Captivated once again by Gaiman's Sandman.
Another Rendition of Orpheus and Eurydice.
Orpheus and Eurydice
From Bulfinch's Mythology: The Age of Fable by Thomas Bulfinch, 1855
Orpheus was the son of Apollo and the Muse Calliope. He was presented by his father with a lyre and taught to play upon it, which he did to such perfection that nothing could withstand the charm of his music. Not only his fellow mortals, but wild beasts were softened by his strains, and gathering around him laid by their fierceness and stood entranced. Nay, the very trees and rocks were sensible to the charm. The trees crowded around him and the rocks relaxed somewhat of their hardness, softened by his notes.
Hymenaeus (the god of marriage, son of Dionysus and Venus) had been called to bless with his presence the nuptials of Orpheus with Eurydice; but though he attended, he brought no happy omens with him. His very torch smoked and brought tears into their eyes.
In accordance with such prognostics, Eurydice, shortly after her marriage, while wandering with the nymphs, her companions (and sisters), was seen by the shepherd Aristaeus, who was struck by her beauty and made advances to her. She fled, and in fleeing trod upon a snake in the grass, was bitten in the foot and died.
Orpheus sang his grief to all who breathed the upper air, both gods and men, and finding it all unavailing resolved to seek his wife in the regions of the dead. He descended by a cave situated on the side of the promontory of Taenarus and arrived at the Stygian realm. He passed through crowds and ghosts and presented himself before the throne of Pluto and Proserpine.
Accompanying the words with the lyre, he sung, "O deities of the underworld, to whom all we who live must come, hear my words, for they are true. I come not to spy out the secrets of Tartarus, nor to try my strength against Cerberus, the three-headed dog with snaky hair who guards the entrance. I come to seek my wife, whose opening years the poisonous viper's fang has brought to an untimely end. Love has led me here, Love, a god all powerful with us who dwell on the earth, and, if old traditions say true, not less so here. I implore you by these abodes full of terror, these realms of silence and uncreated things, unite again the thread of Eurydice's life. We all are destined to you, and sooner or later must pass to your domain. She too, when she shall have filled her term of life, will rightly be yours. But 'til then grant her to me, I beseech you. If you deny one, I cannot return alone; you shall triumph in the death of us both."
As he sang these tender strains, the very ghosts shed tears. Tantalus, in spite of his thirst, stopped for a moment his efforts for water; Ixion's wheel stood still; the vulture ceased to tear the giant's liver; the daughters of Danaus rested from their task of drawing water in a sieve; and Sisyphus sat on his rock to listen. Then for the first time, it is said, the cheeks of the Furies were wet with tears. Proserpine could not resist, and Pluto himself gave way.
Eurydice was called. She came from among the newly-arrived ghosts, limping with her wounded foot. Orpheus was permitted to take her away with him on one condition, that he should not turn around to look at her 'til they should have reached the upper air. Under this condition they proceeded on their way, he leading, she following, through passages dark and steep, in total silence, 'til they had nearly reached the outlet into the cheerful upper world, when Orpheus, in a moment of forgetfulness, to assure himself that she was still following, cast a glance behind him, when instantly she was borne away.
Stretching out their arms to embrace each other, they grasped only the air! Dying now a second time, she yet cannot reproach her husband, for how can she blame his impatience to behold her? "Farewell," she said, "a last farewell," -- and was hurried away, so fast that the sound hardly reached his ears.
Orpheus endeavoured to follow her, and besought permission to return and try once more for her release, but the stern ferryman Charon repulsed him and refused passage. Seven days he lingered about the brink, without food or sleep; then bitterly accusing of cruelty the powers of Erebus, he sang his complaints to the rocks and mountains, melting the hearts of tigers and moving the oaks from their stations.
He held himself aloof from womankind, dwelling constantly on the recollection of his sad mischance. The Thracian maidens tried their best to captivate him, but he repulsed their advances. They bore with him as long as they could; but finding him insensible one day, excited by the rites of the Bacchus, one of them exclaimed, "See yonder our despiser!" and threw at him her javelin. The weapon, as soon as it came within the sound of his lyre, fell harmless at his feet. So did the stones that they threw at him. But the women raised a scream and downed the voice of the music, and then the missiles reached him and soon were stained with his blood. The maniacs tore him limb from limb and threw his head and his lyre into the river Hebrus, down which they floated, murmuring sad music, to which the shores responded a plaintive symphony. The Muses gathered up the fragments of his body and buried them at Libethra, where the nightingale is said to sing over his grave more sweetly than in any other part of Greece. His lyre was placed by Jupiter among the stars.
His shade passed a second time into Tartarus, where he sought out his Eurydice and embraced her with eager arms. They roam the happy fields together now, sometimes he leading, sometimes she; and Orpheus gazes as much as he will upon her, no longer incurring a penalty for a thoughtless glance.
Thursday, August 31, 2006
Tuesday, August 29, 2006
Orpheus and Eurydice
Self-fullfilling Prophecy of Doubt
http://www.chekhovsmistress.com/2005/01/marginalia_on_m.html
A modern rendition of Orpheus and Eurydice.
Orpheus and Eurydice
Standing on flagstones of the sidewalk at the entrance to Hades
Orpheus hunched in a gust of wind
That tore at his coat, rolled past in waves of fog,
Tossed the leaves of the trees. The headlights of cars
Flared and dimmed in each succeeding wave.
He stopped at the glass-paneled door, uncertain
Whether he was strong enough for that ultimate trial.
He remembered her words: "You are a good man."
He did not quite believe it. Lyric poets
Usually have - as he knew - cold hearts.
It is like a medical condition. Perfection in art
Is given in exchange for such an affliction.
Only her love warmed him, humanized him.
When he was with her, he thought differently about himself.
He could not fail her now, when she was dead.
He pushed open the door and found himself walking in a labyrinth,
Corridors, elevators. The livid light was not light but the dark of the earth.
Electronic dogs passed him noiselessly.
He descended many floors, a hundred, three hundred, down.
He was cold, aware that he was Nowhere.
Under thousands of frozen centuries,
On an ashy trace where generations had moldered,
In a kingdom that seemed to have no bottom and no end.
Thronging shadows surrounded him.
He recognized some of the faces.
He felt the rhythm of his blood.
He felt strongly his life with its guilt
And he was afraid to meet those to whom he had done harm.
But they had lost the ability to remember
And gave him only a glance, indifferent to all that.
For his defense he had a nine-stringed lyre.
He carried in it the music of the earth, against the abyss
That buries all of sound in silence.
He submitted the music, yielded
To the dictation of a song, listening with rapt attention,
Became, like his lyre, its instrument.
Thus he arrived at the palace of the rulers of that land.
Persephone, in her garden of withered pear and apple trees,
Black, with naked branches and verrucose twigs,
Listened from the funereal amethyst of her throne.
He sang the brightness of mornings and green rivers,
He sang of smoking water in the rose-colored daybreaks,
Of colors: cinnabar, carmine, burnt sienna, blue,
Of the delight of swimming in the sea under marble cliffs,
Of feasting on a terrace above the tumult of a fishing port,
Of the tastes of wine, olive oil, almonds, mustard, salt.
Of the flight of the swallow, the falcon,
Of a dignified flock of pelicans above a bay,
Of the scent of an armful of lilacs in summer rain,
Of his having composed his words always against death
And of having made no rhyme in praise of nothingness.
I don't know - said the goddess - whether you loved her or not.
Yet you have come here to rescue her.
She will be returned to you. But there are conditions:
You are not permitted to speak to her, or on the journey back
To turn your head, even once, to assure yourself that she is behind you.
And so Hermes brought forth Eurydice.
Her face no longer hers, utterly gray,
Her eyelids lowered beneath the shade of her lashes.
She stepped rigidly, directed by the hand
Of her guide. Orpheus wanted so much
To call her name, to wake her from that sleep.
But he refrained, for he had accepted the conditions.
And so they set out. He first, and then, not right away,
The slap of the god's sandals and the light patter
Of her feet fettered by her robe, as if by a shroud.
A steep climbing path phosphorized
Out of darkness like the walls of a tunnel.
He would stop and listen. But then
They stopped too, and the echo faded.
And when he began to walk the double tapping commenced again.
Sometimes it seemed closer, sometimes more distant.
Under his faith a doubt sprang up
And entwined him like cold bindweed.
Unable to weep, he wept at the loss
Of the human hope for the resurrection of the dead,
Because he was, now, like every other mortal.
His lyre was silent, yet he dreamed, defenseless.
He knew he must have faith and he could not have faith.
And so he would persist for a very long time,
Counting his steps in a half-wakeful torpor.
Day was breaking. Shapes of rock loomed up
Under the luminous eye of the exit from underground.
It happened as he expected. He turned his head
And behind him on the path was no one.
Sun. And sky. And in the sky white clouds.
Only now everything cried to him: Eurydice!
How will I live without you, my consoling one!
But there was a fragrant scent of herbs, the low humming of bees,
And he fell asleep with his cheek on the sun-warmed earth.- Czeslaw Milosz
http://www.chekhovsmistress.com/2005/01/marginalia_on_m.html
A modern rendition of Orpheus and Eurydice.
Orpheus and Eurydice
Standing on flagstones of the sidewalk at the entrance to Hades
Orpheus hunched in a gust of wind
That tore at his coat, rolled past in waves of fog,
Tossed the leaves of the trees. The headlights of cars
Flared and dimmed in each succeeding wave.
He stopped at the glass-paneled door, uncertain
Whether he was strong enough for that ultimate trial.
He remembered her words: "You are a good man."
He did not quite believe it. Lyric poets
Usually have - as he knew - cold hearts.
It is like a medical condition. Perfection in art
Is given in exchange for such an affliction.
Only her love warmed him, humanized him.
When he was with her, he thought differently about himself.
He could not fail her now, when she was dead.
He pushed open the door and found himself walking in a labyrinth,
Corridors, elevators. The livid light was not light but the dark of the earth.
Electronic dogs passed him noiselessly.
He descended many floors, a hundred, three hundred, down.
He was cold, aware that he was Nowhere.
Under thousands of frozen centuries,
On an ashy trace where generations had moldered,
In a kingdom that seemed to have no bottom and no end.
Thronging shadows surrounded him.
He recognized some of the faces.
He felt the rhythm of his blood.
He felt strongly his life with its guilt
And he was afraid to meet those to whom he had done harm.
But they had lost the ability to remember
And gave him only a glance, indifferent to all that.
For his defense he had a nine-stringed lyre.
He carried in it the music of the earth, against the abyss
That buries all of sound in silence.
He submitted the music, yielded
To the dictation of a song, listening with rapt attention,
Became, like his lyre, its instrument.
Thus he arrived at the palace of the rulers of that land.
Persephone, in her garden of withered pear and apple trees,
Black, with naked branches and verrucose twigs,
Listened from the funereal amethyst of her throne.
He sang the brightness of mornings and green rivers,
He sang of smoking water in the rose-colored daybreaks,
Of colors: cinnabar, carmine, burnt sienna, blue,
Of the delight of swimming in the sea under marble cliffs,
Of feasting on a terrace above the tumult of a fishing port,
Of the tastes of wine, olive oil, almonds, mustard, salt.
Of the flight of the swallow, the falcon,
Of a dignified flock of pelicans above a bay,
Of the scent of an armful of lilacs in summer rain,
Of his having composed his words always against death
And of having made no rhyme in praise of nothingness.
I don't know - said the goddess - whether you loved her or not.
Yet you have come here to rescue her.
She will be returned to you. But there are conditions:
You are not permitted to speak to her, or on the journey back
To turn your head, even once, to assure yourself that she is behind you.
And so Hermes brought forth Eurydice.
Her face no longer hers, utterly gray,
Her eyelids lowered beneath the shade of her lashes.
She stepped rigidly, directed by the hand
Of her guide. Orpheus wanted so much
To call her name, to wake her from that sleep.
But he refrained, for he had accepted the conditions.
And so they set out. He first, and then, not right away,
The slap of the god's sandals and the light patter
Of her feet fettered by her robe, as if by a shroud.
A steep climbing path phosphorized
Out of darkness like the walls of a tunnel.
He would stop and listen. But then
They stopped too, and the echo faded.
And when he began to walk the double tapping commenced again.
Sometimes it seemed closer, sometimes more distant.
Under his faith a doubt sprang up
And entwined him like cold bindweed.
Unable to weep, he wept at the loss
Of the human hope for the resurrection of the dead,
Because he was, now, like every other mortal.
His lyre was silent, yet he dreamed, defenseless.
He knew he must have faith and he could not have faith.
And so he would persist for a very long time,
Counting his steps in a half-wakeful torpor.
Day was breaking. Shapes of rock loomed up
Under the luminous eye of the exit from underground.
It happened as he expected. He turned his head
And behind him on the path was no one.
Sun. And sky. And in the sky white clouds.
Only now everything cried to him: Eurydice!
How will I live without you, my consoling one!
But there was a fragrant scent of herbs, the low humming of bees,
And he fell asleep with his cheek on the sun-warmed earth.- Czeslaw Milosz
Interesting facts
Adapted from: http://poplicks.com/2005/08/30-facts-that-are-difficult-for-me-to.html
1. Hollaback read backwards is, basically, Kabbalah.
2. IBM, which introduced the first PC, no longer makes PCs.
3. US federal government will spend $168 million for sexual-abstinence education but only $13 million for adoption awareness. (Source: Parade, April 10, 2005)
4. Since the invasion of Iraq, the US has allocated $19 billion for reconstruction and related projects in Iraq. $19 billion is more than the combined annual budgets for the National Cancer Institute, Amtrak, the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program, Federal Air Marshals, operation of the National Park Service, Homeless Assistance Grants, the Superfund Hazardous Substance Cleanup, Home-Delivered Meals to the Elderly and youth employment and training programs. (Source: Parade, April 10, 2005)
5. Popeye has four nephews, one of whom is named Poopeye. (The others are Pipeye, Peepeye, and Pupeye.)
6. The US government spent more than $40 million for the Whitewater and Monica Lewinsky investigations but only $15 million for the 9/11 Commission to examine the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. (Source: Parade, April 10, 2005)
7. The Canary Islands were named after wild dogs - canis in Latin. The songbirds we call canaries were named after the islands.
8. Jack Nicholson, Bobby Darin, and Eric Clapton all discovered that the woman they thought were their sisters was actually their mothers. When he was 32, Bobby Darin not only learned that his "sister" was his mother, but he learned that his "mother" was actually his grandmother.
9. Apparently, if you cut an onion in half, rub it on the sole of your foot, and then wait an hour, you'll taste onion in your mouth.
10. China has more English speakers than the United States does.
11. If my stomach does not produce a new layer of mucus every 2 weeks, it will digest itself.
12. The revenue that is generated from gambling is more than the revenue that comes from movies, cruise ships, recorded music, theme parks, and spectator sports combined.
13. In China, September 20 is "Love Your Teeth Day."
14. French fries apparently originated in Belgium, not France.
15. If you farted continuously for six years and nine months, you would produce enough wind equal to the energy of an atomic bomb.
1. Hollaback read backwards is, basically, Kabbalah.
2. IBM, which introduced the first PC, no longer makes PCs.
3. US federal government will spend $168 million for sexual-abstinence education but only $13 million for adoption awareness. (Source: Parade, April 10, 2005)
4. Since the invasion of Iraq, the US has allocated $19 billion for reconstruction and related projects in Iraq. $19 billion is more than the combined annual budgets for the National Cancer Institute, Amtrak, the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program, Federal Air Marshals, operation of the National Park Service, Homeless Assistance Grants, the Superfund Hazardous Substance Cleanup, Home-Delivered Meals to the Elderly and youth employment and training programs. (Source: Parade, April 10, 2005)
5. Popeye has four nephews, one of whom is named Poopeye. (The others are Pipeye, Peepeye, and Pupeye.)
6. The US government spent more than $40 million for the Whitewater and Monica Lewinsky investigations but only $15 million for the 9/11 Commission to examine the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. (Source: Parade, April 10, 2005)
7. The Canary Islands were named after wild dogs - canis in Latin. The songbirds we call canaries were named after the islands.
8. Jack Nicholson, Bobby Darin, and Eric Clapton all discovered that the woman they thought were their sisters was actually their mothers. When he was 32, Bobby Darin not only learned that his "sister" was his mother, but he learned that his "mother" was actually his grandmother.
9. Apparently, if you cut an onion in half, rub it on the sole of your foot, and then wait an hour, you'll taste onion in your mouth.
10. China has more English speakers than the United States does.
11. If my stomach does not produce a new layer of mucus every 2 weeks, it will digest itself.
12. The revenue that is generated from gambling is more than the revenue that comes from movies, cruise ships, recorded music, theme parks, and spectator sports combined.
13. In China, September 20 is "Love Your Teeth Day."
14. French fries apparently originated in Belgium, not France.
15. If you farted continuously for six years and nine months, you would produce enough wind equal to the energy of an atomic bomb.
Sunday, August 27, 2006
The Highwayman
The Highwayman
Original Text By Alfred Noyes, Song verson by Loreena Mckennitt
Part One
I
The wind was a torrent of darkness among the gusty trees,
The moon was a ghostly galleon tossed upon cloudy seas,
The road was a ribbon of moonlight, over the purple moor,
And the highwayman came riding-
Riding-riding-
The highwayman came riding, up to the old inn-door.
II
He'd a French cocked-hat on his forehead, a bunch of lace at his chin,
A coat of the claret velvet, and breeches of brown doe-skin;
They fitted with never a wrinkle: his boots were up to the thigh!
And he rode with a jewelled twinkle,
His pistol butts a-twinkle,
His rapier hilt a-twinkle, under the jewelled sky.
III
Over the cobbles he clattered and clashed in the dark inn-yard,
And he tapped with his whip on the shutters, but all was locked and barred;
He whistled a tune to the window, and who should be waiting there
But the landlord's black-eyed daughter,
Bess, the landlord's daughter,
Plaiting a dark red love-knot into her long black hair.
IV
And dark in the old inn-yard a stable-wicket creaked
Where Tim the ostler listened; his face was white and peaked;
His eyes were hollows of madness, his hair like mouldy hay,
But he loved the landlord's daughter,
The landlord's red-lipped daughter,
Dumb as a dog he listened, and he heard the robber say-
V
"One kiss, my bonny sweetheart, I'm after a prize to-night,
But I shall be back with the yellow gold before the morning light;
Yet, if they press me sharply, and harry me through the day,
Then look for me by moonlight,
Watch for me by moonlight,
I'll come to thee by moonlight, though hell should bar the way."
VI
He rose upright in the stirrups; he scarce could reach her hand,
But she loosened her hair i' the casement! His face burnt like a brand
As the black cascade of perfume came tumbling over his breast;
And he kissed its waves in the moonlight,
(Oh, sweet black waves in the moonlight!)
Then he tugged at his rein in the moonlight, and galloped away to the West.
Part Two
I
He did not come in the dawning; he did not come at noon;
And out o' the tawny sunset, before the rise o' the moon,
When the road was a gipsy's ribbon, looping the purple moor,
A red-coat troop came marching-
Marching-marching-
King George's men came marching, up to the old inn-door.
II
They said no word to the landlord, they drank his ale instead,
But they gagged his daughter and bound her to the foot of her narrow bed;
Two of them knelt at her casement, with muskets at their side!
There was death at every window;
And hell at one dark window;
For Bess could see, through the casement, the road that he would ride.
III
They had tied her up to attention, with many a sniggering jest;
They bound a musket beside her, with the barrel beneath her breast!
"Now keep good watch!" and they kissed her.
She heard the dead man say-
Look for me by moonlight;
Watch for me by moonlight;
I'll come to thee by moonlight, though hell should bar the way!
IV
She twisted her hands behind her; but all the knots held good!
She writhed her hands till here fingers were wet with sweat or blood!
They stretched and strained in the darkness, and the hours crawled by like
years,
Till, now, on the stroke of midnight,
Cold, on the stroke of midnight,
The tip of one finger touched it! The trigger at least was hers!
V
The tip of one finger touched it; she strove no more for the rest!
Up, she stood up to attention, with the barrel beneath her breast,
She would not risk their hearing; she would not strive again;
For the road lay bare in the moonlight;
Blank and bare in the moonlight;
And the blood of her veins in the moonlight throbbed to her love's refrain.
VI
Tlot-tlot; tlot-tlot! Had they heard it? The horse-hoofs
ringing clear;
Tlot-tlot, tlot-tlot, in the distance? Were they deaf that they did
not hear?
Down the ribbon of moonlight, over the brow of the hill,
The highwayman came riding,
Riding, riding!
The red-coats looked to their priming! She stood up strait and still!
VII
Tlot-tlot, in the frosty silence! Tlot-tlot, in the echoing night
!
Nearer he came and nearer! Her face was like a light!
Her eyes grew wide for a moment; she drew one last deep breath,
Then her finger moved in the moonlight,
Her musket shattered the moonlight,
Shattered her breast in the moonlight and warned him-with her death.
VIII
He turned; he spurred to the West; he did not know who stood
Bowed, with her head o'er the musket, drenched with her own red blood!
Not till the dawn he heard it, his face grew grey to hear
How Bess, the landlord's daughter,
The landlord's black-eyed daughter,
Had watched for her love in the moonlight, and died in the darkness there.
IX
Back, he spurred like a madman, shrieking a curse to the sky,
With the white road smoking behind him and his rapier brandished high!
Blood-red were his spurs i' the golden noon; wine-red was his velvet coat,
When they shot him down on the highway,
Down like a dog on the highway,
And he lay in his blood on the highway, with a bunch of lace at his throat.
* * * * * *
X
And still of a winter's night, they say, when the wind is in the trees,
When the moon is a ghostly galleon tossed upon cloudy seas,
When the road is a ribbon of moonlight over the purple moor,
A highwayman comes riding-
Riding-riding-
A highwayman comes riding, up to the old inn-door.
XI
Over the cobbles he clatters and clangs in the dark inn-yard,
And he taps with his whip on the shutters, but all is locked and barred;
He whistles a tune to the window, and who should be waiting there
But the landlord's black-eyed daughter,
Bess, the landlord's daughter,
Plaiting a dark red love-knot into her long black hair.
Original Text By Alfred Noyes, Song verson by Loreena Mckennitt
Part One
I
The wind was a torrent of darkness among the gusty trees,
The moon was a ghostly galleon tossed upon cloudy seas,
The road was a ribbon of moonlight, over the purple moor,
And the highwayman came riding-
Riding-riding-
The highwayman came riding, up to the old inn-door.
II
He'd a French cocked-hat on his forehead, a bunch of lace at his chin,
A coat of the claret velvet, and breeches of brown doe-skin;
They fitted with never a wrinkle: his boots were up to the thigh!
And he rode with a jewelled twinkle,
His pistol butts a-twinkle,
His rapier hilt a-twinkle, under the jewelled sky.
III
Over the cobbles he clattered and clashed in the dark inn-yard,
And he tapped with his whip on the shutters, but all was locked and barred;
He whistled a tune to the window, and who should be waiting there
But the landlord's black-eyed daughter,
Bess, the landlord's daughter,
Plaiting a dark red love-knot into her long black hair.
IV
And dark in the old inn-yard a stable-wicket creaked
Where Tim the ostler listened; his face was white and peaked;
His eyes were hollows of madness, his hair like mouldy hay,
But he loved the landlord's daughter,
The landlord's red-lipped daughter,
Dumb as a dog he listened, and he heard the robber say-
V
"One kiss, my bonny sweetheart, I'm after a prize to-night,
But I shall be back with the yellow gold before the morning light;
Yet, if they press me sharply, and harry me through the day,
Then look for me by moonlight,
Watch for me by moonlight,
I'll come to thee by moonlight, though hell should bar the way."
VI
He rose upright in the stirrups; he scarce could reach her hand,
But she loosened her hair i' the casement! His face burnt like a brand
As the black cascade of perfume came tumbling over his breast;
And he kissed its waves in the moonlight,
(Oh, sweet black waves in the moonlight!)
Then he tugged at his rein in the moonlight, and galloped away to the West.
Part Two
I
He did not come in the dawning; he did not come at noon;
And out o' the tawny sunset, before the rise o' the moon,
When the road was a gipsy's ribbon, looping the purple moor,
A red-coat troop came marching-
Marching-marching-
King George's men came marching, up to the old inn-door.
II
They said no word to the landlord, they drank his ale instead,
But they gagged his daughter and bound her to the foot of her narrow bed;
Two of them knelt at her casement, with muskets at their side!
There was death at every window;
And hell at one dark window;
For Bess could see, through the casement, the road that he would ride.
III
They had tied her up to attention, with many a sniggering jest;
They bound a musket beside her, with the barrel beneath her breast!
"Now keep good watch!" and they kissed her.
She heard the dead man say-
Look for me by moonlight;
Watch for me by moonlight;
I'll come to thee by moonlight, though hell should bar the way!
IV
She twisted her hands behind her; but all the knots held good!
She writhed her hands till here fingers were wet with sweat or blood!
They stretched and strained in the darkness, and the hours crawled by like
years,
Till, now, on the stroke of midnight,
Cold, on the stroke of midnight,
The tip of one finger touched it! The trigger at least was hers!
V
The tip of one finger touched it; she strove no more for the rest!
Up, she stood up to attention, with the barrel beneath her breast,
She would not risk their hearing; she would not strive again;
For the road lay bare in the moonlight;
Blank and bare in the moonlight;
And the blood of her veins in the moonlight throbbed to her love's refrain.
VI
Tlot-tlot; tlot-tlot! Had they heard it? The horse-hoofs
ringing clear;
Tlot-tlot, tlot-tlot, in the distance? Were they deaf that they did
not hear?
Down the ribbon of moonlight, over the brow of the hill,
The highwayman came riding,
Riding, riding!
The red-coats looked to their priming! She stood up strait and still!
VII
Tlot-tlot, in the frosty silence! Tlot-tlot, in the echoing night
!
Nearer he came and nearer! Her face was like a light!
Her eyes grew wide for a moment; she drew one last deep breath,
Then her finger moved in the moonlight,
Her musket shattered the moonlight,
Shattered her breast in the moonlight and warned him-with her death.
VIII
He turned; he spurred to the West; he did not know who stood
Bowed, with her head o'er the musket, drenched with her own red blood!
Not till the dawn he heard it, his face grew grey to hear
How Bess, the landlord's daughter,
The landlord's black-eyed daughter,
Had watched for her love in the moonlight, and died in the darkness there.
IX
Back, he spurred like a madman, shrieking a curse to the sky,
With the white road smoking behind him and his rapier brandished high!
Blood-red were his spurs i' the golden noon; wine-red was his velvet coat,
When they shot him down on the highway,
Down like a dog on the highway,
And he lay in his blood on the highway, with a bunch of lace at his throat.
* * * * * *
X
And still of a winter's night, they say, when the wind is in the trees,
When the moon is a ghostly galleon tossed upon cloudy seas,
When the road is a ribbon of moonlight over the purple moor,
A highwayman comes riding-
Riding-riding-
A highwayman comes riding, up to the old inn-door.
XI
Over the cobbles he clatters and clangs in the dark inn-yard,
And he taps with his whip on the shutters, but all is locked and barred;
He whistles a tune to the window, and who should be waiting there
But the landlord's black-eyed daughter,
Bess, the landlord's daughter,
Plaiting a dark red love-knot into her long black hair.
Love, Death, Rejection, Sacrifice, Futility
The pain is unbearable.
Almost unrecognisable.
- Insufferable.
Not unable.
Yes you cry.
Yes you die.
Don't we all?
Why do you die? / Why do you live?
Why don't you die? / Why don't you live?
The glass is half full/empty.
The purpose of Meaning.
Existancialist/Idealist/ Phenomenalist/ Realist / Solipsist
To perceive is to exist - To exist is to be perceived - To be is to be perceivable
I think therefore I am - I am therefore I think - I think, therefore...
love - death - rejection - sacrifice - futility.
A sense of life.
My life.
Futile.
***HSBC Adverts and The Nightingale and the Rose***
Almost unrecognisable.
- Insufferable.
Not unable.
Yes you cry.
Yes you die.
Don't we all?
Why do you die? / Why do you live?
Why don't you die? / Why don't you live?
The glass is half full/empty.
The purpose of Meaning.
Existancialist/Idealist/ Phenomenalist/ Realist / Solipsist
To perceive is to exist - To exist is to be perceived - To be is to be perceivable
I think therefore I am - I am therefore I think - I think, therefore...
love - death - rejection - sacrifice - futility.
A sense of life.
My life.
Futile.
***HSBC Adverts and The Nightingale and the Rose***
Monday, August 14, 2006
Origins of "Little Red Riding Hood"
Source: Christian Schneller, Märchen und Sagen aus Wälschtirol: Ein Beitrag zur deutschen Sagenkunde (Innsbruck: Verlag der Wagner'schen Universitäts-Buchhandlung, 1867), no. 6, pp. 9-10.
"El cappelin rosso." Italy/Austria
Once there was an old woman who had a granddaughter named Little Red Hat. One day they were both in the field when the old woman said, "I am going home now. You come along later and bring me some soup."
After a while Little Red Hat set out for her grandmother's house, and she met an ogre, who said, "Hello, my dear Little Red Hat. Where are you going?"
"I am going to my grandmother's to take her some soup."
"Good," he replied, "I'll come along too. Are you going across the stones or the thorns?"
"I'm going across the stones," said the girl.
"Then I'll go across the thorns," replied the ogre.
They left. But on the way Little Red Hat came to a meadow where beautiful flowers of all colors were in bloom, and the girl picked as many as her heart desired. Meanwhile the ogre hurried on his way, and although he had to cross the thorns, he arrived at the house before Little Red Hat. He went inside, killed the grandmother, ate her up, and climbed into her bed. He also tied her intestine onto the door in place of the latch string and placed her blood, teeth, and jaws in the kitchen cupboard.
He had barely climbed into bed when Little Red Hat arrived and knocked at the door.
"Come in" called the ogre with a dampened voice.
Little Red Hat tried to open the door, but when she noticed that she was pulling on something soft, she called out, "Grandmother, this thing is so soft!"
"Just pull and keep quiet. It is your grandmother's intestine!"
"What did you say?"
"Just pull and keep quiet!"
Little Red Hat opened the door, went inside, and said, "Grandmother, I am hungry."
The ogre replied, "Go to the kitchen cupboard. There is still a little rice there."
Little Red Hat went to the cupboard and took the teeth out. "Grandmother, these things are very hard!"
"Eat and keep quiet. They are your grandmother's teeth!"
"What did you say?"
"Eat and keep quiet!"
A little while later Little Red Hat said, "Grandmother, I'm still hungry."
"Go back to the cupboard," said the ogre. "You will find two pieces of chopped meat there."
Little Red Hat went to the cupboard and took out the jaws. "Grandmother, this is very red!"
"Eat and keep quiet. They are your grandmother's jaws!"
"What did you say?"
"Eat and keep quiet!"
A little while later Little Red Hat said, "Grandmother, I'm thirsty."
"Just look in the cupboard," said the ogre. "There must be a little wine there."
Little Red Hat went to the cupboard and took out the blood. "Grandmother, this wine is very red!"
"Drink and keep quiet. It is your grandmother's blood!
"What did you say?"
"Just drink and keep quiet!"
A little while later Little Red Hat said, "Grandmother, I'm sleepy."
"Take off your clothes and get into bed with me!" replied the ogre.
Little Red Hat got into bed and noticed something hairy. "Grandmother, you are so hairy!"
"That comes with age," said the ogre.
"Grandmother, you have such long legs!"
"That comes from walking."
"Grandmother, you have such long hands!"
"That comes from working."
"Grandmother, you have such long ears!"
"That comes from listening."
"Grandmother, you have such a big mouth!"
"That comes from eating children!" said the ogre, and bam, he swallowed Little Red Hat with one gulp.
"El cappelin rosso." Italy/Austria
Once there was an old woman who had a granddaughter named Little Red Hat. One day they were both in the field when the old woman said, "I am going home now. You come along later and bring me some soup."
After a while Little Red Hat set out for her grandmother's house, and she met an ogre, who said, "Hello, my dear Little Red Hat. Where are you going?"
"I am going to my grandmother's to take her some soup."
"Good," he replied, "I'll come along too. Are you going across the stones or the thorns?"
"I'm going across the stones," said the girl.
"Then I'll go across the thorns," replied the ogre.
They left. But on the way Little Red Hat came to a meadow where beautiful flowers of all colors were in bloom, and the girl picked as many as her heart desired. Meanwhile the ogre hurried on his way, and although he had to cross the thorns, he arrived at the house before Little Red Hat. He went inside, killed the grandmother, ate her up, and climbed into her bed. He also tied her intestine onto the door in place of the latch string and placed her blood, teeth, and jaws in the kitchen cupboard.
He had barely climbed into bed when Little Red Hat arrived and knocked at the door.
"Come in" called the ogre with a dampened voice.
Little Red Hat tried to open the door, but when she noticed that she was pulling on something soft, she called out, "Grandmother, this thing is so soft!"
"Just pull and keep quiet. It is your grandmother's intestine!"
"What did you say?"
"Just pull and keep quiet!"
Little Red Hat opened the door, went inside, and said, "Grandmother, I am hungry."
The ogre replied, "Go to the kitchen cupboard. There is still a little rice there."
Little Red Hat went to the cupboard and took the teeth out. "Grandmother, these things are very hard!"
"Eat and keep quiet. They are your grandmother's teeth!"
"What did you say?"
"Eat and keep quiet!"
A little while later Little Red Hat said, "Grandmother, I'm still hungry."
"Go back to the cupboard," said the ogre. "You will find two pieces of chopped meat there."
Little Red Hat went to the cupboard and took out the jaws. "Grandmother, this is very red!"
"Eat and keep quiet. They are your grandmother's jaws!"
"What did you say?"
"Eat and keep quiet!"
A little while later Little Red Hat said, "Grandmother, I'm thirsty."
"Just look in the cupboard," said the ogre. "There must be a little wine there."
Little Red Hat went to the cupboard and took out the blood. "Grandmother, this wine is very red!"
"Drink and keep quiet. It is your grandmother's blood!
"What did you say?"
"Just drink and keep quiet!"
A little while later Little Red Hat said, "Grandmother, I'm sleepy."
"Take off your clothes and get into bed with me!" replied the ogre.
Little Red Hat got into bed and noticed something hairy. "Grandmother, you are so hairy!"
"That comes with age," said the ogre.
"Grandmother, you have such long legs!"
"That comes from walking."
"Grandmother, you have such long hands!"
"That comes from working."
"Grandmother, you have such long ears!"
"That comes from listening."
"Grandmother, you have such a big mouth!"
"That comes from eating children!" said the ogre, and bam, he swallowed Little Red Hat with one gulp.
Sunday, August 13, 2006
5 Food Choices That Can Change Your Life in One Week
5 Food Choices That Can Change Your Life in One Week
Say goodbye to stomach stress with these diet tips
Stomach problems have become a leading health complaint among Americans, especially women. We pop Tums like candy and take all sorts of pills to relieve heartburn, indigestion, gas and acid reflux. It doesn't have to be that way, says Sorai Stuart, PhD, ND, author of Nutrition for Your Body, Mind & Spirit
"Certain foods, when mixed together, create digestive problems which can lead to health issues," says Dr. Stuart. "But if you know how to combine your foods, you'll eliminate ulcers, indigestion, heartburn, nausea and a whole host of other ailments."
Dr. Stuart has put together five rules of eating that she says will have you feeling better instantly. "Any one of these changes will improve your health," she says.
1. No more meat and potatoes
"Avoid mixing animal proteins and grains or starches," advises Dr. Stuart. "The body uses different enzymes to break down proteins than it uses for grains and starches, so when you mix them together, there is a discomfort." Instead of beef and yams, try meat with veggies and skip the starch or eat it with a separate, no-meat meal.
Making your body's digestive process more straightforward is effective, says Eileen Silva, PhD, coauthor of A Healthier You! "Most people who struggle with weight have poor gut function. Simplifying the way you eat can help," Silva says.
2. The fruit stands alone
"Fruits are a fast-digesting food," says Dr. Stuart, who says some of her patients come to her saying they have allergies to certain types of fruit. "I ask them when they're consuming the fruit, and they usually are having an apple or banana after a meal, which means it's mixed up with all these other foods in your stomach and its digestion is slowed." She recommends eating fruit at least half an hour before a meal or as a snack between meals.
Wellness coach Jennifer Tuma, creator of the interactive DVD Diets Don't Work, believes eating fruits only from our native region can also help. "Our bodies are designed to digest food that's indigenous to the land around us," she says. Dr. Silva stresses that fruits are a great between-meals snack to keep blood sugar levels stable and deter overeating when mealtime rolls around.
3. Don't drown your food
Downing a glass of water half an hour before a meal is a common tip to keep you from eating when you're not really hungry, and Dr. Stuart says that it's a great idea — especially because she advises against drinking beverages during mealtime. "Chewing sends the signal that food is coming," she says. "When that's followed by a slug of liquid, the body is confused, and it can cause discomfort."
Silva recommends drinking 20 to 30 minutes before you eat. "Drinking during a meal can flush away digestive enzymes," she says. "If you really want to have a beverage with a meal, I recommend taking a digestive enzyme supplement."
4. Put away the bread and butter
"Most people overload on grains and dairy," says Dr. Stuart. As a result, our bodies cannot utilize all of what we're consuming. She asks her patients to give up dairy and grains for 10 to 14 days and see how they feel. "They start to feel great in a few days," says Stuart. "Stomach pain and discomfort go away — they have more energy, they sleep better and they lose joint pain and headaches." Then Dr. Stuart slowly introduces the food groups back into patients' diets. "The bottom line," she says, "is that we should be eating more veggies than any other food group."
Tuma warns that people should be aware of possible side effects like fatigue or mood swings that can come with a big diet change. "While there are benefits to detoxing, you should be educated as to what to expect," she says.
5. No more bubbles
"Carbonation is a bloat," says Dr. Stuart. "Adding gaseous elements to your body has a bad effect on your heart, liver and gall bladder — not to mention it's a real irritant to the abdominal area." What to drink: fresh vegetable juice, water, diluted fruit juices and herbal teas, according to Dr. Stuart. Any wine? "Once in a while," she says. Phew!
Say goodbye to stomach stress with these diet tips
Stomach problems have become a leading health complaint among Americans, especially women. We pop Tums like candy and take all sorts of pills to relieve heartburn, indigestion, gas and acid reflux. It doesn't have to be that way, says Sorai Stuart, PhD, ND, author of Nutrition for Your Body, Mind & Spirit
"Certain foods, when mixed together, create digestive problems which can lead to health issues," says Dr. Stuart. "But if you know how to combine your foods, you'll eliminate ulcers, indigestion, heartburn, nausea and a whole host of other ailments."
Dr. Stuart has put together five rules of eating that she says will have you feeling better instantly. "Any one of these changes will improve your health," she says.
1. No more meat and potatoes
"Avoid mixing animal proteins and grains or starches," advises Dr. Stuart. "The body uses different enzymes to break down proteins than it uses for grains and starches, so when you mix them together, there is a discomfort." Instead of beef and yams, try meat with veggies and skip the starch or eat it with a separate, no-meat meal.
Making your body's digestive process more straightforward is effective, says Eileen Silva, PhD, coauthor of A Healthier You! "Most people who struggle with weight have poor gut function. Simplifying the way you eat can help," Silva says.
2. The fruit stands alone
"Fruits are a fast-digesting food," says Dr. Stuart, who says some of her patients come to her saying they have allergies to certain types of fruit. "I ask them when they're consuming the fruit, and they usually are having an apple or banana after a meal, which means it's mixed up with all these other foods in your stomach and its digestion is slowed." She recommends eating fruit at least half an hour before a meal or as a snack between meals.
Wellness coach Jennifer Tuma, creator of the interactive DVD Diets Don't Work, believes eating fruits only from our native region can also help. "Our bodies are designed to digest food that's indigenous to the land around us," she says. Dr. Silva stresses that fruits are a great between-meals snack to keep blood sugar levels stable and deter overeating when mealtime rolls around.
3. Don't drown your food
Downing a glass of water half an hour before a meal is a common tip to keep you from eating when you're not really hungry, and Dr. Stuart says that it's a great idea — especially because she advises against drinking beverages during mealtime. "Chewing sends the signal that food is coming," she says. "When that's followed by a slug of liquid, the body is confused, and it can cause discomfort."
Silva recommends drinking 20 to 30 minutes before you eat. "Drinking during a meal can flush away digestive enzymes," she says. "If you really want to have a beverage with a meal, I recommend taking a digestive enzyme supplement."
4. Put away the bread and butter
"Most people overload on grains and dairy," says Dr. Stuart. As a result, our bodies cannot utilize all of what we're consuming. She asks her patients to give up dairy and grains for 10 to 14 days and see how they feel. "They start to feel great in a few days," says Stuart. "Stomach pain and discomfort go away — they have more energy, they sleep better and they lose joint pain and headaches." Then Dr. Stuart slowly introduces the food groups back into patients' diets. "The bottom line," she says, "is that we should be eating more veggies than any other food group."
Tuma warns that people should be aware of possible side effects like fatigue or mood swings that can come with a big diet change. "While there are benefits to detoxing, you should be educated as to what to expect," she says.
5. No more bubbles
"Carbonation is a bloat," says Dr. Stuart. "Adding gaseous elements to your body has a bad effect on your heart, liver and gall bladder — not to mention it's a real irritant to the abdominal area." What to drink: fresh vegetable juice, water, diluted fruit juices and herbal teas, according to Dr. Stuart. Any wine? "Once in a while," she says. Phew!
Why are you so Tired?
"The year is made up of 365 days,
Each having 24 hours,
12 of which are night time hours,
which add up to a total of 182 days.
This leaves you with 183 days to work minus 52 Sundays,
which leaves you with 131 days to work
minus 52 Saturdays,
which leaves you with 79 days to work.
But, there are 3 hours each day, set aside for eating
and 1 hour for bathing and going to the toilet,
which adds up to 60 days,
which leaves you 19 days for working.
But you are entitled to 15 days of your vacation,
which means you have 4 days left for work minus 3 days,
which you usually take off due to illness or other emergencies,
which leaves you 1 day to work,
which happens to be Labour Day which is a Holiday."
SO, WHY ARE YOU SO TIRED?
Did Bernard Shaw say this?
Each having 24 hours,
12 of which are night time hours,
which add up to a total of 182 days.
This leaves you with 183 days to work minus 52 Sundays,
which leaves you with 131 days to work
minus 52 Saturdays,
which leaves you with 79 days to work.
But, there are 3 hours each day, set aside for eating
and 1 hour for bathing and going to the toilet,
which adds up to 60 days,
which leaves you 19 days for working.
But you are entitled to 15 days of your vacation,
which means you have 4 days left for work minus 3 days,
which you usually take off due to illness or other emergencies,
which leaves you 1 day to work,
which happens to be Labour Day which is a Holiday."
SO, WHY ARE YOU SO TIRED?
Did Bernard Shaw say this?
Thursday, August 10, 2006
Run
Run by Collective Soul
Are these times contagious
I've never been this bored before
Is this the prize
I've waited for
Now with the hours passing
Theres nothing left here to insure
I long to find a messenger
Have I got a long way to run
Have I got a long way to run
Yeah, I run
Is there a cure among us
From this processed sanity
I weaken with each voice that sings
Now, in this world of purchase
Im going to buy back memories
To awaken some old qualities
Have I got a long way to
Yeah, I run
Are these times contagious
I've never been this bored before
Is this the prize
I've waited for
Now with the hours passing
Theres nothing left here to insure
I long to find a messenger
Have I got a long way to run
Have I got a long way to run
Yeah, I run
Is there a cure among us
From this processed sanity
I weaken with each voice that sings
Now, in this world of purchase
Im going to buy back memories
To awaken some old qualities
Have I got a long way to
Yeah, I run
Thursday, August 03, 2006
Losing My Religion by REM
Shivers and tears,
Every waking hour.
but that was just a dream. ..
For life is bigger than you,
Or me.
I don't know if I can do it.
Losing My Religion. REM
Life is bigger
It's bigger than you
And you are not me
The lengths that I will go to
The distance in your eyes
Oh no I've said too much
I set it up
That's me in the corner
That's me in the spotlight
Losing my religion
Trying to keep up with you
And I don't know if I can do it
Oh no I've said too much
I haven't said enough
I thought that I heard you laughing
I thought that I heard you sing
I think I thought I saw you try
Every whisper
Of every waking hour I'm
Choosing my confessions
Trying to keep an eye on you
Like a hurt lost and blinded fool
Oh no I've said too much
I set it up
Consider this
The hint of the century
Consider this
The slip that brought me
To my knees failed
What if all these fantasies
Come flailing around
Now I've said too much
I thought that I heard you laughing
I thought that I heard you sing
I think I thought I saw you try
But that was just a dream
That was just a dream
Every waking hour.
but that was just a dream. ..
For life is bigger than you,
Or me.
I don't know if I can do it.
Losing My Religion. REM
Life is bigger
It's bigger than you
And you are not me
The lengths that I will go to
The distance in your eyes
Oh no I've said too much
I set it up
That's me in the corner
That's me in the spotlight
Losing my religion
Trying to keep up with you
And I don't know if I can do it
Oh no I've said too much
I haven't said enough
I thought that I heard you laughing
I thought that I heard you sing
I think I thought I saw you try
Every whisper
Of every waking hour I'm
Choosing my confessions
Trying to keep an eye on you
Like a hurt lost and blinded fool
Oh no I've said too much
I set it up
Consider this
The hint of the century
Consider this
The slip that brought me
To my knees failed
What if all these fantasies
Come flailing around
Now I've said too much
I thought that I heard you laughing
I thought that I heard you sing
I think I thought I saw you try
But that was just a dream
That was just a dream
Dreams
I seldom dream nowadays.
I miss the long bus rides, with the wind in my hair. (no more bus, no more hair)
I have to teach. (I hate talking!)
I don't get enough rest. (not sleep!)
I don't get to do my own things (like dream)
And thats the problem.
The 'I' in everything.
When I is/am in the centre of everything, there is no opportunity to allow myself to float away and be in far away places.
I am here. I am now.
thats it.
full stop.
.
There was some dreaming last night.
A queer and wierd one.
So many kinds of dreams.
Dreams are funny things.
A writer that doesn't write, a dreamer that doesn't dream.
A writer that dreams of writing.
A dreamer that only writes.
Who are poets?
I miss the long bus rides, with the wind in my hair. (no more bus, no more hair)
I have to teach. (I hate talking!)
I don't get enough rest. (not sleep!)
I don't get to do my own things (like dream)
And thats the problem.
The 'I' in everything.
When I is/am in the centre of everything, there is no opportunity to allow myself to float away and be in far away places.
I am here. I am now.
thats it.
full stop.
.
There was some dreaming last night.
A queer and wierd one.
So many kinds of dreams.
Dreams are funny things.
A writer that doesn't write, a dreamer that doesn't dream.
A writer that dreams of writing.
A dreamer that only writes.
Who are poets?
Tuesday, August 01, 2006
Reality
Met you by surprise
I didn't realize that my life would change forever
Saw you standing there didn't know I care
there was something special in the air
I didn't realize that my life would change forever
Saw you standing there didn't know I care
there was something special in the air
Dreams are my reality
the only kind of real fantasy
illusions are a common thing
I try to live in dreams
illusions are a common thing
I try to live in dreams
it seems as if it's meant to be.
Dreams are my reality
a different kind of reality
I dream of loving in the night
I dream of loving in the night
and loving seems all right
althought it's only fantasy.
althought it's only fantasy.
If you do exsist, honey don't resist
show me a new way of loving
Tell me that it's true, show me what to do
I feel something special about you.
show me a new way of loving
Tell me that it's true, show me what to do
I feel something special about you.
Dreams are my reality,
the only kind of reality
Maybe my foolishness is past
Maybe my foolishness is past
and may now at last
I'll see how the real thing can be
I'll see how the real thing can be
Dreams are my reality,
a wondrous world where I like to be
I dream of holding you all night
and holding you seems right
perhaps that's my reality.
I dream of holding you all night
and holding you seems right
perhaps that's my reality.
Met you by surprise, didn't realize
that my life would change forever
Tell me that it's true, feelings that are new
I feel something special about you.
that my life would change forever
Tell me that it's true, feelings that are new
I feel something special about you.
Dreams are my reality,
a wondrous world where I like to be
illusions are a common thing
I try to live in dreams
illusions are a common thing
I try to live in dreams
althought it's only fantasy
Dreams are my reality,
I like to dream of you close to me
I dream of loving in the night
and loving you seems right
perhaps that's my reality
I dream of loving in the night
and loving you seems right
perhaps that's my reality
The Endless
Death defines Life,
just as Despair defines Hope,
or Desire defines Hatred,
or as Destiny defines Freedom.
Destruction defines existance.
Dreams define Reality.
just as Despair defines Hope,
or Desire defines Hatred,
or as Destiny defines Freedom.
Destruction defines existance.
Dreams define Reality.
Brief Lives
Sandman Neil Gaiman.
"So every life, being no more or less than a lifetime, is brief: every life, being brief, is equal."
"What is of brief duration, is to be embraced, valued, reluctantly surrendered. Only the mad and the stupid throw their lives away."
"Wisdom is a matter of recognizing that nothing stands still. that everything is hurtling toward its own conclusion. Wisdom is in the celebration and memorialization of the temporal. So "wisdom" consists of the ability to observe, "This is a beautiful day.")"
"The concept of change, of drastic change to come and unalterable changes that have already occured, haunts BRIEF LIVES."
"Of course the truth is that no one likes change. Peoplple in hell not only refuse to leave it, they invite you in, too. Even people who have blasted the other lives that touched their own blasted lives proudly declare in old age that they would not change a thing - all that cursing and screaming was their life, by God, and it is not possible to imagine any other."
"Change introduces unpredictability, uncertainty, a universe of disorder."
"So every life, being no more or less than a lifetime, is brief: every life, being brief, is equal."
"What is of brief duration, is to be embraced, valued, reluctantly surrendered. Only the mad and the stupid throw their lives away."
"Wisdom is a matter of recognizing that nothing stands still. that everything is hurtling toward its own conclusion. Wisdom is in the celebration and memorialization of the temporal. So "wisdom" consists of the ability to observe, "This is a beautiful day.")"
"The concept of change, of drastic change to come and unalterable changes that have already occured, haunts BRIEF LIVES."
"Of course the truth is that no one likes change. Peoplple in hell not only refuse to leave it, they invite you in, too. Even people who have blasted the other lives that touched their own blasted lives proudly declare in old age that they would not change a thing - all that cursing and screaming was their life, by God, and it is not possible to imagine any other."
"Change introduces unpredictability, uncertainty, a universe of disorder."
Saving the Creation part 3
" Now, the longest lasting effect of the bottleneck that we have traveled into and the subject of my presentation of this afternoon is the accelerating destruction, of course, of the natural environment leading to the undoubted, ongoing process of mass extinctions of ecosystems and species. The damage already done can’t be repaired in any period of time that
has meaning to the human mind. The average extinction rate -- background extinction rate before we came along was about, paleontologist have shown us, one species going extinct per
million species per year.
The number of new species on average coming into existence by evolution was about the same, one per million per year, and now we have increased that by orders of magnitude. The more this is allowed to grow, and it is accelerating, the more future generations are going to suffer for it in ways that we understand already, but also in ways that remain unimagined. “Why?” future generations are going to ask us. By needlessly, stupidly extinguishing the lives of other species, you diminish our own.
A radical reduction of the world’s biodiversity as the folly of our descendants is least likely to -- are least likely to forgive us. And that’s not what we want to do to them. Banish the thought that has entered your head that extinction has always occurred. Extinction will always be filled back with new evolution. In past times, there have been five massive distinctions. Probably all due -- although that is not certain, but probably all due to a large bull-eyed strike, a meteor or a comet, the last one being 65 million years ago, of course.
And at that time, we had severe depression of biological diversity in each of those times, and it took somewhere between 5 and 10 million years of evolution, natural evolution to finally restore the original amount and then continue on slowly rising. Now if descendants, our descendants, well, I think, you know, people in this generation becoming fully aware of this are told that now we have to wait five million years, you know, to undo the damage that we are doing right now, they will be peeved.
http://www.treehugger.com/files/2006/07/the_aspen_ideas.php
has meaning to the human mind. The average extinction rate -- background extinction rate before we came along was about, paleontologist have shown us, one species going extinct per
million species per year.
The number of new species on average coming into existence by evolution was about the same, one per million per year, and now we have increased that by orders of magnitude. The more this is allowed to grow, and it is accelerating, the more future generations are going to suffer for it in ways that we understand already, but also in ways that remain unimagined. “Why?” future generations are going to ask us. By needlessly, stupidly extinguishing the lives of other species, you diminish our own.
A radical reduction of the world’s biodiversity as the folly of our descendants is least likely to -- are least likely to forgive us. And that’s not what we want to do to them. Banish the thought that has entered your head that extinction has always occurred. Extinction will always be filled back with new evolution. In past times, there have been five massive distinctions. Probably all due -- although that is not certain, but probably all due to a large bull-eyed strike, a meteor or a comet, the last one being 65 million years ago, of course.
And at that time, we had severe depression of biological diversity in each of those times, and it took somewhere between 5 and 10 million years of evolution, natural evolution to finally restore the original amount and then continue on slowly rising. Now if descendants, our descendants, well, I think, you know, people in this generation becoming fully aware of this are told that now we have to wait five million years, you know, to undo the damage that we are doing right now, they will be peeved.
http://www.treehugger.com/files/2006/07/the_aspen_ideas.php
Saving the Creation part 2
“The creation, living nature, is in deep trouble. Scientists estimate that if habitat, conversion, and other destructive human activities continue at their present rate unabated, half the species of plants and animals on earth could be either gone or faded for early extinction by the end of the century. That is a finding of science. A full quarter will drop out to this level
during the next half century as a result of climate change alone, if left unabated.”
“Surely, we agree that each species, however inconspicuous and humble it may seem to us at this moment, is a masterpiece of biology and well worth saving. Each species possesses a unique combination of genetic traits that fits it more or less precisely to a particular part of the environment. Prudence alone dictates that we act quickly to prevent the extinction of species and with it, the pauperization of earth’s ecosystems. Hence, of the creation.”
“You may well ask at this point, ‘Why me?’ Because religion and science are the two most powerful social forces in the world today, including especially the United States. If religion and science could be united on the common ground of biological conservation, the problem would soon be solved. Ifthere is any moral precept shared by people of all beliefs, it is that we owe ourselves and future generation, a beautiful, rich, and healthful environment.”
So now having spoken to the pastor, I want to pass on to present some of the background for the confidence that I put in to that letter. Our relation to the rest of life can be put in a nutshell as follows. Scientists have found biosphere, that razor-thin film of organisms plastered to the surface of the earth, so thin it cannot be seen sidewise from a space vehicle,
from a shuttle. They found it to be far richer in diversity than ever before conceived in research during just the past several decades.
Biodiversity, which took about three-and-a-half billion years to evolve, is being eroded at an accelerating rate by human activity. This loss is going to inflict a heavy and as yet unmeasured price in wealth, security, and spirit. Altogether, the 21st century, in my opinion, is destined to be called the century of the environment. This is the century in which we will settle down before we wreck the planet. The immediate future is usually conceived as a bottleneck of still rapid population growth and high per capita -- and rising per capita consumption.
Science and technology combined with a lack of self-understanding and Paleolithic obstinacy that led to our ruinous environmental practices today have brought us to where we are. Now science and technology combined with foresight and the kind of moral courage that religions can provide both based on an enlightened ethic that might be put together must see
us through the bottleneck and I --one hopes by the end of the century.
Let me add right away a positive note and that is that thanks to a remarkable trait of human nature, I think it is in the genes, we see one strong ray of light, and that is the tendency of women. Now this is not your typical liberal Harvard professor proclaiming that women, when given a degree of independence over their own lives a chance to be educated and to
make their own decisions and to make their own money, undergo a precipitous drop in number of children produced.
They go for -- from -- to producing a small number of quality children as opposed to playing the lottery with a large number. As a consequence of this unmistakable phenomenon, the countries of the -- all of the developed world, industrialized countries now have seen a drop passed the breakpoint of 2.1 children per woman. And the -- that includes now the Asian tigers, that are going through the demographic transition, and we can expect to see the spread, and these are the projections of the United Nation’s population analyst, to bring human population to a peak perhaps by the end of the century somewhere around 9, maybe 10 billion people.
We can feed that number and we can save the rest of biodiversity with it if we proceed carefully.
The number of children produced on an average per woman incidentally has in the last 40 years, 1960 to 2000, dropped from 6 to 3 and it is still dropping."
during the next half century as a result of climate change alone, if left unabated.”
“Surely, we agree that each species, however inconspicuous and humble it may seem to us at this moment, is a masterpiece of biology and well worth saving. Each species possesses a unique combination of genetic traits that fits it more or less precisely to a particular part of the environment. Prudence alone dictates that we act quickly to prevent the extinction of species and with it, the pauperization of earth’s ecosystems. Hence, of the creation.”
“You may well ask at this point, ‘Why me?’ Because religion and science are the two most powerful social forces in the world today, including especially the United States. If religion and science could be united on the common ground of biological conservation, the problem would soon be solved. Ifthere is any moral precept shared by people of all beliefs, it is that we owe ourselves and future generation, a beautiful, rich, and healthful environment.”
So now having spoken to the pastor, I want to pass on to present some of the background for the confidence that I put in to that letter. Our relation to the rest of life can be put in a nutshell as follows. Scientists have found biosphere, that razor-thin film of organisms plastered to the surface of the earth, so thin it cannot be seen sidewise from a space vehicle,
from a shuttle. They found it to be far richer in diversity than ever before conceived in research during just the past several decades.
Biodiversity, which took about three-and-a-half billion years to evolve, is being eroded at an accelerating rate by human activity. This loss is going to inflict a heavy and as yet unmeasured price in wealth, security, and spirit. Altogether, the 21st century, in my opinion, is destined to be called the century of the environment. This is the century in which we will settle down before we wreck the planet. The immediate future is usually conceived as a bottleneck of still rapid population growth and high per capita -- and rising per capita consumption.
Science and technology combined with a lack of self-understanding and Paleolithic obstinacy that led to our ruinous environmental practices today have brought us to where we are. Now science and technology combined with foresight and the kind of moral courage that religions can provide both based on an enlightened ethic that might be put together must see
us through the bottleneck and I --one hopes by the end of the century.
Let me add right away a positive note and that is that thanks to a remarkable trait of human nature, I think it is in the genes, we see one strong ray of light, and that is the tendency of women. Now this is not your typical liberal Harvard professor proclaiming that women, when given a degree of independence over their own lives a chance to be educated and to
make their own decisions and to make their own money, undergo a precipitous drop in number of children produced.
They go for -- from -- to producing a small number of quality children as opposed to playing the lottery with a large number. As a consequence of this unmistakable phenomenon, the countries of the -- all of the developed world, industrialized countries now have seen a drop passed the breakpoint of 2.1 children per woman. And the -- that includes now the Asian tigers, that are going through the demographic transition, and we can expect to see the spread, and these are the projections of the United Nation’s population analyst, to bring human population to a peak perhaps by the end of the century somewhere around 9, maybe 10 billion people.
We can feed that number and we can save the rest of biodiversity with it if we proceed carefully.
The number of children produced on an average per woman incidentally has in the last 40 years, 1960 to 2000, dropped from 6 to 3 and it is still dropping."
Saving the Creation part 1
“Dear Pastor, we haven’t met, yet I feel I know you well enough to call you friend. First of all, we grew up in the same faith. As a boy, I answered the altar call. I went under the water. Although I no longer belong to that faith, I’m confident that if we met and spoke privately of our deepest beliefs, it would be in the spirit of mutual respect and good will. I know that we share so many precepts of moral behavior.”
“I write to you know for your counsel and help. Of course, in doing so, I can see no way to avoid the fundamental differences in our respective world of views. You are a literalist interpreter of Christian Holy Scripture, and I am a secular humanist -- for you the glory of an unseen divinity, for me the glory of the universe revealed at last. For you the belief in God made flesh to save mankind. For me the belief in Promethean fire ceased to let men free.”
“You found your final truth. I’m still searching. I may be wrong. You may be wrong. We both may be partly right. Does this difference in world view separate us in all things? It does not. You and I and every other human being strive for the same imparities of security, freedom of choice, personal dignity, and of course, a cause to believe in something larger than ourselves. Let’s see then if we can, and you are willing, to meet on the near side of metaphysics, declare a truce in the culture wars in order to deal with the real world we share, or at least a big part of it.”
“I put it this way because you have the power to help solve a great problem about which I care deeply. I hope you have the same concern. I suggest we set aside our differences in order to save the creation. The defense of living nature is a universal value. It doesn’t rise from, nor does it promote any particular religious or ideological dogma. Rather it serves without discrimination the interest of all humans. Pastor, we need your help.”
“I write to you know for your counsel and help. Of course, in doing so, I can see no way to avoid the fundamental differences in our respective world of views. You are a literalist interpreter of Christian Holy Scripture, and I am a secular humanist -- for you the glory of an unseen divinity, for me the glory of the universe revealed at last. For you the belief in God made flesh to save mankind. For me the belief in Promethean fire ceased to let men free.”
“You found your final truth. I’m still searching. I may be wrong. You may be wrong. We both may be partly right. Does this difference in world view separate us in all things? It does not. You and I and every other human being strive for the same imparities of security, freedom of choice, personal dignity, and of course, a cause to believe in something larger than ourselves. Let’s see then if we can, and you are willing, to meet on the near side of metaphysics, declare a truce in the culture wars in order to deal with the real world we share, or at least a big part of it.”
“I put it this way because you have the power to help solve a great problem about which I care deeply. I hope you have the same concern. I suggest we set aside our differences in order to save the creation. The defense of living nature is a universal value. It doesn’t rise from, nor does it promote any particular religious or ideological dogma. Rather it serves without discrimination the interest of all humans. Pastor, we need your help.”
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