Saturday, March 5, 2016

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I have mentioned before, a conference I attended in Ireland in 1992 where I met a good number of my scholar/humanitarian heroes and felt my inner world stimulated like never before. One presenter who was new to me was a Catholic priest, Father John ODonohue whose demeanor and intellect was so beneficent that I attended all his lectures and then had the pleasure of meeting him. Recently my daughter came across one of his poems and sent it to me.   

In Praise of the Earth 

Let us bless
The imagination of the Earth,
That knew early the patience
To harness the mind of time,
Waited for the seas to warm,
Ready to welcome the emergence
Of things dreaming of voyaging
Among the stillness of land.

And how light knew to nurse
The growth until the face of the Earth
Brightened beneath a vision of color.

When the ages of ice came
And sealed the Earth inside
An endless coma of cold,
The heart of the Earth held hope,
Storing fragments of memory,
Ready for the return of the sun.

Let us thank the Earth
That offers ground for home
And holds our feet firm
To walk in space open
To infinite galaxies.

Let us salute the silence
And certainty of mountains:
Their sublime stillness,
Their dream-filled hearts.

The wonder of a garden
Trusting the first warmth of spring
Until its black infinity of cells
Becomes charged with dream;
Then the silent, slow nurture
Of the seed's self, coaxing it
To trust the act of death.

The humility of the Earth
That transfigures all
That has fallen
Of outlived growth.

The kindness of the Earth,
Opening to receive
Our worn forms
Into the final stillness.

Let us ask forgiveness of the Earth
For all our sins against her:
For our violence and poisonings
Of her beauty.

Let us remember within us
The ancient clay,
Holding the memory of seasons,
The passion of the wind,
The fluency of water,
The warmth of fire,
The quiver-touch of the sun
And shadowed sureness of the moon.

That we may awaken,
To live to the full
The dream of the Earth
Who chose us to emerge
And incarnate its hidden night
In mind, spirit, and light.
 
 John O'Donohue

After all isn’t this how it really works?




And just look at what Mother Earth has gifted us with! Not my pics.






 Along with these gifts came our intellect in order to appreciate it even more by UNDERSTANDING it and giving us the capacity of discernment so as not to be led astray.

Brain interior, pathways beyond comprehension


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It is now believed that The Vikings actually did have a Sun Stone  that was used to navigate the ocean.

 

Imagine their awe at what we now know of gravity waves, plate tectonics, galaxies etc.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/gravitational-waves-groundbreaking-discovery-could-let-us-hear-from-the-very-darkest-and-strangest-a6867056.html

Alert – there is now an albino humpback in my area. I haven’t seen it but some of my neighbors have as well as a bunch of people on the Pacific side. What a treat that would be to see it!



Well I have just a few pages left of Vol.IX of Durant’s The Story of Civilization. One volume to go. It will be very difficult to find a piece of literature that will be as welcome and comfortable a companion for my evening read as these books have been. At some point I will address an entire blog post to comments regarding this monumental and brilliant work.

Check out this interview from a few weeks back


Yahoo!! Pygmy right whale thought extinct but.....

Real touching read
https://www.facebook.com/notes/lyla-june-johnston/the-story-of-how-humanity-fell-in-love-with-itself-once-again/10153756971166007



Thursday, February 4, 2016

 

As much as I love the desert (with ocean included nearby of course) I am fortunate to have an old and very pleasant memory of the forest. I spent much of my childhood discovering the “magic” of a forest particularly when my mother took my brother Peter and me to Yosemite for our annual camp out and hike. The above picture, though fanciful, reminds me of that magic. Yet it is not so fanciful at all really. Recent research by a German forest ranger has pretty much verified the research of decades ago suggesting that the forests of the world communicated with each other by a network of fungi and were capable of a degree of “awareness” that seemed magical. This concept was central to the movie Avatar and is now being investigated with greater interest than ever before. It too is part of “The Great Mystery” and the science behind it just makes it so much the more magical.


http://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/30/world/europe/german-forest-ranger-finds-that-trees-have-social-networks-too.html?_r=1

The forest is the home for so many colorful creatures too, check out this Azalea Lace Bug!





It’s also the home of the grizzly bear – yes, that’s a real paw!



The bear is tranquilized to be tagged in order to track their movements because they too are in danger of habitat destruction. We must protect our life partners on this planet – tracking their movements, not unlike with the whales, allows us to understand their ability to cope with changes mitigated by we humans.

I would like to introduce you to Sabrina Pasterski, an MIT graduate student that is considered the next candidate for the accolade “The Great Physicist”. Her mathematical genius is truly extraordinary and deserves to be watched as she helps color the gray of ignorance – there is such magic everywhere in the Universe to be discovered and enjoyed. 




Perhaps this is what she looks like in full color?




Staying with science a bit longer, here’s an interesting article about a possible other means of genetic transfer than that limited to our current concepts originated by Watson and Crick in the 50’s. Smacks of Lamarckism but WE MUST keep all avenues open for new knowledge, without that we stagnate.




It appears that this post will be pretty much science oriented. My recent trip to The US and the political craziness really soured me on the mass intellect of the American people – REALLY? TRUMP a contender! That’s even more ludicrous than Reagan or George W. Bush. Sooo, I am going to stay on the science track and enjoy all the really good stuff that is also part of our reality. Not denying the seriousness of the matter but leaving it in the hands of those devoted to the task of fighting The Matrix – including my son Zack – I honor you dude! “Feel the Bern”

I will add just one other thing – or let The Great Scientist Carl Sagan say it for me more eloquently:




I have a special place in my heart for Dr. Sagan. When I started this NGO I sent him a personal letter describing what I had in mind to do with the information I was to disseminate. I told him I was going to present the softer more personal side of science in my presentations. I also asked him to come to dinner if ever in Mendocino County and told him that my wife (Dana Crumb) was an extraordinary cook. Damned if he didn’t reply with a hand written personal letter of encouragement and apology for being to busy to attend what he knew what be a delightful evening. It really hurt when he died so young.

OK back to “the cool stuff”! Yet another ancient ruin has been found in Turkey. Gobekli Tepe is the latest of a number of very ancient ruins (10,000 BPE) unearthed in the past few decades in that area of the world. This “complex is made up of a number of separate but adjacent “temples” with sophisticated carvings and structure. Once again indicating a much, much more ancient history of our species as a sentient and aware organism.




What is this now? A design created on a dry lake bed with all lines EXACTLY 3” deep and 10” wide and EXACTLY straight. The whole compromising a length of 13 MILES? No tire tracks, back hoe tracks etc. One day not there, the next day there! Some of you will recognize it.



And a smaller but significant find regarding our species ancient capacity to find and then develop nutrient resources to insure our evolution.





Some cool stuff in space too – big surprise:

Gravity waves – colossal perturbations in space creating giant waves (Tsunamis) of gravity rolling and flowing through the universe have been more clearly verified. Oh man, anyone who does not include these in their vision of the universe is just not exercising their gift of imagination and wonder.




And then there is this! An object in space that is 570 billion times brighter than the SUN!! That is so cool. What is it? Are there more? How far away? Who’s in charge here? Whose on first?




Just some cool pics:



My daughter Kersti, third from left, and friends from an article in Sacramento’s Delta Living Magazine. If they were a “girlband” (their term) what do you think would be a good name?



Had he known?



Nice whale pic

I am back in Mexico again and starting my tracking season as soon as the winds die down a bit. Anyone wishing to contribute please do: checks can be sent to MioSah, C/O Susan Janssen, 20 Highland Court, Ukiah, CA, 95482 or donate online at https://www.gofundme.com/6j0prg.

I am working diligently (but not particularly hard) on improving my physical being. I’ve gained some weight and muscle and my coordination is for the most part returning. Not the same old Urmas but clearly recognizable. With the sensitive and loving attention of my family back in The States, my attitude is also improving. I am really looking forward to being with The Whale People again – HooHah!






Friday, January 1, 2016


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I am now on vol. IX of the ten volume epic “The Story of Civilization” by Will and Ariel Durant. This has been a literal and literary labor of love. Each of the 1000 page volumes has been a veritable treasure of brilliant writing, sharp humor and uncanny insight into this journey our species has/is taking. I am deeply indebted to my dear Brigitte Mercier for introducing me to the first volume, to Roseanna Marchetti for lending me the continuing volumes from her full set (and I have yet the pleasure of meeting Roseanne) and Alan Pomeroy for challenging me to finish them. I have previously encouraged others to begin this journey and I do so again – you will not be disappointed. On the other hand you may find them not at all entertaining or informative and that’s OK too!


 Will Durant

I would like to give one example of why Durant’s writing style has so captivated and entertained me for these thousands of pages that I have now read. I am on the first chapter of vol. IX and reading a section on The IV Earl of Chesterfield, an Englishman born in 1694 to minor aristocracy and who became a respected diplomat and later writer. He is best known for an 800 page manuscript written to his son Phillip titled “Letters to His Son”. Durant begins the section on Chesterfield thus: “Let us spend a half hour with this perceptive Earl……….” As if he were talking directly to you the reader. All IX volumes have the same free and open sharing of his intellect, but listen to what he says about The Earl’s writing: “He himself wrote an English unsurpassed in contemporary prose: simple, vigorous, clear, with just enough lightness to float the burden of his thoughts”. I love that. 


 Lord Chesterfield

It appears that there may have been a semi-aquatic species of hominid during the evolution of humankind. This has been debated for many decades and for the most part relegated to the “fantasy” bin but has recently been revived due to some interesting developments in archeology. It is another one of those theories that I enjoyed so much introducing to my classes just for the stimulation and to get their minds flowing more openly. There are times I miss teaching more than I ever thought possible.

Watching the sun change it’s position (actually due to the earth tilting) as the Solstice passed is always such a treat. I was out in The Medicine Wheel on Solstice morning seeing the sun once again emerge over the top of our Solstice stone. Some of you have joined me for that moment in previous years – you were with me in spirit, I assure you.



Sword and Stone

As of the last few weeks 3 - 6 humpbacks have been sighted in my grid almost every day. Technically my season starts in February when the greatest number of humpbacks are here. Anyone wishing to contribute to my work can make a donation online to my “GoFundMe website: gofund.me/6j0prg or send a check to MioSah, C/O Susan Janssen, 20 Highland Ct., Ukiah, CA 95482. I saw two whales moving north yesterday while doing my exercises on the beach (sea too rough to swim). They were at the very periphery of even my bionic eyes so my identification is tentative (the blow wasn’t quite right, too diffuse), blue whales I think? Could have been Grays but rare here in The Sea of Cortez. Regardless, first sightings of the new season are always a special treat.



Blue whale from a few years ago - dove with this one
Wind continues to blow hard much to the consternation of our pangeros. Difficult to catch fish in heavy chop and what Gringo wants to go out anyway? Having spent many a day on a rocking, pounding boat, wet to the skin, cold and basically miserable is not my idea of fun…….but what a rush!! One of the three most memorable moments in my life was at the helm of the 84’ sailing schooner “Dariabar” in mid pacific in a Beaufort 8 gale at midnight – HooHah! Of course I was only 58 then.



Me at helm

 I only go out now when the sea is good and flat, clear skies and warm. I’m looking forward to a good season and perhaps with some new adventure – the sea is always unpredictable and it is full of delightful critters, I haven’ ridden a Giant Manta yet.

Here are some science articles you may find interesting:

Time travel is a long way off but it looks like it is more than just theoretically possible. At the quantum level the universe is far, far more “fantastic” than can even be imagined. 



http://www.collective-evolution.com/2015/12/07/physicists-send-particles-of-light-into-the-past-proving-time-travel-is-possible/



  
It is always rewarding to know that some if not many of the concepts that I elaborated on in class are now being studied with a great deal more zeal than when I was teaching. The extinction of the dinosaurs and the concomitant “explosion” of mammal species is still in my lectures here regarding my whale friends. They too are a result of that cataclysmic comet event 65 million years ago.





Here’s an interesting article on a somewhat mysterious petroglyph covered rock discovered years ago but receiving renewed attention. 





Some of you may have read Fell’s book: America BC. If not you may enjoy it – it certainly puts Columbus in his proper place. This article is along those same lines. NOT to imply that anyone predated the true discovery by the First People to discover the Americas – the Native Americans.


I have often derided the work of Sigmund Freud and questioned his role in laying down the tenants of human psychology – much to human detriment in my perspective. How different a world it would be if the ideas of Carl Jung had been adopted instead of Freuds’ – so very, very sad! He (Jung) made so much sense as the article cited shows.




Just a couple of cool pics:




Tuesday, December 8, 2015

Grandmother Ocean and Mother Earth - exchanging

This post will be somewhat lacking in chronology due to my life taking on a different kind of pace and I’m just not keeping track like I used to.

I am having a meeting at the school this Thursday because there has been movement on the marine lab. I really, really think it’s going to happen – “perseverance furthers”. I am of course thrilled that it may come to be and my whale friends will be forever watched over. AND it appears that one of my adopted grandsons,Tristan, may one day be a part of it, if not the next “El Ballenero”. This gives me an additional and wonderful satisfaction.

Lots of critter action lately, not of the marine mammal kind but very much a part of my life.

The other day I was swimming laps (back up to 20) and was suddenly surrounded by a large school of surf fish (grunts or chubs?) that decided to swim with me for a while. As I continued forward they surrounded me and kept pace while circling me an arm length away. There were perhaps 200 or more, very silvery and with the clarity of the water, the calm of the sea, the perfect temp and the overall state I was in, it was truly a delight.


Not my pic

Not such a delight has been my on going war with the ants. Not all ants (we have many species) but these small black ones that bite. It has been a constant battle but at the moment I am winning – albeit with the help of chemicals. They are very persistent even though I keep the kitchen very clean – and they are psychic!

Time for a visual – check this out, well worth it!

Isn’t that amazing!!

Now here’s a nice pic (not mine) of my second favorite mammal. If I hadn’t got into the whale thing, these are definitely the critters I would have studied.


 The "original" dog

Clinging to the screen door the other day were these breeding male and female stick insects. I’ve never seen that before. They stayed like this all day long and into the night. Now that’s serious perseverance. 


 Amorous Stick Insects

Quick change of pace. This is an actual porcelain bowl being thrown by one man. Wouldn’t our ancient ancestors be impressed.



The “BIG” critter event of the day, week, month, year was just the other day (I’m being redundant aren’t I?) when I saw my neighbor Leslie south of me on the beach and acting kinda strange. She would move up the beach, get on her hands and knees, pick something up, walk to the water, place something there and return to do it again. After watching her do this a number of times I thought it must be turtles – baby turtles! I walked down the beach to join her and, yes, there was a shallow depression where more little heads were emerging. Bad timing for the turtles due to the recent high winds having piled up a berm that would be difficult for them to traverse. It was also windy and hot with the danger of desiccation, not to mention dogs and birds. We were joined by other neighbors, Lisa and Gary, and we did what we could to insure as best a chance for them as we could. It was a very special gift that we received that day. They are the last of the true dinosaurs (literally) and deserve our respect and protection. 






I mentioned wind a moment ago. This November, and now one week into December has been about as windy as I can remember. Very few days that I could even think about kayaking and I have had to take every window of opportunity just to swim my laps.

Not this again!


On the other hand here’s something to enjoy – talk about nostalgia!


The Martian moon Phobos is very slowly “falling” into the gravity well of Mars and will become many small pieces eventually making up a planetary ring system not unlike Saturns but smaller of course. Don’t wait around – it’s a few million years off but once again underscores the essential nature of the Universe – CHANGE.


Phobos


There's been a lot of talk recently about the question of the validity of The Big Bang Theory. We have plenty of time to debate it seeing as the Universe pays little attention to human time. In the long run it will most likely be The Shamans that are the only ones who really get it. If you have a mind to read the whole article you will not be disappointed.




Me – I’m trying my best to fathom my role in it all but find myself doing this occasionally.



A couple of local pics that “charm” my day: 


These palms were planted by Susanna when we first started developing the lot.

 Susanna and the palms - 2001



Part of the path to my workout center.

Just one socio-political comment this time!



Be good to yourselves and your loved ones – Hell, why not everyone.