Where is my left foot?

The soundtrack consists on the guitarist’s mic’d clean amp only:

Jake E. Lee Shreds

Alan from the Big Leaf Tropicals list on Yahoo Groups recently travelled into northern Brazil to collect seed and seedlings from an endangered species, Cavanillesia arborea, the “Barriguda” of the Caatinga. He documented his journey in photos:

Alan’s Cavanillesia arborea rescue album

“I believe that people have a right to decide their own destinies; people own themselves. I also believe that, in a democracy, government exists because (and only so long as) individual citizens give it a ‘temporary license to exist’ — in exchange for a promise that it will behave itself. In a democracy, you own the government — it doesn’t own you.

Along with this comes a responsibility to ensure that individual actions, in the pursuit of a personal destiny, do not threaten the well-being of others while the ‘pursuit’ in progress.”

– Frank Zappa, 1989

One of my favorites…

By way of explanation: The City of Hollywood’s police force, battered by corruption and scandal, is losing its head, Chief Scarberry, who – of course – doesn’t actually live in Hollywood. He lives in Weston, way out west in what used to be Everglades. He is leaving under a cloud, having compromised an FBI investigation within his own department which he spilled the beans on, and which got back to those (the idiots) being investigated. In meetings, he always seems to be red-faced. The check made out to “Cash” is a nice touch for a law enforcement function. Never one to let a piece of truly horrible artwork pass me by…

Friends, please note a change to:

Today we have switched to Comcast Cable internet, with a tenfold increase in speed over Earthlink. Earthlink is a ruined hulk, gutted, and has the worst tech support I have encountered in my life thus far. This was not always true. Our attempts to increase our internet speed through their service has resulted in a significant decrease. We will keep the email addresses for one month, after which we wave goodbye as the ship leaves the dock. Farewell Mumbai!

Now, this:

Here is yours truly, at work selling his seedling trees Friday before last. Pal Winston, from Trinidad, and London, is at the lens:

Susan, Henry and I were driving down US1 toward Aventura yesterday, near the place where Henry attended Aventura Montessori School for one year, in between preschool and his current Montessori elementary school. Henry asked why they had to tear down the building where the school was, and Susan explained that the school didn’t own the building, and that it was still in operation in another location. We talked about impermanence — constant change. But she also said something like, “don’t worry, somewhere there’s a little boy in that school with the teacher that loves him very much”. That led me to a couple of insights. The first was this: she’s right. The second: Eternity is fluid, and is an aspect of reality. In other words, all of those moments that are gone, one aspect of their existence is Eternity. Our personal experience of Eternity is personal, but the universal aspect of it is the quality of Eternity. Third, and later in the evening, was this: impermanence can only exist in relationship to what?

Susan bought “In Rainbows”, and I am in my first listen now. She paid $9.99, by choice.