Somehow this poem, The Second Coming by WB Yeats, seems especially prescient. The first stanza seems especially poignant and appropriate to me. Turning and turning in the widening gyreThe falcon cannot hear the falconer;Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold;Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world,The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhereThe ceremony of innocence is drowned;The best lack all conviction, while the worstAre full of passionate intensity.Surely some revelation is at hand;Surely the Second Coming is at hand.The Second Coming! Hardly are those words outWhen a vast image out … [Read more...]
A Yeats Favorite
October 24, 2008 by Leave a Comment
Wine comes in at the mouthAnd love comes in at the eye;That's all we shall know for truthBefore we grow old and die.I lift the glass to my mouth,I look at you, and I sigh. … [Read more...]
Happy Halloween!
October 22, 2008 by Leave a Comment
Try JibJab Sendables® eCards today! … [Read more...]
If I Were President, Episode #4 – Alternative Energy
September 29, 2008 by Leave a Comment
I have issues with our current alternative energy plans. It mostly focuses on a lot of corn ethanol and a little wind power here and there. For example, they subsizes inefficient ethanol technology. Corn ethanol consumes more energy to produce than it creates. It pollutes because it requires significant fertilizer and pesticide. And it help our dependence on foreign oil because it's completely targeted at consumer gasoline, which would require 100 times more ethanol to achieve any degree of independence. First proposal - Sugar cane based ethanol, perfected in Brazil, is much more … [Read more...]
More on the global water crisis
September 29, 2008 by Leave a Comment
If you think the oil crisis is bad, wait til you see the impending global water crisis. Civilizations have collapsed simply due to problems with adequate water supplies (e.g. the Numidians of Petra, the Anisazi of the American southwest, the medieval kingdom of Timbuktu, et al).Check out http://www.wired.com/politics/law/magazine/16-10/sl_gleick for a nice discussion from a true expert on the subject. … [Read more...]
Wedding Bells Are Ringing
August 22, 2008 by Leave a Comment
More pictures to follow! … [Read more...]
Back to School
August 21, 2008 by Leave a Comment
Sanity has returned to Casa De Kline now that all the kids are headed back into the classroom. Of course, they ain't too excited about it. But it gives me and Rachel time to be productive around the house and an opportunity for moments of quiet. It was a rather emotional morning in some ways, since it was Ava's first day of kindergarten. I wasn't sure who would break down first, mom or daughter. In the end, they both hung in there pretty well.The older girls seemed to be in good spirits, both excited to see how the new school year was going to start and unhappy to give up … [Read more...]
Do Too Many Bumper Stickers Make You Mad?
August 20, 2008 by Leave a Comment
Have you ever seen a car who's tail end was covered in 50 different bumper stickers? That's just totally excessive. And on top of that, what person following the car in question could read all or even a portion of that? Of course, anyone with 50 bumper stickers on their car IS sending a message: 1) that they think they're cooler than you, and 2) that they have ADHD and can't concentrate on anything. One bumper sticker is about all I can tolerate on a regular, non-insane person's car. Two, one on each side of the license plate, is unpalatable but ok too. More than that, and you're just asking … [Read more...]
Cool Websites and Articles
August 11, 2008 by Leave a Comment
Here's a collection of tons of websites and webpages that I've been reading over the past couple days.1. JournalNow.com has an interesting article about why parents and kids pick very different types of mates. Kids tend to pick smart, funny, and attractive mates. Parents tend to pick socially and economically superior mates for their kids. (Read it at http://www2.journalnow.com/content/2008/may/15/checking-mates/?living.) It also brings up the very interesting point about how marriage used to have no relationship with the concept of love. That'd put an interesting spin on the whole gay … [Read more...]
This Art is Amazing!
August 5, 2008 by Leave a Comment
You simply must check out the art of Felice Varini. He takes a large space and paints an image within the space that is only properly viewed from a single angle. If you look at it from any other angle, it distorts to the point of being unintelligeable.The following image is a good example. When standing in the proper location, you'll see two circles. When standing in any other position, you'll see something very different. The webpage http://bored-night.com/index.php/Amazing/Big-Anamorphic-Illusion-Unbelievable.html has lots of examples of his amazing art. And a quickie Google search reveals … [Read more...]
