dying to save what was always bound to fall?
Why all the tears when they met you in the hall?
Why so many cheers when the other man's gone?
Got what he gave out and now the righteous ones bawl
Who kept their sons here to play scholarship football
Only the poor and desperate ever heed the call
Huns of California trying to build a new wall
Me I've got my own life and it hasn't got room
For fighting any wars or have me marching off to doom
To see the zippered body bags who's harvest came too soon
To see the coffins stacked up to the moon.
Some people need anger management for stress
Others compassion in a crash-course lesson
Some need to learn tact
Others need to learn to look back
At themselves in the mirror when they
Hear their words of vitriol attack.
Some people should go dig a hole and die
Some people would like just that
But they don't know how
Some people live like robots and can't say why
They persist in doing what they do
Some people are evil yet they haven't got a clue.
The moon glowed gold tonight like
A fang in the sky, curved to rend the flesh
Or maybe just a baby out to find itself some rest
Who the righteous bless can never truly die
Under the ribbon of a milky white sky, yes
The moon glowed gold tonight.
God save our souls tonight.
The moon glowed gold tonight like
A tooth in the sky, curved to rend the flesh
Or just a horn of plenty gone to find itself some rest
Yes, the moon glowed gold tonight.
I was watching as it sneaked through the trees, yeah
Watch it travel in whatever way it pleased
A swarm of bees was buzzing all the day, yeah
I was sleeping for to make them go away.
To make everything the sun showed go away.
Now it's night again, Lord oh Lord
Time for all good men
To do the Christian thing and tuck in
But my spirit is tired; I don't know where it's been.
The city lights were dim and distant tonight
And I turned around, seeing black and white
Police car out of service made me nervous
Policemen are the Devil's children.
Now it's night again, Lord of Lords
Time for all true men
Who feel it in their hearts
To take shelter from the dark, unseeing.
What am I to be if not a human being?
What will all the people in the city think of me?
What will they whisper if they know that I'm not free?
What kind of coward is afraid of anything?
What kind of father will I make when the spring
Turns to summer and a mother feels I'm not worth a thing?
What about the fall when the animals call
What about the changing of the old roles for all?
What about love when the chill of winter crawls
Over mountains where the people make their sprawl?
What about the memories of names etched in a wall
Dying to save what was always bound to fall?
Why all the tears when they met you in the hall?
Why so many cheers when the other man's gone?
Got what he gave out and now the righteous ones bawl
Who kept their sons here to play scholarship football
Only the poor and desperate ever heed the call
Huns of California trying to build a new wall
Me I've got my own life and it hasn't got room
For fighting any wars or have me marching off to doom
To see the zippered body bags who's harvest came too soon
To see the coffins stacked up to the moon.
Some people need anger management for stress
Others compassion in a crash-course lesson
Some need to learn tact
Others need to learn to look back
At themselves in the mirror when they
Hear their words of vitriol attack.
Some people should go dig a hole and die
Some people would like just that
But they don't know how
Some people live like robots and can't say why
They persist in doing what they do
Some people are evil yet they haven't got a clue.
The moon glowed gold tonight like
A fang in the sky, curved to rend the flesh
Or maybe just a baby out to find itself some rest
Who the righteous bless can never truly die
Under the ribbon of a milky white sky, yes
The moon glowed gold tonight.
God save our souls tonight.
Sunday, August 19
Oh Deer!
I was at my computer bright and early in the morning, just shortly after dawn, and what do I see just outside my window? Deer. This family of deer live off in those trees you see, a sizable area of wilderness with its own creek, cricket team (the small ones that rub their legs together), and all-marble countertops. Actually I see these deer almost every dawn and dusk as they use the dirt trackway near me to move about and search for better browsing. I've just never seen them this close. I was fumbling for my camera while trying not to move too quickly or make any loud noises, hoping it had fresh batteries and that I could point it in the direction of the deer without scaring them off. In total they were only there a couple of minutes at most - I think my presence even through a window had them spooked. But they did manage to munch quite a bit in those few minutes. Like ostriches, one would have its head up looking at me (and occasionally off to either side) while the other two ate. Then one of those would pop its head up and the former guard would start to chow. They seemed to rotate the watchman's chore pretty regularly. All looked ready to bolt in an instant, as indeed they did just as soon as I got these pictures snapped.Here they come
The big doe takes first watch
I wonder what this fawn is laughing about
Now she sees me directly... damn autofocus thought the trees behind her were way more interesting. I had no time to get my manual camera though. Too bad, this would have been a great shot...
Muncharoo time for one of the fawns
The pictures didn't come out the greatest due to the rushed circumstances and the stupid autofocus that kept wanting to make either my dirty window or the distant shrubbery the main subject. But at least I got some proof of just how close they were. I'd estimate 8-10 feet from where I sat, through a window of course. They must be intelligent enough to recognize I'm inside a place, to be willing to approach so closely. I thought they'd bolt the minute they saw me, but I guess they trusted the glass more than I would have thought. Amazing!
UNTITLED
Is it too late to be a doctor
A photographer
Or an author?
Why should anyone even bother
To be a scientist
Or a philosopher?
Because there are people in the world
With fears exactly like mine
Who need the same answers I do
Drowning people don't all drown at once
In a boat that's always rising and sinking
We need to man the buckets together
And make the time we were handed better
Fashion a bit of hope or at least comfort each other
On the way down
Is it too late to be a doctor
A photographer
Or an author?
Why should anyone even bother
To be a scientist
Or a philosopher?
Because there are people in the world
With fears exactly like mine
Who need the same answers I do
Drowning people don't all drown at once
In a boat that's always rising and sinking
We need to man the buckets together
And make the time we were handed better
Fashion a bit of hope or at least comfort each other
On the way down
Saturday, August 18
Syd Barrett
(6 January 1946 – 7 July 2006)
Remember when you were young?
You shone like the sun.
Missed his birthday a bit now it's been a tit more than a year since syd barrett was here, leader of the floyd's original lineup they lined up for, and died a hollow shell of a man battered by drugs and mental illness brain scratched by the terror of truth that lay behind all the black of the stars, bald and fat and childlike starved living in his mother's home refusing all contact with the outside world except to whirl in a studio one day with no hair on his face or anywhere and say nothing but turn round and spark up a fag in the lamplight and snap up a train back to dawn.
I thought I would leave some of his lyrics here to mourn his story, which for some of us is part of our story too and lives on... and on.
~
WINED AND DINED
wined and dined, oh it seemed just like a dream!
girl was so kind
kind of love I'd never seen
only last summer, it's not so long ago
just last summer, now musk winds blow
wined and dined, oh it seemed just like a dream!
girl was so kind
kind of love I'd never seen
chalk underfoot, life I should prove soon
dancing in heat, our love and you
TERRAPIN
I really love you, and I mean you
the star above you, crystal blue
well oh baby my hair's on end about you
I wouldn't see you and I love to
I fly above you, yes I do
well oh baby my hair's on end about you
floating bumping noses dodge a tooth
the fins a luminous
fangs all 'round the clown
is dark below the boulders hiding all
the sunlight's good for us
'cause we're the fishes and all we do
a-move about is all we do
well oh baby my hair's on end about you
NO MAN'S LAND
you would hold your head up high
you even try
you would hold another hand
oh understand
they even see me under call
we under all,
we all follow foot crawl
to hear my hour
come see me cry
just searching you even try
I can make you smile
if it's there will you go there too?
when I live I die!
they even see me under call
we under all
we all follow foot crawl
because of you
to see me be
OCTOPUS
trip to heave and ho, up down, to and fro'
you have no word
trip, trip to a dream dragon
hide your wings in a ghost tower
sails cackling at every plate we break
cracked by scattered needles
the little minute gong
coughs and clears his throat
madam you see before you stand
hey ho, never be still
the old original favorite grand
grasshoppers green herbarian band
and the tune they play is "in us confide"
so trip to heave and ho, up down, to and fro'
you have no word
please leave us here
close our eyes to the octopus ride
isn't it good to be lost in the wood
isn't it bad, so quiet there in the wood
meant even less to me than I thought
with a honey plough of yellow prickly seeds
clover honey pots and mystic shining feed
well, the madcap laughed at the man on the border
hey ho, huff the talbot
"cheat" he cried shouting kangaroo
it's true in their tree they cried
please leave us here
close our eyes to the octopus ride
the madcap laughed at the man on the border
hey ho, huff the talbot
the winds they blew and the leaves did wag
they'll never put me in their bag
the seas will reach and always seep
so high you go, so low you creep
the wind it blows in tropical heat
the drones they throng on mossy seats
the squeaking door will always squeak
two up, two down we'll never see
so merrily trip forgo my side
please leave us here
close our eyes to the octopus ride
GOLDEN HAIR
lean out your window, golden hair
I heard you singing in the midnight air
my book is closed, I read no more
watching the fire dance on the floor
I've left my book, I've left my room
for I heard you singing through the gloom
singing and singing, a merry air
lean out your window, golden hair
SHE TOOK A LONG COLD LOOK
she took a long cold look at me
and smiled and gazed all over my arm
she loves to see me get down to ground
she hasn't time just to be with me
her face between all she means to be
to be extreme, just to be a thing
a broken pier on the wavy sea
she wonders why for all she wants to see
but I got up and I stomped around
and hid the piece where the trees touch the ground
the end of truth that lay out the time
spent lazing here on a painting dream
a mile or more in a foreign clime
to see farther inside of me
and looking high up into the sky
I breathe as the water streams over me
SWAN LEE (SILAS LANG)
swan lee got up at the running foot pow-wow,
pleaded from the fire to his waiting canoe
chattering squaw untied the wigwam door,
the chief blew smoke rings two by two!
the land in silence stands
swan lee, his boat by the bank in the darkness,
loosened the rope in the creek is entwined
a feather from the wing of a wild young eagle,
pointed to the land where his fortune he'd find
the land in silence stands
swan lee paddled on from the land of his fathers
his eyes scanned the undergrowth on either side
from the shore hung a hot, heavy, creature infested
tropic, swan lee had a bow by his side
the land in silence stands
swan lee kept time, half on land, half on water
grizzly bear and raccoon his fare
he followed his ears to the great waterfall,
swan lee knew deep down that his squaw was there
the land in silence stands
suddenly the rush of the mighty great thunder
confronted swan lee as his song he sang
in the dawn with his squaw, he was battling homeward,
it was all written down by long silas lang
FLAMING
alone in the clouds all blue
lying on an eiderdown
yippee, you can't see me
but I can you
lazing in the foggy dew
sitting on a unicorn
no fair, you can't hear me
but I can you
watching buttercups cup the light
sleeping on a dandelion
too much, I won't touch you
but then I might
screaming through the starlit sky
traveling by telephone
hey ho, here we go
ever so high
alone in the clouds all blue
lying on an eiderdown
yippee, you can't see me
but I can you
CHAPTER 24
a movement is accomplished in six stages
and the seventh brings return
the seven is the number of the young light
it forms when darkness is increased by one
change returns success
going and coming without error
action brings good fortune
sunset
the time is with the month of winter solstice
when the change is due to come
thunder in the other course of heaven
things cannot be destroyed once and for all
change returns success
going and coming without error
action brings good fortune
sunset
a movement is accomplished in six stages
and the seventh brings return
the seven is the number of the young light
it forms when darkness is increased by one
change returns success
going and coming without error
action brings good fortune
sunset
THE SCARECROW
the black and green scarecrow as everyone knows
stood with a bird on his hat and straw everywhere
he didn't care
he stood in a field where barley grows
his head did no thinking
his arms didn't move except when the wind cut up
rough and mice ran around on the ground
he stood in a field where barley grows
the black and green scarecrow is sadder than me
but now he's resigned to his fate
'cause life's not unkind - he doesn't mind
he stood in a field where barley grows
JUGBAND BLUES
it's awfully considerate of you to think of me here
and I'm much obliged to you for making it clear
that I'm not here
and I never knew the moon could be so big
and I never knew the moon could be so blue
and I'm grateful that you threw away my old shoes
and brought me here instead dressed in red
and I'm wondering who could be writing this song.
I don't care if the sun don't shine
and I don't care if nothing is mine
and I don't care if I'm nervous with you
I'll do my loving in the winter
and the sea isn't green
and I love the queen
and what exactly is a dream
and what exactly is a joke
SEE EMILY PLAY
emily tries but misunderstands
she's often inclined to borrow
somebody's dreams till tomorrow
there is no other day
let's try it another way
you'll lose your mind at play
free games till may
see emily play
soon after dark emily cries
gazing through trees in sorrow
hardly a sound till tomorrow
there is no other day
let's try it another way
you'll lose your mind in play
free games for may
see emily play
put on a gown that touches the ground
float on a river forever and ever
emily
there is no other day
let's try it another way
you'll lose your mind and play
free games for may
see emily play
DARK GLOBE
oh where are you now
pussy willow that smiled on this leaf?
when I was alone you promised the stone from your heart
my head kissed the ground
I was half the way down, treading the sand
please, please, lift a hand
I'm only a person whose arm bands beat
on his hands hang tall
won't you miss me?
wouldn't you miss me at all?
the poppy birds way
swing twigs coffee brands around
brandish her wand with a feathery tongue
my head kissed the ground
I was half the way down, treading the sand
please, please, lift a hand
I'm only a person with eskimo chain
I tattooed my brain all the way
won't you miss me?
wouldn't you miss me at all?
(6 January 1946 – 7 July 2006)
Remember when you were young?You shone like the sun.
Missed his birthday a bit now it's been a tit more than a year since syd barrett was here, leader of the floyd's original lineup they lined up for, and died a hollow shell of a man battered by drugs and mental illness brain scratched by the terror of truth that lay behind all the black of the stars, bald and fat and childlike starved living in his mother's home refusing all contact with the outside world except to whirl in a studio one day with no hair on his face or anywhere and say nothing but turn round and spark up a fag in the lamplight and snap up a train back to dawn.
I thought I would leave some of his lyrics here to mourn his story, which for some of us is part of our story too and lives on... and on.
~
WINED AND DINED
wined and dined, oh it seemed just like a dream!
girl was so kind
kind of love I'd never seen
only last summer, it's not so long ago
just last summer, now musk winds blow
wined and dined, oh it seemed just like a dream!
girl was so kind
kind of love I'd never seen
chalk underfoot, life I should prove soon
dancing in heat, our love and you
TERRAPIN
I really love you, and I mean you
the star above you, crystal blue
well oh baby my hair's on end about you
I wouldn't see you and I love to
I fly above you, yes I do
well oh baby my hair's on end about you
floating bumping noses dodge a tooth
the fins a luminous
fangs all 'round the clown
is dark below the boulders hiding all
the sunlight's good for us
'cause we're the fishes and all we do
a-move about is all we do
well oh baby my hair's on end about you
NO MAN'S LAND
you would hold your head up high
you even try
you would hold another hand
oh understand
they even see me under call
we under all,
we all follow foot crawl
to hear my hour
come see me cry
just searching you even try
I can make you smile
if it's there will you go there too?
when I live I die!
they even see me under call
we under all
we all follow foot crawl
because of you
to see me be
OCTOPUS
trip to heave and ho, up down, to and fro'
you have no word
trip, trip to a dream dragon
hide your wings in a ghost tower
sails cackling at every plate we break
cracked by scattered needles
the little minute gong
coughs and clears his throat
madam you see before you stand
hey ho, never be still
the old original favorite grand
grasshoppers green herbarian band
and the tune they play is "in us confide"
so trip to heave and ho, up down, to and fro'
you have no word
please leave us here
close our eyes to the octopus ride
isn't it good to be lost in the wood
isn't it bad, so quiet there in the wood
meant even less to me than I thought
with a honey plough of yellow prickly seeds
clover honey pots and mystic shining feed
well, the madcap laughed at the man on the border
hey ho, huff the talbot
"cheat" he cried shouting kangaroo
it's true in their tree they cried
please leave us here
close our eyes to the octopus ride
the madcap laughed at the man on the border
hey ho, huff the talbot
the winds they blew and the leaves did wag
they'll never put me in their bag
the seas will reach and always seep
so high you go, so low you creep
the wind it blows in tropical heat
the drones they throng on mossy seats
the squeaking door will always squeak
two up, two down we'll never see
so merrily trip forgo my side
please leave us here
close our eyes to the octopus ride
GOLDEN HAIR
lean out your window, golden hair
I heard you singing in the midnight air
my book is closed, I read no more
watching the fire dance on the floor
I've left my book, I've left my room
for I heard you singing through the gloom
singing and singing, a merry air
lean out your window, golden hair
SHE TOOK A LONG COLD LOOK
she took a long cold look at me
and smiled and gazed all over my arm
she loves to see me get down to ground
she hasn't time just to be with me
her face between all she means to be
to be extreme, just to be a thing
a broken pier on the wavy sea
she wonders why for all she wants to see
but I got up and I stomped around
and hid the piece where the trees touch the ground
the end of truth that lay out the time
spent lazing here on a painting dream
a mile or more in a foreign clime
to see farther inside of me
and looking high up into the sky
I breathe as the water streams over me
SWAN LEE (SILAS LANG)
swan lee got up at the running foot pow-wow,
pleaded from the fire to his waiting canoe
chattering squaw untied the wigwam door,
the chief blew smoke rings two by two!
the land in silence stands
swan lee, his boat by the bank in the darkness,
loosened the rope in the creek is entwined
a feather from the wing of a wild young eagle,
pointed to the land where his fortune he'd find
the land in silence stands
swan lee paddled on from the land of his fathers
his eyes scanned the undergrowth on either side
from the shore hung a hot, heavy, creature infested
tropic, swan lee had a bow by his side
the land in silence stands
swan lee kept time, half on land, half on water
grizzly bear and raccoon his fare
he followed his ears to the great waterfall,
swan lee knew deep down that his squaw was there
the land in silence stands
suddenly the rush of the mighty great thunder
confronted swan lee as his song he sang
in the dawn with his squaw, he was battling homeward,
it was all written down by long silas lang
FLAMING
alone in the clouds all blue
lying on an eiderdown
yippee, you can't see me
but I can you
lazing in the foggy dew
sitting on a unicorn
no fair, you can't hear me
but I can you
watching buttercups cup the light
sleeping on a dandelion
too much, I won't touch you
but then I might
screaming through the starlit sky
traveling by telephone
hey ho, here we go
ever so high
alone in the clouds all blue
lying on an eiderdown
yippee, you can't see me
but I can you
CHAPTER 24
a movement is accomplished in six stages
and the seventh brings return
the seven is the number of the young light
it forms when darkness is increased by one
change returns success
going and coming without error
action brings good fortune
sunset
the time is with the month of winter solstice
when the change is due to come
thunder in the other course of heaven
things cannot be destroyed once and for all
change returns success
going and coming without error
action brings good fortune
sunset
a movement is accomplished in six stages
and the seventh brings return
the seven is the number of the young light
it forms when darkness is increased by one
change returns success
going and coming without error
action brings good fortune
sunset
THE SCARECROW
the black and green scarecrow as everyone knows
stood with a bird on his hat and straw everywhere
he didn't care
he stood in a field where barley grows
his head did no thinking
his arms didn't move except when the wind cut up
rough and mice ran around on the ground
he stood in a field where barley grows
the black and green scarecrow is sadder than me
but now he's resigned to his fate
'cause life's not unkind - he doesn't mind
he stood in a field where barley grows
JUGBAND BLUES
it's awfully considerate of you to think of me here
and I'm much obliged to you for making it clear
that I'm not here
and I never knew the moon could be so big
and I never knew the moon could be so blue
and I'm grateful that you threw away my old shoes
and brought me here instead dressed in red
and I'm wondering who could be writing this song.
I don't care if the sun don't shine
and I don't care if nothing is mine
and I don't care if I'm nervous with you
I'll do my loving in the winter
and the sea isn't green
and I love the queen
and what exactly is a dream
and what exactly is a joke
SEE EMILY PLAY
emily tries but misunderstands
she's often inclined to borrow
somebody's dreams till tomorrow
there is no other day
let's try it another way
you'll lose your mind at play
free games till may
see emily play
soon after dark emily cries
gazing through trees in sorrow
hardly a sound till tomorrow
there is no other day
let's try it another way
you'll lose your mind in play
free games for may
see emily play
put on a gown that touches the ground
float on a river forever and ever
emily
there is no other day
let's try it another way
you'll lose your mind and play
free games for may
see emily play
DARK GLOBE
oh where are you now
pussy willow that smiled on this leaf?
when I was alone you promised the stone from your heart
my head kissed the ground
I was half the way down, treading the sand
please, please, lift a hand
I'm only a person whose arm bands beat
on his hands hang tall
won't you miss me?
wouldn't you miss me at all?
the poppy birds way
swing twigs coffee brands around
brandish her wand with a feathery tongue
my head kissed the ground
I was half the way down, treading the sand
please, please, lift a hand
I'm only a person with eskimo chain
I tattooed my brain all the way
won't you miss me?
wouldn't you miss me at all?
Friday, August 17
"I Know Very Well How I Got My Name"
(Morrissey)
A child in a curious phase
A man with sullen ways
Oh, I know very well how I got my name
You think you were my first love
You think you were my first love, but you're wrong...
You were the only one
Who's come and gone
When thirteen years old
Who dyed his hair gold
Oh, I know very well, I don't need to be told
You think you were my first love
You think you were my first love, but you're wrong...
You were the only one
Who's come and gone.
(Morrissey)
A child in a curious phase
A man with sullen ways
Oh, I know very well how I got my name
You think you were my first love
You think you were my first love, but you're wrong...
You were the only one
Who's come and gone
When thirteen years old
Who dyed his hair gold
Oh, I know very well, I don't need to be told
You think you were my first love
You think you were my first love, but you're wrong...
You were the only one
Who's come and gone.
Thursday, August 16
Cauduceus.
I recently watched a six-part documentary series on PBS called RX For Survival. Not the snappiest name, but it was a very well-made program (narrated by Brad Pitt for those who care, not that I noticed till episode 3 - he does a great job of keeping a very even and rational tone, which is comforting in a documentary; the emotional approach has never worked for me). The first episode was about vaccines and detailed the smallpox eradication program that ended in the 70s with an entire virus wiped from the face of the planet for the first time. Of course other deadly viruses still persist, mostly in the developing world, and more are emerging all the time. The second episode went more into bacteriology and the logistical challenges faced by the World Health Organization, UNICEF, Doctors Without Borders, and other organizations who are trying to get medicines that exist to people that need them, and it's quite a challenge, nearly impossible in some places for one reason or another (warfare, lack of roads, religious mandates against medications).
I won't detail every episode, but the series as a whole touched on pretty much everything from viruses and bacteria to malnourishment and poor infrastructure, and also explored the reasons medicines lose their effectiveness, why new medicines or vaccines are often so expensive and what is involved in making them, why many drug companies have pulled out of those markets in favor of producing more lucrative pill-a-day products like Viagra and cholesterol meds, and scenarios that are being modeled and pondered by health experts around the globe concerning future epidemics or pandemics, such as the mutated form of H5N1, the avian flu virus, that everyone worries about. HIV/AIDS, polio, pallegra, scurvy, yellow fever, TB, and just about everything else you've heard of is mentioned in some detail as part of the ongoing narrative of how communicable disease and nutritional deficits were studied, understood, and cured. Some brief historical reenactments demonstrate pivotal moments of the story, from Pasteur's postulation of the germ theory of disease, doing away with all the bad airs and humours and other nonsense of the Middle Ages, to Fleming's fortuitous discovery of penicillin.
Modern human stories from Africa, Southeast Asia, South America, and even the "developed" world are focused on as well, and we get to know and see the lives of real people with names and faces who suffer from health plagues, as well as aid workers who struggle to help them. The writing is tight and balanced. It's never sentimental or sappy; you never get the feeling you're watching something made by Greenpeace or PETA. Yet it's also not strictly an armchair scientific look at disease - I found myself moved many times by the courage and selflessness of people who faced death or who felt a responsibility to risk their lives for the dying. In hospitals overcrowded and ill-equipped to handle large outbreaks, doctors and nurses worked around the clock to combat even seemingly hopelessly lost causes. Many doctors are volunteers who left lucrative Western practices to try to make an impact on public health in a larger way.
And surprisingly there have been many success stories. I wasn't left feeling gloomy about the future of world health, but rather carefully optimistic that if peace and stability can be brought to regions politically (a big if, always), local people can be empowered to take and distribute their own medications and vaccines, ensure their own sanitary water supplies, and grow and eat the right kinds of food to keep themselves healthy. And the ironic thing is, instead of this causing the population explosion you might expect, it tends to level off growth in these areas to sustainable levels, as family planning becomes part of health education and families don't feel the need to have so many children in the risk (or certainty) that most will die. All in all, I highly recommend watching this series if you get the chance. It has made me rethink my own role in the world and my (relative) comfort in the face of so much poverty and disease. But I no longer think of it as this depressing, seething wall against which individuals have no power. Nor do I see pharmaceutical companies as the root of all evil - they have a role to play like everyone else in the story, for good and for bad.
I've seen the story of a non-wealthy couple from the USA making "ambulance sidecars" for motorcycles to reach a series of African villages that otherwise would be a half-day's walk from the nearest doctor. I've seen the story of the two doctors who gave simple vitamin A drops to millions of children in Indonesia and Tibet and watched "nightblindness" disappear almost literally overnight. I've seen the story of the American-educated Botswanan doctor who returned to his native country to set up an AIDS eradication program, which is now the model upon which 70 other countries around the world are basing their own programs. There is so much that can be done to give people better lives, and not all of it is rocket science or science fiction. Some of it is just willingness or hard work. And there's hope - there doesn't have to be an endless cycle of poverty and disease, though if you watch CNN to form your world views that's the conclusion you'll undoubtedly reach as you sink further into your sofa. The problems of the world won't go away any time soon, but they will never go away if people, especially in the affluent areas of the world, don't do anything to help.
I recently watched a six-part documentary series on PBS called RX For Survival. Not the snappiest name, but it was a very well-made program (narrated by Brad Pitt for those who care, not that I noticed till episode 3 - he does a great job of keeping a very even and rational tone, which is comforting in a documentary; the emotional approach has never worked for me). The first episode was about vaccines and detailed the smallpox eradication program that ended in the 70s with an entire virus wiped from the face of the planet for the first time. Of course other deadly viruses still persist, mostly in the developing world, and more are emerging all the time. The second episode went more into bacteriology and the logistical challenges faced by the World Health Organization, UNICEF, Doctors Without Borders, and other organizations who are trying to get medicines that exist to people that need them, and it's quite a challenge, nearly impossible in some places for one reason or another (warfare, lack of roads, religious mandates against medications).
I won't detail every episode, but the series as a whole touched on pretty much everything from viruses and bacteria to malnourishment and poor infrastructure, and also explored the reasons medicines lose their effectiveness, why new medicines or vaccines are often so expensive and what is involved in making them, why many drug companies have pulled out of those markets in favor of producing more lucrative pill-a-day products like Viagra and cholesterol meds, and scenarios that are being modeled and pondered by health experts around the globe concerning future epidemics or pandemics, such as the mutated form of H5N1, the avian flu virus, that everyone worries about. HIV/AIDS, polio, pallegra, scurvy, yellow fever, TB, and just about everything else you've heard of is mentioned in some detail as part of the ongoing narrative of how communicable disease and nutritional deficits were studied, understood, and cured. Some brief historical reenactments demonstrate pivotal moments of the story, from Pasteur's postulation of the germ theory of disease, doing away with all the bad airs and humours and other nonsense of the Middle Ages, to Fleming's fortuitous discovery of penicillin.
Modern human stories from Africa, Southeast Asia, South America, and even the "developed" world are focused on as well, and we get to know and see the lives of real people with names and faces who suffer from health plagues, as well as aid workers who struggle to help them. The writing is tight and balanced. It's never sentimental or sappy; you never get the feeling you're watching something made by Greenpeace or PETA. Yet it's also not strictly an armchair scientific look at disease - I found myself moved many times by the courage and selflessness of people who faced death or who felt a responsibility to risk their lives for the dying. In hospitals overcrowded and ill-equipped to handle large outbreaks, doctors and nurses worked around the clock to combat even seemingly hopelessly lost causes. Many doctors are volunteers who left lucrative Western practices to try to make an impact on public health in a larger way.
And surprisingly there have been many success stories. I wasn't left feeling gloomy about the future of world health, but rather carefully optimistic that if peace and stability can be brought to regions politically (a big if, always), local people can be empowered to take and distribute their own medications and vaccines, ensure their own sanitary water supplies, and grow and eat the right kinds of food to keep themselves healthy. And the ironic thing is, instead of this causing the population explosion you might expect, it tends to level off growth in these areas to sustainable levels, as family planning becomes part of health education and families don't feel the need to have so many children in the risk (or certainty) that most will die. All in all, I highly recommend watching this series if you get the chance. It has made me rethink my own role in the world and my (relative) comfort in the face of so much poverty and disease. But I no longer think of it as this depressing, seething wall against which individuals have no power. Nor do I see pharmaceutical companies as the root of all evil - they have a role to play like everyone else in the story, for good and for bad.
I've seen the story of a non-wealthy couple from the USA making "ambulance sidecars" for motorcycles to reach a series of African villages that otherwise would be a half-day's walk from the nearest doctor. I've seen the story of the two doctors who gave simple vitamin A drops to millions of children in Indonesia and Tibet and watched "nightblindness" disappear almost literally overnight. I've seen the story of the American-educated Botswanan doctor who returned to his native country to set up an AIDS eradication program, which is now the model upon which 70 other countries around the world are basing their own programs. There is so much that can be done to give people better lives, and not all of it is rocket science or science fiction. Some of it is just willingness or hard work. And there's hope - there doesn't have to be an endless cycle of poverty and disease, though if you watch CNN to form your world views that's the conclusion you'll undoubtedly reach as you sink further into your sofa. The problems of the world won't go away any time soon, but they will never go away if people, especially in the affluent areas of the world, don't do anything to help.
(For Susannah)
Straight arrow answers are never so straight
Truth told for art's sake is false and unkind
Only in watching and seeing and listening
Only by hearing, the fragments unwind
Families of deer wheel in front of my window
Fauns on the leafpaths to some sylvan ritual
Out of these dreams come the truth we agree on
Seeming so concrete, the truths that we make
Now in the morning, the dew in the footprints
Deeper they wander, we lose them forever
Blind to the forces of nature that move us
Deaf to the music each atom is humming
Legions of songbirds descend in the trees
Tracing the paths of their ghostly ancestors
Eons uncounted with no one to hear them
Kept in our wombs we could hear all the same
Minutes till sunrise and hours till evening
Rabbits are gathering and laughter is leaving
I am the noontime that sleeps in the shadows
You are shadow that keeps me from burning
Buoyed by sunspikes I lifted my gaze
Rose from the kestrels that nested in raindrops
Straight until morning for hours unending
Leaving the picture to suss out the laughter
Time is religion to those who are dying
Love is the answer that brings out the living
I can hear whispers in forests around me
Far from the murder that grows in the cities
Time is a burden to those who are crying
I can see worlds on the head of a pin
Eating its tail no beginning no ending
Love is the answer that brings out the living
Solemn we seek out the forest enchantments
Fixing our senses and traveling together
Shadowless figures who travel in pairs
Robes lit by candles, a clearing at dawn
Straight is the arrow that seeks for my heart
Welcome the exit of incarnate strangers
Here is the halfway of heaven and kingdom
Witness the deer and the spinning of falcons
No rain that falls can extinguish your fire
Words cannot damage a heart that is lifted
Love is the answer that brings out the living
Straight is the arrow that loosens the shackles
Back to my room in middle of morning
Back to the sea where the seabirds are gathering
Paths that we wandered were only pretending
Back to the lifeforce we children have come.
Straight arrow answers are never so straight
Truth told for art's sake is false and unkind
Only in watching and seeing and listening
Only by hearing, the fragments unwind
Families of deer wheel in front of my window
Fauns on the leafpaths to some sylvan ritual
Out of these dreams come the truth we agree on
Seeming so concrete, the truths that we make
Now in the morning, the dew in the footprints
Deeper they wander, we lose them forever
Blind to the forces of nature that move us
Deaf to the music each atom is humming
Legions of songbirds descend in the trees
Tracing the paths of their ghostly ancestors
Eons uncounted with no one to hear them
Kept in our wombs we could hear all the same
Minutes till sunrise and hours till evening
Rabbits are gathering and laughter is leaving
I am the noontime that sleeps in the shadows
You are shadow that keeps me from burning
Buoyed by sunspikes I lifted my gaze
Rose from the kestrels that nested in raindrops
Straight until morning for hours unending
Leaving the picture to suss out the laughter
Time is religion to those who are dying
Love is the answer that brings out the living
I can hear whispers in forests around me
Far from the murder that grows in the cities
Time is a burden to those who are crying
I can see worlds on the head of a pin
Eating its tail no beginning no ending
Love is the answer that brings out the living
Solemn we seek out the forest enchantments
Fixing our senses and traveling together
Shadowless figures who travel in pairs
Robes lit by candles, a clearing at dawn
Straight is the arrow that seeks for my heart
Welcome the exit of incarnate strangers
Here is the halfway of heaven and kingdom
Witness the deer and the spinning of falcons
No rain that falls can extinguish your fire
Words cannot damage a heart that is lifted
Love is the answer that brings out the living
Straight is the arrow that loosens the shackles
Back to my room in middle of morning
Back to the sea where the seabirds are gathering
Paths that we wandered were only pretending
Back to the lifeforce we children have come.
Wednesday, August 8
Taking a break.
I just don't feel into blogging right now. I'm staying off my computer more, trying to get outside, trying to work on straightening up my place. Trying to stay away from land mines.
I'll be back soon. Maybe tomorrow, maybe in a week. I can't even say. I've just been worn down recently and need to recharge my batteries with new things to say and ways to say them.
And take some time for myself, which may sound silly seeing how much time I spend alone. But I mean it in a different way I guess. Unplugged maybe?
I may or may not check email or other blogs, I can't promise anything. It's not like anyone's hanging on my words anyway, I'm not that vain.
Well, see you sometime soon hopefully. No need to worry about me - this is my mini summer break is all.
Meta.
I just don't feel into blogging right now. I'm staying off my computer more, trying to get outside, trying to work on straightening up my place. Trying to stay away from land mines.
I'll be back soon. Maybe tomorrow, maybe in a week. I can't even say. I've just been worn down recently and need to recharge my batteries with new things to say and ways to say them.
And take some time for myself, which may sound silly seeing how much time I spend alone. But I mean it in a different way I guess. Unplugged maybe?
I may or may not check email or other blogs, I can't promise anything. It's not like anyone's hanging on my words anyway, I'm not that vain.
Well, see you sometime soon hopefully. No need to worry about me - this is my mini summer break is all.
Meta.
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