I think that I still have it
in my heart someday
to paint a bookshop
with the front yellow and pink,
in the evening, and the black
passerby like a light
in the midst of darkness.
From Found Poems by Robert Phillips.
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 chuckle I present: From My Dad.
My name is Jeff Hess and I’m a biblioholic. I own hundreds of books. Not valuable books, mostly Science Fiction paperbacks and text books, tomes rescued by the bag from library book sales. A few years ago, in the interest of not burying myself, I began reading more books from the library and taking notes. My electronic chapbook was born.
This is a passage I copied from Sweeping Changes: A Practical Guide to Zen in Your Home by Gary Thorp.
[Commenting on yesterday’s verse.] You might try to extend this kind of focus, this type of practice, into your own daily life. See if you can make the seat in the restaurant your own place. Consider the effort that went into your meal and think of all those who made it possible. You can even set aside a small piece of tomato or a bit of dinner roll as an offering to buddhas or to your parents or to all beings who lack the nourishment and sustenance they need. In this way, you can begin to share your meal and your compassion with others. p. 68
I still have in my files the carefully photocopied (and redacted, he covered up the cartoons) copy of Playboy’s October 1967 interview with New Orleans District Attorney Jim Garrison. It was my introduction, long before Oliver Stone, to the idea of conspiracy and cover-up as a way of doing business in America. My dad calls these scary.
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 Merlin”s war on clutter.
Josie Salzman: There is no greater mental challenge than trying to blot out the worry for a loved one overseas. Never knowing where your soldier is at, and wondering if they are safe, can cause some serious headaches. Oftentimes just hearing their voice on the phone is enough to ease the stress. If only for a few short minutes you can let your guard down…,
Part of being a good citizen of the blogosphere is visiting, reading and, most importantly, taking the time to leave a comment on other’s blogs. It’s all about the conversation. In the interest of setting an example I’ve decided to link to those blog posts that have compelled me to leave a comment.
To get to a net of 500,000 we actually created 7,700,000 new jobs-and lost 7,200,000. Now that’s a whole different kettle of fish! America’s longterm economic strength is hidden here, or not so hidden-we are an insanely dynamic economy, growing and shrinking with near reckless abandon, but the net is a job creation record that is peerless in, and the envy of, the developed world. Tom Peters
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.
THE AGE OF WAL-MART (3 OF 9)… First aired 13 November 2006, and reshown 20 May on CNBC. Keep reading…
THE AGE OF WAL-MART (4 OF 9)… First aired 13 November 2006, and reshown 20 May on CNBC. Keep reading…
THE AGE OF WAL-MART (5 OF 9)… First aired 13 November 2006, and reshown 20 May on CNBC. Keep reading…
AT THE WALLY PLEX… There are sound stages on Hollywood”s back lots smaller than Bentonvile”s behemoths, 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 loveyourfuckingface. Keep reading…
WAL-MART LEAVES TOWN AT THE ALTAR… Officials in Thompson Station, Tennessee feel jilted. They spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on infrastructure improvements so that Wal-Mart could build a Supercenter, and Wal-Mart decided to take its cheap, Made-In-China, plastic crap elsewhere. Keep reading…
THE AGE OF WAL-MART (6 OF 9)… First aired 13 November 2006, and reshown 20 May on CNBC. Keep reading…
I KNOOOW… From Saturday Night Live. First aired on 19 February 2003. Keep reading…
CREATIVE SPAMMING… Like all blogs The Writing On The Wal gets spam in it”s comments and its trackbacks. Most of it is tagged and bagged without a thought, but once in a while something creative actually shows up and I give a chuckle before sending it down the tube to spam hell. Keep reading…
THE AGE OF WAL-MART (7 OF 9)… First aired 13 November 2006, and reshown 20 May on CNBC. Keep reading…
THE AGE OF WAL-MART (8 OF 9)… First aired 13 November 2006, and reshown 20 May on CNBC. Keep reading…
A YEAR OF LIVING WAL-MART FREE… I encourage people to not shop at Wal-Mart, but I realize for many it”s not a real option; hence my little toothpaste buycott. But David and Megan (unlike Jim and Laura) have decided to not visit a Wal-Mart for a year. Keep reading…
SHE WOULDN”T BE CAUGHT DEAD SHOPPING… …At a Wal-Mart. But from the privacy of her own home computer, who”s going to know? And that seems to be the latest twist to Wal-Mart”s pathetic attempts to attract that valuable upscale customer. From Brian White at Blogging Stocks: Keep reading…
THE AGE OF WAL-MART (9 OF 9)… First aired 13 November 2006, and reshown 20 May on CNBC. Keep reading…
WHAT WOULD BBC AMERICA HAVE DONE…? From Behind The Counter BBCAmerican, chronicles the scams and other sheer idiocy of people trying to talk him out of the Walton”s billions when they return items. Watching the consequences of not allowing a man to bullets, I wonder how he might have reacted. Keep reading…
IS WAL-MART COOKING THE (REVIEWS) BOOKS…? The ever hilarious BBCAmerican makes a strong case for Wal-Mart fudging the product reviews that it began allowing on its website a few weeks ago. I”ve discussed this here before, but BBC makes a much stronger and detailed case than I did. Keep reading…
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 chuckle I present: From My Dad.
My name is Jeff Hess and I’m a biblioholic. I own hundreds of books. Not valuable books, mostly Science Fiction paperbacks and text books, tomes rescued by the bag from library book sales. A few years ago, in the interest of not burying myself, I began reading more books from the library and taking notes. My electronic chapbook was born.
This is a passage I copied from Sweeping Changes: A Practical Guide to Zen in Your Home by Gary Thorp.
Innumerable labors brought us this food,
We should know how it comes to us.
Receiving this offering, we should consider.
Whether our virtue and practice deserves it.
Desiring the natural order of mind, we should
Be free from greed, hate and delusion.
We eat to support life and to practice
The way of the Buddha.
p. 68
I still have in my files the carefully photocopied (and redacted, he covered up the cartoons) copy of Playboy’s October 1967 interview with New Orleans District Attorny Jim Garrison. It was my introduction, long before Oliver Stone to the idea of conspiracy and coverup as a way of doing business in America. My dad calls these scary.
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 Guide to Literary Agents.
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 chuckle I present: From My Dad.
A Jewish businessman in Chicago sent his son to Israel for a year to absorb the culture. When the son returned, he said, “Papa, I had a great time in Israel. By the way, I converted to Christianity.” “Oy vey,” said the father. “What have I done?”
He took his problem to his best friend. “Ike,” he said, “I sent my son to Israel, and he came home a Christian. What can I do?” “Funny you should ask,” said Ike. “I too, sent my son to Israel, and he also came home a Christian..” Perhaps we should go see the rabbi. So they did, and they explained their problem to the rabbi.
“Funny you should ask,” said the rabbi.. “I, too, sent my son to Israel, and he also came home a Christian. What is happening to our young people?” And so they all prayed, telling the Lord about their sons. As they finished their prayer, a voice came from the heavens:
“Funny you should ask,” said the voice. “I, too, sent my son to Israel…”
I do know how to pay attention, how to fall down
into the grass, how to kneel down in the grass,
how to be idle and blessed, how to stroll through the fields,
which is what I have been doing all day.
Tell me, what else should I have done?
Doesn’t everything die at last, and too soon?
Tell me, what is it you plan to do
with your one wild and precious life?
From The Summer Day by Mary Oliver.
My name is Jeff Hess and I’m a biblioholic. I own hundreds of books. Not valuable books, mostly Science Fiction paperbacks and text books, tomes rescued by the bag from library book sales. A few years ago, in the interest of not burying myself, I began reading more books from the library and taking notes. My electronic chapbook was born.
This is a passage I copied from Sweeping Changes: A Practical Guide to Zen in Your Home by Gary Thorp.
In Zen practice there is a formal style of taking meals known as oryoki. This is eating reduced to its most fundamental. Everything needed is held in a small, self-contained package; small bowls that fit inside one another, a few simple utensils for eating and bowl cleaning and a couple pieces of cloth are all that are needed. p. 67
I still have in my files the carefully photocopied (and redacted, he covered up the cartoons) copy of Playboy’s October 1967 interview with New Orleans District Attorney Jim Garrison. It was my introduction, long before Oliver Stone, to the idea of conspiracy and cover-up as a way of doing business in America. My dad calls these scary.
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