COMensarations
Friday, November 04, 2005
The War That Wasn’t — Part 1
What if the Japanese had gone for the gusto?
Long ago in a war, far, far away, A group of Japanese navy types surprised and beat the heck out of the US Navy at a place called Pearl Harbor. They then went on to overrun much of their corner of this ball of dirt, in a fashion similar to the way fascists in Europe had been doing for the previous year and a half.
It surprised and shocked the people of this country in a manner like nothing else before.
As a result this nation did some drastic things to our economy, our ways of thinking of the world and even to some of our own citizens.
In the end, we, this nation and all of our allies, defeated the Empire of Japan as well as the fascists in Europe.
But, it might not have turned out like that....
Sunday, October 23, 2005
Speaking of Batman
Batman Begins. Get it!!!
Got the DVD of this prequell to the Batman movie I mentioned below.
We watched it the night that Mario sent his one-over-the-world e-mail campaign letter. A few days after we had watched the original Batman movie.
I was highly impressed with it. I recommend it to everyone. Indeed, come January, we’ll offer it for Movie Nite.
Also got the DVD of The Mask of Zorro. No idea as to why they took so long in getting it out in DVD format. We’d had it for years in VHS. I suspect some money-legal wranglings were at the root of the delay. It’s a good movie too. And, based on the sticker on the case, it looks like they’re planning a sequel, The Legends of Zorro. Looking forward to that.
Wednesday, October 19, 2005
Ten Cosmological Powers Brian Swimme Video Series
Brian Swimme, one of the co-founders of Creation Spirituality and author of the Canticle to the Cosmos video series has co-authored a new series emphasizing Comprehensive Compassion.
Ten Cosmological Powers is Brian Swimme’s new video series. It will be shown for four successive Wednesday evenings, October 19 through November 9, 2005, from 6 to 8 pm, on the big screen television in the Library room at 1400 Williams Street. The discussion facilitator will be Jane Kopp. As this is a nine hour video, it may be continued after the holidays, if there is sufficient interest. There is a suggested donation of $10, but this is only a suggestion. Many of the regulars are students or unemployed, but still welcome.
Brian Swimme, mathematical cosmologist, and Pamela Eakins, sociologist, combine their knowledge to elucidate the “Ten Cosmological Powers of Love.†These powers are: Centration, Allurement, Emergence, Homeostasis, Cataclysm, Synergy, Transmutation, Transorganization, Interrelatedness, and Radiance.
Brian Swimme received his Ph.D. in 1978 from the University of Oregon in gravitational dynamics. His research focuses on the evolutionary dynamics of the universe, the relationship between scientific cosmology and more traditional religious visions, the cultural implications of the new evolutionary epoch, and the role of humanity in the unfolding story of Earth and Cosmos. In 1998 he founded the International Epic of Evolution Society, a forum for artists, scientists, ecofeminists, ecologists, religious thinkers, and educators interested in the new story. He is on the graduate faculty of California Institute of Integral Studies. He is the author of The Hidden Heart of the Cosmos (Orbis, 1996) Manifesto for a Global Civilization (with Matthew Fox) (Bear and Company, 1983),The Universe is a Green Dragon (Bear and Company, 1984), and The Universe Story (Harper, 1992), which is a culmination of a ten-year collaboration with cultural historian Thomas Berry. Brian has presented his ideas on the new cosmology at the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the American Museum of Natural History, and the United Nations conference on Peace. He is also the creator of the video series Canticle to the Cosmos and The Powers of the Universe.
Pamela Eakins, Ph. D., is a sociologist, mediator, and spiritual teacher. She has taught at the University of Colorado, Stanford University, and California Institute of Integral Studies. She teaches community peace studies, and is a mediator with Peninsula Conflict Resolution Center. Pamela is the author of The American Way of Birth; Priestess; and The Tarot of the Spirit.
Here is an excerpt from an interview with Brian Swimme by Susan Bridle in What Is ENLIGHTENMENT? Magazine.
I had the pleasure of speaking with Dr. Swimme and having the vistas of my imagination stretched to infinity at Harvard University last October, where he was participating in a conference on ecology and religion. As we sat down to begin the interview, he told me he had just that minute returned from a conference event at Thoreau’s Walden Pond. As Swimme brought the grandeur and majesty of the cosmos to life, speaking about the birth of galaxies with the intimacy and amazement and eloquence of the Transcendentalist poets when waxing ecstatic about leaves of grass or a Concord pond, I knew I was meeting another nature mystic, but a nature mystic of the twenty-first century, whose sphere of nature includes the farthest star.
Wednesday, October 05, 2005
History 102
The unwritten chapter of Connections; Beer, Wagons, Barbeques and Politics.
The two most important events in all of history were the invention of beer and the invention of the wheel. The wheel was invented to get man to the beer. These were the foundation of modern civilization and together were the catalyst for the splitting of humanity into two distinct subgroups: Liberals and Conservatives.
Once beer was discovered it required grain, and that was the beginning of agriculture. Neither the glass bottle nor aluminum can were invented yet, so our early human ancestors just stayed close to the brewery. That’s how villages were formed.
Some men spent their days tracking and killing animals to BBQ at night while they were drinking beer. This was the beginning of what is known as “the Conservative movement”.
Other men who were weaker and less skilled at hunting learned to live off the conservatives by showing up for the nightly BBQ’s and doing the sewing, weaving and hair dressing. This was the beginning of “the Liberal movement.” Some of these liberal men eventually evolved into women. The rest became known as ‘girleymen’.
Some noteworthy liberal achievements include the domestication of cats, the trade union, class action lawsuits, the invention of group therapy & group hugs and the concept of democratic voting to decide how to divide the meat and beer that conservatives provided.
Over the years conservatives came to be symbolized by the largest, most powerful land animal on earth, the elephant. Liberals are symbolized by the jackass.
Modern liberals like imported beer (with lime added), but most prefer white wine or imported bottled water. They eat raw fish but like their beef well done. Sushi, tofu and French food are standard liberal fare. Another interesting revolutionary side note: most of their women have higher testosterone levels than their men. Most social workers, personal injury attorneys, journalists, hair dressers, dreamers in Hollywood and group therapists are liberals. Liberals invented baseball’s designated hitter rule because it wasn’t “fair” to make the pitcher also bat.
Conservatives drink domestic beer and eat red meat & potatoes. Conservatives are big-game hunters, rodeo cowboys, lumberjacks, construction workers, medical doctors, police officers, corporate executives, soldiers, self employed, athletes & generally anyone who works productively outside government. Conservatives who own companies hire other conservatives who want to work for a living.
Liberals produce little or nothing. They like to “govern” the producers and decide what to do with the production. They also like to take money away from successful people and give it to the failures. Liberals believe Europeans are more enlightened than Americans. That is why most of the liberals remained in Europe when conservatives were coming to America. They crept in after the Wild West was tame & created a business of trying to get MORE for nothing.
Thus ends today’s lesson in world history.
[Hat Tip: Lattina]
Tuesday, August 09, 2005
Movie and a Fair to Remember
Movie Nite and more....
Our regularly scheduled Movie Nite for August has been expanded.
Instead of the regular two movies—The Incredibles and Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow—on the last friday in August, the 26th, we’ve decided on an extended play arrangement.
Since the date of Movie Nite correlates with the weekend of the Colorado State Fair, we’ve decided to make our residence available to all members of a Colorado chapter of Mensa for quartering between Friday, the 26th and Sunday morning, the 28th.
If you’d like to see the fair and have a reasonable place to stay, feel free to contact us. We can accomodate a lot of people. However, at a certain point it would be wise to bring a sleeping bag. Beds will be on a first-come/first-served basis, unless people wish to negotiate amongst themselves.
Here’s a link to the Colorado State Fair.
RSVP to me by clicking on my name (below)....
Monday, August 08, 2005
BVRVRG 2005
A weekend in the mountains.
Good food, good drink and good company! That was the order of the day over the weekend at the annual Denver Mensa BVRVRG.
About twenty people from all over the country were attending. Most from the Denver group. However there were people from Portland, Oregon, somewhere in Arkansas and the Plains and Peaks group as well. Much of the time was spent in the pavillion of tentage erected to keep out the sun and attract the humming birds. Considering the ban of open fires, despite the fact of the recurring rain showers and the preceeding nights deluge, we did not make the annual sacrifice of a whole aspen. We are such conformists. Besides, Mina, our volunteer fire-fighter, was coming. She’d have had to rat us out.
Lattina was having ALL kinds of fun with a family of ducklings. She had them eating out of the palm of her hand.
To which she purred, “I’ve never had a duck touch me that way, before.”
Personally, I was in favor of having them over for dinner, a la fesenjan [Iranian roast duck with pomegranits and walnuts].
Forrest spent a lot of time educating others on the dangers of the NeoCons. Bob talking about just nearly anything that came to mind. Marcia has a new pet doggie. Despite her promise never to have another dog again. Charming 10-month old German Shepard mix. Lorna was up from Oklahoma with a friend in tow. Well, actually, he towed her up there, at her request. He belongs.... Sara Boe brought a young man who belongs too. She wanted to expose him to the group, but he found himself having lots of fun with a young lady, about his age, in a pair of campers next door.
The annual pilgrimage to Happy Valley, on Sunday, marked the end of regular camping activities.
All in all, a fine time was had by all.