nature pics

I have a new flickr account and picked some of my recent favorite shots to share.
see them here

my body is working...

one of the things I like about weekends is sleeping in -- you get time to lay in bed relaxed and mind cleared of most of the banal distractions. anyway, I can think better. this past week I was occupied with plenty of activities: saw the Body Worlds exhibit in LA, sold a vehicle, bought a new car, went on a business trip and dealt with airport travel, group dynamics and new surroundings. with all this behind me, and finally some quiet thinking time, I could digest some of the inputs. focus is a quality to be exploited. so what are the learning activities that, given time, I should like to pursue? I am driven towards becoming a musician. strange, considering how handicapped I feel in that area. nonetheless, I am compelled and will start lunchtime guitar practice soon. my goal there is to learn "pride and joy" as the late SRV (Stevie Ray Vaughn) played it. if I get good enuf, someday I may be a real street musician!
secondly, I've resumed my artistic (drawing, painting) pursuits. I've found pastels to be a good medium for learning - challenging, but quick and cheap. I've liked working from photographs but that is a bit of a crutch. on my recent trip to Chico, I was in Birdwell park without a camera. I wonder what mental impressions I have of that place that can be transferred to paper?

so these are some things I do "for the sake of which" I become more of the self I am pursuing. that concept bears more explanation, but I won't go into that now. instead, I'll just expose a little dialog from that excellent philosophical filem "waking life" (it's a little bit relevant, ok?):

Boat Car Guy - Ahoy there matey, you in for the long haul? You need a little hitch in your get along, a little lift on down the line?
Wiley Wiggins - Oh yeah, actually I was waiting for a cab or something but, uh, if you want to...
Boat Car Guy - Alright, don't miss the boat.
Wiley Wiggins - Hey, thanks.
Boat Car Guy - Not a problem. Anchors away! So what do you think of my little vessel? She's what we call see-worthy. S-E-E, see with your eyes. I feel like my transport should be an extension of my personality. Voila. And this, this is like my little window to the world and every minute's a different show. Now, I may not understand it, I may not necessarily agree with it, but I'll tell you what, I accept it, just sort of glide along. You want to keep things on an even keel, I guess it's what I'm saying, you want to go with the flow. The sea refuses no river. The idea is to remain in a state of constant departure while always arriving. Saves on introductions and good byes. The ride does not require an explanation, just occupants, that's where you guys come in. It's like you come onto this planet with a crayon box. Now you may get the eight pack, you may get the sixteen pack, but it's all in what you do with the crayons, the colors that you're given. And don't worry about drawing within the lines or coloring outside the lines, I say color outside the lines, you know what I mean? Color right off the page. Don't box me in. We're in motion to the ocean. We are not landlocked, I'll tell you that. So, where do you want out?
Wiley Wiggins - Uh, who me? Am I first? Uh, I don't know really. Anywhere is fine.
Boat Car Guy - Well, just, just, give me an address or something okay?
Wiley Wiggins - Uhhhh...
Other Guy in Car - Tell you what, go up three more streets, take a right, go two more blocks, drop this guy off on the next corner.
Wiley Wiggins - Where's that?
Boat Car Guy - Well, I don't know either but it's somewhere and it's going to determine the course of the rest of your life. All ashore that's going ashore. Ha, ha, ha. Dooo dooo!

(thanks to for from www.silywily.com/wakinglife.html for the quote).

btw, I think I am a eight pack crayon box :)

the world beats a path to my door of perception...

I've nothing more to add now, but will come up with something clever shortly my friends! in the meantime, try "indicating the formal aspects of the idea of existence"...

on an unrelated note, when you're in my neighborhood, I recommend the bbq pork pho at pho tay bak. it's places like this that make so cal an international food fest :)