[JGP Photo Props]

Lane Walking In the Green

I'm happy to announce, that the rest of life will be the same.

These aisles are freezing.

Just keep walking.

Thingy

The business of calling the things that don’t make sense is the business of being a part of the big picture. The big picture is the business of calling things. The person calling things is the ref. The ref is in the business of calling things that don’t make sense. The things that don’t make sense make sense if the ref is calling them. Because if the ref is calling them then they must make sense. The ref is trusted.

Denial isn't Denial

Dear me minus 10 years,

Things ARE what they seem. Older people are older. They just know what they should have known when they were your age but they don't know what they should know now. Listen. But don't follow.

Start taking Rogaine now. Get in more trouble. Start reading Paul Auster now. Take a cooking class. And, please, stop being so dramatic.

- JL

Humility is an Old Fashioned Word

Ate at Colorado Kitchen in DC's Brightwood neighborhood last night. Been a long time since I'd had amazing food without the hype.

Speak Softly is a new ebook written by the Harvard MBA grad Ira L. Williams.

Right now, some ant is carrying a load ten times its body weight.

It's Fun, It's Easy. Like Superman.

It's easy to jump into a conclusion, but not out of it.
Elevate your cuestick above the pool table at a 30 or 40 degree angle.
Grimace optional.

It's easy to jump into a feeling, but not out of it.
Elevate your mood for 30 or 40 minutes.
Screaming, laughing, crying optional.

It's easy to jump.
Elevate yourself.
Options are endless.

Coffee Cup Morality
On my way into the office this morning, while squeezing my coffee cup's rim and watching it snap back into place for my coffee-drinking enjoyment, I remembered an important lesson.

THE BEGINNING
In 1997, Jon Katz, an eccentric engineer/philosopher/community organizer, began helping the rural village of El Limon by introducing them to a cheap form of renewable energy--a small (about 20 inches in diameter), highly-efficient turbine to power a couple light bulbs in each house, a community refrigerator and a computer lab / telephone center. The project was very successful in improving the quality of life in El Limon.
More info on the project here.

GETTING TO THE PART THAT HAS TO DO WITH A COFFEE CUP
Around 2003, Jon and the community decided they needed a larger building for the computer center that could double as a hurricane shelter--being on a hill, El Limon is susceptible to hurricane damage. The only well-known local building method was cement block structures--lots of right angles, simple construction and very little variations (hint, hint, this is where I start drawing parallels).

The village had a group of trained men who's job was to build houses. They'd been doing it for years and they knew how to do it quickly. Draw a box, build a wall around it, put a zinc roof on top and then pour a cement base. They were pretty sturdy against hurricane winds, but for the needs of a hurricane shelter for the whole community, the space to cost ratio was high. Just getting cement blocks into the tiny village would have blown the budget. This was not the right process.

So, Katz, wise and eccentric, proposed a different building method: ferrocement.

Ferrocement structures are made with rebar and chicken wire--later, cement is spread on top to create a thin but rigid wall. The preliminary structure might seem, at first, to be incredibly fragile. See pictures of the El Limon structure here.


In fact, because of the fragile appearance, the band of trained builders told Katz and his community group to build the building themselves. They didn't believe it would support cement, let alone hurricane-force winds.

So, folks that had never built this type of building before started to help Katz out. The malleability of the structure let them tailor the structure to their exact needs. When they decided to add a smaller room for community counsel meetings it was easy to snip the chicken wire and add the space. It wasn't until the whole structure was built and agreed upon that they patted concrete into the chicken wire, creating an incredibly strong and beautiful structure. The community now had a large, beautiful building for community events, planning and hurricane preparedness.

BACK TO REALITY
Well, actually, the building doesn't seem to have been finished. But the structure is still there.

THE MORAL TO THE STORY
You figure it out. I'm going to finish my coffee.

Now This Ruins Everything
Jim and Jim were taking a walk through the desert. The desert was hot. Jim was sweating. Jim was actually kind of cold. The hair on the back of his neck was standing up and he didn't know why.... Holy Shit. A monster.

Ladies and Gentleman, We Are Floating in Mystery

I have faith in the process. I have faith in the process. I have faith in the process.

Things happen for a reason. Things happen for a reason. Things happen for a reason.

Chocolate. Yum. Chocolate. Yum. Chocolate. Yum.

Control Issues

A remote control is a device used for the remote operation of a device or tool.

According to the Urban Dictionary, a tool is a person who lacks mental capacity. Someone who is being used. A fool, a cretin. A cheap piece of meat.

According to the January 26 Giant Circular for the Columbia Heights neighborhood of Washington DC, center cut pork loin chops are on sale for $2.99 a pound with your Bonus Card.

Jesus is Awesome

When I was a kid, I thought I was the Jesus of the monsters under my bed and in my closet.

Jesus Complex is the electro-industrial project of Damon Fries. Though originally from San Francisco, Damon moved to Amsterdam, The Netherlands in 1998 to escape the "extremity and hypocrisy of American culture."

"As we all know, Jesus fought corruption, hypocrisy, and the decadent power structure. He shook people up and you know what He got for that!"

I'm running for President on the monsters in my closet platform.

AMAZING THINGS

Foie gras is an engorged duck liver. It is also sweet love.

Betta fish breathe sweet air. That's why they don't need fancy filters.

Dogfish Head Brewery in Delaware brews vodka and gin aside from their yummy tasty IPAs.

JUST ACT NATURAL

"A Return to Normalcy" was Warren Harding's campaign slogan in 1920. Harding won over his opponent James Cox, a democrat from New Jersey.

New Jersey's state motto is "Liberty and Prosperity."

The official name of the Statue of Liberty is "La Liberté Éclairant Le Monde" or "Liberty Enlightens the World."

The interior of the planet Earth remains active, with a solid layer of convecting earth mantle and a solid iron ore core that generates a magnetic field.

Act for Love is a dating service for activists. Best of all, just by using ActForLove.org, you're helping to support progressive causes.

Pause

Listening is the ability and action of receiving information, often in the form of sound.

One of the traditional five senses and performed primarily by the auditory system, hearing is the ability to detect sound.

Active listening is the conscious decision to focus on a particular set of information, suspending one's own frame of reference and suspending judgement.

Meetings happen when two or more people agree to come together and discuss a predetermined topic.

Cognitive dissonance is the uncomfortable tension that comes from holding two conflicting thoughts at the same time.

I'm late for my appointment. Can we talk about this later?

C?R?O?W?D?E?D?

Crowded spaces are:
a. choking.
b. inspiring.
c. both choking and inspiring.

YOU DID WHAT?

I joined a church last weekend. I got dressed up, pinned a red flower to my shirt, repeated some words and had some folks congratulate me.

I'm not sure what I was expecting, but I really wanted more. Some sort of ritual involving bloodletting. Or a test. You know, take this pitcher of water and an everything bagel and sit on the banks of the Potomac for a month. So much for self-sacrifice.

This whole church business has reminded me how messed up the adult world is. We have our priorities all wack. Even in church. And so, I propose a New Reformed Church of Children.

Why do churches separate children from adults? If old people are allowed in, so should children. Old people and children have a lot in common, they're both chronologically closer to the meaning of life than the average adult. They may not be able to articulate it, but just watch a kid smile and you know you've got a little baby buddha throwing dharma at you in spades. Blow some bubbles from the altar and watch all the boys and girls do the right thing. Pop, pop, pop. Give a toddler the pulpit and you'll see Love in the darndest of places. Give up the structure of your important life and realize that you had this thing figured out years ago.

I'm going to bring this idea to the board of directors of my church. I think they'll eat it up.

[SECRET SERIOUS NOTE: Yes, I did join the church. Yes, I am happy. Yes, I think you are going to hell.]

NO RING

GETTING CLOSE

CHOOSE YOUR CHOICE

Little Rocket

Two things first, then first things second:
1. This is really important.
2. I'm a fact.

Can we be friends?

Tap Tap

I want in ya bastard people.

Let's Do This Thing #2

"It's just so much."

"Eat what you can. I'll feed the rest to the dogs."

"That's a good idea."

--

"It's just so much."

"Take her for a spin. If you don't like it, take it back."

"That's a good thought."

--

"It's just so much."

"Focus on the positive. You'll never have to pay for a meal again."

"That's a good point."