Traveling through life via the Muses

May Day

2006-05-02T10:53:00.000-07:00

So I went to work today...

Why Christopher, why? Today is May Day, today is the day of the immigrant, today is the day of all people from all nations who have come here to make a new life, and you snub them? You go to work to plug into a system that wants them to dissapear, as if they have no worth? You should be out here with the masses walking in the streets of Los Angeles, shouting in one voice so all people can hear... SI SE PUEDE! What are you a traitor?

No, No, No, No, No, No!

Rarely Affirm, seldom Deny, ALWAYS distinguish.

Am I in favor of the legislation that will put aiding illegal immigrants by offering them gainful employment and the hope to fight for a dream her in a land that is not their own on par with killing, grand theft, lying under oath, child molesting, bigamy, cruelty to children, assault, conspiracy, terrorism, sexual abuse, etc. ?!

No.

But the fact that something must be done about the constant stream of immigrants remains. Offer them jobs, amnesty, citizenship, federal benefits, etc? Sure cities develop through the industry of low paying labor jobs, but the need for further development is NOT always booming, and ths employers would rather pay low wages to people who they cannot qualify accurately and thus release employees, relocate, or reorganize. I mean how many of us want to move further in land ACTUALLY despite cheaper homes and the commute issue with Gas right now.. NOPE we love our CITIES and so do our Immigrants. We have to learn to get along before the system capsizes onto itself.

These manifestations have been necesitated by the concepts of Labor and Employment, for ages now US copmpanies have enjoyed the services of individuals who would work for a much smaller wage than their American counterparts and now are calling them into Account for the SEPERATE AND INEQUAL treatment in light of recent proposed legislation.

Can US survive without this? Sure. The South had to reorganize itself after the Civil War and then again after the Reconstruction and Sharecropping.
Hell, I work in a Career Placement Center, and see on average of 100 people come through our main's office door every dia! The workforce is here people! BUT are the companies willing to SHELL it out for them.. ummm no.

US BUSINESS you've done this to the US, with all your influence you have forced all laborers over time to manifest and advocate their cause, this is only the next logical step: The Undocumented.

So am I FOR or AGAINST?
In a way YES and In a way NO.

Yes, since it makes perfect logical sense for all people of all working classes (thanks JP II) to be treated as human beings befitting of the respect and dignity they deserve. All goverments, corporations, and officials must recognize this solid foundation for not only the Economic health of the State, but the Political Health as well. This country is most definitely the sum of its contradictions.And it is in this contradiction that the protesters find no ANSWERS, and so they demonstrate, they protest, they assemble, and they mobilize.
I for one wil be proud to hear that this protest be sucessful in a peaceful, civil disobedient, and alltogether effective manner.If not, it will be an utter shame.Causes are the most dangerous things in a state, for the most learned are often the most ignored and any person can take control of the crowd, and become their demigod and urge them onto folly and violence. I pray this will not be the case.

No, because by shutting down all effective means of industry you are affecting the very thing that put you into this spotlight in the first place... not too mention the many govermental departments that will suffer mainly EDUCATION... and with the BUDGET aimed at WAR as it is.. Truly a shame!

So I went to work because there are disabled people that need jobs, and no matter what the race, creed, sex I have to put aside my ideologies and serve them in true american fashion. I wrote my senator, my reps, my council members, my president, I emailed all kinds of agencies, and phone called the governor.. I have done my part.

So I went to work today...

Lenten poetry

2006-04-20T00:05:00.000-07:00

Intelligence's Designing

Thus spake the man under the elm,
"Leave this city for it's deeds cry up to the heavens and will be forsaken..
the millstone on its neck will surely drag all us down,
leave it now...
do not look back, pillars of salt will greet you eyes as chaff will surely rain down."
The city scoffed, no prophet has ever been welcomed in his own town.

The choir of children sings a song,
that raises to the sky a Hallelujah to an unseen God,
a memory of a Thou Shall Not,
questions never answered,
a cafeteria morality seeping into their hymn.

An angel cries in near despair as he sits
watching the grimace of dissapontment on the One's holy face.
A pillar of fire was once the beacon to rally all to their knees,
now replaced by bells and men dressed in robes
professing a faith at times they seldom understand.
But 'what of the poor on the street?',
they ask, 'what of the destitute, the widow, the orphans?'

Our prophet leaves the elm tree

to look into the great assembly only to cry out,
his face an ashen mess of tears and contrition,
"Like a child so long gone astray you are,
but
love you
still I do,
return to me in all your misery,
I will bathe you in forgiveness, and robe you in glory,
the true mark of your patrimony, come hither and rejoice my child,
mercy is for you!"

The assembly gasps and looks upon their leader for response,
he smiles and answers like a flagellum at his would be foe,
disrupting his complacent congregation,
"And who are you old beggar man, would you be our new instructor,
if so, where did you learn your trade, for we are wont to hear this!"

Our prophet simply sighs and leaves the hall but not before saying to his assailant,
"This hall has always been full of the poor, the beggars, the widows, the orphans
and you have never seen this... nor will you for your world is happy thinking there
is a worse one outside these walls that no more separate your air than that
of mine own as I lay under the elm tree."

Our prophet leaves dejected.

But under the elm, that great tree, a shadow of cross raised on Friday ages past,
our prophet lays to rest,
only to be awakened by a great multitude
led by one dressed in shining attire a great "T" upon his chest emblazoned.

Our prophet approaches the magnate.

"Where goes hither this great host, to what end,
for what purpose does thou sally forth all in arms, all in robes both dreadful and glorious?"

The man dismounts his iron horse,
the product of man's ingenuity and skill in ending life and delaying death.
This prince of men approaches the prophet and smiles at his demeanor,
and almost laughs as if to mock him, but this would be ruler checks himself
lest he display any passion at all.
He then proceeds to address our prophet,
a figure dwarfed by his own...

"Why ask questions you have no right to, as destitute and wretched as you are,
are you not content to breathe the air's fragrance, feel the earth's warmth,
the sun's solace on your back as life is the only wealth you know?
If you must know, we leave to fight, to combat a dread foe,
for this is the host of the lukewarm who I have raised up to fight
among themselves
in yonder field and plain,
they wait for only my command to be spewn out upon this land,
a testament to cowardice, rage, and emptyness..."

The prophet wails and cries out load beating upon his breast a lamentation,
he urges any of those willing souls to stay a while with him under the elm,
even if to sleep,
but hopefully to pray...

but none have ears,
they cannot hear, much less listen to a word he says,
the blindness of their ignorance leading them to their blind destruction...

our prophet weeps under the elm,
as the battle rages in the valley.
His tears litter the roots with a river of sorrow and remorse,
the valley runs with red.

Suddenly our prophet is approached
by three youths clothed in red, white, and blue each with a crown of ivy leaves,
one bearing a lute, one a scroll, one a measure.
Our prophet greets each with joy and asks them where they are headed...

the youth smile and in unison reply,
"We go to the great City of Man to find those souls who steadfast fought
against the monarch of the "T" who by art, science, or craft
escaped the battle fought in the plains of red below.
We come to take them and you and build a new city in their hearts,
a glorious one for all to see..

For HE that sits upon most high has seen your work and smiled,
he will start a new each day in all of you and will bless thy expedition,
but never cease to pray, do, and preach, for the monarch awaits another sally.
Be prepared to ignore his beckoning,
a false glory of WAR it is he promises to give lives some meaning,
which otherwise for sloth, indolence, and indifference its true design had faded."

The prophet raised his hands on high,
and under a root of an elm found a key, a seed, and a sash,
which together turn him into a bird
that guided those humble few to the land of milk and honey.

All the while singing in the air,
the song of joy at God's creation...

"Love HIM, love thee, me, and them is all you can truly hope to achieve,
for to be blessed with holyness is to be one who loves and is loved in return"

On Love

2006-02-11T17:55:00.000-08:00

The serum that heals all wounds
a delectably subtle,
bittersweet concotion of Nature

Uniting
what was once whole,
torn asunder
by greed,
pride,
hate,
Strife: the common woe of all Adam's children

A poison so welcomed by all
clueless of the silent death it necesitates, the very catalyst for change they'd have avoided, the shedding of the old,
the donning of the new

The gentle sun whose warmth quells the rantings of once
proud dark night
bound now like the fire giver to the stone

called Hope,

that enduring strength that gives one will to rise and meet the day,
such is Love,
Love is such a thing.

The folly of the wisest and most circumspect of men,
the wisdom of the most dull and simplest of fools.

That endless gust of wind
that can sweep you asunder
in
an
endless
circle of passions
lest you fetter your feet by continence
and seek the mean

So elusive when all you see is the moon
hit here eyes
like some delectable dish
that begs a song be sung of how silly
all this makes you seem,
feel,
and be.

Yes this is love the great and terrible,
the liberator and conqueror,
the profound and simple force of Nature
entombed in your will
to allow you mastery
of this great impulse
or make you its ever willing subject....

that enduring strength that gives one will to rise and meet the day,
such is Love,
Love is such a thing.

Why Nice guys finish last in the City of Man... maybe

2005-11-22T23:52:00.000-08:00

I look at this like this: (Keep in mind these are at best mostly true, at worst mere generalizations)

Girls are at first attracted to the boys who are more "cool", that is only because at ages 12-18 we are identifying more with trying to figure out where we stand socially. We want so bad during this time to look cool, be accepted, since this is the time we are most uncomfortable in our own skin. And that is because we are trying to figure out who we are by who were with. Some girls never leave this phase, some women revert back to this in the midlife, and some ladies dabble in this mindset from time to time. Coincidentally 'cool' boys are often those least afraid to be who they are and gather of group of people or friends about him that want to be him, appreciate him, or are like him. More often than not, these boys use this as power and do not take care of the girls they are in relationships with. These boys are not nice. Although some boys who are 'cool' can be nice. (cool boys that are nice are often taken, or too shy to make a move)

Ladies (18-marriage) are attracted to the guy equivalent of the cool boy. In this case the guy has a little more going for him than a bunch of people who surround him. He may have a car, a good body, nice clothes, and a great smile. In other words, this a boy who has take risks and has come up on top so to speak. Unfortunately, like the cool boy, the guy is still a power tripping person. And that makes him bad, and naughty. This makes him the type that is not good for a long term relationship, but makes for a great conversation piece in the ladies room, or at ladies night out, or etc. Ladies dig this because of 3 reasons: 1) They never went out with the cool boy in their younger days 2) They have dated 'guys' who are at best cool boys (no job, no car, decent looking dudes, good circle of friends, but no direction [sound familiar?]) 3) During a girls night out, or in the ladies room comments are overheard about this 'guy' who is outside, and so the 'hunt' begins to be the one who 'nabs him first'ie. physical attraction+appearance of success+word of mouth= that something that attracts the ladies to the guyunfortunately, most guys take advantage of this (power again) and misuse ladies very often.guys that are nice are simply nice guys, who are often overlooked because they are often successful in their own way, but fail to display the fact that they too have taken risks and gained. They hardly get talked about in the ladies room.

Women (married/single moms/divorcees) are attracted to Men... hold on...By Men I mean males who have gone beyond simply being Guys... Men are males with an established direction in their lives, steady income, broad vision for themselves but still ble to be detailed oriented, and hopefully romantic. Looks are still important but take passenger seat to the above. Married women hope they have one beside them, single moms wished they had one, and divorcees regret not having one in the first place. Unfortunately many would be Men are really just guys in disguise, so they fool women and thus use them again. Or worse some are still boys.. big trouble ensues then... Women look for Men they can teach, but also seek Men who are NOT clueless and are NOT over dependent. Women in other words are attracted to Strength of Character (and of body too.. why not?) as well as Stability of Lifestyle (and mind as well.. no psychos!).

In essence females are attracted to..in the youngest days to a boy who will make them feel cool and accepted and loved in the younger days to a guy who will make her friends envious, is attractive, and appears to be successful, and will love herin the young days to man who will be not quite her equal, is not above being taught, is strong and stable, and will love her.

Keep in mind this was brought on by a less than illustrious career in the LA dating scene while Catholic.. dui (Dating under the Influence... of Rome)

The problem of wealth in RES and RATIO

2005-11-17T16:08:00.000-08:00

"Money, it’s a crime.
Share it fairly but don’t take a slice of my pie.
Money, so they say is the root of all evil today.
But if you ask for a raise it’s no surprise that they’re giving none away."

"I'm a quiet living man, who prefers to spend the evening in the silence of his room,
who likes an atmosphere as restful as an undiscovered tomb,
A pensive man am I, of philosophical joys, who likes to meditate, contemplate,
far for humanities mad inhuman noise, Quiet living man.... "

I was looking over Dante's inferno the other day and I got to thinking...
Jesus said that it was easier for a camel to get through the eye of a needle than it is for the wealthy man to get into heaven. Why is this? Well simply put, the wealthy man has power, or the appearance of power by means of his wealth. And this gives him/her the ability to indulge in all kinds of excessive acts of depravity and sin. And how about how they made their wealth, how many times did God speak through his prophets about those that would build their wealth on the back of the oppressed over the ages? Egypt anyone? And then it came to me...

Can it not be similar to what I know here in LA as the 'thinking man's curse', the shadow of doubt that arises from the accumulation of knowledge, as your mind is prone to bring all things into question, whether to subject them to empirical analysis, or logical dissection. I run into so many people that tell me 'Christian, you are so bright, why are you still a Christian?' I smile and say, I am fool for Christ I suppose, but wiser than you could imagine.

What good is it to accumulate wealth in this world if your gonna lose your soul?

The 'smart' man is content to fill his mind with more and more knowledge, all the while thinking that all things must be knowable through the senses and reason in order to be true, any kind of secret knowledge is at best mysticism and folly.He/she deems the riches in his/her mind to be sufficient to govern his/her life in the manner most prudent and convenient. I call this 'trying to have your cake and eating it too' , since ALL knowledge is ordered to the wisdom of ages: the Triune Godhead.
For this person wealth is intelligence, and with it prestige and recognition.
While the rich man is more blatantly trying to shape all reality to his/her desire via material wealth, the other is trying to via good ol fashioned intellectual hubris.

Case in point...

There was that guy that the Master had thrown out on account of not being a faithful and hardworking servant... remember the guy who thought it best to hide the talent given and return as it was.. maybe a bit dusty, but nonetheless the same coin?Well he did not work in a manner becoming a servant, he refused to work at gaining more glory (wealth) for his Master via his industry. He selfishly decided his manner was the best to have the least accountabilty for risk, and thus it seemed the safest most cogent position to take, after all if he had lost the talent given would this not anger the Master? But alas, he forgets the Master is a merciful one, quick to forgive and relent, the servant forgot this. Also the servant decided to hoard this talent and not share it or put it to use, a selfish move, undermining the intent to preerve what is given.

In short, I think the case of the wealthy man and the 'thinking' man bear some interesting similarities.... Any thoughts?

American Climate

2005-10-06T20:27:00.000-07:00

A sad day it is when a child asks for happiness
and his parents cannot answer,
for it takes a village to convene and address the little mind.

Yet the sun will rise and fall again with fiery insistence,
an endless cycle of rising hopes and smoldered dreams,
swept across amber waves of green.

How horrible it is for human life to be matter of opinion,
a reality reduced to a right, a miracle squandered as a choice.
Freedom was sold to slaves, who still are indebted to this lie.

Yet the rain will fall where it will, and the wind will blow as well,
a maelstrom of nature's glory, shadowed by the maelstrom of the soul
of a land indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

Despair can be the only fruit where one can claim to not be his brother's
keeper, since his brother happens to be a different wage, a different shade, a different faith,
a different kind of thinker. Fleshy eyes, hateful, evil eyes in the land where truths
are to be held as self-evident.

Yet the earth still moves and trembles, as if to groan for human reciprocation, the movement of change, of silent revolution no longer. Take up the wood and follow, lead the straying into the promised land, walk on the path that is given, the earth will spin, the earth will move, do not be caught idle.

Pandora's box long since open, before 1787, it would serve us well, as it did the Founders, to occasionally glimpse into the remainder. And then my friends....
to act.

-CLT