A philosophy professor stood before his class and had some items in front of him. When the class began, wordlessly he picked up a large empty mayonnaise jar and proceeded to fill it with rocks, rocks about 2" in diameter. He then asked the students if the jar was full? They agreed that it was.
So the professor then picked up a box of pebbles and poured them into the jar. He shook the jar lightly. The pebbles, of course, rolled into the open areas between the rocks. He then asked the students again if the jar was full. They agreed it was. The students laughed.
The professor picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar. Of course, the sand filled up everything else.
"Now," said the professor, "I want you to recognize that this is your life. The rocks are the important things - your family, your partner, your health, your children - things that if everything else was lost and only they remained, your life would still be full. The pebbles are the other things that matter like your job, your house, your car. The sand is everything else. The small stuff."
"If you put the sand into the jar first, there is no room for the pebbles or the rocks. The same goes for your life. If you spend all your time and energy on the small stuff, you will never have room for the things that are important to you. Pay attention to the things that are critical to your happiness. Play with your children. Take time to get medical checkups. Take your partner out dancing. There will always be time to go to work, clean the house, give a dinner party and fix the disposal."
"Take care of the rocks first - the things that really matter. Set your priorities. The rest is just sand."
to know you are therethe present is of much concern
and that i'm over here
i live in despair,
uncertainty and fear
and limbo is the very place
i question every day
to disappear without a trace
or simply fade away
one bar leads to anothermy thanks to michelle for turning me on to the music of john mann. his song winterton is most excellent! i'm going to try and buy his cd just because of that one song.
all bars lead home...
to you
You are driving along in your new Porsche Carrera GT on a wild, stormy night, when you pull up to a traffic light next to a bus stop, and you see three people waiting for the bus:before giving my answer, i'd like those of you reading this to think about what you would do. think about it for a minute or two or whatever time is necessary. take is seriously... what would you do in this situation? maybe even leave a comment and tell me what you'd do?Each of them sees you. What do you do? Which one (if any) would you offer a ride to? Note: this car is a 2-seater, so you can, at most, pick one person to take with you.
- An elderly woman who looks as if she is about to die.
- Your best friend who once saved your life.
- The woman of your dreams.
i'm not sure my answer follows the spirit of the exercise, but what the hell, it's my answer and with no laws or instructions to the contrary, i'm going with it. my answer to him was this...
dude. love the car!now i know your ass would grab the girl and leave a schmuck like me sitting out in a storm with the old lady. you know you would, so don't deny it. that's ok, i'd forgive you... eventually.
me? while it may not be the sort of answer and explanation you are looking for, but i'm leaving your butt with the old lady too. difference is, i'd lend the two of you my car so you could take her to the hospital. better return it in perfect shape and washed!
if she is the girl of my dreams, she'll understand.
Ace Frehley, eat your heart out. Forked tongues are the latest U.S. trend for some reason I think I'll never figure out. I can't imagine that his is what native americans thought about when saying such a thing. Well, there may have been an early version of Gary Larson chuckling and drawing away in a wigwam somewhere, but generally speaking...
The number of people with split tongues is estimated at 1,500 to 2,000 people by the editor of a Web-based magazine devoted to body modification, but the trend is attracting enough attention that a few U.S. state legislatures have moved to ban the procedure.As U.S. legislatures worry about people modifying their body, their New Zealand counterparts are busy taxing animal farts. I kid you not. It is to help combat global warming. Now I'd like to know how they are going to go about measuring it.
Lastly, how about a real-life Tarzan story? Seriously. John Ssaybunnya was raised by troupe of African Green monkeys for nearly three years. Now that John is 18, what is he up to? He is playing football for Uganda in the Special Olympics which opened in Dublin Ireland this past Saturday.
Maybe I wasn't born to love, but simply to yearn.
I awoke this morning, the birds singing outside my window. Rays of sunlight cutting through the blinds illuminating the bed where my love belonged. I began to crave her presence.
I rolled over and edged closer. The thought of her soft skin as I neared made my heart pound. To feel her scooting back into me, my hands grabbing and pulling our bodies together. Placing a kiss on the nape of her neck and enjoying her aroma as we lay there taking in the moment.
One morning she'll be there and I too will be able to love.
I had the pleasure of meeting Roger once at a youth hockey tournament in Toronto a few years back. Even though I was only able to speak with him for a couple of minutes, his love for the game and particularly teaching the game was obvious. He looked over a bunch of California kids out on the ice and between the words of praise you could see him just itching to hop over the boards and impart his wisdom to the hopeful youths.
He didn't restrict his teachings to those fortunate enough to be in the US or Canada. Roger held several youth hockey camps in Metulla Israel. I'll let the NHL and various news services fill you in on his contributions to professional hockey, but I'd like to say that today we mourn the loss of a great man that has contributed so much of himself for the game and to the kids that enjoy it at the rink, on the ponds, and in the hallways.
This girl's mother-in-law really is a bitch. Honest.
leave it to some cranky chick to point out something i'd rather have seen left unsaid. see, it is so much easier to pretend it's not true when it goes unsaid. i'm pretty damn good at ignoring even what is said, but this one struck a chord...
I believe in points of no return. I believe there are late thirty to forty-something, sad, miserable people walking about the earth, waking up every morning, going to jobs they hate, staying in relationships that are no good for them and living lives without joy for one reason:so here i am, a nearly late thirty-something. did i unwittingly miss my point of no return? there are days it feels like i have. or am i there right now?
They passed on opportunity and they passed the point of no return.
As one gets older, opportunities become less frequent and as such, they become more significant. Because there is less time to correct errors in judgment when you've reached a certain age, opportunities are chancier and more thoroughly scrutinized for their impact. The point of no return is that last big risk you either take in hopes of becoming more fulfilled in life, or let go because the routine of despair is somehow more tolerable than the uncertainty of change.
at some point today I passed through a sort of time warp. for a moment I felt 16 again. truck in 4th gear steaming out of the city. sun shining. windows down. one arm out the window, warm air blowing up the sleeve of my ragged t-shirt causing it to flutter about. music cranked up to the likes of the scorpions.
as i closed in on the truck in front of me, ready to pass, a pair of surfboards attached to the roof rack caught my eye. twenty years ago i'd have honked and given the thumbs up. today, it just reminded me of days gone by.
regardless... i'm skipping the rest of the day!
Maurits Cornelis (M.C.) Escher was born on June 17, 1898, in the province of Friesland, Holland. He took up art in 1919, and became famous in the 1940s and 1950s for his novel tesselations of the plane and realistic depictions of impossible scenes and infinite vistas. He lived all of his life in Europe, and died in Hilversum, Holland in 1972.
To have peace with this peculiar life; to accept what we do not understand; to wait calmly for what awaits us, you have to be wiser than I am.On the official website of M.C. Escher you can find information about the use of his work, a short biography, news, bibliography, links and some fun stuff like a Virtual Ride through some of his works.
-- M.C. Escher
Спасибо так очень для вашей помощи. Без вашей помощи, не было бы никакой надежды. Я желаю вашей сестре быстрое восстановление.
Любите Вас, как будто Вы были мой собственные.
In Cincinnati recently, a man found out that a kiss is not only worth 1,000 words, but it is also worth over 4.5 years in jail. David Horton didn't hear a Hoo in time to escape as his parole office, also attending the Reds game, spotted him on the big screen and had him promptly arrested.
Now on to this kiss is worth a 1,000 words thing. Isn't that only for pictures? A google search disagrees. I always thought it was a penny for your thoughts, a nickle for a kiss, and a dime if you'll tell me that you love me. Clearly I've got alot to learn!
At the heart of them, both of them, there was terrible hole that time had not healed, that love could not bridge, and togetherness not ease. From it poured the vastness of space, no matter how surrounded they were, they would always be together alone. It was a disease to them that no one could cure.
They could not give it a name with which they may have conquered it; they could not speak of it without causing further pain to one another. It would always be there between them, just as the stars always twinkle in the night sky, no matter where one stands.
1. What's one thing you've always wanted to do, but never have?
Skydive.
2. When someone asks your opinion about a new haircut/outfit/etc, are you always honest?
Yes. Never ask my opinion unless you want it.
3. Have you ever found out something about a friend and then wished you hadn't? What happened?
Yes. Can't tell. It will go to the grave with me.
4. If you could live in any fictional world (from a book/movie/game/etc.) which would it be and why?
Star Trek, Next Generation
5. What's one talent/skill you don't have but always wanted?
There are two. Having worked with several tremendous graphic artists, I envy their skill and ability to take their mind's eye and make it so others can see it too. The other would be a musical talent. To be able to express myself through song rather than pointing to the songs of others and go "yeah, exactly what Kurt said".
Questions courtesy of FridayFive.org
Crawling under rocks for years at a time clearly does not protect one from life's woes, it merely allows them to compound without resistance. No matter how impenetrable you think that rock may be. And that crushing feeling -- it is not simply the weight of the rock, but that and everything that piles up on it while you hide. I began crawling out from under my rock this year...
So dentist visit number two was today and the news was somewhat expected. While it wasn't up to my worst case fears, it certainly wasn't the news a rock dweller like myself was hoping to hear. It didn't take long after hearing that I had an abscess (apparently for a while), that my head went into a daze. Perhaps that was a good thing -- an anesthetic -- so words like root canal and phrases like estimated expense and timeframe would simply sink in and I wouldn't have to feel a thing.
"Questions", he asked?
Are you kidding, I thought quietly to myself, still numbed from the news.
"No", I muttered, "No questions yet".
My first appointment is already set. It will be the day after my birthday. I still plan to attend, but that rock is looking pretty inviting right now.
Aside from being a catchy tune made popular on SNL with the Roxberry boys, it is probably the most elusive of human feelings. It means different things to different people, yet everyone has a common understanding of it all.
True love is ultimately defined by time. It is waking up every morning and no matter what, still seeing that same amazing woman you first fell in love with. Being able to tell her how much you adore her... and knowing she still believes you. Feeling her touch and tasting her lips whether you are inches apart or seperated by thousands of miles. Craving her presence with every breath.
Love is not satisfied simply existing in our minds and hearts. It consumes our physical being giving us the strength to do the impossible. To conquer the past and freely pursue the future.
Now it may seem a bit odd that a thirty-something man would be upset over a missing SpongeBob towel, but damn it that was my towel. Anyone that has ever showered in my home knows this, but someone has apparently decided that doesn't matter today. A troubling trend. Instead, I settled for another towel. Another bad trend.
This isn't the first time someone has absconded with it. The smart ones that do return it, making it look as if it were never gone. I can tell. I know when it is supposed to be wet and on what side. You aren't fooling me!
Update 2:11pm: This item has been found.
One Heart.
Exact size unknown, red
Typically runs at 70 beats per minute, though recently has been known to exceed 130/bpm.
Reward offered if returned in working condition.
While I do live in California, I am certain that I did not leave it in San Francisco. No, I haven't checked there. Last seen heading in an eastwardly direction. I suspect it may have evaporated out in the ether somewhere on one of the cross-country OC-48 circuits due to an inability to remain synchronized with remote side of connection. Still hoping to see keep-alive or retransmit packets.
Seems this is getting around. Only women seem to be doing this, so I thought it might be time to break the trend. What have I got to lose?
LAYER ONE:
-- Name: Are you kidding? This is Ramblings of an Anonymous Coward
-- Birth date: July (middle)
-- Birthplace: Germany
-- Current Location: California
-- Eye Colour: Blue. Changes shade with mood.
-- Hair Colour: Brown
-- Height: 68.5"
-- Righty or Lefty: Righty
-- Zodiac Sign: Cancer
LAYER TWO:
-- Your heritage: German, English
-- The shoes you wore today: Sandles.
-- Your weakness: I'm not telling!
-- Your fears: Too afraid to tell you.
-- Your perfect pizza: Mmmm, Pizza. At The Sink?
-- Goal you'd like to achieve: A modicum of happiness without destroying too many people in route.
LAYER THREE:
-- Your most overused phrase on IM: sorry or thanks
-- Your thoughts first waking up: why are they yelling?
-- Your best physical feature: I'm told my eyes.
-- Your bed time: sleep is over-rated.
-- Your most missed memory: Sshhhh! I'm trying to suppress that.
LAYER FOUR:
-- Pepsi or Coke: Coke (Vanilla)
-- McDonald's or Burger King: Burger King
-- Single or group dates: Wouldn't know.
-- Adidas or Nike: Adidas (All Day I D....[hehe])
-- Lipton Ice Tea or Nestea: Lemonade
-- Chocolate or vanilla: Vanilla
-- Cappuccino or coffee: yuk! neither.
LAYER FIVE:
-- Smoke: No way
-- Cuss: Fuck no! Ok, sometimes.
-- Sing: Nowhere you can hear me.
-- Take a shower everyday: Wish I could
-- Do you think you've been in love: yes.
-- Want to go to college: Again? Sure, you buy'in?
-- Like(d) high school: Parts of it
-- Want to get married: Again? Yes. Stupid huh?
-- Believe in yourself: Used to.
-- Get motion sickness: rarely
-- Think you're attractive: Nope. I put myself in the top of the bottom quartile
-- Think you're a health freak: no.
-- Get along with your parent(s): For limited periods of time.
-- Like thunderstorms: Under the right conditions
-- Play an instrument: No.
LAYER SIX: In the past month...
-- Drank alcohol: Yes
-- Smoked: No
-- Done a drug: Only over the counter or prescription
-- Made Out: Only in my mind
-- Gone on a date: Only in my mind
-- Gone to the mall?: yes, once.
-- Eaten an entire box of Oreos?: No. Never.
-- Eaten sushi: Ok now, that was just gross! No.
-- Been on stage: Nope.
-- Been dumped: Yup. Twice. Same person. Crazy thing is, I'd risk 3.
-- Gone skating: Of course!
-- Made homemade cookies: No, but ate some at work.
-- Gone skinny dipping: No.
-- Dyed your hair: No, never have.
-- Stolen anything: Not unless good ideas count.
-- You sound boring: duh!
LAYER SEVEN: Ever...
-- Played a game that required removal of clothing: yup
-- If so, was it mixed company: wouldn't it be pointless otherwise?
-- Been trashed or extremely intoxicated: So I'm told
-- Been caught "doing something": I have never had sex with that woman.
-- Been called a tease: Actually, yes. Monday, April 21 at 19:05 PDT
-- Gotten beaten up: Only once physically.
-- Shoplifted: Sadly enough yes. As a child. I'm still guilty about it.
-- Changed who you were to fit in: nope.
LAYER EIGHT:
-- Age you hope to be married: n/a
-- Numbers and Names of Children: [censored]
-- Describe your Dream Wedding: To someone I love -- any way she wants it! Big Fat and Greek, On a beach, In halloween costumes... it wouldn't matter.
-- How do you want to die: On my own terms.
-- Where you want to go to college: Do over again? UVa.
-- What do you want to be when you grow up: n/a, I'll never grow up.
-- What country would you most like to visit: Tie between Australia and Iceland
LAYER NINE:
-- Opposite sex or the same? Opposite.
-- Best eye colour? Blue
-- Best hair colour? Brown-ish Red
-- Short or long hair: Long
-- Best Height? < 5'8"
-- Best weight: > 100lbs
-- Best articles of clothing: her: skirt me: shorts
-- Best first date location: Anywhere that allows for a walk
-- Best first kiss location: Airport
LAYER TEN:
-- Number of drugs taken illegally: zero
-- Number of people I could trust with my life: depends on the circumstance
-- Number of CDs that I own: lots
-- Number of piercings: zero
-- Number of tattoos: none
-- Number of times my name has appeared in the newspaper?: lost count. none recently.
-- Number of scars on my body: 3 that I can still see.
-- Number of things in my past that I regret: Quite a few to varying degrees, but only one where I was in complete control.
First, congratulations to the New Jersey Devils on winning the Stanley Cup, their 3rd in 9 years. The team is a classy group of guys. They played hard through all seven games and deserved the victory and the reward that comes with it.
But I can hold it back no longer... New Jersey fans showed no class in boo'ing when Jean-Sebastien Giguere was awarded the Conn Smythe. Hello?!? The award is for the MVP of the whole fucking playoffs, not just the finals. The guy laid it all out on the line. He carried the team past the top teams in the Western conference. He stepped it up and showed leadership in challenging the team to perform even better when they went down two games to none in the finals.
To add insult to injury, the guy just finished giving it his all in a devastating loss. His eye's are welling up and with tears rolling down his face and the fucking TV network has to keep their camera tuned on him. What kind of bullshit is that?
Newsflash: Yeah, real men really do cry sometimes. We have hopes, dreams, and feelings too. We don't need to be reminded of that fact.
Jiggy -- You gave it your best shot man! The results may not have been favorable, but be proud that you were able to go out there and give it your best. There are plenty of us out here that know exactly how you feel tonight. Just remember, at least you have next season to chase that dream again.
What if poses some interesting questions, so I what the hell, I'll give a few of them a shot and see how it goes.
If you had to choose the title of your autobiography, what would it be? As My Mind Wanders
if you had to choose the color that describes you most accuratley, which color would it be? Blue. Cobalt blue. The various meaning and connotations of blue have a certain ironic ring to them that fits it quite well with my life and my personality.
if you could own one painting from any collection in the world but were not allowed to sell it, which work of art would you select? I've always been a sucker for "Starry Night" by Van Gogh, but I would give due consideration to "Blue Nude" by Picasso, "Yellow Red Blue" by Wassily Kandinsky, "The Concert" by Marc Chagall, and quite a few works by Dali. Despite not being big into flowers, I like several works of O'Keefe.
Here's Edward Bear coming down stairs now, thump, thump, thump, on the back of his head behind Christopher Robin. It is, as far as he knows, the only way of coming down stairs but, sometimes he feels that there really is another way; if only he could stop thumping for a moment and think of it.
-- A. A. Milne
Since somebody bothered to whip up the javascript code to implement this childhood game, who am I to not give MASH online a crack at predicting what my life will be like when I grow up. According to its forecast, I'll be a computer geek enjoying life in a house with my lovely wife Faith, our 3 kids and a yellow mustang parked in the driveway bearing Australia license plates.
Who am I to argue? It sounds pretty damn good to me, plus three of the seven are currently accurate.
Koyaanisqatsi: (ko.yaa.nis.kahtsee) N. from the Hopi language.In addition to being a pretty cool word, albeit not one you are likely to use in every day conversation, it is also the name of the first part of a movie trilogy. Koyaanisqatsi is definitely not a mainstream flick. Very artsy. No dialog. No Plot. Just artistic presentation scored by award winning musical artist Philip Glass.
1. crazy life. 2. life in turmoil. 3. life disintegrating.
4. life out of balance. 5. a state of life that calls for another way of living.
There are painters who transform the sun into a yellow spot,
but there are others who, thanks to their art and intelligence,
transform a yellow spot into the sun.
--Pablo Picasso
On the non-free side, Human for Sale tells me I'm worth exactly: $2,378,578.00. I wonder if that is retail or wholesale?
In keeping with being too little two late, it's apropos that I stumble across The Friday Five on a Sunday afternoon.
1. What do you most want to be remembered for?
2. What quotation best fits your outlook on life?
The significant problems we face cannot be solved at the same level
of thinking we were at when we created them. -- Albert Einstein
3. What single achievement are you most proud of in the past year?
That I took a chance with my heart and extended my trust to a very special person.
4. What about the past ten years?
Having endured each and every one without completely losing hope.
5. If you were asked to give a child a single piece of advice to guide them through life, what would you say?
True love will always be there when you need it.
With a few hours rest, I have found the strength to admit to the world: I am no knight! I am simply incapable of seperating shards of truth from those of hope without inflicting more pain. I can only allow what is left to carry me as far as it can.
These pieces will simply have to lay there for I can not pick them up alone.
So I charged towards my fate, hoping it would be the adventure of a lifetime and the answer to all dreams. The pace quickened and my heart roared. With the wind blowing through my hair, I closed in. Perhaps it was that very roar which made me vulnerable as I was struck by a mightly blow knocking me to the ground leaving me to writhe in pain.
Hours have past and I've grown accustomed to the hurt. I'm left to gather my senses, pick up the pieces, and carry on as only a true knight would...