Saturday, October 15, 2011
For what it's worth...you too are the 99%
http://www.miamiherald.com/2011/10/15/2455595/more-than-1000-join-occupy-miami.html
Socratic Buddha deconstructing the 99%
Wednesday, October 12, 2011
Microagressions...
"The first on the left", he says
at 9 am by the library entrance
the sounds of dew-eyed students swirling through the air
in and out of industrial vents
bouncing off
of
concrete and marble walls.
She goes to the middle gate
the gate adjacent
the second turnstile entrance
and then finally the first...
but on the right.
Each time her eyes peeking through, sending confused glances
those eyes so beautiful, dressed in kohl.
He, exasperated and out of patience
with a look of impatience and air of haughtiness
sighs
rolls his eyes
and lets her in
mumbling under his breath
"She must not understand".
Without even knowing, or thinking about the possibility
that the veiled female wrapped in western
was just as American as he.
Socratic Buddha on deconstructing (c)overt racism and microagressions.
at 9 am by the library entrance
the sounds of dew-eyed students swirling through the air
in and out of industrial vents
bouncing off
of
concrete and marble walls.
She goes to the middle gate
the gate adjacent
the second turnstile entrance
and then finally the first...
but on the right.
Each time her eyes peeking through, sending confused glances
those eyes so beautiful, dressed in kohl.
He, exasperated and out of patience
with a look of impatience and air of haughtiness
sighs
rolls his eyes
and lets her in
mumbling under his breath
"She must not understand".
Without even knowing, or thinking about the possibility
that the veiled female wrapped in western
was just as American as he.
Socratic Buddha on deconstructing (c)overt racism and microagressions.
Tuesday, October 4, 2011
Pioneers! O Pioneer!
1
COME, my tan-faced children,
Follow well in order, get your weapons ready;
Have you your pistols? have you your sharp edged axes? Pioneers! O pioneers!
2
For we cannot tarry here,
We must march my darlings, we must bear the brunt of danger,
We, the youthful sinewy races, all the rest on us depend, Pioneers! O pioneers!
3
O you youths, western youths,
So impatient, full of action, full of manly pride and friendship,
Plain I see you, western youths, see you tramping with the foremost, Pioneers! O pioneers!
4
Have the elder races halted?
Do they droop and end their lesson, wearied, over there beyond the seas?
We take up the task eternal, and the burden, and the lesson, Pioneers! O pioneers!
5
All the past we leave behind;
We debouch upon a newer, mightier world, varied world,
Fresh and strong the world we seize, world of labor and the march, Pioneers! O pioneers!
6
We detachments steady throwing,
Down the edges, through the passes, up the mountains steep,
Conquering, holding, daring, venturing, as we go, the unknown ways, Pioneers! O pioneers!
7
We primeval forests felling,
We the rivers stemming, vexing we, and piercing deep the mines within;
We the surface broad surveying, we the virgin soil upheaving, Pioneers! O pioneers!
8
Colorado men are we,
From the peaks gigantic, from the great sierras and the high plateaus,
From the mine and from the gully, from the hunting trail we come, Pioneers! O pioneers!
9
From Nebraska, from Arkansas,
Central inland race are we, from Missouri, with the continental blood intervein'd;
All the hands of comrades clasping, all the Southern, all the Northern, Pioneers! O pioneers!
10
O resistless, restless race!
O beloved race in all! O my breast aches with tender love for all!
O I mourn and yet exult—I am rapt with love for all, Pioneers! O pioneers!
11
Raise the mighty mother mistress,
Waving high the delicate mistress, over all the starry mistress, (bend your heads all,)
Raise the fang'd and warlike mistress, stern, impassive, weapon'd mistress, Pioneers! O pioneers!
12
See, my children, resolute children,
By those swarms upon our rear, we must never yield or falter,
Ages back in ghostly millions, frowning there behind us urging, Pioneers! O pioneers!
13
On and on, the compact ranks,
With accessions ever waiting, with the places of the dead quickly fill'd,
Through the battle, through defeat, moving yet and never stopping, Pioneers! O pioneers!
14
O to die advancing on!
Are there some of us to droop and die? has the hour come?
Then upon the march we fittest die, soon and sure the gap is fill'd, Pioneers! O pioneers!
15
All the pulses of the world,
Falling in, they beat for us, with the western movement beat;
Holding single or together, steady moving, to the front, all for us, Pioneers! O pioneers!
16
Life's involv'd and varied pageants,
All the forms and shows, all the workmen at their work,
All the seamen and the landsmen, all the masters with their slaves, Pioneers! O pioneers!
17
All the hapless silent lovers,
All the prisoners in the prisons, all the righteous and the wicked,
All the joyous, all the sorrowing, all the living, all the dying, Pioneers! O pioneers!
18
I too with my soul and body,
We, a curious trio, picking, wandering on our way,
Through these shores, amid the shadows, with the apparitions pressing, Pioneers! O pioneers!
19
Lo! the darting bowling orb!
Lo! the brother orbs around! all the clustering suns and planets,
All the dazzling days, all the mystic nights with dreams, Pioneers! O pioneers!
20
These are of us, they are with us,
All for primal needed work, while the followers there in embryo wait behind,
We to-day's procession heading, we the route for travel clearing, Pioneers! O pioneers!
21
O you daughters of the west!
O you young and elder daughters! O you mothers and you wives!
Never must you be divided, in our ranks you move united, Pioneers! O pioneers!
22
Minstrels latent on the prairies!
(Shrouded bards of other lands! you may sleep—you have done your work;)
Soon I hear you coming warbling, soon you rise and tramp amid us, Pioneers! O pioneers!
23
Not for delectations sweet;
Not the cushion and the slipper, not the peaceful and the studious;
Not the riches safe and palling, not for us the tame enjoyment, Pioneers! O pioneers!
24
Do the feasters gluttonous feast?
Do the corpulent sleepers sleep? have they lock'd and bolted doors?
Still be ours the diet hard, and the blanket on the ground, Pioneers! O pioneers!
25
Has the night descended?
Was the road of late so toilsome? did we stop discouraged, nodding on our way?
Yet a passing hour I yield you, in your tracks to pause oblivious, Pioneers! O pioneers!
26
Till with sound of trumpet,
Far, far off the day-break call—hark! how loud and clear I hear it wind;
Swift! to the head of the army!—swift! spring to your places, Pioneers! O pioneers.
Walt Whitman, "Leaves of Grass"
Socratic Buddha deconstructing civil un-rest...
COME, my tan-faced children,
Follow well in order, get your weapons ready;
Have you your pistols? have you your sharp edged axes? Pioneers! O pioneers!
2
For we cannot tarry here,
We must march my darlings, we must bear the brunt of danger,
We, the youthful sinewy races, all the rest on us depend, Pioneers! O pioneers!
3
O you youths, western youths,
So impatient, full of action, full of manly pride and friendship,
Plain I see you, western youths, see you tramping with the foremost, Pioneers! O pioneers!
4
Have the elder races halted?
Do they droop and end their lesson, wearied, over there beyond the seas?
We take up the task eternal, and the burden, and the lesson, Pioneers! O pioneers!
5
All the past we leave behind;
We debouch upon a newer, mightier world, varied world,
Fresh and strong the world we seize, world of labor and the march, Pioneers! O pioneers!
6
We detachments steady throwing,
Down the edges, through the passes, up the mountains steep,
Conquering, holding, daring, venturing, as we go, the unknown ways, Pioneers! O pioneers!
7
We primeval forests felling,
We the rivers stemming, vexing we, and piercing deep the mines within;
We the surface broad surveying, we the virgin soil upheaving, Pioneers! O pioneers!
8
Colorado men are we,
From the peaks gigantic, from the great sierras and the high plateaus,
From the mine and from the gully, from the hunting trail we come, Pioneers! O pioneers!
9
From Nebraska, from Arkansas,
Central inland race are we, from Missouri, with the continental blood intervein'd;
All the hands of comrades clasping, all the Southern, all the Northern, Pioneers! O pioneers!
10
O resistless, restless race!
O beloved race in all! O my breast aches with tender love for all!
O I mourn and yet exult—I am rapt with love for all, Pioneers! O pioneers!
11
Raise the mighty mother mistress,
Waving high the delicate mistress, over all the starry mistress, (bend your heads all,)
Raise the fang'd and warlike mistress, stern, impassive, weapon'd mistress, Pioneers! O pioneers!
12
See, my children, resolute children,
By those swarms upon our rear, we must never yield or falter,
Ages back in ghostly millions, frowning there behind us urging, Pioneers! O pioneers!
13
On and on, the compact ranks,
With accessions ever waiting, with the places of the dead quickly fill'd,
Through the battle, through defeat, moving yet and never stopping, Pioneers! O pioneers!
14
O to die advancing on!
Are there some of us to droop and die? has the hour come?
Then upon the march we fittest die, soon and sure the gap is fill'd, Pioneers! O pioneers!
15
All the pulses of the world,
Falling in, they beat for us, with the western movement beat;
Holding single or together, steady moving, to the front, all for us, Pioneers! O pioneers!
16
Life's involv'd and varied pageants,
All the forms and shows, all the workmen at their work,
All the seamen and the landsmen, all the masters with their slaves, Pioneers! O pioneers!
17
All the hapless silent lovers,
All the prisoners in the prisons, all the righteous and the wicked,
All the joyous, all the sorrowing, all the living, all the dying, Pioneers! O pioneers!
18
I too with my soul and body,
We, a curious trio, picking, wandering on our way,
Through these shores, amid the shadows, with the apparitions pressing, Pioneers! O pioneers!
19
Lo! the darting bowling orb!
Lo! the brother orbs around! all the clustering suns and planets,
All the dazzling days, all the mystic nights with dreams, Pioneers! O pioneers!
20
These are of us, they are with us,
All for primal needed work, while the followers there in embryo wait behind,
We to-day's procession heading, we the route for travel clearing, Pioneers! O pioneers!
21
O you daughters of the west!
O you young and elder daughters! O you mothers and you wives!
Never must you be divided, in our ranks you move united, Pioneers! O pioneers!
22
Minstrels latent on the prairies!
(Shrouded bards of other lands! you may sleep—you have done your work;)
Soon I hear you coming warbling, soon you rise and tramp amid us, Pioneers! O pioneers!
23
Not for delectations sweet;
Not the cushion and the slipper, not the peaceful and the studious;
Not the riches safe and palling, not for us the tame enjoyment, Pioneers! O pioneers!
24
Do the feasters gluttonous feast?
Do the corpulent sleepers sleep? have they lock'd and bolted doors?
Still be ours the diet hard, and the blanket on the ground, Pioneers! O pioneers!
25
Has the night descended?
Was the road of late so toilsome? did we stop discouraged, nodding on our way?
Yet a passing hour I yield you, in your tracks to pause oblivious, Pioneers! O pioneers!
26
Till with sound of trumpet,
Far, far off the day-break call—hark! how loud and clear I hear it wind;
Swift! to the head of the army!—swift! spring to your places, Pioneers! O pioneers.
Walt Whitman, "Leaves of Grass"
Socratic Buddha deconstructing civil un-rest...
Wednesday, September 7, 2011
Sage advice from a new Doctor
"Someone once asked a poet who was famous for writing a poem every day how he managed it. He replied, "I lower my standards." You just have to stop worrying that it's not going to be good. It doesn't have to be good. It just has to begin taking shape. You will edit and fuss with it later, and once you get into the groove, it will be easier and faster. "
Socratic Buddha on deconstructing the writing process, and reflecting on the feelings evoked by genuine friends.
Socratic Buddha on deconstructing the writing process, and reflecting on the feelings evoked by genuine friends.
Tuesday, September 6, 2011
The block...
So the task of tackling the big D has finally arrived, a whole lot of reading has been done thus far which is good, however, not a whole lot of writing, save for some random sentences and tangential comments here and there on scraps of indifferent pieces of paper.
Dealing with writer's block is not fun, especially when a deadline is looming. In order to deal with this I will set the goal of: A) joining a dissertation writing group (in progress); B) keep with my reading schedule (so far so good); and C) frequent this blog more often and just write... flow style, need to get my writing groove back.
I remember when I used to enjoy writing and actually looked forward to the times where I could just sit down and, well write...don't know where that went. Maybe grad school killed it...
Socratic Buddha on trying to deconstruct writer's block...
Dealing with writer's block is not fun, especially when a deadline is looming. In order to deal with this I will set the goal of: A) joining a dissertation writing group (in progress); B) keep with my reading schedule (so far so good); and C) frequent this blog more often and just write... flow style, need to get my writing groove back.
I remember when I used to enjoy writing and actually looked forward to the times where I could just sit down and, well write...don't know where that went. Maybe grad school killed it...
Socratic Buddha on trying to deconstruct writer's block...
Tuesday, June 14, 2011
A capoeira fairytale.
A piece written for a friend...haven't done creative writing for a hot minute!
Once upon a time in the far away land of New England lived a handsome prince. But this was no ordinary prince…this was a Brazilian prince with fiery red hair, freckled skin, and a passion like no other for a little known native artform. Little known because in the town where he lived few people knew about this native artform. The art form’s name was Capoeira…CA-PO-eI-rA…and was created by African Slaves living in Brazil a long, long, long, LONG…time ago. One day this prince was lost in thought…unbeknownst to this Prince was the fact that all of his hard work in the art form was to be paid off by one of the highest recognitions in art; he was to become a MESTRE! But this wasn’t what the prince…soon to become mestre was thinking about….no; he was lost in thought because he felt that there was something missing in his life. You see, the prince reached a point where he knew that one day…hopefully soon…he would meet a princess. Yes, and this is where the fairytale becomes interesting….
Noticing the prince lost in thought, one of his students…Oh did I fail to mention that this prince was a CA-PO-eI-rA instructor? I digress…noticing the prince lost in thought one of his students asked:
“Profesor, what are you thinking about?”
“I don’t know… “said the prince, “…just thinking about when I’ll meet someone special.”
To this the student responded, with a pat on the back:
“Ahhh, come on professor, you are a capoeirista, the girls should be falling at your feet. Don’t worry, there is someone out there for you and you will find her.”
With little conviction, but with a liiiitle glint of hope the professor answered:
“You know, maybe you are right, maybe by December I will find something.”
I don’t know how many of you have read the “The Secret”, but those words ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, set the wheels of the universe cranking into motion, and the prince without being consciously aware of it changed his WILL and INTENTION and started paving the way and setting down the road to find his princess. Another digression… “The Secret” claims that “the secret” is the “Law of Attraction” but it really should be named “The power of will and intention” because it is THIS, how we set our will and intention to make things happen, that is “the secret”… but this is a fairy tale not a testimonial so I will move on…
Within a very short period of time, the prince’s friends introduced him to a beautiful girl who was training CA-PO-eI-rA with another instructor. He knew this girl because they had crossed paths before, but nothing prepared him for what he would realize next. This is what he realized…all this time he had been searching far and wide for a princess, but all along she was right there, only a mere six degrees (maybe less) separated from him. But she was no ordinary princess, she was a Brazilian warrior princess! This warrior princess turns out, came all the way to this far away land of New England all alone but built a great network of friends and worked really really hard. She did very well for herself, but she too felt that something was missing. Setting HER will and intention to find her other half, only set the universe into faster motion and the two paths eventually met…the prince found his princess and… we all know how it ends…lets say it together now….”THEY LIVED HAPPILY EVER AFTER!”
Not so fast though… there were a great many things that happened in between, I’ll share one of the most interesting…and this is going to be gross. One day the princess noticed little bugs crawling all over her bedroom, which led the prince to come swooping in on his magical horse to save his princess. Ok not quite, but don’t we all love a story about the Damsel in distress? Not feminists, and CERTAINLY not me. This warrior princess could take care of things all on her own, but out of the goodness of his heart and because he felt that he was falling in love with this warrior princess, the prince came in to help her. And this is where I…yes I, whose voice do you think this is, some magical person in the sky? NO, I’m a real person…I digress again…this is where I met the warrior princess. By the way I already knew the prince. From this point on I was witness, from a far away vantage point, how these two people evolved as individuals and as a couple. The warrior princess began her evolution as a yoga instructor, and the prince having received his “Mestre” rank, started evolving to become the embodiment of what it means to be a Mestre in CA-PO-eI-rA. Their joint evolution became the Brazilian Roots Cultural Center, a place where both of their passions are manifest and are shared with the rest of the world. This magical place is a place where they will continue to evolve as individuals, as a couple, and as instructors, in order to help people along their path to find their own personal evolution.
Now that ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, is the true Happily Ever After!
Socratic Buddha on deconstructing fairytales.
Once upon a time in the far away land of New England lived a handsome prince. But this was no ordinary prince…this was a Brazilian prince with fiery red hair, freckled skin, and a passion like no other for a little known native artform. Little known because in the town where he lived few people knew about this native artform. The art form’s name was Capoeira…CA-PO-eI-rA…and was created by African Slaves living in Brazil a long, long, long, LONG…time ago. One day this prince was lost in thought…unbeknownst to this Prince was the fact that all of his hard work in the art form was to be paid off by one of the highest recognitions in art; he was to become a MESTRE! But this wasn’t what the prince…soon to become mestre was thinking about….no; he was lost in thought because he felt that there was something missing in his life. You see, the prince reached a point where he knew that one day…hopefully soon…he would meet a princess. Yes, and this is where the fairytale becomes interesting….
Noticing the prince lost in thought, one of his students…Oh did I fail to mention that this prince was a CA-PO-eI-rA instructor? I digress…noticing the prince lost in thought one of his students asked:
“Profesor, what are you thinking about?”
“I don’t know… “said the prince, “…just thinking about when I’ll meet someone special.”
To this the student responded, with a pat on the back:
“Ahhh, come on professor, you are a capoeirista, the girls should be falling at your feet. Don’t worry, there is someone out there for you and you will find her.”
With little conviction, but with a liiiitle glint of hope the professor answered:
“You know, maybe you are right, maybe by December I will find something.”
I don’t know how many of you have read the “The Secret”, but those words ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, set the wheels of the universe cranking into motion, and the prince without being consciously aware of it changed his WILL and INTENTION and started paving the way and setting down the road to find his princess. Another digression… “The Secret” claims that “the secret” is the “Law of Attraction” but it really should be named “The power of will and intention” because it is THIS, how we set our will and intention to make things happen, that is “the secret”… but this is a fairy tale not a testimonial so I will move on…
Within a very short period of time, the prince’s friends introduced him to a beautiful girl who was training CA-PO-eI-rA with another instructor. He knew this girl because they had crossed paths before, but nothing prepared him for what he would realize next. This is what he realized…all this time he had been searching far and wide for a princess, but all along she was right there, only a mere six degrees (maybe less) separated from him. But she was no ordinary princess, she was a Brazilian warrior princess! This warrior princess turns out, came all the way to this far away land of New England all alone but built a great network of friends and worked really really hard. She did very well for herself, but she too felt that something was missing. Setting HER will and intention to find her other half, only set the universe into faster motion and the two paths eventually met…the prince found his princess and… we all know how it ends…lets say it together now….”THEY LIVED HAPPILY EVER AFTER!”
Not so fast though… there were a great many things that happened in between, I’ll share one of the most interesting…and this is going to be gross. One day the princess noticed little bugs crawling all over her bedroom, which led the prince to come swooping in on his magical horse to save his princess. Ok not quite, but don’t we all love a story about the Damsel in distress? Not feminists, and CERTAINLY not me. This warrior princess could take care of things all on her own, but out of the goodness of his heart and because he felt that he was falling in love with this warrior princess, the prince came in to help her. And this is where I…yes I, whose voice do you think this is, some magical person in the sky? NO, I’m a real person…I digress again…this is where I met the warrior princess. By the way I already knew the prince. From this point on I was witness, from a far away vantage point, how these two people evolved as individuals and as a couple. The warrior princess began her evolution as a yoga instructor, and the prince having received his “Mestre” rank, started evolving to become the embodiment of what it means to be a Mestre in CA-PO-eI-rA. Their joint evolution became the Brazilian Roots Cultural Center, a place where both of their passions are manifest and are shared with the rest of the world. This magical place is a place where they will continue to evolve as individuals, as a couple, and as instructors, in order to help people along their path to find their own personal evolution.
Now that ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, is the true Happily Ever After!
Socratic Buddha on deconstructing fairytales.
Thursday, April 28, 2011
Begining of the end...
Haven't been here in while...
Blame it on the business of the grad school life, creative energy depletion, laziness,etc.
Today was the last official day of classes of my third year in grad school, and thus marks the beginning of the end for my time here in...the southeast :)
You heard it right folks, this insurmountable mountain, the Sisyphean boulder, the bloodthirsty monster that is grad school has an end in sight, and boy is it getting ever closer. I am nearing the end of an era in my life, things that I thought I would never survive I have survived (thus far), days where I felt like I just could not go on are behind me (well for now!), the dread of the hamster wheel is to some degree lessened, and the object of my desire within arm's reach.
It is incredible that this time 3 years ago I had just accepted my offer at my current institution, and felt as though I was getting ready to walk to the gallows (cue Iron Maiden "Hallowed Be Thy Name"), now this time next year I will be getting ready to walk into my future...a future I have worked so hard for, and sacrificed so much to attain.
What a difference 3 years makes.
Socratic Buddha on shifting perspective, the sands of time, and Iron Maiden...
Blame it on the business of the grad school life, creative energy depletion, laziness,etc.
Today was the last official day of classes of my third year in grad school, and thus marks the beginning of the end for my time here in...the southeast :)
You heard it right folks, this insurmountable mountain, the Sisyphean boulder, the bloodthirsty monster that is grad school has an end in sight, and boy is it getting ever closer. I am nearing the end of an era in my life, things that I thought I would never survive I have survived (thus far), days where I felt like I just could not go on are behind me (well for now!), the dread of the hamster wheel is to some degree lessened, and the object of my desire within arm's reach.
It is incredible that this time 3 years ago I had just accepted my offer at my current institution, and felt as though I was getting ready to walk to the gallows (cue Iron Maiden "Hallowed Be Thy Name"), now this time next year I will be getting ready to walk into my future...a future I have worked so hard for, and sacrificed so much to attain.
What a difference 3 years makes.
Socratic Buddha on shifting perspective, the sands of time, and Iron Maiden...
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