Generational Toothpaste

It's hard to grasp the passage of time. When I was younger, I thought the longest time imaginable was how long it took to use a whole tube of tooth paste. It just seemed to never end!

Things that happened before I was around are very difficult to grasp. The years just don't make sense sometimes. I often wonder, did my father know about this or that? What about my grandmother or great grandmother? What is a generation? A generation is roughly 20-25 years on average. Let's be conservative and say 25 years. Of course, some specific generations will be longer, others shorter, but it's a good round average to work with. So there are on average, 4 generations every century. For the average person in 2012, their grand parents may have seen The Beetles hit American soil in 1964. That was only 2 generations ago.

Women got the right to vote in America, the Nineteenth Amendment in 1920. That was only 4 generations ago.

Lincoln died April 15, 1865...only 6 generations ago.

What about some of those crazy dates in human history?

We have approximately 6000 years of recorded history, since our distant ancestors learned to make marks on tablets. That's only 240 generations. Only 240 begates in recorded history.

Our very distant ancestors migrated out of africa 125,000 years ago. Only 5,080 generations have come and gone since that early migration. The oldest homo sapiens show up in fossil records around 195,000 years ago, or only 7,880 generations ago.

Still not an easy concept to grasp, but it's humbling to realize we haven't been making footprints on this planet all that long. That puts some of those petty day-to-day things in perspective.

I Hate My Washing Machine!

It's true, I hate my washing machine. I don't hate doing laundry. Not my favorite thing, but like any household chore, it just needs to be done. But that damn washing machine!

When I bought it several years ago, I was in love. This is the first washing machine and dryer I've purchased. All the others I've owned have been hand-me-down's that just happened to be in the house I purchased. It was beautiful, and very advanced. I even spent the extra bucks to get a clear top. The ultimate guys dream! A glass topped washing machine! You can see what's happening!

It's a Sears Oasis HE.

Yes, I know. Never buy anything form Sears! And what breaks my heart is I knew that before buying the washing machine. But I was in a new town, and needed to get a washer and dryer quick.

So why the hate? The darn thing has developed the dreaded F1 disease. My washer suffers from the blue screen of death!

When starting the wash cycle, it will fill for a few seconds, then Beep! Beep! Beep! and flash an F1. Click stop and start sets it going again, but this repeats 5 or 7 times at the start of the cycle, and 3 or 5 times at the start of the rinse cycle. Thanks the Gods it's an odd number of beeps. If it was an even number, I would have cracked long ago!

Yes, I know Sears supposedly offers a fix. But that means scheduling an in home repair visit. And may folks are saying it only fixes one issue and introduces more.

So I'm torn. Do I try the fix, or just kick the thing to the curb and get a new, cheaper, non-Sears washer? I'm seriously leaning toward the second option.

But not today. It does work, and not to turn this into a buddhist lesson, it reminds me to be patient. I can't control the washer, I can't stop the beeping with my anger.

As silly as it sounds, that's an important lesson to me. I can't stop the beeping with my anger.

For now the washer will keep beeping, and I'll keep turning it off and on.

Enjoy!

I Don't Care

This phrase has come up several times in the past few months.

I don't care

I've used the phrase before. Not often, because I think it's a bit careless and, very harmful, but there have been occasions. Let's break it down:

I

Used by a speaker to refer to himself or herself

It's just me. What is it that distinguishes us from others?

I remember one of my teachers in high school giving us a bunch of words / phrases and definitions throughout the class. One phrase he defined for us was: Frame of Reference.

Ones total outlook on a given situation as determined by ones position.

Lots of factors help define our frame of reference. There are cultural differences, social / economic differences, different experiences; lets face it, we're all different. That's what I is all about. We are all different.

What is the capacity of 'I'? We are capable of amazing things as individuals and as groups. We can create great works of art, perform great music, achieve great physical feats, but these are all self-proclaimed achievements. We set the bar. In a transient world, what makes one poem better or greater than another? What makes any one achievement greater than another? It seems so arbitrary at times.

We are also capable of horrific acts of violence and selfishness. We are an enigma.

We can use language, art, music, interpretive dance, any number of methods to try and share our thoughts with others, but ultimately we can't truly know what another feels or thinks.

Don't

Contraction of Do and Not. Got to love contractions. O'clock, 'twas, y'all, ok now it's confusing.

To eliminate the risk of freaking out the grammer police, I propose we always write it's (it is) and its (possesive) as it(')s.

If we are going to do something, we are going to work on something, take an action or perform a task. We are going to create or make something.

Not just gives us the negative in this case. So we are going to not perform or not take an action, or not do something.

But isn't the statement itself an action. Isn't simply saying I don't care showing at least some level of concern? The statement itself implies a kind of hypocrisy.

hypocrisy: The practice of claiming to have moral standards or belief to which one's own behavior does nto conform; pretense.

Care

It's a verb in this statement. An action word, in this case to feel concern or show interest, to like, to look after.

Would you care for some tea?

What is the rest of the sentence? I don't care what you think? I don't care about you. Would we say I Care if the reverse were true? Maybe, but I don't know.

I see folks occasionally lament the anti-bullying campaigns. They don't see why bullying is bad, or why folks can't stand up for themselves. Maybe that is true for them. Maybe they have never been in a situation where they assert themselves. But I doubt that is the case.

I wonder what they care about. Can a persons crust become so thick that they don't have anything left inside? Just using the phrase I don't care must mean there is at least a spark of humanity left in them. I hope so. If not, then I worry they may truly not care, and there's not much left after that.

BTW - I care.

Equus Movie

I agree with many of the other reviewers on Netflix, that the play is much more intense, and a much better experience.

Burton is amazing. He gives a terrific performance. But like any adaptation, the original will almost always be better. Peter Firth also gives a terrific performance.

The controversy around the play is entertaining in that any in-depth look at personal growth and the juxtaposition to puritan notions of right and wrong, throws people into a fit. To put the whole issue to bed, what difference does it make if the theme to you is about x or y? Like any art, it is meant to reach deep into an individual and tickle those deep emotional bits we keep hidden.

"any doubt and I'd be next over the stone...the mask slips, they tear the knife from my hand, and I wake up."

Evolution has given us a great complexity and variety. Yet when we try to attach artificial restrictions on ourselves, or nature in general, we're often surprised by the outcome.

Take, for example, the Colorado river diversion projects. Initially, it seems like a good idea to redirect the flow to increase agricultural opportunities, but the consequences could be terrific.

The binding and trapping of the energy creates tension and potential. The bit in the horses teeth in its own way holds or diverts the energy, harnessing it. The restrictions we artificially put on ourselves to be one way or another, are the bit and reins pulling us.

"They give us all their strength...they live for us.... I bet all cowboys are orphans."

Ultimately, we are in better shape when we accept the order of things. We learn to appreciate the reality of similarities and the reality of differences. When we don't try to force our nature down an arbitrary path... well, I think this is one of the humanistic challenges, that you either get, or you don't. And for those who don't it must be like being tone deaf and going to the opera.

"Moments snap together like magnets..."

Eileen Atkins is also brilliant as Martin Dysart's confidant. What a great supporting character. She provides the foundation for him, the splash of cold water he often needs to remember that life has a physical side and isn't totally intellectual.

"Your power to pull him out of the nightmare he has galloped himself into.... Do you see?"

I was wandering through Target this morning. Well, wandering isn't correct. I had a couple of specific items to pick up. I'm not really keen on wandering in Target. Back to the point, the notion of similarities and differences was wandering through my mind, and how much we in this culture strive to strip away or mask our differences so that we blend in completely with the crowd. We buy clothes that look like everyone else's. We buy lotions and creams and ointments to make us look and feel and smell just like everyone else.

Deodorant - substances applied to the body to affect the body odor.

We consciously deodorize ourselves. We strip away even our scent so that we can blend in and disappear in the crowd.

The unexamined life is not worth living for a human being. -- Socrates

Not everyone disappears into the crowd. There are those few chosen individuals who stand out in the crowd, often not because of their differences, but because they exemplify the ideal standard the crowd aspires toward. We've all seen them, the high school quarterback, the prom queen, the movie star, the annoying person at work who is just a little too perfect; you know the ones, as Olympia Dukakis coined, "cut from cream cheese".

I often wonder if they know where they are in the crowd. It doesn't matter much given the transient nature of things. An internet guru was recently commenting on the nature of impermanence. Look at the cup or glass in front of you. The time in the universe that the glass is whole and in one piece is so small. Through most of its existence the glass is broken. We're the same as the glass. For most of time, we are bits and pieces performing other functions; star dust if you like the romantic notion.

In the end, Equus shows us the darkness of our passions. Not that our passions are shameful, but that our passions are kept in the dark. We hide from our true selves, we cover up and conform, not to be happy, but to fit in and feel safe.

Say What You Want

It's funny how differently people react to words and what is said. Some words effect people very emotionally, and some people pride themselves in their stoicism and hard-heartedness. Either way, you can't stop the associations in your head. The thoughts are often disjointed and leap from topic to topic, but that's half the fun.

Are you ready? Read the words below and see how you react to them.

Yoga

Exercise, flexibility, and for some a spiritual practice. India and ancient wisdom. Crow pose.

Pollution

This is what I think of:

And some people don't. People start pollution, and people can stop it.

Every time I see someone flicking their cigarettes out of their giant 8-passenger gas guzzlers:

And some people don't.

Potential

Potential energy. Capacity. The future.

I never really understood potential energy in school. I could do the math and recite the definition, but I really didn't get it. Kinetic energy, no problem. Things are in motion, but potential energy? The whole idea seems so uncertain.

Remember that great 'All In The Family' episode where Edith finds a lump in her breast, and they spend the whole show trying to keep the information from Archie? (Edith's Christmas Story) Edith is worried about what it could mean to her and Archie, the potential her situation has to possibly destroy their marriage. Margaret Atwood summed it up pretty good:

Time is another element
you never think about
until it's gone.
Things like ceilings, or air.

Selflessness

Selflessness is a challenging word. I've asked several people over the years to give me their definition of selflessness. I was surprised that some folks actually see a negative side to selflessness. It never occurred to me, but from a raw, single definition, being without self, I can see how that could mean a loss to some folks. A selfless person could be someone that is empty.

selflessness: altruism: the quality of unselfish concern for the welfare of others.

If you Google selflessness, you'll actually find folks writing that being selfless is a bad thing. Baffling. What could be more human than an unselfish concern for others? The flickr tag for selfless shows lots of images of soldiers. I get what people are trying to say, and there is certainly an aspect of sacrifice associated with military duty, but selflessness? How is killing selfless? Don't sweat to much about that, it's just my opinion. Don't let my use of words effect you emotionally.

The Wikipedia article for selflessness breaks the ideas down to scientific, religious and philosophical views. And it introduces a new word that I hadn't thought of, 'Sacrifice'. I'm not sure I agree. Sacrifice implies a loss to the individual, an egoism that I don't find in selflessness. To be selfless, ego plays no part. Take the great quote from Absolutely Fabulous:

What's the point of grieving if there's no one there to see you do it?

Friend

Boy--this is a word that has been really watered down thanks to facebook and other social networks.

I always think of the wonderful Rudyard Kipling poem, "The Thousandth Man"

Nine hundred and ninety-nine can't bide
The shame or mocking or laughter,
But the Thousandth Man will stand by your side
To the gallows-foot - and after!

That's friendship, and it's worth a lot more than some electronic sheep, or the number of twitter followers.

It's something I need to work on. I need to take the time to appreciate those around me, and also be the aspects of friend to others that I hold dear.

I wonder what other words stir interesting images and contradictions? Maybe I'll start a list for another post.

Enjoy!