30 April, 2008

Happy Onomastico to me!

Today (or yesterday, depending on which calendar you use) is St. Catherine of Siena's day.

She's not the Katherine who I was named after (that would be St. Katherine of Alexandria, whether or not she really existed); but I like her because she's from Siena and was an inspired--and prolific--writer.

From her letter to Gregory IX:

"I tell you, sweet Christ on earth, on behalf of Christ in Heaven, that if you do this, without strife or tempest, they will all come grieving for the wrong they have done, and lay their heads on your bosom. Then you will rejoice, and we shall rejoice, because by love you have restored the sheep to the fold of Holy Church. And then, sweet my father, you will fulfill your holy desire and the will of God by starting the holy Crusade, which I summon you in his name to do swiftly and without negligence. They will turn to it with great eagerness; they are ready to give their lives for Christ. Ah me, God, sweet Love! Raise swiftly, father, the banner of the most holy Cross and you will see the wolves become lambs. Peace, peace, peace, that war may not delay that happy time!"

The other St. Katherine's day is on Nov. ౨౫థ్.

29 April, 2008

Thank you Anu!

I really liked yesterday's AWAD:

"So many mythological animals live on in literature, in our minds, and inour imagination, that they would fill a virtual zoo.

Because these creatures are myths, they're not bound by biological rules.Sometimes they're part human, part animal. They could have a human head and an animal body, or vice versa.
These permutations and combinations of body parts make it look as thoughthe gods were playing a mix-n-match game of combining parts to make composites. At times, one of these mythical animals had more than a single head.

Enjoy looking at the menagerie this week and feel free to use their attributes metaphorically in situations in your life.

chimera (ki-MEER-uh, ky-) noun

1. A fanciful fabrication; illusion.
2. An organism having genetically different tissues.

[After Chimera, a fire-breathing female monster in Greek mythology who hada lion's head, a goat's body, and a serpent's tail. From Greek khimaira(she-goat), ultimately from the Indo-European root ghei- (winter) that isthe ancestor of words such as chimera (literally a female animal that is onewinter, or one year old), hibernate, and the Himalayas, from Sanskrit him(snow) + alaya (abode).]"

Today's word in Visual Thesaurus: http://visualthesaurus.com/?w1=chimera
-Anu Garg (words at wordsmith.org)

"The government subsidies [for bio-fuel] may quickly dry up once policymakers face up to the reality of their euphoric chimera, and food shortages threaten political stability and national security." Abdullah A. Dewan; Fuel Versus Food; The Daily Star (Dhaka, Bangladesh); Apr 24, 2008.

21 April, 2008

hhmmmmm.... interesting problematix

Sorry about the terrible pun...

Stock/stochastic .... argh, that was awful!!! what was i thinking???

reason vs. unreason

Great discussion.

Emotion, ambition, system, disruptive, innovator, resourceful, practical, impatience, confusion, paradigm....

SHARE.

TRANSFORMATIVE.

Encephalopods.

KOYAANISQATSI.

Interesting words.

Balance must be reobtained... or obtained; maybe we've never had it in the first place. But it is what want. Now.


Know ourselves; and may we live in interesting times.


And always remember who you are.

20 April, 2008

Archive?

Thought it already was. Archived, that is.

Okay, so now we don't have to trash anything, but now we have to go through and select what we do or don't "archive"?

Or else????

And how do we know that where we archive it is safe?

Are we becoming too reliant on certain technologies? Should we trust the machines? Or ourselves?

Okay, sorry, getting way too Matrix for my own good.

16 April, 2008

Kaching! term coinage

"Forceful woman syndrome"

Not the same as being a bitch (hopefully).

Guess it means standing your ground when you think you're right, which can be an unattractive quality in women for guys who are used to pushing their shorties around.

Standing your ground, and making sure you got backup that is.

Big ups, D.

14 April, 2008

Oi, big ups for the Black Swans

Right on, Nassim!!!

Meanwhile..... Rothkopf's got it right.

Time for the (r)evolution?

There has to be a way that we can harness the power of markets, recognize the limitations of government, and still address the growing, glaring, unjust, and corrupting inequities in our world,'' he writes.

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601088&sid=a_eFNwcVrsA8&refer=home

Waddaya say?

03 April, 2008

Grandi, gli Abruzzesi!!!

ROME, April 3 (UPI) --

An Italian winemaker and philosopher has created three
wines he claims can help a person identify his or her true sexuality or
ambiguity.

This week, Franco D'Eusanio, who operates an organic vineyard in the Abruzzo
region, introduced the "masculine" red wine 'Is,' the feminine white wine 'Ea'
and the rose 'Id', for those with uncertain or ambiguous inclinations. Each
comes with a psychological test and a questionnaire on sexual behavior, the
ANSA news agency reported.

He claims the wine and material will help consumers "look within themselves and
discover their true sexual identity," the report said.

D'Eusanio said he's convinced that everyone is not purely male or female.

"Taking this into account, we have sought to link the right taste to the right
personality, starting with the choice of grapes used in the wine," he said.
His works are on display at Italy's most important wine trade fair, Vinitaly,
which opened in Verona Wednesday and runs through Monday, the report said.

You can get in contact with the winemaker himself here:

http://www.chiusagrande.com/


02 April, 2008

For D....

and V. and F.... and...

For my Englishmen and Englishwomen.

http://www.galeriemax.com/popup.cfm?ImageID=1153

Look closely!!! You'll find yourself in there somewhere.

Grayson Perry is absolutely brilliant.

Kin hardly wait for the new Indiana Jones movie....and remembering the old....

Henry: Come on, Junior.

Indiana: Dad, will you stop calling me Junior?

Sallah: I don't understand. What is this Junior?

Henry: That's his name: Junior! Henry Jones, Junior.

Sallah: I thought his name was Indiana.

Henry: The dog's name was Indiana.

Marcus: Can we go home please?

Sallah: Haha, you were named after the DOG!

Indiana: I have a lot of fond memories of that dog...