2011 « The Ramblings of An Eternal Student of Life

Tuesday, March 22, 2011

History ... Outer Space ... Personal Reflections ...

There was a BBC show the other nite on the local PBS channel about the early days of the American manned spaceflight program. I.e., the Mercury and Gemini programs. It made me nostalgic for those days, the 1960s, when the USA established its presence in space and proved it was ready to go to the moon. I was growing up in the suburbs, and my father worked for an aerospace company that provided some pieces of the guidance systems for those rockets. Watching those launches on TV, hosted as always by the unsinkable Walter Cronkite, was always a thrill. America just seemed back then like a place that did things right and got the job done.

Versus today. Ah, what happened? What changed? Well, perhaps it is as much a case of me changing as well as America. There are hundreds of reasons, many of them good reasons, to lament the decline of our nation in recent years. I have discussed some of these things here from time to time. But it occurred to me that perhaps America is still doing some great things, despite all the not so great things going on in and around it.

Like what? Well, we elected a man from an ethnic minority group as our President not long ago; that would have been unthinkable in the space-race days. » continue reading …

◊ posted by Jim G @ 9:44 pm Read Comment (1) / Leave a Comment

Saturday, March 19, 2011

◊ The Folly of No Folly

Personal Reflections ... Religion ... Spirituality ...

When I was 15 years old, I worried a lot about what Jesus said in the Gospels. Yea, I was a bit different from most guys my age, who mostly worried about playing sports, getting hold of contraband (cigarettes, liquor, marijuana), and getting girls to notice them and perhaps allow them into the garden of sensual delights. For a host of reasons that would require a small book to explain and a panel of shrinks to interpret, I became more and more religious just as most kids lost interest in churchgoing. I was taking the Gospels seriously, looking to them as the rulebook by which I was to live my life.

The problem with that is that Jesus set really high standards. I became increasingly worried about my ability to live up to his standards; like hey, even thinking about sex was just as much a sin as doing it! So I started going to confession a lot (that wonderful Roman Catholic ritual of having a priest listen to your sins and give you pardon, on the condition that you perform some penance – usually saying a bunch of prayers), because I was afraid of the danger of going to hell for not fulfilling the strict standards that Jesus set.

A few years later, when facing the possibility of being drafted into military combat service in Vietnam, I decided to file for conscientious objector status so that I would not violate Jesus’ blanket prohibition on taking another human life. » continue reading …

◊ posted by Jim G @ 7:48 pm Read Comment (1) / Leave a Comment

Saturday, March 12, 2011

◊ The Zen of Duct Tape

Personal Reflections ... Photo ...

As mentioned before, I am a proud member of the sangha at the Clear Mountain Zendo in Montclair, NJ. Our sensei (Dharma teacher), Carl, often emphasizes during his talks that the core theme of Zen is “this moment, right now”. That reminds me of duct tape.

Duct tape is a “right now” kind of thing. When you patch something up with duct tape, it’s today that you’re worried about; certainly not next year or next month, maybe not even next week. Duct tape keeps you going for now, but it makes no guarantees whatsoever for the future. It’s not built to last. Duct tape reflects a Zen vision of reality, in a way.

I’m not at all sure that Carl would agree with this. And I can’t imagine the great temples of Kyoto using duct tape to patch up the sitting cushions or the paper and bamboo shoji screens. But hey, Zen is becoming Americanized; and in the process, duct tape might eventually play a role in promoting awakening and awareness. I’m sure there’s a koan in the making somewhere, regarding duct tape’s versatility and it’s “in the moment” character!

PS — with all thoughts and intentions for the suffering happening now in the home of Zen, Japan.

◊ posted by Jim G @ 9:38 pm Read Comment (1) / Leave a Comment

◊ Last of the Snow (maybe)

Photo ...

Just three weeks ago, northern Jersey was mostly buried under various layers of ice, slush and dirty snow. We had a rough stretch of snowfall and cold temps from late December thru mid-February. We were one big storm away from “coagulation”, from a transportation clog-up that would have shut down stores and offices (given our extreme dependence upon automobiles and trucks to move us around and deliver the things we want to buy and sell).

But then it all just stopped. No more snow, and temps started rising into the 30s and 40s, even some 50s here and there. We might get a surprise snowstorm yet (March can be fickle), but for now, this is what remains of one of many big snow banks that towered over us and swallowed up all the sidewalks and parking spaces and road lanes, just a few weeks ago. Goodbye till next winter, let’s hope.

◊ posted by Jim G @ 11:46 am Read Comment (1) / Leave a Comment

Thursday, March 10, 2011

◊ Keeper of the Flame — India?

Current Affairs ... Foreign Relations/World Affairs ...

If you had to predict the major geopolitical trends for the rest of the 21st Century, the surest bet would be China’s rise to global empire-hood, and America’s decline from it. The major implication from such a view is that the Greek – Roman – Anglican – American heritage of personal freedom, human rights and representative democratic governance has finally run out of steam. Democracy, freedom and constitutions of and by the people were not the “light of humankind” after all; the sun seems to be setting on those ideals after 2,500 years of light (they didn’t call it en-light-tenment for nothing). The Chinese are setting an example for the rest of the developing world: that the better way to growth, prosperity and sustainability rests in a complex mix of personal economic incentive and collective “order-keeping”, combined with deference to authority (and perhaps even a desire for it). It’s all very Confucian, so I’ve read (despite the fact that my own readings of Master Confucians seem rather benign and even edifying).

OK to most of that, but before we write the eulogy for the Anglo-American ideal, we have to ask if there exists a people on the ascent who might pick up the torch presently in America’s faltering hands. I believe there is — India. Despite India’s relatively exotic history and cultural heritage, and despite its vigor to free itself from British domination in the 19th and early 20th centuries, there is evidence that India values the Anglo socio-political philosophies and intends to protect and promote them in the “brown-skin world” of the future. I just read an article in Forbes about India as a growing world power, and there was in incredible quote from an Indian scholar based at UCLA, Deepak Lal. Professor Lal said: “It is in India’s long term interest to recognize that the continuance of its liberal democratic open economy also requires it to support and, if necessary, take over the imperial burden from the U.S.”

India still has a way to go until it truly has the economic and military power to take on an “imperial burden”. It still needs » continue reading …

◊ posted by Jim G @ 10:32 pm Read Comment (1) / Leave a Comment

Tuesday, March 8, 2011

◊ Bonobos In Paradise

Psychology ... Science ... Society ...

I came across another article about bonobos today; bonobos are a chimp-like African monkey that are growing in popularity amidst their human cousins, because they are so peaceable and hippy-like. When bonobo tribes have conflicts, they often settle them by having an orgy. They also share and hug a lot, and not surprisingly, women are mostly in charge. They seem so happy and well-adjusted, like we humans could supposedly be if only we’d get over our greed and violence and masculine hubris regarding our souped-up brains.

Well, the bonobo world does sound nice. But this article briefly mentions something that probably explains why bonobos are the way they are, and we are not. Quote:

Bonobos’ generous nature likely evolved because they live in an area of the Congo where food is plentiful. They never had to compete with gorillas or kill for a meal like common chimps do.

OK, so the bonobos found a place where everything balanced out for them. Unfortunately, the human species did not. » continue reading …

◊ posted by Jim G @ 9:26 pm Read Comment (1) / Leave a Comment

Sunday, March 6, 2011

◊ Bubbles, Jesus and Wall Street

History ... Religion ...

I’m still a fan of the modern academic / historical approach to Jesus of Nazareth. I’ve sampled a bit of the various schools of modern-day thought on the life of Jesus, and I’ve come down on the side of the eschatological / apocalyptic approach. Under this paradigm, Jesus was trying to save Israel from Roman subjugation by preparing the people for direct intervention by God. Jesus did not have in mind some future heavenly realm; he felt that God was coming down to earth very soon. God would land in Jerusalem, and would orchestrate a series of marvelous events that would push the Romans out, cast out the bad Jews, and leave the good ones to live very long lives in a land of peace and righteousness. Again, not in some heavenly realm, but right on the dusty soil of Palestine.

One of the big controversies among the professors is whether Jesus saw himself as having a direct role in the big event and the administration of the “Kingdom of God”, once in place. A number of Historical Jesus researchers conclude that Jesus did NOT claim such a role, what could be termed a “messiah” role, despite various notes in the New Testament saying that he did. A handful of others come to the opposite conclusion, saying that the “son of man” and “messiah” lines and stories (e.g., entering Jerusalem riding a donkey, hearkening back to Hebrew Scripture stories of kings riding on donkeys) were original, if somewhat trumped up over the years by the Christian biblical redactors. But most seem afraid that if they accept this notion, they will be helping the “snake handlers”, those academicians who support a Christian proselytizing agenda.

I come down on the side of the snake handlers. But not because » continue reading …

◊ posted by Jim G @ 10:36 pm Read Comment (1) / Leave a Comment

Sunday, February 27, 2011

◊ ZEN, GOING TO THE DOGS

Religion ... Spirituality ...

I had a nice enough morning doing “zazen” with my local Zen group (i.e., our weekly 2-hour meditation and chanting service). During the usual coffee hour that follows, one member was lamenting the loss of his family dog, a 9-year old Boxer. Another member was talking about his new family member, a 2 month old German Shepard. Sunrise, sunset . . . the cycle of life in the canine world, just as in the human.

We also heard about the recent “disrobement” of a prominent Zen priest out in Salt Lake City, Genpo Roshi, because of a sex scandal. Yes, another Zen teacher taking advantage of the sweet and vulnerable young things that look up to a wise man in uniform (the black robes affected by some American Zen teachers, following Japanese tradition). Turns out that “Genpo” (really, Dennis Merzel, born in Brooklyn) was a big-wig in the “White Plum Lineage”; hey, that’s my sangha’s lineage! That’s why our local “sensei” was a bit upset about it.

As far as I’m concerned, this is not terribly surprising. America has suffered a flood of Zen teachers over the past 50 years, » continue reading …

◊ posted by Jim G @ 2:47 pm Read Comments (3) / Leave a Comment

Sunday, February 20, 2011

◊ Watson Beats Humanity – Yawn (for now)

Current Affairs ... Society ...

OK, so IBM has pulled off another “machine-trounces-human brain” stunt. Yes, I’m talking about Watson’s resounding triumph against two human trivia experts on Jeopardy this past week. This follows the “Deep Blue” chess matches back in 1996 and ’97, when an IBM chess-playing computer twice bet Gary Kasparov, arguably the best human chess player on the planet. (In 2003, Kasparov fought Deep Junior, a Deep Blue-inspired program able to run on a personal computer, to a tie).

Those IBM programmers and hardware designers are darn good, obviously. However, I admire IBM’s marketing division even more. Watson was a huge advertisement for IBM’s ability to provide customized artificial intelligence to the business community (they could not compete with Dell and Apple on the household computing market, though).

What Watson is: Watson is a prime example of customized artificial intelligence. Watson was built » continue reading …

◊ posted by Jim G @ 8:51 pm Read Comment (1) / Leave a Comment

Saturday, February 19, 2011

◊ Fractal Suds

Photo ... Science ...

What’s this? An iceberg? Or the inside of a limestone cave?

No, actually it’s a piece of soap. I tried to cut a big bar of facial soap into three pieces for convenience, but the bar fractured under pressure of the knife.

I find it interesting how certain shapes in nature repeat themselves (sort-of) in different contexts. When viewed from a space capsule, the Mississippi River system looks a bit like the veins of a leaf, or the capillaries in a tiny section of your skin. I believe this is due to the “fractal” concept of shapes and patterns. And hey, even the suds created by soap are a bigger version of the foam on your beer. And they are also perhaps a tiny version of the “multi-verse”, the new concept of the cosmos whereby our known universe is just a tiny bubble in a great foam of different realms.

So, a huge iceberg, the water-shaped walls of a cave, and a broken bar of soap also exhibit fractal similarities. What an interesting world it can be, when you know what to look for.

◊ posted by Jim G @ 3:12 pm Read Comments (2) / Leave a Comment

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