the above: still fooling w/ HDR and panorama. the tools are a whole new world.

addition to yesterday's post: the metamorphosis of the democratic party from "change it" to "change it back to where it was before the wreck so the same guys who wrecked it can do it again" should not have been a surprise (but it was of course). think of the bush years and how it seemed like the dems were being blackmailed, bought, or otherwise turned into deer staring at the money. both parties can now be called "corporation run". they represent money. big money. huge unprecedented concentrations of wealth and power.

blueberries. last sunday had an epic walk up to the pinnacle of craggy gardens (which was closed due to bear traffic) looking for blueberries.

in the meantime i have been groping for words to describe the freefall the culture is in and i haven't found them yet. not just the pathology of the USA, but the whole world. mercenary stumblebums, murder, torture, failed states, kidnappings, big money sloshing through and wrecking political discourse, pirates, bandits, a zillion lobbyists - or Congress members, they are the same - the propaganda for profit the news is, the dispossessed. you get the picture i hope not because i say so but because you are living it either consciously or not.

part of this picture is the dysfunction of institutions which no longer work. except maybe libraries.

the pervasive animus towards the institution of "government" is hard to avoid. i am especially troubled by the 2 part system in place right now in the USA. i worked hard for the democrats last election and did so because of promised change. but now i feel it was a classic case of bait and switch. after the debacle of the bush years, when the wreckage began to become visible to all, the mantra has devolved into "change it back to what it was", same people, same looting, same dismissal of we the people.

what to do? i don't know, but throwing out your tv would be a good idea right now.

http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=3f8_1251526869

Bill Moyers With Bill Maher Aug 28, 2009
go ahead, click it and watch a discussion about healthcare reform. they actually talk without the spectical of talking points so it might shock the totally conditioned.

did this in a fit of i don't know what this morning. a beautiful morning. fall is in the air. thank You.

yesterday was a wierd one. lap guitar no longer works. saturday played a little crazy music with alex and he somehow pulled the input. he didn't do it intentionally, but that boy plays his instrument hard. then late in the day i managed finally to spill coffee on laptop so it is out of comission. did all the right things, disconnecting peripherals remove battery, and it is now resting 24 hours upside down. this evening i'll find out what shape it is in. it was not much of a spill so hopefully the motherboard and HD survived. maybe a few sticky keys is what i'm hoping for.

i can't believe that i spent all day doing the above. i shot it yesterday, doing the panorama thing. today i wondered into all kind of byways processing it, eg the gimp on intel PC, things i still don't know much about. course i was on the phone talking to a lot of my extended family, dumping trash and other assorted tasks at the same time.

Future wireless electricity
"Imagine a future where you don’t have to plug anything in. It all just works."
MIT demo.
took a walk yesterday w/ al who was looking to get fotos of blueberrys. they are located at the pennical of craggy gardens which is closed on account of bears who apparently like blueberrys and floridians.

for me it was a long hard slog, probably the 5th time this summer i have had that much excercise.

from thom hartman newsletter -

"Chris Broughton, who brought an assault rifle and a handgun to the Obama event in Phoenix last week, attended an anti-Obama sermon just a day before showing up. In the sermon Pastor Steven Anderson said he would "pray for Barack Obama to die and go to hell", Anderson confirmed this to TPMmuckraker yesterday. The sermon was called "Why I Hate Barack Obama" and had hate-filled anti-gay themes. This is much like the atmosphere the seized America in the late 50s and early 60s as Brown vs Board of Education was being implemented by forced integration by bussing African American school children into white neighborhoods and visa versa. The consequence was a serious of bombings, lynching, murders and assassinations that ripped the at the heart and soul of this nation. If the Republican crazies like Sarah Palin and Glen Beck don't stop this hate speech - they will have blood on their hands."

while we wait for the other shoes to drop. going to a 10 AM rally for health which rumer has it is sponsered somehow by a stealth medical-indusrtrial group.

i am going to pull the plug on the blog and concentrate on multi media. so labor day or is it momorial day seems like a nice date to shut it down. before then i may attempt to describe in words why i am so out of words concerning the cultural anti cocoon slithering towards some black hole.

a redo of the first and only panorama i've taken. learning curve not real steep, but don't expect to get it right away. addendum: the print is CMYK 300DPI 19.11 wide and 4.5 inches tall. what this means is that i could print say a 3 foot long version and lose no resolution, could even change a lot of things.

but i'm going to take a nap.

new human in progress, jake son of my nephew and wife kindra. god bless. photo by dad probably soon after jake was born yesterday.

Guns at Political Events: A Chilling Effect on the First Amendment | CommonDreams.org

Guns at Political Events: A Chilling Effect on the First Amendment | CommonDreams.org: "Neither the Secret Service nor police ushered the persons carrying guns away from the event, nor were any persons carrying firearms arrested. ('Armed Men Seen Outside Barack Obama Event,' Telegraph/UK [via Common Dreams], August 18, 2009)

Compare this restraint by the Secret Service and police to the following events.

In July 2008, a 61-year-old librarian was arrested at a McCain campaign event in Denver for carrying a sign that read, 'McCain=Bush.' ('Woman Arrested at McCain Event for ‘McCain=Bush' Sign,' AlterNet, July 7, 2008)"

The Week Magazine - News reviews and opinion, arts, entertainment & political cartoons

The Week Magazine - News reviews and opinion, arts, entertainment & political cartoons: "Hysterical talk from TV and radio hosts may be a cynical marketing exercise. But it's getting too dangerous to ignore."

Robert Reich calls for 'march on Washington' in support of public option - Fred Barbash - POLITICO.com

Robert Reich calls for 'march on Washington' in support of public option - Fred Barbash - POLITICO.com: "Robert Reich, the former Labor secretary, scholar and commentator, called Tuesday for a “march on Washington” on Sept. 13 —“Grandparents Day” — in support of a health care bill that offers a public option."

Technology News: Chips: DNA-Like Design Could Lead to Smaller, Faster Microchips

Technology News: Chips: DNA-Like Design Could Lead to Smaller, Faster Microchips: "Researchers at IBM and CalTech have taken a design cue from nature in their goal to build ever-smaller microprocessors. The scientists have developed a way to use the structure of synthetic DNA as a sort of scaffolding to allow self-replicating nanoparticles to form miniature circuit boards."

this could be the last time. hope to cap blog this week. i may still occasionally post but the main action will be modernpeasant.com. if you scroll to the bottom you will see an icon that will let you set up rss feed which will let you know if i post anything.

www.madashelldoctors.com

www.madashelldoctors.com

Calling all crazies: Obama needs you - Roger Simon - POLITICO.com

Calling all crazies: Obama needs you - Roger Simon - POLITICO.com: "The White House is losing the showmanship battle. The White House needs Obama as Daniel in the lions’ den. It needs the president to show spunk, spirit and resolve."

summer 2009 moon bird. my friend jim took this w/ digital still camera won't go into tech discourse). i edited it.

hi tex is so engrossing. another world even more unreal than this one. anyway this plays ok on pc running chrome, not so good onmac os x running firefox.

what does it do on yr rig?

Gmail - The Thom Hartmann Program Newsletter Tuesday 11 August 2009 - wyly.chris@gmail.com

Gmail - The Thom Hartmann Program Newsletter Tuesday 11 August 2009 - wyly.chris@gmail.com

Google Chrome
i've been using chrome instead of firefox for about a week. so far i like it a lot. check it out.

Town halls push on amid fears of more disruptive protests - CNN.com

Town halls push on amid fears of more disruptive protests - CNN.com

are the crazys taking over?
no.
are there a lot of them?
more every day.
they have certainly twisted public discourse.

but i think the money machine has let these guys loose. and collapsed the two parties into its servents. this includes obama who should, along with the rest of us, stand up and state that this is the case.


some of yesterday's work. high tech low down, a little duct tape and spit.

Seasick Steve: Raw-Boned Blues : NPR:
"His repertoire of instruments famously includes his haunted 'Trance Wonder,' the Japanese 'Three-String Trance Wonder' and the 'Mississippi Drum Machine,' which consists of a small wooden box decorated by carpet and a license plate."

time out for a little old school.

ok i am back to politix now. even tho i believe that the turmoil and chaos of the political world is not the locus of meaningful activity today but rather a problem that can only be solved by "boots on the ground".

so i put my boots back on.

personal anecdote: in the early 70's the last big anti-vietnam war march on washington took place. at the time i was working for a university. everyone i knew went, traveling by car pool or bus.

25 years later i argued w/ many older citizens that the march was not financed by any organization, but like the rest of the antiwar movement was improvised by the young who slept and traveled in a loose network, word of mouth etc.

today the same sort of citizens i was arguing with are framing the right wing town meeting disruptions as spontaneous and grass roots when it is obvious that big money is at work. these are folks who get their news from the tube.

do yourself a favor: write your congressman everyday to do the right thing concerning healthcare.

[later: boots on the ground an exceedingly misleasing phrase i should not have used. what i mean is grass-roots, bottoms up innermost turning of the heart, ie it is up to each of us to transform from the conditioned bind the culture insists is normal.}

BuzzFlash.org | Progressive News and Commentary with an Attitude | Fight Ignorance: Read BuzzFlash: "President Obama and the Democrats who currently run Congress have been hoist on their own collective petard by their craven and gutless refusal to consider adopting a Canadian-style single-payer system to finance health care in the U.S., or simply to expand Medicare, which is a successful single-payer program, to cover everyone, instead of just people over 65 and the disabled.

Instead, because they are the recipients of hundreds of millions of dollars in legal (and probably plenty of illegal) bribes from the health care industry, they have cobbled together a 'reform' in name only, which preserves not just the central role of the vampire-like health insurance industry, but also ensures the continued rapacious profitability of the other segments of the medical-industrial complex -- the hospitals, the pharmaceutical industry, and the specialist doctors."

found this image i don't remember doing while freeing up disk space. looks like sumi was involved.

another sleepless night last night. out of nowhere, for no reason that i can see. so today is lost as far as doing anything but the minimum.

i forget if i have already put this image up. i added text to indicate fellow sentient being.

started using google chrome for web browser on pc. still using firefox on mac.

it is too hot to go outside. higher ground called for.

rock.

what else? leaves, snow.

reading an interesting book back to the truth: 5000 years of advaita by dennis waite. going to disassemble dobro. trying to stay away from computers for awhile. busy week ahead. hope to get up to celo area to camp before week is gone.

picture from last week.

i am so tired of the institutional thugs, the criminal overworld, even if they do have nice ties. the whole damn bunch of them need to be isolated in some skid row, or better yet, a privatized meta-prison. all of them, every party, every expert, every self-absorbed ruler of the universe.

obama needs to lose his cool and call a spade a spade. he is spending too much time convincing the megaprofiteers that, after they have looted and pillaged and wrecked the world, that we the pipple will restore the former order so they can keep doing it.

it's all good.

back from trip hope i bounce back. feel all worn out, maybe snooze for awhile.

ah, the woods. we miss our world.

leaving in the AM for chatham county, see what my children and grandchildren are up to. dylan concert tuesday, visit to warren county wednesday, and back thursday.

today's adventure. things have changed a lot in the last 24 hours. i am now planning on driving to daughter nicole's house friday. spend the weekend with my children and grandchildren all of whom, like myself, are dealing with existential dilemmas. tuesday afternoon drive with jim to ninian's who will have gotten back from swannanoa monday. eat lunch, take a nap, pray, meditate and prepare for dylan concert that night. elevated we will return to ninian's and spend the night. the next morning ninian takes off again for some fiddler's convention and jim and i will head north for a visit with ludie and damian. back to jim's that evening and depending on the fates i will drive back here thursday.

i think that is the plan.

a test. i'm trying to spice up my new myspace music site and want to use this picture but so far no go.

http://myspace.com/modernpeasant

on my list of to do today is write congressmen to let them know i am for national health insurance. i'e been putting it off for weeks. some kind of resistance on my part based on i get sucked into the circus of numbers and it is a setup, hoax, con game. but i will do it.

i seem to remember that the beginning of insurance was during the time of pilgrimages c. 1000 ad. pilgrims would contribute to a pool before leaving and if an emergency, accident or whatever took place during the pilgrimage they would take out of the pool what was needed. that was it. too simple? maybe. ignores the concurrent rise of financial institutions concerned with shipping out of italy and Belgium? probably.

took a walk after lunch with ninian who is on his way to swannanoa gathering. and imahined the above picture.

camping monday canceled, eli going to doctor with strep or something like it. i may do a one nighter to hawksbill mnt, in fact that's what i'll do.

also want to place some postcards i drummed up awhile back. maybe to 10 shops.

but i can't remember where i put them.

this morning's creative hiccup.

a little something i put tohether this morning. yu are looking behind the scenes because it isn't quite done. the right side needs tinkering, fatten the white circle, and a little text kerning.

it's a bumper sticker.

i've returned to making audio, electronic noise to you. lot of people don't like electronic moozik and you don't have to like it either.
http://www.myspace.com/modernpeasant

this mornings amusement. lost yesterday.

any of you night owls be sure to listen to coast2coast tonight, guest is charles tart, who you don't hear enough about these days.

mondays madness. feel like i have to stay focused this week. open question.

Lucius Shepard || News
lucius is an old friend who is a little tricky to keep up with. glad he's doing well.

ok you've seen it before but i added audio. not very well i'm afraid, so turn down the volume.

from interview, neil young sometime after weld:

"JO: What are your views on people going to college to learn guitar?

NY: Paints a pretty doomed picture of the future, doesn't it?[Laughs.] First of all, it doesn't matter if you can play a scale. It doesn't matter if your technique is good. If you have feelings that you want to get out through music, that's what matters. If you have the ability to express yourself and you feel good when you do it, then that's why you do it. The technical side of it is a completely boring drag, as far as I'm concerned. I mean, I can't play fast. I don't even know the scales. A lot of the notes that I go for are notes that I know aren't there. They're just not there, so you can hit any note. I'm just on another level as far as all that goes."

a bit of last saturday, 4th of july, at tom and erin's. didn't get much of the fireworks which is a shame because they were spread over the hills and dales in a beautiful conversation. but this is what i got so why not.

i have hit such a dry spell that i uploaded the above image that i made in... let's see, it was in arizona on a mac se with macpaint, so it must have been late 80's give or take a lifetime or two. i spent the weekend not using any computers and am convinced i need to take a break from the cyberworld. time to take a deep breath or two.

Noam Chomsky on “Crisis and Hope: Theirs and Ours”

Noam Chomsky on “Crisis and Hope: Theirs and Ours”

no more HDRi which the above is, taken 2 days ago. i don't understand it altho i'm close, and the software i've rounded up to use is slow and flakey. i'll catch up in 6 months.

what you are seeing is examples of me learning yet another way to produce an image. took it yesterday at craggy gardens after a short hike and very timely picnic w/ richard and debbie. i was a little too wobbly but very much enjoyed the opportunity to get out.

my effort for the day. taken at the lagoon of the Meher Spiritual retreat in myrtle beach awhile back.

stayed up until 3 last night reading about Karl Popper and walter bejamin. feel like shit today.

i forget whu said that we humans today think in phrases - jingles, slogans and empty sounds like "socialism". whatever "socialism" means.

socialistic medicine is of course "bad" because of the contagion of meaning in a world too full of mental static. i was raised in it because my dad was in the air force. did i ever see the same doctor twice in a row? probably not. did i have to wait for bureaucrats to approve of a hospital or doctor visit? nope.

what about today when the populace knows that this is a bad way to practice medicine?
have i ever been caught in the snares of endless criminality of the private sector medical-industrial complex calls the invisible hand of the market place? repeatedly.

BTW i was listening to the left wing rantings of ron reagon last night and he used the phrase "medical-industrial complex". i don't know when i first used it but it was a long time ago.

got this in mail today from granddaughter grace. thank you grace. she is a sweetie and talented too. not to mention her mom and dad.

driving to doc today the truck in front of me has a bumper sticker that read

Socialism:
trickle down
poverty

of course my next project took shape right then and there. a bumper sticker that will read:

capitalism:
trickle down
robbery

did it this morning. don't like it very much. maybe i can use it for a video. came from latest notebook i found, pretty sure it is from 5 years ago.

By the time a man realizes that maybe his father was right, he usually has a son who thinks he's wrong.
Charles Wadsworth

what a mess, huh? the quickie above, yes, but i'm talking about the state of our lives. how do you say to our politicians that:
the world changed. already. again.
and it isn't over.
the invisible hand of the market
has changed into the hand of form
and is killing what we are meant to become.
"your money or your life"
the current mantra of medicine
replacing "do no harm".
you have been robbed and pillaged and may not know it.
it was a very inside job.

slow today and not even steady. nice image i think. no tripod. used fdrbasic and a lot of curves in photoshop.

i am assuming that the video below plays ok. here at the entropy palace this is not exactly the case; what the case is is:

DSL with older imac Ethernet and wireless celeron sony PC - more specs available on request - and video plays fine on pc, but doesn't on imac, even after the usual tricks eg pausing while it loads. i have 4 videos up on youtube and got curious. the iMac won't play any of them. but it used to. so problem defined and i have put it on my list of things i might get around to fixing.

meanwhile-->

you don't have to shout it
make it real or foggetaboutit
it's just another cloud
raining out loud

i've been fooling around w/ a short movie i posted here yesterday. some glitch has stopped it from playing on some DSL systems. so i removed it. meanwhile i have many distractions to deal w/ so it's gone.

apparently plays ok but right now not on imac. so i left it up. good luck.

found another notebook, so i'll be digging around to see what i can see. pretty sure it's 5 years old.

9:15. time for bed.

today's playdate. has a great time at bluff mnt festival.

pretty much finished a successful week, spent it all in self-imposed deadline fever featuring the usual suspects: house. truck, color prints, a dvd, and the above cyberdoodle. leaving for hot springs this morning for bluff mnt music festival. back tomorrow. i plan to go to my annual movie next week, 3D up:
Movie Review for Up 3D:
"Viewed in 3D-- which you really, really ought to do if you get a chance-- the bright colors of the first half shimmer, while the vertiginous cliffs and flights of the second half send shivers. And for anyone who thinks this is just a goofy story about an old man and a kid and a talking dog, know that this PG-rated children's movie addresses infertility, death, single parenting, loss of childhood illusions, and the necessities of respecting nature."

Nassim Nicholas Taleb::
from the black swan
"We love the tangible, the confirmation, the palpable, the real, the visible, the concrete, the known, the seen, the vivid, the visual, the social, the embedded, the emotional laden, the salient, the stereotypical, the moving, the theatrical, the romanced, the cosmetic, the official, the scholarly-sounding verbiage (b******t), the pompous Gaussian economist, the mathematicized crap, the pomp, the Academie Francaise, Harvard Business School, the Nobel Prize, dark business suits with white shirts and Ferragamo ties, the moving discourse, and the lurid. Most of all we favor the narrated."

read this book. a few pages at a time.

last watercolor i did. the next time you see it it should look better, not adequate scan.

[later} better.

all i have to offer today.

another panorama, this one taken at the home of my son eli and famlly in chatham county. no tripod.

what am i doing?

playing with photomerge and fdrbasic demo for hdri.

dvd for father's day: movie and slide show.

and two prints for my two oldest children birthday, twins.

cleaning truck and house. this will take all week.

panorama shot at Meher Center.

tried HDR didn't work.

i'm back from 2 weeks on road. above image from Meher Center in SC.