Harley-Davidson

The U.S. Post Office has issued a commemorative stamp which recognizes the role of motorcycles in American culture with four stamps that feature digital illustrations of a 1918 Cleveland, a 1940 Indian Four, a 1965 Harley-Davidson Electra-Glide, and (my personal favourite) a circa 1970 chopper.

In 1901, a 10' x 15' shed in the Davidson family’s Milwaukee backyard served as the birthplace to an American icon. Arthur Davidson, 20, and William Harley, 21, began experiments on "taking the work out of bicycling." Soon after, the duo were joined by Arthur's two brothers Walter and William. Many changes were made to the engine design before its builders were satisfied. After the new looped frame was finalized, they were ready to begin production. 1903 production: 3 motorcycles. The Harley Davidson Motorcycle Company was born!

In 2003 the Library of Congress celebrated the 100th birthday of the Harley.

Harley Davidson has established itself as a paragon of American ingenuity and craftsmanship.

Here is a picture of our Little Martha Pearl. A 1980 XLH Shovelhead Sportster 1000cc.

Because nothing else needs to be said...

Pluto is a dog

Leading astronomers have declared Pluto is no longer a planet, downsizing the solar system from nine planets to eight. That's just goofy. And Micky and Donald are just comics, right? I know Pluto is a planet because I helped my son make his shadowbox for science class and distinctly remember tying the little planet to the top of the shoebox.

But seriously, Pluto has been downgraded. Now science books will have to be re-written. Although, Patricia Tombaugh, the 93-year-old widow of Pluto discoverer Clyde Tombaugh took the news in stride saying "It's disappointing in a way, and confusing." She feels her late husband would have understood the decision. But I still feel a bit sad for it. Dwarfs just don't get no respect.

And what about all the astrology books? My chart says that Pluto was aligned in the sign of Virgo. As Pluto's orbit is so very slow it takes fourteen years to move from one sign to another, therefore it can be representative of a whole generation.

"Pluto in Virgo lasted from 1956 to 1971. By contrast with the Pluto in Leo generation (1939 to 1956, and some in 1957 and 1958), which made riots on the campus, Pluto in Virgo people are more concerned with work and health, preferring to be active in the background rather than being in the spotlight." Am I to infer that this is no longer the case?

And, just watch, as soon as they print all those new textbooks, some great scientist will find the true link to proving Darwin was right all along. We really are stardust.

M m m My Sharona

Apparently, it's not easy to make a song about Sharon. The only other song that I can recall where the leading subject was my own namesake was "Spiders and Snakes" Jim Stafford's I Ain't Sharin' Sharon. So when the Knack came out with My Sharona way back in *gasp* 1979, I thought it was pretty cool. And so it is with sadness that I read today of the death of Bruce Gary, the drummer on My Sharona.

My Sharona is a great pop-song the kind you can't get out of your head for days. And its driving drum beat is largely the cause.

Gary also worked with such musical legends as George Harrison, Steven Stills and Bob Dylan, as well as Jack Bruce, Rod Stewart, Sheryl Crow, Yoko Ono and Harry Nilsson.

As stated on his website, Bruce was one of rock 'n' roll's preeminent drummers for more than three decades.

Chasing Rainbows

Galen Rowell is my favourite photographer. He would have been 66 today, if his life had not been tragically cut short in an airplane crash in August 2002.

My first introduction to his artwork was through the SRF calendar which I've used every year for over a decade. The more I learn about him only causes me to admire him even more as a human being.

He was an accomplished mountain climber who made his first roped climbs in Yosemite Valley at the tender age of sixteen. And over the course of his lifetime climbed mountains in Alaska, Africa and the Himalayas. Photography was not just how he made his livelihood it was a means to share his love for the beauty of the wild places on Earth. He excelled at both.

He won the Ansel Adams Award in 1984 and has been called the Ansel Adams of colour photography.

He said "My first thought is always of light."






He was also a hot-rod mechanic, who had a propensity for putting pedal to metal and is rumoured to have set a land speed record driving from Yosemite to Berkeley California in 90 minutes.

As importantly as anything else, he was an avid environmentalist who served on the Board of Directors of at least a dozen major environmental organisations protecting everything from wildlife in general to Yosemite Park to an endangered race of bighorn sheep, to youth education in the wilderness, and a number of other subjects.

In 2001 he and his wife Barbara Cushman Rowell opened Mountain Light Gallery in Bishop California. In addition to the gallery and giftshop, it hosts photographers' workshops as well as publishing and licensing businesses.

Naked Ladies

One of my favourite things about August is that the Naked Ladies come out. That would be Amaryllis Belladonna of the Liliaceae or Lily family, commonly called Naked Ladies for the lovely pink shade of colour in the trumpet shaped flower and their slender stems. They appear seemingly overnight along fence rows and driveways in early August. Belladonna is Latin for Beautiful Lady. It is also poisonous.

JANMASHTAMI

The birthday of Krishna is celebrated according to the Indian lunar calendar. It falls on the eighth day of the waning moon between mid-August and mid-September.

"He who perceives Me everywhere and beholds everything in Me never loses sight of Me, nor do I ever lose sight of him.

That yogi stays forever in Me, who, anchored in divine unity whatever his mode of existence, realizes Me as pervading all beings.

O Arjuna, the best type of yogi is he who feels for others, whether in grief or pleasure, even as he feels for himself." --Bhagavan Krishna, in the Bhagavad Gita

Shiva’s Prowess~ Maurya Simon

There are ecstatic rituals every do-good deity knows;
there are myriad ways to flout, grin, and pose,

so that even virgins undulate like struck water -
but no one, states the Puranas, will ever master

a fraction of the multi-million postures Shiva savors.
His sacred prowess is cause for my wonder -

coming from a god who smells like burnt grass,
who wears two cobras coiled around his biceps -

what strange fires must smolder beneath his skin,
and what an appetite to quench, when he is smitten;

for he’s a being whose gaze unleashes rivers, an ocean
of desire, a lover whose smile’s a danger zone,

whose touch awakens sunken leviathans to rise
up like fountains from their former lives.

Eight million ways to move, make love, to take
a woman out of her body and soul, and bring her back -

postures whirling like tornados, brief as eclipses,
ceremonial as a rain dance; movements slick

as oiled arias, kisses inspiring drugged trances;
his tongue a glistening shrine, his teeth avalanches,

his mouth hewn from the deepest hole in space,
his breath a meadow of mint, a web of spindrift,

his wide neck taut with cords of rolling muscles,
his chest an orchestra, his heart a ship’s hull,

his arms huge sea nets, opposing shores,
his belly an island forested in ripe mangoes,

his penis a gourd into which the universe flows,
and his entry like the moment of death -

Statement of Intention

I am a seeker of truth and a student of life.
I will not harbor false hopes nor suggest negative predictions.
I will strive to be sweet in all my speech, if I cannot be sweet at least be truthful if I cannot be truthful I will be silent.
I resolve to be more emotionally self-sufficient and less needy of others and put less importance on other’s opinions of me.

I am becoming fearless. I am compassionate. I will radiate pure love. I will maintain a quiet indifference to the changing circumstances of the world. I appreciate a keen sense of humor.

I choose to be an instrument of peace; not merely one who looks for peace but rather someone who brings peace. Returns love for hatred. Defends the absent. And admit when I’m wrong.

Kind indifference, no ill will. Non-attachment.
Peace of mind, regardless of outer circumstances.
Bemused. No more struggle. “Make the best of it” attitude.

Suffer no fools in my inner sanctum. All fools relegated to the lunatic fringe.
To be prayed for and then forgotten.

All souls that shine...I bow before you.

Om Shanti.

What makes 100%?

(Note: I don't know where this comes from, as I've had it saved on my computer for ages, but it's funnier than shit. If you know the author, drop me a comment.)

What makes 100%? What does it mean to give more than a 100%?

Ever wonder about those people who say they are giving more than 100%?

We have all been to those concerts where someone wants you to give more
than 100%.

How about achieving 103%?

Well, here's a little mathematical formula that might help you answer
these questions:

If the letters of the alphabet A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V
W X Y Z were represented as: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19
20 2122 23 24 25 26, then:

H - A - R - D - - W - O - R - K
would be:
8+1+18+4+23+15+18+11 = 98%

and,
K - N - O - W - L - E - D - G - E
11+14+15+23+12+5+4+7+5 = 96%

but,

A - T - T - I - T - U - D - E
1+20+20+9+20+21+4+5 = 100%

however - -

B - U - L - L - S - H - I - T
2+21+12+12+19+8+9+20 = 103%

and, look how far ass kissing will take you:

A - S - S - - K - I - S - S - I - N - G
1+19+19+11+9+19+19+9+14+7 = 118%.

So, one can then conclude with mathematical certainty that:

While, hard work and knowledge will get you close, and, attitude will get
you voted No.1, it's Bullshit & Ass Kissing that will put you over the
top!

Smokey Bear

While living near Washington DC in the late 60s, one of my favourite things to do was to visit the National Zoo. Admission was free and thus it was a regualr activity when my father was still visiting my brother and I on weekends. The exhibit which we loved to see the most was Smokey Bear.

For those who don't know the story of Smokey Bear, he was a Black Bear cub who was rescued after being burned in a forest fire in New Mexico in May of 1950. He received burns on his paws and hind legs after scurrying up a tree to escape the flames. The burns were treated by veterinarian Ed Smith and the cub was cared for by New Mexico Game Warden Ray Bell and his wife and daughter. Soon after Smokey was adopted by the U.S. Forest Service as its mascot for forest fire prevention and was later moved to the National Zoo.

The Forest Service decided to use a bear for their fire safety mascot and chose the name to be Smokey Bear, after “Smokey” Joe Martin, who had been the Assistant Chief of the New York City Fire Department. On August 9, 1944, the first poster of Smokey Bear was produced, drawn by Albert Staehle.






I feel very privileged to have seen first hand this cultural icon of Americana. Smokey died in 1976 and is buried in Capitan, New Mexico at the Smokey Bear National Park.

Anniversary of 'Autobiography of a Yogi'

Self-Realization Fellowship Celebrates 60th Anniversary of 'Autobiography of a Yogi'

As my Blogger profile will attest, Autobiography is one of my all-time favourite books. But it is so much more than that. The reading of it was a turning point in my life. After completing it, I became a student of SRF, attended services in Encinitas and became a devotee of Yogananda.

When my future husband told me he wanted to find God I gave him a copy of Autobiography and told him it was an integral part of my own search for God. It became a turning point in his life, as well. We have since given the book to other family members during their own dark times.

Yogananda's life story is a powerful lightening rod of spirituality and truth, a treasure map to complete devotion to God for which I am eternally grateful.

~Om Guru~

Arthur Lee 1945 - 2006

Arthur Lee of LOVE passed away on Friday 3 August 2006.

"Sitting on a hillside
Watching all the people die
I'll feel much better on the other side." ~Arthur Lee

Rest in peace and God speed.

Read All About It

If we are peaceful, if we are happy, we can smile and blossom like a flower, and everyone in our family, our entire society, will benefit from our peace.

-Thich Nhat Hanh, "Being Peace"