Sunday, June 29, 2008

Mullah Nasruddin's Donkey










from Robert Anton Wilson's book, Cosmic Trigger I,

One day, the great and venerable Sufi sage, Mullah Nasruddin, was racing through the streets and alleyways of Baghdad, searching frantically for his lost donkey. The people became very excited, and went out to ask the great sage what he was looking for. Someone shouted out, "Mullah Nasruddin, what are you looking for?". The great sage responded, "I am searching for my lost donkey". Whereupon, the crowd replied back to the great sage, "Mullah Nasruddin, you are riding upon your donkey!".


Cosmic Trigger I, pg. 29,


We look for the Secret-the Philosopher's Stone, the Elixir of the Wise, Supreme Enlightenment, "God", or whatever the final answer might be-in all directions, north, east, south, and west, and all the time it is carrying us about.


Something to think about...

Monday, June 23, 2008

Great Goobledy-Goo !













Sometimes when it's just too much; the school, the work, the misrepresentations, the maltreatment, the unfairness of it all, all a man can do finally, is just throw up his hands, and exclaim - "Great Goobledy-Goo!".

That was the catch phrase of Fred Sanford's good friend, Grady Wilson, on TV's "Sanford and Son" from the 1970's. It's still rerun on different cable channels apparently, and was really part of the golden age of television.

In the midst of less than fortunate news from school, frustrations at work, leading to feelings of malaise combined with stunned surprise, I found myself simply throwing my hands up at one point this past week, and just shouting out, "Great Goobledy-Goo!", just like Grady used to when Fred would spring on him some impossible, outrageous-sounding news. "Great Goobledy-Goo!" just seemed like the most appropriate response this week to the incredible, the bizarre, and the outrageous.

Grady (actually, the actor Whitman Mayo) was one of those great side characters who would just come in and steal the show, and I was always happy when he appeared on "Sanford and Son" because he was just so damn funny! He was a befuddled, confused older man, with a heart of gold, and an outrageous perception of the world around him. It seems that many of my generation still remember him (how funny!) for his show-stealing performances, and Wikipedia had this to say about the actor, Whitman Mayo:

In 1996, the show Late Night with Conan O'Brien wished to use him in a sketch, but were unable to locate him. The show then started a tongue-in-cheek search for Mayo called "Where's Grady?". After three weeks and over 50,000 calls to NBC from fans who claimed to have spotted him, Mayo finally appeared on Late Night with Conan O'Brien to a standing ovation from the audience, and the highest ratings Late Night with Conan O'Brien had seen in years. Mayo revealed that it was his mother who told him of the search after a repairman saw his picture in her house and told her she could be eligible for a reward.

Unfortunately, Whitman Mayo died in 2001, but Grady Wilson is still out there somewhere, exclaiming, "Great Goobledy-Goo!" to a new generation of TV viewers, at all of the infamous, nonsensical, bizarre news that people receive everyday. I say Great Goobledy-Goo to you too, Grady, wherever you are.

Friday, June 06, 2008

Ahora Entendi (Now I Understand)









Ahora Entendi
Yuridia

(available on Itunes)


Nunca pense, quererte asi
(I never thought that I loved you like this)

Obsesionada te pedia para mi
(obsessed as I was that you asked for me)

No pregunte, solo te di
(I never asked, I only told you)

Lo que tenia fue asi
(how it had to be)

Que entendi
(How I understood)

Que no podia ser mas
(that it could never be more)

Que dejarte
(than for me to leave you)

He decidido empezar a olvidarte
(I have decided to begin to forget you)

Y te desesperada
(and with despair)

Hoy sigo buscando lentamente tu mirada
(I continue to search slowly for your glance)

Espera un segundo
(hoping for a second)

Y asi congelada
(and so it is frozen)

Me voy convenciendo que
(I am convinced that)

Entre ti y yo no habia nada
(between you and me there is nothing)

Y no encuentro el rumbo
(and I cannot find the path)

Y no encuentro el rumbo
(and I cannot find the path)



Aunque intente dejarte ir
(although I intended to leave you)

El universo te ponia frente a mi
(the universe put you in front of me)

Nunca pense
(I never thought)

Yo solo te di
(I only told you)

Lo que tenia fue asi
(how it had to be like this)

Que entendi
(That I understood)

Que no podia ser mas que dejarte
(that there was nothing more than to leave you)

He decidido empezar a olvidarte
(I had decided to begin to forget you)



Y desesperada
(and with despair)

Hoy sigo buscando lentamente tu mirada
(I continue searching slowly for your glance)

Y espera un segundo
(and hoping for a second)

Y asi congelada
(and so it is frozen)

Me voy convenciendo que
(I am convinced that)

Entre tu y yo no habia nada
(between you and me there is nothing)

Y no encuentro el rumbo
(and I cannot find the path)



Era un sueno verte entre mis brazos
(it was a dream to see you in my arms)

Y que tu amor llenara los espacios
(and your love filling the spaces)

Como hago para entender
(how it made me understand)

Donde guardo mi querer
(where I guard my love)

Y me olvido de tu piel
(and how I forgot your skin)

Y no encuentro el rumbo
(and I cannot find the path)

Nunca pense quererte asi
(I never though I would love you like this)

Ahora entendi que nunca fuiste para mi
(now I understood that you never felt that way for me)