Even in absurdity, sacrament. Even in hardship, holiness. Even in doubt, faith. Even in chaos, realization. Even in paradox, blessedness
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"Life expands or shrinks in proportion to one's courage." ~Anain Nin
UPDATE: Regarding the pain issue, UPDATE: Regarding the pain issue, I'm going to the doctor tomorrow. I've had some accupressure done, which helped a bit. I have an appointment for massage/cranial sacral therapy and some energy work as well. I'll update the update regarding the doc, but the most likely scenario is maxillial sinusitis for the face and possibly a pinched nerve in the back. Thanks to everyone who's been pulling for me. jaybird found this for you @ 22:13 in Journaling the Infinite | | permalink
Looting spreads through Port-au-Pince amid Looting spreads through Port-au-Pince amid reports that US troops forced Aristide out, and another first hand report from American volunteer Renee, working in Fermathe, a few miles up the mountain from the capital. What follows is a condensed email forwarded to me. Well, I guess most of you heard by now that Aristide has left the country. I don't know if this is a good thing. I don't know that this is a bad thing... What comes next, who is in charge, will this calm tensions, and many other questions remain to be asked and, hopefully, answered. It is too soon to predict what happens now. I hope and pray this placates the opposition and is accepted without violence by Aristide's supporters and that new arguments and bloodshed don't come from it.
Good News [via MeFi] Scientists Good News [via MeFi] Scientists all round the world today went home for a nice cup of tea after a revolutionary breakthrough explained everything. The new unified theory (NUT) unites science and religion, explains genetics, the origin of the universe, quantum phenomena, and provides the first instant cure for a hangover in human history. jaybird found this for you @ 17:37 in Silly People, Satire & Strange Behaviors | | permalink
"Pain as Sacrament"  For this moment, it has subsided... the mysterious pain that has rooted itself below my left eye, a drilling and subversive pain that has upturned my world temporarily. This reprieve is a sanctuary, and the sanctuary is the stillness in my body, reverting to the relative normal. It's a time to think, and thank. This strange visitor has brought with it a teaching, in fact, many. To feel is a blessing, for feeling is the hallmark of animate consciousness. All that we do is based upon perceptions acquired through processing information. My body has decided to relay information in a concise and immediate way. For that I'm grateful, even as I cradle my face and ask why, oh why, and what, oh what. Pain re-invites you into body awareness- it stops the walking brain and clothes it with skin, muscle, sinew, ligaments and blood. We are often our own greatest mystery, from our surface to dark and warm interior to the periphery of the soul; understanding does not come through peeling it all back but pulling it all together. Whatever has set a brushfire to my facial nerves, thank you, albeit with hesitation. Though I wince in your presence, you are a covenant that submits me into the raw animus of being. Each twinge is a silent clarion to the ultimate destination we all face, all endure, all transmute... no matter how trivial or quaint. Pain is part of the pilgrim's progress, part of the bargain of life, and the reasoning is just. A life without pain of some kind just isn't possible; no ignorance or Utopian ideal can offset the fundamental nature of our biologic selves. For the moment, I'll accept this reprieve. Maybe the pain will even take this opportunity to leave. If so, I certainly won't miss it. But I'll embrace the experience as a sacrament, something that reunited the chronically separated ideas of body, mind and spirit. Ecstasy does the same thing, and on the continuum of experience are not distant neighbors. But pain is a struggle, a desperate jaunt through the complex matrices that compel our days forward or screech them to a halt, a force to be revered. Not that I invite pain like I would ecstasy but I invite the lesson and the knowledge it bears, as I bid it to leave that I may examine that which has gone awry. Your work is done, now let me heal. jaybird found this for you @ 13:08 in Journaling the Infinite | | permalink
Embattled Aristide 'leaves Haiti' Mr Embattled Aristide 'leaves Haiti' Mr Aristide is said to be on his way to neighbouring Dominican Republic from where he will seek asylum, according to news agencies in Haiti. UPDATE: I've been told by my local Haitian friend Ivan that the rebels have seized the Sisters of Mercy charity hospital in Port-au-Prince. This disturbs me; it's a children's hospital, and is likely being plundered for it's medical supplies while the children who suffer greatly go without. Please keep these innocent and helpless children in your thoughts.
"Anticipation Haikus" Warm breeze on cool night An appointed hour I want to ask you Before you, awestruck; No expectations jaybird found this for you @ 23:09 in Journaling the Infinite | | permalink
'It's OK, I'm on the 'It's OK, I'm on the AIDS Pill' Hundreds of healthy people in Africa, Cambodia and two U.S. cities will begin taking doses of a powerful AIDS drug as part of a series of studies into the use of medicine to stop HIV infection before it starts. jaybird found this for you @ 18:09 in Health, Medicine & Bio-Happiness | | permalink
The art of abstraction: 'the The art of abstraction: 'the idea that anyone who creates anything is a hacker.' Almost everyone can and should be a hacker, according to the curators of a new exhibition on the fine art of hacking at the Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía in Madrid, Spain. Alongside the museum's collection of masterpieces by Picasso and Dalí, Hackers: The Art of Abstraction explores the connections between hackers, artists and anyone engaged in any kind of creative work, an idea that the curators of the show say was inspired by McKenzie Wark's The Hacker Manifesto. jaybird found this for you @ 14:58 in Blogosphere, Tech & Internet | | permalink
I've been having some very I've been having some very strange problems with pain lately. The other night, my right leg kept me up half the night with a grinding, flashing pain. At the same time, a space below my left eye was radiating a massive amount of a similar quality of pain. Not much medicine-wise works against it. So, I'm researching pinched nerves and like things today to nail down a possible cause. Any doctors in the house? jaybird found this for you @ 12:36 in Journaling the Infinite | | permalink
Pair of comets set for Pair of comets set for spring sky show Each comet is currently visible in telescopes. Scientists can't say for sure how bright they will get, but there is some optimism that both might reflect enough sunlight to be visible to the unaided eye at the same time. jaybird found this for you @ 11:30 in Science, Quantum & Space | | permalink
WOOHOO! California gay weddings can WOOHOO! California gay weddings can go on California's Supreme Court has refused a request from the state's attorney general to halt gay weddings... On Friday, 21 gay and lesbian couples exchanged vows at a village hall in New Paltz, New York. jaybird found this for you @ 03:23 in Gay, Lesbian, Queer & Free | | permalink
"Wisdom of Brokenness" The way to be whole, he told me, is to be shattered; jaybird found this for you @ 23:59 in Journaling the Infinite | | permalink
Ridiculous & Lame Attempt to Bug Me The game is on; as I type, a comment-spam bot is raiding this site. There's been 50 'unnatural' 'comments' today thusfar. I never bothered to do the MT patch since this was never an issue before. My bandwidth is very obviously rising like yeast in Hell's Kitchen. And spammer, listen up; no one will buy your penis pills by clicking a link near your phony name. I feel very sorry for the one poor shlub out of a million that indeed comes through and buys your drek. C'mon, have a little ingenuity. Sell lemonade for Chrissakes. Learn how to make a sandwich. You already have some tech-savvy, why don't you get a job doing tech support at AOL? You'll love it. jaybird found this for you @ 18:55 in Misc. Babble | | permalink
Gay-tolerant societies prosper economically [via Gay-tolerant societies prosper economically [via MeFi] Research... shows that the big new-ideas and cutting-edge industries that lead to sustained prosperity are more likely to exist where gay people feel welcome. Most centers of tech-based business growth also have the highest concentrations of gay couples. Conversely, major areas with relatively few gay couples tend to be slow- or no-growth places. jaybird found this for you @ 16:21 in Gay, Lesbian, Queer & Free | | permalink
Spot the irony: US promises Spot the irony: US promises 'safer' landmines
jaybird found this for you @ 14:05 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink
"Rebellion in the Bones" Behold the contrast revealed by the rising blue of morning As the light ascends, the visitor recedes jaybird found this for you @ 12:55 in Journaling the Infinite | | permalink
Port-au-Prince braces for attack What Port-au-Prince braces for attack What follows is a portion of an email sent out by an American working at St. Joseph's Home for Boys, where I stayed last April for my all-to-brief visit in Haiti. I can't stop thinking about that home and the Delmas neighborhood, and pray that no violence comes to them. The rebels are talking about moving on Port-au-Prince next and Aristide supporters have put roadblocks up around the capital to try and stop them. But, nothing has happened yet. There are lots of rumors flying around though. Any of you have been in Haiti before aren't surprised at that. I'm listening to the rumors, but for now I am getting most of my information off of CNN and the internet, just like most of you. That is not the most comforting or reliable way to get the news, as I am sure you have experienced. I spent one report on CNN today yelling at the television. So...it seems as if we are in a time of limbo. Not sure what is going to happen and when something will happen. Life is very much the same here. Michael [the founder of St. Joseph's] was up at Wings [also founded by Michael, a residence for developmentally disabled children] today and he said things are normal in Petionville. It is very quiet in Fermathe, as always. I walked up to the market area this afternoon to get a pate and the woman I always buy from looked at me a little surprised and said, "Oh, you didn't leave." The sounds of Karnival have filled the last few nights...
Golden Silence? Two years ago Two years ago it was Afghanistan. Last year it was Iraq. This year? Massachusetts, San Francisco, and Sandoval County, New Mexico -- the all-new "axis of evil." But wait, there's more! Thanks to Christopher Monks at Utter WonderFor a much needed belly laugh: Dungeons and Dragons, The Homophobic Edition! Militant Homosexuals: "Easy to spot by their flamboyant shirts and/or butchy haircuts, Militant Homosexuals are increasing in numbers faster than heterosexual bunnies. With a total disregard for public decency and an insistence on kissing each other in public, MHs will stop at nothing to "marry" one another or hold impromptu Cher impersonation contests." jaybird found this for you @ 18:15 in Gay, Lesbian, Queer & Free | | permalink
Backwards driver's peace mission An Backwards driver's peace mission An Indian taxi driver is planning to drive to Pakistan in reverse to help establish peace between the nuclear rivals. Harpreet Devi, from the state of Punjab, has been driving in reverse for two years. And he has even mortgaged his house to pay for the Pakistan trip. It is all part of his "reverse philosophy," built around his experiences since the day his car broke down. ...[the] idea of it was "that you can improve a situation by going into reverse." jaybird found this for you @ 16:49 in Interesting People | | permalink
Haitian rebels advance on Port-au-Prince Haitian rebels advance on Port-au-Prince while American policy towards Haiti becomes further entrenched in the mud.
Eternal Egypt [via dangerous meta] Eternal Egypt [via dangerous meta] At first slightly confusing, this website guides you through the types and histories of Egyptian artifacts. jaybird found this for you @ 12:35 in History, Civilization & Anthropology | | permalink
Can religion be blamed for Can religion be blamed for war? Are religion and religious differences to blame for war and conflict? Many war leaders have claimed to have God on their side, but should religion get the blame? A "War Audit"... investigates the links between war and religion through the ages. jaybird found this for you @ 08:03 in Spirituality, Religion & Mythos | | permalink
That's not playing by the That's not playing by the rules, ol' chap: UK spies 'bugged UN's Kofi Annan' British spies were bugging UN Secretary General Kofi Annan's office in the run up to the Iraq war, former UK cabinet minister Clare Short has claimed. jaybird found this for you @ 07:50 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink
> :: Burroughs Special ::" Apocalypse But Pan lives on in the realm of imagination. In writing, painting, and music. Look at van Gogh's Sunflower's, writhing with pretentious life. Listen to the Pipes of Pan in Jajouka. Now Pan is neutralized, framed in museums, entombed in books, and relegated to folklore. But art is spilling out of its frames into subway graffiti. Will it stop there? [kinda sorta via MeFi] jaybird found this for you @ 18:22 in Authors, Books & Words | | permalink
"The Passion of Christ" Disturbs "The Passion of Christ" Disturbs a Panel of Religious Leaders They said the movie... deviated in bizarre ways from the Gospel accounts, fell flat emotionally and was numbingly violent. The Christians said they had been dismayed to see the inspiring prophet Jesus reduced to a mere victim. The Jews said they were horrified to see the Jewish high priests rendered as bloodthirsty schemers demanding Jesus' death over the protests of a sympathetic Pontius Pilate, the Roman governor. jaybird found this for you @ 16:43 in Art, Music, Theater & Film | | permalink
Only in the Land of Only in the Land of the Mouse: Slavery Alive and Well in Florida Modern-day slavery is alive and well in Florida, the head of a human rights center said Tuesday as it released a report on people forced to work as prostitutes, farmworkers and maids across the state. Human traffickers bring thousands of people into the United States each year and Florida is believed to be one of the top three destinations, along with New York and Texas... jaybird found this for you @ 14:51 in News, Opinion & Politique | | permalink
Rolicking and raucus MeFi  Rolicking and raucus MeFi thread on lil' Georgie's feeble attempt to introduce bias and prejudice into the Constitution for the first time in US history. Way to go, ***hole, jaybird found this for you @ 10:57 in Gay, Lesbian, Queer & Free | | permalink
"Glass Wednesday" I awoke early this morning to set up church (the term is used very loosely) for Ash Wednesday. I found that someone had smashed our glass door with tremendous force, and stole a bottle of spare change we use for the relief organization Spare Change. This was a very surreal scene. Of course, nothing can really be done. Other than ponder the motivations of those so desparate that they would go to such extremes for a few dollars at best. Again, the theme of hunger continues... jaybird found this for you @ 07:37 in Journaling the Infinite | | permalink
"Shrove" The party stumbles into ashes of atonement It is in the severe light of a cold morning I revel in these old rites though sin confounds me; Daily we divine with bacchanalian delight Why wait, O Beloved? We'll seek our recompense in the rising sun. jaybird found this for you @ 00:40 in Journaling the Infinite | | permalink
I got my settlement today, I got my settlement today, and woo-hoo kiddies, the $13.86 isn't enough to buy a new CD! Irony? Nah. jaybird found this for you @ 22:44 in Blogosphere, Tech & Internet | | permalink
Over a hundred vivid images Over a hundred vivid images from last year's Carnaval in Haiti. Hopefully next year, they will celebrate again.
"Interview" So cool; I was just interviewed by my local public radio station for a special report they're doing on local and world-wide hunger, tied to this week's Hunger Banquet that I emcee on Friday. I was rather nervous going into it, but once in front of the mic, the smooth juice started to flow and I think I built a pretty strong case for local hunger action. They'll be taping the banquet on Friday, and hopefully air the story within the next few weeks... jaybird found this for you @ 15:03 in Journaling the Infinite | | permalink
Big Chief says tradition drives Big Chief says tradition drives Mardi Gras Indians Since 1947, Big Chief Allison "Tootie" Montana, 78, of the Yellow Pocahontas tribe in New Orleans, has continued a family tradition he traces back at least 140 years. Through designing and constructing a new suit almost every year of the 50 he spent masking, Montana has helped to keep the history of Mardi Gras Indians alive. jaybird found this for you @ 11:37 in Culture, People & Customs | | permalink
The Autism Quotient ...autism... may ...autism... may not be a simple on/off condition. Its symptoms -- including difficulties with social interaction and a disinclination to make eye-contact -- exist on a continuum. In other words, although it's impossible to be a little bit pregnant, it may be possible to be a little bit autistic.... jaybird found this for you @ 07:53 in Consciousness, Psychology & Philosophy | | permalink
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