Today is World Poetry Day, an international celebration of the reading, writing, teaching, and overall enjoyment of poetry around the globe.
This poem was inspired by one of my favorite poets, T. S. Eliot, listening to Matt and Kim, and generally just feeling in awe of being alive and witnessing life.
Enjoy!
Take Back the Daylight
By RMK
Time to see the little houses on the hills.
And time for the trees, and time
For all the things you cannot dream.
Time for thinking all the thoughts
That come in streams to play
Along your mindbed, Time, time today.
Time to be ravished by mountains,
And moons, and music too. The sounds of
Being alive, tick tock, beat beat, did you hear
About that one time Time stopped?
The myth, the legend, of love and
Fantasy, dreaming in the daylight.
Time to build a life, a building life,
Create your masterpiece out of Time,
And all the bits of matter you can find
That matter to you, and the matterless,
The mindfull, the things you can take
Temporarily, and make lasting at last.
Time for you, and time for them,
And time for breaking down, and building
Back up, reinventing and seeing again
What was not seen as seconds passed.
Time for all the dreams I may have dreamed
To live with eyes opened, and snore less.
Time for all the pleasures life affords,
Time for all the suffering you can handle,
Burn with the candle, Candle, can you?
Time for the hour, time to take back time,
Remember, remember, how those days were
Divine? How we looked at the daylight,
with awe in mind, in heart, in spirit, felt it
In your bones, that being-alive-beyond-time
Feeling. Feeling the daylight without clock-hands.
Wednesday, March 21, 2018
Saturday, November 25, 2017
Did you come here to think? Good!
I realize I haven't done one of these in a while. Sooooooo...thoughts:
Earth is our home, and our home is a gift, and it's a gift we share.
Even though we can do something, should we? And why shouldn't we do something? And why should we? In everything that we do, who does it matter to?
“When one tugs at a single thing in nature, he finds it attached to the rest of the world.” And yet...
We've measured our own selves, torn us to pieces, in order to figure out how we (and the rest of the world) work. We've created a mental disconnect that allows us to act on an attempt at controlling every little thing. Maps, writing, pictures. When you delineate, you break things to pieces. But in those pieces, you work to better understand, even if what you can understand is only a small fraction of the whole.
The world is many shades and combinations, mixing. Variety is the spice of life. But variation is complex and difficult to understand (or control), so we simplify it.
"...All times I have enjoy'd
Greatly, have suffer'd greatly, both with those
That loved me, and alone, on shore, and when
Thro' scudding drifts the rainy Hyades
Vext the dim sea: I am become a name;" -- From: https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/45392/ulysses
In some things, order does matter.
One definition of intelligence is the ability to discern that there is wisdom in everything, but you hold the compass and how you allow that wisdom to guide you or not is your choice. There is intelligence in saying, you had some good points, but I don't fully agree with you. There is intelligence in seeing how a simplified statement can do a lot of good and a lot of bad depending on how it is used, like the above. Depending on how you use order as something that matters, you can place restraints that need not be there on some things. Heuristics are not perfect and should not be used for all things. No rule of thumb rules all (maybe not even this one).
Extremes are interconnected, and neither of them should “win”.
Learn to play more. Enjoy more. Learn what you can do with your own hands, your own mind, your own heart, if you gave yourself the time.
Success and failure both result in learning.
The way to defeat evil is to replace it with good. Now, how is that applied?
When you name something, you've chosen to care about it.
What is your culture? What is our culture?
Perspective is a matter of scale, and everything we do creates scope.
Consider our scope when we employ time as a factor. What matters today? What matters in a year? What matters in a million years? A billion? What mattered a hundred years ago?
And how how we think about the above changes our actions.
What matters more - the vision or the plan to achieve it? Stupid question, they both matter.
Life is as hollow and as shallow as you make it. If you want more, it's there, always.
What is a conversation? What can be and is talked about? What are the limits of conversation? All of these questions can be answered by understanding language structure.
What is enough?
Our desire to populate space stems from a very basic will to survive.
We are more than the sum of all our parts.
"We join spokes together in a wheel,
but it is the center hole
that makes the wagon move.
We shape clay into a pot,
but it is the emptiness inside
that holds whatever we want.
We hammer wood for a house,
but it is the inner space
that makes it livable.
We work with being,
but non-being is what we use." - From the Tao Te Ching
I'm learning to appreciate the seen and unseen.
What questions are worth asking?
In our culture today, is questioning antagonistic?
I have a respect for ginger root as a spice and a form. If you don't want to waste any of it, you don't have to. But using all of it requires a bit of imagination and patience. It's not so easily peeled like a carrot. It's not straight and simple. It's curved and complex and diverse in use. All hail ginger, and the smell it leaves on your hands.
Related to ginger: https://consideredkula.wordpress.com/2011/04/05/the-useless-tree-chuang-tzu-inspiration-pointe/
What are the goals of our society? What are your personal goals? To become something? To do something? To open yourself up to something? To know something?
Blunt honesty is sometimes nice to have in a friend.
Sometimes you tug at a piece of your life
And that piece is a person.
And with that person,
Comes all the other pieces,
Unraveling.
Music:
https://youtu.be/NivdmQJmLAc
https://youtu.be/f6jma9VQEls
"Adopt the pace of nature: her secret is patience." - Ralph Waldo Emerson
Earth is our home, and our home is a gift, and it's a gift we share.
Even though we can do something, should we? And why shouldn't we do something? And why should we? In everything that we do, who does it matter to?
“When one tugs at a single thing in nature, he finds it attached to the rest of the world.” And yet...
We've measured our own selves, torn us to pieces, in order to figure out how we (and the rest of the world) work. We've created a mental disconnect that allows us to act on an attempt at controlling every little thing. Maps, writing, pictures. When you delineate, you break things to pieces. But in those pieces, you work to better understand, even if what you can understand is only a small fraction of the whole.
The world is many shades and combinations, mixing. Variety is the spice of life. But variation is complex and difficult to understand (or control), so we simplify it.
"...All times I have enjoy'd
Greatly, have suffer'd greatly, both with those
That loved me, and alone, on shore, and when
Thro' scudding drifts the rainy Hyades
Vext the dim sea: I am become a name;" -- From: https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/45392/ulysses
In some things, order does matter.
One definition of intelligence is the ability to discern that there is wisdom in everything, but you hold the compass and how you allow that wisdom to guide you or not is your choice. There is intelligence in saying, you had some good points, but I don't fully agree with you. There is intelligence in seeing how a simplified statement can do a lot of good and a lot of bad depending on how it is used, like the above. Depending on how you use order as something that matters, you can place restraints that need not be there on some things. Heuristics are not perfect and should not be used for all things. No rule of thumb rules all (maybe not even this one).
Extremes are interconnected, and neither of them should “win”.
Learn to play more. Enjoy more. Learn what you can do with your own hands, your own mind, your own heart, if you gave yourself the time.
Success and failure both result in learning.
The way to defeat evil is to replace it with good. Now, how is that applied?
When you name something, you've chosen to care about it.
What is your culture? What is our culture?
Perspective is a matter of scale, and everything we do creates scope.
Consider our scope when we employ time as a factor. What matters today? What matters in a year? What matters in a million years? A billion? What mattered a hundred years ago?
And how how we think about the above changes our actions.
What matters more - the vision or the plan to achieve it? Stupid question, they both matter.
Life is as hollow and as shallow as you make it. If you want more, it's there, always.
What is a conversation? What can be and is talked about? What are the limits of conversation? All of these questions can be answered by understanding language structure.
What is enough?
Our desire to populate space stems from a very basic will to survive.
We are more than the sum of all our parts.
"We join spokes together in a wheel,
but it is the center hole
that makes the wagon move.
We shape clay into a pot,
but it is the emptiness inside
that holds whatever we want.
We hammer wood for a house,
but it is the inner space
that makes it livable.
We work with being,
but non-being is what we use." - From the Tao Te Ching
I'm learning to appreciate the seen and unseen.
What questions are worth asking?
In our culture today, is questioning antagonistic?
I have a respect for ginger root as a spice and a form. If you don't want to waste any of it, you don't have to. But using all of it requires a bit of imagination and patience. It's not so easily peeled like a carrot. It's not straight and simple. It's curved and complex and diverse in use. All hail ginger, and the smell it leaves on your hands.
Related to ginger: https://consideredkula.wordpress.com/2011/04/05/the-useless-tree-chuang-tzu-inspiration-pointe/
What are the goals of our society? What are your personal goals? To become something? To do something? To open yourself up to something? To know something?
Blunt honesty is sometimes nice to have in a friend.
Sometimes you tug at a piece of your life
And that piece is a person.
And with that person,
Comes all the other pieces,
Unraveling.
Music:
https://youtu.be/NivdmQJmLAc
https://youtu.be/f6jma9VQEls
"Adopt the pace of nature: her secret is patience." - Ralph Waldo Emerson
Monday, September 11, 2017
Poem: What's in a Hurricane Name?
What’s in a Hurricane Name?
She was a Category 666 hurricane.
Not the kind that meteorologists named,
But she blew through me
in the season between June and November.
A storm with a sharp eye,
They couldn’t have named her if they tried
Because she was everywhere
And nowhere.
Wrecking homes, leaving debris
under my skin, pieces of sharp rock
that chipped off her stone heart
The doctors said couldn’t be
Removed. So I just hoarded
cans of soup in my pantry
Let the power go off in my head
And surrendered to the wind of her voice in my ear.
When December came, my liquid snow
melted inside her and I knew
Thunderstorms were coming
And we named them after her mother’s mother’s mother’s mother.
Friday, June 23, 2017
Space exploration, unique sets of expression, song writing, balance, gravity, Wonder Woman messages, Wendell Berry inspiration, identity, and more!
You know what's amazing? We've overcome or worked with our environment as a species to do things that other animals have never done. We didn't just look at the moon, we walked on it. We don't just say, "I have legs, I shouldn't fly." We look at other animals that can fly and say, "Let's figure that out!" Making wings, in a way that was only possible by understanding how flying could work for us. It's incredible. What we've done, and what we still might be able to do.
Why is it so satisfying to create unique sets of patterns of expression? A set of patterns that no one has created before. I also find it interesting that we can create these unique patterns of words or images, but the words or shapes we use to create with are, in isolation, so simple and familiar, so common. But every English teacher in the world will tell you to make it your own. And in part, you know it's not your own, not fully, but that unique set of patterns, that's what they want.
I really enjoy writing songs, even if no one else hears them. There's something fun about driving home and listening to songs you wrote that no one else in the world is listening to, something fun and personal and perfect about it. Songs that make me laugh, that make me feel peace, tell or remember memories, or just express what's on my mind that day. And in an age where everything is shared, it's beautiful, in a way, to have something like that to yourself (even if I'm telling you, briefly, about it now).
We live individual lives. We experience individual existence. And yet we are part of something much bigger than that. Both are important, and struggle comes from deciding at which points in our lives which one is more important.
When you're so tired that you almost throw an entire coffee pot into the trash... #HappyFriday
Is gravity the reason for life? Putting things in one place. Collision of celestial bodies. Is it essential for life creation?
The important balance between preservation and exploration in the future. Not only on Earth, but in Space as well.
Wonder Woman messages: What you believe affects your actions. If you believe in love and its power over hate, you will fight against acts of violence that destroy peace and the ability to love.
Important to note that:
Isolated and personal measures were taken to combat violence.
She did not kill Doctor Poison, because she was trying to kill the INFLUENCE of humans (Aries), not the humans themselves, who can change based on influence. Although personifying influence essentially leads to the truth that influence has a carrier. Every virus needs a host.
"Sometimes you just have to
Go Einstein insane.
Let no one understand you,
And let them spend decades,
Trying to sort out your genius."
What does it mean for something to be infinite?
"The past, the wild horses of the West, run in my mind as I drive with the windows down, looking out, at the ages gone beneath the concrete, the asphalt desert on top of the cracked earth where men rode animals looking for water. I open the tap, or buy a bottle, with visions of them reaching a stream to find it dry." - inspired by Wendell Berry
How our perspective and level of attention changes over time.
Focus in storytelling.
One thing we learn in school is that school is merely only one environment to many environments that exist in the world.
One thing we learn in school is that school is merely only one environment to many environments that exist in the world.
What creates an atmosphere that allows people to question things?
Religion and identity. Politics and identity. The problem of delineation in creating identity and a non-fluid mindset in a changing world.
I lost the rest of what's in my brain, so...
Cheers dears.
Sunday, December 18, 2016
Generational influence, the forces of the universe, pain and suffering, Medieval vs. Today, Stories are metaphors for life, media enriches other media, survival, Aniara, and a poem.
How do you pick up the pieces of so many lives that came before you?
How do the forces in the universe relate? Gravity? Magnetism? Static electricity?
Just because you are in pain does not mean you must suffer, nor does it mean others should suffer because you are in pain.
It's weird being human and trying to grasp meaning out of life.
What does a modern city look like compared to a medieval city? Well, for one, hotels and banks are larger than churches.
The wonderful thing and most frustrating thing about science is it proves over time that everything we think we know could be very, very wrong all along.
Stories encourage us to do things we've never done before. And to view the world in new ways. They essentially give us a way to adapt through motivation, inspiration, and our personal tool of visualization.
Reading makes all other media a little more rich. Understanding the references, like Rime of the Ancient Mariner in the "Weight of Living" song by Bastille, almost every quote by Lex Luthor in Superman vs. Batman, etc.
Survival is attraction in peacetime, aggression or cleverness in wartime?
Why do children look like their parents? Empathy. Think about it. It's about survival.
Jag vill lära mig svenska, och jag vill gå tillbaka till skolan.
What is technology doing to us?
"We listen daily to the sonic coins
provided every one of us and played
through the Finger-singer worn on the left hand.
We trade coins of diverse denominations:
and all of them play all that they contain
and though a dyma 1 scarcely weighs one grain
it plays out like a cricket on each hand
blanching here in this distraction-land."
One day I hope to hold the book "Aniara" in my hands and read it in full. But bloody hell has a poetry book never been more expensive.
I'm making a list of all the words that I thought were words while playing scrabble, but realized weren't words, so now I must make them so. Definitions pending.
Sometimes all you want to hear are peaceful and meaningful words.
Slept near a brook
I don't know how long it took
For ages, we look
And look, and see nothing
And in seeing nothing, look
Within.
And inside there was a Summer's day
Full of warmth, or a metaphor,
And like a child I asked the name
of the one within my Self.
But they said no name, nothing,
The true name doesn't sound.
And she opened her eyes near the brook
And heard the softness in the wind.
Played music in the rocks on the shore
Unsure of what it meant.
But maybe the song doesn't need a name
It just needs to make you feel, and in feeling
It grows, and before she knows, the song
Inside her sent.
Sent meaning in the woods,
Through the thick trees of her soul
It wove its way into reality
And we couldn't know much more.
Hear the light, feel the song
The notes are all but done
Sing the melody of life,
Dance to it, just for fun.
It's time for sleep. Time, oh time. Not a thief, not a clock on the wall. Time gives life, and life takes time, and together, we live and love.
Cheers dears.
How do the forces in the universe relate? Gravity? Magnetism? Static electricity?
Just because you are in pain does not mean you must suffer, nor does it mean others should suffer because you are in pain.
It's weird being human and trying to grasp meaning out of life.
What does a modern city look like compared to a medieval city? Well, for one, hotels and banks are larger than churches.
The wonderful thing and most frustrating thing about science is it proves over time that everything we think we know could be very, very wrong all along.
Stories encourage us to do things we've never done before. And to view the world in new ways. They essentially give us a way to adapt through motivation, inspiration, and our personal tool of visualization.
Reading makes all other media a little more rich. Understanding the references, like Rime of the Ancient Mariner in the "Weight of Living" song by Bastille, almost every quote by Lex Luthor in Superman vs. Batman, etc.
Survival is attraction in peacetime, aggression or cleverness in wartime?
Why do children look like their parents? Empathy. Think about it. It's about survival.
Jag vill lära mig svenska, och jag vill gå tillbaka till skolan.
What is technology doing to us?
"We listen daily to the sonic coins
provided every one of us and played
through the Finger-singer worn on the left hand.
We trade coins of diverse denominations:
and all of them play all that they contain
and though a dyma 1 scarcely weighs one grain
it plays out like a cricket on each hand
blanching here in this distraction-land."
One day I hope to hold the book "Aniara" in my hands and read it in full. But bloody hell has a poetry book never been more expensive.
I'm making a list of all the words that I thought were words while playing scrabble, but realized weren't words, so now I must make them so. Definitions pending.
Sometimes all you want to hear are peaceful and meaningful words.
Slept near a brook
I don't know how long it took
For ages, we look
And look, and see nothing
And in seeing nothing, look
Within.
And inside there was a Summer's day
Full of warmth, or a metaphor,
And like a child I asked the name
of the one within my Self.
But they said no name, nothing,
The true name doesn't sound.
And she opened her eyes near the brook
And heard the softness in the wind.
Played music in the rocks on the shore
Unsure of what it meant.
But maybe the song doesn't need a name
It just needs to make you feel, and in feeling
It grows, and before she knows, the song
Inside her sent.
Sent meaning in the woods,
Through the thick trees of her soul
It wove its way into reality
And we couldn't know much more.
Hear the light, feel the song
The notes are all but done
Sing the melody of life,
Dance to it, just for fun.
It's time for sleep. Time, oh time. Not a thief, not a clock on the wall. Time gives life, and life takes time, and together, we live and love.
Cheers dears.
Monday, November 21, 2016
Senses, metaphors, an impromptu poem, school prepared us for voting, words and meanings, AI, competition breeds mediocrity or innovation?, indie song plus music of the week, look outside your POV, and MORE!
"And how should I begin?"
How the voice can make you feel things you can't touch and how touch can make you feel things you can't fathom with your eyes. Also, how the word "soft" conveys two different experiences to the ear and to the touch.
And how I wish this were a poem, very, very,
very much.
Because you see with your sorrow
And you hear with your beliefs
And war is growing, growing the number of lonely sheaths
And this isn't the music you tasted
On the night of your birth's sunrise
More innocent, like Christmas,
More warm and carefree and wise.
America, America,
Where have gone the brave?
Devoted to live a life to give
For peace and freedom, we crave.
A special song, togetherness
We dance a beat as one
But the drummer left his mallet
With his ballot, and now this tune is done.
You don't have to break the base of a pot to render it broken. Remove the handle, and in a weakened and unexpected state, the soup may fall to the floor. The same with many things, dishware is not alone in this metaphor. But it is those who see a handleless pot and reach for ovenmits instead of their wallet to buy a new one that shall overcome in hard times.
Funny how the word "cauldron" instantly conveys images of witches in your head. And pot, at this moment in time, has at least two meanings. Three if you play poker. Four if you're also a gardener. More if you are thinking better than I am right now probably.
What is a unified theory anyway? How do you gather the totality of the universe in one metaphor?
I finally understand what school was preparing us for all these years: Voting. You do the homework assignments. Watch the debates, do your research, maybe express yourself by writing about it and showing that writing to others who critique it. You quiz yourself on what you know by occasionally talking to people in groups. You were given the study guide (sample ballot) but never looked at it...you cram the last few nights and then you finally get to the final exam (which is open-book if you take it at home) and you're like "SHIT! These other 18 candidates weren't in the reading!" >_<
And then you realize that all of the other students' tests affect your final score. And that there's not actually a right answer, but a preferred answer. And that answer depends on what information you have at the time - which is so true for many studies of information throughout our lives. This collective test says a lot about what we believe...and what we think we know at the time.
I wonder if one problem with our political system is we have a choice for essentially two groups of values that people believe so fiercely in (sometimes one value and "meh" about the others) that they vote just for their "group" because they feel so strongly about X, and take a blind eye to the lesser qualities of the candidate who represents those values. Did people really vote for Trump, or did they vote to maintain Republican values? Also, I think our TV culture plays into this a bit. Not knowing Trump personally, any of us could convince ourselves that all Trump did and said for his campaign was just an act. A show. A role with a goal.
What are humanity's interests in developing AI?
- Freedom from meaningless tasks?
- Multi-planetary exploration?
- Lengthen life/Survival? via---v
- Maximized calculation of complex problems?
Does competition increase the likelihood or prevent us from having the best products? Ex: Companies can develop a product to have one really astounding feature, but are prevented from collaborating with everyone to create a product with everyone's product's astounding features. So we get products that are "meh" in some areas and "WOW!!" in others, but the other company makes "WOW!!" in some areas and "meh" in others.
An important part about metaphors is that they highlight certain aspects and hide others. They cast light AND shadows on how we see the world.
Biodiversity. Species, genetics, ecosystem. The result of evolution, of change, but change not all at the same time or in one place.
Music of the Week:
My brother helped me write this song as a birthday gift this year. I wrote the lyrics, he did the composition and vocal magic. Something fun if you like the sound of indie jazz love songs: http://www.cdbaby.com/m/cd/thekonartists
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7p5T156l4tg
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2X5VjCqIAyk
https://youtu.be/RJCLnFOfFKQ
"Anyone can hold the helm when the sea is calm." — Publilius Syrus
"A man who wants to lead the orchestra must turn his back on the crowd." — Max Lucado (I say this quote can probably be taken the wrong way for a leader, but it's a metaphor, nonetheless - leader = conductor of orchestra).
People put up Christmas lights earlier in colder climates because if they wait until December, they will be putting Christmas lights up in the snow. And then those same people move to Florida, but they're used to the routine that they had when they lived in colder climates, so they still put up their Christmas lights in November. And Florida residents are all like "Grumble Grumble Grumble" when they see Christmas lights up in November. And the cold climate people are like "Well hey, this is what we've always done." But Floridians are like "It's not right. You can put Christmas lights up in December - it's like...80 outside." This, this is why we need to branch out of our own little circle occasionally. This is why we need to explore the world a little bit. Because from one point of view, it just doesn't make sense. But when you get outside your point of view into another's world, much more starts to make sense and you stop grumbling about things other people do that you don't understand.
It is not better to be feared than loved. I have seen the look of fear and I want no part of it. Fear is no way to rule.
Appearances are not always what they seem.
Dr. Strange. Enjoyed the storyline, but felt the second half of the script was a bit cliché.
Harry Potter books and movies have a very human-centered version of time travel. The rule is you can't be seen (by other humans). But could they possibly hide from birds and insects? No! Does it affect time? No!
Feeling crafy, but don't have the tools? Make the tools! I made my own glue this weekend. Worked great! (Use the cornstarch version, folks).
Analyzing abstract concepts, like art.
Infinity. You have not escaped my mind palace.
Sometimes, in order to create new and better ideas, you first need to rest. - something I learned from TV. (Because it is not the medium that feeds ideas, but the willing mind to look for them - or in some cases, not to look, but to let your mind come upon them when the time is right and you are open to receiving them). So, er, thank you Ron Swanson, and the script writer who crafted your persona to care about others, sometimes anyway.
Hope you found the stream thoughtful. Have a good Thanksgiving!
How the voice can make you feel things you can't touch and how touch can make you feel things you can't fathom with your eyes. Also, how the word "soft" conveys two different experiences to the ear and to the touch.
And how I wish this were a poem, very, very,
very much.
Because you see with your sorrow
And you hear with your beliefs
And war is growing, growing the number of lonely sheaths
And this isn't the music you tasted
On the night of your birth's sunrise
More innocent, like Christmas,
More warm and carefree and wise.
America, America,
Where have gone the brave?
Devoted to live a life to give
For peace and freedom, we crave.
A special song, togetherness
We dance a beat as one
But the drummer left his mallet
With his ballot, and now this tune is done.
You don't have to break the base of a pot to render it broken. Remove the handle, and in a weakened and unexpected state, the soup may fall to the floor. The same with many things, dishware is not alone in this metaphor. But it is those who see a handleless pot and reach for ovenmits instead of their wallet to buy a new one that shall overcome in hard times.
Funny how the word "cauldron" instantly conveys images of witches in your head. And pot, at this moment in time, has at least two meanings. Three if you play poker. Four if you're also a gardener. More if you are thinking better than I am right now probably.
What is a unified theory anyway? How do you gather the totality of the universe in one metaphor?
I finally understand what school was preparing us for all these years: Voting. You do the homework assignments. Watch the debates, do your research, maybe express yourself by writing about it and showing that writing to others who critique it. You quiz yourself on what you know by occasionally talking to people in groups. You were given the study guide (sample ballot) but never looked at it...you cram the last few nights and then you finally get to the final exam (which is open-book if you take it at home) and you're like "SHIT! These other 18 candidates weren't in the reading!" >_<
And then you realize that all of the other students' tests affect your final score. And that there's not actually a right answer, but a preferred answer. And that answer depends on what information you have at the time - which is so true for many studies of information throughout our lives. This collective test says a lot about what we believe...and what we think we know at the time.
I wonder if one problem with our political system is we have a choice for essentially two groups of values that people believe so fiercely in (sometimes one value and "meh" about the others) that they vote just for their "group" because they feel so strongly about X, and take a blind eye to the lesser qualities of the candidate who represents those values. Did people really vote for Trump, or did they vote to maintain Republican values? Also, I think our TV culture plays into this a bit. Not knowing Trump personally, any of us could convince ourselves that all Trump did and said for his campaign was just an act. A show. A role with a goal.
What are humanity's interests in developing AI?
- Freedom from meaningless tasks?
- Multi-planetary exploration?
- Lengthen life/Survival? via---v
- Maximized calculation of complex problems?
Does competition increase the likelihood or prevent us from having the best products? Ex: Companies can develop a product to have one really astounding feature, but are prevented from collaborating with everyone to create a product with everyone's product's astounding features. So we get products that are "meh" in some areas and "WOW!!" in others, but the other company makes "WOW!!" in some areas and "meh" in others.
An important part about metaphors is that they highlight certain aspects and hide others. They cast light AND shadows on how we see the world.
Biodiversity. Species, genetics, ecosystem. The result of evolution, of change, but change not all at the same time or in one place.
Struggling with two thought processes, the first - Sometimes friendship is acknowledging how busy your friend is and accepting that sometimes you are a lesser priority. Friendship is saying, “I’ll be here, whenever you are ready to talk.”
The second – When is it time to let a friend go? If they no longer make time to talk to you, is it worth hanging on to the friendship? Or, is has the Internet completely affected the way we expect friends to react and communicate, and we need to realize it is foolish to expect everyone to be able to respond in a day, a week, etc?
I feel it’s important not to be too quick to jump to the end of a chapter. Not every friendship needs to be finite in its definition (friends/not friends). People come and people go. Let them. But keep your light on. Friendship, even at a distance, has never been more important.
Music of the Week:
My brother helped me write this song as a birthday gift this year. I wrote the lyrics, he did the composition and vocal magic. Something fun if you like the sound of indie jazz love songs: http://www.cdbaby.com/m/cd/thekonartists
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7p5T156l4tg
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2X5VjCqIAyk
https://youtu.be/RJCLnFOfFKQ
"Anyone can hold the helm when the sea is calm." — Publilius Syrus
"A man who wants to lead the orchestra must turn his back on the crowd." — Max Lucado (I say this quote can probably be taken the wrong way for a leader, but it's a metaphor, nonetheless - leader = conductor of orchestra).
People put up Christmas lights earlier in colder climates because if they wait until December, they will be putting Christmas lights up in the snow. And then those same people move to Florida, but they're used to the routine that they had when they lived in colder climates, so they still put up their Christmas lights in November. And Florida residents are all like "Grumble Grumble Grumble" when they see Christmas lights up in November. And the cold climate people are like "Well hey, this is what we've always done." But Floridians are like "It's not right. You can put Christmas lights up in December - it's like...80 outside." This, this is why we need to branch out of our own little circle occasionally. This is why we need to explore the world a little bit. Because from one point of view, it just doesn't make sense. But when you get outside your point of view into another's world, much more starts to make sense and you stop grumbling about things other people do that you don't understand.
It is not better to be feared than loved. I have seen the look of fear and I want no part of it. Fear is no way to rule.
Appearances are not always what they seem.
Dr. Strange. Enjoyed the storyline, but felt the second half of the script was a bit cliché.
Harry Potter books and movies have a very human-centered version of time travel. The rule is you can't be seen (by other humans). But could they possibly hide from birds and insects? No! Does it affect time? No!
Feeling crafy, but don't have the tools? Make the tools! I made my own glue this weekend. Worked great! (Use the cornstarch version, folks).
Analyzing abstract concepts, like art.
Infinity. You have not escaped my mind palace.
Sometimes, in order to create new and better ideas, you first need to rest. - something I learned from TV. (Because it is not the medium that feeds ideas, but the willing mind to look for them - or in some cases, not to look, but to let your mind come upon them when the time is right and you are open to receiving them). So, er, thank you Ron Swanson, and the script writer who crafted your persona to care about others, sometimes anyway.
Hope you found the stream thoughtful. Have a good Thanksgiving!
Wednesday, October 5, 2016
Stories as metaphors, word order matters, radio realization, feels like weather, MUSK, initial reactions are emotional, Stranger Things ending I hate you, nuances and MORE!
What if all stories are just metaphors helping us figure out how to see life in different ways? But why? Because if we see things differently, we do things differently. And we need to do things differently in order to adapt. Therefore stories, in a way, could have been developed to help humans adapt and survive. Stories are part of our evolution.
Why does life evolve?
Strawberry-banana vs banana-strawberry. Harry and Sons vs. Sons and Harry. John Smith vs. Smith John. We made it so that word order matters, especially with names. How far back does that go? Why did we start that order? Why are there arbitrary correct orders, like strawberry-banana?
I Am What I Am: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9q2h6oGD6UA
When you realize radio stations are partially marketing platforms for popular bands who will be in concert near you soon-ish.
The power of names. What would it be like to be named...____? Someone else? How does a name affect how you see yourself and how others see you?
How do meteorologists determine what the weather "feels like" in different places? Or better yet, how do they compare across states? Since 40 degrees in Colorado is not nearly as cold as 40 in Florida.
When I want to type something faster that I've never spelled before, I visualize that I've already been spelling it all my life. Tah dah!
Musk Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tnBQmEqBCY0
Democratization of AI.
Technology declines if people don't work on it.
Don't stop at your first reaction to something. Whether it's a presidential debate, or a lecture on how computers work, or a paragraph in a novel you tried to read. Watch it again, listen to it again, read it again, and get beyond the first reaction. Because oftentimes, the first reaction is emotional, and there's more to understand than that.
"New metaphors have the power to create a new reality. This can begin to happen when we start to comprehend our experience in terms of a metaphor, and it becomes a deeper reality when we begin to act in terms of it. If a new metaphor enters the conceptual system that we base our actions on, it will alter that conceptual system and the perceptions and actions that the system gives rise to. Much of cultural change arises from the introduction of new metaphorical concepts and the loss of old ones." - from Metaphors We Live By
Stranger Things ending, I hate you. *SPOILER ALERT* I hate you because you remind me that not all people get a happy ending. Because some people never get to see their friend, or their daughter, or their girlfriend ever again after a tragic event. Because you reminded me that sometimes the best we can hope for is to try to regain some form of normalcy. Because you left things unanswered and unresolved and I want my little package. Because I wanted Ele and Mike to go to the Snow Ball, dammit. Because the bad guys said the atmosphere was toxic and it wasn't...not really. Because Ele never got to taste real food, and you reminded me that, to some people, Eggos are the best meal they've ever had. Because no one should throw up slugs other than Malfoy. Because how did they get out of the upside down? Because it was Christmas, and everyone had lights, and it was the one time in the show where their presence was ignored. Because things went back to normal, but they didn't. But I loved you because you showed how memories affect the present. How people are resilient. And because you showed us how the world really works sometimes, with a comparison in the unreal.
42. Everyone may have a different question, but the answer could be the same.
Solutions are not pieces of a puzzle, otherwise there would only be one specific solution. Bad metaphors.
I have this thing about drinking coffee out of dark mugs and tea only out of light mugs.
Don't forget to take a minute to observe the trees, to take a breath, to feel your body move. Slow down, even for a moment, to pay attention to the things we often miss and take for granted.
Could you be "driven" before there were automobiles?
I need more poetry in my life.
And I love seeing fall leaves for the first time!!
Why does life evolve?
Strawberry-banana vs banana-strawberry. Harry and Sons vs. Sons and Harry. John Smith vs. Smith John. We made it so that word order matters, especially with names. How far back does that go? Why did we start that order? Why are there arbitrary correct orders, like strawberry-banana?
I Am What I Am: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9q2h6oGD6UA
When you realize radio stations are partially marketing platforms for popular bands who will be in concert near you soon-ish.
The power of names. What would it be like to be named...____? Someone else? How does a name affect how you see yourself and how others see you?
How do meteorologists determine what the weather "feels like" in different places? Or better yet, how do they compare across states? Since 40 degrees in Colorado is not nearly as cold as 40 in Florida.
When I want to type something faster that I've never spelled before, I visualize that I've already been spelling it all my life. Tah dah!
Musk Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tnBQmEqBCY0
Democratization of AI.
Technology declines if people don't work on it.
Don't stop at your first reaction to something. Whether it's a presidential debate, or a lecture on how computers work, or a paragraph in a novel you tried to read. Watch it again, listen to it again, read it again, and get beyond the first reaction. Because oftentimes, the first reaction is emotional, and there's more to understand than that.
"New metaphors have the power to create a new reality. This can begin to happen when we start to comprehend our experience in terms of a metaphor, and it becomes a deeper reality when we begin to act in terms of it. If a new metaphor enters the conceptual system that we base our actions on, it will alter that conceptual system and the perceptions and actions that the system gives rise to. Much of cultural change arises from the introduction of new metaphorical concepts and the loss of old ones." - from Metaphors We Live By
Stranger Things ending, I hate you. *SPOILER ALERT* I hate you because you remind me that not all people get a happy ending. Because some people never get to see their friend, or their daughter, or their girlfriend ever again after a tragic event. Because you reminded me that sometimes the best we can hope for is to try to regain some form of normalcy. Because you left things unanswered and unresolved and I want my little package. Because I wanted Ele and Mike to go to the Snow Ball, dammit. Because the bad guys said the atmosphere was toxic and it wasn't...not really. Because Ele never got to taste real food, and you reminded me that, to some people, Eggos are the best meal they've ever had. Because no one should throw up slugs other than Malfoy. Because how did they get out of the upside down? Because it was Christmas, and everyone had lights, and it was the one time in the show where their presence was ignored. Because things went back to normal, but they didn't. But I loved you because you showed how memories affect the present. How people are resilient. And because you showed us how the world really works sometimes, with a comparison in the unreal.
42. Everyone may have a different question, but the answer could be the same.
Solutions are not pieces of a puzzle, otherwise there would only be one specific solution. Bad metaphors.
I have this thing about drinking coffee out of dark mugs and tea only out of light mugs.
Don't forget to take a minute to observe the trees, to take a breath, to feel your body move. Slow down, even for a moment, to pay attention to the things we often miss and take for granted.
Could you be "driven" before there were automobiles?
I need more poetry in my life.
And I love seeing fall leaves for the first time!!
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