Geoff Allen's Journal, November 2002

My Journal

[ November 1st, 2002 '

Today's mantra: "Don't try & analyse me (& my behaviour). I'm crazy."

The other side of the tachyon coin ... click :)

... plus an email or two ... yes, what was that quote about doubting your doubts ... the true skeptic would have to be skeptical bour his (or her) own skepticism ...

Added a few more snaps to one of my webshots albums that aint quite full (after the new size & album limits) ... click

Took another little look at some of the links on this page ...
{and the 'hidden' link you wouldn't know about unless you happen to hover your cursor over that top image :)}

Testing ...

Off to Cowes again tomorrow ...

[ November 2 to 5, 2002 '

Today's mantra: "Forget thy deeds, forget the forgetting."

http://www.webshots.com/g/32/649-sh/24498.html

Loads scribbled down ... may even get around to typing those notes in here sometime ...

Found some of this material useful after a bit of a lull (quite a bit of a lull actually )

Had another look at these images from an old email or two ...

Yet more emails ... about shrinks and how un-typical Jung was ... as can be gauged from the quote on this page ...

...

Oh yes, that horse race was run ... click

[ November 6, 2002 '

Today's mantra: "I am walkin & I'm talking ... tiny little mornings ... did you heed the warnings ..."

More emails now that I'm back at my own PC ...

Another of those webshots wallpapers from the weekend - it looks superb full-screen
{& on a largish screen at that - compared with the one I have at home} :)

Saw this a couple of nights ago as well ...

The events of the weekend reminded me (now that they're in the 'past') ... remind me very much of the yo-yo effect as described beautifully in that ET 101 book ... click

Or click here ... {still haven't labelled the images or done htm for each ??} ...

Interesting pages listed in this message ... :)

Do you fit this profile?

A bit more ironic timing ... then again, maybe THAT is why ALL these books need to be written (and read!) ... picked up an old photocopy while cleaning the house up ... and it's from page 423 of this library book ... about a being's intrinsic worth ... {scroll down maybe one seventh the way down the page - or use 'Find on this page' and plug in 423 }

Or 131 may be even quicker curiously ... :)

I'd forgotten most of the detail in that particular book ... 'The theory of molecular evolution is rich in defects' ...

http://home.planet.nl/~brouw724/Ishopanishad.html

Lovely image of an old-fashioned quill ...

[ November 7, 2002 '

Today's mantra: "I will not buy this reality. It is scratched."

More emails ... and a new site that lists many webcams ... click ... some nice Aussie ones ...

On his latest CD, Bocelli sings twelve of the world's best loved maladies ... :)

Quote of the day:
"Everyone's entitled to their opinion. It's a pity that some of them are judges."

Oh yes, also on the weekend, I was reading a bit more of this book ...
{around page 498 & 9 especially} ...

... 'I have been away in strange and desert places' ...

... and people speak too much ... and 'manners' ... :)

Ought 2b a lovely faceless nameless figure sitting in a peaceful meditative pose

Watched another interesting ep of Global Village ... all about the giant monasteries of Ayutthaya ... I didn't even know giants were allowed 2 become monks ... :)

[ November 8, 2002 '

Today's mantra: "Sometimes I like to ruin my life. Then I fix it up with a butter-knife."

Another hilarious edition of CNNNN last evening ... gay scientisits discover the gene that renders people Christian ... "It was way too short. I could watch 4 weeks of people being interviewed about their hats" ... "What exactly was going through your mind when you decided to put that on your head" ... :)

... plus the dream analyst as part of a political commentary ... great stuff ... I did mention the website somewhere in last month's journal ...

Also Backberner ... and the speel by Dexter Pinion (include a link to the site? - it's over at the ABC website ... Dexter was rabbiting on about the Irish prime minister & her thoughts on terrorism & anger & depression ... sometime s you really do just have to laugh ...

What a difference a day makes! 1 for 339 in 75 overs becomes 6 for 415 in 109 ...

Here's the Backberner site ... after a few days, I'd say they'll have the November 7th material posted there ... SADLY, next week is the final episode? ...

Testing ...

CNNNN :)

Their newsbar message board is worth a look ... :)

Then a little walk and now I'm back at the keyboard ... and am I slow or what! ... ah! Just realised the CNNNN 4 kids is a send up of a commonly prescribed drug ... Rita & Lin ... :)

Interesting page about why we westerners (often) find meditation problematic ... :)

Read the whole lot but if you happen 2b in a hurry why not scrool down to 'people are very funny' ...

... 'Before I became a monk, I had read many books on meditation. So I thought I knew all about it.' :)

And down the bottom ... 'Most people are looking for something they can hold on to' ...

Plus 'Why do you want to express your thoughts?' ... um yeah ... with a few megabytes of this journal out there in cyberspace, that's a damn good question ...

"The attitude I try to cultivate toward psychiatrists is that of Christ nailed to the Cross ... namely, forgive them for they know not what they do ..." {I don't always manage it ... particularly when they are in a position to coerce me into taking medication 'for my own good'}

[ November 9, 2002 '

Today's mantra: "I spent half the morning rinsing my chocolates."

From yesterday's little trip 2 the shrink ...

Dan Millman

Jung circle :)

Wise King Otto :)

Vincent - esp 'They would not listen. They did not know how'

That mind link

I thought there was more ... oh well ...

Oh yes, the tale about the 2 dogs ... now where was that ... here?

Also some great stuff on this page - continuing our recent them of whether or not 2 say something ... scroll down maybe 1/3 the way down the page to 'The Gates' ... :)

May even shoot that little tidbit along to the folks over at Inspiration peak

Question of the day: 'Why do you feel happy when others believe in what you believe?'

http://www.buddhanet.net/mind.htm

Amazingly, there's another post about words & silence ...

Cyberspace blessing {ah, but will it work 4 ailing computers?}

Quote of the day:
"Sometimes people just go insane and nobody really knows how to explain."

www.puddledancer.com

[ November 10, 2002 '

Today's mantra: "You can't cure me. I am the cure. YOU are the disease."

First trip 2 the aquarium in a while ... & may as well checkout Fed Square also ...

Also from yesterday's meanderinks (& emails) ... looked for that article by Lama Yeshe

Well, Fed square is visually interesting with all those different coloured triangles ... and some powerful art in the gallery ... Trevor Nickolls (Childhood dreaming) ... Wunuwun ... oh who were the other artists ... see what happens when you don't carry a pen ... :)

Google & fed square ...

Oh yes, Friday's edition of Burke's had an interesting story ... now what were those plants called ... the frailty of human memory ... anyway, next time I'm online ... apparently if you do all the normal things like pruning & feeding, they grow thorns ... but if you leave them alone, they grow innumerable flowers ... hmmmm ... :)

Also read some more of 'Once & Future King' (around page 501 to 525) ... honestly, for an 800 page book ... about a story we all know reasonably well ... the style & quality of the writing on EVERY page ... I can't think of a book 2 compare with it ... click :)

Ah, they was called ... Bougainvilleas (from New Guinea perhaps?)

Hmmm ... seems fed square has its own site now ... click

More emails ...

Belly breathing - and it really IS effective ... provided one retains th e presence of mind to employ it when really needed :)

More Ayutthaya

[ November 11, 2002 '

Today's mantra: "I used to believe that reality was softer than a baby's bottom."

Some quotes - esp the one about total consciousness :)

A few more here as well ...

Also last evening happened to catch this one ...

A few more Buddhist quotes from recent travels ...

Interesting prediction ... click ... {of course, predictions in sport do have a way of making one look a little silly ...}

Listened to this CD for the first time in yonks ... in fact, never thought abt looking up the lyrics in cyberspace b4, so that's some indication ... :)

... one song is actually about Woomera ... probably more in the news now than when the album was made ... back in 1989 - boy time flies ...

... 'We're living in days of wonder, Simon says' ... sound like somethin I might write ... :)

Also had a bit of a listen to some Python ... "Are you embarassed easily? I am. But it's nothing to worry about. It's all part of growing up & being British ..."

Oh yes, have I mentioned that the lorikeets are back in Dandenong ... I'm just back from a walk to do some shopping and naturallly, when I have no camera handy I got a really good close-up look at a pair of them. They were checking out a hollow in a tree where a branch had fallen off and it looked like a perfect nesting spot. It is spring down here, you know. Anyway, I watched them for quite a while as they inspected the place with the same earnestness as a couple of humans might inspect an apartment they were intending
to rent. :)

My thumb print - get a better one? next trip 2 the Museum ... :)

'They say the world's a stage ... so let me play for you and you and you ...'

Also this avo ... remind me 2 scan a couple more Leunigs from his 'Goatperson' book ... such as 'Why do we do it?' ... I could type up the text but the cartoons bring it to life ... click ...

Also one of the Leunigs was a play on the Wordsworth poem abt the daffodils ... tossing in grey politicians ... that got me lookin at the huge Oxford book of quotations in my loungeroom ... remind me 2 look up some of Wordsworth's stuff ...

A presence that disturbs me with the joy
Of elevated thoughts; a sense sublime
Of something far more deeply interfused
Whose dwelling is the light of setting suns

- Lines composed a few miles above Tintern Abbey in 1798

Here's a quick little search I did for Wordsworth ...

[ November 12, 2002 '

Today's mantra: "Not even if I was very naughty."

Very vivid & interesting dream again last night ... I'm wandering on a beach (that looks a lot like the beach at Cowes) and then I see all these batteries strewn everywhere ... my first thought is they must be dead as nobody would cast aside something so useful ... :) ... then I start testing them by sticking them into a torch I happen to have on me and some of them are quite powerful ... then I see others doing likewise ... :)

35 degrees celsius forecast - a preview of what may be a long dry hot summer

Speaking of wandering ... here's a few more sites from yesterday's online travels ...

Moments of no consequence

More lorikeets

More humour - "This has got to be the biggest misunderstanding EVER!" ...
and The Aides for eveeryone Foundation :)

Dexter :)

Had another little read of this story & poem ... :)

And a bit more from the Python lads ... click :)

Question of the day: "Are all your pets called Eric?"

Click

Testing ...

37687

A couple of poems

[ November 13, 2002 '

Today's mantra: "What else did the man do with his own salvation of life."

www.supersoaker.com

Saw an excellent school project on the telly yesterday - making strands of DNA using fishing line and licorice & marshmallows & toothpicks ... :)

10, 15, 18, 19, 27, 37, 47, 50, 62, 64.

Oh yes, played oilcap for the first time in yonks yesterday ... and I was extremely rusty ... yes, when you look at the mega-violent and mega-graphical games these days ... such a simple one that tests one's strategic thinking & reaction & planning/visualisation ... :)

And it was written for good ol' DOS, which most computer users nowadays know virtually nothing about ... but some of those DOS games were quite enjoyable ... ah, there's even a website called www.dosgames.com ... :)

Bonus mantra: "Diddly-diddly-diddly-diddly-diddly-diddly-diddly"
{remind me one of these days to find out how to turn a cassette recording into a format that can be heard on ze web }

Added yet another Leunig from the Goatperson book

Quote of the day: "Let's just try and be a little understanding here. That's what families are supposed to do."
"Is that some of your I'm okay, you're okay hippie crap?"

Testing ...

One more 4 the wtc lists? ... click

Speaking of wtc ... found a large (2 megs) tribute, if you're patient enough to wait for it to load ... click

Had another squiz at some library book excerpts ... continuing the theme of 'too many words' ... click :)

[ November 14, 2002 '

Today's mantra: "My life is such a mysterious thing. Sometimes it just makes me want to sing."

Nice little trip to Sassafras this morning ... and a pleasant walk to Monbulk ... didn't take my camera ... some lovely yellow wildflowers ... read some interesting passages from this book ... scroll down to 'These people had struggled for a quarter of a century to reach their understanding' ... :)

Browsed a book on natural remedies whilst waiting 4 the bus ...

Orange blossom

Ditto

Also while strolling along the creek ... I lost count of how any tiny spider webs I ran into and if the sun was shining on the web, I'd try to re-locate the little spider onto a nearby leaf ... a few of the tips from this list kept popping into my thoughts ... esp the one about encountering unexpected things ... I also tossed around a bit of an analogy comparing a bushwalk with a person's life-journey ... unless you've walked the path b4 you never know if the going will be easy or taxing ... rough or smooth terrain ...

Fabulous cropped image from Leunig's Book of Common Prayer ... I read the intro today at Springvale library ... ought to link it 2 a place online where one might purchase such a book ...

- The polar bear waltz

- Alice Sebold

Ah, when sitting on one of the buses I caught today, thought about Jim Twyman and the door to eternity he mentions in his fabulous book ... click :)

Seems there's even a website by that name ...

Also reflecting on those tough days I experience and what a deep, deep mystery it is ... when a certain train of thought really bothers you one day when it never even entered your consciousness the day before ...

Also in the forest little sections of these lyrics popped in & out of my thoughts ... 'never show it' ... mystery to the touch' ... plus the tunes, which you'd only know if you went out & got the actual CD ... :)