Mickey Z
Cool Observer
Sunday, January 08, 2006
Funny what gets their attention
Morning MZ,
Nice post this morning. Good looking t-shirt too, unfortunately I’d be a hypocrite if I got one right now.
It really IS funny what gets their attention. For instance since the last number of months of controlling the bird flu, I’ve seen so mucn mistreatment of various birds on the news and somehow it seems to be invisible to the rest of the crew or anchors presenting the news. Particularly during the SARS outbreak there were scenes of ‘livestock’ in Chinese markets that were gut wrenching to see, somehow this issue never came up. Very disturbing.
Captcha says “horse”. A few days ago in a town a few hours away, a horse spooked and ran into highway traffic and was promptly killed by a transport truck. The two amish men in the buggy the horse was pulling miraculously survived.Paul Coelho has some nice words to say. (JOS - good morning!) But I don’t know who the heck he is, going to look him up now.
Rule, what rule? Don’t know what you’re talking about...
Posted by Amelopsis on from Canada 01/08 at 10:01 AMWho knows the first rule about fight club?
I know it, “but” I can’t talk about it....
Good morning, Expendables and all!
Amelopsis—from last night, you asked about my stargazing-ness. Thanks for the link, and yes, this is an art I learned here in Boulder from a very accomplished Jungian Archetypalist named Charles Bebeau—and it’s something I don’t talk much about, since it’s frowned upon by most “serious” people, and I don’t have anything to prove to them. All I can say is, when we become aware of the cycles that run through our lives, we’re better able to allow them to flow freely; we’re better able to learn the lessons they carry; and we’re better able to avoid pathologizing that which is natural and appropriate. It’s something the ancients knew, and that our modern, de-mythologized culture is sorely lacking.
Thanks for the front-page link, Mickey!
Posted by Hawk on from Boulder, CO 01/08 at 10:59 AMHappy Sunday, Amelopsis and Hawk.
Empress: You make some good points, re: bird flu, SARS, etc. Also, I’m glad you like the vegan shirt. Me too. However, I’m not pleased with the way the black highlights my NYC winter pallor. We turn a weird shade of gray here from mid-November to mid-March. As for the fight club rules, well...Hawk said it all. Can’t talk about it.
Hawk: I must admit, when I hear the word astrology, my back goes up. As you note, it’s widely viewed with skepticism our society. Still, I’m really trying to shed my counterproductive know-it-all mentality and, thus, I’m happy to learn from you. Who the hell am I to look down my nose on any path that can fulfill your words? “When we become aware of the cycles that run through our lives, we’re better able to allow them to flow freely; we’re better able to learn the lessons they carry; and we’re better able to avoid pathologizing that which is natural and appropriate.”
Heading out now to feel the winter sun on my Vitamin D-hungry skin.
Posted by Mickey Z. on from Astoria 01/08 at 11:15 AMI went nameless as a newborn for over 3 months while astrologers were making calculations to determine what my name should be. All the correspondence had to be done via telegram since phone lines were not so great at the time.
Too bad that I’ve never learned more about it; I think only because I’ve never encountered anyone whom I knew, or had reason to trust in a stranger’s ability or knowledge.
Sun’s shining here today too. Going to catch some of it myself.
Posted by Amelopsis on from Canada 01/08 at 11:37 AMGreetings Amelopis, Hawk, Mickey and all MZ’ers who are on their way to today’s forum.
Nice photos of Mickey and also Michele.I don’t know anything about astrology but am a Rod Sterling fan. He has mastered the art of fiction writing in a way that gives all of his stories so many different levels of meaning.
Here is a Sterling quote…
“There is a fifth dimension, beyond that which is known to man. It is a dimension as vast as space and as timeless as infinity. It is the middle ground between light and shadow, between science and superstition.”Posted by RMJ on from Churchill 4 Prez Hdqts 01/08 at 11:59 AMi’m wearing my “book club” t-shirt right now. but i can’t talk about it:
-n
Posted by nancz on from 01/08 at 12:13 PMHello RMJ and Nancy. Love the “book club” shirt...perfect for a book club that’s reading Fight Club.
Posted by Mickey Z. on from Astoria 01/08 at 02:11 PMHello MZ, RMJ, and other essential expendables; long time no see.
After a frustrating hiatus away from the net, I’m finally back online… complete with a new system. For the geeks out there, a Celeron D 3.0 Ghz proc, 1GB RAM, dual-boot sys running Slackware 10.2 http://www.slackware.org/ and Debian Sarge (3.1r) http://www.debian.org/ (as if anyone cares)....
Anyway, much catching up to do, but I’ll be sure to check back soon. Take care y’all.
Posted by RT on from The Buyou City 01/08 at 03:47 PMHello Extraordinary Expendables -
Mickey, we both liked Syriana very much - two thumbs up. It was not quite what I expected… though, in retrospect, I’m not sure exactly WHAT I expected. It certainly says, quite clearly, that the world is running out of oil, and that there is a war for control of the several dollops that remain. It also shows that the US Govt., it’s various clandestine groups, and the oil companies, are really little more than one greedy, psychopathic entity, forever drooling for this liquid loot, and willing to murder anyone who gets in the way. It also shows that they really think that their interests are “US Interests.”
Hell, it touches on the new world order and on the terrible injustices of US “Justice.” It covers all the bases. I guess I wish it had painted a clearer picture for those who really have no sense at all of what is going on. I hope it inspires the uninitiated, if such folks actually make it to the theaters, to look into what’s really going on. If it causes people to explore and study, who can ask for more?
I’d like to add “Constant Gardener” to your list of superb Hollywood movies for which we film-goers might vote with our dollars. It comes out, soon, on DVD, and it was a powerful piece of work, indeed.
“Turtles,” would be another, though I suspect it’s not a “Hollywood” piece, as such. Still, there have certainly been some fine films this last year. Like you, I hope the trend continues, and that the film execs. get the message…Back very shortly. Great to see y’all.
Posted by joe on from Oregon 01/08 at 04:08 PMHi RT -
I didn’t really understand any of that, but it’s still good to see you…Posted by joe on from Oregon 01/08 at 04:48 PMHello Existential Expendables…
RT: What a treat to have you return. Welcome back. You have lots of new Expendables to meet. Please tell me you’ll join us in reading Fight Club. And congrats on the new system. (Note to Joe: I think Slackware is a clothing shop for skateboarders.)
Joe: Glad to hear Syriana impressed you and Suzanne. Depressing, but essential. I liked the style of filmmaking and the feeling of dread/suspense throughout was palpable and powerful. How many potential leaders have been eliminated like the guy at the end, huh? That George Clooney is taking more risks than most in Hollywood. Who knew? As soon as we make time to hook up the adaptor for the DVD, we’ll catch up with your rental suggestions.
Abnormally warm for January here. We’re loving it.
Posted by Mickey Z. on from Astoria 01/08 at 04:51 PMThe dude has to do something to compensate for Batman and Robin. Bombs like that require lots of penance, esp. to genre fans. My brother got me the Escape from New York dvd with added scenes and stuff for Christmas among others. What a great treat for geocentric NYC’ers like myself. Isaac Hayes’ best performance…
Also the Errol Flynn Robin Hood, can’t beat that set.
Posted by James on from Hell's Kitchen 01/08 at 05:03 PMHeifer eludes authorities for six hours: http://tinyurl.com/c6reo
Bush Advisor Says President Has Legal Power to Torture Children: http://tinyurl.com/9vmsp
Hi JOS!
Posted by tm on from earth 01/08 at 05:09 PMHi Mickey -
Yeah, it was impressive. The structure was very similar to “Traffic,” a film with which I have many disagreements, but which I liked alot, nevertheless.That assassination was very disturbing, eh? It seems as though we could kill almost anyone, almost anywhere, with a little advance notice. And, of course, they could have easily blown up ALL of those cars, had they been a little less concerned about constructing “cover stories,” about the death.
About Clooney - I once saw Jay Leno interview one of those ladies from the “Charlie’s Angels” movie. He asked what it was like for her to work with G.C.. Her very first words were:
“Well… he’s a REALLY good-looking man… REALLY good looking...” Then, she went on to answer his question.
Let’s face it - he could be, ummm, doing “other things” with his time.
Quite a remarkable guy…
Hi Hawk -
Great Interview. You guyz are doing wonderful stuff…
About astrology -
I used to think astrology was horseshit till a friend and I met a fascinating guy - a Haitian or Jamaican guy, in a laundry-mat, in the early 70’s. The three of us were just gabbing away, when the guy asked my friend when she was born. I thought - “Oh, what an asshole.” But she told him, and he rushed out to his car, and brought in a bunch of huge books. He browsed through them, for a while, asked her a few innocent-sounding questions, then began to tell her amazing things about her life. He was so accurate - so relentlessly accurate, that we were both really stunned. I think this may have been the single most extraordinary thing I’d ever witnessed.Later, he asked me when I was born. At the time, I was a passionate existentialist - primarily because of some weird and quite terrifying experiences I’d had during the preceding couple of years. I’d been convinced, ( I was certain! ) on a few occasions, that I was dying, and I was still profoundly preoccupied with death.
Well, they guy told me several interesting - and accurate - little factoids about myself… He mentioned that, when I move into a place, the faucets all work correctly, but, after a while, they all leak, because I turn them off too forcefully. He said: “You do everything too hard…” Whew. That’s the truth…
He was thrillingly accurate about several such observations, but there were no huge revelations / insights about my life, as there had been with my friend. He gathered up his books, and said his good-bye’s, and headed toward his car. But, as he opened the door of the laundry-mat, he turned to me and said: “Oh, I almost forgot the most important thing: You’re not going to die anytime soon, so relax.”
And he left. I often looked for him, thereafter - almost everywhere I went, but I never saw him again.And, hey, my wife noticed that you know Ramesh. I know him, too. Spending time with him has been one of the great joys in my life. I went to see Nisargadatta’s house, too - though he was already dead. I just stood there, for a while, and touched the house and looked around. My whole life changed, after that…
Posted by joe on from Oregon 01/08 at 06:14 PMHey Joe—great to get your feedback, man. I’ve had a few similar experiences with astrologers and other oracular folks, leaving me blown away every time. The guy who taught me is like that, and he used to tell a story about a hermit who lived in the woods east of Santa Cruz, California, who had memorized the 100-year ephemeris (a big, fat book of tables that gives planetary positions to the exact minute) such that he could take someone’s birth information, construct their chart in his head, and give a full reading without doing a single calculation on paper.
I wish I could claim a similar level of magical rendering, but I have my own relationship with the art and I try to just go with it.
It’s interesting that your wife picked up on my relationship with Ramesh Balsekar. I have never managed to get to India, and he stopped coming to America a long time ago, but he did grace me with several letter exchanges about ten years ago. I always thought that he was really good at giving us a conceptual framework for the Ultimate perspective. Nisargadatta, his teacher, is just OUT THERE—running a tobacco store by day, hosting brutal satsangs later in the day, calling everyone on their bullshit. I have a friend here in Boulder who wandered throughout India as a sadhu for a dozen years before approaching Maharaj during the 70’s. Maharaj said, “No, I’m not your guru.” Then he gave my friend directions to another teacher, who ended up becoming my friend’s guru.
The whole guru-thing has never made sense to me, but I do respect people for whom it does make sense.
Our housemate is taking us out for Nepalese tonight. There’s a restaurant downtown called Sherpa’s, owned and operated by genuine Nepalese mountain guides. The food is wonderful, and the restaurant itself is one of those places that feels like home. I’m psyched. It’ll be good to get out of the “house”.
Posted by Hawk on from Boulder, CO 01/08 at 07:58 PMjoe, whose your favorite existentialist?
Posted by tm on from earth 01/08 at 09:08 PMHey Joe,
that’s a nice story and it’s not even Saturday.I don’t know about astrology (Hi Hawk, really neat interview) but this Oracle thing is starting to get to me! It says “waiting” and I feel like I’m waiting for something I don’t want to see i.e. Iran getting vapourized. Spinning me out a bit.
Posted by JIm on from 01/08 at 09:11 PMHi Hawk -
Yeah, I have a whole different relationship to such ideas, now. Indeed, one can read some fascinating books about physics and psychiatry which basically say that the “ordinary” view of the world is simply - “superficial, incomplete, and incorrect!” - and that the great mystics were / are probably much closer to the truth than any conventional thinking ever has been. The mystics say that this is a dream, and some of the most formidable quantum physicists say roughly the same thing.Hell, some of the physics stuff I’ve read during the last few years seems almost more revolutionary than some mysticism. It’s easy to forget, sometimes, that physics is the “hardest” of the hard sciences… it’s math & engineering and tremendous work, yet you can find a physicist like Nick Herbert saying that he feels as if, right behind him - all the time - there is a sort of “ceaselessly flowing quantum soup,” but, as soon as he turns around to see it, everything “fixes” into the stuff we always see around us. He says we’ll never get to see the “soup,” because “everything we touch turns to matter.”
Reminds me of my ponderings of dreams. In a night dream, for example, if one is standing there looking at something, and one feels a tap on one’s shoulder and turns to find “X” there…
was “X” there before one turned to see “X” ?
I think not.
Herbert, and a significant number of physicists, also think not -
and, they seem to be saying that it’s the same situation when one is “awake.” Fascinating stuff, and enough to make one consistently re-think one’s view of reality…Hope you’re enjoying your meal, Hawk.
Posted by joe on from Oregon 01/08 at 09:29 PMHello all. I wanted to share a quote I just found:
“We are born at a given moment, in a given place and, like vintage years of wine, we have the qualities of the year and of the season of which we are born. Astrology does not lay claim to anything more.”
—Carl G. JungGood night, everyone.
Posted by Mickey Z. on from Astoria 01/08 at 10:05 PMG’Night, Mickey Z. It’s Sunday night, already… From Friday afternoon till Sunday’s bedtime is but the blink of an eye. See ya monday, my friend.
Hi TM -
Well, if, like most of my philosophy professors, you include Nietzsche in that mix, Nietzsche is the guy. Otherwise, I guess I’d have to say that I spent more time with Sartre, than with anyone else, though I really fell in love with Camus. I spent alot of time with Heidegger, as well, but generally, he lost me… “Being & Time” was a very long, very painful book. “Being & Nothingness” also kicked my ass, but somehow, I understood more of it - or thought I did.
I also spent a little time with Husserl, but I don’t know if he’s considered an existentialist or a phenomenologist…
The religious guys never really got me going, as it were, though I was pretty fired up about Kierkegaard, before I sat down with “Fear & Trembling & the Sickness Unto Death...”
Jesus. What a cheery dude. Still, he was pretty insightful about his situation. It was the “leap of faith” that just left be behind…Hi Jim -
Yeah, I’ve been telling everyone about our intentions… Then, I’m back to my ordinary routine. We all know what’s coming, and there seems to be no way we can even have the slightest effect on their actions.
They’re going to use our money to vaporize people, and if we stand up and shout too loud, they’ll use our money to imprison us. Then, they can use our money to explain away our arrests. Meanwhile, they’re using our money to make it seem like we have to nuke `em - for our own good.
Oh, and they’re also using our money to pay the mortgage on that second vacation home, the Mercedes payments on the kid’s new car, and the quarterly bills from Princeton. And - this evening, they’re using our money to give themselves a “much needed” evening out: Dinner and dancing, at the Waldorf…
Brilliant.Posted by joe on from Oregon 01/08 at 10:47 PMMickey -
I’ve been thinking about the Jung quote. Great quote. He was an awesome dude, you know?I’ve been rereading portions of a book that refers to him fairly frequently. He believed that some of our insights and understandings don’t just “bubble up” from “our own” unconscious minds, but, rather, come from some deeper layer within us, which connects us to the totality of human history. He called these insights “archetypes,” and believes that we have a sort of “collective unconscious,” which allows some of us to “remember” things which, though they never happened to us, personally, happened to a human or pre-human a million years ago.
David Bohm, one of the foremost particle physicists of the 20th century, says, about such things:
“Deep down, the consciousness of mankind is one.”I guess I’ve been rereading some of this stuff, of late, because I’ve been feeling so powerless and absurd. But, more than that, I’ve been trying to understand who / what we are, beneath this crust of filth and disease and death with which we’ve been covered by ( I think ) the Elite Class… I think there are miracles within miracles within each of us, and I’d like to find a way to articulate that, before we’re all swatted away, like listless flies on a wall in the cold of a late fall morning.
Well, I guess that tomorrow is a brand new day, a brand new opportunity. We’ll see.
G`Night, my friend…
Posted by joe on from Oregon 01/09 at 02:56 AMPlaying catch-up - lovely photo of Michele, Mickey!
And I hope David Strathairn wins the Oscar - his performance in ‘Good Night, and Good Luck’ was truly fabulous.
A belated ‘hi’ to all you expendables btw ..Posted by Helga Fremlin on from Daylesford, Australia 01/09 at 05:46 PM
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