NOW I Understand!
I got this from a former colleaguewhere I used to work.
For those of us having a hard time understanding this Enron thing .. .. ..
Feudalism: You have two cows. Your lord takes some of the milk.
Fascism: You have two cows. The government takes both, hires you to take care of them and sells you the milk.
Communism: You have two cows. You must take care of them, but the government takes all the milk.
Capitalism: You have two cows. You sell one and buy a bull. Your herd multiplies, and the economy grows. You sell them and retire on the income.
Enron: You have two cows. You borrow 80% of the forward value of the two cows from your bank, then buy another cow with 5% down and the rest financed by the seller on a note callable if your market cap goes below $20B at a rate 2 times prime. You now sell three cows to your publicly listed company, using letters of credit opened by your brother-in-law at a 2nd bank, then execute a debt/equity swap with an associated general offer so that you get four cows back, with a tax exemption for five cows. The milk rights of six cows are transferred via an intermediary to a Cayman Island company secretly owned by the majority shareholder who sells the rights to seven cows back to your listed company. The annual report says the company owns eight cows, with an option on one more and this transaction process is upheld by your independent auditor and no Balance Sheet provided with the press release that announces that Enron as a major owner of cows will begin trading cows via the Internet site COW (cows on web).
Heh.
Friday, February 01, 2002
He Has My Vote
SiliconValley.com reports on Colin Powell at the World Economic Summit:
U.S. Secretary of State Powell seemed most animated when he talked about the causes, namely finding a way to cure the conditions of hopelessness and rage that fuel people who have nothing left to lose. Powell, once considered an afterthought in the Bush administration, may still be on the margins there. But to people outside he has become a major political leader. I would vote for him for president.
SiliconValley.com reports on Colin Powell at the World Economic Summit:
U.S. Secretary of State Powell seemed most animated when he talked about the causes, namely finding a way to cure the conditions of hopelessness and rage that fuel people who have nothing left to lose. Powell, once considered an afterthought in the Bush administration, may still be on the margins there. But to people outside he has become a major political leader. I would vote for him for president.
So NOW Will I Have More Fun?
Today I am a blonde, sort of.
I went to the hairdresser's yesterday to get a trim and get my hair lightened because the stuff I put on made it much to dark and much too red. So, the result, which is not what I expected, is that I now am a blonde with red highlights. I could tone it down, and maybe I will. But, for now, I think I'll give myself the experience of being a blonde. I might even like it.
Like Gloria Steinham, I lost track of my real hair color years ago. I'm sure by now there's lots of gray, and I'm just not ready to look like a grandmother, yet, although I will become one for the first time this July.
Today I am a blonde, sort of.
I went to the hairdresser's yesterday to get a trim and get my hair lightened because the stuff I put on made it much to dark and much too red. So, the result, which is not what I expected, is that I now am a blonde with red highlights. I could tone it down, and maybe I will. But, for now, I think I'll give myself the experience of being a blonde. I might even like it.
Like Gloria Steinham, I lost track of my real hair color years ago. I'm sure by now there's lots of gray, and I'm just not ready to look like a grandmother, yet, although I will become one for the first time this July.
Wednesday, January 30, 2002
Sounds Like a Good Idea to Me
From Working Assets:
As governor of Enron’s home state, Texas, and then later as a candidate for the White House, President Bush was at the front of the line, both in terms of receiving political donations and dispensing political favors. Indeed, Enron and a number of its executives contributed more money to Bush over his political career than anybody else — over $550,000! Less than a year later, Enron’s bankruptcy and the final disintegration of its stock price wiped out the company retirement savings of hundreds, if not thousands, of Enron employees. Tell President Bush to donate his $550,000 to funds, such as the Enron Employee Transition Fund and REACH, that benefit the company’s former employees and provide relief to low-income consumers in California who can’t afford to pay for their basic energy needs.
From Working Assets:
As governor of Enron’s home state, Texas, and then later as a candidate for the White House, President Bush was at the front of the line, both in terms of receiving political donations and dispensing political favors. Indeed, Enron and a number of its executives contributed more money to Bush over his political career than anybody else — over $550,000! Less than a year later, Enron’s bankruptcy and the final disintegration of its stock price wiped out the company retirement savings of hundreds, if not thousands, of Enron employees. Tell President Bush to donate his $550,000 to funds, such as the Enron Employee Transition Fund and REACH, that benefit the company’s former employees and provide relief to low-income consumers in California who can’t afford to pay for their basic energy needs.
Frightening Symbolism
This from bix:
In an act of symbolism that makes me positively woozy with cynical delight, Papa Ashcroft has ordered that the semi-naked statues of the Spirit of Justice and the Majesty of Law be covered with drapes.
If he doesn't want to be photographed in front of a statue of a semi-naked female form, why doesn't Ashcroft just stand somewhere else and make his speeches from somewhere else in that room?
The powerful symbolism of covering up/hiding/ignoring the Spirit of Justice and the Majesty of Law at this dark enough point in our government's history is truly frightening. The subconscious (or maybe not-so-subconscious) motives of our power-brokers are seeping through their tight disguises and warning us what they are really trying to do. The shroud of censorship is steadily being wrapped around the not-yet-cold body of American democracy.
(And yes. I'm managing to figure out how to type with nine fingers. You can't keep a dedicated blogger down!)
This from bix:
In an act of symbolism that makes me positively woozy with cynical delight, Papa Ashcroft has ordered that the semi-naked statues of the Spirit of Justice and the Majesty of Law be covered with drapes.
If he doesn't want to be photographed in front of a statue of a semi-naked female form, why doesn't Ashcroft just stand somewhere else and make his speeches from somewhere else in that room?
The powerful symbolism of covering up/hiding/ignoring the Spirit of Justice and the Majesty of Law at this dark enough point in our government's history is truly frightening. The subconscious (or maybe not-so-subconscious) motives of our power-brokers are seeping through their tight disguises and warning us what they are really trying to do. The shroud of censorship is steadily being wrapped around the not-yet-cold body of American democracy.
(And yes. I'm managing to figure out how to type with nine fingers. You can't keep a dedicated blogger down!)
Tuesday, January 29, 2002
the look of one hand typing
well. the surgery on my right hand went fine, but i can't use it to type. i feel like archy.
using my mouse left-handed is also weird.
i'm freaked over my son's last bunch of blog posts about the gun shots. he's got to get out of there.
well. the surgery on my right hand went fine, but i can't use it to type. i feel like archy.
using my mouse left-handed is also weird.
i'm freaked over my son's last bunch of blog posts about the gun shots. he's got to get out of there.
Sunday, January 27, 2002
Politicians as Scoundrels
An interesting site about politicians who have been in trouble or disgraced. It lists more than 300 politicians starting from the 1700s. Of course, these 300+ are only the ones who were caught. Makes me wonder if, to be a successful politician, one also has to have a bit of the scoundrel in one's personality. Having worked as a writer at the New York State Legislature for a couple of years in my youth, I would say that, from I have seen, that is usually the case.
An interesting site about politicians who have been in trouble or disgraced. It lists more than 300 politicians starting from the 1700s. Of course, these 300+ are only the ones who were caught. Makes me wonder if, to be a successful politician, one also has to have a bit of the scoundrel in one's personality. Having worked as a writer at the New York State Legislature for a couple of years in my youth, I would say that, from I have seen, that is usually the case.
Getting The Finger Fixed
Tomorrow I'm going to have some out-patient surgery on the middle finger of my right hand. I'm having a bone-spur and associated cyst removed. The doctor says I have to keep the finger raised for a while after, and I'm imagining driving home giving everyone the finger. I also imagine that it will be one-finger typing for a few days. That means short posts.
Tomorrow I'm going to have some out-patient surgery on the middle finger of my right hand. I'm having a bone-spur and associated cyst removed. The doctor says I have to keep the finger raised for a while after, and I'm imagining driving home giving everyone the finger. I also imagine that it will be one-finger typing for a few days. That means short posts.
How Terrorists Are Made
Interesting column by Thomas Friedman in today's newspaper says:
Look at the biographies of many of the key hijackers or al-Qaida agents: Mohamed Atta, Ziad al-Jarrah, Marwan al-Shehhi, etc. It's the same story: He grew up in a middle-class family in the Arab world, was educated, went to Europe for more studies, lived on the fringes of a European society (many in Belgium), gravitated to a local prayer group or mosque, became radicalized there by Islamist elements, went off for training in Afghanistan and presto -- a terrorist was born. The personal encounter between these young men and Europe is the key to this story
The story seems to reinforce the importance of bringing up children to be curious about the big world around them, to help them learn how to seek out and analyze information, to appreciate diversity and the Golden Rule, and to truly seek to know their own minds and hearts. Bringing kids up in a narrow, restrictive, "protected" environment only makes them less able to deal with all of those things they never learned about when they find themselves lost among all of those "infidels" and "heathens" and "non-believers."
Interesting column by Thomas Friedman in today's newspaper says:
Look at the biographies of many of the key hijackers or al-Qaida agents: Mohamed Atta, Ziad al-Jarrah, Marwan al-Shehhi, etc. It's the same story: He grew up in a middle-class family in the Arab world, was educated, went to Europe for more studies, lived on the fringes of a European society (many in Belgium), gravitated to a local prayer group or mosque, became radicalized there by Islamist elements, went off for training in Afghanistan and presto -- a terrorist was born. The personal encounter between these young men and Europe is the key to this story
The story seems to reinforce the importance of bringing up children to be curious about the big world around them, to help them learn how to seek out and analyze information, to appreciate diversity and the Golden Rule, and to truly seek to know their own minds and hearts. Bringing kids up in a narrow, restrictive, "protected" environment only makes them less able to deal with all of those things they never learned about when they find themselves lost among all of those "infidels" and "heathens" and "non-believers."
Saturday, January 26, 2002
Another Draft?
This is from the Center on Conscience and War --
New legislation, HR 3598, has been introduced by Rep. Smith (MI) and Rep. Weldon (PA) that would require all male citizens and residents to be conscripted into the military for a period of 6 - 12 months between their 18th and 22nd birthdays. There would be few deferments and exemptions. Conscientious Objectors would be required to go through basic training in the military, although they would be exempted from weapons training. After military training they could be reassigned to perform civilian service. See the Center's site for more details.
The Center on Conscience and War sees the bill as very extreme and asks those of conscience to write to their legislators opposing the bill.
This is from the Center on Conscience and War --
New legislation, HR 3598, has been introduced by Rep. Smith (MI) and Rep. Weldon (PA) that would require all male citizens and residents to be conscripted into the military for a period of 6 - 12 months between their 18th and 22nd birthdays. There would be few deferments and exemptions. Conscientious Objectors would be required to go through basic training in the military, although they would be exempted from weapons training. After military training they could be reassigned to perform civilian service. See the Center's site for more details.
The Center on Conscience and War sees the bill as very extreme and asks those of conscience to write to their legislators opposing the bill.
Town Web Site Censored and Closed Down
These are the first two sentences in an article in todays Albany Times Union newspaper:
A community Web site formed to advertise this town, famed for battles in the American Revolution, has evolved into a heated debate over free speech. The site, http://www.stillwaterny.org, was temporarily taken down Friday by Supervisor Paul "Butch'' Lilac, who objected to a public message board forum started up by the webmasters he appointed last year. The forum invited users to post their opinions on an array of issues.
I wonder how long it's going to take for the spirit of open communication and debate that is at the heart of the Web -- and of a true democracy -- to take its rightful place in the minds and hearts of the American people. It is soooo discouraging.
These are the first two sentences in an article in todays Albany Times Union newspaper:
A community Web site formed to advertise this town, famed for battles in the American Revolution, has evolved into a heated debate over free speech. The site, http://www.stillwaterny.org, was temporarily taken down Friday by Supervisor Paul "Butch'' Lilac, who objected to a public message board forum started up by the webmasters he appointed last year. The forum invited users to post their opinions on an array of issues.
I wonder how long it's going to take for the spirit of open communication and debate that is at the heart of the Web -- and of a true democracy -- to take its rightful place in the minds and hearts of the American people. It is soooo discouraging.
Thursday, January 24, 2002
My Current Free Will Astrology and how it fits
PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): Writing in the New York Times, Nick Gillespie praised the way cartoon rabbit Bugs Bunny teaches kids "powerful, subversive truths from which adults try to shield them." Among the lessons: "smart alecks have more fun. . . . mocking authority is often the right thing to do. . . . tortoises beat hares (especially when tortoises cheat) . . . and . . . a sense of humor is the only way to make it through. . . ." Bugs' approach to life will be especially useful for you between now and February 15, Pisces. It won't be enough, though. You'll need many other subversive truths as well. I'll even go so far as to say that this is the season of subversive truth.
Since over the next month or so I am making a major investment in helping my son set up a web design business (as well as a new life) for himself, trying to situate myself as an over-60 blogger (of which there are too, too few) in a world mostly populated by bloggers young enough to be my kids (and maybe even grandkids), and trying to keep my sense of humor as I deal with my 86-year-old mother, I will heed that advice.
PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): Writing in the New York Times, Nick Gillespie praised the way cartoon rabbit Bugs Bunny teaches kids "powerful, subversive truths from which adults try to shield them." Among the lessons: "smart alecks have more fun. . . . mocking authority is often the right thing to do. . . . tortoises beat hares (especially when tortoises cheat) . . . and . . . a sense of humor is the only way to make it through. . . ." Bugs' approach to life will be especially useful for you between now and February 15, Pisces. It won't be enough, though. You'll need many other subversive truths as well. I'll even go so far as to say that this is the season of subversive truth.
Since over the next month or so I am making a major investment in helping my son set up a web design business (as well as a new life) for himself, trying to situate myself as an over-60 blogger (of which there are too, too few) in a world mostly populated by bloggers young enough to be my kids (and maybe even grandkids), and trying to keep my sense of humor as I deal with my 86-year-old mother, I will heed that advice.
Comments
I have just inserted a link so that readers can make comments on my posts. MUCH THANKS TO ANITA, again, for pointing me in the right direction!!
I have just inserted a link so that readers can make comments on my posts. MUCH THANKS TO ANITA, again, for pointing me in the right direction!!
Wednesday, January 23, 2002
Shedding Light on the Burrows of Blog
--for my nonblogger friends who might be checking this site:
There is a great article about Meg Hourihan who was one of the founders of what became blogger.com. This is how the article explains the original idea for a "weblog" or "blog":
A blog consists primarily of links to other Web sites and commentary about those links. Having a blog is rather like publishing your own, on-line version of Reader's Digest, with daily updates: you troll the Internet, and, when you find an article or a Web site that grabs you, you link to it -- or, in weblog parlance, you "blog" it. Then other people who have blogs -- they are known as bloggers -- read your blog, and if they like it they blog your blog on their own blog...... Most of the new blogs are, like Megnut, intimate narrative rather than digests of links and commentary; to read them is to enter a world in which the personal lives of participants have become a part of the public domain....
There also is a partial transcript of a panel "Journalisms New Life Forms" that provides answers to questions that many traditional news purveyors and news consumers ask about the value of using weblogs for disseminating news. One of the comments I like is one offered by Rusty Foster, founder of Kuro5hin: In the early American colonies...all the newspapers were essentially Weblogs -- paper Weblogs. They were one guy working in his basement and printing out new editions whenever he had something to say. There is a kind of full circle evolution going on here.
One nation, under blog.
--for my nonblogger friends who might be checking this site:
There is a great article about Meg Hourihan who was one of the founders of what became blogger.com. This is how the article explains the original idea for a "weblog" or "blog":
A blog consists primarily of links to other Web sites and commentary about those links. Having a blog is rather like publishing your own, on-line version of Reader's Digest, with daily updates: you troll the Internet, and, when you find an article or a Web site that grabs you, you link to it -- or, in weblog parlance, you "blog" it. Then other people who have blogs -- they are known as bloggers -- read your blog, and if they like it they blog your blog on their own blog...... Most of the new blogs are, like Megnut, intimate narrative rather than digests of links and commentary; to read them is to enter a world in which the personal lives of participants have become a part of the public domain....
There also is a partial transcript of a panel "Journalisms New Life Forms" that provides answers to questions that many traditional news purveyors and news consumers ask about the value of using weblogs for disseminating news. One of the comments I like is one offered by Rusty Foster, founder of Kuro5hin: In the early American colonies...all the newspapers were essentially Weblogs -- paper Weblogs. They were one guy working in his basement and printing out new editions whenever he had something to say. There is a kind of full circle evolution going on here.
One nation, under blog.
These Young Whippersnappers!
Anita Bora posts a link to this interesting story about a young former CEO who takes a McDonald's counter job and then writes an essay about it that winds up being widely circulated on the web.
I find what all of these young techies are doing really unbelievable. They take risks that my generation would never even consider, and I am intrigued by all of their energy and daring. In many cases, they don't have families to support, so they can take the gambles of experimenting with the commercial possibilities of technology and then wandering off to do something like work at McDonald's. It's such a different world from my twenty-something era.
It is a brave new world, but in a much more exciting and positive way then that phrase originally meant. Now if only my son could find place in it that would pay his bills........
Anita Bora posts a link to this interesting story about a young former CEO who takes a McDonald's counter job and then writes an essay about it that winds up being widely circulated on the web.
I find what all of these young techies are doing really unbelievable. They take risks that my generation would never even consider, and I am intrigued by all of their energy and daring. In many cases, they don't have families to support, so they can take the gambles of experimenting with the commercial possibilities of technology and then wandering off to do something like work at McDonald's. It's such a different world from my twenty-something era.
It is a brave new world, but in a much more exciting and positive way then that phrase originally meant. Now if only my son could find place in it that would pay his bills........
Tuesday, January 22, 2002
Color me....what?
Here's another personality test for you: Colorgenics. I found it linked from the Fleeting Thoughts blog. This is how I came out:
You are trying to establish yourself and make an impact despite the fact that everything around you seems to be against you .. putting up barriers .., but don't be unduly concerned ... you have the right ideas and come what may, they will soon be manifested and appreciated.
You are a true extrovert, frivolous and outgoing. You need to feel in control of any situation. If matters are not proceeding according to plan you tend to get extremely irritable and perhaps become difficult to live with.
You are a rather inhibited sort of person. This could be the result of your upbringing or of your schooling, whatever. You are able to obtain satisfaction from various forms of physical or emotional activity ...but all in all- you are inclined to be emotionally withdrawn. As a consequence of this you find it difficult to sustain any deep involvement.
Whatever you strive to do, something always seems to be holding you back. There is no subterfuge in you. You are a clear thinker and all you demand from life, in a relationship, is a partner whom you can trust and with whom you can, together, develop a foundation of trust based on understanding. You are your own person... and you demand freedom of thought ...to follow your own convictions. You have no interest in "two-timing" and all you seek is sincerity and "straight-dealing".
You are trying to build up your own position and you resist all external influences. You insist that you are your own person and you will not tolerate any outside interference. Decisive and proud, you are true managerial material...
Yeah, pretty close.
Here's another personality test for you: Colorgenics. I found it linked from the Fleeting Thoughts blog. This is how I came out:
You are trying to establish yourself and make an impact despite the fact that everything around you seems to be against you .. putting up barriers .., but don't be unduly concerned ... you have the right ideas and come what may, they will soon be manifested and appreciated.
You are a true extrovert, frivolous and outgoing. You need to feel in control of any situation. If matters are not proceeding according to plan you tend to get extremely irritable and perhaps become difficult to live with.
You are a rather inhibited sort of person. This could be the result of your upbringing or of your schooling, whatever. You are able to obtain satisfaction from various forms of physical or emotional activity ...but all in all- you are inclined to be emotionally withdrawn. As a consequence of this you find it difficult to sustain any deep involvement.
Whatever you strive to do, something always seems to be holding you back. There is no subterfuge in you. You are a clear thinker and all you demand from life, in a relationship, is a partner whom you can trust and with whom you can, together, develop a foundation of trust based on understanding. You are your own person... and you demand freedom of thought ...to follow your own convictions. You have no interest in "two-timing" and all you seek is sincerity and "straight-dealing".
You are trying to build up your own position and you resist all external influences. You insist that you are your own person and you will not tolerate any outside interference. Decisive and proud, you are true managerial material...
Yeah, pretty close.
Food for One
Since I temporarily don't have to cook a nutritious dinner every day because my mother is out of town visiting my brother, I can revert to my eclectic eating habits. Yesterday, I had guacamole and corn chips for dinner and some Pepperidge Farm Geneva cookies -- the rest of which I am munching while I check out my fav blogs. Maybe I'll just add some stir-fried peppers and onions to leftover rice and make that today's dinner. Then I'll open the Milano cookies. I think that if I didn't have to cook well-balanced meals for my mom, I might lose the weight I would like to lose. On the other hand, given the Pepperidge Farm cookies, maybe not. I wrote the following last summer, before I discovered the shadowy burrows of the blog.
Two Kinds of Days
1.
She reports each day
on the color of her feces,
the progress of microscopic eruptions
along her thinning skin.
Each day she revels again
In the sad injustices of her past,
re-tells her ragged history
with the same unhappy endings.
I know that the pain in her spine is real.
Each day it infuses her memories --
reminding, rehearsing, repeating
the cycles of a life lived
too empty at its core
to ignore life’s chance miseries.
2.
A chubby woodchuck
in the middle of an empty parking lot
stops to watch me walk in circles
around a June afternoon
awash in dandelion seeds
and gently dappled sunlight.
He twitches his nose,
ambles a few more steps
sits on his haunches,
rests his paws on his full belly –
a curious and patient and satisfied
Buddha.
“The soul needs its burrow,”
the woodchuck says,
“a warren to wend a way
through the solitary earth,
some private ground to hog,
a place safe to spend
that deep season of wonder.”
And, with a fanciful last twitch,
Buddha leaves the spotlight,
his coat a slow and sensuous shimmer
along the grave pavement.
Without looking back,
he disappears into the grasses
under a sprawling sycamore,
leaving me to search the shadows.
Since I temporarily don't have to cook a nutritious dinner every day because my mother is out of town visiting my brother, I can revert to my eclectic eating habits. Yesterday, I had guacamole and corn chips for dinner and some Pepperidge Farm Geneva cookies -- the rest of which I am munching while I check out my fav blogs. Maybe I'll just add some stir-fried peppers and onions to leftover rice and make that today's dinner. Then I'll open the Milano cookies. I think that if I didn't have to cook well-balanced meals for my mom, I might lose the weight I would like to lose. On the other hand, given the Pepperidge Farm cookies, maybe not. I wrote the following last summer, before I discovered the shadowy burrows of the blog.
Two Kinds of Days
1.
She reports each day
on the color of her feces,
the progress of microscopic eruptions
along her thinning skin.
Each day she revels again
In the sad injustices of her past,
re-tells her ragged history
with the same unhappy endings.
I know that the pain in her spine is real.
Each day it infuses her memories --
reminding, rehearsing, repeating
the cycles of a life lived
too empty at its core
to ignore life’s chance miseries.
2.
A chubby woodchuck
in the middle of an empty parking lot
stops to watch me walk in circles
around a June afternoon
awash in dandelion seeds
and gently dappled sunlight.
He twitches his nose,
ambles a few more steps
sits on his haunches,
rests his paws on his full belly –
a curious and patient and satisfied
Buddha.
“The soul needs its burrow,”
the woodchuck says,
“a warren to wend a way
through the solitary earth,
some private ground to hog,
a place safe to spend
that deep season of wonder.”
And, with a fanciful last twitch,
Buddha leaves the spotlight,
his coat a slow and sensuous shimmer
along the grave pavement.
Without looking back,
he disappears into the grasses
under a sprawling sycamore,
leaving me to search the shadows.
Changing Realities
I'm copying this from Anita Bora's site because it relates, in a way, to how one might change the reality one lives in. What if you believe that you CAN live in two realities at the same time -- switch in and out like we do with email identities? Seems to me like that's a good survival skill.
By changing your belief, you change your expectations
By changing your expectations, you change your attitude
By changing your attitude, you change you behaviour
By changing your behaviour, you change your performance
By changing your performance, you change your life
I'm copying this from Anita Bora's site because it relates, in a way, to how one might change the reality one lives in. What if you believe that you CAN live in two realities at the same time -- switch in and out like we do with email identities? Seems to me like that's a good survival skill.
By changing your belief, you change your expectations
By changing your expectations, you change your attitude
By changing your attitude, you change you behaviour
By changing your behaviour, you change your performance
By changing your performance, you change your life
Sunday, January 20, 2002
A Little Freedom!
I took my mother down to my brother in New Paltz, where she will stay for a few days and give me a break. So, last night I took a long soak in sea salt and lavender and today I'm going over to have dinner with a friend and help her set up her computer.
She and I went to see A Beautiful Mind the other night. Both the movie and the story are exceptional. It made me wonder how many schizophrenic people there might be out there with all kinds of potential, but they are lost in this other reality. It's amazing to me how John Nash was able to find a way to separate his two realities even though he continued with an awareness of both of them. It also brought to mind something Daniela Bouneva Elza from livingcode.ca emailed me last week. She said:
There is this idea I wrote about on my weblog some time ago, that reality is consensual. If enough people believe something to be true it becomes so. So again I wonder where and who defines reality for us, because I do not see people getting together to do it for themselves?.
The whole notion of us each living in our own reality is something I've been wrestling with for some time. How does someone who does not live in the majority reality survive? I'm not just talking about schizophrenics. There are lots of people who just see things differently. They wind up unemployed/able and spend their lives wondering why they are locked out. Does that mean that they will continue not to thrive unless they buy into the majority reality? And what if they can't seem to do that, even though they are on the verge of being homeless and starving? Should they be getting therapy? Take meds? It seems that for survival, one must somehow be able to survive in the majority reality. It's very upsetting.
I remember once reading that, as an astrological Capricorn rising, I have my feet on the ground and my head in the sky. In some way, it often seems like living in two realities at the same time.
I took my mother down to my brother in New Paltz, where she will stay for a few days and give me a break. So, last night I took a long soak in sea salt and lavender and today I'm going over to have dinner with a friend and help her set up her computer.
She and I went to see A Beautiful Mind the other night. Both the movie and the story are exceptional. It made me wonder how many schizophrenic people there might be out there with all kinds of potential, but they are lost in this other reality. It's amazing to me how John Nash was able to find a way to separate his two realities even though he continued with an awareness of both of them. It also brought to mind something Daniela Bouneva Elza from livingcode.ca emailed me last week. She said:
There is this idea I wrote about on my weblog some time ago, that reality is consensual. If enough people believe something to be true it becomes so. So again I wonder where and who defines reality for us, because I do not see people getting together to do it for themselves?.
The whole notion of us each living in our own reality is something I've been wrestling with for some time. How does someone who does not live in the majority reality survive? I'm not just talking about schizophrenics. There are lots of people who just see things differently. They wind up unemployed/able and spend their lives wondering why they are locked out. Does that mean that they will continue not to thrive unless they buy into the majority reality? And what if they can't seem to do that, even though they are on the verge of being homeless and starving? Should they be getting therapy? Take meds? It seems that for survival, one must somehow be able to survive in the majority reality. It's very upsetting.
I remember once reading that, as an astrological Capricorn rising, I have my feet on the ground and my head in the sky. In some way, it often seems like living in two realities at the same time.
Wednesday, January 16, 2002
My Free Will Astrology Horoscope
PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): Alice finds her way to Wonderland by falling down a rabbit hole. Dorothy rides to Oz on a tornado. In C.S. Lewis's *The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe,* Lucy stumbles into Narnia via a portal in the back of a large clothes cabinet. In the sequels to all these adventures, however, the heroes must find different ways to access their exotic dreamlands. Alice slips hrough a mirror next time. Dorothy uses a Magic Belt. Lucy leaps into a painting of a schooner that becomes real. Take heed of these precedents, Pisces. A threshold will soon open into a fascinating alternative reality you've enjoyed in the past, but it will not resemble the doorways you've used before.
Well, I'm ready!
PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): Alice finds her way to Wonderland by falling down a rabbit hole. Dorothy rides to Oz on a tornado. In C.S. Lewis's *The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe,* Lucy stumbles into Narnia via a portal in the back of a large clothes cabinet. In the sequels to all these adventures, however, the heroes must find different ways to access their exotic dreamlands. Alice slips hrough a mirror next time. Dorothy uses a Magic Belt. Lucy leaps into a painting of a schooner that becomes real. Take heed of these precedents, Pisces. A threshold will soon open into a fascinating alternative reality you've enjoyed in the past, but it will not resemble the doorways you've used before.
Well, I'm ready!
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