silent thunder

So it was Copone who led directly to the monopoly of corporations that currently dominate the dair industry. Wow. His model sure took off among those who saw its potential... My first job out of college was raising money to lobby in DC against the Corporate Dairy machine that was systematically squeezing out the independent and non-bovine hormone using farmers. If you follow the graphed line of the cost of milk to the 70's, one can readily see when Corporations gained 'functional control' of the market which was then reflected in the subsequent market pricing. I remember when Southern Californians were barking mad over $4 a gallon for gas. But none of them flinched at paying 6$ a gallon for milk. milk. Gas you need to survey, find oil, build a rig, pump, ship, refine, ship again... 4$ a gallon. Milk... squeeze cow, pasteurize (a different horror story altogether), package, ship again... 6 bucks please. And that's nothing compared to the ~ 35$ a gallon for Venti Mocha-fukkaccino's @ (insert name of corporate coffee chain here)... Well... At least i'm not bitter about it.

Thank you for the reminder, I need to get some more of their work. I Love the Strugatsky Brothers... Reading Roadside Picnic was like peeking inside a birthday present early... only the present was my own inner unconscious flow from which the illusion of choice arises... and where true desires reside. Poetry meets Prose meets insight and raw authenticity. Fearless honesty. I can only imagine how the language and imagery settle in awareness in the native Russian... “The hypothesis of God, for instance, gives an incomparably absolute opportunity to understand everything and know absolutely nothing. Give man an extremely simplified system of the world and explain every phenomenon away on the basis of that system. An approach like that doesn't require any knowledge. Just a few memorized formulas plus so-called intuition and so-called common sense.” ― Arkady and Boris Strugatsky, Roadside Picnic “You’re absolutely right. Our little town is a hole. It always has been and still is. But now it is a hole into the future. We’re going to dump so much through this hole into your lousy world that everything will change in it. Life will be different. It’ll be fair. Everyone will have everything that he needs. Some hole, huh? Knowledge comes through this hole. And when we have the knowledge, we’ll make everyone rich, and we’ll fly to the stars, and go anywhere we want. That’s the kind of hole we have here” ― Arkady Strugatsky, Roadside Picnic "There is a crack in everything, that's how the light gets in." __ Leonard Cohen

so delightfully playful and live, in the 50's...

obliging

"There is a crack in everything. That's how the light gets in." ~Leonard Cohen

I lived in perpetual righteous indignation and anger at all the ass hattery I saw about me I lived it daily... for years Everything I considered wrong and lame and avoidable leapt into my awareness and i fed on it, and fed it and lived it. And then one day the Hawks whispered something to my heart. Two legged Brother! You are very small and can only walk around. You have only so much energy in any given day. Will you spend it fighting and shouting about what you despise? Or will you spend it nurturing what you love?

yes please...

yup, it's that 'moderation' box above the first post... only the OP can see it or use it.

Just checked my Food Porn thread and It applies to Rabbit Holes as well mate.

Egregore

If the topic is in the General section and you are the OP, you may opt to hide the entire thread without mods help. You cannot 'unhide' it after this though, that requires a mod. You should be able to see the button with the option for it in any thread you started in General. If I remember right it was discussed and instituted so that folks would have some ability to keep topics from being co-opted by unruly trolls or spammy non-sequitors. I've done it with one thread I made in General a while back, when I changed my mind about the topic shortly after posting it... though in my case no one had commented yet and I don't think anyone even read it. But yea, in General all conversations are potentially much more temporary than in other parts of the board.

It absolutely cracked me open when I first read it thirty something years ago. This time round I'm going in with the notion that Leonard Cohen was right and that's how the light gets in... edit to add: I can't read it at this time. No reserve tank to process that trauma again.

I hear you... recently though I lean toward a suspicion that they are as varied in their makeup and behavior as humans, djinn... and many others are...

piglet...

"You know Creighton... Life is too short and the Day is too long. I was glad to hear you left that place." (I walked off a toxic show back in January) The Labor Foreman on our show is an old friend and he'd heard about the show and my leaving. He's an old wise soul, and comes from the Chumash People who've been in this area for eons. He reached out and stopped me at work to share that randomly. He's just so right on with it. The Day is way too long and life far too short to remain in some situations. Sure I could have fought back, and resisted, reported the abusive behavior, gotten all involved in it. But in this case, it was a better use of my energy to just walk away, go home and nurture what I love. Life's too short and the Day's too long.

I usually return to Carl Sagan and The Pale Blue Dot monologue he shared decades ago when topics such as this come up. I recall a realization that flashed in awareness one afternoon while sitting on a parking bumper after working on my motorcycle. While looking down on some ants, carrying food home to their burrow, in a flash the image of Earth flashed in imagination and I saw our entire planet in a procession of small spheres, oscillating about a speck of light, in a sea of inky void... not unlike the ants I watched. These words presented in mind, not as a thought, but as if spoken from another directly to my mind. I am always touching something infinitessimally smaller than, and unspeakably more massive than my own self... It seems I am part of something infinitely massive, while comprised entirely of the tiniest of things. The characteristics of life, and how I experience it, often depend entirely upon the degree of magnification of my perception of it. The skin of my hand looks smooth to my eyes, but when I place it under a microscope, it's more resembles the craggy unconquerable terrain of Afghanistan. When Myopic and when turning Within, it seems I am capable of extremes of power and influence. When turned Without, I'm less than a flea, on a moist speck of dust. And each reflect and mirror all aspects of the other, all the time. Holographic in nature. Indra's Net As Above, So Below. As Within, Without.

How to enrage four groups of Geeks with one image.

The Maiar

*deep bow* the timing of this... the synchronicity for me Wow. You give words to experiences and research I share intimately... and with an authenticity and in a manner of light touch and open heart that inspires me. Your presence here and insights shared are a real gift shunka.

smoke em if ya got em...

Every day is good... even the shit ones. Wake before the alarm is a prerogative, I despise those things (it's always set just in case, but I haven't heard it in years). Takes about 15 minutes making coffee, boiling eggs and cutting up bell peppers, olives, tomatoes and cukes then toss them with some garbanzo beans, edamame and sunflower seeds in some oil and vinegar for my lunch. I eat pretty much the same thing every day, but the fruit changes depending what's in season. I feed my babies. Rama (Maine Coon) Maya (Short-hair) and Tara (Norwegian Forest). and Pearl (our Betta) Maya nibbles a bit and then goes to sit by my spot and wait for me. Once my lunch is made and the coffee or tea is ready I pull myself into lotus and fire up the computer. Maya chirps her approval and then climbs in my lap, leaning into my chest purring. I wrap her in my arms and gently wuggle her. She then turns a few times and settles herself on my folded legs, her head usually resting on my left foot and her legs draped across my right leg. We spend the next 45 minutes this way. I usually read TDB for a few minutes and these days, fill out the health questionnaire confirming that I have no symptoms of covid and have not been in contact with anyone known to have it, or to have any symptoms. Then I sit in silence while petting Maya until 5 am rolls around. I'm usually at work 30 minutes early, which is instrumental in crafting a good day for me. Right now we have a health screening (temp check) and bi weekly testing. From the earliest point in my career in this biz, I like to get into the space when it's silent, before the cacophony begins to set the tone for the energy in the space. I arrange tools at my leisure for whatever project I'm on and then fold up into lotus on my table until starting time @ 6. Most of my crew are dear friends, so they'll come hang out and we'll chat a bit. Two are in the closing movements of painful divorces and custody proceedings. They all know of my wife's years long healing repressed trauma and we spend that time getting anything we may want to talk about out and lift each other up. Work for now is mellow, 10 hour days and only monday to friday. Soon we'll be 12-14 hours a day 7 a week until we hand off the opening sets to Production. We're still setting up the Mill and haven't received drawings for any sets or props yet so the pace is ours to control. The space we are using is a converted warehouse recently purchased by Apple and this is the first production to make use of it, so we have a hand in determining some of the final touches to the space with the site rep and architect. Apple is very new to television and film production, and thankfully their initial pompousness has given way to some gratitude from our input on increasing flow and diminishing chaos in the production process. This is our second production for Apple. We built The Morning Show for them last year for which our department was nominated for an Emmy (Handmaid's Tale won very deservedly). I spend my day organizing, drawing up and helping build what is needed for the shop as well as helping the various departments (Grip, Electric, Costumes) with what they need before we get production rolling. My crew is comprised entirely of good friends who are highly educated exceptional artists, most are masters of several crafts. (My partner on The Voice (season 5) was a British musician who played guitar on Lennon's Imagine album in the studio). Many are still working actors, long term professional musicians and print/media artists in addition to this work. Our days are long and intense, but we are constantly riffing off of each other, talking philosophy giving each other deep guff and venting political bile lately. We laugh most of the day, but lately there's some tears as well. Hardest part of this production is no touching. We hug a lot usually. Most of us have been refining this crew over the last 15 years and are like family. At the end of the day I sit in my truck for a few minutes and decompress before driving home. This location is great for me. I live south of Los Angeles and my drive home is usually a little under two hours. Our current studio, gets me home in under 45. So instead of getting home and going right to bed, I have some time to hang out with my son and wife and read here a bit. I am so grateful to be able to provide for my family and to work in a manner that uses my mind and body to such a degree. While we were building Season 2 of the OA, my colon ruptured spilling fecal matter into my abdomen and I spent 11 days hovering in and out of death due to septic blood poisoning. Several energy workers here, helped me avoid emergency surgery and answered my call for aid. *deep bow dawei in particular* Every single day is an amazing blessing, that I am still able to be a Father for my 14 year old son and provide a coccoon for he and my wife of 32 years through this pandemic. My days are full of challenge and high pressure chaos when at work, but they are equally filled with incredible people of wit, intelligence, open heart and amazing depth. I often find myself taking a moment and looking about me in awe that such treasure is mine to inhabit day in and day out. When I'm not at work, I substitute my drive into work with a long walk before dawn where I high five the trees and talk to the shrubs and the sleeping critters, while gazing at Mars and Venus and the Moon when she's about... Such simple treasure... I'm so blessed it's staggering.