When cliff dwellers left
their homes
it wasnt a blight.
Net Galley Challenge
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
Sunday, July 25, 2010
Grand Motions
The Great Railway Bazaar Train through Asia by Paul theroux
Books with maps have never disappointed me.
His encounters with some kind of people seem to be so skewed. He has a very good style of making any kind of conversations fit into the book. A town that I was in had its train station at one end. If it can be generalized then his travel is only through the edges of towns meeting certain kinds of people and those experiences wont be a good sample of the whole.
In a para, he sums up how trains in different countries are different with different amenities.
I wasnt prepared for his experiences in Japan.
Books with maps have never disappointed me.
His encounters with some kind of people seem to be so skewed. He has a very good style of making any kind of conversations fit into the book. A town that I was in had its train station at one end. If it can be generalized then his travel is only through the edges of towns meeting certain kinds of people and those experiences wont be a good sample of the whole.
In a para, he sums up how trains in different countries are different with different amenities.
I wasnt prepared for his experiences in Japan.
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
Power and thereof
Men are not corrupted by the exercise of power or debased by the habits of obedience, but by the exercise of a power which they believe to be illegal and by obedience to a rule which they consider to be usurped and oppressive.
Alexis de Tocquille
Once in power, every effort will be done to not lose it. If possible even to gain more power. To gain new powers, new weaknesses have to be brought about somewhere. When competitive, the artifice is limited to one side of the table.
Alexis de Tocquille
Once in power, every effort will be done to not lose it. If possible even to gain more power. To gain new powers, new weaknesses have to be brought about somewhere. When competitive, the artifice is limited to one side of the table.
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
Crossing borders
The place to study, work, live - all away from home is foreign. The days leading to the departure- the crossing of the border.
Sunday, July 18, 2010
Why I read
I saw a sentence with 'subvert' in it. It was the last sentence in a para.
That is a word I cant come up with in writing. It scares me. Still I read.
Trepan, Palacles in 'The Sutra of Maggots and Blowflies'
That is a word I cant come up with in writing. It scares me. Still I read.
Trepan, Palacles in 'The Sutra of Maggots and Blowflies'
Monday, July 12, 2010
Status of a situation
Know the problem. Know the device.
How far can the device highlight your problem?
we do not directly know of the problem. A tool tells us that something is not right.
when the tool stops talking, how to guess the happening?
Problem hiding a problem.
How far can the device highlight your problem?
we do not directly know of the problem. A tool tells us that something is not right.
when the tool stops talking, how to guess the happening?
Problem hiding a problem.
Saturday, July 10, 2010
Writing and Spirituality
If the writers work is already present and waiting to be found, then for those looking for God, is he an island for the floating? All paras need to be good for an article to work. If the beginning eludes, then Writing in Reverse as jill dearman suggests might work. If that doesnt, snuggle into the paras and get in somehow. There must be a group of islands. some small. some big.
Sunday, June 13, 2010
In a childs hands
horseshoe stakes become cymbals
bean bags begin bean wars
fishing rods become swords
and hoola hoops can rain as drops
bean bags begin bean wars
fishing rods become swords
and hoola hoops can rain as drops
Thursday, June 3, 2010
Sixty years later
Dee does not care about things she hasnt worked for. There was a rumor that ism would not be tolerated. Her friend Umbre's life is hard to imagine without the daily routine of chants. She cannot recall the hymns she sang every morning. Her book is warped with alphabets she cannot recognise.
After listening to the Mongolian throat singing, I can appreciate the mockingbird emanating throaty buzzes.
Looking down from the Light house , SanDiego seemed like a Greek polis with occupied rolling land.
After listening to the Mongolian throat singing, I can appreciate the mockingbird emanating throaty buzzes.
Looking down from the Light house , SanDiego seemed like a Greek polis with occupied rolling land.
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
Glovebox has the answer
Long time ago, a good friend urged me to go through the car manual. With no problems, it is hard to find your way through a manual for a solution that you only need later. service checkup revealed that a HEPA filter had to be changed. If outsourced, it would cost lot. Now is the time to look at the manual. For the current problem, the manual suggests dealer as the answer. Some self help videos and some confusion resulted in a good part (recently replaced) - air filter being replaced. Do-it-yourselfs make you believe in the impossible. A look at the glovebox, it aint gonna give. Other models flap in. It is supposed to be easy. Push in from the sides and it is expected to fall down vertically, revealing the cabin filter. With so much insistence of its possibility, it had to be true. The car now has a clean cabin filter. A look at the contents of the old filter - makes one think that its job is to chop cut trees into manageable size before trashing. Only these twigs and leaves are dehydrated. Inmates in car should smell the wilderness.
If entry into your car is not push button, you have a curfew coming up. If battery failure can prevent start up, how dont the extensive tests reveal its status? A shutdown which resets your radio, clock and thereby forces you to go the manual. A code could lie in a piece of paper in a tiny ziploc, with its knowledge that someday that those numbers would be punched in to unlock a radio while you are in ignorance until that moment. Suddenly the dashboard has secret letters which will get you back to correct time. If I am suprised that I will use some of the buttons to punch in numbers, I am even more to hold one long enough to beep.
The Art of Maintenance has just begun. The car decides to unfold itself through the crack of the hood and the glovebox. More mysteries ahead.
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
Feigning Immortality
The radio sends smooth waves
while the listener drifts to sleep
may be one more song
and then I can pull the plug
While the brain drifts to sleep
The hand that can pull the plug
waits for a discordant song
while the listener drifts to sleep
may be one more song
and then I can pull the plug
While the brain drifts to sleep
The hand that can pull the plug
waits for a discordant song
Sunday, May 16, 2010
What kids see
At a grocery store, I set the milk gallons on the ground, waiting for the conveyor belt to roll forward and bring up space from the bottom. A kid of four or so, lifts the gallon saying thats easy. I admired his strength. He then found a toy baseball and threw it. It landed on the belt. He had many questions for the cashier. when the belt was free, he was going to help me lift the gallons on to the belt. As he moved ahead, he asked me to check if there was another baseball from where he had picked the previous one. His eyes couldnt reach it, but the mischievous must feel the presence of a green lit button on everything.
Saturday, May 15, 2010
Carrying the tree
Right after a workout
the world looks new
A tree overlooking the road
now framed by jacaranda trees
with flowers and no leaves
On my way to work
I pick the
clumps of flowers - unwilted
green stems like lines
to keep the color with me
throughout the day
the world looks new
A tree overlooking the road
now framed by jacaranda trees
with flowers and no leaves
On my way to work
I pick the
clumps of flowers - unwilted
green stems like lines
to keep the color with me
throughout the day
Thursday, May 13, 2010
Avian Gardener
A lantana surrounds
a plant with leaves
triangular
like a betel leaf
Above by the
side is a
bird house
with different seeds
farmer of the spilt
a plant with leaves
triangular
like a betel leaf
Above by the
side is a
bird house
with different seeds
farmer of the spilt
Display
A baby squirrel
beat its tail
as long as itself
over its back
a threat display
A mockingbird
lands onto the grass
picking a grain or worm
in the wet
A cat still young
to know its tail as its own
was all stealth
with hidden movement
in its hind legs
The bird then hung
around for a while
on an arch
a lamp
a rooftop
beat its tail
as long as itself
over its back
a threat display
A mockingbird
lands onto the grass
picking a grain or worm
in the wet
A cat still young
to know its tail as its own
was all stealth
with hidden movement
in its hind legs
The bird then hung
around for a while
on an arch
a lamp
a rooftop
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)