chuck kottke

Well Put! Seems like what Mike had to say about his trip there as well! Busy people - but curious about outsiders.. Shanghai? Whereabouts were you?? Hopefully China will adopt better policies concerning air and water quality - it's taking a large toll on the citizens there as well.. Anywhohow, glad you got to see the world Rachel!!;););):)

Secrets to exams: always be prepared! It should be like riding a bicycle - consistency worked for me (I used to cram, but that never works - only so much before you get a BF error (Brain Full).:) Hmm.. little things that annoy me? Americans that think putting on a bumper-sticker saying "support out troops" makes them instant patriots.. People who get so self-righteous on their religion that they claim those poor folks in Indonesia deserved the Tsunami, because it's God's wrath upon the land.. I wish they had been though it - then they might realize their callousness and arrogance.

Time to pull the power plug, Tracie!:laugh3: I'm hooked on Calling all you Angels.. cool video too. One more cold day- snow on Sunday night?! Ugh - Ann Coulter - does she just say stuff that's not true just to annoy people? I just love slamming the bimbos that defend her - they're so ignorant!! Off with Ann Coulter's head! Viva La Revolution!

In the wee hours of the morning, just before pre-dawn, the song birds begin to sing sweet melodic tunes.. First just one, then several join in - it's the sweetest music one can hear, and their concerts are always free!:angel:

I won't give up, if you won't give up.. Train - Calling All Angels.

separated but by only the tiniest of bits like waves on an ocean, from the shoals comes the mists.. Controlled worlds abound, yet nature holds firm On the contract of truth, unearthed in the berm.. Life is and it isn't all that it seems Upon closer examination unfurls like some dream A deeper truth, how startling a hue runs the deeper shades in the ocean of blue.

^^Sounds nice! Here it's Garlic Bread :)

They sound like the crackling hot fire of a thousand pinball machines all ablaze!:P

Party like it's 1999 Ray!!:) Happy Birthday!! (now, we just need to get that time machine to work..!)

How many people were involved with moonshine running back in those days? When you make something natural illegal, it just goes underground.. I've figured out how to have our cake and eat it too, but will anyone listen? Is the planet doomed by our stupidity, or is there hope? A carnival of idiots run my country - if only we could change the rules, and make it fair..

Have Fun! Enjoy the warm breezes down in the banana belt, then!:)

Hello Luli, and welcome to the surf-board!:sunny::guitarist::cool2:

Ah, how technology makes strange things happen!:laugh3:^^ I hear this low-pitch rumble most of the night, which sounds like either an engine, or music, or something else.. It's barely audible, and only when things are perfectly still I hear it! Is it, as Dennis says, the crack house in the area playing music 24/7? Is it the drilling across the river into sulfide ore that could leak toxic elements? Is it some truckers who cannot sleep in a rig that's shut down? Is it the cement plant on the hill?? I just want to know what it is - the "not knowing" is what really bugs me!

Greeting Beth!! Nice Avatar!!:wideeyed::sunny:

Hello Carolyn from Chicago!:daisy: How are things down in the Windy City??:cool2::biker:

:wreck:

I think it's about someone in the military & stuck in the war somewhere too.. The "fog"of war, a sinking ship (the failing policy), the captain of the ship (whom we all know), and being buried in armor (blasts keep getting soldiers in armored vehicles).. And naturally, mixed with any number of themes and scenes - those of us laying low, waiting for it all to come to an end. Vietnam redux, unfortunate as it is. How many Presidents knew it wasn't going to succeed, but could never bring an end to it, for the sake of those who sacrificed, and not wanting to let their country down?? Almost like the Titanic, and the boiler men down below ordered to throw on more coal, as the ship plowed deeper into the cold water.. Very sad! They were sacrificed needlessly as well. What diplomacy and international consensus could do, giving the people their own initiative to change from within.. Well, just a personal view - it's got depth!

Driving force of the universe?? :laugh3:Tracie, see page 71 of this month's (May's) issue of National Geographic!! ..Space helmets to treat internet addicts in China!:P (I'll be in booth # 3, so don't feel alone!!) But what I was thinking was this: What really is randomness? So, let's say you shake dice to generate random numbers. Now, it's the equations defining the collisions, interactions, etc. that the dice roll around in the cup and land in such a fashion.. And a lot of "tipping points" - where the slightest change can yield any number of outcomes.. But the final answer is limited by the landing on a side, corresponding to a number. So, if Einstein said the "God does not play dice with the Universe", then what is probability?? To me, it looks like circumstances that can have very different complex equations of variable quantity, with "tipping points" to each, and with a limited output. If Entropy is loosely defined as "greater number of states" and this can drive equations, perhaps something similar is at work with randomness? Could this be the driving force of the Universe we live in? And, as the number of equations and possibilities grows, and the tipping points more variable and subtle, then perhaps the result begins to approach a more uniform consistency, definable as "random". Somewhat like throwing things into a blender - it starts out as quite unique, simply defined objects, and after hitting "puree" enough times, has the consistency of thick guacamole dip!:laugh3: Just my overactive imagination at work.. Atomic Clock found to be wrong due to manufacture in another universe with different constants for the Nuclear force. Said Universe has a terrible return policy.

Wow, Laura, you've got quite a deep analytical mind there!:) I always think what other songs this sounds like - and how the music is always an Oliver-Twist sort of thing with them. It's reminiscent of Indian Nation from the 60's, or maybe an old Wings tune - "Live and let Die" used in a Bond film back yonder.. But with their trade-mark twist, so you never quite know where it's headed! All I can say is "Well Done!!".:hat:

:snobby:

mystery fog When the future's architectured by a carnival of idiots on show Neocon architects of the "new American century", blowing their loud horns on the media shows.. Records snows - "When the (snow)banks became cathedrals" and the fog that forms as the warm air hits the cold, cold snow.. And the banks became cathedrals, as people prayed to keep their homes.. Priests clutched onto bibles, hollowed out to fit their rifles.. Sermons chosen to rouse the crowd to fight, "hollowing out" the real meaning.. To bury me in armor - there's an old saying about "being buried in one's armor".. To forget and get late the armor needed is often too late... War references.. Solider for the Captain of some sinking ship.. Perhaps many levels. Iraq anyone? the rest - imagination.

Thanks for the beautiful and powerfully moving song Chris, Johnny, Guy and Will!!:) = With Many Thanks, -Chuck.

Hello Norwegian Youfix!:)

I see your mood - it's sneaky!:laugh3: I wonder about our apparent lack of connections to reality, and how we manage to survive despite our disparate knowledge of the complete subject for which we are devoted to..

Welcome tulip country! welcome babsie!!!:daisy::daisy::daisy::daisy::daisy:!!!:joker: