instructions: remove.batteries.from.clock.

Mafalda - Felipito Enfrenta la Realidad


In the 5th century BCE, Antiphon the Sophist wrote in On Truth that time is not a reality, but rather a concept.  Hundreds of years have passed, but the debate continues to challenge even the greatest of minds.  From the ancient concept of circular time, to the Judaeo-Christian assertion that it is instead linear, from Parmenides to Kant to Newton to Einstein, time has consistently eluded our understanding & defied the possibility of a unified concept able to withstand universal application. Well, if time isn't real, then my deadlines aren't either; so what is producing my illusion that deadlines are indeed approaching & that time is quickly running out?

The new reason for my disappearance from Cyberspace: too much fun leads to too much work!

Some serious updating is needed, so here is the breakdown, for all interested parties:
11.6 - 17.6 _ Barcelona
18.6 - 23.6 _ work, i.e. finish testing so can start writing thesis..............

24.6 - 25.6 _ Wimbledon

26.6 - 30.6 _ Stockholm

1.7 - 6.7 _ work, i.e. write entire thesis in 6 days, realize it's impossible, & extend deadline by 5 days

If I plan on actually completing my Masters, it'll be a couple of weeks before I get around to putting up pictures, so in the meantime, welcome me back to the real world & enjoy some sweet sounds from the American south.  More to come, in bits & pieces...

Old Crow Medicine Show - Wagon Wheel

Besos.

Try to Understand

Querido Miguel,

Por ser sincera, este blog es para vos.

Te queremos. 

Madonna - Borderline

I've given all I can.

Besos.

A Soap Impression

Somebody mentioned "the ridiculousness of life" the other day.  I'm not sure I quite understood what that meant until - well, until now.  I'll take a brief moment to sum up what's been happening in, by, and around Flat 2, London, the UK. Please listen, laugh, & understand.  Or, if you dare, empathize.

4 long-lost friends/siblings/roommates have been brought together under 1 roof.  Now, mind you, we're in the UK, where yes words may hold the same letters & even elicit similar pronunciations, but also where words must necessarily be translated into - well, into the range of normalcy - in order to be accurately understood & thus fully appreciated.  I'll explain.

'1 roof' really just means  some cement slathered (yes, slathered) over a modest, 2 bedroom apartment, 1 bedroom of which is about the size of a modest walk-in closet in the average American home, but also in which 1 whole human being, sparing no appendages & possessing complete awareness, is expected to relax "comfortably" in the only piece of furniture fitting inside: a "twin bed" pushed up against a closet whose doors can't open unless the "twin bed" itself is first removed through the window (because there just isn't any place for the "remover" of the "twin bed" to stand unless it's in the doorway).  Of course, twins must not have had long life spans in the UK, as by 'twin bed' the British clearly meant 'only child bed' - unless of course twins were the size of medium sized watermelons.  There just ain't no way there was ever room for twins on that mattress!

'4 long-lost friends/siblings/roommates' means:

• 1 female, a recently graduated, very mini-sized, Hindu doctor who finds joy in toilet humor & who is constantly consulted for her "medical opinion" regarding all sorts of important issues, including how to arrange chicken breast nuggets on an oven pan.  
• 1 female, a short, jibber-jabber talking, Dominican whose idea of "sightseeing London" includes rotating libraries on a daily basis & who, in order to "ration" her food supply, constantly stores her snacks in cabinets inaccessible to her reach but just ends up spending most of her indoor life standing on a kitchen chair.
• 1 female, an unreliable, bicycle-riding Argentinean, who takes pride in possessing calculators, enjoys leaving iTunes on repeat, & can probably be summed up in the term space cadet. 
• 1 male, a tall, curly-haired, worm-like animal who thinks chicken looks and tastes like pork, & who insists on having long ethernet cords plugged into our laptops at all times in case he intuitively senses a "soccer emergency" while he's - in the hallway - and feels the need to "urgently verify" the status of www.ole.com.ar, www.gol.com, & countless other sites.

2 are sleeping in beds, 1 on a 2-person couch, & the 4th on a "soldier's cot" which, might I add, is in every sense of the word a "soldier's cot": long, narrow, & well, should there be an ambush of some sort & should the person sleeping on the soldier's cot so much as lift a finger, the rusty, squeaky-sounding, springs holding him up like a lump of human meat will creak & wake up everyone, including our drunk, alcoholic, dinosaur-roaring neighbors, who I should mention are usually unconscious.

And to sum it all up, by 'London' we are referring to the only city in the world in which you can buy vegetables at wholesale price in the food market... but only between the hours of 2am & 8am. God forbid anyone actually take sleeping seriously!

The Beatles - Happiness is a Warm Gun

Besos.

And the Whirling Wind Turns to Song

Why, 

it 

sets 

my 

soul 

free. 

(Cat Stevens)

An entire month has passed since my last blog entry, and, well, 

   an emptiness 

has thus been growing slowly, steadily, & silently within me.  And yes, I very purposely let ' emptiness ' stand alone, plain, & bereft of modifiers, as it should if it's to be taken for what it really is: empty, & with absolutely nothing to be added.  

So why resume my blog-writing today, of all possible days? Because today marks the start of a 6-week adventure!  Be so kind as to direct your gaze to the top right quadrant of this screen, & notice the tall, worm-like character staring directly at you.  Folks, he's slithered his way across the Atlantic, an entire ocean, dodging hungry fish who'd ignorantly mistake him for bait along the way, fighting off 8-legged octopi who'd easily dine him 8 times per tentacle, & burrowing his way through the cold, colossal icebergs against which the Titanic didn't even stand a chance. And he's finally made it, after an unforgettable trek.  And I'm so happy.

Visit his newly formed Obscene Affirmations.  I won't adulterate his creations with my own descriptions - there are no words I can use because the meaning still leaves for you to choose.

Pictures to come in the next week, I promise, sandwiched both by humor & 2 upcoming June trips - the first to Barcelona & the second to Stockholm.  Booyakasha!  But first a good night's sleep - you know, to avoid triggering the whole "insomnia" thing all over again, as it's been going quite well these last few months.

Man must fight for freedom, 

Sure that's what most other people would say,

Look for a body to lead them 

But there's too many to lead them away.

Why wait until it's your time to die 

Before you learn what you were born to do?

Come on now, it's freedom calling 

But there's only one freedom for you.

Love, love boy...

(Cat Stevens)

Cat Stevens - Foreigner Suite

Besos.  

the bare necessities, the simple bear necessities

alas, internet is fixed!  

so much to catch up on, but most importantly - i bought a bicyle!  its name is montoconcho, after odile's much-too-humorous explanation of what taxis are like in the dominican republic. simply put, they sound like a version of fred flinstone's car - no doors, loads of passengers, & run on human feet.  oh, & purple dinosaurs causing traffic jams every few or so blocks... or something like that.

what do we think cavemen worried about? probably the opposite of everything we do now! 

you see...

cavemen worried about being devoured by large, hungry animals - now, we are the large & hungry ones worrying about devouring them.

cavemen worried about being hairy enough to keep warm - now, we go to desperate measures to be hairless, even if it means pouring hot wax on our skin & pulling the hair from its roots.

cavemen ate with their hands - now, we make all kinds of complicated eating utensils (which is the appropriate hand for handling knives, anyway?) & laugh at the chinese for still using the chopsticks! 

& judging from fred flintstone's car, cavemen used their legs to thrust themselves across land - now, we are constantly being told to "keep our arms & legs inside the vehicle at all times."  (...ever been to disney?)

clearly, we've got to get our priorities straight!  well, there's one thing that hasn't changed. 

love, sweet love. the wonderfulness of life.

you must remember this

a kiss is just a kiss

a sigh is just a sigh

the fundamental things apply

as time goes by

although, our version should be:

you must remember this

a school is just a school

an exam is just an exam

whether you study for  m o n t h s  or cram

as time goes by

casablanca - as time goes by

i see friends shaking hands, saying 'how do you do?'

they're really saying 'i love you'

israel kamakawiwo'ole - somewhere over the rainbow/what a wonderful world

live laugh love

besos.

Si pasas a la siguiente fase...

...Te quitas el pantalón?

I think it aired on a Spanish channel as part of a talent competition. Needless to say, I think the feminine audience was more than pleased.

Full contact, Capoeira, Acrobacias


But here's something much cooler.

Breakdance


And a little Sir Elt to soften the hearing.

Tiny Dancer - Elton John 1971


Besos.

A Rush of Blood to the Head

A lack of internet has prevented recent blog entries but has motivated exploration in areas far, far away from cyberspace.

Among these, isolation tanks, i.e. sensory deprivation chambers. Click here for a description and here for information on the appropriate Simpsons episode, in which even Homer experiences a "spiritual" journey.

Instead of explaining, I'll recount what I consider were the top 5 highlights...

• My body felt ethereal, & as if impossible to endure weights, burdens, or concerns.
• My mind felt separate, almost disconnected, from my body.
• I found myself Ohm-ing midway through.
• It was just me inside the tank - there were no sounds, no lights, no distractions.
• Ironically, the time went fast & felt fleeting.

Needless to say, it was a spiritual experience. I came out with a strong desire to learn meditation and with a feeling of inner peace. ...Seriously!

Coldplay - Politik

Besos.