Introduction

I'm not sure how many reader are familiar with The Bright Orange Thread.

Anyway, I have a new addition to my household. A delightful, super fuzzy kitten.  He has taken the moniker, Mugen (Officially Mugen-kun).

The first hurdle this little guy must cross is the ever vigilant eye of Big Sister - Pepper, I mean.  She is less then ecstatic about this little visitor. At first, she did what a cat does when her home is invaded by a stranger. At first, he was sequestered in a different room so that all she could do is growl and hiss that the door. Gradually (not that gradually, actually it was in two days) she would sit, pearched, and stare at him. Slowly, he worked his charms on her.

Now they are the best of pals and spend time playing and frolicking [photo not found].

the word of the day: Imponderables

Aug 22 2010
I have class tomorrow.

Good day!

firstly, the good news.
The rives peaked at 19.88ft and 18.13ft yestermorning just under record for the Skunk and Squaw respectively (20.93 and 18.54).  Inversely, the lowest the river(s) have very been recorded was 1.60ft for the skunk and .38ft for the squaw. I'm certain a drought would be worse.
Unfortunately, the local water tower and the water treatment plant are still offline. (i guess the water tower emptied itself out of fear when the flood hit) So I've only hydrostatic pressure for fausets and the city strongly recommends boiling water for consumption. Only thing is that Friday predicts more rain. I took a meterology class in highschool which i draw on now. The Barimetric pressure seems to be stable but humidity and tempature continue to steadily climb. I don't know what more rain could bring.

Flood day

People running frantically around town, in desperate search for a river crossing. Cars. It's all cars now. Very little foot traffic. the pedestians find it easy to effect a fording. Their reliance is on their cars. Combustion powered, reinforced suspention, variable speed transmission with no-slip traction control that automaticly adjusts wheel speed to maintain optimal control. all shyed from water-bound bridges.

Ok, it's less a failure of technology or people's interface, rather the authorities closed roots to civilian traffic just the same. Ames, my current home town, underwent a deluge. Rain, Rain ever several days. Rain on the road, rain on the river, rain all over the place.  The river spilled it's banks and ran ashore. I dominated the landscape (waterscape) today. It continues to rise. And for the sake of safety authority ristricked access to the major downtowny areas.

I wasn't able to snap dramatic pictures like this one. Most of the pictures from the local paper are quite dramatic. They depict only the most affected areas. But what else should one suspect. All the dry places, people and homes are not the worry or interest. Ames has two rivers that collide into one, just north a few, short block from the above picture. Squaw Creek runs into the west Skunk river where they become the north Skunk River as they run through Des Moines. 

As a rule, one should be wary of build at the confluence of rivers.

But the real issue here is the failure of Ames Munisiple. Waste water is running into the water treatment plant. The Ames Power plant is centrally located in the middle of town.

there.
If it goes underwater, we'll most likely lose power.
Or not.
As American has this thing called a power grid. Where electricities are linked in series such that if one fails or needs to be brought off line the area can maintain power. or something like that. I wouldn't say "failure" either, I'm sure a day or two will see water treatment reactivated. Since i can boil water with or without electricity, I won't worry about me. The Only misfortune of this event I've suffered is not being able to play with the kittens at the local animal shelter.

I don't think i've ever seen someone portage a bike before

'till tomorrow.
-marcus
 

It can change your presective and alter feelings. It affects us in ways both subtle and overt and never how we expect. Chronically unbound, it's potency is immeasurable and constant. Memory. Images - events, people, places-  forever burned in the cortexes of our minds never. Though it dims with age, time sweetens moments like fruit to be plucked and savored. Some moments, too sweet, rot with the tread of time, leaving it's bearer to pine for better times. moments passed more saccharin than possible, the fruit so syrup sweetened it turns sour and can only dream of what can never return. Memories should be savored like a wine - a little bit with each sip. The best memories are a complex of emotion and people. Even bitter memories can smile with notes of pear and strawberry.

Of 神 and Wakȟáŋ Tȟáŋka

Religion.
It seems an ever present force in your culture. It attaches social constructs to otherwise "blank slates." It can introduce rational behavior in a panicked community or disavow rational, logical thought and discussion. It is often (incorrectly) believed that that reason and faith can not coexist. When I say "faith" I mean the complete confidence in person, plan, morality... insert noun. Reason does not deny skepticism nor does it sanctify it either. In turbidatude, one might say that faith in reason is a religion just as faith in Christ is also a religion.

I've never been surprised how a simple statement  can cause such animosity. It's like saying Israelis and Palestinians could be the same peoples.

I've always saved a place in my heart for the ancient religions. The common ones these days, seem to bent on maintaining social status, moral surpremacy, political influence and epistemological prowess.

In an effort to better explore and understand my culture - the human culture- I am enbarking on a search for knowledge. I want to explore older, more traditional style belief systems. Systems like the Lakota Way and Shinto. Both are commonly thought of as Religion but lack many formal aspects that plague so many other Faiths. Namely, they are reminents of Faiths of peoples almost forgot but remained doggedly.

For Shinto, it's core elements are entwined in Japanese culture. It provided (and still might) a basis for Buddhism and Confucianism. The Lakota Way is made of the traditions and history one Native American tribe, the Lakota, who manged to preserve a part of their people. Both utilize dance, song and word-of-mouth story telling in ceremony and practice. More interestingly, both are known for a distinct lack of unified doctrine, and have a abundant absence of scripture.

Not to say neither Shinto nor Lakota  don't use "holy books," rather they are not bond by tome. Of course, modern and contemporary works, thoughts and [mis]understandings are freely available.

-yours in learning, Marcus

Something new

The Foundation and Earth.

I started this book believing it to be the first of Asimov's Foundation series. According to the Author's memoirs Wikipedia, each book of the series can be read chronologically, individually or by publishing date. In fact, if It's Been a Good Life by Jan Asimov is to be believed, The Foundation and Earth was Isaac's finis for the series. Thus, I am forced to conclude it was the last book of the Foundation(s) he wrote willingly. Anyway, I wanted to talk about it because it was the only thing I've been thinking about recently that doesn't turn my head to knots. Have read only half of it this review might seem premature. But the book's been on the shelves since before I was an immodest thought shared by two teen in Illinois.

The writing is style curious. It is a far bit different then the heavy, descriptive language of King or Gaimen. it was none of the dingy narrative so prevalent in Poe's short stories. In fact much of the progression it done through dialogue. The characters are brilliantly opposing; I find myself lost in their debates.

Golan Trevize is a very relatable character, at lest for me. He almost always speaks with questions. the story fallows him most closely (third person limited perspective). So far Asimov has stuck to this model, very occasionally shifting perspective to engage dramatic irony.

I don't often like to learn about an author's ideas behind a book prior to reading it, but i felt in writing this post, i ought to do some investigating. That said, I'd love to explore the socio-political context of this particular book. It talks about Gaia, a super organism that is posed to enjoin all of humanity against Trevize's stubborn individualism. so far, he continually agrees that Gaia is the best course for humanity's evolution. But he is constantly in conflict with his disision as he argues again and again for Indiviualism, what Gaia calls Isolates. The whole thing seems a macrocosm for True Democracy versus Ideal Communism.

I give it a Must Read.

It's a little bulky, but not overly so. It's not flowery or romantic. It's not gritty, gutty realism. but it is fun and short and easy to read and understand.