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Thursday, May 30, 2019

Old Post from the Anthropik network

"I noticed, when she delivered the plate of fruit, that my Balian hostess was also balancing a tray containing many little green bowls-small, boatshaped platters, each of them woven neatly from a freshly cut section of palm frond. The platters were two or three inches long, and within each was a small mound of white rice. After handing me my breakfast, the woman and the tray disappeared from view behind the other buildings, and when she came by some minutes later to pick up my empty plate, the tray was empty as well.

*
On the second morning, when I saw the array of tiny rice platters, I asked my hostess what they were for. Patiently, she explained to me that they were offerings for the household spirits. When I inquired about the Balinese term that she used for "spirit," she repeated the explanation in Indonesian, saying that these were gifts for the spirits of the family compound, and I saw that I had understood her correctly. She handed me a bowl of sliced papaya and mango and slipped around the corner of the building. I pondered for a minute, then set down the bowl, stepped to the side of my hut, and peered through the trees. I caught sight of her crouched low beside the corner of one of the other buildings, carefully setting what I presumed was one of the offerings on the ground. Then she stood up with the tray, walked back to the other corner, and set down another offering. I returned to my bowl of fruit and finished my breakfast.

*
That afternoon, when the rest of the household was busy, I walked back behind the building where I had seen her set down two of the offerings. There were the green platters resting neatly at the two rear corners of the hut. But the little mounds of rice within them were gone.

*
The next morning I finished the sliced fruit, waited for my hostess to come by and take the empty bowl, then quietly beaded back behind the buildings. Two fresh palm leaf offerings sat at the same spots where the others had been the day before. These were filled with rice. Yet as I gazed at one of them, I suddenly noticed, with a shudder, that one of the kernels of rice was moving. Only when I knelt down to look more closely did I see a tiny line of black ants winding through the dirt to the palm leaf. Peering still closer, I saw that two ants had already climbed onto the offering and were struggling with the uppermost kernel of rice; as I watched, one of them dragged the kernel down and off the leaf, then set off with it back along the advancing line of ants. The second ant took another kernel and climbed down the mound of rice, dragging and pushing, and fell over the edge of the leaf; then a third climbed onto the offering. The column of ants emerged from a thick clump of grass around a nearby palm tree. I walked over to the other offering and discovered another column of tiny ants dragging away the rice kernels. There was an offering on the ground behind my building as well, and a nearly identical line of ants. I walked back to my room chuckling to myself. The balian and his wife had gone to so much trouble to daily placate the household spirits with gifts; only to have them stolen by little six-legged thieves. What a waste! But then a strange thought dawned within me. What if the ants themselves were the "household spirits" to whom the offerings were being made?

*
The idea became less strange as I pondered the matter. The family compound, like most on this tropical island, had been constructed in the vicinity of several ant colonies. Since a great deal of household cooking took place in the compound, and also the preparation of elaborate offerings of foodstuffs for various rituals and festivals, the grounds and the buildings were vulnerable to infestations by the ant population. Such invasions could range from rare nuisances to a periodic or even constant siege. It became apparent that the daily palm-frond offerings served to preclude such an attack by the natural forces that surrounded (and underlay) the family's land. The daily gifts of rice kept the ant colonies occupied and, presumably, satisfied. Placed in regular, repeated locations at the corners of various structures around the compound, the offerings seemed to establish certain boundaries between the human and ant communities; by honoring this boundary with gifts, the humans apparently hoped to persuade the insects to respect the boundary and not enter the buildings.

*
The maintenance of such boundaries is the essence of magic, but our civilization has lost its magic, and we have violated every boundary. We've been as short-sighted as the man who hated frogs. Could it ever be as simple as just asking the frog to come back to our stream?"

Wednesday, May 22, 2019

Wildest Nature and Amazing Animals - select readings

Friday, May 17, 2019

Psychology, Recovery and Mental Health - select readings

Thursday, May 09, 2019

Music Playlist - Spring 2019

Thursday, May 02, 2019

Some serious concerns about driver distracting behaviors on our work bus

Update, September 16, 2019:

This past May, beside submitting these unwelcome driver-distracting concerns, I submitted this (below) to the bus company and two social services agencies. Though I haven't noticed any results yet, it's possible that this is something that various managers handle discreetly. Every agency I submitted this to, at least replied to the message, acknowledging this is something that should be looked into, except for no reply forthcoming from the bus company. Skills Management claims that they can't really doing anything about events on the bus - it's "out of their jurisdiction."

Yet, when I witnessed an actual assault on the bus by one of the Skills workers upon another and tape-recorded this, they acted more concerned. Skills management later told me that the bus management (instead of thanking me) is most concerned about me filming on their buses!

It feels like someone is getting "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" confused with "If you see something, say something." What if someone assaulted a member of their family? Would they not hope for the best evidence?

Delegating authority should not be equated with passing the buck and I keep feeling as if I'm getting lip-service over these various bus concerns, with limited actual change or improvements of the important issues.
JB

Original post: May, 02, 2019:

Skills of Central Pennsylvania, Benner Pike, State College

Centre County Transportation, Milesburg, Pennsylvania

To whom it may concern,

I have pressing concerns about unwholesome habits being demonstrated by some Skills workers on our Centre County Transportation work commuter bus. These have become so out of hand that they frequently distract our dedicated bus drivers.

As a Skills Program worker over the past year, I’m grateful for the training I’m paid for, as well as the supplementary bus rides between my residence and work. This has made a big difference and improvement in my life.

And I like to think I can carry these precious skills onward and upward to other aspects of my life. I believe positive attitudes and outlooks can overlap, influence and rub off onto fellow colleagues; therefore it strikes me as disheartening when I experience negative ones as manifested in the following scenario which repeats itself so much that it’s become predictable:

First, the bus driver travels over a bump and somebody sitting in the back shouts over our whole group that he’s going to kill, strangle, beat, or otherwise disfigure the driver if they don’t slow down more. Then, others chime in angrily, saying it can’t be helped and that they will then kill or maim the complainer someway. Everything heats up more, as riders commence shooting personal insults to each other from several angles. Often this unhealthy banter gets recharged over the next bump and continues boisterously for the full bus ride or at least until involved passengers depart. Not only that, but there are other standard protocols of politeness that some Skills workers disregard daily, such as leaving the aisle seat open and properly securing their safety belts, even after the driver asks for this.

On the bright day I learned of my bus riding approval I received a memo which included the guideline: “Passengers must conduct themselves in an orderly and polite manner when riding in county vehicles.” Presumably, the other riders and / or guardians received the same memo.

I feel that if I say nothing about this unacceptable societal failure, then it follows I’m giving my sanction that it’s okay. The last straw occurred recently at lunch one day when a Skills staff manager made a similar comment in jest about killing someone. This was in response to a minor question from a co-worker when Ms. ____ __ answered “I’d tell you, but then I’d have to kill you!” An old worn out joke for sure, but not one that everyone at Skills comprehends. Half-shocked to hear this myself, I sensed the surprise and confusion coming from the young woman who asked the question, and then soon left (to cry?) And certainly a grievous trigger point for others who have lost loved ones to violence. Indeed, our widespread TSA agents arrest and interrogate glib travelers for lesser offhand ‘jokes.’ about violent acts.

If integrating Skills workers into the community is still part of Skills mission, as I’m told it is, then I would like to point out another pertinent observation: In my vast experience of finding respectable employment over the past forty-five years the majority of the better jobs I’ve discovered came through personal contact or via word of mouth. Many workers I’ve met have experienced this same serendipity. Even now, it’s likely that someone on the bus or even the driver is or knows of homeowners or businesses looking for decent help with various chores, e.g.: gardening, grass cutting, dog-walking, gutter cleaning, cooking, leaf raking, trash- recycle sorting, garage sweeping, knitting, vacuuming, sewing, fruit-picking, stable cleaning, fetching tools, folding tarps, painting, snow-shoveling, furniture rearranging, brush removal, etc. The odd job list is long...

But if potential employers sometimes we encounter on the buses experience a constant sea of Skills disharmony; seeing perpetually rude and disorderly behaviors, this impression immediately dissuades those prospective employers and that bad imprint gets shared with others.

I have faith in my work colleagues that several of them will see the light right away when this is explained by someone with the proper timing and authority. Other good news is that at least one bus driver has already vowed to keep the bus atmosphere ship-shape, and starting by requiring window seat placement for those first on, when additional riders are expected.

Posting a sign on the bus could help remind riders that bus privileges come along with the responsibility of respecting other commuters.

At Skills we have occasional days off when no work is scheduled, and here we help with volunteer projects instead. Why not consider a few hours of one of those days for training or a refresher course about courteousness, even if it’s just done in small groups? Tacking on a small challenge for Skills workers to use to their imaginations to say something complimentary about each other would be a nice start.

I’m impressed by the safety standards our Commonwealth of Pennsylvania uses in other important niches now, such as automatically cancelling registrations when drivers insurances lapse, and implementing brief back road closures for migrating turtle egg-layers. Bus services themselves may have already set aside funds for safety programs which dissuade driver distraction, and if so, may offer to go in half when approached with an idea for a brief annual refresher meeting or class to remind riders of their respectful responsibilities. Such a gesture could go a long way in helping mend these inappropriate and outlandish driver-distracting behavioral patterns.

Thank you,

c.c. Centre County Transportation

Pennsylvania Department of Transportation, safety division.

Monday, April 29, 2019

Cavalcade of Heroes

Monday, January 28, 2008

Emil Sitka - The Fourth Stooge

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emil_Sitka

"Hold hands, you lovebirds"

From Wikipedia:

Emil Sitka's first Three Stooges film—and Curly Howard's last
Half-Wits Holiday dealt with the idea of two professors betting on the outcome of turning the Three Stooges into gentlemen—with predictable results. Emil Sitka played Sappington, the upper-crust butler, who was an excellent foil for the Three Stooges—and the target of several pies as well.

In the 1947 Three Stooges short Brideless Groom, Shemp Howard must be married before 6:00 p.m. in order to inherit $500,000.00. After striking out, Shemp finally finds a girl willing to marry him, and they rush off to a justice of the peace, played by Emil Sitka. As Sitka starts the ceremony, telling the couple to "hold hands, you lovebirds", the other girls that turned down Shemp's proposal burst in, having heard of the inheritance. A free-for-all then ensues, with poor Sitka being struck again and again, attempting to start the ceremony, each time more disheveled and his "hold hands, you lovebirds" a little weaker. Because of the widespread distribution of this short (it is one of four Three Stooges shorts that slipped into public domain), this scene is the one that Sitka has become best known for. Notably, a clip of this short is featured in Pulp Fiction, for which Sitka's name even appears in the credits as "Hold Hands You Lovebirds".

Later years:

Emil Sitka continued with the acting career, more out of love for acting than the need for money, appearing in films as late as 1992. He was in demand at various Three Stooges conventions, and had numerous requests from Three Stooges fans to appear at their wedding to say "Hold hands, you lovebirds!" Emil Sitka died on January 16, 1998 in Camarillo, California, USA, from complications from a stroke. He is survived by four daughters and two sons. One of his sons, Saxon, has created the official Emil Sitka website in his honor —- http://www.emilsitka.com. Saxon carries on his father's legacy by appearing at Stooge conventions as often as possible. On his father's gravestone, the engraving "Hold hands, you lovebirds!" appears.

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Sunday, April 28, 2019

A most improbable bullseye

I was presenting a project in eighth grade science ecology class when a most improbable event occurred:

As I turned from the chalkboard where I had drawn some doodlebug Volkswagens and was preparing to explain a safety issue, one middle school colleague from the back row tossed his sharp paper airplane toward me, which I did not notice until it landed bullseye, sticking and staying bent in the double bridge and drooping between my eyeglass lenses and in so hard that I had to remove them to yank it out, which when I did revealed a pink dot mark right between the eyes.

The full class erupted in laughter as such a surprising impossible shot, which transcended the teacher even trying to apprehend the back row winning clown, as he and I both joined in the loud cacophonous laughter.

Monday, April 22, 2019

Intelligence: Knowns and Unknowns

From Wikipedia

From Intelligence: Knowns and Unknowns (1995), a report published by the Board of Scientific Affairs of the American Psychological Association:

Individuals differ from one another in their ability to understand complex ideas, to adapt effectively to the environment, to learn from experience, to engage in various forms of reasoning, to overcome obstacles by taking thought. Although these individual differences can be substantial, they are never entirely consistent: a given person's intellectual performance will vary on different occasions, in different domains, as judged by different criteria. Concepts of "intelligence" are attempts to clarify and organize this complex set of phenomena. Although considerable clarity has been achieved in some areas, no such conceptualization has yet answered all the important questions, and none commands universal assent. Indeed, when two dozen prominent theorists were recently asked to define intelligence, they gave two dozen, somewhat different, definitions.^[8]

Besides those definitions, psychology and learning researchers also have suggested definitions of intelligence such as:

Researcher	Quotation
Alfred Binet	Judgment, otherwise called "good sense", "practical sense", "initiative", the faculty of adapting one's self to circumstances ... auto-critique.^[9]
David Wechsler	The aggregate or global capacity of the individual to act purposefully, to think rationally, and to deal effectively with his environment.^[10]
Lloyd Humphreys	"...the resultant of the process of acquiring, storing in memory, retrieving, combining, comparing, and using in new contexts information and conceptual skills".^[11]
Howard Gardner	To my mind, a human intellectual competence must entail a set of skills of problem solving — enabling the individual to resolve genuine problems or difficulties that he or she encounters and, when appropriate, to create an effective product — and must also entail the potential for finding or creating problems — and thereby laying the groundwork for the acquisition of new knowledge.^[12]
Linda Gottfredson	The ability to deal with cognitive complexity.^[13]
Robert Sternberg & William Salter	Goal-directed adaptive behavior.^[14]
Reuven Feuerstein	The theory of Structural Cognitive Modifiability describes intelligence as "the unique propensity of human beings to change or modify the structure of their cognitive functioning to adapt to the changing demands of a life situation".^[15]
Shane Legg & Marcus Hutter	A synthesis of 70+ definitions from psychology, philosophy, and AI researchers: "Intelligence measures an agent's ability to achieve goals in a wide range of environments",^[5] which has been mathematically formalized.^[16]
Alexander Wissner-Gross	F = T ∇ S $_{\tau }$ ^[17] "Intelligence is a force, F, that acts so as to maximize future freedom of action. It acts to maximize future freedom of action, or keep options open, with some strength T, with the diversity of possible accessible futures, S, up to some future time horizon, τ. In short, intelligence doesn't like to get trapped".

Monday, April 15, 2019

I stumbled into a pal in France recently...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ue7wM0QC5LE

Jim Banholzer

Je suis tombé sur un copain récemment, qui a souligné que certains bébés essaieraient de vous dire qu'ils n'aiment tout simplement pas les Trois Stooges. Ces filles pensent que les seules fois où ces tasses mettent "les dames" sur un piédestal, c’est quand elles ont accidentellement relâché des souris dans une pièce. Je dis, "Ne fais pas attention à ce boiteux qui t'appelle bébé, idiot, tu n'as pas encore assez regardé les épisodes." Appelez-moi un malheureux, mais j'ai vu à plusieurs reprises des filles prétendant être anti-Stooge, améliorer leur vision de la vie avec un bon endoctrinement de la part de Drs. Howard et bien.

Mon amie Laura, une aficionado des Stooges récemment convertie. Elle avait catégoriquement affirmé qu'il n'y avait rien de sympathique à propos de ces ignorants. Puis un jour un épisode de cheval de swayback est venu à la télévision. Être une cavalière pour la vie, cela a attiré son attention. Les trois meilleurs jockeys étaient tous accrochés au même cheval pour leur vie bien garnie - galopant sauvagement dans des cercles à mouvements rapides, autour d’une arène des années 1920. Un craquement sourd émanant des lèvres de Laura se mit à éclater de rire, provoquant une conversion stupéfiante de son attitude envers les Stooges.

J'ai rencontré une autre fille en ville qui travaille dans un magasin vendant de la musique et des DVD. Elle est une greffe récente du sud de la France et a à peine entendu parler de Stooges high-jinx. Qu'est-ce qui a jamais incité les Français à filtrer les Stooges d'Amérique? Ils adorent Jerry Lewis, mais ne savent pas pour Moe? Se faisant passer pour un professeur de bonheur, je montrais quelques astuces astucieuses avec mes poings, en expliquant comment ils se frappaient jusqu'à atteindre une épiphanie "poirfect". Après avoir ajouté quelques nyuck-nyucks, elle aussi montra un léger amusement. Déterminée à ne pas faire partie de ces poussins "ne m'appelez pas poussin", j'ai senti un rayon d'espoir pour la TVHD en vue de son plaisir futur d'être assaillie par des Curley tourbillonnantes hilarantes.

Des volumes ont été écrits sur le pouvoir de guérison convaincant de la comédie. Les personnes en deuil qui ont perdu un être cher - certaines personnes qui ne rient plus depuis un an ou plus sont parfois doucement ramenées dans un monde plus supportable avec l'aide de la bonne essence de térébenthine de Staphe. Si plus de spectacles de cette nature sont illuminés par les théâtres du monde, peut-être que les parties adverses pourraient poser leurs bras fatigués, se détendre les doigts et partager quelques gloussements robustes. Nous pourrions même apprendre que glisser des tartes à la crème non ordonnées sur le visage de chacun ne fait que créer un désordre horrible à éponger.
Les dessinateurs et les humoristes jonglent parfois avec les clés de puissants véhicules de paix sans même s'en rendre compte. Tout comme les phares d’illumination uniques que poètes, artistes et athlètes rivalisent vaillamment, ce sera un parcours chaotique et chaotique qui dévalera les frontières robotiques avant que des lunkheads étouffés puissent égaler la véritable force de résistance des Stooges originaux. Si les Stooges pouvaient revenir, à quel point riraient-ils des générateurs de plaisanteries aléatoires d'aujourd'hui? Auraient-ils gaffaw avec moi pour être assez stupide de penser qu'ils riraient de mes singeries?

Récemment, les frères Farrelly (de la renommée Dumb & Dumber) et 20th Century Fox ont tenu des négociations positives, permettant à un nouveau film sur Three Stooges de faire un pas de plus vers une réalité saisissante. Une partie de leur scénario a été peaufinée il y a quelques étés ici dans l'atmosphère d'écriture sérieuse de Sun Valley, notamment des répétitions d'une opération sur une religieuse utilisant une brosse à dents électrique et un aspirateur dans l'une des chambres du pavillon. Une scène de chatouilles avec les côtes se développe avec la découverte d'un triangle dans la nonne semi-consciente. Cela s'ensuit lors d'une bagarre sur la table d'examen pour séparer le plus gros morceau de chance.

Ce n'est pas la première connexion à Idaho dans l'histoire de Stooges. Leur dernier film était "Kooks 'Tour", tourné dans le désert du Montana et de l’Idaho en 1970.

Les magasins locaux de l’Idaho qui louent ou vendent des CD et des DVD peuvent vous commander des serviettes chaudes remplies d’épisodes Stooges. J'espère que cette chronique a rassemblé les potentiels convertis pour faire basculer le sens du cheval chez le bébé français. Quand elle reviendra dans la France affamée de Stooge, elle pourra commencer à encourager son monde à s’arrêter, à regarder et à écouter la profondeur des paroles et des actes simples et bien pensés de ces trois sages. Peut-être même que les magistrats faisant autorité qui supervisent Médecins sans frontières vont commencer à recommander: "Prenez deux DVD Stooge et appelez-moi demain matin."

Dédié à Mattie 'Dudeges' Mckenzie - le meilleur imitateur Curley de l'Idaho.

Friday, April 12, 2019

Albinos & Addicts, no April fools

As I waited for the bus, a neighbor strolled by and we sparked up a spring conversation:

It’s nice to hear the birds, isn’t it?

I want to see that yellow cardinal whose been spotted in Pennsylvania.

Wonder who spied him on April Fools?

Yeah, what happens with suspending disbelief then?

We saw a white robin in this neighborhood three years back.

I spied a pair of albino squirrels cracking pine nuts in Great Falls.

They’re really not that uncommon, in a way.

Yeah, there’s supposed to be one for every ten thousand.

How long does it take to see 10,000 maniac squirrels though?

About the same can be said for the manic opioid epidemic.

True, it gets darn near one out of every thousand, real bad each season.

But everyone seems to know someone affected.

Yeah, that doesn’t sound right, must be more serious.

Or?

Albino’s & addicts, no April Fools

As I waited for the bus, a neighbor strolled by and she sparked up a spring conversation:

It’s nice to hear the birds, isn’t it?

I want to see that yellow cardinal whose been spotted in Pennsylvania.

Wonder who spied him, April Fools?

Yeah, what happens with suspending first disbelief then?

We saw a white robin in this neighborhood three years back.

I spied a pair of albino squirrels cracking pine nuts in Great Falls.

They’re really not that uncommon, in a way.

Yeah, there’s supposed to be one for every ten thousand.

How long does it take to see 10,000 maniac squirrels though?

About the same can be said for the manic opioid epidemic.

True, darn near turns outs one per thousand, real bad each season.

But everyone seems to know someone affected.

Yeah, that doesn’t sound right; must be more serious.

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Wednesday, April 10, 2019

My friend needs to use his blind spot

I’m grateful that my marginally disabled friend occasionally gives me needed car rides, but I feel I would appreciate him even more if it didn’t bother me so much when I watch him repeat specific parking patterns in the reserved handicapped spots.

When he first tried to obtain a permit for these, his physician wouldn’t sign for a placard and advised him that walking more would help immensely. He doctor shopped to secure one, not telling the other physicians what the first advised. Perhaps my friend exaggerated his difficulty, trying to gain quick empathy, because I see this too when he aims to park in reserved spots, with regular ones equally available mere steps away.

It’s as if he wants to identity with being disabled. I sometimes ask him, what about if someone with a more challenging disability direly needs the spot he’s just snagged? Someone blind who’s experienced a horrific crash or a quadriplegic needing wide berth, (which those spots provide) for maneuvering wheelchairs? But my friend simply insists for him, that it’s “first come, first serve.”

When I see his approach, it reminds me of the nine UCLA football players who counterfeited disability placards in 1999. This was a sad case of able-bodied men, who trained lifting weights and running miles, getting caught being parking cheats! My friend makes the argument that he needs the closest spot in the event of an icy pathway. Well, maybe so, but oddly those spots often are also the iciest, since they’re the closest ones to the building shade!

I would hope for on snow days my friend would don proper shoes or use lightweight cleats. And call on me to guide him to the door. If my friend would consider more mindful consideration toward those with less ambulatory capabilities, it would be a nice turn of a walk for him to take.

Perhaps a specific woman reading this will look at it and say, “I would never want to behave like Him.” Not realizing that is actually her to whom I refer, but changed her gender for just this reason.

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Thursday, May 30, 2019

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Thursday, May 09, 2019

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