Mindwalk

Mindwalk




film directed by Bernt Amadeus Capra, based on his own short story, based in turn on the book The Turning Point by his brother Fritjof Capra, the author of the book The Tao of Physics.
The majority of the movie is a conversation among three characters: a Norwegian scientist, Sonia Hoffman—"the only woman in my department, the first in Norway doing quantum field theory"—played by Liv Ullmann, an American politician—a former presidential candidate—Jack Edwards, played by Sam Waterston, and poet Thomas Harriman, also a former political speechwriter (played by John Heard) as they wander around Mont Saint Michel, France. The movie serves as an introduction to systems theory and systems thinking, while insights into modern physical theories such as quantum mechanics and particle physics are also given.
Political and social problems, and alternative solutions for them, are another major focus of the film. However, specific problems and solutions are not the main focus; rather, different perspectives are presented through which these problems can be viewed and considered. Sonia Hoffman's perspective is referred to as the holistic, or systems theory, perspective. Thomas Harriman, the poet, recites the poem "Enigmas" by Pablo Neruda (based on the translation by Robert Bly) at the end of the movie, concluding the core of the discussion.
The film was filmed on the mount, and thus has great views of many structures there, especially approach over the tidal flats, the cathedral, the walkways, most especially the giant and ancient clock mechanism.


Info from From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


Directed by Bernt Capra
Produced by Klaus Lintschinger (executive)
Written by Bernt Capra (story)
Floyd Byars & Fritjof Capra (screenplay)
Starring Liv Ullmann
Sam Waterston
John Heard
Music by Philip Glass
Cinematography Karl Kases
Editing by Jean-Claude Piroué
Distributed by Triton Pictures
Release date(s) September 9, 1990
Running time 112 min.

2 Pieces for Miles Davis

Notes from a lonely gravedigger


Her grave is sinking,
My heart is a splintered thing.
Sonny disappeared one day after Miles death,
No one to play tenor sax for..
The most important being in my life
Has exited stage left.
There's no act to follow...


6/26/08

****************************************************
Four Months...


Four months since the death of Miles Davis.
I'm a scarecrow with no crop to look over,
A poet without his muse.
My partner in crime was too many steps ahead
She took the right exit, every one I try is
Locked and fire is on the other side.


5/31/08

Check out Benji Hughes

How Many Birds from A little Extreme Ep
This came from kcrw.com


His amazing debut is a double album, 25 track album "A Love Extreme" will be out July 22nd released on New West Records. This is something not to be missed!!!. He covers alot of ground here. He's one of North Carolina's best songwriters & voice. I was once an Artist/Writer at Witzen's Gallery in Charlotte,N.C. in the late 90's and saw Benji perform a solo set on an old,out of tune upright piano and it was truly moving. Artist without ego, melody & humor firmly in his grasp. An entertainer which never fails to impress(IMHO).

He is on tour now with Rilo Kiley. Benji will be making a solo stop in Charlotte on June 13th at Snug Harbor. Hope to see you there!

You can also see Benji Hughes "Girl in the Tower" video from Love Extreme. As well as other videos of him. I've loved his work going back to his previous bands; my favorite Muscadine and also The Golden Rods. You can find Muscadine's cd "Ballad of Hope Nicholls" from 1997 at Amazon. Benji Hughes & Jonathan Wilson (his myspace)were the main songwriters in that band but Trey (drums) & Matt (Bass) were also the backbone to a well-oiled musical machine. It is an incredible cd, ahead of their time and not promoted properly.I've seen them live countless times. They should have been HUGE. You can see some videos of Muscadine on youtube.

Keep your ear to the blogsphere,hopefully you'll be hearing alot more about Benji Hughes...
http://www.myspace.com/benjihughes



All the best to you & yours,
sleepmonk

"Centennial Bulb" still burning after 107 years

"Centennial Bulb" still burning after 107 years
Wed May 14, 2008 10:44AM EDT
See Comments (223)

Buzz up!on Yahoo!Hanging about 18 feet high in the engine bay of a Livermore, California firehouse, a humble, low-watt light bulb has been burning almost continuously since 1901. Take that, halogen!

The Los Angeles Times (via Boing Boing) recently ran a story on the remarkably resilient Centennial Bulb—a four-watt, curlicue carbon-filament lightbulb that, give or take a few brief interludes, has been burning for 24 hours a day, seven days a week for more than a century.

The bulb has become something of a lucky charm for Livermore firefighters, who (according to the LA Times story) won't even dust off the bulb for fear of damaging it.

Indeed, when the department moved to a new fire station in 1976, firefighters decided to cut the power cord rather than unscrew the fragile bulb from its socket. A motorcade of fire trucks then accompanied the Centennial Bulb (which, according to Wikipedia, was only off for about 22 minutes during the short journey) to its new home, where it's been burning continuously ever since.

What's the secret to the Centennial Bulb's longevity? As the LA Times story notes, there are many theories. One former firefighter thinks it's because the bulb, made by the long-defunct Shelby Electric Co., shines in a cool-burning vacuum thanks to a perfect seal. Others chalk it up to the fact that the bulb has almost never been turned off.

In any case, the Centennial Bulb has been drawing curiosity-seekers and news stories (including, of course, this one) since 1972, and the bulb even has its own Web site—which, unfortunately, appears to be down for now (probably due to a burst of traffic).

Check out the LA Times Web site for the full story, including many more details on the bulb's storied history.

So, any theories on why the Centennial Bulb has been burning for so long?

Related:
At 107, Livermore centennial lightbulb is still a real live wire [Los Angeles Times]


If you click on the Title at the top it will take you to the Wikipedia page about the light bulb

Friday, February 01, 2008

Miles Davis is dead. May 10, 1996-Jan.31, 2008

Miles Davis died yesterday in the early morning at the Vet. We had been together 11 years and 9 months. We were interconnected, knowing what each other needed. I will try and remember all the wonderful time we spent together but her death is harder to deal with than the fire in March.

I used this line many times in my poetry over the years and it's still true today.

"Life without Miles is inconceivable".

You were not just a cat, you were my child.

Wednesday, March 21, 2007

Wednesday, March 21, 2007

My condo burned up Saturday morning, March 10.

I am okay and so is my cat. My friends and family have been so great and supportive.

I just can't believe all 25 years of my writing and all of my paintings and no photos of them. As if they never existed. I lost my keys ,wallet, clothes and just a few things survived but smoke will never leave them.

The photos are from a very good friend & neighbor. He came out of his apartment and started taking pictures. Which I am oddly glad he did. It kind of perserves the most devastating day in my life. He took around 50 photos. Some at the time of the fire and a few days after it happened. The photo on the top right is especially eerie to me. On the right side, you can see me in my underwear leaning against the ivy fence, wondering WTF? The photo of the firemen makes me think of Afghan Whigs "Black Love". Then there's the photo of me beside all my melted music. Can you tell I didn't want my picture taken? I was going to keep the cat carrier but decide against it.

I have Home Owner Insurance and have called the phone,cable,power co. and all that type of stuff. Does anyone have any suggestions of how to deal with such a disaster? Any thoughts and anyone with such experience would be most appreciated.

Thank you,

Robert

sleepmonk