Conversations with a rat

“So we live forever?” Asked the rat.

“Well, yes, but more than that.” I replied.  “We are all part of everything.  When you also then consider ‘all time’ we are part of that too.  So take all of time and everything in the Universe and hold it in your mind… Your life, my life, and all things are in that bundle.  All things that have ever been or ever will be; that is like a kind of omnipotence.  So by that definition we are part of God.  If God is all this… well then, why can’t he or she do anything, be anything in that bundle—any time in that bundle?”

“I don’t think my rat brain can handle all that.” He squeaked.

I laughed. “Maybe not.  How about a French fry?”

“Oh that sounds nice!”

I pulled out a chip and blew on it to cool it down.  The rat danced and scampered in anticipation.  When it was just cool enough to prevent burning the small pet I held it out to him.  His little rat nose darted for it and tugged.  I held it playfully and he put all four legs in to it.  I let go and he immediately, proudly marched the trophy in to his hut.  I watched him furiously nibble on his prize.  He paused and looked up.

“Will it hurt at the end?”

My smile dimmed.  “Yes, probably some.  Life is like that.”

“I don’t like things that hurt.”

I settled back in my chair.  “I don’t like them either.  But they teach us how important other things are.  Things like how wonderful today is with you here.”

“Am I wonderful?” He asked with one paw still holding the fry.

“Yes!” I laughed.  “You are wonderful.”

“You do realize that I’m a rat? I think you might be crazy.”

I shrugged.  “Probably.  But I don’t think anyone will mind.  You have interesting things to say.”

“Mmmhmmm… And you have the most delightful sleeves to nap in.”

“Well, then.  I guess we get along.”

Am I a terrorist?

In response to the suggestion that because I support Occupy Wall Street movements and some of those members are communists, anarchists, antisemites, and various other violence inspired nutballs... am I one of those too by association?  Am I advocating violence which has or would kill Americans?

I'm saying that degree of awful bloodshed is going to happen whether we choose to accept it or not. I'm not advocating. I do not think it is necessary. But it is *inevitable* if the small fraction of wealth holders do not recognize their obligation to police themselves in such a way as to allow the vast majority to have basic human rights which really boil down to reasonable freedom from pain, safety of your person and your family, food, shelter, and education.

I, personally, do not advocate anarchy, bloodshed, antisemitism, or any of the rest of that. I do recognize that some portion of OWS movement is made up of some of these nutballs, but that still does not change the fact that international financial agencies with no elected authority control my life, your life, and the lives of billions of people so that a handful can play dice and enjoy ridiculous indulgence. Not just gross indulgence, but ridiculous indulgence. And not "Americans can no longer afford 3 cars" hardship, but 700,000 people in a single tech factory in China are kept in a compound to slavishly produce iPads 16 hours a day kind of hardship. Wall Street has reach far outside of America--by design!

So spare me your tears for dead Americans. We've killed millions with our exploitation and ravenous demand more and more Wal-Mart crap. We've driven whole nations in to poverty. We sparked wars for profit and oil. We've bombed the fuck out of people who live in stone huts. We've backed banana republics, put dictators in to power, and face stomped on the human rights of dozens of nations. We are the god damned terrorists. And it all comes back to the unbridled greed most aptly represented by Wall Street. I wish to god it wasn't true. 

That degree of greed and exploitation will come to end... willingly or unwillingly... without bloodshed if we are smart and with unholy bloodshed if we are blind. Not because I wish it or think it is the only way. But because I know parents will not watch their children starve and die of treatable illness while blocks away other children are fed to obesity and the stores are stacked full of medicine. That parent isn't going to care if what they are doing is right or wrong. When there are thousands of grieving hate-filled parents and we've given them no other option because we find every excuse in the book to ignore them, then blind rage takes over. It is a historical lesson taught for thousands of years. This situation is dire. If *only* a few Americans die we will be lucky.

That is why I support OWS... to avoid the violence that will come.  If the message gets through and the greed is tempered with wisdom and compassion--just a little--then we have a chance to adjust and avoid any violence at all.  Make no mistake OWS *should* be 100% non-violent.  We don't require it and it actually won't solve the problems, only set us up for another round of bloodshed later.  But if we learn this time to take rational stock and step back from the edge, then there is hope that we are learning.  Hope that we can be compassionate even in the face of lesser economics.  That is what I hope for.

The Kaitoke Rivendell trail video blog

Episode 1:


Episode2:

iPad Blog Test

Just some random stuff for tesing out iPad blogging.

30 days hath December

My folks are trying to book tickets for their visit in December through January.  They'll be here 30 days and with them they are bringing Sabrina.  Travel is inconstant between New Zealand and the US.  Invariably things go awry and because of these I haven't seen her in more than 2 years.

30 days seems like such a short time now.  I did the math and if each of those days were mapped to a year then each day would be equal to 12 days.  My heart flutters at the sensation of time rushing by so fast.  Each day like 12!  A month every 2 and half days.  Time is so precious.  That is just my thought for the day.

Got Milk?

Ah those crazy little ads from the American Dairy Association.  I'm not sure what they are running today, but I do recall the milk industry doing a little marketing to keep us all consumers.  America is the number 2 milk producer in the world with you know 300 million people and all.  But did you know that New Zealand is the 9th largest dairy producer? Ninth... 3.5 million people.  That's a lotta milk per person.

Dairy is king here like corn is king in Nebraska.  New Zealand is still a very agricultural nation where milk export prices are tracked as closely as petrol.  Kiwis give their dairy a fair go too.  The standard cheese increment is the 1 kg block.  That's right, a normal Kiwi is picking up 2.2 pounds of cheese at a time and usually in a couple of flavours.  That's a lotta cheese.  We have a whole isle devoted to milk.  Each brand has different categories which I can only break down by cap colour.  They have names, but different brands use different names.  However, they all use the same cap colours.  You got your standard blue cap for whole milk.  Then you have green for light or what we would call 2%.  Then yellow for "enriched" milk in some way--like vitamin D or calcium added.  Then light blue which I think really skim milk.  We also have cream, but curiously no half and half.  Now what I have recently just discovered may explain this hole in the milk market.  It is "silver" cap milk and it is somewhat difficult to find.  It goes back to some "old school" days when milk was still delivered to your house.  Not so long ago in New Zealand.  I can't really define silver cap, but it is damn close to half and half.  It sorta looks like milk that may have only been homogenized and not separated.  But I couldn't really tell ya.  It has a thick coating of cream on the inside you have to shake up.  I worry it will turn to butter.

Dairy is entirely different here.  And great milk makes some pretty fine ice cream.  Just saying.

Harry Potter

After watching the final Harry Potter, I felt like I should go back and watch the first again.  It has been years since I have seen it.  I remember seeing it with my kids when they were probably far too young to remember it.  We've had the DVD forever and the kids have watched it many times in the first couple of years we had it.  But during all that time, I never really watched it with them.  It was just on in the background while I puttered around cleaning or something.  I'll guess that we picked up the DVD when the kids were 3, 4, and 5.

I was surprised that watching the original would make me think so much of my own kids and how they've grown.  It felt very much like Harry, Hermione, and Ron were old childhood playmates of our own kids and we had a 2 hour film of them in our collection.  I thought a bit about parents of the actors and how these films will be like the best family vacation films ever.  I can imagine how much I would love a two hour film of my own children as they grew up... one a year for 8 years.  Even if they were playing characters totally unlike themselves.  There is just something about seeing the look in my children's eyes when they are happy and playing.  Oh they were all so young.

They grow up too fast.  Time slips by too fast.  There will always be new stories to tell.  But I do feel a real sense of mourning for the stories that end.  All too soon my own children who are now 11, 12, and 13 will race through their final years of school.  Hopefully there will be less danger in the world than poor Harry and friends had to face!  But the story my children write will be more precious to me.  I am afraid to start it.  I don't want it to end.