1 May 2008
1 May 2008
FROM MY DAD…
0830 by Jeff Hess
I could never bring myself to forward all the email jokes, cartoons and other Internet comedy that land in my inbox. But then I started posting the ones my dad sends me. Judging from my comments and emails, my dad has become one of my greatest blogging assets. So for your morning blog brain bump I present: From My Dad.
1 May 2008
FROM MY CHAPBOOK…
0230 by Jeff HessFound in my electronic chapbook.
…some researchers call creativity a process of alternating between states of unfocused and focused attention; others say it requires alternating between high and low arousal… p. 61-2
From The Midnight Disease: The Drive to Write, Writer”s Block and the Creative Brain by Alice W. Flaherty.
30 April 2008
GOING OUT FROM EGYPT… NO. 12
2130 by Jeff HessGetting rid of the extra bench has started my mind roaming over what other pieces of furniture I have that I ought to get rid off.
Leo Babauta has this to say about furniture:
[First] One room at a time. Unless you”re just moving into a place, it”s hard to simplify an entire house at once. Focus on one room, and let that be your center of calm. Use it to inspire you to simplify the next room, and the next. Then do the same outside!
For me, this has been the living room, the source of the worst of my clutter; probably because for the past few months it’s been the room I use the least.
[Second] Start with furniture. The biggest things in any room are the furniture, so you should always begin simplifying a room by looking at the furniture. The fewer pieces of furniture, the better (within reason, of course). Think of which furniture can be eliminated without sacrificing comfort and livability. Go for a few pieces of plain, simple furniture (example of a minimalist coffee table) with solid, subdued colors.
At present my living room contains the following: a love-seat recliner, an end table with reading lamp, a dinning table and bench, a free-standing shelf unit for my music CDs, and my c. 1986 Marantz stereo stack with two speakers. It’s the music where I need to make a change.
Great huge stereos went out of style not long after I bought my Marantz system (a replacement for a $5,000 Technics system that was stolen over Christmas, 1985). I want to keep my turntable, but the rest of the system — single-disc CD player, equalizer (remember those?) receiver and dual-tape cassette player — is just too clunky.
I checked Ikea, but they don’t have the kind of all-in-one storage system I’m looking for. I want a system that would hold albums, CDs, cassette tapes, and have space on top for a small stereo, a turntable and two speakers. Perhaps something with drawers is what I’m looking for.
Anyone out there have any suggestions?
30 April 2008
GOOD MORNING MYANMAR…
2030 by Jeff Hess
That we should have an international arms embargo against Myanmar is a good idea. That we should have an international arms embargo full stop is a great idea. The mechanics will be torturous, but the rewards amazing. The British enforced an embargo on slavery in the 19th century. Is their model still valid?
From Reuters:
The European Union called on Tuesday for an international arms embargo on Myanmar’s military junta and warned of tougher sanctions if the generals fail to improve human rights.
An EU meeting in Luxembourg noted that the 27-member bloc had a longstanding ban of its own on arms sales to Myanmar and added: “The Council would like to encourage the international community to adopt similar measures.”
A European Parliament resolution passed last Thursday called on the European Union to campaign for a worldwide arms embargo. It said the EU embargo was ineffective because the Myanmar military purchases supplies from China, Russia and India. Continue Reading »
30 April 2008
MUCKING OUT THE BLOGPILE…
1430 by Jeff Hess
I’m constantly tossing interesting websites into what I call my blogpile. Some of them find their way here in the form of regular posts, but more often than not they languish and get buried deeper in the pile. The end result is that I have to go back and do a bit of shoveling. Today’s item is What every freelancer should know. (About taxes.)
30 April 2008
WHAT THEY SAID…
1037 by Jeff HessI figure I might as well take this opportunity to come out of the closet. I think Senator McCain is a great man, but I have issues with the GOP these days – the final straw was a woman explaining to me why the Christian right were campaigning to ban oral contraception. Lincoln has been dead for over a century now, and the GOP is no longer his party … so I think it’s time I stopped pretending to be a Republican.
30 April 2008
WAL-MART WEDNESDAY…
1030 by Jeff Hess
It’s been a busy week in Wally World: the Universe’s source of cheap plastic crap. On The Writing On The Wal — the blog USA Today says should be on its readers’ radar — Jonathan Rees, Robert Feinman, Peter Sayles and I continue our work dedicated to drawing back the curtain on the Bentonvile Behemoth’s corporate disinformation and other flackery.
HOW WILL LEE EVER SPEND ALL THAT MONEY…? Wal-Mart CEO Lee Scott is richer than 99.999 percent of the world”s population. Lee Scott has more money than any human being could possibly spend in a hundred lifetimes. And yet his fortune pales compared to his employers, the Walton family. Keep reading…
TWO BILLION PLUS PEOPLE DEPEND UPON RICE… Watch…
WAL-MART DODGES ANOTHER TAX BULLET… We”ve talked her before about how good Wal-Mart is at dodging its taxes. The most odious scheme has been using Real Estate Investment Trusts allowing Wal-Mart to pay itself rent and then launder the money in such a way as to render it tax-free income. Keep reading…
IF THE PARKING LOT IS SO EMPTY… Wal-Mart is famous and very popular among the Recreational Vehicle (those road yachts that get less than 10 miles per gallon) crowd because the company has long had a policy of allowing RV travelers to park free overnight in any Wal-Mart parking lot. Keep reading…
AT THE WALLY PLEX… There are sound stages on Hollywood”s back lots smaller than Bentonvile”s behemoth”s, so it”s no surprise that budding video talent has been sneaking cameras in at odd hours. And now for the midnight show at the Wally Plex featuring lashay579. Watch…
LEFT HAND CALL RIGHT HAND, IT”S URGENT… I”m missing a key point here. We”re in the middle of the first recession created by Wall Street since 1929, shoppers are going to Wal-Mart because they can only afford cheap plastic crap from China and Wal-Mart is making another stab at upscale clothing? Keep reading…
COFFEE SPEWING ALERT… I once got an irate phone call from a reader about a magazine cover I conceived that featured the banner head: White Trash! I”m entitled because I grew up in Appalachia and swapped lies with plenty of friends in that colorful category. Keep reading…
WHAT BIZARRO UNIVERSE HAVE I SLIPPED INTO…? On Sunday I wrote about Wal-Mart revisiting the world of high fashion in the middle of a recession. Then this morning I read about a Wal-Mart in Nashville, Tennessee, considering valet parking. Is this the end of the world? Keep reading…
BUT ARE THEY STILL AFFLUENT SHOPPERS…? Wal-Mart”s U.S. Division CEO touts the meme that more affluent shoppers are coming to Wal-Mart. The question I have is: if they”re coming to Wal-Mart because they”re salaries aren”t stretching as far as they once did, are they still considered affluent?. Keep reading…
30 April 2008
30 April 2008
30 April 2008
MY COMMENTS…
0847 by Jeff Hess30 April 2008
IT’S BEEN A TRIP…
0833 by Jeff HessAlbert Hofmann, the father of the mind-altering drug LSD whose medical discovery inspired — and arguably corrupted — millions in the 1960s hippie generation, has died. He was 102.
How will you celebrate next Bicycle Day?
30 April 2008
FROM MY DAD…
0830 by Jeff HessI could never bring myself to forward all the email jokes, cartoons and other Internet comedy that land in my inbox. But then I started posting the ones my dad sends me. Judging from my comments and emails, my dad has become one of my greatest blogging assets. So for your morning blog brain bump I present: From My Dad.
30 April 2008
FROM MY CHAPBOOK…
0230 by Jeff HessFound in my electronic chapbook.
“All creation is really re-creation of a once-loved and once whole, but now lost and ruined object, a ruined internal world and self. It is when the world within us is destroyed, when it is dead and loveless, when our loved ones are in fragments, and we ourselves in helpless despair – it is then that we must re-create our world anew, reassemble the pieces, infuse life into dead fragments and re-create life.” Hanna Segal. p. 60
From The Midnight Disease: The Drive to Write, Writer”s Block and the Creative Brain by Alice W. Flaherty.
29 April 2008
GOING OUT FROM EGYPT… NO. 11
2130 by Jeff HessI’ve liberated the refrigerator. It was covered with magnets and slips of paper and the top jumbled with plastic containers. It is now a clutter-free zone. The exterior of the fridge was the last major horizontal surface to be decluttered in the kitchen. There is still a small shelf above the sink, but I’ll take care of that tomorrow evening.
Looking ahead to when I start cleaning out cabinets, I have an extra set of dishes from my Navy days (actually a pretty good set of stoneware from Japan) that I’m torn about. If I kept kosher, I could use one set for meat and the other for dairy, but right now those dishes are just taking up space.
Maybe they are prime candidates for my rummage sale.
I’m home late this evening, my last student was finished at 2010 and I didn’t get home until nearly 2100. I didn’t have a lot of energy to expend, but getting the refrigerator done was well worth the effort.
29 April 2008
GOOD MORNING MYANMAR…
2030 by Jeff HessThe generals in Myanmar have good friends in China and Russia. These two giant forces on the Asian continent (yes, most of Russia is in Asia, not Europe) have decided that the rest of the world — through the United Nations — is picking on the military dictators of Myanmar and it’s up to them to stand up for the little guy.
From The Irrawaddy:
The Security Council remains deadlocked on a presidential statement on Burma even as diplomats of the 15-member UN body met last week for the second time in a month.
Diplomatic sources told The Irrawaddy that representatives from the Security Council member nations met on Thursday to discuss the second draft proposed by three permanent members-the United States, Britain and France.
A copy of the second draft obtained by The Irrawaddy reflects the urgency on the part of the three Western powers as time seems to be fast running out in the run-up to the May 10 referendum on the draft constitution, which is heavily loaded in favor of the Burmese military junta.
However, it appears that the two staunch supporters of the military junta-veto-wielding China and Russia-are in no hurry and continue to block any effort for a discussion or move to get the non-binding presidential statement passed by the Security Council. Continue Reading »
29 April 2008
MUCKING OUT THE BLOGPILE…
1430 by Jeff HessI’m constantly tossing interesting websites into what I call my blogpile. Some of them find their way here in the form of regular posts, but more often than not they languish and get buried deeper in the pile. The end result is that I have to go back and do a bit of shoveling. Today’s item is Interiors: Rooms that lose none of their shelf life.
29 April 2008
29 April 2008
29 April 2008
FROM MY DAD…
0830 by Jeff HessI could never bring myself to forward all the email jokes, cartoons and other Internet comedy that land in my inbox. But then I started posting the ones my dad sends me. Judging from my comments and emails, my dad has become one of my greatest blogging assets. So for your morning blog brain bump I present: From My Dad.
