huh ??
Month: February 2013
Memory Lane –
I ran across an article on BoingBoing over the weekend about Denver in the 60’s & 70’s . Of course there’s the obligitory Blinky referance and more than one mention of Celebrity Sports Center, but what really got stuck in my mind was Cinderella City Mall. Now I really didn’t go to this mall until I could drive myself ( my family was more of a Buckingham Square sort, or anywhere there was a Montgomery Wards – but thats another post entirely ).
I can remember wandering around the different “malls” or sections of shopping center , Rose, Shamrock, Gold and can even remember the neo-gaudy architecture, a cross between Roman and Mad Men. But what stands out the most was CInder Alley. If you were never there let me you draw a quick picture: it was in the basement of the mall , fairly low ceilings, black ( if I remember correctly ) done up to look like London in Dickens time, or some say NYC at night, with quasi gas-light lamps a cobble stone walkway. When I went there , the mall was already on the decline and CInder Alley was about 5 years ahead of the top floors, so here you had a dark, semi-abandoned theme park walkway with a few candle and poster shops left. It really creeped me out , but I couldn’t not walk through …. *sigh* , the good old days.
Oh – BTW anybody remember this ?
it was a food court before there were food courts ….
Daily Tao / 033 – Defense
Demons who enter your circle
Must be pushed out.
No matter what world you walk in — office, school, temple, prison, or the streets — there is an underworld populated with demons. These are people who are avaricious, aggressive, sadistic, and cynical. They not only take advantage of others without compunction, they delight in it. They find pleasure in seeing others suffer.
The why of it cannot be answered. There is only the fact, with no metaphysical meaning or other ramifications. It is not karma, it is not fate. If these people decide to attack you, it is circumstance. You must fight or be mowed down.
Compassion and humility may be among the most treasured of human virtues, but they are not useful in conflict. A beautiful gold statue of your most adored god is a treasure, but you would not use it as a weapon. Virtue is to be value in the proper context; only a sword will do in battle.
Whether an attack is physical — assault, rape, murder — or whether it is mental — business intrigues, emotional abuse — you must be prepared. It is best to prepare for conflict by learning as much self-defense as possible. You will not become a bully or a monster, but instead, you will learn that you an respond to any situation. If you are never attacked, that will be wonderful. Training will still help you work out your fears, inhibitions, and anxieties. In the case of conflict, no one, not even a veteran, is ever sure that they will come out alive from a confrontation. But they resolve to go in there and give themselves a fighting chance. This in itself is a triumph over evil.
Flashback Friday –
You know, you’re a real “up” person …
One of the most seminal albums for me, and for a lot of kids growing up in the 80’s , was New Order’s Substance. This was one album that was a must in your collection if you wanted to be “hip” or “cool” ….
I can remember the cute sales guy Jimmy at Peaches telling me why I had to own this ….. you remember Peaches ??
I even had a couple of thier record crates –
Well – New Order was another big step in my musical upbringing, True Faith , Blue Monday & this song :
Daily Tao / 032 – Ubiquity
Tao is everywhere.
It cannot be kept from the sincere.
Tao originated in China and was an expression of that culture. It was intimately tied to a poetically agrarian view of the world, and it forged mysticism and pragmatism together. But now, most of us, even those in China, do not understand ancient words. Our farming is mechanized. Our poetry is written on computers. Does this make Tao invalid? No, it does not. Tao is still here, and if we are to follow Tao, we must rely not on old standards but on direct experience. Contemporary minds need contemporary concepts to interest them.
If following Tao is as great as the masters claim, then it ought to be applicable to any situation and any race. Neither time, nor place, nor culture should be a barrier to the sincere seeker. Tao surrounds us; we need only guidance and understanding in order to connect with it.
Tao is not something esoteric. It is right here. The masters allude to this all the time. For them, anything — from reading scriptures to attending the theater, from meditating to sweeping dung from the ground — is Tao. They understand the ubiquitous nature of Tao and act accordingly. If masters still know Tao in this world of jet planes and electronic communication, then we can also absorb the essential message of Tao. Those who succeed might never talk of it, and yet everything they do will be spontaneously in tandem with Tao.
my mostly unfabulous life 