The Years of Being

Shadow Horse

chuckpuckett — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 04:27:54 +0000

The morning rides in on a shadow horse.
Clouds mass up to remind us of other shadows.
Nothing knows its own narration,
And so we forget who we really are
Because the story is stronger than the narrator.

How Deeply May We Feel Beauty?

chuckpuckett — Tue, 13 Jul 2010 03:43:29 +0000

Would I love the Aegean more?
Would I be more deeply impressed by icebergs
Calving in an Alaskan bay?
How deeply can the human spirit appreciate beauty?
This perfect and infinite beach on the Gulf
Is as perfect as perfection allows
On a day like today, in the evening
With the sun westering away
And the yellow flag waving,
The waves capping and foaming
Out further, then in close,
In such infinite and wonderful complexities
That no human mind can possibly contain or explain.

Is beauty deeper a mile or two down?
As deep as the ocean,
Off the continental shelves,
Where, though not lifeless,
The life is totally alien and altogether inhuman,
And not decipherable,
Is mental and cold and foreign.

Human beauty exists up here in the shallows
In the warm top waters,
Where we live, as deep as the human spirit
Is now and is possible.
These are wonders,
These are aching beauties,
These are hopes,
Borne in sudden comprehensions
That brook no darkness
And admit only the westering sun.

By the Gulf on a Saturday Night

chuckpuckett — Sun, 11 Jul 2010 16:44:35 +0000

Sitting by the side of the Gulf
At six pm on a Saturday night
I can see the rim of the world out there
The semi-circular rim of the world out there
On the edge of my sight.

And this is what Infinity means
It’s not some mathematical point,
Not a vanishing series of numbers.
It’s personal.
Infinity is personal, and it is ringed
And yet it is not ringed.
It rings in my ears, and it sings in my mind
As my eye follows the rim of the earth
Around the semi-circle of the sea
At six pm on a Saturday night by the Gulf.

Oh, that road of waves that rolls in from infinity
Oh, that roar of infinity that changes and yet does not.
Is always different, yet always the same.
Isn’t that what the Infinite means?
Isn’t the sky at the edge of the rim of the world
Going ‘round by my sight by the sea
At six pm on a Saturday,
Isn’t that infinity to me?

Isn’t infinity personal and touching,
And not far off and cold?
It’s warm and embracing,
It’s a wind that comes and goes
And will not stop.
It’s a world that comes and goes
And will not stop.
It’s waves of water that come and go
And will not stop. I know you.
You are a roaring water
That will not cease your endless sojourn
From the semi-circular rim of the world
To me, as I sit by the edge of the abyss
At six pm on a Saturday night.

July 10, 2010

Beyond the Absurd Deep Event Horizon

chuckpuckett — Sat, 05 Jun 2010 03:02:29 +0000

“Against stupidity (and dittoheads) the gods themselves strive in vain“

Sarah Palin has recently managed to blame the Deep Horizon Disaster on “whacko enviromentalists”, a stance echoed verbatim by some on FaceBook and other places. The “argument” goes that tree-huggers (shore-huggers?) have forced deep ocean drilling by their adamant refusal to allow off-shore oil platforms and other restrictions (notably ANWR), thus forcing Big Oil to search further out.

God, if only we “whacko environmentalists” had such power! Putting aside the disgusting absurdity, in the wake of the worst environmental disaster in history, of blaming the environmentalists rather than the actual perpetrators, the “argument” is full of bunk. No one has restricted anyone offshore: there are almost 4000 platforms now, and there are no moratoriums in place for near shore drilling. Oh sure, Florida had a ban for years, which they recently (and narrowly) lifted, a ban they’re likely to soon clamp back down. But that was motivated by the state, not environmentalists, and the reason was tourism, not the environment.

No, the real reason Big Oil is out in deep water is the reason they went off-shore in the first place. The realities of Peak Oil made it economically imperative. Just as Saudi Arabia is beginning to tap out the mighty Gwahar oil field, and our American in-ground reserves were tapped out by mid-1970′s, the off-shore sucking is becoming less profitable. There’s just not as much there, and it’s harder to suck (the obvious joke about how badly Big Oil sucks I will leave as exercise for the reader). So they moved their rigs further out. It was money, not back-pressure from the whacko Greens, that led Big Oil into deep water. Oil will continue to become ever more expensive to get out of the ground; it’s an inevitable result of there being only a finite amount in the first place, and we’ve already extracted the easy stuff.

If Big Oil is going to continue to probe down a mile deep on the seabed, they must be required to spend some of those incredible (and obscene) profits on research into containment and remediation technology. The booms and dispersants (the only things we have, and both 30 year old technologies dating back to Valdeez, the last time any such technologies were advanced) are so obviously not cutting it. Our government must require them to be as accountable as other governments in the world do. We use most of the oil, we should have the biggest say in what constitutes “reasonable effort” to ensure safety.

As for me, I propose the Cheney Doctrine: If there’s a 1% chance something can go wrong, it’s too risky. Good enought to protect us from the terrorists. Good enough to protect us from BP.

Tralala

chuckpuckett — Sat, 13 Feb 2010 17:27:13 +0000

Tralala, skipping over stones
And other hard parts of the trail.
Tralala, ignoring cold stares
And unfitted jigsaw puzzles.
Red-caped and intentionally naive.
There are no wolves, or they have no teeth.

Tralala, singing in bliss.
If there were words, they’d all rhyme.
Tralala, there is only sun shine,
No shadows even, at least in front.
Picking jonquils from beside the path.
There is no small, dark cloud on the horizon.

Tralavail, whistling while they work,
Digging easy gems from soft limestone
Tralalunacy, moonglow on the beach
Stretched out on blankets for a tan.
The roar of surf drowns the gentle harmony
For a song that admits no dissonance.

Tracheotomy, and the voice stops.
No one was listening anyway
Tragistandupcomic, his empty jokes
Beget laughter that lulls to sleep, the ocean
Roars on until dawn, while a gentle tsunami
Prepares breakfast in bed for the sleeping singers.

Constellation Consternation

chuckpuckett — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 21:38:31 +0000

In the place I live (North Alabama) and where I work (Huntsville), the opinions I am about to express will likely not be greeted with excessive warmth and good will. This is the home of NASA and Space Camp, it is the literal birthplace of America’s awe-inspiring leap into the Space Age, a technical feat perhaps parallelled only by the Manhattan Project in the audacity of its reach and the grandeur of its accomplishment. Here were born the Mercury, Gemini and Apollo programs, and here still is done much of the science and engineering that subtends the Shuttle and the Space Station that forms the core of America’s presence in space.

Space is big here.

So naturally, the recent decision by the Obama administration to cancel the Constellation project, and with it, the U.S. government’s commitment to single-handedly finance a return to the moon, this decision was not greeted with warmth and good will. In fact, you might say it was greeted with downright anger bordering on outrage. How dare the government stop funding this noble enterprise? How dare the government walk away from this glorious quest, to not fight for the right, without question or pause… uh, wait, that’s Don Quixote, not NASA administrators.

Perhaps the most ironic element in the cacophonous chorus of complaints is that the main choirmasters are Alabama’s senators Shelby and Sessions and Congressman Parker Griffith. All are staunch Rebublicans (well, Griffith only recently defected to the GOP, but definitely a Republican). And therefore they have all been forever insistently beating the drum that government is the problem, we need less government, private enterprise is our salvation. So what do they want when government walks away from a project, walks away in an effort to reduce spending?

They want government back, that’s what they want.

You may have come across the term “NIMBY”. NIMBY is a label applied to people who don’t want things like nuclear waste repositories situated nearby: “Not In MY Back Yard.” Well, these Republicans are DRIFMFY: “Don’t Remove It From My Front Yard.”

Most voices in the area are in heartfelt agreement. Since there are many jobs in the area dependent on NASA, this is not surprising. “Its the economy, stupid” pales compared to “it’s my job” as a force for motivation. The arguments on the matter range from statements like “why would they terminate the only program the government ever did well?” (conveniently forgetting Medicare and Medicaid) and “it is our destiny to maintain the lead in space” to a host of other soon-to-be-abandoned goals: finding energy (in space), fighting terrorism (in space?), providing a challenge that will inspire our youth, etc.

With all due respect, I can immediately eliminate “we’re number one! And we need to stay number one!” as a legitimate reason to keep Constellation. Pride of place is, imho, neither compelling, nor noble as a reason to act. If you can find energy sources in space (an arguable proposition at best), I would say that such a goal is inherently tied to fighting terrorism (although, I’m not sure what anti-terrorist efforts would be served by going back to the moon). In any case, as a nation, I think it’s pretty obvious that we face terrorist threats primarily because of a historical/geological accident that put most of the earth’s petroleum beneath nations whose religious underpinnings put us at such odds. If the energy was not in that peculiar location, I doubt seriously we would have chosen the foreign policy decisions for the past 100 years that made us the terrorist target that we are today.

Inspiring youth? For my money, if you’re looking for a way to inspire people, try this: the overwhelming challenge facing humanity, the goal that has the greatest potential of uniting the fire of youth to the technological advances for which we our nation is rightfully credited, is the challenge presented by Global Warming. Our primary directive should be to get our internal, planet-wide house in order.

There are only so many resources with which to tackle the problems that face us, and choosing where to spend those resources is a very hard choice. But when I consider the goal of disarming the threat posed by drastic climate change, I don’t see how any goal could be more inspiring nor more rewarding. And yes: if we were to invoke the same urgency and focus with which Americans spectacularly succeeded in the Manhattan Project and the Apollo Project, there is no doubt that that same ingenuity and dedication and drive could solve this problem. A problem perhaps orders of magnitude larger than those presented by the bomb or the moon. And ultimately, orders of magnitude more critical to solve.

The thing about space is, it’s not going anywhere. It will always be there, and it absolutely should be explored (though I would tend to avoid the word “conquered”). And we must not lose sight of the fact that it is only the Constellation program that is being cut. NASA still exists, and there are many worlds still to be explored. And would it really inspire anybody to merely go back to some place we’ve already been? And maybe Shelby and company, if they were to obey their first principles (I use the term loosely), might agree that private enterprise is not such a bad way to go to space.

But regardless of how we tackle space, in the long run, as in any concerted campaign, we must first protect our supply lines and ensure we have a stable base from which to operate. That means protecting our environment. And that means, I believe, doing everything within our power to avert the disasters that our children and grandchildren will almost certainly face by our inaction.

Everyone will have an opinion on this issue, many will be compelled to view the issue as choice: to scale space or to save the earth? To the extent that it is a choice, I will paraphrase Joshua.

“As for me and my house, we will serve the Earth.”

Road To Hell

chuckpuckett — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 02:56:59 +0000

A poem inspired by an FB posting by Mister Jason Graham, a true poet.

two roads diverged in a wood.
one was paved with good intentions.
but at least it was paved.
hence, my eternal error:
damned by my bourgeosie desire for comfort.

State of the Union, 2010

chuckpuckett — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 17:22:17 +0000

Finally, a Democrat who doesn’t simply turn the other cheek. President Obama, in his State of the Union, managed to maintain two opposing stances. He continued to graciously ask for bipartisanship, but he also scolded, and in no uncertain terms, those who oppose his efforts to address the nation’s probelms. He scolded the Republicans, who as a solid group have blocked every Administration initiative, presumably in an unabashed attempt to stop Obama simply for the sake of stopping Obama, the country be damned. He scolded the Senate, at least implicitly, by repeatedly giving credit to the House for originating all the meaningful legislation. And he scolded the Supreme Court for its incredibly misguided extension of the “rights” of a corporation, prompting what will undoubtedly be even greater than usual massive buyoffs of elections in the coming years. Buyoffs that, as Obama pointed out, can even be paid for by non-American corporate “persons”.

Of course the problem with scolding the Court is that the ruling in question is so broad and fundamental: essentially that “corporations are people”, a notion whose origins go back to an 1886 Supreme Court decision whereby corporations were first recognized as persons. Many (myself included) point to this legal construct as the singular basis for so many of our societal ills and the lack of ability to correct them: how does one fight an “infinite person”? I’m afraid that to do anything to correct the court’s action on this matter will require an amendment.

Nevertheless, I remain in awe of Obama’s ability to inspire: he had them in that last bit of the speech. At least for a moment, I’d like to imagine that the Cheneyesque black-hearted cynicism so prevalent in Washington wavered, and in that fleeting moment, some of those lifelong cynics almost regretted the greed and gluttony they’ve let consume them for so many years. Yes, the darkness will undoubtedly wash back over them; that’s the human condition, or perhaps it’s the inevitable reaction of a soul that long ago had sold itself away.

But maybe a few will at least wonder what might happen if they were to put the greater good before all else, what might be possible if the idealism that surely led them into public service had managed to survive the realities of public service. Is it too much to imagine such thoughts as seeds of change? A change our own cyniscism may prevent us from believing in, but a change we can at least hope for.

Health Carelessness

chuckpuckett — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 21:00:00 +0000

Okay, the Democrats have caved and folded their tents and surgically removed their spines. The have run around like chickens with their heads cut off, eliminated every single meaningful and actual reform from the Health Care Reform legislation, and left in (or added) every conceivable facet that is detestable, wrong-headed and caters to bullying Republicans and bullying HMOs and bullying insurance companies. All this while enjoying the combination of the largest Congressional majority in 3 decades, coupled with a progressive Democrat in the White House.

I guess they were afraid the Supreme Court might stalk them after school, hit ‘em up for lunch money and steal their bike. Let’s face it, there’s obviously no way you can do anything if you don’t have a “super-majority” in the Senate. Might as well throw in the towel, admit total and complete defeat, and move on. This puppy’s dead.

Egad. And here’s the really sad thing. Health Care reform, meaningful Health Care reform, at least as proposed by Democrats in either chamber, almost certainly is dead. If you’ve got no guts to stand up and do the right thing, you’re going to be cut down at the knees by people willing to do something, even when that something is to block and tackle and obfuscate to ensure nothing is done. The Republicans’ something is a concerted, orchestrated effort to produce nothing, but they do it so damn well.

So, okay. Time to scrap whatever’s on the table, because scraps are all that’s left there anyway. It’s a bad bill, everyone will hate it, no one is satisfied, everyone is screwed.

But don’t do nothing. Listen, maybe the mistake was in trying to do everything at once. Especially in the middle of two wars and the worst recession in living memory. But if you could just bite off a little bit. Get the ball at least rolling, start thinking in terms of reform, but don’t reform it all at one time. Achieve a beach head, then build on the foundation.

Where to start? Here’s an idea. What are two of the most terrible, immoral and heinous aspects of the current health care landscape? I believe most people would agree them to be the HMO’s arbitrary capacity to reject applicants based on preexisting conditions, and their equally evil way of cutting off existing patients once they’ve had the audacity to contract a terrible disease. Both of these practices are outgrowths of trusting health care to profit-seeking companies, but then, that’s where we went wrong in the first place. So the simple idea is to regulate the industry so that they can no longer do that. Couple that with reasonable caps on premiums, and you have a pretty decent, fundamental health care reform. Easy to comprehend, everybody benefits. Except possibly HMOs and insurance companies, which may find their profits curtailed.

So be it. As suggested, profitting off people’s disease is a sick enterprise to begin with.

Powers of One

chuckpuckett — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 14:38:56 +0000

A poem from today, after driving into work and standing in the parking lot for several minutes. The title is (for me) reminiscent of the famous “Powers of Ten” photo montage.

The Powers of One

My mind again astounds me
That human thing that ranges over
Space and time and here and then,
All within the confines of a moment.

I drove to work, and somehow thought
Of before the big bang, and how time began
And why it points one way, to morrows.
This led to galaxies, and ours, and 2012
And alignments to the black hole that hides
Inside the central disk, prepared to innundate
Our fragile world, but wait, is global warming
Stopped at four hundred parts per mil,
Or are we already past the limit of an irreversible
Methane hydrate deluge of greenhouse runaway
Loss of ice sheets in Greenland and the poles?
My childrens’s children will endure, I guess, but
With what load of crap to carry day to day?
Those floods and earthquakes- Haiti! Why
No food for starving folk again? Have we just lost
The way to answer disasters’ needs? Katrina just
A foretaste of failures stretching out from here until.

And now I stand in a wintry parking lot, before
I walk into a hallway where the lighting makes a sound,
A buzzing, irriitating sound, and hallway tiles stretch
Endlessly down identical halls, to doors that open on
To identical rooms with identical desks and problems
Needing thought and attention for identical people who
Worry much about such things, who want them done
For reasons only they consider reasonable.

And now I sit before a screen containing numbers and
Words and codes and icons and moving, glowing arrows
That point one way, to morrows, never back to where we came.
And I wonder why the arrow of time points at me and my mind
Wanders over fields so vast yet narrow down
To one small space of time.