30 November 2010

December Eve Note

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30 November 2010: In the last fortnight I have been into Bangkok several times to visit with expat friends and have inspiring conversations. I also tried to catch some movies, e.g., “Red” and “Let Me In.” This last one is an English-language re-make of the original Swedish film “Let The Right One In” (2008), which I have on DVD. The re-make follows the original closely, and I think both are very good, telling a rather dark story of a young vampire and the bonding between two young 12-year-old outsiders.
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I also got to listen to the Soi Dogs Blues Band – at Nomad's pub – for the first time in many months. Nothing like the Blues to make me feel like a young man again, especially when they are playing songs from my teen years. Their third song of the night was “Little Red Rooster,” a Willie Dixon song I first heard covered by The Rolling Stones on one of their early albums in about 1964 or 65. The Soi Dogs have two excellent blues guitarists who often trade off leads and really wail. An expat guess singer sang “Hey, Joe!” very well, and a bluesman from Texas who was passing through played/sang on several numbers, giving us some very authentic blues. A great night.
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-Zenwind.
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15 November 2010

Mid-November Note Double Feature

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15 November 2010. I just may have sorted out my major computer problems. I could never have done it myself, but I’m lucky to have the help of my expat buddy down in Bangkok and Tuk here to show me the way out of the darkness. Now I have a ton of emails to answer but probably cannot get to all of them. If you don’t hear from me regularly, check this blog, as I try to post twice a month at least.
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Tuk got a 98% grade on her recent 50-hour English language course at her office, but I had been rather amazed, as I was helping her with her homework during that course, at how little she really knew about common English phrases and grammar points when she entered the course in August. We usually communicate adequately with each other in very abbreviated English words and phrases, but that doesn’t help her improve her knowledge of the language. This all points to me being a poor teacher to her for the years before this, and it also implies that she doesn’t understand – or care to clarify – most of what I say to her. Humbling.
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The rains have stopped and the air is drier and “cooler.” The sun shines every day, which is very good for me, one who always suffered severe seasonal depression every November-December at 42* N latitude as the northern days got shorter and darker. (If you suffer the same way while living in the Dark North, get a full-spectrum light, because they really work, and your pets might like them too. I left mine in the States, because the hours of summer and winter daylight here are close to equal.)
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I can now resume working on my suntan up on the roof – and maybe get in some astronomy as well. I broke out my climbing gear and did some needed work on my ladder system that goes from the 3rd story window of the house up to the roof. I replaced the fixed safety rope which parallels the ladder and which had been in the sun too long to be safe – UV from sunlight degrades nylon – and then I hung from it in my climbing harness while reinforcing the old rusty ladder with steel bar. The idea of the fixed rope is that I clip an ascender device on my harness onto the rope and then climb the ladder. The theory is that it will catch me if the ladder fails. I also have enough slings and gear to keep from getting hung up and to get up and down safely. In theory.
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I must say that it feels good to be up high again. On this note, there is an old Zen motto which had summed up the Zen novice’s job description, and which I have amended.
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The original Zen motto goes:
“Haul water. Chop wood.”
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The Barlow Corollary:
“Climb high. Watch moon.”
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Below is a separate blog post on the recent US mid-term elections.
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-Zenwind.
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Power Divided

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15 November 2010. Here are some musings on the recent US mid-term elections. Power in Washington, DC is now divided up.
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US politics bores me to death more and more as I see the same historical cyclic re-runs, decade after decade, with only name changes among the actors and parties. In longer historical views, it is the same. But in the overall philosophical view, I remain “cynically optimistic” about humanity’s future. I have hopes that someday, long after my own lifespan is over, humans may outgrow the perverse love of political power – much as the childhood bully finally grows up by learning to leave people alone and in peace (unless, of course, that bully grows up to be a politician, in which case he makes bullying a lucrative career).
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Power in the US federal government is now divided up between the major parties, and that is always good, no matter who the particular players of the moment are. The division of political power is always better than a monopoly hold of power by one party or faction, and this holds true regardless of which party has been in power, whether it is the “liberals,” conservatives, Republicans, Democrats, etc. When one party holds all the reins of power, they commit mischief and grievous harm.
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Stripped to essentials, the perennial political issue is Liberty versus Power, and the seductiveness of Power always gives it the advantage. (“Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely” said Lord Acton.)
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Politicians of any stripe, while they take their turn as the minority opposition position in the cycle, will at that time express their most radical libertarian rhetoric. But the moment they gain any portion of power they arrogantly wield it and then some other individuals, from opposing factions or parties, lose liberties. As the astute songwriter for The Who, Pete Townshend, once put it: “Meet the new boss, Same as the old boss.” (See his full lyrics, below, to “Won’t Get Fooled Again.”)
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The only thing saving real people from complete authoritarian domination by their government is this ongoing in-fighting amongst the power-grabbers, a kind of competition for the votes of a people not yet completely cowed – that, and a solid Constitution which somewhat chains down the monster of Power.
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Won’t Get Fooled Again by Pete Townshend
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“We’ll be fighting in the streets
With our children at our feet,
And the morals that they worship will be gone.
And the men who spurred us on
Sit in judgment of all wrong.
They decide and the shotgun sings the song.
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[chorus]
“I’ll tip my hat to the new constitution,
Take a bow for the new revolution,
Smile and grin at the change all around,
Pick up my guitar and play,
Then I’ll get on my knees and pray,
We won’t get fooled again.
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“The change, it had to come,
We knew it all along,
We were liberated from the fold, that’s all.
And the world looks just the same,
And history ain’t changed,
‘Cause the banners, they are flown in the next war.
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[chorus]
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“I’ll move myself and my family aside,
If we happen to be half left alive.
I’ll get all my papers and smile at the sky,
Though I know that the hypnotized never lie,
Do ya?
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“There’s nothing in the streets
Looks any different to me.
And the slogans are replaced, bye-and-bye.
And the parting on the left
Are now the parting on the right,
And the beards have grown longer overnight.
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[chorus]
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“Meet the new boss,
Same as the old boss.”
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[~lyrics by Pete Townshend ~ Performed by The Who~]
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10 November 2010

Marine Corps Birthday – 2010

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It has been 235 years since John Adams stood up before the Continental Congress and made the motion that they create two battalions of Continental Marines. Recruiting soon began at Tun Tavern (appropriately) in Philadelphia, and the rest is history.
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I celebrated 10 November 2010 by tipping a few pints, contemplating the Corps’ history, and by watching the James Cameron film Avatar (2009), which has an element of tribute to Marines, past, present and future. I wrote a review of the film and its relevance to the USMC here.
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-Zenwind.
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01 November 2010

Halloween Note

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In the spirit of Halloween, I posted the lyrics to “Werewolves of London," by Warren Zevon, on Zenwind. My favorite werewolf films are “Werewolf of London” (1935) starring Henry Hull; “The Wolf Man” (1941) starring Lon Chaney, Jr.; “I Was a Teenage Werewolf” (1957) starring Michael Landon; and “The Wolfman” (2010) starring Benicio Del Toro.
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Ahooww-Oooooh!!!
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