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July 27, 2019
218.4 lbs
July 27, 2019 018 Beacon, NY
July 27, 2019 008 Beacon, NY
8:29 AM - Ella’s Bellas
… up extra early, feeling very good… a long, thoughtful walk, new route, walk of sorrow (Rt. 52) to workers housing across from what used to be Virgil’s Sip and Soul, then back behind to a nature trail along Fishkill Creek, over an old bridge, closed to vehicle traffic, suitable for foot traffic, back into town, winding up here… long, well written article on Volume I of the Mueller Report, explaining the variety of conspiracy that occurred, why none of it so far indictable… contemplating purchase of a tortilla press and a corn grinder, moving forward with commitment to Mexican cuisine… “It will be seen that minds do not create truth or falsehood. They create beliefs, but when once the beliefs are created, the mind cannot make them true or false, except in the special case where they concern future things which are within the power of the person believing, such as catching trains. What makes a belief true is a fact, and this fact does not (except in exceptional cases) in any way involve the mind of the person who has the belief.”*… KAC famously said, “Facts don’t matter, what people believe matters.”*… and so, according to Bertrand Russell, beliefs are beliefs and facts support beliefs or not… beliefs are a haze through which we engage the world… beliefs are tenable over the long term when a corresponding fact or set of facts support the beliefs…
*Problems of Philosophy, Bertrand Russell
July 26, 2019
220.2 lbs
220.2 lbs
July 26, 20119 029 Beacon, NY
July 26, 20119 028 Beacon, NY
July 26, 20119 017 Beacon, NY
8:36 AM - Ella’s Bellas
… i am in full blown expectation mode about Hariban Prize notification, should happen any day, before July ends, would like to at least make the short list, would love to win the first prize but know that expectation is unrealistic, short list will do, if neither, life goes on… how am i today, not bad, i drank less last night, dumped the remaining vodka so it was not a temptation, limited to one bottle of wine for dinner shared with H… made a celery stew which was more a chicken than celery stew, next time i will put more celery in it… downloaded two Madhur Jaffrey cookbooks, H wants Indian food, i accept the challenge… opening of the DO group show tomorrow night… mulling over the Mueller testimony, realizing it’s the same as when the report was released, a bit of an anticlimax, realization that a definitive corner has not been turned… sigh… there is always cooking, cooking is love…
July 25, 2019
218.8 lbs
218.8 lbs
July 25, 2019 022 Beacon, NY
July 25, 2019 017 Beacon, NY
July 25, 2019 009 Beacon, NY
8:29 AM - Ella’s Bellas
… i am slightly obsessing about a spot at the corner of my right eye, i don’t think it is an issue, but i am focused on it because it has been a while since my last skin exam, I think my pre-conscious mind is trying to tell me to make an appointment… M has shaved his beard, a new barista woman behind the counter who studiously ignores me… “all dharma agrees at one point,”* all of Buddhist teaching is about lessening self adsorption, ego clinging, this is what brings happiness, happiness for me would be not overdoing the alcohol at night, i am a bit of a broken record on this subject, but i am trying to moderate the habit… Mueller testimony over and done with, watched most of it, a couple of things apparent, Trump campaign probably did commit a conspiracy crime, there just wasn’t quite enough evidence to say so, and DT himself certainly obstructed justice, will probably be prosecuted for it when he is out of office unless statute of limitations has run out… the situation is dire though, our democracy is in peril… pleasant morning, nice walk… i take a moment to breathe in, breathe out, trying to stay focused, trying to stay calm, breathe in, breathe out, trying to be wise, always falling short… planning dinner tonight, celery stew, rice, cucumber yogurt…
*The Compassion Book, Pema Chodron
July 24, 2019
220.0 lbs
220.0 lbs
July 24, 2019 022 Beacon, NY
July 24, 2019 018 Beacon, NY
July 24, 2019 012 Beacon, NY
7:27 AM - Pocket Road Trail
… T from next door asks for our help, babysitting, emergencies, wife in hospital, “absolutely,” i say, strangely, i have been fantasizing about becoming part of the village helping them… i text H to let her know… i am sitting by the reservoir stream on my usual rock, listening to the water tumble by, very little exercise yesterday so i am glad to climb the mountain today, i had thought i might go on up to the reservoir but T says he will stop by later, i don't want to be gone too long… Mueller testifying today, i am not expecting much, they will try to get him to say something outside the boundaries of his report, i don't believe he will, i worry conservatives will make him look bad, cast doubt on the report, Mueller himself, the deep state… water tumbles by without regard for anything happening in Washington… the rock i am sitting on is indifferent to me, i am the creature in this present landscape that cares about anything at all…
July 23, 2019
218.4 lbs
218.4 lbs
July 23, 2019 001 Beacon, NY
8:32 AM - Bigmouth Coffee Roasters
… read executive summaries of the two volumes of the Muller report, preparation for hearings tomorrow, seems clear collusion is non issue, obstruction of justice is an issue, though not quite an unequivocal one… i will try to read more before hearings tomorrow, especially Volume II… rain today, i went for a photo drive, made few pictures, will see if any get made later today… a quick re-read of Buddhist Economics by E. F. Schumacher, i recommended it to distant cousin DK… i forgot it is a little sexist, but not unreasonably so for time written, this can be overlooked… i begin to apply the principles discussed to my own life, and realize that, in a sense, i am applying them, as i willingly work at things like cooking, construction, gardening, that benefit me and H, though they don’t remunerate… i will read more, as i think it probably relevant to the way i try to structure my life…
July 22, 2019 035 Beacon, NY
July 22, 2019 023 Beacon, NY
8:30 AM - Bigmouth Coffee Roasters
… worst of the heat over, rain tonight, tomorrow, ground is hardpan dry, will there be flooding?… last night’s fabulous meal posted on FB, baked steelhead trout, marinated in lime juice, soy sauce, fresh dill, wildflower honey, served with oven baked ratatouille, oven baked smoked paprika fries… trout and ratatouille perfection, need to work on the fries, they stuck to the aluminum foil, should have used the parchment called for… young woman up front looking pregnant in a peculiar sort of way, i look over top of my glasses, realize she is carrying a baby in a sling in front… reggae beat music playing, contributing to lazy Monday feeling… Mueller testifies Wednesday, i need to read the report, at minimum, the executive summaries, i want to be somewhat up to speed… contemplating a roadtrip to Penn State University, a museum there is exhibiting photography from Mexico by Tina Modotti, Paul Strand, Edward Weston, others, a lot of driving… talked to H about Whitey on the Moon idea, she understands, tends to agree, at the same time she has deep good memories of watching it with her father, feat of engineering and bravery…
July 21, 2019
218.4 lbs
218.4 lbs
July 21, 2019 017 Beacon, NY
July 21, 2019 013 Beacon, NY
8:33 AM - Bigmouth Coffee Roasters
… another hot and humid day, hunker down inside, AC going… feeling better, some kind of intestinal bug yesterday, diarrhea, tired, achy, most of the day unproductive… progressing through Bottom of the Pot, my new Persian cookbook, excited that i can cut and paste recipes into Paprika, a little laborious, but if done as i cook, i will have the recipes in Paprika… just bought a cookbook on French rustic cooking by Georgette Brennan, i can cut and paste this one too… last night a poetry reading to celebrate 50th anniversary of moon landing, bunch of white people celebrating a (mostly) white male accomplishment, “a rat done bit my sister Nell, (with Whitey on the moon), her face and arms began to swell, (and Whitey’s on the moon), I can’t pay no doctor bill, (but Whitey’s on the moon), ten years from now I’ll be paying still, (while Whitey’s on the moon)”*… the accomplishment of a country deeply mired in white male privilege, one poet professed dedication to dismantling the white male patriarchy, did she not notice she was celebrating an event created by white men, about white man heroism, for white men… i don’t believe space exploration by flesh and blood humans is sustainable, i believe purpose built machines will do most of the exploring, we can make them better suited to the environment…
*Whitey On The Moon, Gil Scott-Heron