Black ether

A young ballet dancer, in white petal-pleated dress, bejeweled about the middle with hair done up and head slightly bowed, on the toes of her left foot she faced the flames and smoke. Her arms were straight outstretched so that she framed from top to bottom the soldier in the fire, left hand pointing to his feet [sic.] and right the top of his head, thereby forming as it were the sides of a not-quite right isosceles triangle and he the hypotenuse. She floated in a black void as if she, illustrating a point, or on the cusp of some magic, would  command release of the solder from his peril.

The soldier stood straight suspended in fire and as if at his guard post before the change at an appointed hour, smartly dressed in red jacket and blue pants and a musket with bayonet at his side all uniformly at attention. He stood without expression. His feet must have been cooking and his head must have been swirling like the flames and smoke that surrounded him bottom to top. Would he awake from dutiful unquestioning with the redeeming life form holding him in her arms?

It seems neither beauty nor art nor some magical intervention can break the spell of those so dutiful and consumed unawares in a moment of, I don't hesitate to say, unconscious catastrophe.

But all this is mere speculation on an imagined image made lifeless and external on a printed page.

What draws one is the two figures in the order presented all consumed by the blackest of black ether and the perfect paisley patterns of smoke that reveal what we are viewing is not real, at least not of this world. The life the picture creates is in our minds, as well as the comparisons and comments we would make about what we see. What we experience may be far different from that which you see.

Thus, lifeless it is not.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Steadfast_Tin_Soldier

Perps hidin' out

I got this email today in response to mine, which I agree was a bit harsh. The reference is to a "joke" circulating on the Internet having to do with who will pay for Mrs. Obama's high school reunion, with supposed picture of her classmates. Mr. Hass was one of those who forwarded the material to others which eventually got to me. My final thoughts below.

[BEGIN MESSAGE]

Fred Hass
Today at 9:12 PM
To K. Mactavish

It isn't a joke.
It is the truth.
Painful isn't it?
Also, I did not send you an email.
And, as usual, with no rational argument, one resorts to name-calling.

ORIGINAL MESSAGE

From: "K. Mactavish"
To: fredhass@comcast.net
Sent: Sunday, December 8, 2013 11:04:03 AM
Subject: bs from lesser beings

I am a recipient of an email "joke" titled THE NEXT THING...

For even considering sending this picture and comment, or creating them, you are among the saddest miscreants and racists I have ever received a message from. Not funny. Seems like you never learned anything in life or school about civil behavior and getting along with people who are different from you. And you are different in a way that says that many of us do not want your crappy thoughts or sense of humor. Try putting the shoes on of the other and walking two baby steps forward instead of back into bigotry and the mists of ignorance.

Sincerely,
an offended party of one, and there may be more

[END MESSAGE]

I guess I should apologize for calling Fred a lesser being, but it appears he is if he believes the joke is not intended to get a laugh, or a grunt like, "Hey, real clever, dude." But I won't. If he believes in this "truth" as he claims, let him. He is beyond saving or talking to.

Eugene Murphy replied this way.

[BEGIN MESSAGE]

Eugene Murphy
Today at 8:36 PM
To K. Mactavish
I didn't send you an Email.

[END MESSAGE]

Sorry, Gene baby, you are not primarily responsible for my getting a copy of the message you forwarded. And that surely exonerates you?

Final thoughts. It does seem to me that spreading the word is spreading the word, and in this case--negative and disrespectful words with illustration--does not help the world become a better one. Thoughtless, I say. Plus, it appears Fred and Eugene can't read very well. My original message from the first words were that you email-forwarders did more than consider "sending this picture and comment" on to others. You actually did. The original message I got attests to your role in the chain.

Some of these enlightened baby boomers--I'm pretty sure this label fits these guys--need to slip silently out of any circle of influence they may be muttering around in. The world has heard enough from them.

Okay, okay. I didn't need to start this battle. But per earlier posts here, I think racism and like-stupid attitudes tiresome. I want to say, "Grow up, get a brain, and a heart."

Have I exposed--oops--some perps hiding in, I think, California? Perhaps I shouldn't have . . . nah. Too much fun smokin' 'em out.

http://www.zdnet.com/mapping-racist-tweets-where-post-election-hate-came-from-7000007202/

Later.

Brutally direct messages in reply to brutish behavior don't work. I admit my defeat--these guys just don't see their part in the mischief of forwarding email messages. Which brings up a practical response.

Getting a message sent or forwarded to you is your private business. Forwarding a message to some people you want to read or see it, you  enter public space, a message now conceivably viewable by anyone with email in the world. Forward a message without editing it, at least deleting other names and addresses of people who already got it, you are doing a disservice.

All this should be obvious, but the unwitting reveal themselves to be who they are.

Mea culpas

1

'We assess that Miranda is knowingly carrying material the release of which would endanger people's lives,' the document continued. 'Additionally the disclosure, or threat of disclosure, is designed to influence a government and is made for the purpose of promoting a political or ideological cause. This therefore falls within the definition of terrorism . . .'*

Have you ever possessed a document or authored one which had as its purpose promoting a political or ideological cause? This is serious. Think back. Yes you have. No? How about checking the bookshelf. Got a book up there authored directly or indirectly, unfortunately unsigned, by an extraordinary person?

A document that could endanger people's lives? I know I wrote one or two. You too, I suspect, and that is all I need to do these days, suspect.

In the spirit of an early confession will earn some lenience, here are some recent examples--partial mea culpas--of the terrorism that I am, I suppose, guilty of. You don't have to search far. Quotes from this blog. They came from me and I confess I in that sense possess 'em.

I said what? "One thing that seems to work always is to beat anyone's sorry ass who doesn't agree with you or do what you say."

OK, I made an accusation: "Holding companies accountable has in the past seen decision makers in those companies and the regulatory agents they have worked with walk away from the messes they have had a direct hand in causing."

Oops, incriminating evidence: This year I proposed petition for "Obama and the administration to: provide foreign state officials in undeclared war zones real time locations of enemy combatants and warfare preparations."

Name calling, and so what? I called everyone I knew and didn't who were perpetrating the present craziness on this planet a "jihadist of any stripe".

I wonder if there will be an unexpected knock on my door soon. And just this wondering is a sign that an average person exposed to popular media these days and using just a bit of grey matter will legitimately know we have entered a new era of spookiness. Today we don't blame the Nazis but our "protectors of freedom".

2

I broke the resolution made some months ago and renewed just two months ago--not to read mainstream news. Moment of weakness. But now that I have done so and ranted on about something I found, I should take steps to remedy my own contribution to any misunderstandings in the above matters.

It is all about context. My sins and others you may find here on this blog demand that you read the words around them. I believe you will find my peccadilloes not even worthy of the word. Go ahead, read on. Prove me wrong.

Good call. A waste of time. Now the quote I started out with, do we need a context in this case? We do not. I have already addressed the matter of the content of what has been said--at the first level of comprehension. The second level is this.

Miranda. Miranda is a feminine given name of Latin origin, meaning "worthy of admiration" (per Wikipedia). And he is a partner in a same-sex relationship with someone who has been outspoken about matters in the public face such as Wikileaks yea or nay. Oh, the reverberations of associations and ironies. But that is not the best of it.

This guy, because he had in possession some words of a character that most everyone has read or said (see above), could disclose. And it is because he could disclose he was detained and labeled a terrorist.

We are all terrorists, and if anyone finds out what you are thinking or have on your bookshelf, hell has frozen over and we are doomed to a wasteland covered by the thickest ice in human society and relations that we have ever known, but often feared and glimpsed on the horizon.

Like the thought police and re-education camps and political correctness and all the rest of it, we are trying to live in homogeneous and simpler times. Funny thing is, they never were, in spite of Moses and his or his mentor's prohibitions against coveting, er immoral thoughts. Some are singing the same theme song these days we have already heard, but not all of us like that music and won't dance.

And now I do think someone is at the door. . . . Gotta stop reading the news.
---
* See http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/11/02/david-miranda-terrorism-glenn-greenwald-british_n_4199838.html

Weapons grade*

If anyone other than the named recipient reads these words, they are all fictitious and for entertainment only, not meant as threat to or subversive re anyone or any government, especially my own snoopy one.

Revelations about NSA covert operations against U.S. citizens prompted this disclaimer at the bottom of my email messages, a blanket to cover whatever I wrote and sent from wherever from now on, usually from here outside the borders of the U.S. I thought then, why other than my location would anyone be interested in what I wrote to anyone by email. What keywords would they use to bring my name and content up on their screens?

In the Daily Mail in May of 2012, we get a list of keywords "used by government analysts to scour the Internet for evidence of threats to the U.S." The list in part looks like this, with examples from some of my email messages, typos and malaprops included. I thought by putting this out I could save Homeland Security a bit of trouble.

By the by. What are we doing publishing a list of keywords? and these keywords? Do we think that those planning ill will actually use any of these? for real? Where is a Snowden when you really need one?

Afghanistan: There's this great new restaurant down the street run by some guys from Afghanistan. I didn't know it was allowed to serve goat here just steps away from the stock exchange in New York. They are in disguise there. They don't look Afghan. They don't wear a kameez or lungee.

Al Qaeda: The photo on my German driver's license, valid for life, looks like I am a member of Al Qaeda. Check out my beard! It was a late hippie phase I went through. You know, rebellious. I was in Munich when those fellows in arms killed the Israeli athletes. That's when I got it.

Iraq: The first year of teaching in the Soviet bloc as an academic exchange pro of sorts, I had this young talkative student from Iraq. We conspired to elude the guys tailing us and have coffee and a chat, both of us being foreigners.

Agro and Chemical: My wife works these days at an agriturismo, you know, a farm where they don't use chemicals in anything agro. All natural. No worries about poisons in your food. Aren't the use of chemicals in growing things a kind of bio-terrorism? I'm sure the Italians think so.

Assassination: I classify the killing of Martin Luther King as an assassination, don't you, Mohamed?

Attack: I think this whole domestic spying thing is an attack on our privilege of privacy. No one ever had any right to privacy and will not from now on if we continue to support our government's policies in this regard!

Authorities: I have to give it to the Italian authorities. They are a mob protecting their own and eliminating, in all legal, illegal and subversive ways, foreigners of all colors.

Weapon: I doubt any terrorist puts in an email, "Hey Christian, what is your weapon of choice in this crusade to convert? An egg salad sandwich? Careful the eggs don't blow apart in that pot. Lotta heat and pressure will detonate eggs." Exploding eggs, what a concept.

Conventional: I am so conventional that no one would bother to go beyond the subject line of my specially encoded messages. How do they do that html stuff in an email message anyway? It is encryption enough for the ordinary government worker, I would guess.

Cops: Johnny is so cute. I am a little concerned, though. We played cowboys and Indians when we were kids. Now he plays cops and drug dealers. And the plastic guns. They are just like uncle's assault rifle in that cabinet, the one with the glass door I should point out. What is this world coming to? What is my family coming to?

Dirty bomb: She had this fantastic dirty bomb hair, and I thought it was real. Turns out she used some chemicals from the cabinet. I thought she said momonium or something. My hair dresser friend said it was probably peroxide, if she made it at home.

Disaster management: I came home and the kids and babysitter--I could have killed them all. I went into disaster management mode right away Someone should have called 911 or FEMA or someone to clean up the mess before I got home!

Domestic security: The man said it would give us all a feeling of domestic security at home. Little did I know that Uncle Pedro were code words for a pedophile program that infected my home computer network like a virus from Iran. I am glad they installed that ante-virus program on our network. But Ralph needs to put a password on the system still.

Drill: You know the drill. Here at Kindergarten Madrass we line the little bastards up and ask who did it. One of them you can be sure burnt that book and told someone he did it. Training these kids these days is like training a terrorist. They each have their own ideas about how to act in a modern daycare facility. We are so vulnerable to subversive little acts of rebellion. And stealing the lunch snacks like that, too.

Eco terrorism: Eco-terrorism these days takes you to the most exotic places, places where no will know where you are and what you are doing. Best way to get away . . . from it all. I recommend slipping away unnoticed so no one will ask questions before you split. No one here at the office will notice you are gone for a few days. You need time off. Avoid the burn out, I say.

Enriched: You know those corporate guys get enriched while we peons eat peanuts. I am so envious of the one percent. Why, I could become a militant Occupy member.

Terrorist: I ain't no terrorist. But if I was, I'd bomb first and ask questions later, just like Americans. I could be the Great Satan with those little Jihadists. Funny expression, no? Like I would really use a chemical weapon on those Italian flies. Sticky paper will do the job just fine. Just be patient till they get caught in their own curiosity.

Exercise: They say it is good for everyone. So why don't they make a law about that? Exercise yourself to death!

Improvised explosive device: My wife said her IED failed her and now she is expecting. I was so not expecting this.

Law enforcement: Law enforcement? No worry. Not here in Italy. Got a little something baksheeshish to seal the deal?

Mitigation: It's invasion mitigation. I like the sound of that. Olive trees are vulnerable just like any other old tree.

Example of mitigation with deadman.

Momonium: (See entry for Dirty bomb.)

Nitrate: I wonder if the salami has nitrates? Doesn't that mean that one could explode?

National preparedness: The news is full of what to do. I remember when we were told to hide under our desks in the name of national preparedness. Do you think a nuclear device gives a damn about a wooden desk?

Nuclear: My nuclear family includes Mario, Maria, Massimo and Giuseppina. We are our own little Mafia and would go on a rampage if we didn't get our daily dose of pasta.

Prevention: (What terrorism planner would use this word and how?)

Recovery: (What terrorism planner would use this word? a banker?)

Response: (What terrorist teachers ask for every time there is a question. Where is a Snowden . . . )

Target: (Which shopper doesn't know about this place?)

Weapons grade: When we lived in Mexico it was really dangerous, what with the gangs and dead competitors along the road that you read about. We worried a lot about that, always on alert. And the chilli peppers! Now, that was weapons grade stuff. Blast your ass off the day after, not to mention incinerating your mouth and stomach.

Continue. So ridiculous I can't.

---
*Department of Homeland Security's 2011 'Analyst's Desktop Binder'

Is English an easy language?

[An experiment. The intended audience is not clear, as is clear from how it is written. Will rewrite, maybe.]

The Czech says "no interpreting", which should be OK.
The sign has thus two messages!
Don't interpret. Bad advice.
Don't translate. Good advice.

The answer I most often hear to this question is that English is an easy language to learn, at first. You can start speaking in one or two lessons. Advanced learners of English do not fill up courses when they are offered, but if you happen to encounter one who is studying formally, in a school for example, or informally, that is they are seriously studying on their own, these students will say that to speak, read, and write English well is quite difficult (listening and comprehending is another subject to be treated separately).

All too often this question is an implied comparison. Is English easy to learn compared with (usually) one's own language? If this is the meaning, the answer is meaningless. One's native language is learned in an entirely different way from a foreign language. There are only opinions and conjectures to be made of how one learned one's own language in cultural and immersive environments, which give learning from birth or before a most seamless quality. The foreign language requires methods and materials and structured and planned unstructured activities leading to acquisition. So enough about which is easier to learn.

Is learning English easy compared with another in the same language family (e.g., German)? Yes, perhaps. A different language family (e.g., Vietnamese)? No, perhaps not. Compared with another foreign language one has already studied? Well, here it gets even more interesting. Yes and no.

If you have studied another language and know the technical ins and outs of your own, I suspect, and research should bear this out, each additional language provides a broader base with which to associate anything deemed linguistically different or new for you. In other words, the more you know languages and how they are put together and what they share between and among one another, the easier a new one will be.

One thing that makes English a bit more challenging sometimes is that it adds many new words and expressions in general and specialized versions each year. So can anyone know English perfectly? No. Just as you can't know your own unless it is geo-culturally isolated or dead, which might be the same thing.

"But in my language we have one word for what you in your language--you have to use many words."

And so what is the point? Your language is better? Or mine is for the same reason? Is one word better than many or vice versa? This is a fine objection to the value of a language, or reservation about learning one, but it is again without much merit--in my opinion. Linguists and others should weigh in on this one. Here is my take.

Each language is translatable in that you can say with your word or words what I can say in my language, and I can do the same the other way round. The so-called lost nuances in a translation can always be articulated, and so if these are important or critical, an astute speaker-translator will fill in the missing pieces. If, however, I prefer to use a foreign word where an abundance of my own would substitute, plus I like the sound and sense, or the "je ne sais quoi" of the chosen foreign word or expression, so be it. I as a speaker in an increasingly international and multi-lingual world can use what says it best for me. And when I just want to use a word common in my social circles, yet foreign, I will. And people do. "Quatsch!" (So much more melodic than nonsense or bullshit, don't you think?

So where do I weigh in on this question of whether English is "an easy language"? After a number of years of having taught English as a foreign language and listening to countless non-native speakers every day, English is a wonderfully colorful and communicative language but difficult to learn at the higher levels. And not many students of the language get to the most proficient levels.

Dave's day

A recliner is a wonderful thing,

better than Google or Microsoft's Bing.

Let me sit my ass down

before I up and frown

for the work I would do--

should, could, must, or have to.

Today's next day's yester,

and time just a jester.

Yes, I'll get to it soon,

first I'll recline 'nd swoon.

I'll be comfy and warm.

Nawt nuttin I need do

'fore my life becomes goo;

and stuck to the pleather

I'll just watch the weather.

I shun all who perform!

Inescapable end

Thoughts turn to the terminus,
No matter my banishing them.
The road nears the cul de sac,
Which I will sooner and surrend.
No comfort that it's not I, one.
Best each alone will exit
In pain or peace, who knows?
Prepare but mostly know
Thy days are fewer than you've had.
See how I avoid and place
What is only essentially mine
To a you, not me, as if I
Would exit even this.
I'll have inevitably my and own.

The best English teacher for you

[An experiment. The intended audience is not clear, as is clear from how it is written. Will rewrite, maybe.]

You want to learn English. You sign up for a course, or you find a tutor. Then you begin your lessons. One problem remains for many students. You don't know your new teacher.

You quickly learn that your new teacher speaks too fast or too slowly. You learn this person does not correct you very often. You learn that this teacher wants you to read more, or write more, and then more and more and more. But you want to be able to speak in everyday situations. You want people to understand you when you speak this language. You want to understand what people say to you.

You now have a problem. You have a teacher or tutor. That's good.  There is something wrong. Your new teacher is not right for you. Not to worry. You can solve this problem.

Read this sentence carefully: You can change your teacher. This sentence has two meanings. One, you can find another teacher, and you can have your lessons with a new teacher. Now, is this new teacher better for you? For example, does this teacher ask you what you want?

• "How often do you want me to correct you when you speak?" 
• "What subjects do you like to talk about?" 
• "Do you need to read better in English? to write better?"

Two, you can change teachers by telling him or her what you need. In other words, you can teach your teacher to be the best for you.

• "Please speak more slowly."
• "I do not understand. Please repeat what you said."
• "I want to understand songs in English when I listen to them."

The best teacher for you teaches by doing and saying things for you. We say she or he has "you in mind." Your job is to tell your teacher about yourself and what you want.

You can begin by answering these two questions: What do I like? What don't I like? Here are some examples answers. I like it when my teacher:

• is an actor--she shows me what she means by acting like  someone or something.
• explains grammar, so that I can see how English is different from my language.
• asks me to imagine things, where I learn new words for things I know already.
• smiles and tells me when I say something correctly.

I do not like it when my teacher:

• talks all the time and does let me talk.
• always asks me, "Do you know the English word for this?"
• gives me something to read without telling me first the meaning of some important new words. 
• looks unhappy when I make an error.

Your answers to questions like these about what you like and what you don't will help you find, or teach, the best teacher for you.

For students of all ages, feelings are important. A teacher's happy or sad face makes a difference, and different students like different faces. How you feel while learning a new language is important. Do you feel good about your lesson today? Are you happy with what you did in your lesson? Was your teacher patient with you? Do you feel your teacher likes you?

Some teachers do not think feelings are important. They think that what they teach is the most important thing. Yes, English as a foreign language is an important subject, and yes, your teacher must know the  subject very well. But how you feel when you are learning is also important.

For me, I think of it this way.

• Am I happy and comfortable during my lesson? 
• Does my teacher smile and tell me when I do something well? 
• Does my teacher correct me gently and clearly?
• Is my teacher patient?

When I answer no to these questions, I do not want another lesson with that teacher. There is my answer to which teacher is the best for me.

Which teacher is the best for you? Make a list of what you want your teacher to do and say. Make another list of what you do not want from your teacher. Discuss your lists with your new teacher. Or, find another teacher. You will learn more from the best teacher for you. You will also learn faster.

Language lesson feedback--to get and to give

[An experiment. The intended audience is not clear, as is clear from how it is written. Will rewrite, maybe.]

Feedback in the language lesson is information you get, or give, about what you or someone did. People--teachers and students--use feedback to do better next time, or, if there is no problem, to continue speaking, reading, writing, and listening without change. But practically what does this mean?

Take this example. Someone asks you this question: "Where do you live?" You answer: "I am living in London."

Is the question correctly stated? Yes. Is the answer? No.* The answer should be, "I live in London." We use the present tense to talk about something that is true in the present, something that happens again and again in the present, and something that is always true.

The corrected statement and explanation are two pieces of information to use so you can construct the answer correctly next time.

Your teacher (or tutor) can correct you in many ways, but by giving you feedback, this helps you with information you need so you can correct yourself.

When you use English, especially when learning the language, you can be correct or incorrect, right or wrong. You can make an error or a mistake. You can nail it or mess it up.

Beware. Not all of these words or expressions say the same thing. What are the differences among these? Here is a little scheme to go by,

• correct/incorrect, positive and slightly negative
• ---/error, negative or slightly negative
• good/---, positive 
• informative statement(s), neutral
• ---/mistake, slightly negative
• nail it/mess it up, very positive and (said with a smile) encouraging
• nothing said aloud or shown, positive
• right/wrong, positive and negative

These are just some of the words and expressions to talk about performance, how you are doing. You can think of each one as information you get.

You will notice that each of these words or expressions has a feeling to it. Of course, how someone says something also carries a feeling. However, when someone says, "You made an error. You are wrong." This negative feedback feels negative. You can feel bad about your performance when you hear feedback like this.

In the first example above, the feedback is neutral leaving you with the ability to answer correctly next time. You have the information and reasons for answering in the correct way.

On the other hand, if you get positive feedback like, "That's correct. Good job," you can feel good and do the same next time. We--most students--like positive feedback. It feels good and we want to feel positive about our performance.

Giving feedback so that the other person performs almost always correctly is an art and a science. A teacher's silence is effective with some students. Other students need the explanation repeated, and they need to feel good. They need encouragement (reinforcement). Either way, when learning a language, we need to know we are becoming good, getting better, and achieving the best.

Are teachers the only ones to give feedback and reinforce progress? Not at all. Students often tell teachers how to work with them in  better ways. For example, I do not perform well when someone is always watching me, or explaining things. I get nervous and make mistakes, but I am able to correct myself. I need to think about what I am saying or writing. So I ask talkative teachers,  "Please, give me a moment. Let me think about that."

Students also give their teachers feedback by the look on their faces. Teachers often know when you have a question, are bored, don't understand, or didn't hear the question they just asked! You give "silent" (non-verbal) feedback to teachers all the time. And if teachers need to hear feedback from you, your job is to tell them. For example:

• "Please correct me as I speak not after I finish";
• "I like our lessons when I have the explanation after I try to answer the question"; or
• "I learn new words and expressions when we play language games."

You can help your teacher so that he or she can help you.

Summary. Feedback is information you get or give about what you or someone did. Students and teachers use this information to guide them for learning and teaching. Sometimes feedback is neutral. Sometimes it is not. Feeling good or bad about performance can change future performance. Using just the right word or expression helps. Students and teachers need to find the best ways of giving and getting feedback. Feedback can be given out loud or silently. Lastly, when you or your teacher needs feedback, sometimes it is best to ask for it directly, or tell the other person what works well for you.

---
* Advanced students will see that this answer could be correct. How this might be correct is a subject for another time.

Some time ago

There will be no Christmas poem this year,
appearances not to the contrary.
Friends rebelled against this separatist cheer.
No Jewish joyous nor Muslim merry,
no agnostic ironics such as happy happy.
Careless friends can reside in caring less;
ignorant ones flail in a theological mess.
And I? Well I am looking forward to spring,
wishing you also rebirth and renewal.

Brudda's Day

Father's, Mother's, Sis? That's it. Brother's Day!
Why wouldn't there be such a lovely thing?
To celebrate what we shared, we can play.
Look, here are some things in recall I sing.

Hand-me-down blue jeans that never did fit;
my clean car coat borrowed now dirty back;
the fire cracker you handed me lit;
my underwear you pulled up my young crack!

Movies you took me but didn't wait up.
The brush offs made that you were much older,
like you were The Bro and I a lost pup.
With your friends to me you were way colder.

Now bygones are bygones--I these forgives,
to give you this Day and send such missives.

What is art?

Art provides a direct sense of pleasure.
We see skill and virtue in creation.
Its genetic style is part its treasure.
Its fresh- and newness awake elation.

Art critiques and kudos do generate.
Mimesis we experience as real.
Its highlight not from life we venerate.
Its thingness-maker the two now we seal.

Art can strongly our emotions incite.
We can with heart and head with it noodle.
Its debt to tradition it gets so right.
It's now Experience more than doodle.

But think that art's in my eye, the holder?
I just like or don't as I grow older.
___
* Inspired by a review of Denis Dutton’s 2009 book, "The Art Instinct" http://www.thenewatlantis.com/publications/portrait-of-the-artist-as-a-caveman.

Unique-self description in 170 characters or less

Left-handed male Chinese-American phenomenologist in Italy with health records in six languages defying doctors' diets and six decades--yes, I eat  cheese and salami.

Impotence

As the great bard said so eloquently . . .

A quiver full of zingers
pressages a quick retreat.
Lest the round missive's return
strike the solid battlement,
the pate who dared fire first.

"Henry IX the Older," Act II, Sc. 3

Letter to a friend

Thanks for the link to Bollyn. It has opened up a number of questions for me which I am not sure I can answer. The key problem for me is that I can't get a balanced overview of all of this. It seems each writer/authority that has gotten into these things has his or her counterpart to rebut what has been asserted.

I will continue to dig further, but in general, what is being talked about is something at a level and complexity that I can do nothing about, except shoot my mouth off once I formulate a well reasoned and informed opinion. But even that is self serving. I am no world changer or idealist any longer, although at one time I thought, egoistically, I was.

All of the issues that Bollyn and others raise require cross-checking to a nit's ass degree before agreeing or disagreeing. Any one of his paragraphs could use a fact checker . . . an endless and in the end fruitless task.

No one changes their beliefs in the face of facts. And no one decides or concludes without emotions.

I am sorry to say this, because I thought differently for so many years, but the world is going to hell conspiracies or not.

Typical of the brouhaha in things like the Jewish Lobby, just to take one subject, here is an example of the endless go-rounds to interpret/understand what someone else has said/wrote that someone has taken issue with.

http://walt.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2012/01/20/the_israel_lobbys_role_in_american_politics

So what's one to do? Here are some conclusions I recently came up with.

+ Give everyone a gun in the US. Age to qualify, per recent experimental evidence, 4.5 years old, sized and juvenilized (sp?) for age-appropriate play. Stand back. Watch what happens. "Teach 'em early 'bout their rites!"

+ Stop with the shock seeing mothers breast-feed--anywhere. Leave mothers and their children out of your Puritan outrage. Go have a tantrum elsewhere.

+ God allowed humans to make up different religions and moral rules because s/he wanted to see how only the chosen ones worked it all out. So far, disappointment or marvelous diversity. Let's err on the positive side and celebrate and travel more.

+ Stop harassing whilstleblowers. Focus on the substance of those whose cover has been blown, and what they actually did or did not do.

+ Different people are different. Love them or leave them alone. At the very least they are as different as you are to them! Want them bothering you, or more? So, get along and get on with life.

One thing that seems to work always is to beat anyone's sorry ass who doesn't agree with you or do what you say.

Depending upon your reaction to my pithy conclusions just above, prepare your sorry ass for this terrorist (I know, this sentence will get picked up and maybe so will I . . . bring 'em on!)

. . . in the wind?

Neil Kornze, Principal Deputy Director, BLM:

Attention: 1004-AE26*

I support the recommendations in the standard NRDC letter to you and your agency re proposed rules for regulating oil and gas fracking on our public lands.  I assume you have received a number of these, and so you don't need another of the same to consider. However . . .

The NRDC letter in part reads as follows. "Those strict safeguards should . . . ensure that oil and gas companies are held accountable for contamination they cause. . . ."

Holding companies accountable has in the past seen decision makers in those companies and the regulatory agents they have worked with walk away from the messes they have had a direct hand in causing.

Consistent with the principle that corporations are people and that our government is made up of people who are conscious actors charged with protecting American land and the American people, the rules and regulations should provide for criminalizing contamination and other wrongdoing at least to the extent that real, named persons are tried in a court of law and if found responsible, they go to jail. If environmental damages are judged to take eons to neutralize or dissipate, prison terms as punishment should last as long.

Again, I support the recommendations in the NRDC letter. But in addition, please put some teeth into the bite of accountability.  Leadership on the side of right and the justified takes us beyond our narrow roles in a daily work routine. Get out there and make something important happen, something that perhaps even goes beyond fracking and business (profit's) interests.

---
* See also http://www2.epa.gov/hydraulicfracturing and
http://www.blm.gov/wo/st/en/info/newsroom/2013/june/nr_06_07_2013.html and  http://www.epa.gov/region8/superfund/wy/pavillion/EPA_ReportOnPavillion_Dec-8-2011.pdf .

Divines' devise*

"They are all one people with language one."
Oh, and "There's no limit if they purpose do."
(Did the Lord say this "behold" to his son?)
"What they will will be if begin they sue."
Gets me. And, "Let us go down and confound."
What mischief wrought that we'd not comprehend.
Lord, Lords, thou hast scattered us all around.
(Almighties err, thus up- their children end.)
Because of city and tower or Shem?
And giving this place a name? You surmised
we'd be gods, was that the Babylon sin?
You judge us 'fore our acts we realize.
And change the rules to turn a metaphor,
that belov'd Babel now's mere dust and lore.

---
* The source for this meditation is Genesis Chapter 11 (http://www.mechon-mamre.org/p/pt/pt0111.htm#1).

1 And the whole earth was of one language and of one speech.
2 And it came to pass, as they journeyed east, that they found a plain in the land of Shinar; and they dwelt there.
3 And they said one to another: 'Come, let us make brick, and burn them thoroughly.' And they had brick for stone, and slime had they for mortar.
4 And they said: 'Come, let us build us a city, and a tower, with its top in heaven, and let us make us a name; lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth.'
5 And the LORD came down to see the city and the tower, which the children of men builded.
6 And the LORD said: 'Behold, they are one people, and they have all one language; and this is what they begin to do; and now nothing will be withholden from them, which they purpose to do.
7 Come, let us go down, and there confound their language, that they may not understand one another's speech.'
8 So the LORD scattered them abroad from thence upon the face of all the earth; and they left off to build the city.
9 Therefore was the name of it called Babel; because the LORD did there confound the language of all the earth; and from thence did the LORD scatter them abroad upon the face of all the earth.
10 These are the generations of Shem. Shem was a hundred years old, and begot Arpachshad two years after the flood.

Mao Zedong in a rice field with hat*

Cost the famine that to '62 swept--
starved us dead throughout our land.
Add forty million babes that never slept.
Calculate the total these grains of sand.
Farmers turned about not their fallow fields.
Elm bark soup with egret muck, clay with lead.
Who to feed, whom let die? Nothing us shields.
We eat, we're too weak to bury the dead.
Farmers drop on diets their bellies swell,
while the Party have full-supplied canteens.
And in solidarity Mao dines well,
his rumored modest diet eats unseen.
Abodes in sandalwood and silk we built,
proud and hungry in the emperor's guilt.

---
* Inspired by this article from http://www.newcriterion.com/articles.cfm/Starving-in-China-7629
which in part contains these words.

Starving in China
by Arthur Waldron

The great famine before China's Cultural Revolution killed millions. Yang Jisheng took it upon himself to make sure the world knew about it.

Mao Zedong in a rice field with hat, from Quotations from Chairman Mao Tse-Tung

Effectively unreported by the world press at the time, the famine that swept China from 1958 to 1962 cost perhaps thirty-six million dead from starvation and related causes. In addition, because without food women cease to menstruate, perhaps another forty million babies were not born. So the total population loss was well over seventy million. The suffering was overwhelmingly rural, with farmers turning, among other things, to elm bark, wild herbs, egret droppings, and even guanyintu—a kind of fine clay—in the desperate quest for food. Impossible choices were forced on families about whom to feed and whom to let die. The living became too weak even to bury the dead. Cannibalism spread despite iron cultural taboos.

Party officials, however, did not suffer: Even cadres in areas where farmers were dying had their own well-supplied canteens, and Mao Zedong continued to dine well, rumors of his having adopting a minimal diet in solidarity to the contrary. Lavish celebrations were given by Party officials. This was also the time that some of the luxurious provincial and state guesthouses, designed for Mao’s use, were built—all sandalwood, silk embroidery, and comfort.

FOR SALE--Village house in Umbria

Benano number 7 is a renovated "centro storico" property for sale in Umbria. It is a typical Italian village townhouse on three levels, built of stone into an old fortress wall, approximately fifty-six square meters in size (+/-600 square feet).

The structure is over 900 years old with a traditional look and feel. New electric and plumbing as well as highlighting traditional and characteristic details were completed in 2011. The house is comfortable and ready for occupancy with a few small projects awaiting a personal touch. There is a fan-assisted fireplace insert in the new, cozy kitchen, central heating with old-style iron radiators and roof-top satellite for TV reception. The tiled ceilings have chestnut beams and there are rustic brick floors. Connection installed for fixed line phone service. Excellent, latest-technology wifi internet service available.

The house comes modestly furnished for easy country living. The private entry is just next to a small piazza and medieval church. The entry hall at ground level has an Italian style bathroom with bidet and shower. On the first level is the kitchen with all you need for home cooking. The second level has a lounge and study, a large bedroom and half bath.

The house is located in Benano, a part of Orvieto, the most spectacular hill town in central Italy. As an outpost along the Pope's route from Rome to France and beyond, Benano is in the Umbrian countryside, Italy's green heart, and features easy access to the major cities, towns and sights that are the essence of Italy. You can make easy day trips as the tourist inside feels the urge. There are lovely walks in the fields and hills just outside your door. Lake Bolsena is clear and clean and twenty minutes by car down the road. The sea and beaches are about an hour away. Rome is just an hour and a quarter by car, about the same by train. Florence is an hour and a half, a little more by train.

Benano, equidistant from Orvieto and Aquapendente, has friendly long-time Italian residents, few foreigners and almost no tourists. The chatter in the small piazza on summer evenings ceases punctually at 10, or maybe 10.30--punctual understood in the context of wait-a-moment authentic Italian rhythms. Year round there are community festivals and dinners, including the annual Festa of the Madonna della Neve in early August. Pageantry, dancing and food for all.

Discover what it means to live in Italy as an Italian. Meet the bread truck at ten in the morning. A full grocery and essentials vendor appears on Fridays about noon. The fishmonger arrives early on Tuesdays, and other shops on wheels appear regularly. Or get in the car and take advantage of the many shopping options in nearby villages and towns. Market days in Orvieto are Thursdays and Saturdays.

Parking is outside the main arch and fortress wall, less than a minute's walk from number 7's front door. Italian language skills are not necessary but using a phrase or two is much appreciated. Some roosters crow in the distance in the morning and a few dogs occasionally bark. Otherwise Benano is very peaceful and a pleasure.

This house, whether used as a year round residence or as a holiday home, will feel like just what it is, a traditional Italian home in a panoramic location from which to witness the daily moods of Orvieto and its famous cathedral in the foreground and snow-capped peaks in winter on the distant eastern horizon.

Price: About € 135.000, reflecting the current demand for a renovated Orvieto property of this size located in an historic center. Trade or other innovative offers considered. Closing and taxes which must be in a contract drawn up by an Italian notary will affect the final price. A multi-lingual estate agent is also available to assist in the transaction.

Contact info here.

Question--tough or easy?

Why are there more men artists than women?

One difference between men and women accounts for much--that is the absence of women from the list of canonized artists, writers, etc. It is kind of a predestination, fate-would-have-it situation. Men are preoccupied with instrumentality, with things, with producing, intervening and manipulating in the physical world. This has been termed the "f&^k or fight (testosterone-driven) curse." Women show preferences for the immaterial, relationships, feelings . . . a bringing-towards, closeness, intimacy. Oxytocin's role in maternal behavior and a preference for cooperation over competition seems to be a key ingredient.

Which then is most likely (naturally? predominantly?) to value bringing inanimate artifacts into being? And which is more compelling(?), important(?) for life and survival? In the face of not being able to get pregnant and give birth, the next best contribution (a man can make) is mastering and mimicking and imagining and dictating, or communicating about, an (arguably) valued object realized in practical reality. Thus do men, the argument would go, push and populate the art-object inventories over time. Tools sometimes do have palpable Freudian frequencies!

Which leads me to wonder. If creating a life beautiful is what we are measuring, each woman has the biological and social opportunity to fulfill the creative urge built in. Men have to work at it. Once their job is done, it is done. A woman's creative work continues long after a child comes of age. Can't you still hear your mother's voice in loving guidance?

As we can see today the ascendance of the powerful and rich and the rights of the common, often poor woman, and given arguable definitions of art and artist and putting aside the many complexifications from different perspectives with which to address any question, are there more noted male than noted female contributors in the art worlds today? What are the trends? Are women getting their fair share of representation in museums and galleries?

I am still wondering. In Holland I'm told, there are at least the same number of women as men defined as practicing professional artists. In pop music, whatever the latest style, don't I hear quite a few female artists? At least an equal number to male artists would be my off-hand guesstimate.

Not lastly, isn't the question kind of male-ish? It may not be the right one to ask. Let's ask women what question to ask. Or does male dominance and oppression over the history of humankind say it all?

History, and so what?

. . . An opening for me to say what about history that I got wrong, and what I consider now to be more correct.

In college I wrote a term paper on what history is, er, was. I argued that there was no such thing. There was only the ever-present now. This I made the mistake of submitting to a history professor. He dismissed my understanding, but it appears he did not enlighten me much. So later, years later, I wrote a graduate paper saying much the same thing to no feedback. I guess that is what you get if you elect for pass/no-pass evaluation of your work. No comment and no corrections.

Could it be that I really misunderstood and undervalued this dear field of inquiry so much? for so long? Not really.

What I was confused about and finally got clearer was that history, as other disciplines or fields of knowledge, had a perspective. In fact, yes fact, we all, each and everyone, have a perspective. (I realize my performative error here.) And the perspective of an historian or other specialist conforms in large measure to those shared by others in that calling, or who are well grounded in it. I guess I just wasn't in touch with history's unique, let's say effectively tacit yet most-practiced perspective shared by historians and those who appreciate and identify somehow with their endeavors. Or to be more honest, I didn't think beyond me about what history could be. It could be different from the accounts of personal journeys in consciousness, mostly mine. Or, that personal journeys--those of individual consciousnesses--were also a kind of history, but perhaps not what people usually think that history is or should be.

But history is of great value only if useful, I insist. This too is belied by the oft-heard objection and rejection, "This situation is different." Thus, we can't really use history for better outcomes. History does not really repeat itself. Besides, people don't know history and its lessons, and they can't be bothered to crack a book or two to get a sense of self from memory and where we have come from.

I have to allow, because it is a tenet of my own studies and those of others who pursue the drum, dregs and details accuracy demands, that just to understand something better is a legitimate end. The utility argument may be wrestled into position anytime by any rationalization, but in the end, why bother? What we come to think we understand better now without application is reward enough. Approximate truth is its own reward.

So, whether useful or no, building a case and synthesis of pasts is legit. By history then I mean a very convincing presentation of what happened and then what happened all the way down to the understandings or lesson(s) personal or collective, if any.

The problem is what of the past should be investigated and pieced together? and how? such that when the account is done and finished as much as it can possibly be and we say, "Oh, I now really understand what happened," AND (optionally) "I can take this as a remedy for my/our future." There is the rub, and only those innocents and most knowledgeable can answer this. I am just a consumer, hopefully not too innocent.

I had a colleague once, an historian by academic training and practice. He said once that whatever he could use to bolster his case about whatever, he would employ it. It sounded then as now a bit eclectic. Are there no criteria as to good versus bad evidence? So the questions of which histories should be investigated and reported, and how they are supported, are not trivial.

History is about carefully and precisely understanding the past. It is also, for me, about building futures. I don't know if this definition holds up among the cognoscente, but it suffices.

If different folks know about different stuff, that's how it is, and so what? I admit, I don't know much history, not even enough of my own. Shows, doesn't it?

And so what? Except this.

History is memory. And memory figures largely (entirely?) in my/our identity. When we forget or neglect, we have lost a part of ourselves. More precisely, when we lose the ability to retrieve memories, then we fail to understand who we are, and who we can be if re-minded.

It is that ability I was first concerned about, say twenty years ago. So much is available now so that we will not lose the ability to retrieve. Once retrieved, that record or artifact can be stored privately, semi-publicly and publicly. The current state of information and communications technologies permit us to retrieve, and store and use; and literacy in using these technologies seems to be ever-expanding. Thus, my earlier-life worries that literacy was in decline no longer occupies much space. There are enough careful readers/audience and writers/producers in the world to satisfy the most exacting standards. Technical and human impediments to access keep being eliminated, and more and more people are participating. All good.

Now, the memories themselves. The guardians of the best that we can know about the past is in the hands of professionals and experts in, or living outside, every country, who know how to ferret out wheat from chaff and report. However, because of the openness of the systems and leaks from guarded corners and technologies which can cull without the sifting, we run the great risk of relying upon the essentially or potentially unreliable. The literacy here is not how to use the technologies for our identity's sake, but the ability to discriminate between and among competing accounts as well as to reconcile the parts in order to build wholes. Part of reconciling the parts is dependent upon softer technologies, like ways of thinking, both awareness of and their employment.

Example, history can be seen as the biographies of leaders or the conditions and contexts in which they are called upon to act. Two different histories? The first is to look at history from a third person view of named individuals. The second is to look at history from a systems or sociopolitical view, no names needed, just those softer technologies, call them perspectives, which have proven useful in understanding things. These two histories can be mapped together into a more complex and detailed account that we can call a proper if qualified history.

Where does this leave us: Well, individual from first person view, mine mentioned above, plus that of an individual from a third person view, plus the third person view of a rich description of situations and contexts, and not lastly the weaving of these three together. The weaving together makes for an historical-cultural understanding of the past or pasts. You cannot weave without including all the disparate parts and "making" them make sense. Making sense of what appear to be the separate and irreconcilable is that important job of the historian and cultural commentators. As new technical and softer tools become available which show the promise of greater understanding if employed, yesterday's account of the day before can be revised and placed before us, professionals and others for evaluation.

Identity preserved and accessible. Identity deconstructed via reason-based means. Identity re-constructed. Identity renewed!. And if identity shines recursively in newer and newer lights of past and present, better futures can be imagined and enacted.

A nice state of affairs . . . if all pre-requisites and requisites are in place. Re-minding makes the past present and the present different than it seemed to be when it was without a sense of identity, a sense of our past.

Pavla's Benano "escort" service

Field Trips 2013

1. Agriturismo day trip: Salvatore's is a holiday farmhouse which offers horseback riding, outdoor and indoor swimming and a restaurant for family style dining. Get to know Italian wines while tasting the house's finest. There are many animals to pet on the farm, but not the wild boars or the deer. A bit standoffish. You will feel you have died and gone to heaven for a day. Getting to know this down-to-earth but sophisticated Roman family including kids and dogs is a delight. Only 35 kilometers from Benano.

2. Pan's pasture: Ever wonder how goat cheese is made but don't want a day trek? Down and up some dirt roads and hidden near Santa Quirico is the closest goat herd and Sicilian cheese maker. See the animals give up their precious milk and how that is turned into the most delicious stuff. Tasting of course, buy if you wish. The cheese is featured at Orvieto's best restaurants. Do not fill up on the fresh goat milk yogurt if the trip includes a meal at the lovely luxury agriturismo which exhibits local art and jewelry. Views of Benano and the valley between to die for.

3. Country "giro": This is a day trip along windy but mostly paved roads to visit first a farm and taste the fare from "the other famous" goat cheese maker. A short hike is optional to see the panorama that is wild Umbria before arriving at the borgo Titignano for lunch. You will want to linger and explore this hideaway thoroughly, but the road promises a return to Benano by way of the World War II "fallen soldiers" cemetery near Orvieto. A sacred, meticulously maintained and immensely moving yet seldom visited space. Then a short hop to a local's hangout for Italian family color and home-cooked specialties, if your tummy has room.

4. Bolsena and a boat: We travel the short distance to Lake Bolsena and its main town and learn about the miracle of Corpus Domini as well as the Christian martyr, Saint Cristina. We visit her famous church and stroll to the castle area up through the old quarter. We can top off the afternoon with a boat trip on the lake to swim, hear some lore and learn about the archeological treasures beneath the surface. Optional slice of pizza and glass of beer in San Lorenzo on the way back to Benano. This for those who don't wish to limit their stay in the area by dining lakeside. Too much fun for some.

5. Pienza and San Filipo: This jaunt into neighboring Tuscany with its characteristic scenery takes us to Pienza which is known for sheep cheese (pecorino) and the birthplace of Pope Pius II. A leisurely stroll through the town and lunch will be welcome after sightseeing by car. Afterwards we stop at San Filippo where you can bathe in wooded hot springs for free or pay to use the outdoor pool. Spa treatments available should you want to relax to the max. Home before the Italian dinner bell, a stop along the way to buy homegrown vegetables optional.

6. Pizza night: Join Dino and friends for a family pizza dinner. You won't leave Italy without remembering the characters you have met and how much you laughed and ate--pizzas you have never tasted before at home or in a restaurant. Blame yourself for any excess and the fact that you can't sleep having had too much fun, imbibing homemade wine and liquors into the night while repeatedly singing the only Italian song you don't fully know. (Practice all of "O sole mio" before you go.) 

Additional information: Pavla[dot]Mactavish[at]gmail[dot]com

GemsJetsamAndJunk

Misc. anti-ad copy for an Etsy shop

GEMS we know, small valuable things that deserve a special place in our homes and hearts. Open up and let it in. JETSAM we find somehow, somewhere, and we discover upon careful examination that it needs to be dragged home because of its quality of growing dear, especially so after a second thought. Surely it will earn a special place in our collections, in our hearts. Got to have it. JUNK? Proverbially a treasure for someone . . . who is special, always.

Solo Jupiter Matchbook

Solo Matches and Flames (http://www.solo.cz/) dates its products from 1839. However, this book of matches ain't that old. Probably produced in the 50s or early 60s of the last century, commemorating a town in the western part of Bohemia, and with just a pair of wooden matches missing, this is a modest addition to your collection.

Or use the remaining matches to light your own quiet revolution. Why it is said, this book of matches was taken from Brno in Moravia to Wenceslas Square in Prague at the time of the Velvet Revolution. As all assembled held up and rattled their keys in daylight (and believe me, the Czechs love their locks and keys), by nightfall the populace, thankful for the overthrow of communism, lit matches and held them up in vigil to a time well rid of. Two old matches should do the trick. One to chase out the old and useless, one to usher in the uncertain but decidedly better new.

Mikov Czech Utility Knife--Svata's boyhood tool
 
In 1794, Ignaz Rösler set up the first cutlery factory in Mikulášovice, now part of the Czech Republic. There were a hundred employees; however, the number doubled by 1819. The success of the first factory motivated others to set up other factories and businesses. Soon, most of Mikulášovice and surrounding villages were working to make these products. Mikulášovice became known as the "Czech Solingen". During World War II, Mikulášovice was part of the Third Reich. And you know what that meant. It was not until 1946 that traditional production resumed (see http://www.mikov.cz/). And by the time Svata left Czechoslovakia in the mid-'60s for Austria/Hungary and eventually South Africa, he had to leave behind his Mikov knife, which he had used for all manner of boyhood projects, including cutting his beloved Lovecká saláma (Czech salami). Here's a knife up to the task of cutting your salami, Czech or otherwise.

Steel cutting edge with plastic handle, overall length 21 cm.

Pozor (be careful)!! It is sharp.

French linen lingerie bag
 
Nadesh from Marseille contributes this old . . . no, not "old". Vintage French linen lingerie bag with beautiful hand embroidery, part of a French maiden's trousseau.

Not French? or a maiden? No matter. Delicate and sexy--like the dainties tucked within, meant to catch the eye briefly before the big bang. Opps. Misspoken. We are still in the Victorian era on some planets. Demure and pure, and all that stuff.

Regardless. Go ahead. Spice up that atmosphere for that special night, or noon, or morning, or afternoon, or . . . you get the idea.

A clever modern maid can eliminate the small stains on the reverse. Thus the deep discount.

AT Brevetti "finger slicer"
 
From the makers of the famous Italian espresso machines comes this simple slicer. It appears to be designed for accepting small items such as cloves of garlic, limes, fingers . . . who knows what?

From sturdy metal with wood plunger, a true dust collector for that kitchen artifacts display area in home or restaurant. Who else could want it? Someone looking for that truly white elephant, an almost priceless gift that keeps on giving and assuredly will be re-given. (Deep discount for the one who comes up with the best alternative idea for use.)

Oh, guaranteed this item has not (yet) been presented for appraisal at any "Antiques Road Show". Your golden opportunity.

DDR vintage white ceramic pitcher
 
. . . with stylized, painted blue clover accent, available nowhere else that we can imagine, except in some time-capsulized flat in, say, Leipsig, cordoned-off and still sealed by the not-forgotten Stasi, anachronisms both now after The Wall. Yours to look at and think what it must have been like to witness those days that the younger generation can now only know through history books, or their great grandfather's or grandmother's letters in German. Well, this would only apply to a very few, of course. The net of it, a unique decorative item, or you can use it. A treasure in my house for years, but irrelevant here in Italy where communists still thrive, although they say of a different stripe.

Stamped handmade and dishwasher safe on the bottom. Curious addition?

Yes, made for right handers. Everyone is right handed, no?

NO!

Layered wooden dachshund decorative sculpture
 
Perched on a shelf or mounted inside or out, this dog is the silent type. No a barker BUT has all the best attributes of cute including soulful eyes. A dachshund like no other. This guy needs a new home. My Golden Retriever, Maco, is jealous of his honored place in our home, up high where he doesn't descend to play, or get chewed. "Useless," he says, and so we have decided to give the smaller one up for adoption. The semblance of the sausage dog without the long part, not the playful one that barks every time the doorbell rings. Made locally but only available from one small shop tourists never find, or from the eight plus two half-fingered woodworker himself.

Inquire if interested in other dogs or creatures like this. Similar price as this special pet not guaranteed, nor are shipping estimates.

Priapus, Caliban of Calabria, driftwood sculpture, curiosity

This artifact from the shores of Calabria on the Tyrrhenian Sea was wrested from its root and pebble-strewn lair and now represents, this writer imagines, the god of male procreation and gardens and vineyards as of old Roman myth. A unique piece of nature's sculpture, or art lover's fantasy (folly?) to decorate your den or other such private place. Not for Puritan peepers.

Alternatively, mount it upside down and the captured stone in wood becomes a wonder, a curiosity--how did it manage to find itself there in that sacred, seemingly impossible, protected space?

Contemplate but briefly, or the magic of Priapus will take you in down- or upside and float naughty thoughts about your head and lower reaches; these have been known to beget pleasures forbidden.

Not for the timid or unadventurous collector. Great as a gift for the one you love to befuddle.

Could be a HEAVY METAL HEART 

A pirate in the Caribbean--no really--gave this to show his gratitude to a mate, Pinkie, after the latter saved him from walking the plank at the natives' insistence because of a black spot found on the palm of his hand. Said the pirate to Pinkie, "I think it was there all along, before you gave me that paper with the temporary tattoo which transferred to my other hand in this humid hell. What a sweaty place! How can these natives stand it? Thank God that second spot is gone. It made me look rather queer having matching spots each time I begged for food and favors. Boy, they sure went wild, didn't they, bowing and all that c$#@p. I feel delivered. I give my heart thanks, and this heart to you. Watch it doesn't rust in this climate."

I came by it when trading with cannibals on St. Givens. Now it can be yours.

Socialist era matches and box
 
Absolutely original and unique.Light a match and catch a scent of days gone by when everyone had a job and a place to live and free health care. Light a match each time you wish to return to those days. Or if you anticipate such days and see them on the horizon, save to light to celebrate the second coming, er, a new and better and enlightened age. (Not sorry about the pun.) Just draw your breath in and hold till that future moment when you will strike the match, slowly exhale and blow the flame out and drink in the best of all possible worlds. (A bunch of mixed metaphors here, eh?)

Item guaranteed. Better days ahead, not.

Florentine flowers on wood, miniature

Nothing much for not much, BUT can fill in a space needing a bit of color and complexity reminiscent of the more ornate and more expensive. Miniature on wood, rustic, 9 cm by 9 cm - 3.5 in by 3.5 in. Unfortunately, there is no story for this one, but I can make one up starting with Juliet's wedding dress, if you buy it, the miniature that is. I promise not to repeat what the Bard has already told you about this bit of fluff as in an ornate remnant of Renaissance tapestry. (Great play, however.)

Dinosaur's faux tooth
 
Well, not really. What's in a name? But an expert might tell you differently. Ask him or her, after you buy and inspect it closely yourself.

Hold it in your hand. Set it in view on the table, or nightstand. But don't confuse it in the morning when inserting your own faux tooth!

Tahoe Driftwood Bird, Nessie
 
The Sierra sun and the waters of Lake Tahoe fashioned this piece of driftwood, discovered on the Nevada shore in the early spring at Secret Harbor, 2007. Fate took her a few years later to the Bay Area , California, where a master jack-of-all-trades stained, waxed and buffed her for a perch atop a small brass rod mounted on the rock you see. For sale now sans rock, and shipping from Italy where she is not at home. (She doesn't like her rock! Picky, picky.) Proceeds go to the Rescue the Master fund, solely dedicated to helping the one who brought Nessie to life as a unique nature sculpture. The master is currently living penniless in a very expensive neighborhood, a housesitter with medical problems and bills not to be believed. Restore a bird to happiness and terra firma US, or Scotland; help save a soul from the nightmares of homelessness and medical bill hell.

Porcupine quills for quillwork, art projects, costumes, artifact replicas
 
TEN 5-10" quills retrieved from discontinued porcupines and surplus finds along game trails in the Umbrian hills. The camo colors of dark brown and cream do not hide very sharp ends, which can prick your nodes, or noodle, of creativity. Appreciate as is or incorporate into something exceptional of your making.

M/S FRANCA C The Costa Line, Coin Tray
 
Imagine the world's first first-class-only, year-round luxury cruise ship, and the steward returns to your table in the Club lounge with your change on this small but elegant tray. You tell him to keep the change but you keep the tray! Here it is recovered from the shipwreck of a life on board and off. Probably silver plated with patina from use and age, 12 by 12 cm - 4.7 in by 4.7 in. Grab it and deliver something small and special for that someone, who will embrace you and thank their lucky stars they have someone as thoughtful and imaginative as you. History of the M/S Franca C here at http://www.ssmaritime.net/mvFrancaC.htm.

Miniature, Italian Country Casale on gold leaf
 
Subtle, simple, yet striking and elegant miniature of a country casale, 8 cm by 8 cm - 3.1 in by 3.1 in. Wood frame, glass, recessed painting. A quick look makes you want to enter into that gold countryside and reside in the brilliant light of Italian sunshine. Be careful where you hang it. Can easily disappear with that familiar but covetous guest who just popped in and said not to bother, he would let himself out. Untitled as was your low-life visitor. A delightful masterpiece. Watch for it on eBay to recover if "lost.".

Communist era pocket knife with leather case
 
Svata left Czechoslovakia in the mid-'60s for Austria/Hungary and eventually South Africa. His secret departure in the night was revealed to his family by his nephew four days after the fact way back then. Forty plus years have passed, and last year Svata has too. I didn't have the opportunity last summer to return his knife personally to him, and now I guess he no longer needs this memory from a childhood and youth during communism, if he ever did. I met him once and was indeed impressed by this deeply private man. I am not even related, but soon his story and that of this pocket knife, longer than I can recount here, will die with me. Claim it, and I will tell more of what I know, including the redemptive story of his last years. Perhaps these things will touch your heart as they have mine. And made me a better, more thankful person.

Wood nymph's node, companion for a mystical journey

Discovered deep in the woods of the Riserva Naturale Monte Rufeno in 2012, an auspicious year, this unique, mystical node is a priceless treasure. Unfinished except for a light cleansing in a cold Umbrian stream, this delicate node will guide your interior journeys with the flame of a bees wax candle, or show you deep secrets with an uncut crystal retrieved from the nearest granite quarry. Place either in the hollow to be seen from a distance of one meter and situate in a sacred space inside your home, and your magical adventures will begin and cosmic insights will flow. Fireflies might even appear after an hour of staring at the crystal.

Great as a gift or as companion as you meditate or practice yoga. For those who wish to forgo any being or seeking, return the node to a secret place outdoors for discovery by the next curious or chosen one, or put a light coat of satin finish varnish on it and watch the node slowly consume itself in its own narcissistic regard.

Beware. Irreplaceable and combustible. Node candles long to mate with other materials, such as the wooden node itself, if left untended. So remain present with it, and as the flame flickers and sometimes leaps with energy, absorb.

About the size of a large man's two fists held next to each other. But fragile, like a sensitive heart.

PF 2003

For those not familiar with this abbreviation, PF in this context does not refer to:

+ Page fault, a type of error in computer programming;
+ Power factor, or cos phi, of an AC electric power system;
+ Purple fringing, a type of chromatic aberration in + photography;
+ Pheasants Forever, a non-profit habitat conservation organization;
+ Polar front;
+ PF Flyers, a brand of shoes;
+ Project Fanboy, a comic book news web site; or
+ Plantar fasciitis, an inflammatory injury in the midfoot.

But it does refer to Pour féliciter, from French For luck, used traditionally on New Year's cards.

There you have it. My non-religious yet obscurely spiritual wish for you and all of us.

Plus, may the Kosmos embrace us all and give us love and peace this year and always.