Since that day, I’ve gotten used to the stares
and whispers.
I’ve learned to wax my wings
against the creaking
and the mites.
I sleep standing up –
rarely upside down.
I’ve jumped from buildings, bridges and planes
each time falling like a stone.
Some gifts are hard to take.
Some gifts aren’t all that great. mjh

9/7/2004

[for another take on this imagery, see going home]

Listen to Icarus

My Virtual Chapbook (table of contents)

Icarus is a post from: mjh's blog. Thank you for subscribing. Let me know what you think. peace, mjh

Now and then, ugly, stupid, mean, and wrong triumph. I’m tired of the slaughter of decent animals by indecent ones.

Let the mean-spirited wicked bastards win is a post from: mjh's blog. Thank you for subscribing. Let me know what you think. peace, mjh

Neil DeGrasse Tyson – The Most Astounding Fact

[Question]
What is the most astounding fact you can share with us about the Universe?

[Neil deGrasse Tyson, Ph.D. (October 5, 1958)] Source: LYBIO.net
The most astounding fact is the knowledge that the atoms that comprise life on Earth the atoms that make up the human body are traceable to the crucibles that cooked light elements into heavy elements in their core under extreme temperatures and pressures. These stars, the high mass ones among them went unstable in their later years they collapsed and then exploded scattering their enriched guts across the galaxy guts made of carbon, nitrogen, oxygen and all the fundamental ingredients of life itself. These ingredients become part of gas cloud that condense, collapse, form the next generation of solar systems stars with orbiting planets, and those planets now have the ingredients for life itself. So that when I look up at the night sky and I know that yes, we are part of this universe, we are in this universe, but perhaps more important than both of those facts is that the Universe is in us. When I reflect on that fact, I look up – many people feel small because they’re small and the Universe is big – but I feel big, because my atoms came from those stars. There’s a level of connectivity. That’s really what you want in life, you want to feel connected, you want to feel relevant you want to feel like a participant in the goings on of activities and events around you That’s precisely what we are, just by being alive…

Neil DeGrasse Tyson – The Most Astounding Fact

The Most Astounding Fact (Neil DeGrasse Tyson) – YouTube

Astrophysicist Dr. Neil DeGrasse Tyson was asked by a reader of TIME magazine, "What is the most astounding fact you can share with us about the Universe?" This is his answer. Now w/ subtitles (click CC)! Watch in HD!

The Most Astounding Fact (Neil DeGrasse Tyson) – YouTube

Again with the whole “we are star dust” thing is a post from: mjh's blog. Thank you for subscribing. Let me know what you think. peace, mjh

The Owl and the Pussy-Cat by Edward Lear : The Poetry Foundation

"O lovely Pussy! O Pussy, my love, 
   What a beautiful Pussy you are, 
         You are, 
         You are!
What a beautiful Pussy you are!"

The Owl and the Pussy-Cat by Edward Lear : The Poetry Foundation

I still have the giant book from which my Mom first read this to me. The book has lush illustrations we both loved. (I still remember the smell of its slick pages.)

CatStuff: The Gingham Dog and the Calico Cat

The Duel
by Eugene Field

The gingham dog and the calico cat
Side by side on the table sat; …

CatStuff: The Gingham Dog and the Calico Cat

I think this was my Mom’s favorite.

The Swing by Robert Louis Stevenson

How do you like to go up in a swing,
Up in the air so blue?
Oh, I do think it the pleasantest thing
Ever a child can do!
Up in the air and over the wall,
Till I can see so wide,
River and trees and cattle and all
Over the countryside–
Till I look down on the garden green,
Down on the roof so brown–
Up in the air I go flying again,
Up in the air and down!

The Swing by Robert Louis Stevenson

The poems of childhood linger long after is a post from: mjh's blog. Thank you for subscribing. Let me know what you think. peace, mjh

"Every atom in your body came from a star that exploded. And the atoms in your left hand probably came from a different star than your right hand. It really is the most poetic thing I know about physics. You are all stardust. You couldn’t be here if stars hadn’t exploded. Because the elements, the carbon, nitrogen, oxygen, iron, all the things that matter for evolution weren’t created at the beginning of time. They were created in the nuclear furnaces of stars. And the only way they could get into your body is if the stars were kind enough to explode. So forget Jesus. The stars died so you could be here today." — Lawrence Krauss

Age of Reason , “Every atom in your body came from a star that…

Miley Cyrus Tweets on Science & Religion – Science and Religion Today

Miley Cyrus Tweets on Science & Religion

A few days ago, Miley Cyrus posted this picture to her Twitter account, calling it ”Beautiful”:

And some of her critics—and fans—responded, by attacking Cyrus and accusing her of no longer being a Christian.

Earlier today, Cyrus responded with two more tweets:

“Miley, we’re so proud of you for standing up in your new tweets about your beliefs that the world was created through evolution, even though you were attacked by some livid fans!” veteran editor Bonnie Fuller posts on Hollywood Life.

She writes: “Your message to your haters is that #1, science and religion can co-exist, and #2, that love is what’s important and #3, to bring hate into religion is a terrible thing. We couldn’t agree more, Miley! Good for you for standing up for your beliefs and for not allowing yourself to be pushed around by haters who have called you horrible names!”

Miley Cyrus Tweets on Science & Religion – Science and Religion Today

“The stars died so you could be here today.” — Lawrence Krauss is a post from: mjh's blog. Thank you for subscribing. Let me know what you think. peace, mjh

The next morning, we talked about Luke, who was so different from all the other dogs we saw. And so, we called HART about him and, thankfully, he was still available. Coincidentally, if you believe such things, he was in Los Lunas, which was where I was headed that day to play volleyball. So, a HART volunteer (Jeri) brought Luke to volleyball. Although I put him in the back of the truck’s extended cab, he had other ideas and jumped into the front seat. Fine, I thought, let him ride in the passenger’s seat. But soon, he crawled over and laid his head in my lap for the drive home. He’s a 65 pound lap-dog and a love hound.

In the years we’ve been together, Luke hasn’t traveled as much or far as Lucky did his first year with us (5000 miles). And, we’ve left him at home with a dog-sitter, something we never did with Lucky in 10+ years. Luke is gentle and mellow and loving and we could only be happier if he and Lucky had known each other.

Luke the Dog (8 photos)

[first published Mar 6, 2011 @ 7:47am]

Luke, the Love Hound is a post from: mjh's blog. Thank you for subscribing. Let me know what you think. peace, mjh

“Live a good life. If there are gods and they are just, then they will not care how devout you have been, but will welcome you based on the virtues you have lived by. If there are gods, but unjust, then you should not want to worship them. If there are no gods, then you will be gone, but will have lived a noble life that will live on in the memories of your loved ones.”
? Marcus Aurelius

Quote by Marcus Aurelius: "Live a good life. If there are gods and they are j…"

Saw this one embedded in an image recently. Good thought. (There are no gods, only myths and lies and desperate hopes.)

Quote by Marcus Aurelius: "Live a good life. If there are gods and they are just …" is a post from: mjh's blog. Thank you for subscribing. Let me know what you think. peace, mjh

Happy Anniversary, Darling! xox, mjh

“I’ll be your man.
I’ll understand.
Do my best
to take good care of you.
You’ll be my queen.
I’ll be your king.
And I’ll be your lover, too.”
– Van the Man Morrison

See also http://www.edgewiseblog.com/mjh/the-atheists-pulpit/30-years-ago/.

Thirty years kissing Merri Rudd is a post from: mjh's blog. Thank you for subscribing. Let me know what you think. peace, mjh

Back then, I avoided contact with Future Mark out of fear of some time paradox. Since then, apparently, I will learn that’s not a problem, because this morning Future Mark approached me, or, more correctly, Luke. Mark held out his hand for Luke to sniff. Luke looked back and forth between us and managed to reconcile the situation; dogs live in the now. Mark looked me in the eye as if delivering a message just for me: "Our dog lived to be 16." (Good news that has a bitter end.) "I can’t imagine ever replacing him." I tried to comfort him what little I could: "We felt that way about Lucky. Then, when the time was right, Luke came along." Cold comfort, to replace grief with delayed grief, but we have only one other choice: love nothing. Besides, the warehouse probably forbids pets.

A few minutes later, I saw Future Mark bend over stiffly to brush some leaves off a memorial plaque beneath a tree. Then, he passed us, staring straight ahead, his face at once rigid and fluid with grief. I knew his pain. I didn’t dare look at the name on that plaque.

Meeting myself again is a post from: mjh's blog. Thank you for subscribing. Let me know what you think. peace, mjh

I mentioned my search for a whatchamacallit (wow, spell check indicates I got that right) to the gift store cashier and she said, “oh, that’s a radiometer; we have them over here.” I’d walked right past the boxes looking for one out in the sunlight. I bought it and it is spinning away in the bright kitchen.

So, when I read the back of the box at home, I was flummoxed that it claimed the radiometer worked because of “heated air molecules” (not 100% complete). But I’ll be damned: I thought the radiometer proved photons have mass because they move the vanes. D’oh! On closer inspection (see How does a light-mill work?; I love the name ‘light-mill’), I was in the good company of Maxwell himself, but how did my head hold a “fact” that had been discredited over 100 years ago? I had a similar … “rude awakening” (everything you know is wrong) not long ago when a friend question my confident assertion that rabbits are rodents. Not since the early 1900s (it took her one second with a search engine to confound a 47 year old certainty). When did I go to school? I’m open to learning new stuff but not too keen on learning I’m wrong.

Sometimes, I feel I’ve slipped between universes. I learned this stuff over there. But the food is better here.

Don’t believe everything you think is a post from: mjh's blog. Thank you for subscribing. Let me know what you think. peace, mjh