Limerick

 I started to photograph noses

In all kinds of glamourous poses

The critics wrote lots

In praise of my shots

Suggesting I move on to toeses

Growing up Catholic

 Growing up Catholic in the 1950’s taught me how important it is to go into places of worship to hear the beliefs of other religions and how important it is to value mature love wherever I find it. I’ve realized that the Pope and I can disagree. I’ve realized I need to catch up on all the cursing and masturbation I missed. I’ve realized that the Baltimore Catechism was not written for adults. I’ve realized that love was a more effective motivator than fear. I’ve realized that fundamental human truths were embedded in Catholic rituals, images and artifacts. I’ve realized that what I was taught could be lived in many unexpected ways.

Obligations

 Ignore the Hollywood stereotypes of military men and women in combat. Get to know the ones around you. Pay attention to the profiles of the ones who gave their lives. Support organizations that support their needs. Volunteer.

Ignore the excess media attention on the rogue policemen. Get to know the ones who serve you. Attend the Citizens Police Academy. Walk as Citizens on Patrol. Recognize the danger they may encounter daily.

We’ve lost our understanding of the obligations we have as citizens.

Weapons

 The United States is the biggest seller of weapons through official channels and through the dark web. The amount of money made by manufacturers and sellers is staggering.

Terrorists get their weapons, one way or another, from US, Russian and Chinese sources. 

Think of all the terrorist groups throughout the world. They don’t make their own weapons.

Weapons sales are often tied to drug sales.

So US weapons sales can result in drug deals which bring drugs back to US users.

The money to be made is irresistible, and the likelihood of any reasonable control is tiny. 

Stopping the flow of weapons would mean stopping their production. 

Now go back to the first sentence.

Big love

 Just look around. It’s easy to find the God of power. Or the God of lust. Or the God of greed. Or the God of vanity. Or the God of hate. 

The God of little love can be seen. But the God of big love is hard to find.

God

 We live in a universe of underlying structure and pattern driven by the randomness of evolution. As in every age, a new understanding of the universe demands we search for a new understanding of God, a process that is never easy or satisfactory. We come to realize that holding on to unworkable notions of God gets us nowhere. Still, one aspect of God that endures is the demand that we put love and justice into the world. At this, we’ve made great strides and at the same time failed miserably. This is the human condition.

Why draw

 Why draw?

(5) Ask a child.

Why draw

 Why draw?

(4) Drawing is a record—of observation, of learning, of experience, of feelings, of thoughts, of ideas. Drawing locks them in time.

Why draw?

 Why draw?

(3) Drawing can be a very pleasurable act. It can be meditative and rewarding. It can initiate an inward dialogue with yourself.

Why draw?

 Why draw?

(2) We glance. We look. But we don’t see. Seeing requires time and attention. This is what drawing provides. Drawing creates an intimacy with the thing observed resulting in an understanding and appreciation not achieved before. What counts most is this act of drawing more than the drawing itself. Drawing makes seeing a disciplined act.

Why draw?

 Why draw?

(1) The hand naturally touches, caresses, measures, grasps, speaks and more. Drawing is a primary means to use these actions to educate the hand. Drawing helps the hand record, imagine, remember, explore, express and replicate. In this way, the hand becomes a repository and a valuable tool, a partner to the brain and the mind.

And God said

 And God said:

Here’s your body, complete with an individualized set of chromosomes. The rest is up to you.

And God said:

Here’s your piece of the cosmic brain. The rest is up to you.

And God said:

Here’s a natural world for you to explore and enjoy. The rest is up to you.

And God said:

Here’s a universe that should keep you busy for a while. The rest is up to you.

And God said:

I’ll give you the freedom to choose between good and evil. The rest is up to you.

And God said:

I’ve sent a bunch of teachers to explain love. The rest is up to you.

Beings

 We get lots of messages that we are economic beings, social beings, sexual beings, psychological beings and political beings. We get many fewer messages that we are spiritual beings. Yet recognizing that we are spiritual beings would greatly help us face the problems that come with being economic, social, sexual, psychological and political beings. 

Republican agenda

 The new Republican legislative agenda:

The White People’s Voting Rights Act

The Americans with Stupidity Act

The Freedom without Responsibility Act

The Let the Rich Keep Their Money Act

The Men in Charge of Women’s Bodies Act

The Oil and Gas Are Nice Act

The Guns for Everybody Act

The Lock the Gates before People of Color Get in Act

Luxury

 

God had a dream

 God had a dream. In his dream, he imagined he had taken all the evil out of the world so humans could get a fresh start. When he awoke, he remembered the Garden of Eden, the apple and the venomous serpent. He paced up and down, causing a rumble in heaven. Unanswered prayers piled up at his feet. He thought…evil…vile…live. Then he thought, “Maybe I’ll let a climate apocalypse of their own making do the job for me.”

Creation

 

A child

 A child…

Is fascinated by a bug

Imagines a stick into 100 different things

Likes to roll in the grass

Searches for creatures in the clouds

Asks questions about the world 

Plays in the sand

Plays for the joy of play

Will always take a hug

Believes in magic

So why do these disappear so easily in adulthood?

Fuctionary

 For those of you who want to expand your fuckabulary, it’s time again to update the fuctionary.

Fackathalon—sex employing at least 10 different positions

Fuckathon—in bed for 24 hours to raise money for your favorite charity

Fucovid-19—a sexually transmitted virus

Fuckonomics—the study of the financial impact of the commercial sex trade

Fuckulista—someone who uses sex as a weapon

Fucklioconditis—a debilitating disease that comes from too much sexual activity

Fuckmouth—someone who can’t make a sentence without the word “fuck” in it

Pofucketry—poetry that uses the word fuck

Flucky—got lucky on the first date

Imagine this

 Imagine this:

Mitch McConnell in a pair of Calvin Kline underwear

A group meeting of the KKK where all are wearing paisley hoods and cloaks

A funeral at a nudist camp

Donald Trump cuffed on his ankles and behind his back

Melania shopping at a thrift store

Your favorite movie star lying next to you in bed

You and your 100 closest friends sailing on Queen Elizabeth’s royal yacht 

A war fought where all combatants are wearing Speedos

Nobody watched the Olympics because they were all watching the latest seminar on particle physics.

2050

 My predictions for 2050:

Underground bunkers will sell for more than estates and castles.

There will be mostly electric vehicles on the road, creating many square miles of junk yards full of old gas-powered cars.

Gene manipulation for designer children will be popular.

Most countries on earth will be ruled by authoritarian governments or dictatorships.

So much money will be concentrated in the hands of a few uber billionaires that it will be impossible for anyone to get out of the middle class.

All the world’s religions will consolidate just to survive.

Pornography will be included in the Academy Awards.

90% of Americans will be morbidly obese.

Marijuana breaks will replace coffee breaks at the office.

Most people will still be paying off their college debt.

Because of total ineffectiveness, Congress will call for the first Constitutional Convention since 1776.

Climate change will cause half the world’s population to be refugees.

Artists will save the world.

Marriage between races will have wiped out the whole notion of race.

The notions of marriage and  family will not even be recognizable any more.

Olympic nostalgia

 Olympic nostalgia

Is it true that Zeus and Hera used to play badminton and ping pong on Mt. Olympus? That the sea nymphs actually were the first to do artistic swimming? That Mercury used to skateboard to the local 7/11 to pick up some ambrosia? That Zeus came down to earth as a swan and challenged any able-bodied man in taekwando? That Athens never beat Sparta in water polo? That the Greek men could compete naked but the Greek women had to wear bikini bottoms?

Love

 Love is a puzzle, and loyalty and duty are pieces of it.

Love extends light years beyond the bed.

Movies pretend to know how love begins and rarely show us that love never ends.

Love has little to do with happily ever after.

You don’t start to understand love until you make a commitment to living it.

Love is an antidote to most human conditions.

Love makes no sense at all.

If love were easy, the world would be a very different place.

The love we dream about is rarely serviceable.

Very few love songs are about mature love.

Falling in love, infatuation, love at first sight and romance are all pre-love conditions.

You know you’re in love if you don’t have to question it.

Love can be a roller coaster ride, but you keep wanting to get on again.

What preparation does it take to be ready to love?

Fatigue

 I don’t know about you, but I’m experiencing pandemic fatigue fatigue. All across the globe, people are experiencing refugee camp fatigue, hunger fatigue, war fatigue, terrorism fatigue, natural disaster fatigue, drug war fatigue, dictator fatigue and poverty fatigue. Meanwhile, Americans are whining and making bad decisions because they can’t go to a concert or go out for dinner or a drink.

Dillard/Giacometti

 In For the Time Being, Annie Dillard quotes Giacometti: “The more I work, the more I see things differently, that is, everything gains in grandeur every day, becomes more and more unknown, more and more beautiful. The closer I come, the grander it is, the more remote it is.”

This quote resonates so strongly with me and reminds me why we need artists. Why the fascination with celebrities, influencers and athletes will not bring us all we need.

A moment

 A moment can slip away unnoticed, or a moment can contain eternity.

A choice can make a small difference, or a choice can reach forever.

A word can be lost in translation, or a word can freeze a thing in time.

A mark can be a scratch, or a mark can signify infinity.

A breath can end a life, or a breath can start a life.

Prowess

 We love to admire and reward athletic prowess. It’s right in front of us all the time. It’s easy to enjoy, and it’s often wrapped in spectacle. Unfortunately, we don’t have the same love and admiration for intellectual and artistic prowess. 

Athletic prowess makes us cheer, feel good, be entertained. Intellectual and artistic prowess make us think, be challenged and grow, demanding engagement and effort on our parts.

The Olympics give us a good example. We love to watch the spectacle and disciplined performances, which come as a consequence of hard and dedicated work by the athletes. But many of these athletes are supported financially, clothed, coached, fed, publicized and given the opportunity to make their quest their life’s work.

What awaits the writers, artists and performers who put in as much time and hard, disciplined work? Some make the big time, celebrity and financial reward. But many produce at levels of excellence,  with little attention and financial support as they swim upstream in culture.

SO

 So, when was your last spiritual orgasm?

Here is life

 Here is life

Splattered across the planet

Raging, screaming, fucked up

Laced with simple kindness

A few work relentlessly

To find some patterns in it all

For the sake of comfort, God

And an anchor in predictability

So we can sleep at night

But dreams don’t let us off the hook

The world is an absurd place

Absurdly self-destructive, absurdly beautiful

If we are living, and not hiding,

We bathe in life’s random magic

Naked, brazenly naked

Good teacher

 Experience tells me anyone can be a good teacher if…

you know your subject

you see your pupils as human beings

you can listen with an open mind

you don’t stop learning

you can turn knowledge into wisdom

you can handle administrators