Colorless Green Ideas

five in the morning, ten in midday, and ten at night from the virgin father, savior of light Drought and sadness, misery and woe A hell, warming, for all, your foe Defeat him well by this tale I tell and take me, by green from the colorless well I can't be touched felt or seen Yet subtracted, great joy I bring Here begins the tale: I speak , as one of the Aulindale So first, the priest In black gown does bind The letters of a, t c g and u what the cow could chew if the z's with you And cross'd by poison that grows true Add to this stem, water to wine Would that which would burn would taste so fine That salads be served, from gardens of smog? Road, river, and rail A special taste, if we do not fail Dining in the dark Next the song of sixpence , a pocket would yield and to the soft earth, in winter, marry the time when the planet softly breathes lay down the seed for summer's earth to feed Breathing in the light Fields wil...

The stars are so beautiful they take my breath away. I look at them sometimes and I am transfixed. I have always loved astronomy. I have found a really neat book. It's a book called 'Cosmos - A Field Guide' by Giles Sparrow, and it is just beyond cool. The Hubble Space Telescope has been quietly working on imaging the galaxy for years. This book has compiled the imagery, its a big one. So well done, there are moments you can imagine yourself there, at a point distant to a galaxy. You can sense the hugeness of it. Each point of light an entire system, a huge star. Wow. Scope it out.. Now, don't get me wrong. Earth is cozy . Its nice and blue and has lots of water; we have all kinds of neat lands. About 3 percent of our planet is now covered in mega-city. They have micro climates sometimes. San Fran has a bigtime micro climate. In Atlanta, because of the drought, the water levels have dropped all around our town, drying up two lakes south of town. I walked out...

Violet Blue is a good writer on net sex. All nonfiction. She's a sex educator, worked in the field in San Fran when I lived there. She works for sfsi.org . Good sex and bad sex is part of navigating your life as an adult. It is also a big part of our survival as a race (doh!) in particular, our resistance to disease, and our mutation capability. Have you ever considered the fact that the dominant life form on the planet are virii and bacterium, they reproducing right now on your desktop. In fact, by the time you are reading this some of them will become grandmothers. Margaret Atwood wrote a really great dystopian novel called "Oryx and Crake" about how this kind of mutation can really level off our species. The net is useful for alot of different things. Its a point in our evolution, I think. I think of it, alot of times in terms of protocol and content. Violet talks alot about just content, but thats ok. She's taking a more focussed approach. She says that se...

You have entrusted me with providing objective, unsolicited advise and to opine about important matters in the most humble, and befitting way. So here is some baseball advice: Boston in FIVE GAMES. NOT SIX. FIVE. For a quick counting reference just hold up your hand and outstretch the fingers. Now look at how many. There you go!

Awesome. This is my new favorite magazine. Its got everything. I love it to death. Read this magazine. Get a copy on your way home. This latest re-design of the magazine really hits on all cylinders. I usually get magazine subscriptions as perks. But this one, I will never want to do without. For this magazine I will make an exception. I am going to subscribe. They even have cool fiction by a new writer (Australian) . When was the last time you read a really good short story? I mean, what.. The Saturday Evening Post? The New Yorker? Don't let the fact that it is published by MIT shake you. After all, MIT +is+ the Georgia Tech of the North. Didn't you once have someone overpressure your tires and then have you claim that helium was the secret to your new mpg? Then when the tire pressure dropped it was back to the old MPG, right? Come on if you can do that you can pick up a copy of a magazine. You're a geek, right. Go, get a copy of this thing. Now. You'r...

All work and no play makes jack a dull boy. All work and no play makes jack a dull boy. All work and no play makes jack a dull boy.All work and no play makes jack a dull boy. All work and no play makes jack a dull boy. All work and no play makes jack a dull boy.All work and no play makes jack a dull boy. All work and no play makes jack a dull boy. All work and no play makes jack a dull boy. All work and no play makes jack a dull boy. All work and no play makes jack a dull boy. All work and no play makes jack a dull boy.All work and no play makes jack a dull boy. All work and no play makes jack a dull boy. All work and no play makes jack a dull boy.All work and no play makes jack a dull boy. All work and no play makes jack a dull boy. All work and no play makes jack a dull boy. All work and no play makes jack a dull boy. All work and no play makes jack a dull boy. All work and no play makes jack a dull boy.All work and no play makes jack a dull boy. All work and no play makes j...

I have started a film called 'The Fountain' and it is one of those films that for me, almost puts me in shock it is so well done. I have learned that over time critical review can only serve as a rough guidepost to whether or not a film is worth watching and although this film has been panned by the critics - it is definitely - at least in my collection - ranking with Satyajit Ray. A vivid, simple exploration of timeless love. Its hard for me to say precisely why such a film resonates with me so well. Perhaps it is the idea that an enemy can come from within. Or perhaps it is the discovery that there are two trees in the Garden of Eden (I posted about the Maiar, in the Tolkien spectrum of beings - about a week ago, without knowing that there were two trees in the Garden. The tree of life and the tree of knowledge) and the unity of opposites. I am going through a rough time in my life, as well. The theme that a loved one might be sick, or that we might be able to complete a...

This work here, which was done by a young mother - part of the reason why I am pro birth. She was lucky enough to be living in the netherlands at the time and simply had the child. Good, inexpensive health care, even day care and a strong support network for the mother - helped make this project a reality... would you like to see something someone did, while they were bringing their child into the world? The Big Myth - Stories of Creation from All Cultures I was almost the first person in the US to see it and I posted it on my old website (athena) and proved it could be hosted via the web. The original idea was to send it out on CD's. Enjoy! you will love it! This is of course, the limited version. (but again, those who also met me in Second Life know thats the only version of me you get there, anyway too..) You will have to pay to get the full version. Do it! It will five dollars or so, money well spent. Kids or no! Now, just an aside about the subtext of this post....

So falling in love is just like falling. Wow. The sensations of fallling in love are processed uniquely in the brain. This won't explain your feelings about the picture above, but it will give you some insight into why you feel the way you do when you're falling in love. From the article.. "The sensation you're feeling is probably associated with decreased activity in the brain region that senses our bodies' location in the physical world." In particular, the article reports that the sensations of falling in love, and the feeling of dislocation or being lost - are being processed similiarly. It does so in an easygoing style, this isn't a hardcore scientific article. The reason I think this is cool is that the center that handles language, particularly new language acquisition, and the area of the mind that can work with being lost and trying to guide you home, are both areas in which new neural growth occurs if they are strengthened or asked to do wor...

Well, its happening again. At the stables, about two months ago I wrote about a white horse , a small foal that had gotten really sick. So sick in fact that its blue eyes turned to green and it couldn't get up. I took a look at that horse, and said out loud that it needed to be put down. They didn't listen, and I didn't press the matter because foals can get sick and also because these people were paying cash. But nevertheless that foal suffered for three more days before the vet showed up one day carrying a long silver needle loaded with an overdose of barbituates. Last night a horse burned the midnight oil next to me. She was not exactly my stablemate (normally who's stalled there is a horse that looks exactly like spirit of the cimarron). But, she was moved there because she had been laid out flat. She had a tube in her nose. When I got there this morning she was down. Her owner came over to her and said, "Come on, get up. You're not dead". Now, y...

One one side, all scientists have a deep obligation to tell the truth as they see it. On the other side, just take a look at those gold bars. Mmm mm. Don't they look good? I remember taking everyone I know to see this film the first day it was released, at the Tara (which is a really great place to catch a good opening film, any day, by the way).

Rock on. Al Gore just won the Nobel peace prize, for his work on the environment. I have been following that work closely for nearly 7 years now. I am friends with his campaign finance manager from 2000. The inside story there was that in 2000, he could have been described (I am trying to choose words carefully) as indecisive. Ok. Hell. He was standing there going "Ah, Tipper. What should I do?". I heard he turned the corner in like, 2002 and became extremely decisive. I have seen that type of thing with his work in Moveon (I am a founding member of Moveon.org and damned proud of it - I used to live a block from Eli Pariser. ). I think this was clinched during his beijing talks and progress with china. China is literally +belching+ pollution into the world right now. Unprecedented levels. Everyone seems to be talking about a presidential bid. Hey. It was the year 2000. Get over it. I think what would be great would to discuss zoning (forced commute equals forced pollu...

What you see here is an attack on a rookery ('eggs') by a group that names itself Pals For Life . This group is led by a competent person who carefully lays out a battle plan. Calculates chance of survival. The avie Leeroy Jenkins shows up, and then dusts his entire group's chances of survival , by just charging in. He'd missed the whole meeting, was in his father's kitchen making chicken. There is a total group wipe, with alot of cursing of LeeRoy Jenkins. At the end, LeeRoy says "At least I have chicken" He has since become semi-immortalized as an example of what not to do. Whenever you hear people talking about LeeRoy Jenkins, now you now what they mean.

A SCIENTIFIC EXPLANATION OF HELL The following is an actual question given on a University of Washington chemistry mid-term. The answer by one student was so "profound" that the professor shared it with colleagues, via the Internet, which is, of course, why we now have the pleasure of enjoying it as well. Bonus Question: Is Hell exothermic (gives off heat) or endothermic (absorbs heat)? Most of the students wrote proofs of their beliefs using Boyle's Law (gas cools when it expands and heats when it is compressed) or some variant. One student, however, wrote the following: First, we need to know how the mass of Hell is changing in time. So we need to know the rate at which souls are moving into Hell and the rate at which they are leaving. I think that we can safely assume that once a soul gets to Hell, it will not leave. Therefore, no souls are leaving. As for how many souls are entering Hell, let's look at the different Religions that exist in the world today. Mo...

The word, Maia, or commonly written in alternate phonemic for Maayaa is related to day to day life, comes from two origins linked together by design (visualize, two trees whose branches interlock and roots form a basis, one growing into the other). (now visualize a badge). These are their stories. (play, theme from dragnet ) In the first view, everything you see is always finite. There is the knower, and the known; the knower is the object, the known is the subject. The subject has the capacity to be infinite or at the least, infinitely frisky. The subject must break free from the bondage of the circle of the object. Again, this sort of reminds me of this girl named.. ahem.. where was I .. So.. everything with a name and a form has a beginning and an end; the only thing that remains is Brahm - the ultimate reality. The phenomenal world has no real existence. So in this scheme, attachments to external objects, animate and inanimate, are known as Maia. (Maayaa) - the sum tota...

I utterly reject all red light I hereby throw the red spectral line into the world I pull into myself two different colors the one your eye is sensitive to the one you allow and the other the color that they think we all are from afar yellow and blue makes green this is not a fashion statement its a death wish the priest told me I could not marry, over and over earning the right to my silence I did anyway put that in your pipe and smoke it love won, in the end, over catechism even if christ did not win against his own church in his lifetime blood on the ground waged a silent war that broke the temple at its foundation I think it was six days I tell time differently than you You might need to check with the holy roman empire if your watch seems slow mickey's hand was on one number I forget where his other hand was it might have been up your skirt When I become one of the fallen I will first throw a single raindrop into the air I will shatte...

The ground cannot hold the wind driven rain all living things take shelter from stream and storm Predator dreams of the sun prey schadenfreude the delight of quiet armageddon mother nature delivers lightning plays across the canyon like an indian raga lighting their den like watercolor moonlight across fur on fur skin on skin safe and warm above the raging water All the world is darkness the wind howls and stronger now it tears its way through the sand vade mecum blasting rock and mesa and joshua tree sweeping the desert clean bound for the rio grande and lit on to the sea And the next day, alone the flowers will bloom the bees will cover themselves in pollen and the colors will come in reds and whites and yellow and green Then The sun will return and burn away every living thing prey will come out of hiding eyes bright sharpened by dull desire stirring the predator to arrive who waits for the white of the eye while all around them, t...

Pink Floyd, The Great Gig in the Sky - Male voice (intro): And I am not frightened of dying, any time will do I don’t mind. Why should I be frightened of dying? There’s no reason for it, you’ve gotta go sometime. (vocal solo) *improvised Female voice (reprise): I never said I was frightened of dying. I so loved listening to this song while doing minesweeper. I finally solved it too. Secret: learn to play the patterns well, don't take chances if you can at all help it. And finally, as it gets hairy - down toward the end, take a screenshot of the minefield and go off-line and look at the patterns to see where a solid move can be played. In general, it should work out to being careful at the last 30 mines because the bottom line for this game is that at the last 30 mines, you either have a configuration where you have to guess, or you don't. Its a bit like the weather. Hydrocarbons influence it and man has changed the weather patterns interminably. But in the end,...

Tolkien , in his writings usually avoided social or political commentary. Much of the rule that descends upon the lands of the first and second age, and of the Valimar and mythic lands prior to the epoch of the Lord of the Rings, was an implicit form of just monarchy. A sort of simplified family unit that had, at the head, normally a benevolent king. Central to the theme is good responding, and unifying against evil. This unification occurs in several places. If you look at the star wars trilogies you find that essentially, the galactic federation was fragmented by the presence of moles + the general transformation of the senate into the empire under senator palpatine (to become emperor) follows the line of a person posing to be benevolent, who in turn seizes power and then turns that power against a force or people. The empire is hard at work smashing an ancient religion and rebel force, when we see star wars open, we see a rebel ship trying to escape a better armed imperial star c...

I wonder sometimes what it would be like to have an ideal GPS unit in my car. With a perfect accent, and identity.  So lets talk about personality. Mr T. would be slightly abrasive. Mr. T's accent would be , like "Ah pity the fool that don't turn right, right here." .. but in British accent it would be "Ah. Mrs. Peale. Please be so kind as to turn right".  So I think I would go for british. Second, it would have to have a nice name. Something frisky. Yet, serious and distinct enough so that in a noisy car I can still say it and it will understand what I am saying. Distinct. Frisky. Hmm.... lets say... Adrienne .  Thats perfect. :)  Never mind the reference to "Little Nicky". Ok, here's the good version. " Ms. Peale, please turn right "  "Ok, Adrienne".  (astronomy domine humming along..) (ping!) you have arrived. (thank you!) Now here's the bad version.  "I PITY THE FOOL THAT DON'T TURN RIGHT AT THE NEXT INT...

Praise Bob!! oh great one, with the cool looking tattoo - Why is it that your words always stick with me? You must be rubber, and I must be glue.

In June, of about 42,597 businesses operating in Second Life, just over 81% generated less than US$50 per month according to Second Life's own figures. Residents Logged-In During Last 7 Days 440,873 Residents Logged-In During Last 14 Days 599,586 Residents Logged-In During Last 30 Days 934,366 Residents Logged-In During Last 60 Days 1,474,362 Total Residents 9,817,835 Est. Initial Churn Rate : 85% I would estimate that there are at least two and possibly 5, ave. 3.5 alts per real account for a total of 9.8/3.5 = 2.8 M total actual accounts. Of those, I would offer that a good third are inactive based on (tier 2) churn rate. ; 2.8 - .93 = 1.9 M actual accounts. Less than one half of one percent of businesses (132 businesses) generated more than US$5000 of revenue. It's impossible to know whether these businesses actually made profits, since we don't know what their costs were. What intrigues me most is the character and composition of those ac...

why would I kid about something as important as the fact that life in the universe is, probably ubiquitous? two trees intertwined.