Of Beets and Other Listening Devices

"It has never been my object to record my dreams, just to realize them." ~ Man Ray

This morning when I woke, the dream I'd been dreaming was fresh in my mind. Some of the dreams I have are complete stories, others are fragments, scenes or simply images. Unlike artist Man Ray, it was indeed my object to record my dreams. To realize them, I am not so sure.

I'd developed the habit of keeping a dream journal when I was in junior high school. For six years I wrote hundreds of pages of detail. When it started I felt my night life, or subconscious imagination, was far more interesting than my mundane suburban existence.

The habit eventually dissipated when I went to college. Occasionally, however, as a young artist I would paint a scene from a dream. I remember one painting I'd done, maybe four by six feet, of two boys in swimsuits looking at a floating mattress. An image from a dream.

This morning I woke with a dream scene involving president elect Obama. The image was of a steak being served in the White House. On the plate was what appeared to be a slice of beet. In actuality, it was a listening device developed by the CIA or some other organization that deals with secret things like listening devices, etc. They were especially proud of this one, because it was so real that if you ate it, it could be chewed and eaten just like a beet. No evidence left behind.

They had several other such devices they were working on, all of them food items. A slice of cucumber, a slice of tomato. The tomato slice was totally juicy looking.

Honestly, I don't know what any of it means, but upon waking it was fun to ponder. What are you pondering today? Does it have anything to do with eating your vegetables?

Have a great day. And keep dreaming. It's one of the most original things any of us can do.

PHOTO CAPTION: A plate of eggs, bread and jalapeno is actually more than it appears. Which is the listening device? (click images to enlarge)

Unremembered History, part 4

SHORT STORY MONDAY

Last week, the prophecy was fulfilled that had been given by gypsies upon his birth in England. After marking the tree where an Indian became a man, the Olneys move back East to carve out a different sort of future for themselves... and future history.

Unremembered History of the World, part 4

It happened that back east in Philadelphia young Charles made the acquaintance of a certain Mr. Trent who introduced him to a Mr. Benjamin Franklin. As apprentice and protege to Mr. Franklin, his linguistic fluency and marked self-assurance enabled Olney to obtain entrance to the most influential persons of the age.

His unique ideas about Destiny resulted in a series of debates in Parliament with regard to the future of the Colonies. The combined effect of his writings and the distribution of his ideas via the presses of Franklin led to a Declaration of Freedom in 1775. Without the shedding of blood a Nation of Colonies was born called the United States of America.

Olney became an Ambassador to Europe and travelled extensively. His ideas regarding freedom, trust and Destiny had a broad impact there as well. On his second journey he brought with him sister Elizabeth who remained there and became a Countess in the region now called Austria. Her influence among the Courts of Europe inspired Napoleon to dismantle his armies and ushered in the first Hundred Years Peace.

Meanwhile, in the United States a certain Rogers Olney, first born son of Charles, after touring the Southwest Territories determined that a Fairness Doctrine should be developed with regards to the treatment of lands yet divided. Rogers' vision for a Fruitful Self-Determination became the underpinning of a Mutual Respect Policy between the United States and Santa Ana, then reigning in Mexico. In one of the most remarkable agreements in history, a settlement was reached whereby the Southwest was provided the opportunity to freely determine its future direction. Ultimately, a half century later, this became the Open Border Policy, with a free exchange of wealth and cultural enrichment flowing in both directions. The resultant stability south of the border provided a foundation for peaceful development in all of Latin America. From 1820 onward there were no more revolutions in Mexico and widespread freedom and advancement for all nations to our south.

In the late 1840's Harrison Olney had begun to see the importance of resolving the slavery issue in this country and undertook it as his life work. His cousin, the late Marshall Fleming, as an aide to Disraeli had successfully ushered England to an emancipation for its slaves, without rancor, without cost of life.

Harrison, grandson of Charles, thrice brought his eloquent tongue to the Supreme Court, and to the United States Congress on several occasions. Due to his influence, an equitable emancipation was achieved in 1855, without bloodshed. The country continued to prosper.

With the rich natural resources of its land and an abundance of ingenuity, America rose swiftly to new heights in the world older, respected for its ethics, industriousness and compassion. Descendants of Charles and Elizabeth Olney became leaders in industrial, academic and political life. It came as no surprise that in 1880 an Olney became 18th president of the United States.

The influence of Olneys in Europe was equally remarkable. More than a century had passed without a significant armed conflict. When factions threatened the stability of Europe in the early Twentieth Century, it was Sir William "Sparky" Donovan, great grandson of Countess Elizabeth, who calmed the waters and provided a safe passage for future generations.

In 1920's Germany, because of the economic boom and the lack of a catalyst, a young malcontent named Hitler failed to gain popular support for his strange notions of a Master Race. His fiery rhetoric found no home in the hearts of his hearers, and he resigned himself to operating a pub in Munich where he spent his years developing novel and pointless theories of world conquest.

In Russia, Communism likewise failed to take hold. Affectionately known to the Royal Court as Sir Sparky, Donovan persuaded the Tsar to distance himself from the power-mad Rasputin. Once free of Rasputin's influence, a change came over the royal family and generosity became the ruling ethic of the new era. With its own vast natural resources and an open society, Russia likewise experienced economic growth that invited the united participation of its several regions.

In short, the achievements of the descendants of this one man, Thomas Olney, reverberated throughout the world. In fact, descendants of Olney gained distinction in every field of endeavor, from anthropology to zoology, linguistics to physics, literature and the arts to economics and finance.

In the late twentieth century, Judith Remington-Olney, a biologist and high ranking official in the Red Leaf Foundation (an organization devoted to studying the relationship between trees and humans) developed the notion that it is possible to communicate with trees, that every tree has a story and if one were properly attuned, these stories could contribute in some way to human understanding. (The impetus for her ideas came from a fragment of a dream in which a tree became a man and she heard a voice saying, "I see men as trees walking.")

Remington-Olney enjoyed hiking through the forests of Pennsylvania where she lived and especially in the Blue Mountains. Her father told her stories about the Olneys who settled in Pennsylvania a long time ago, and she often wondered what it must have been like so deep in the wilderness, so far from civilization. She wondered, too, if some of the trees in these old hills once knew her great great great great grandparents. And she often wondered what tales they would tell if they could speak. It was during these hikes that she cultivated her theories of Biological Communication.

What if trees really were the souls of men? What if the spirits of the dead were the Life Force that germinated the seeds of trees in the forest? What if Heaven was nothing more than becoming a tree, arms outstretched, in perfect harmony with the world, ever worshiping the life-giving sun?

These were strange thoughts, but stranger still was her conviction that she could, by some deep magic of the forest, turn a tree into a man. Where this notion came from, from God or the devil, she knew not. It was a powerful idea and it gripped her like nothing ever had before.

CONTINUED

Following Gaza On Twitter

In the 1970's Dr. Francis Schaeffer wrote a book called How Should We Then Live? about the rise and decline of Western thought and culture. The book was eventually made into a ten part film series shown in churches around the world.

In one of the films Dr. Schaeffer did a sequence that showed how the media can manipulate viewers by the way they cover events. To illustrate he showed a television news story covering a riot with footage of student protesters being beaten by police in riot gear. Close-ups of kids getting their heads bashed, blood flowing, and a newscaster expressing empathy for these non-violent protesters all worked together to make an impression that tugged at heartstrings. Conclusions easily included the sense that police were overreacting, unnecessarily violent, heartless.

Then, Schaeffer presented an newscast with scenes of police getting hit by bricks, with men in blue who attended to injuries their companions had suffered at the hands of radicals. The newsperson spoke of the need for more police to restrain the radicals, contain the violence and smash the perpetrators. This version ofevents created empathy for the police who had to deal with these unruly criminals.

Schaeffer then allowed the audience to see a third view of the very same event. In this third piece of footage, we saw both the violent students and non-violent, the injured police and the brutal. We saw how the camera angles and interpretation of events can create sympathy either for those in authority or to rebels and protesters.

I am thinking of Israel and Gaza tonight. It is difficult to get one's bearings in a world where there are so many voices strenuously interpreting for us what is happening. It may even be impossible to ascertain accurately what is going on so far away. Certainly one way to get half of a picture in focus is to view many sides, listen with an ear open to new ideas and avoid kneejerk rejection of things that do not correspond to our preconceived conclusions.

Twitter proved to be an interesting tool with regard to the coverage of our recent presidential election. Twitter likewise helped break the news regarding the Mumbai massacre. Now, we have Gaza, and if you're interested, you can follow here what the Twitter community is saying regarding this current conflict which has now passed sixteen days. Dr. Schaeffer's admonition to be aware of the camera angle still holds true.

Grass

"A house divided against itself cannot stand" ~ Abraham Lincoln

In case you haven't heard, you will. This year will mark Abe Lincoln's 200th birthday, or bicentennial. b. February 12, 1809.

The more one reads about our sixteenth president, the more one understands why he has been revered as one of the great ones. In part, the opportunity to display one's greatness emerges through moments of crisis. One of my favorite Lincoln quotes actually deals with that very thing: "Prepare oneself and the opportunity will come." Lincoln rose to the occasion because he had spent years in personal development.

One of the more significant speeches he ever gave was ruthlessly criticized by most of the media when he gave it. It was "too short." Only the Chicago Tribune noted its incredible power and depth. The other speaker that day blustered on for two hours. The Trib predicted that in a hundred years Lincoln's great speech would still be read. Turns out they got it right.

The address was delivered in a ceremony at Gettysburg on the heels of one of the Civil War's bloodiest encounters. It is a distillation of thought which exemplifies the writerly dictum, "Less is more."

The Gettysburg Address
Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.

Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure. We are met on a great battle-field of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of that field, as a final resting place for those who here gave their lives that that nation might live. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this.

But, in a larger sense, we can not dedicate -- we can not consecrate -- we can not hallow -- this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us -- that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion -- that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain -- that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom -- and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.

The Gettysburg battlefield is more than just a place. It is a symbol of something bigger. Carl Sandburg, who won a Pulitzer Prize for his biography of Lincoln, incorporates some of this into a poem called Grass, which has echoes in the song Where Have All the Flowers Gone and other anti-war songs popularized by Joan Baez and her contemporaries.

Grass
Pile the bodies high at Austerlitz and Waterloo.
Shovel them under and let me work -
I am the grass; I cover all.

And pile them high at Gettysburg
And pile them high at Ypres and Verdun.
Shovel them under and let me work.
Two years, ten years, and passengers ask the conductor:
What place is this?
Where are we now?

I am the grass.
Let me work.

Cruel and Unusual

"When the truth is replaced by silence, the silence is a lie." ~ Yevgeny Yevtushenko

Three decades ago I picked up Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn's Gulag Archipelago and couldn't put it down. It's a fairly massive volume of story after story of the horrors committed in Soviet Russia under communism. Without a free press, a whole system of atrocity could exist. It was a horror, and not the way civilized peoples were meant to co-exist in "the good society."

Solzhenitsyn detailed a brutality limited only by the imaginations of men. These are the kinds of things one imagines Kurtz was referring to in Conrad's Heart of Darkness when he uttered that verdict on the nature of his heart: "The horror." Yet Kurtz himself simultaneously confides, "I had immense plans."

Conrad's story is a work of fiction, though often fiction can be a better mirror of reality than what passes for non-fiction sometimes.

The twentieth century has been filled with horror. Pol Pot in Cambodia, Saddam Hussein in Iraq, the Ottoman Turks' efforts to eliminate the Armenians, Mao's starvation of 35 million Chinese peasants in the fifties. Much of what was going down occurred because in these dark places there was no free press. There was no light.

But when the lights were turned on at Abu Graib, it made us uncomfortable to discover that our country had been similarly making horror. When the pictures hit the Internet, Americans winced. That's because our Eighth Amendment to the Constitution states: Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted. This kind of thing could not be condoned. Yet in other places, out of sight and out of mind, horrors will continue unabated.

On another front, the fighting continues in Gaza. The Israeli army has fired on aid trucks and a Red Cross ambulance trying to help the wounded. Innocents are starving, but who will intercede? The U.N. Security Council has called for a cease fire in a 14-0 vote (the U.S. abstained), but will there be any action taken? At least in this situation, there are cameras rolling, and people of conscience can at least see what is going on, if they would but look.

No wonder Dylan once wrote, "I've seen the kingdoms of this world, and it's making me feel afraid."

Low Intensity Conflict

One of the most amazing aspects of the Internet is its ability to bring people together who would never meet otherwise. My very first article about the Internet resulted in my being contacted by an African man who was then working for Hitachi in Japan.

I met Agha Amin through an invitation to contribute to his blog, Low Intensity Conflict, somewhere in the middle of 2008. When I told him the photo at the top of his blog was too large (the aftermath of a suicide bomber) and took too long to download, he had it fixed by the next day. It intrigued me how humble, undefensive and open Agha was.

A retired Pakistan army officer, Major Amin was born in Karachi, Pakistan in September, 1961. Like me, he is a writer who graduated with a Fine Arts degree, though he's on the other side of the world, Forman Christian College of Lahore, 1980.

His favorite hobbies today include reading (favorite book War & Peace), music, scotch, trekking, walking, and squash. The following is an interview with this astute man from half a world away.

ennyman: What is the meaning of Low Intensity Conflict Review
Agha: Initially the idea was to discuss the low intensity conflict in Asia. However later a blog member Wil , a lady from the USA questioned the idea and I thought that the idea of the blog should be wider. This lady Wil also did the layout of the blog.

ennyman: When did you start this blog and what prompted you to do it?
Agha: The idea of starting the blog was to interact with people, put my writings on the blog and learn something from others with similar interests. I had learnt about blogging from BBC radio in Kabul in 2006. Actually, initially I had put all my essays on a Yahoo group which I started in October 2005 while i was in Kabul. Frankly I did not know what a blog was when I read some blogs while searching Google in November 2007.

ennyman: What is the biggest thing you have learned since starting this blog?
Agha: The biggest thing that I have learnt is that no knowledge is perfect at every stage in life. You are ignorant about many things and that learning is a lifelong process.

ennyman: When we think of Pakistan, we don’t readily picture school people playing hockey or squash. How widespread are these sports and what other sports are popular in Pakistan?
Agha: In Pakistan the popular sport is cricket which every type of people play. This is a passion, although I do not like it. The next most popular sports are hockey (British type) and football. I have played squash and some badminton. Then there are some more specialized sports like polo and golf. Polo and golf are very cheap for army officers as they can use the army golf clubs and horses. For all others these are expensive. Golf is very cheap for an army officer again, serving or retired , and he can play golf with something like 35 or 45 USD a month including the caddy who carries the kit. These sports are expensive however for civilians. However, polo is very cheap in northern areas including Hunza where every village has a team. There polo is a national sport.

ennyman: When did you begin writing and what kinds of writing do you do?
Agha: I started serious reading around 1973 at age of 12 and started writing around 1975. However as is normal in Pakistan new writers are always discouraged and not published. I wrote many research papers for my seniors in military academy which they published in their own name. My first writing was published as letters to editor in Pakistan army journal in December 1989. First article was published in Pakistan army journal in March 1991. First article in the more exclusive staff college journal Citadel was published in March 1994. Then I was editor of a monthly globe from August 2001 and also of defence journal from August 2001 till May 2002.

I also wrote for newspapers although the papers in Pakistan never pay you in between June 2001 and June 2004. I was also editor of The Journal of Afghanistan Studies in Kabul from June 2004 till September 2005.

ennyman: It all sounds very interesting. What kind of role did you play in the Afghan war against the Soviets in the 1980’s? I know Pakistan had its hands full with refugees.
Agha: During the Afghan war I was in a tank corps and not directly involved except training some Mujaheddin on Soviet BMP tactics as an instructor in tank school in 1990-81. My second cousin Salman was the main man in training these bastards.

ennyman: There are many who believe Osama Bin Laden is alive and well somewhere in Pakistan. Where do you believe he is? Do you think the United States will find him or do they have a different game plan?
Agha: I don't think that OBL is alive. If alive, he is in a main Pakistani or UAE city.

ennyman: The Mumbai tragedy certainly ratcheted up tensions between India and Pakistan again. What will it take to bring a lasting peace between these two nations?
Agha: The Mumbai affair will have long term effects on Indo Pak relations and negative ones.

ennyman: I see that you are a retired major, yet you are quite young. What do you plan to do with the rest of your life?
Agha: My plans are not clear. I want to relocate to some other country, however.

Thank you for your time and your ongoing efforts to bring illumination to issues that are often complex and hidden.

Ramble On

"I have no special gift. I am only passionately curious." ~ Albert Einstein

What was it that made men like Einstein and Newton and Copernicus and Aristotle stand out from the herd? Einstein puts his finger on the nub of it right there. They were inordinately curious. They asked questions. They wanted to understand how the world worked. They didn't just accept things as they were.

For some reason, when we're kids we're taught that "curiosity killed the cat." This is repeated ad nauseaum in our childhood so as to make curiosity something bad, like lying. In reality, curiosity is part of the fabric of who we are. And it is essential to learning.

Making art is a thrill for creative personalities because it employs curiosity in the process of creation. What will happen if I do this? What happens if I do that? There is a sense of being an audience to one's own creations.

By way of contrast, most artists I know hate the way our culture wants "products" which can be reproduced. There's nothing more boring for an artist than mass production. It stunts this natural desire to see what will happen if I color it this way or that. Business people may like mass production for its efficiencies and the revenues generated. But I don't know many artists who want to make 1,000 identical baskets of flowers, teddy bears and ribbons.

According to our friend Merriam-Webster, the word ramble is an intransitive verb of 15th century Middle English origin which means to move aimlessly from place to place or to explore idly. I like the second part of that first definition: "To explore idly."

When we allow our minds to ramble and roam, amazing things happen. We discover gems. We find connections between new ideas and past experiences. There's a therapeutic aspect to it as well.

Every once in a while it's OK for our minds to drift, our thoughts to ramble. I don't know if it's healthy to keep our thoughts tightly coiled all the time. This might be a facet of music's wonder in that as we lose ourselves in the rhythms and harmonies and contours of sounds, whether sweet or discordant, we find a measure of freedom from our inward tyrannies.

Rambling as a lifestyle is also energizing for some. I know a few writers who travel the world, writing articles about what they see here, there and everywhere. I'm sure it's fascinating to meet so many interesting people, become engaged in so many cultures, to see so many scenic wonders.

But books can do a lot for us, too. And surfing the net, idly rambling across an uncharted sea of URLs... There really are marvels out there.

Relax. Enjoy the view. Ramble on.

NOTE: ALL ART AND IMAGES ON THIS BLOG ARE MY OWN CREATIONS UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED. FEEL FREE TO BORROW WHAT YOU SEE HERE SO LONG AS ATTRIBUTION IS GIVEN. COPYRIGHT ED NEWMAN