Words’ End

Mine, apparently – at least, the last 17 years say so. And boy, are we in bad shape.

Achy throat, achy body, chills, inability to stay awake at 8pm, interrupty sleep… aw, man. Highly inconvenient. Well, at least I’ve got the Moon keeping me company in the skylight.

Oh, oh, read this. Please. Nicole nails several issues in ways I haven’t even thought of.

Two anniversaries were celebrated in the past two days, that I did not write about. But I’ve been thinking and reading, and learned a whole lot from Ari Kelman’s post on The Edge of the American West about Martin Luther King, Jr., whose birthday was celebrated (well, sorta) on the 21st.

I say sorta because, though it’s a federal holiday, and people do hold special events, it just doesn’t penetrate the collective psyche like 4th of July or Labor Day or whatnot. That’s hardly a surprise, I suppose.

And speaking of civil liberties, yesterday was 35 years since the Roe v. Wade ruling, which deemed laws against abortion unconstitutional. I know exactly where I stand on the issue: I’d defend every woman’s right to make the difficult choice of whether to have a child, but people also have (at least in the U.S.) the right to speak out against it. Of course, even recent history hasn’t been at all civil: women are harrassed, persecuted, people are killed by anti-choicers. Regardless of whether one thinks abortion is murder most foul, killing in retaliation perpetuates the problem of murder in a very concrete way. I wonder if this topic will generate any productive nationwide conversation in my lifetime.

This weekend I’ll be giving away a lot of my stuff. (Are you local, and did I fail to send you an invite? Comment on Words’ End or email me.) This includes six bookshelves’ worth of books, and other miscellany besides. I feel lighter [on my feet] already, an unusual sensation in this season of weighty skies.

At a weekly teachings/meditation group this morning, conversation turned to… Dubya. If love and compassion for all beings is a goal, how do you reconcile that with strong negative feelings you have towards someone, whether a world leader or anyone else affecting your life in significant and negative ways?

Someone said that it helps her to think of humans like this as people who are seeking peace and love and contentment in their own ways, which she may or may not understand. We may disagree with how they’re going about attaining that contentment – even strongly enough to attempt counteracting the effects of their actions sometimes, when the price they are willing to pay is too high. But the fact of this quest is in itself worthy of compassion.

Then there’s something else. Negative feelings directed toward another human being happen sometimes. Like thoughts happen while you’re meditating. With the latter, it’s useless to deny their existence: you acknowledge them, detach your self from them, watch them pass like clouds. Over and over, gently, until (presumably; I haven’t gotten to that point yet) they stop coming. Maybe the negativity is like those thoughts; we can acknowledge it, but channel whatever feelings arise into love and compassion, and act from there. The resulting action may be the same; but where it comes from will inform its true content and impact, and maybe even how it is perceived by others.

Just idle thoughts; as my mom would say, I have an A in theory. Practice is harder. But in the meantime, I give you “Imagine This.” Do watch the video; it’s strangely inspiring and thoughtful, not at all a mockery, as I had expected it to be.

If you haven’t inspired me yet and feel like doing so, please comment there. And if you have, thank you. What people have written so far has brought home the astonishing reserves of kindness manifest in those I know.

What brings you profound contentment? Must be (optionally or necessarily) solitary.

What I like about this small collection of links is that none of them came from News of the Weird. This is all off my feed reader – you know, BBC, Wired, ScienceBlogs, personal blogs, that sort of thing. On to the articles of interest:

If your surgeon is a videogaming geek and has played around with a Wii, you may be in luck! Chances are, her skills have improved.

I love Norway: “A millionaire real-estate magnate and art dealer from Setesdal in southern Norway has been fined NOK 425,000 (USD 85,000) for drunk driving, and been further required to chop wood for 30 days.”

Hey, baby, want to see my spy gear?

And on a slightly more serious note, here’s a well-written article on the politics of legal and illegal drugs. Even if the author get just a tad too earnest, I am thankful for publications like SFGate, which run these stories from time to time to remind us that the war on drugs has nothing to do with science.

MacBook Air! So slim, so slick, such a great screen, so light!

…But only one USB port and no Firewire? What’s up with that? I guess I could live without an Ethernet port – they have an adapter for that – and maybe a small USB hub would be ok… but still! No Firewire? So it’d take forEVER to back up unless I buy a Time Capsule? Bah.

I’ll stick with my MacBook Pro for now, especially, you know, with the whole job thing. The biggest problem with my current machine is its extreme overheating abilities (burn baby burn!), and really, I’ll deal – plus, other gadgets and projects will have much higher priority even when I do have a job. But, as every year, it’s hard not to get excited about all the cool new Apple toys.

Dear Mr. Zafrin:

[ha, Mr. again]

This is to acknowledge receipt of your application materials for the position of Coolness in the Local University Libraries. Resume review is currently in progress and you will be notified by the end of the month as to the status of your candidacy.

Cool deal, I like knowing a timeline. But acknowledging receipt of my app two months after I submitted it electronically makes me giggle in both amusement and frustration. Particularly since another Local University managed to lose my application somewhere between [electronic-only] submission and its ultimate destination. So the person who was to review it didn’t receive it until Friday before Christmas. Way to keep me on my toes, Academe (and yet, I love you so).

I’ll only get through this job search if I don’t take anything personally. In the job search or in my personal life, for that matter. This is where the Buddhists come in handy: when there’s nothing to do, do nothing. Sit there. Abide, don’t think, and so on. Well, maybe think on the Nature of Things. But, if possible, without actually thinking.

In other news, I’ve found a favorite employment recruiter. She’s awesome, thorough and just casual enough to put me entirely at ease while instilling me with complete confidence in her abilities. Rock on.