Deconstructing

Another newspaper article caught my attention [link]. Dr. Ariely, a noted economist, cites a landmark study in behavioral science to support his call for more government regulation. While I’m neither for nor against regulation ~ he chose to misinterpret a study I’m familiar with ~ and I need something to write about ~ so bear with me ~ there's a point here somewhere. In 1965, researchers discovered that lab animals, who experience a sequence of uncontrollable events, do not learn future tasks as well as their peers with no such experience. They called this condition ‘learned helplessness’. So now, according to Dr. Ariely, learned helplessness is the reason why Americans are not responding realistically to current economic conditions. Over the last decade, we’ve experienced too many uncontrollable shocks ..things like the Internet crash and the housing collapse. What we need now are more ‘government planners’ to circumvent these things for us. I don’t know, for some reason this doesn’t sound like the proper antidote ~ and ~ pay attention ~ because here's where Dr. Ariely parts ways with the scientific community: the investigators originally working on learned helplessness, discovered that it mimics depression ..and began looking for ways to alleviate it. They found that it takes only a few successes, in situations that people previously considered insurmountable, to restore confidence ..and foster a sense of resilience to future setbacks. Since I don’t think we’re going to eliminate setbacks anytime soon, resilience seems like a far better antidote to feelings of helplessness than government regulation.

Through the looking glass

I wake up to the fragrance of incense, baked cookies and ganja drifting through my bedroom window ~ I throw on some overalls, splash water on my face, pop a couple chewable vitamin C and go investigate ~ my neighbor is playing a wooden flute while a member of his band gently strums a guitar. I'm reminded of meditation time at the Ashram ~ with a twist ~ without words I sit and listen ~ feeling hypnotized ~ Anahstasia passes me a bowl ~ I breathe in deeply and close my eyes ~ a note is struck on a cymbal and the music moves in another direction ~ I follow ~ letting go of my plans for the day ~ I sit and watch them fade away ~ the cymbal rings again and the music moves in a different direction ~ then suddenly ~ flash ~ We’re walking through the redwood trees on cold springs trail ~ I feel like I passed through the looking-glass ~ and popped out here ~ good thing I slipped on a pair of Merrells this morning ~ I try to mention this but my lips are numb and my tongue is heavy ~ I hear their children laughing from the tree limbs above ~ and I’m reminded of the elves of Lothlorien ~ the stewards of the forest appear ahead ~ smiling and welcoming us to join them in a drum circle ~ I bow in greeting and find a place to sit ~ hoping this isn’t a test or something because I don’t know anything ~ and there wasn't time to study.

Reading minds

I ran across an article in today’s paper that caught my attention. It says that army scientists are looking for a way to capture human thought ~ using brain waves ~ in order to help soldiers returning from Iraq with head injuries. Since I somehow consider it my life’s work to debunk overreaching statements like these ~ I thought to myself ~ I know brain waves are good at tracking levels of attention ~ and biofeedback is used to help people with ADD. However, I can find no evidence to suggest that brain waves somehow represent the vicissitudes of human thought. This project has no merit. The only reason the military would consider such a possibility is in search of a better method of mind-control ..which is precisely what they were after, without success, when they conducted unorthodox experiments using LSD back in the sixties. They’re obviously not doing this in the interest of science ..so I certainly can’t believe they’re doing it for the benefit of soldiers returning from Iraq.

Observation deck

The bubbles on the surface of my morning coffee are reflecting different colors ~ I move in for a closer look ~ fine little twinkling stars of violet and green ~ how come I never noticed them before ~ I think back to last night but there’s nothing there to suggest why things would look out of the ordinary today. Perhaps I’m getting a contact high from the smoke drifting by ..and I remember that Cezar is back from Texas. He played Oz fest ..says he’s second only to Ozzy Osbourne in the number of festivals played ~ I congratulated him on that accomplishment, but now I’m wondering if it only means that he’s, like ..the second oldest metal-head there.

The coffee tastes the same ..

Ron comes over and sits down ~ I ask him where he’s been for the last couple weeks. Bisbee Arizona ~ opening another branch of his new-age spiritual center. I’m like ~ Ron, are you out of your mind ..? Those are like traditional God-fearing Christians down there ..with military weapons. I know Lee, we’re really only expecting a small handful of people ..That’s not my point Ron ~ I’m talking about right-wing paramilitary groups who take turns guarding the border ..they’re going to mistake you for a foreign infiltrator and vaporize you. Now Ron is looking at me like I’m the one who’s missing the point. He goes ~ Nah, Bisbee is like the new Santa Fe ..lots of art galleries and antique stores ..stuff like that. And I’m like ~ Uh huh, well ..don’t try spreading the word too far from town ..seriously .. don’t make me come down there looking for you. These are dangerous times for paranoiacs like me.

Drawing by Nicolas ~ age 15

China cat

Rio Bravo

The war on drugs is claiming more lives than the war in Iraq. In the last eighteen months, 4,000 people have been killed across the US-Mexican border .. I’m talking innocent men, women and children .. many of them shot dead with US supplied weapons. There are so many gun shipments headed that way; they’ve begun calling the Rio Grande the Iron River. It’s enough to supply an army ..and balance the trade deficit. In my opinion, drug traffickers have the upper hand .. they follow the laws of nature and principles of economics ..which trump the laws of US legislators every time. High priced intoxicants head north while high-powered weapons move south to ensure the supply chain. US Border States are wide open for gunrunners. We build toll bridges, fences, guard towers ..patrol them with thousand and thousands of border guards .. yet we've accomplished little to stop another force of nature ..human migration. It’s like trying to package water. So, I guess this means we’ll kill 4,000 more people next year in another senseless war.

State of mind

Re: Suspect’s state of mind

LATimes ~ Anyone who tells you they are suffering from ‘paranoid delusions’ is probably not. It shows a degree of lucidity not commonly found among sufferers. However, it is the type of fabrication commonly used by sociopaths ~ someone pursuing profits without concern for the harm they’re doing others. Bruce Ivins clearly had a financial interest in the hoax he was perpetrating ..and a sociopath’s disregard for the consequences. I believe his erratic behavior was engineered ..perhaps as a pretext in the event he was caught.

A letter to the LATimes

Lord Bacchus

My neighbor Dez has a big Doberman, with a bad temper and ferocious bark, in his back yard. His name is Lord Bacchus and they don't like it when I refer to him as just Bach. I forget the reason why so I looked it up just now to see if I could find out. Turns out that Lord Bacchus is another name for Dionysus ..the God of wine and ritual madness. So now I'm grateful to them for keeping me from offending the deities of revelry. Lord Bacchus ..the dog ..has a nasty habit of barking at anyone who passes by ..friend or stranger ..he doesn’t discriminate. The other neighbors are pissed because he can't seem to get it through his thick skull that we live here too .. barking at us doesn't do any good. I think that’s precisely the reason Lord Bacchus keeps barking ..it doesn’t do any good .. and it really pisses him off that, as hard as he tries .. we keep coming back. We don’t learn. So now I’m afraid he’s going to escalate ..going from threatening bark to gnashing teeth.

Observation deck

Did ADD start with tree shrews or humans ..? Do intoxicants play a role in maintaining the ecosystem or are there giant squid lurking beneath the surface ..? I wonder if I’m sufficiently hydrated or having absorption problems. Am I forgetting something ..? Oh, yeah ..I wonder if fence-sitters are the same as flip-floppers. I hear sirens ~ no, those are my ears ringing. What brings some thoughts to mind and buries the rest ..? What’s with all the annoying questions ~ and so few declarative statements ..? Could be self-doubt ~ or the process of analytical-thought. I don’t know which. Where am I going with this ..? I have no idea. Oh shit, I also don’t have time to chat with my neighbor right now ~ but it’s pretty obvious I have nothing else to do ~ better think of something fast ~ nothing comes to mind ~ except maintain eye contact and smile a lot ~ but not too much otherwise he'll think I’ve lost my mind ~ oh, and don’t forget to nod at the appropriate times.

Photo of a tree shrew ~ the first mammal to be able to focus attention ~ and shift attention ~ with equal ease. I admire these little creatures.