apologies for lack of interaction. I am for the time, without a computer. I have donated mine to be used for someone else's education. I will return as soon as I can purchase a new computer. in the meantime, my best wishes to you all. I will be checking in from time to time as I am able.

fireworx are not for eating or lighting cigs. I hope some have received the small token of my gratitude. more to come soon.
see you on my return. I have a wedding to attend.
back on the 8th. ciao for niao.

fireworks are not for eating, or lighting cigs. always place firecrackers down before ignition. lighting fourteen roman candles at the same time only sounds fun, doing so ruins the single spectacle and may maim one for life. spending summer vacation in intensive care is not really as cool in retrospect. so I have a wedding to go to. hope some have received a little token of my high regard. more to come of course. I wish you all a safe and happy holiday. see you on my return.

more like the practical application of placement.

it occured to me while meditating today, okay maybe I wasn't meditating exactly, more like sanding a piece of junk plywood in preparation for yet one more bid on exploration of the Id. a junk acrylic persona with a satiny gold leaf memory. I was busy getting splinters implanted on my palms when I looked at the wood, it just sat there like a bump on a log...no more like the log on a bump. Being wood, and here I was sanding away trying to make it fit into my ideal. It would never be that. This particular piece was of a less than premium nature donated to me by someone who was desperate to rid their yard of what had to be several years fo scrap accumulation. The smooth side had several of those eye-shaped plugs where they never match the wood grain, and the other side, marred only by a couple of knots was like the untamed Splinter City of the frontier days, saloon brawls, killing in the streets and about a quarter inch of my epidermis lying like a drunkard on main street, forlorn and missing the local thumb which had left only moments earlier. I remember when I was younger, okay maybe about 8 hours ago, how it was all about the finish. The end of the project in mind. Goal set, focus go, finish reward, of discovery and the satisfaction of accomplishing my concept. without ever giving thought to the surface on which I would apply my imaginations whim. One could say a painting is only as good as the base on which it is painted, but what is the measure of that really? Those of you who know me, are probably sick of my wandering metaphors, so I'll try to shorten this a bit. So I stopped sanding, staring at the wood and breaking several woodworking rules for craftsmanship. I saw the splinter strewn landscape as unique to the piece, and enhancement to the art which drew from a source beyond my reckoning. With this concept I began sanding each contour for its own merit. Splinter City tamed to a farming community, of terraces and thatch roof houses. I stared thoughtfully for a moment at the wood, which to my surprised gleamed back at me under a sudden tempting peak of sunshine which crept through the partially opend door next to me. I was amazed at the change this piece of donated wood
had undergone. One concept had changed my approach and totally altered the outcome of whatever finished product would be produced. I wonder if perhaps the art is only as good as the surface, and perhaps the surface is only as good as our understanding of it. change happens in each breath, what are you thinking right now? be mindful.

a million excuses for not meditating. it's tough to make tiime for something so "unproductive". sounds like just about every time I want to meditiate. oddly tho once we meditate productivity takes on an effortless aspect not noticed under the unruly hustle and bustle of our everyday concerns. the first step must be simple enough to keep us from tripping over our ego ridden angst. so we must first find that place where meditation becomes possible. The breathe. Be mindful of each breathe, disengage yourself from the little scurrying thoughts that each want to set up their own Palace inside your dome. just place your attention on your breath. Not easy to do I can hear some thinking, but just try it...if you actually succeed you will find something amazing. it is palpable, and it actually moves your mind into a quietness that stops ego in its tracks, if but for a second, and sets the mind at ready for the next step...........breathe. change happens in each breath.

stay tuned. a for you a buddha to be.