The New Year

The wind is broken
leaving open fields
of ice. The bird
has one foot frozen
to the earth, yet
sings beneath his
wing. The sky is bent.
And sure into the cold
night we are turning,
followed by the first
star and the last.

Oh cripes it’s snowing again

Started about 7 pm last night and it stuck. So pretty outside this morning and still very quiet at 5:50 am, but now I’m going to have to wait it out again and go into work late after the sun comes out and it starts melting a bit. And they say more snow is on the way. Strangely, I don’t feel all that scared this year. One year I got caught at work in the snow and when I tried to start driving down the big hill where my job is my car slid off onto the side of the road. I had to catch a ride with strangers in an SUV down the hill and buses the rest of the way home. It kind of left an impression. Stay tuned.

P.S. Got to work fine.  Roads had melted thanks to the temp being above freezing.   Piece O Cake. Whew.
Deep Thoughts: If I ever do a book on the Amazon, I hope I am able to bring a certain lightheartedness to the subject, in a way that tells the reader we are going to have fun with this thing.
Today I am grateful for: Weather/traffic reporters in helicopters

Traveling

Over the holiday, I got hounded a bit about my lack of interest in traveling – to a town a few hours away to visit my daughter, to San Francisco where my son’s dad lives “to see the old places I lived,” out of the country to anywhere. Just in the past 5 years, maybe decade, I have lost interest in moving my body geographically. My life had a lot of traveling in it – to neighboring states to college, out of the country twice to pass through and live in at least 9 countries off the top of my head, a hitchhiking trip from one side of America to the other one sunny summer in my 20′s. It was exhilarating, shocking, profound, and miserable – all the things that traveling should be. It gave me depth and breadth of character. And now at 64 my body does not want to sleep in other beds – or rather lose sleep in other beds. It wants to hibernate and travel inwards – to memories, to dreams, to love. I hope they will all come to understand.
Deep Thought:The wise man can pick up a grain of sand and envision a whole universe. But the stupid man will just lay down on some seaweed and roll around until he’s completely draped in it. Then he’ll stand up and go, “Hey, I’m Vine Man.”
Today I am grateful for: Heat

Thoughts on Mad Cow Disease by procrastin8

Will You Get Mad Cow Disease???

“Mad Cow DIsease”, known in scientific circles as bovine spongiform encephalopathy, is caused by a misshapen protein which attacks the cow’s brain, turning it into a sponge. The disease can be transmitted to humans, as evidenced by 143 individuals who died of mad cow disease after an outbreak in Great Britain in the 1980s.

It is linked to a human illness, variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, that people can get from eating meat that contains an infected cow’s brain or spinal tissue.

Since 1997, the United States has banned feeding cattle, sheep and goats any feed that contains brain and spinal cord material. That ban is important because consumption of contaminated feed is the only known way the disease spreads. In the current case, investigators are trying to trace the infected cow’s feed. WAIT ! ARE ALL OF OUR COWS CANNIBALS???

The FDA has considered expanding the ban on cattle brains and spinal tissue in all animal feed, not just meal for cattle, sheep and goats. The government now allows meal containing brain and spinal tissue from cattle to be fed to chickens. One concern is that the government allows mixing chicken waste into cattle feed, another possible route for spreading mad cow disease that critics say should not be dismissed.

I am not sure how to convince my pets to eat vegetables (could there be a Mad Cat Disease — how would you tell?). For me, the veggie burgers are looking better all the time . . . .

Thoughts on peace by a Muslim

My dearest wish is that we all live in peace together on this beautiful planet of ours. But you only have to watch the news or read the papers to find conflict and suffering in every corner of the world. The causes may seem complex, but I believe the root of much of it is one group trying to impose its will on another. The motives may be political, religious or racial arrogance, but it amounts to the same thing. One group sees itself as ‘right’ & others as ‘wrong’. Religion is often used to justify such claims.

The fact is that all religions (you can include any strongly held belief here) claim exclusive possesion of the ‘truth’. Even if they are very tolerant of other beliefs & even if they include or combine elements from many faiths. Furthermore, most religions require their followers to live according to that truth. I don’t claim to be any different. As a Muslim I believe Islam is the truth. When I meet a Christian, Jew or Hindu I know they believe they are right and I am wrong and vica versa. But does that have to be a source of conflict? Does that mean we cannot share this earth in peace? – I think not!

Problems usually arise because the followers of each religion (or political belief) are also motivated by a desire to ‘share’ this truth with others. Human nature is such that it wants others to agree with its own viewpoint – perhaps out of love, but if you forgive me for being a little cynical, more often than not it is to make themselves feel more ‘secure’. We all feel better when our beliefs are confirmed by others. It seems to me that the only way to ever really achieve a ‘peaceful’ world is to resist the feeling that one must ‘change’ or ‘impose’ something on someone else who does not want you to do so. We must accept the right of each other to follow our own way. Accept that there will always be those who will hold different beliefs and follow different faiths to our own. Learn to respect people ‘as they are’ and put differences aside. ‘Agree to disagree’.

Even within one particular faith you will find people follow different paths, each claiming theirs is the only correct way. Some are inclined towards a very esoteric faith, others a very literal interpretation. Others follow the orthodox or traditional path while still others follow a more modernistic and progressive approach. We don’t have to agree with all these paths and we can still stand by our principals, that our path is the true way. But we do need to accept the right of others to follow their own path without the urge to interfere or change them. This does not mean we cannot state our views. But it does mean I will not impose anything on anyone who is not interested and it means that I can accept, respect and share with those who hold different beliefs from me without feeling the need to change or impose my ideas upon them.

One difficulty with this ‘Agree to Disagree’ approach may be where faith of ‘X’ (or I should say, ‘their interpretation’) requires a belligerent attitude towards those of faith ‘Y’. Obviously we cannot accept ‘X’s’ right to go around killing ‘Y’. Sadly there will always be a minority inclined to such behaviour, just as there will always be those inclined to violence & crime. In such cases all societies must protect themselves & agree on what can and cannot be tolerated using basic principals of morality universal to all major faiths & beliefs. I do believe that mankind is quite capable of living in peace with each other. We may not share the same religions or beliefs but we do share our humanity & we all possess the qualities of love, compassion and forgiveness. I believe that mankind has the ability to create a more ‘peaceful’ world. Please feel free to email me with your thoughts on this, or any other subject.

HassanRadwan@yahoo.com

Snow Day

Woke up this morning to the news that it’s snowing in Portland, a rare occurrence actually. And so ordinarily I would be setting off in the dark to arrive at work by 6:30 am and instead I’m sitting here writing this and listening to the weather news on TV. It’s still 32F outside, so I’m waiting till the temperature rises some and the dawn comes to start out in my tiny Toyota. I have to drive up a fairly steep hill to get to my job and it terrifies me. But I also don’t have any vacation time left to use because of the holidays. Once I get to work (AND I WILL) I’ll report on my trip.

While I’m here might as well mention saw one more film out yesterday – 21 Grams with Sean Penn, Benicio Del Toro, and Naomi Watts. Have to say I was disappointed. I expect a lot from Penn, who is one of the most interesting actors we have. Actually his acting performance was fine, but the film itself was shot in a way that was really annoying to me. If you saw Memento and remember how hard it was to follow, this film was kind of similar in that it kept jumping in time back and forth so fast you couldn’t put the pieces together until late in the film. Also it was shot in a very gritty looking color style that I don’t like. And finally, the characters were such amazing drama queens. Why, for example, does the main character just have to know who donated the heart for his transplant? Oh well. Just warning you.
Deep Thought: If you’re traveling in a time machine, and you’re eating corn on the cob, I don’t think it’s going to affect things one way or the other. But here’s the point I’m trying to make: Corn on the cob is good, isn’t it.
Today I am grateful for: Snow plows
P.S. Got to work fine.  Just slush by the time I traveled.

Film Review – Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World

Thanks to my bungling of times, this was the one film I saw out this Christmas. We had intended to see The Last Samurai. So my opinion was that this is definitely a testosterone film – not even a slight love story thread to it like in many action films. I predict it will get an Academy Award nod just because of its attempt at realism depicting life on the high seas in the period of Napoleon’s domination of Europe. Lots of camaraderie and gusto. Not that much gore except for some graphic surgeries under grim conditions by the ship’s doctor. Mostly big waves and big cowboy philosophy of life. Russell Crowe was not stretched to the brink of his abilities. Not my favorite genre. Not even sure whose favorite genre it might be. But hey, what do I know.

Definitely on the down side of the holiday arc now. Feeling kind of decrepit like a piece of torn wrapping. Very ready to move on to the New Year.
Deep Thought:If I had the time to sit down and write a thank-you note to everyone who sent me a nice, expensive present, what a wonderful world that would be!
Today I am grateful for: Dry land

Currently Reading – Gellhorn

Biography of the noted reporter, Martha Gellhorn (1908-1998), who covered international conflict in the period between the Spanish Civil War and the end of the Cold War. She was a feisty, independent, bohemian woman from a comfortable Jewish family who became a writer early on and remained so till she died. (She was also married to Ernest Hemingway for about 6 years.) Here is a paragraph from the book in the early period when Martha is covering the Great Depression:

Martha had a knack for total absorption in work. Soon, she was engrossed by what she was doing, interviewing up to five families a day among the thousands of mill hands and sharecroppers scrounging for jobs that no longer existed, along with factory owners, doctors, union representatives, teachers, and relief workers. Meticulously, she noted rates of pay, levels of relief, and the story of each family. She trudged around slums of tumbledown shacks in her elegant Parisian shoes, where latrines drained into the well from which all drinking water came; she looked at “houses shot with holes, windows broken, no sewerage, rats”; she listened to children so listless with malnutrition that they could barely stay awake, trying to recite the Gettysburg Address for her by heart; she heard doctors talk about rickets, hookworms, anemia, and pellagra, the skin disease of the starving, caused by vitamin deficiency, and the starving, and the way that it had become endemic after months on a diet of pinto beans and corn bread, and about tuberculosis, which was spreading fast through the villages. In one factory, she found three young women lying on the bathroom floor, their eyes closed; they told her they had come in to rest for a few minutes because the eight-hour shifts on heavy machines with no breaks was making them faint. And as she traveled around, her indignation rose, and her reports began to include more observations and conclusions of her own, more recommendations for action, in tones of outrage that grew ever more precise and icy. A doctor, she wrote, had told her that his patients were “degenerating” before his eyes. “The present generation of the unemployed,” she went on, “will be useless human material in no time. Their housing is frightful (talk about European slums); they are ignorant and often below-par intelligence.” Returning from a mill town where those fortunate enough still to have jobs were forced to pay half as much again for their food at the company store, she added: “It is probable – and to be hoped – that one day the owners of this place will get shot and lynched.” The people who really touched her were those who, too proud to go on relief, unable to understand why their entire lives had collapsed around them, were desperately hanging on with occasional part-time work, while their children slowly starved to death. This was an America Martha did not know. The flappers and cocktails and mah-jongg parties popularized by F. Scott Fitzgerald and the fashion magazines had not filtered below the top levels of society. Country roads were seldom paved and were often unpassable in snow or heavy rain. It was another world.

Over the holidays, I watched the film Seabiscuit a second time. It was also set at this time in American history. We have recently had this time of high unemployment, which seems to be very slowly restoring itself, but I know that out there in this country there is still so much poverty and suffering. It seems like the gap between the homeless and the rich is growing ever wider. Kind of puts a perspective on the glitz and sparkle of the season.

On another note, the holiday goes on. Yesterday was bumpy. I feel incredibly human today and not perfect and not all-knowing.
Deep Thought:It seemed to me that, somehow, the blue jay was trying to communicate with me. I would see him fly into the house across the way, pick up the telephone, and dial. My phone would ring, and it would be him, but it was just this squawking and cheeping. “What! What?!” I would yell back, but he never did speak English.
Today I am grateful for: Good books

The Day After Christmas

I was reminded that Christmas is not just a day, but a season. Today I will get to see my beautiful daughter for the first time in the holiday. And here’s the Friday 5:

1. What was your biggest accomplishment this year?
I don’t feel like there’s one that stands out as really Huge. But I joined a gym and started doing more exercise and sending my weight down instead of up. And I took a darkroom class to learn something I’ve wanted to for such a long time that I hope will be an art I can pursue into my old age.

2. What was your biggest disappointment?
I didn’t get to start retiring last spring when I hoped to. At the last minute, because of layoffs where I work I felt my job would be threatened (the plan was to go to 3/4 time and then to half-time by 2004. Now I will probably start this process again this spring.

3. What do you hope the new year brings?
A change in the administration so that there is some hope to get this country going in the direction of peace.

4. Will you be making any New Year’s resolutions? If yes, what will they be?
Not sure. I usually do but they tend to lose steam a few months into the year. However, I’m a great believer that each day you can say “this is the first day of the rest of my life.” But if I do, they would probably be: (1) To form a few close friendships, (2) To stay close to my family, (3) To begin to retire, (4) To develop photography as a creative path, and (5) To improve my health in any way possible.

5. What are your plans for New Year’s Eve?None. I go to bed early and pray the fireworks don’t wake me up. Nevertheless, New Year’s is my favorite holiday of the year. It feels like turning a page, wiping the slate clean time.

Deep Thought: I think a new, different kind of bowling should be “carpet bowling.” It’s just like regular bowling, only the lanes are carpet instead of wood. I don’t know why we should do this, but my God, we’ve got to try something!
Today I am grateful for: Daybreak

Christmas Day

Christmas Eve day went swimmingly. Around 11 am I got picked up with my packages by my son and grandchildren and returned to his house. His girlfriend arrived soon after from work and his father from shopping and we were all together the rest of the day. We opened some presents, watched some old home movies, played a game of Cranium Cadoo around a big table which I got on film, ate a good meal which we all helped prepare at the same table, made cookies, had good conversation, and even though my son and his girlfriend were not feeling so good physically, they rose to the occasion and were lovely hosts. I will close with a poem from a book by Alice Walker I received as a gift:

Because you rubbed my shoulder last night, a poem traveled down my arm.

It kind of sums up how it all made me feel. I hope your day today is special in some way for you. I’ll be joining the same group again today for a movie probably – minus the grandchildren who are spending the day with another branch of the family.
Deep Thought:Just as bees will swarm about to protect their nest, so will I “swarm about” to protect my nest of chocolate eggs.
Today I am grateful for: Open minds