MONDAY READING

Not
long ago, in the first copy of The Sun that I read, I came upon the
work of Sam Harris, author of the New York Times bestseller, The End of
Faith: Religion, Terror, and the Future of Reason and Letter to a
Christian Nation. It was the first time I can say I really read an
article by a self-labeled atheist. In most circles, the A-word is
rarely mentioned, something to recoil from as one would from an
untimely belch or other impolite bodily function. Having been a
spiritual seeker all my life in one way or another but having also come
from a political family, I’m well aware that religious folks are not
the only idealists in the world. Still, I thought to myself that
atheism was definitely not where I would fit. So to my surprise, I
found
myself feeling strangely sympathetic to what I found in that article.
Harris is a philosophy graduate from Stanford and now completing a
doctorate in neuroscience. He lives in New York and writes for many
publications. Here is his web site. And here are the first few paragraphs from his article, An Atheist Manifesto:

Somewhere
in the world a man has abducted a little girl. Soon he will rape,
torture and kill her. If an atrocity of this kind is not occurring at
precisely this moment, it will happen in a few hours, or days at most.
Such is the confidence we can draw from the statistical laws that
govern the lives of 6 billion human beings. The same statistics also
suggest that this girl’s parents believe at this very moment that an
all-powerful and all-loving God is watching over them and their family.
Are they right to believe this? Is it good that they believe this?
No.
The
entirety of atheism is contained in this response. Atheism is not a
philosophy; it is not even a view of the world; it is simply a refusal
to deny the obvious. Unfortunately, we live in a world in which the
obvious is overlooked as a matter of principle. The obvious must be
observed and re-observed and argued for. This is a thankless job. It
carries with it an aura of petulance and insensitivity. It is,
moreover, a job that the atheist does not want. (Read on.)

P.S. I’m still not an atheist.

Guess the Movie: “I don’t like the way Teddy Roosevelt is looking at me.”  Answer:  North by Northwest, 1959.  Winner:  thenarrator.

WEDNESDAY MOVIE

The Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill


It’s been so long since I posted on a movie that I’ve actually seen
several I really liked.  The Departed has got to finally win
Scorsese an Oscar this year – knockout cast (Pacino, DiCaprio, Damon,
Wahlberg, and on and on), genius plot twists, breathless pacing. 
On DVD, I saw The Proposition, an Australian film starring the
hawk-faced Guy Pierce as an outlaw forced to assassinate his older
brother in order to save his younger brother from execution – all this
in the outback of the late 19th century.  Character actor Ray
Winstone (getting lots of work lately) shows up in both films. 
The Proposition surprised me.  Again, the action was
lickety-split, the running out of the plot line riveting.  So if
you can take the R-rating for violence in both of them, they’re top of
their genre.  But turning to something completely different is The
Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill, the true story of Mark Bittner,
homeless former street musician in San Francisco, and his relationship
with a flock of wild green-and-red parrots.  The filmmaker asks
him during the film why he doesn’t work or pay rent or cut his hair,
etc.  And you learn that this isn’t a shiftless bum or a drug
addict or a mentally ill person,  but a thoughtful, gentle,
compassionate, stubbornly individualistic and searching, big old
sweetheart.  Happening upon free rent in a cottage on this famous
landmark hill in SF, he begins to make friends with the parrots who
live there and to feed them and care for them.  He becomes a kind
of landmark himself, publicized eventually in the media, and we learn
how he painstakingly gathers information about these elusive birds and
how they live and relate to each other.  It’s a family movie for
sure (and I watched it with my daughter and grandchildren), role
modeling that there are many paths to fulfillment and they are not all
corporate.  It’s beautiful to watch and has a lovely ending even
though there are some sadnesses and losses, like we must all expect in
life.  The perfect holiday film.  You can read more about
Mark Bittner and his current projects here.
And Happy Thanksgiving!  May it be just how you want it to be.

Deep Thought: 
“One Thanksgiving my parents did something I don’t know if I can ever
forgive them for. We were eating our turkey dinner when suddenly I
realized I hadn’t seen my pet turkey all day. “Where’s Mister Gobble?”
I asked. Dad seemed confused. “Mister Gobble?” “Yes,” I said. “My
turkey. The one I picked out at the supermarket, and then after he
thawed out I made him do a funny little turkey dance. Mister Gobble.”
Dad’s silence said it all. We were eating Mister Gobble! I ran crying
from the table and locked myself in my room. Later, Dad knocked on the
door and said he had some dessert for me. When I opened the door, I
couldn’t believe it. It was a slice of Pumpkie, my pet pie!”
Today I am grateful for:  Somewhere to go tomorrow and be thankful.
Guess the Movie:  “You lay life on a table and cut out all the tumors of injustice. Marvelous.”  Answer:  Doctor Zhivago, 1965.

Iraqi deaths hit new high, many emigrate

Wed Nov 22, 2006 6:25 PM GMT20

By Claudia Parsons
BAGHDAD (Reuters) – Iraqi deaths hit a new high in October and 100,000
people are fleeing abroad every month to escape worsening violence that
is segregating the country on sectarian lines, a U.N. report said on
Wednesday.   (Rest of article here.)

FRIDAY FIVE

Appetizer – Do you believe there is intelligent life on other planets?
Actually,
I could care less, but it did make for some great reading when I was in
my high school science fiction period. Some pretty good films too -
klaatu barada nikto! As for life here on earth, may the force be with
you.
Soup – What is one thing you said you’d never do, but you eventually did?
So many broken promises, so little time. On looking up the ten commandments in Wikipedia
I discovered there are as many versions of them as there are religions.
There was a hilarious Stephen Colbert episode recently where he asked
Congressman Lynn Westmoreland, Republican from Georgia who co-sponsors
a bill on the Ten Commandments (I kid you not), to name them. Watch it here
on Youtube. I realized then that I too failed the test. And once I
checked the answers, I figure I’ve broken over half of them.
Salad – Who is the teacher that influenced you the most in school?
This
is sad but I don’t remember a single teacher who stands out as
someone who really encouraged and supported my learning until college
days when I took a Speech class and a kind and diplomatic professor
created an A student out of a panic-stricken, stammering mess.
Main Course – If you could trade places with anyone for one day, who would it be and why?
Buddhism
says all suffering comes from attachment and in my older years I think
I’ve come to know that surfaces are tricky and underneath them almost
everyone has dark places. So rather than trade I’d like to hang out
with: Kathy Kelly, Thich Nhat Hanh, and/or Akiane Kramarik. Tomorrow it will be someone else.
Dessert – What is your favorite dish to prepare?
As
if. Most of us who are the only human in our house know that preparing
actual dishes is time-consuming, costly, and messy. We snack – healthy
or otherwise. Or microwave. Unless we are domestic divas from birth (is
there a word for male domestic divas? and how sexist is that if there
isn’t). I have beaucoup de cookbooks and rarely use them, but a few
times a month I entertain myself with a recipe. Then I store the
leftovers for mini-meals to come. The last such attempt was a pasta
with broccoli and parmesan cheese item – whole wheat pasta and organic
broccoli mind you). Yummy.

Guess the Movie:
“Who’d you think I was anyway? The guy that walks into a good looking
dame’s front parlour and says, ‘Good afternoon, I sell accident
insurance on husbands… you got one that’s been around too long? One
you’d like to turn into a little hard cash?’”  Answer:  Double Indemnity, 1944.  Winner:  thenarrator.

FRIDAY FIVE

Appetizer – If someone made a statue of you, in which pose would you like to be?
If I had to sit still long enough for someone to make a statue, I’d
have to be in the shape of a couch potato watching TV, which reminds me
of a cartoon I had for years of a sheep watching TV.  On TV a
sheep newscaster was saying:  “And this just in, there is indeed
grass on the other side of the fence.”
Salad – What perfume/cologne does your best friend wear?
First of all, I don’t have a best friend.  I have a handful of
friends who are special to me for their various gifts – none of which
is wearing cologne.
Soup – Name something satisfying about your work.
My work is no longer in the official sense of the word, since I retired
at the end of July (for now anyway).  My work now is to prepare to
rise to my highest self for the last act of this play.  All the
world IS a play, isn’t it?
Main Course – What was the last excuse you made, and why did you need to make it?
I haven’t made it yet, but I can feel it coming up soon.  I told
someone I’d see them at a recovery meeting this morning and then I
realized how cold and rainy it was outside and decided if I was going
out it would be the much shorter trip to the store to put in larder for
the weekend. 
Dessert – Complete this sentence: I wonder why
…..it requires getting a handful of pretzels to eat while thinking up
an answer to this question and then it seems eating them is enough.

Deep Thought:   “Consider the daffodil. And while you’re doing that, I’ll be over here, looking through your stuff.”
Today I am grateful for:  Roamers
Guess the Movie:  “I had a
dream. I dreamt I was home. I’ve had that same dream hundreds of times
before. This time, I wanted to find out if it’s really true. Am I
really home?”  The Best Years of Our Lives, 1946.  Winner:  thenarrator.
Israel Official: Strike on Iran Possible

By Amy Teibel
The Associated Press

Friday 10 November 2006
The deputy defense minister suggested Friday that Israel might be
forced to launch a military strike against Iran’s disputed nuclear
program – the clearest statement yet of such a possibility from a
high-ranking official.  (Rest of article here.)

TUESDAY POLITICS

It’s
a famous and much-maligned face and yesterday it was still standing
outside the White House in protest. As we go to vote today (actually in
Oregon most of us sent in our ballots days ago), I hope enough of us
feel like that face looks about at least one key issue – the war in
Iraq. I wonder how our votes could change things. GWB has just vowed to
keep Cheney and Rumsfeld on for the “course,” but if Congress control
changes hands he may not get away with it. A Democratic House and/or
Senate could call Congressional Hearings to shed more light on the war
for the public. Anybody remember the Fullbright hearings during the
Vietnam War? Made the folks start squirming for the first time then.
And still that war went on for another 7 years. We’re squirming again
now. Will it take admitting defeat to get our soldiers home? Is anyone
coming on board today who has the guts to push for it? Not bloody
likely, but maybe there will be a miracle.

Guess the Movie: “Frankly, you’re beginning to smell and for a stud in New York, that’s a handicap.”  Answer:  Midnight Cowboy,  1969.  Winner:  the narrator

SUNDAY GOOD NEWS

On
a damp November morning when it seems the world is rejoicing in the
news that someone is going to hang (OK, it’s Saddam Hussein), the
religious/political right is dealing with yet another sex scandal (OK,
it was just a massage on speed), and elections are influenced by
“botched jokes” (OK, it was just John Kerry), I’m glad to have the
charming news that elephants can recognize themselves in a mirror to
offset all that garbage. It took weeks for the researchers at the Bronx
Zoo in New York to set up the huge mirror safely in a pen with three
female Asian elephants – Maxine, Patty, and Happy. Now usually when
your basic cat or dog sees itself in the mirror it thinks it’s seeing
another animal. In fact, humans, chimpanzees, and dolphins have been
considered to be the only creatures who realize they’re looking at
themselves in this situation up to now. When the three big girls at the Bronx Zoo
peeked in, two of them did at first try to climb up and see
behind the mirror, but then they settled in for some good old preening
and primping behavior like sticking their trunks in their mouths to
explore. The Real Test though was when a big X was painted on
their heads in white paint (another one was painted in invisible paint
to rule out scent as a marker) and Happy reached up and repeatedly
touched it. The other two didn’t pay attention to it but the scientists
say that isn’t remarkable because elephants don’t do grooming (i.e., picking things off each other or themselves)
like chimps and humans so they maybe didn’t give a darn. I don’t know
what Happy is thinking about today – the mark on her head or what’s for
lunch. I’m just glad she doesn’t have to listen to the rest of the news.

Guess the Movie:
“Why didn’t you take off all your clothes? You could have stopped forty
cars.”  Answer:  It Happened One Night, 1934.   Winner:  thenarrator.