Felicita

A poem:

"Thanks to thee, Holy One,

Dwelling above-

Patron of maidens,

And mother of love!

Thanks! for the new life

which flows in my veins;

Thanks! for the past strife

Of sorrows and pains.

Thanks! for all suffering,

That in its stern rigor

Hath given my spirit

New beauty and vigor:

Thanks! for the sunshine

Which dawns on my soul-

Making the clouds of grief

Backwards to roll.

Thanks! for this feeling,

Whatever it be,

Thro' all my sense stealing

Like sweet melody;

Thanks! 'tis no evil

Which hideth away,

When at thine altar

My soul kneels to pray:

Thanks! that it leads me,

With heart warm and free,

Into thy presence,

As if 'twere from thee:

Thanks! for this feeling then,

Like thy love pure-

Help me, chaste mother,

That thus it endure:

Goodness its fountain-

Oh! let it still rise

Up, where the source is

Which goodness supplies.

Thanks then, thanks ever,

Blest Mother above-

Patron of loving hearts,

Thanks for this love!"

Kinney, E. C. (1855). Felicita. New York: James S. Dickerson.

The excerpt I chose was from pp. 117-118

My Favorite Quote

"Your life and my life flow into each other as wave flows into wave, and unless there is peace and joy and freedom for you, there can be no real peace or joy or freedom for me. To see reality--not as we expect it to be but as it is--is to see that unless we live for each other and in and through each other, we do not really live very satisfactorily; that there can really be life only where there really is, in just this sense, love." -- (Carl) Frederick Buechner

I don't know much

Like the title says, I don't proclaim to know a whole lot. I'm not even sure if that comma was properly used. But I do know that we have to be careful with the people we allow into our lives. I just spent the night out with three of my best friends and I watched as they (in various stages) interacted with people that are having a deleterious impact on their lives. These aren't family members, or even long term acquaintances, just people they've known for a few months. They condescend themselves to these people not worthy their attention let alone the power they bestow on them ....it's a shame really. These three are beautiful inside and out.

This whole deal makes me feel even more that we need to exert tremendous amounts of energy to increase the time we spend in front of persons of value and limit, or eliminate the time spent in front of meaningless persons. Harsh perhaps, real all the same. Anywho, that's my two cents for two in the morning.

Peace.

From Cairo with Love

Egyptian ..I guess revolutionary for lack of a better word.. Maor Eletrebi emailed Tom Morello (guitarist of Rage Against the Machine) to offer his support for Morello's plan to travel to Wisconsin and perform for the protestors. The Huffington Post shared the story:

"I wish you could see firsthand the change we have made here,' read Eletrebi's e-mail, which Morello read to the Huffington Post. 'Justice is beautiful, but justice is never free. The beauty of Tahrir Square you can have everywhere, on any corner, in any city, or in your heart. So hold on tightly and don't let go. ...Breathe deep, Wisconsin, because justice is in the air. And may the spirit of Tahrir Square be in every beating heart in Madison today."

Beautiful.

RIT: I Love it, but it's a Funny Place

If RIT taught Driver's Ed., it might go something like this:

We'd start with why man feels the need to move at all. We'd discuss how within the cerebral cortex lies a region that inspires us to move forward - constantly searching for the next meal, the next warm cave. We'd examine the first crude tools that carved out the first wheel to see how and where the inspiration came from. We'd look at horses, trains, boats, and planes to see how all of that assisted in creating and perfecting today's automobile. Finally, we would spend years taking apart the engine piece-by-piece so that each part could be named, inspected, and dissected. We'd be tested on all the minutia related to the inner working of each part and perhaps on the last day of class actually sit in the driver's seat of a car without keys.

Contrast that against what an auto mechanic might tell you, "Turn the key, push that pedal to go fast, that one to slow down, and don't hit anything."

Honestly, which would you prefer?

Procrastination is the Mother of My Invention

I've got two questions to answer. Well, one actually. I have to choose between two that I've narrowed from a list of fifteen:

1. What is meant by the "consciousness industry"? Is this something new in human history? What are the components of this industry? What influences determine its trends and its assumed impact on public consciousness?

or

2. Scholars have long warned that any communications monopoly or oligopoly, whether public or private, endangers democracy. Some feel that today's multiplicity of media makes such concerns obsolete. On the other hand, some feel that the danger of private monopoly control is increased by the trend toward unified ownership of media, while still others see the danger of government monopoly control increased by licensing requirements governing almost all the new media. Does communications monopoly seem likely to remain an issue of concern? If so, why?

Both are great questions. Each offers the ability to postulate for the required four pages. But, if I'm honest, I'm much more interested in writing (learning) about telluric energy fields and how we can use these to create clean and sustainable energy for the whole planet. It seems that the ancient Egyptians were doing this roughly 12,500 years ago with their Pyramids. It's fascinating really. With the Pyramids, they created a perfect oscillating device that created all sorts of usable energy ..perhaps even electricity as we think of it today! Tesla was on much the same course with his own work but, alas, the capitalists won out and Edison's pay for use energy model was adopted.

I'd also rather spend my time reading about the continued demonstrations around the world. What is more fascinating than watching revolutions in real time? I would accept "the World Cup Final" final as a suitable answer to the previous query. At any rate, there are far more interesting things to talk/think/write about and yet, here I am, trapped behind this screen staring blankly at it's blinking lights, bound to deliver this assignment by the due date. Such is life.

If I'm clever, I'll be able to tie in telluric energy with the first question. That would be quite the feat. Just one more week of classes until the quarter ends! Then three more and *poof* a Masters. Sweet.