Geoff Allen's Journal, October 2002

My Journal

[ October 1st, 2002 '

Today's mantra: "Is this the real life ... is this just fantasy ..."

see sheets ... 3 Christs ... long bus trip back ...

Infinitely more pleasant weather condits for the journey back :)

Then this ecard - click :)

So ... added quite a few more to this absurdly long list ... startin with Dinotopia ... :)

... all the way down to 'Science is golden' ...

Also played a bit of Spherejong along with Othello, Mahjong, and other games ... :)

This is a lovely little album.
If you can't say something nice about it, then you will be locked in a room for all eternity and forced to listen to it until you relaise it is the best CD I have listened to since lunchtime.
Thankyou.

Click here for more

Hmmm ... also from the weekend's scribbles ... something about "What? You're calling me weird simply because my behaviour ventures outside the narrow parameters by which you have come to assess (or judge) human actions? Maybe you're the one who has the problem ..."

Read an interesting article about the Diskeeper software ... and how fragmented drives can slow the performance of your PC after a while ...
{Update: Darn, it seems to be for Win 98 onwards and here I am stuck (?) with win 95}

[ October 2, 2002 '

Today's mantra: "Don't we even local up the knowledge. Local up the knowledge? That's a weird thing to say at this time of the morning, isn't it."

More from the weekend & those bustrips ... yeah ... there was this fleeting thought about how incredibly flimsy MOST people's hold on their so-called sanity really is. They might like to imagine, sitting there in a comfortable house with a comfortable, if repetitive & narrow routine ... but take away their comforts & their routine & their customary surroundings & distractions for a couple of days ...

... and how society can afford a small percentage going 'off the deep end' ... and what the maximum allowable percentage might turn out to be ...

More book browsing ... saw this Leunig and then pluggeed it into Google ... {mainly the curlyflat site gives the actual cartoon}

... plus quite a few others ... on the 'solution' 2 disillusionment ... and technology ... :)

Also browsed a rather expensive book about the Qingzhou Buddhas ...
um, $ 120 or so! ... click

Here's a liddle somethin for the believe-it-or-not file ... click :)

Also briefly flicked tnrough number 3 on this list ...

More Ronald Shwartz

Also sent this link to a couple of my email buds who may find it useful/illuminating ...

[ October 3, 2002 '

Today's mantra: "I find myself deeply and endlessly puzzling"

www.glasswings.com.au ?

- Octavio Paz (surrealism)

Typed up a few more excerpts - esp about Lancelot and his 'mad days' ... hadn't been all that aware of that part of the Arthur story b4 ...

... e.g. page 432 ... :)

... & 438

As well as a little update of this ...

More emails ... and a new poem - click :)

Plus a nother classic Leunig from that Goatperson book I was browsin just
yesterday ... click :)

In fact that 'holiday on earth' phrase tosses up other interesting-lookin sites ... click

Being suddenly in a very Leunig mood ... click :)

A search for World Puja tosses up a few ...

Quote of the day: "I'm thinking of a number ... between twelve and forty-seven ..."

Cute animation ... click

Found it while reading over one of the Google results for today, which tossed up some dude's wild ramblings from Dec 15th 2000 ... :)

{It actually came from a search of 'Leunig tram photo', would you believe ... yes, the 'tram' was regarding followers of a certain author who has a large internet forum ... :)

Also took a quick gander at some of these images ... {like et15 for instance ... & et16 aint bad either}

From yesterday ...

Oh yes, walking home from the shops this morning, saw the most gorgeous yellow rose ... makes one wish one didn't have such a dinky camera ... :)

[ October 4, 2002 '

Today's mantra: "No. I'm not going to do that. I'm just a so-called madman. I am your local so-called madman. And I will NOT live according to your conventional way of life."

From yesterday's meanderinks ... added a quote to this list ... scroll down to xyz ... :)

Some excellent comedy lately ... try plugging CNNNN into your favourite search engine - that's NOT a misprint, there ARE four N's ... very biting satire in places :)

... 'escalating peace crisis' ... someone not impressed by Ian Thorpe ... a new lifestyle show called Changing Regimes ... etc ...

Backberner had its moments as well ...

Not a lot online ... sent a few emails ... added a couple more to the list ... click {from memory - the floating haiku & the dolphin art sites ... plus alex & lullfitz}

On the way home from the shops, it occured 2 me that most of this society's current authority figures start with a 'P' (no pun intended?) ... polititcians, parents, police, psychiatrists ... poets? ... :)

25, 23, 67, 7, 28, 16, 47, 78, 18, 29.

[ October 5, 2002 '

Today's mantra: "My experience suddenly improved when I started pointing my life away from the planet."

A few more emails ... plus this quirky story

Also on Burke's last night ... this garden ..

Saw the first bit of a great-looking doco abt the Blue Mountains region ...

Added a couple more to that absurdly lengthy list ... ken duncan ... other sanctuaries ... reminds me of that little poem I wrote back in '99 ... :)

Listened to this week's computer guru session ... he compared the intention to back up your data with the same area of the brain that takes care of one's new year's resolves ... :)

He mentioned some interesting software, called "Second Copy 2000" and it runs in the 'background' ... also some new virus ... plus the recommendation that one should update one's anti-virus software once a day! Hmmmm ... :)

Very addictive game called cursor race ... click - my best so far is 19 secs ... :)

The guru also mentioned a site called Windows annoyances - that's the windows on your PC, not the windows in your walls ... :)

Found an interview with the man himself abt his latest book ... and getting in touch with your 'inner duck' ... and "poetry is not a luxury" ...

... 14 seconds :)

Dream catcher from the site mentioned in april 16 journal - just after subtelty ... :)

[ October 6, 2002 '

Today's mantra: "One day I found a dollar in my pocket, but I better be careful or I might drop it."

Another classic Leunig ... click :)

Interesting ep of 'X Files' last night (you folks in the states have prolly seen it ages ago but we're just getting the final series now) ... all about parallel universes & what one might do if one somehow knew how to pass between them ... click

One of those sites led me to the Ig Nobel prizes :)

Quote of the day: "I've been wondering, Mr. Doggett, why a skeptic such as yourself would be assigned to an obscure unit of the FBI devoted exclusively to investigating paranormal phenomena." - click ... plus the section abt 'countervailing reasons' ...

Testing ...

Interesting match ... assuming that link stays valid ... Pakistan is renowned for the abil to run extremely hot or stone cold ... sometimes in the same game ... :)

We atually lost 10 wickets for 66! So the odds at ten wickets in hand and 249 in front would have been astronomical ...

Shoaib - as described by Pete Roebuck, who's one of my favourite (cricket) writers ...

Watchin some music video-clips this morn ... and it would seem there is quite a trend to sing 'at somebody' ... in other words, "My feelings are YOUR fault, so why don't you chang the way you behave (or treat me) so that I can feel better." Okay, few people ever put it in those precise words but that's the gist of it ... and if you're trapped in such a mind-set, it's a pretty crummy way to spend one's time on this planet ...

{Today's philosophy lecture is sponsored by ...}

Oh yes, speaking of music/lyrics ... last evening I listened to this CD for the first time in yonks ... click {Their bio is also interesting - at the sing365.com site}

They also cover Mike :)

- Tranquil Visions

Another cute image :)

After watching the tube, compiled this list of links ...

Interesting stuff coming up this week on ABC as well ... click - yeah, why DID those dinosaurs grow to such proportions ...

It had been awhile since I looked at my rose images from around this time last year ... in fact, I'd forgotten which of my sites they resided at ... click :)

Another Gyuto monks e-newsletter arrives ... hmmm, with a name like Tenzin Karma you could hardly go around behaving like a bastard ... :)

Laura Grusovin

A quotes page leads me to these people who happen 2 live in the Blue Mountains ... click :)

[ October 7, 2002 '

Today's mantra: "Always remember, the very same event which the caterpillar calls death, the butterfly calls birth. And caterpillars caint fly."

A few more emails ... and fixed up this file a bit due to lost/missing links & images ...

Oh yes, been doing auite a bit of spring-cleaning lately and it's amazing the 'stuff' you find that you had forgotten about ...

... such as this photocopy from a library book I presume ...

More on that match in progress ... click

Not a lot online today - did add a couple to the list ... like the lint survey ... :)

... and the sleep tips ... the dreams ... the bubbles ...

Where else did we go ... Mystery of the Jurassic ...

[ October 8, 2002 '

Today's mantra: "I was born into the galaxy of planets. The galaxy of life."

More emails ... plus that Tonglen practice ... and how you can't really DO the things on that list UNLESS you're operating at a higher level of consciousness than your ordinary, everyday routine level ... auto-pilot ... push-a-button & get the standard response ... does that make any sense to you reading these words ... well, if it does, you may need 2 go & have your head examined ...

Oh yes, I also looked up a quote from one of my fridge magnets ...

Testing ...

Send a rosella postcard

In a 'funny' mood ... posted a little somethin here :)

www.britznpieces.com.au

http://www.immuners.org/00open/contents/the_cure_show.htm

More toons ... click :)

From that fridge quote search ... I love the collection on this page ... and I believe SBS has a doco about Cocteau coming up soooon ...

[ October 9, 2002 '

Today's mantra: "Don't local. Don't local men understand their world. Don't local."

Interesting new series of Voyager started last night ...

www.augie-march.com

Interesting search ... click ... as of Oct 9th, the one topping the list is called 'world's worst poetry' ... at www.relaxorium.com ... :)

Where else did we visit this afternoon (in between mowing the lawn & a few other odd jobs) ...

The Nine Cycles Meditation

Lama Yeshe

Peace Haiku

From Primal Therapy to Holotropic Breathwork

Medicine Buddha

The Tibetan Book of the Dead

How to choose a search engine

World Haiku Club

Flora for fauna

Lovely image of an old-fashioned quill ...

[ October 10, 2002 '

Today's mantra: "You're weird! Oh, this is nothing. I can get a LOT weirder than this, believe me ..."

http://www.chhelp.org/heatabortive.html

www.davekellett.com

Also in this morning's email ... a live webcast with Jim Twyman & co ... focusing on Iraq ...

Yes, been awhile since I delved into that particular book ... it's certainly right up there on my list of memorable reading experiences ...

Quote of the day: "Drop into thyself" {and be a fool}

Found quite a few more haiku sites from recent links pages ... such as this

Avoid incompetent aliens :)

Found this page while checking out a few Twyman links ...

Hmmmm ... I hadn't realised Alexander Pope was the originator of quite a few familiar axpressions ... :)

I like the quote on their front page too ... in case it changes, as of today, it was:

"The World's Poets and Mystics have had access to realms of perception that are usually denied to more conventional persons!!!"

{But ... is it right to deny them access ... }

That's about it for today ... well, in terms of my online meanderinks, that is ...

[ October 11, 2002 '

Today's mantra: "And the man in the rain picked up his bag of secrets ... {and journeyed up the mountainside, far above the clouds ... and nothing was ever heard from him again ... except for the sound of ... tubular bells}"

Also from yresterday ... click

Oh yes, also added this to the wtc list ...

www.inner-net.com/worldpeace.htm

What's this ... Pakistan is out to out-do our collapse of 10 for 66 ... they are teetering at 9 for 50 at lunch on the first day ... has ANY team ever bin dismissed so early ... update: they scrounge 9 for the tenth wicket but 59 is an inordinately poor score ... unless the wicket is doing devilish things, which didn't seem 2b the case judging by the highlights on the evenin news ...

Quite a few sites added to 'the list' this avo ... Scientific Investigation of Religious Experiences ... bizarre links ... Ashleigh Briliant etc ...

- Imre Kertesz

Me, My Brain & I

Hmmm ... 59 is actually the lowest EVER by Pakistan ... and when did a LEG-spinner last take four wickets before lunch on the first day ... :)

[ October 12, 2002 '

Today's mantra: "Druddle by numbers. Druddle by the numbers. Those other numbers. Druddle by numbers."

Off 2 the aquarium ... more details may follow ...

Here's a report on that remarkable first day of what may not be a long Test match :)

Some new additions to the aquarium ... a number of wooden fish ... got me searching the web & found this site

... also this one ...

Dolphins

http://acaciaward.0catch.com/printhis.txt

ADHD --- send to vicserv ?

Dragons for all tastes {Found this while looking for info about a book called 'Dreams for Dummies', which I saw today}

Quote of the day: "I used to believe in the prandling normal." {This is a favourite quote from a parallel reality, as told to me by one of the voices in my head.}

Also read quite a bit more of this book ... around pages 440 to 490 ...

http://www.thejfiles.com/xxxhomepage/eps9/lordoftheflies/lordoftheflies.html

... yes, controlling insects by telepathy ... that is a novel plot-line ... :)

Pakistan 59 & 12/1 (6.0 ov), Australia 310

[ October 13, 2002 '

Today's mantra: "I'm not crazy, Mum. But those voices in my head are a little nuts, if you ask me."

Well, I was right abt that match not lasting a long time ... click

Where did we go today ...

Sacred chants

RSPCA shop

A lovely little meditation :)

Testing ...

Quote of the day: scroll down to the Chinese proverbs :)

A 'divider' in the form of a kite on a long piece of string

[ October 14, 2002 '

Today's mantra: "Yesterday I was good on the twlve mornings and I am always good from the twelve mornings. Fading on the world. Fading on the mornings. Fading away to nothing at all."

Also from yesterday ...

Quotationary review

Here's somebody's idea of some silly links ... well, strictly speaking, it's a page of 'silly, fun & cute links' ...

http://forever.freeshell.org/funny.htm

Plus a few in the 'entertainment' section of this long list ...

Harvey 103 runs riot - didn't get a chance to read it online yesterday ...

Oh yes, watched a fabulous doco about Cocteau last night ... more details 2 follow at some stage ...

Hey! Compare the image on this page ... with the one of a typical winter's day in the excitement capital ... click ... uncanny :)

{Assuming the monks don't alter their image}

Some interesting tips ... I actually have a couple of the Tangerine Dream albums they mention. Not a lot of people have heard of the group. I was into their music in the mid-1970's when they produced an album called 'Phaedra'. It's electronic music with synthesisers etc. Can be quite hypnotic ...

Quote of the day: "Rapsy-do-do. Life is the movement" {That's 'do' as in 'do nothing' rather than 'do' as in 'dough', phonetically speaking ...}

That mantra came after viewing this page ...

Yet an earlier page today advised agst using a mantra constanly throughout a meditation session, where was that advice ...

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

Repeating a mantra throughout your
Meditation causes you to fixate on a
Specific level of consciousness.
In meditation you are trying to
Quiet your mind and stop your thoughts.
A mantra is a thought.
Use a mantra to help still your mind initially,
And then move into silent meditation.

Testing ...

Some great Cocteau quotes ... click - mainly found it from a search for a quote abt Barabbas ... {scroll down to "If it has to choose..."}

He also spoke of art (or poetry specifically) as being a useless necessity ...