Treehugger love....

And speaking of revolutionaries....well, maybe not revolutionary, just uncompromising. The Lorax is one of my longstanding heroes. He speaks for the trees, for crying out loud! Big Ups to you, Brudder Lorax!

If you're out there, this is your chance to comment...

What are your thoughts on this:

Top Israeli news anchor attacks occupation

Chris McGreal in Jerusalem
Wednesday June 1, 2005
The Guardian

The revered anchor of Israel's Channel One news programme for more than three decades has caused controversy by making a personalised documentary in which he concludes that Jewish settlements are endangering the country and that the occupation of Palestinian land is a crime.

"Since 1967, we have been brutal conquerors, occupiers, suppressing another people," Haim Yavin, who was a founder of Channel One and once its chief editor, says in the programme.

Even before the five-part series opened last night, settler leaders were calling for the 72-year-old, known as "Mr Television", to be sacked, because they said he was no longer objective.

The documentary would be sensitive in Israel at any time, but particularly now in the weeks before the government plans to remove thousands of Jewish settlers from the Gaza Strip and a small part of the West Bank.

Channel One turned down the documentary and it is being shown on a rival channel that recently lost its licence and is about to go off air.

The series is a the result of Yavin's visits during more than two years to the West Bank and Gaza Strip, carrying a small camera to film ordinary people - some of the 400,000 Jewish settlers, Palestinian residents and Israeli soldiers - in the territories.

"My intention was to get the personal feelings of the settlers, of the Palestinians," Yavin told the Guardian yesterday. "It has strengthened my former opinion that we have to come to terms with the Palestinians; they are not all terrorists.

"Some of my friends on the left hate the settlers. I don't hate them, I appreciate them. I even like them, but I say in the documentary that I think they are wrong and they are endangering us."

The experience has left Yavin more pessimistic about the prospects for peace. "I think the majority of Palestinians and the majority of Israelis want peace and they're willing to divide the country," he said. "But there's such mistrust. Hamas terrorism did such damage to both peoples that I don't think it can be repaired."

He not only questions the settlements and the occupation, but the commitment of successive governments, including Ariel Sharon's, to curbing Israel's hunger for land and the expansion of its colonies.

"This merrymaking will never be stopped," he said. "I regard this as a Greek tragedy. I don't see any solution."

Settler leaders have reacted furiously to the series, saying it will "divide Israeli society". The head of the settler council, Benzi Lieberman, has called for Yavin to be removed as Channel One's news anchor.

"Even if his opinions and the manner in which he presents them may be considered legitimate, his continued serving in the objective newscaster's position constitutes a blow to media ethics and professional integrity," he said.

Among those filmed by Mr Yavin is an Israeli soldier in Hebron who wonders how his compatriots can remain silent in the face of the "horrors" the army commits, and the settlers who ask him why he's not shooting Palestinian children.

Some settlers tell Yavin that the Palestinians must be given a deadline to leave the occupied territories or be forced out. "Otherwise we should just bomb and kill them," says one woman.

· Jerusalem city council has issued orders to demolish the homes of hundreds of Palestinians in an area that Israeli settlers want to be turned into a Jewish neighbourhood.

The council, which has initially ordered 88 buildings to be razed, says it intends to make the Silwan area, just outside the Old City walls, a national park. Palestinian officials say that the real intent is to clear the area for settlers.

Been listening to Emcee Lynx...

Feelin' that hunger for revolution rear its beautiful, but all too needy, head. I just can't find a place for rebellion in the domestic life that I've made for myself right now. Maybe when Tree is a bit older, I will allow that part of me to see the light again. Meanwhile, I'm working on the big issues from "within the system" (aren't ya' proud of me dad?!?) and cheering on my sisters-and-brothers-in-arms from my position inside the belly of the beast. Workin' on the subtlety tip, yo!
So, for all of you with the fortitude, youth and energy, following are some links to some of my favorite revolutionaries to date:

Emcee Lynx, the voice that prompted this post!

Direct action, realized! These elves take careful measures to assure that no living creature is harmed during an action!!!

Some people live what they believe! Hayduke Lives!

This movement is at the forefront of developing a new paradigm for how intellectual property is handled.

If you haven't read "Get Your War On," your in for a laugh; and maybe a tear or two. Not for the kids!

One of many sites trying to keep information free and uncensored.

Revolutionary? NO. A possible expaination for the Dubya phenomenon? Maybe.

Okay, so this list is nowhere near comprehensive and, frankly, I'm not that happy with it. But, I am at work and I have to actually do some work, so I am going to publish this in spite of its lackluster content. So there!

I dare you!!!

So, mi compadre El Jacquez already covered this little AP news snippet , but I definitely have to sound off on it anyway!
If you (you sick, demented development rapists!!!) think that I will let something like that happen to me without sending at least a few white, gluttonous, imperialistic bastards into the next life, you have another thing coming!!!
Don't scream and yell about the evils of communism, totalitarianism and fascism and then turn around and weave all of these memes into the fabric of AMERICAN society while the masses are all stirred up into a patriotic stupor by your absurd "Axis of Evil" and "America was founded on Christian principles" bullshit!!! America was built on the bloody corpses of the indigenous people of this land. And now, with this ruling, you want to do the same to the impoverished, undereducated masses that break their backs to grow your food, clean up your shit and maintain your God-forsaken golf courses! Bring your "divine providence" to my property...we'll see what happens when you try to bulldoze me to put up a fucking mall!!!
This has to stop, people!!! Wake the fuck up and look around you....do you think you'll be able to eat money when we've paved over every square inch of this country in the interest of economic prosperity?!? Give it some thought and get back to me....

A quick word about a forgotten band...

Screaming Blue Messiahs was a great band!!! Gun Shy is an unbelievably good album!!! I don't want these guys' work to be forgotten, except maybe that "I Wanna Be A Flintstone" song. If you can find a copy of Gun Shy on CD, contact me immediately, as it was one of the soundtracks for my tumultuous youth.

Revelation or interpretation?

So I'm listening to the New Testament on CD on the way to work this morning and shivered when I heard Matthew 6:26
I have always had a severe issue with the idea of humans being superior to other animals and this line, as well as many others in the Bible, have always rubbed me the wrong way. But I'm an Episcopalian and we believe that Jesus the Christ was the physical manefestation of God during his time here on Earth, so how could God make such a statement?!?
Well, it occured to me this morning that Jesus isn't making a statement here; he is asking a question. And it seems this is a far more profound question than I had previously thought. Over the years, I've come to know Jesus' character to be that of one who posesses the infinite wisdom of God and therefore each of his words would contain far deeper meaning than what is understood at face value. We all know about the tendency for entities of great wisdom to pose riddles and speak quizically of the profundities they purport. I think, and this is where I suspect interpretation rather than revelation, that this is what Jesus/God is doing here. Perhaps this question, "...are you not much more valuable than they?" is not necessarily rhetorical, but rather an invitation to cogitation.
I would certainly like to think so, as anything less would severely compromise my desire to know such a God more fully.
We (humankind) are not superior to other animals! The scientific evidence does not support such an argument any more than one's true spirit would. Indeed, I would go so far as to submit that it is exactly those attributes that we use to uphold such a fallacy (our "intellect", emotions and even our "really big brains") that make us the inferior animal.
But there is more on that to come, so stayed tuned......


And in other news, Brother Jacquez is correct, Lyrics Born is the shit!

The origin of a nickname...

One last post for tonight...whew, how productive have I been (late afternoon caffeine) with this blogging rubbish?!?
I was asked for about the bizillionth time recently about the genesis of the name Lost Tortoise. I became interested in Taoism at a relatively early age (fourteen) and became an adherent to the philosophy over twenty years ago. In the early stages of this path, I had a favorite parable from one of the two main texts of Taoism, the Zhuangzi/Chuang Tzu. The reproduction of this parable that follows is from the famous translation by Lin Yutang:

Chuangtse was fishing on the P'u River when the Prince of Ch'u sent two high officials to see him and said, "Our Prince desires to burden you with the administration of the Ch'u State." Chuangtse went on fishing without turning his head and said, "I have heard that in Ch'u there is a sacred tortoise which died when it was three thousand (years) old. The prince keeps this tortoise carefully enclosed in a chest in his ancestral temple. Now would this tortoise rather be dead and have its remains venerated, or would it rather be alive and wagging its tail in the mud?"

"It would rather be alive," replied the two officials, and wagging its tail in the mud."

"Begone!" cried Chuangtse. "I too will wag my tail in the mud.

Well, this is still my favorite taoist parable and I still adhere strongly to Taoism's principles; I fail to see any conflict with my "Christian" path. This parable combined with my tendency towards sociopathic behavior in my youth caused a group of my martial family to come up with the name Lost Tortoise. It was one of the few monikers from that period that stuck.

Tree (yes, TREE) is one on the very short list of things that I've gotten right in this lifetime. He is developing into the man I wish I could be and I am as proud of him as is humanly possible. 

This woman gives my life meaning. Laura is the love of my life. 

Did you really want to see this?!? Yeah, I didn't think so..... 

Photos.......

By the way, all the photographs that I post on here after May 19, 2005 were taken with a Nikon Coolpix 7900 unless noted otherwise. My photographs are taken in either seven megapixel or five megapixel format, so the resolution available here may affect the quality in a negative way, but you'll get the general idea.

If I offend you, I DON'T CARE!!!

So I took a photograph of a coworker walking to work from the parking garage and received some nasty body language at the outset. When I asked her if she wished to view the photo this afternoon, she said "NO! and I don't appreciate you taking pictures of me..."blah, blah, blah...as she walked away from me.
Now look, if you have something you want to express or communicate to me, you say it to me, not the air and/or general public!!! And you can rest assured that your reaction prompted immediate deletion of your pig-nosed visage from record!!!!
She will never read this post, so let this serve as a warning to anyone who does: I find no evidence of either federal or Commonwealth of Kentucky statutes that prohibit me from taking photographs of you without your consent with the exception of private residence or commercial use, so fuck you if you have a problem with it. I am a caucasian male so it is in my genetic make-up to be invasive and I dare you to get in my face about it...attempt battery upon my person and I will break parts of you that you don't know the names for!!! Am I making myself clear?!? If there is anything that I am intolerant of, it is this assumption that you live inside a capsule of YOU! You Do NOT!!! I am here, you are here.........we are all breathing the same air.....so get over it!!!! If you have a problem with me, make it known......to me.
If you cannot or will not communicate with me, that is your problem and it does not constitute a mandate for me to be ultrasensitive to your needs. Besides, you're being raped every day by the media, corporate America and a corrupt and unjust government and most of you not only refrain from complaint, but actually support it, so please don't give me the bidness about taking your photograph.....most of you don't make interesting subject matter anyway!!!
Wow, that was cathartic.....the world is slowly starting to become pretty again.......

Matthew 7:7

A little over a week ago, I was asked by a coworker why I attend church each Sunday. Implicit in this question were several others regarding the nature of my spirituality. These are the questions I am often asked by those that know or are getting to know me: "How could you be a Christian; isn't it illogical?" "How can you justify support of organized religion?" "...especially now, when we are quickly becoming a theocracy, crushing freedom under the foot of the religious right?!?"
In response, allow me to tell my (hopefully brief) story and then relate some other insights.
I grew up attending church at St. Luke's Episcopal Church in Jamestown, New York because my maternal grandfather was the minister there. I loved the ritual, the huge stone cathedral, the community and the sight of my grandfather delivering sermons in his purple and green robes in a cloud of incense. By the time I was in Junior High, we had moved to Cincinnati and we attended Indian Hill Episcopal-Presbyterian Church and my grandfather had passed away. An insatiable need to learn the truth led me to Taoist thought at fourteen and it seemed that my experience of God had found expression in the philosophy of Lao Zi and Zhuang Zi. Having been confirmed twice in the Episcopalian church was not enough to hold on to any allegiance I may have once had to Christian doctrine. I stayed active in the church during high school, though, as it was the meeting center for one of the communities to which I belonged (if only superficially.)
Flash forward to November of 2002, nearly 19 years since my enlightenment in Tao. I was employed at the local university medical center, in a middle-management position, drowning in bureaucracy. My mother had passed away, my father had remarried and I was married and had a son.
I hated my job. I was expected to do the work of six people and supervise fourteen employees that were once my peers, making that role all the more difficult. I was miserable and bringing it home. My taoist beliefs, confirmed and strengthened by empirical understanding, had failed to insulate and comfort as it had so many times before. I was heading to a very dark place; a place I'd been before and never wanted to see again. Out of desperation one evening, I fell to my knees and prayed. My relationship with God has always been deeply personal, but for too many years, it was also adversarial. I asked God to give me a sign that there was reprieve from my misery and hopefully see it within God's gracious nature to bestow such a mercy upon my wretched soul. I specifically asked for a sign that was big, bold and hard to miss because I am a clueless idiot. If such an obvious sign was not the way it worked, I requested that God teach me to see the subtle, everyday signs. Well, in January of 2003, after a subtle change in my general outlook had taken place, I received not just one of those gifts, but both. God blessed me with the employment that I now enjoy, changing my life immeasurably. But I was also blessed with the ability to see the small signs (I refer to them as lessons, now) as well.
Now, I am well aware of my part in getting this job, but "God helps those who help themselves" right? Besides, who's to say that EVERYTHING I do, say and think isn't guided or directly controlled by God....but that's for a "theology of the tortoise" post.
So, in the context of my new relationship with God, I decided to make the church that we had been attending since Laura was "born again" my new community in Christ. Unfortunately, this all occured just months before our church became national news for having split wide open due to the ordination of an openly gay bishop in the Northeast. So, we took about a year away to heal and just recently returned.
Anyhow, since I drafted this post on Monday and I am just now editing it for posting, I am going to stop here and continue with related topics at another time.

June is bittersweet now...

June has always (35 years now) been one of my favorite months each year. The second day in June is when I was born, so I think that might have something to do with it. But it's much more than that, really...it also has to do with my Father's birthday falling on the seventeenth and another Hallmark day, Father's Day, being in there somewhere. Also, June was when summer vacation and swimming pools were in full swing, two luxuries that I cherished as a child. Nowadays, I have the extra joys of celebrating the anniversaries of my son's baptism on my birthday and saying the most important vows I will ever utter on the fifth day of June in 1993. So, June continues to be an extraordinarily joyful and blessed month for me each year. And yet, one event has forever altered that experience. In 1996, at around 0230 on the sixth of June, Laura answered the phone to a call from my father. She spoke to him for a moment and handed the phone to me. My mother was ill my entire life. Chronic asthma made sure that she was hospitalized nearly every spring, no matter where we lived. But she was having a good run of health the last year or so, although it was at the expense of elevated dosages of Prednisone, a steroid she used to control her condition. We thought for sure that the Prednisone would take her bones first, but it turns out that it had caused her heart to become enlarged. My father was checking into a hotel in Monterey, California while my mother waited in the car anticipating an enjoyable week's vacation when her heart finally gave up. Both of my parents thought it might be an asthma attack and the bronchodilator she used merely accelerated the infarct. I had heard stories about those middle-of-the-night phone calls, but none of them do justice to the actual experience.
I believe that one of the aspects of our relationship with God (Tao, universal law, et al) is that we are here to work on getting it right before we move on to the next, far more glorious phase. I believe this explains why the "good" die young, because they've done what they were here to do, for themselves and for others. My Mother, Maureen, passed from this mortal coil on June 6, 1996, at the age of 52. She truly lived love and generousity and self-sacrifice and humility and those who knew her were forever blessed to have been touched by her. Thanks Mom.
I am not sure if I have dealt with the loss of my mother yet, even now, nine years later, but I do know that she had earned the release a thousand times over and I am pretty okay with it.
So, that's colored the way I view June a little bit, but it's mad sunny out there and I think I'm gonna spend the weekend at a friend's pool, so be good to one another and treat this thing like the adventure that it is, kids, 'cause it gets lonely and depressing if you don't.

No, my little tortoise, not candy....Beetle, LT, BEETLE! 

Marrying well is rewarding. Clicked a photo of the lake house on the way back up from the dock. 

An old friend's wedding brings together the gang from high school. 

What is this guy staring at?!? Can't you take a photo of someone without the mean mug anymore. I think drive-by photography is a lot more humane than my past drive-by hobbies. 

My fault....short coma

Drugs have the funniest effect on me. One minute I'm at a party (back in May of 2005, I think) and the next thing I know, I wake up in June of 2007 and my family is telling me that the colorful combination of pills I took put me in a coma for a couple of years. Hey, wait a minute, it's still 2005!!! They were just fucking with my head!!! In fact, I don't remember taking any pills and if I was in a coma for two years, wouldn't the newspaper reflect that. Wierd....