short notes: will brady's ruminations

A blog adjunct to rondak.org [click on the globe] | Perspectives on: human rights; environmental concerns; life as a visual artist; 21st century feudalism; progressive politics; aboriginal culture; new urbanism; permaculture; sustainable technology; non-traditional families; achievable utopias

2004-12-31

YEAR END REFLECTIONS

Yeah | I know this day is not the cultural "end of the year" for billions around the globe | But it does represent to everyone a turning point, no matter what |
     As such, it represents a time to reflect upon where we've been, what we've done and which direction to take from this point forward |
     It's a day of resolution, as well |
     This doesn't mean I'll share my private resolutions; rather what I hope we might all strive toward this year coming next |
     More to follow |

Posted by: Will Brady / 08:52

SPIRITUAL PREPAREDNESS

     The 14 Slanders
     "If we dismiss another as "hopeless," we are in effect denying both the reality of the person's Buddha Nature and of the ...poweres to enable him or her to manifest Enlightenment eventually. And the same is true if we also condemn ourselves. We should be the last to abuse one another"

     01 | Arrogance
     02 | Negligence
     03 | Arbitrary, egotistical judgement
     04 | Shallow, self-satisfied understanding
     05 | Attachment to earthly desires
     06 | Lack of seeking Spirit
     07 | Not believing
     08 | Aversion
     09 | Deluded doubt
     10 | Vilification
     11 | Contempt
     12 | Hartred
     13 | Jealousy
     14 | Grudges

     These are not specific acts but mental attitudes! | Wrong action originates in deluded thoughts | We would do well to reflect on how attitudes we hold might hinder our development!! | It is also important that we strive to overcome our tendencies to belittle others...
     To slight a person is to slight the Buddha Himself

TEXT SOURCE: Q + A - Readers' Questions / Sekieo Times / May 1997 / No. 310 / page 68

Posted by: Will Brady / 07:34

2004-12-30

WINTER WONDERLAND

Days like this make me miss the Adirondacks | Cold weather or not | There's a crispness in the air, a clarity to the atmosphere that the chill renders exquisite |
No, I'm not purposfully providing advertising for a major oil company | They just lucked out | To tell the truth, I don't generally trade at this station, because I can get pump prices approximately 10 cents to the gallon cheaper when I got to Portland, just across the river from where I work | But on a day like the day this pix was snapped [that's right; it wasn't today] their hot chocolate is superb!

Posted by: Will Brady / 09:01

WINTER ARTISTS

François Régis Gignoux

Rockwell Kent

Neil Welliver

Martin Ridley

Posted by: Will Brady / 09:00

SURVEY MADNESS

Does that marketing survey in mail get your synapses salivating? | here's a weblog for you | Sharpen up that #2 pencil | The Survey Resource Center Blog | Of course, there's no telling how much extra e-mail you'll get afterwards |

Posted by: Will Brady / 08:55

OTHER VOICES
On suppressing one's feelings

...I was vowing never again to show pain, or accept, or forgive, or give satisfaction, or feel deeply, or love.
I would henceforth count on no one and nothing but myself. And so, on a hint from Hollywood and in flight from my pain and confustion, I buried my treasure and decimated the powers that people the City of the Heart

In closing myself off to protect myself, I damaged myself in ways I couldn't forsee at the time

...but my vow helped me to survive, and Thank God, I made it. My vow was the deepest and most enduring of self-punishments

Posted by: Will Brady / 08:49

2004-12-27

INGSOC'S PROGRESS

Students for an Orwellian Society are carefully monitoring the great strides and advances being made in our society and culture toward adopting the vision of a society based upon the principles of Ingsoc | The prognosis, thus far, is Good |
Their website reports that "...As to be expected, SOS has been quite successful. Since the events of 11 September, we have been able to convince a number of figures in national and local politics to help forward our aims. How could they do otherwise?..."

OTHER SITES REPORTING ON THIS EVOLUTION INCLUDE Monbiot.com and morons.org | Actually, "evolution" is a term from the ungood but we are still too far away from "Creation" [a doubleplusgood Truth] to resume using the term |

Posted by: Will Brady / 08:56

WOOD HEAT

There's now 3 cord of wood cut, split and stacked in the back yard | I spent half of Christmas day and most of today running the woodsplitter |
I was doing this in part because we need closer to 5 cord to heat the house for the whole winter | We've burned one cord already this year, much to Bruce's surprise, I expect | So we'll need another cord split and stacked before winter's over | The tarp-covered pile you see here is last year's | The pile I'm standing next was finally split and eliminated this season |

Now, I use a mechanical splitter, saves a great deal of time | Though I was once at a part at Little Mark's and had a brief chat with two big burly hyper-muscled biker types who sneered at the idea of anyone using such a device, implying "real men" would only do this kind of effort by hand ~ with a maul + mallet or an axe, perhaps |
I looked at them real long, then said, you've never heated with wood, have you | Turns out they were both city-boys; macho killer in looks but... and while one was a cop, the other was a hairdresser | Shows to go you that muscles, body ink and big motorcycles sometimes have a disconnect with reality and pay the cost in image |

CORDWOOD MISCELLANEY: Calculating Cordwood Correctly | WoodHeat.Org's Preparing your fuel supply | About's Firewood values + Costs | In some places, Cordwood house construction is popular these days | Not exactly about cordwood, but Village Math looks at the world from the perspective of an Alaskan wilderness resident |

Posted by: Will Brady / 01:54

2004-12-26

CHRISTMAS TRIP - UPDATE

I was up before the light of dawn to get to the beach | There was a full moon in the west setting over the river | It's a 20 minute drive to meet my friend Lorraine, and another 45 minutes to get to the
beach | No cookies this time | This time it was turkey sandwiches, cranberry muffins and oranges |
This year, except for a man and his wife [he standing by standing by their mini-van, she inside with the heater going full blast] uncertain about getting out [they didn't] it year was the first year we didn't see anyone walking the beach | Only the sea gulls and comorants greeted us on the beach | As bread and pumpkin seed crusted rolls were fed

them, the gulls, at least, got much less shy |
     The sun was not visible directly at horizon point thanks to a cloud bank, but it bursh forth around 0720 hours atop the clouds
automatically turning the faces of distant buildings a bright orange and the surface of the sea reflected azure blue |
     After this, it was to the tree and for the first time since starting this trek, the tree had not been visited before my arrival | There were still old ornaments high in it's boughs and added to this were garlands, mostly | Next year I'll remember to bring heavier garlands so they can land in the top boughs |
     Then, for me, it was Christmas |

THE PIX: The one of Lorraine and I was taken last year by one of our fellow walkers | the other, surfers, was taken by me, also last year |

Posted by: Will Brady / 08:51

since 12 june 1999