Poems we like

Poetry is not everybody's cup-of-tea. Some of us had to read it in school and since then have never given it another thought. However, there is some new contemporary poetry out there which is intriguing and catches our attention. For example,
[click:] -> these three poems
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The Documentary Film TASTE THE WASTE is Food For Thought

Valentin Thurn's film TASTE THE WASTE reveals the shocking truth about the worldwide destruction of food and its global effects on the population and the environment. It poses the question:

Why do we throw away so much food that is still perfectly good to eat?

Is it prosperity? - Is it ignorance? - Is it madness?

One thing we can all agree on:

IT IS JUST PLAIN WRONG!

First watch this movie trailer - then follow the link below.

International poet and human rights activist Ana Elsner puts it this way:

"Would you directly or indirectly act as judge

over who eats and who starves?

If you are a supermarket customer

you might be an unsuspecting accomplice

in making this judgment..."

Find out what Ana Elsner is talking about:


CLICK HERE NOW

::

The Faces of Shanghai

魏玉芳 （山东籍 小贩） 我们的日子过得很苦，每顿都是煎饼就着咸菜吃，加上一杯白开水。孩子们想吃荤菜时，就烧一个鸡蛋给他们吃。只要不下雨，就天天早出夜归，每天做十五、六个小时生意。希望孩子们上好学，我那怕东借西凑也要让他们上大学，别象我这样没文化。大儿子很争气，每学期都得奖回家，我很开心。外出摆水果滩被地痞流氓欺负，让我伤心透了。

Wei Yufang (Shandongnese, Vendor): "We are leading a hard life and eat battercakes, pickles and a glass of water for all three meals. When our kids want meat dishes, we cook them an egg. We work more than 15 hours a day if it doesn't rain. We want our kids to be educated and not to live like us. I will risk anything if our kids can go to university. My eldest son is excellent and wins prizes every semester. I suffer being teased by local ruffians."

-:-Look into the faces of Shanghai residents through the lens of Hu Yang-:-

Photojournalist and artist Hu Yang has created a lasting record of Shanghai people in their living quarters. Each individual is introduced to us in their own words (see above). There is a total of 97 documentary photographs.

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The Abaqondise Brothers - Kobanga Te

(Click on the left button - Turn up the volume on your computer - Wait for the sound file to load.)



Text: "Kobanga te , ibe kanta la" - "Hab' keine Angst, es gibt jemand, der passt gut auf dich auf." - "Don't be afraid, someone is watching over you."

Die südafrikanische Gruppe Abaqondise wird in ihrer Heimat bereits als die Nachfolger der weltberühmten und wesentlich mehr kommerziellen "Ladysmith Black Mambazo" angesehen.

Ihre rhythmischen Lieder mit den unnachahmlichen Klängen gehen einem sofort ins Blut.

"Abaqondise" bedeutet Freundschaft in der Xhosa-Sprache und man fühlt es deutlich. Es kommt in ihren Auftritten und in ihrer CD mit dem Titel "Kobanga Te" die ganze Lebensfreude Afrikas zum Ausdruck.

"Rhythmus hat keine kulturellen und sozialen Grenzen. Rhythmus kann von jedem Menschen erfahren werden."

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That certain 'Je ne sais quoi'

From The Paris Journals by Michael Howard, Essayist, Commentator and CROSS CULTURAL OUTLINE Contributing Writer

"French police cruise on rollerblades and wear big silver stars copied from western movies. They no longer have the billy clubs and weighted capes with which they were wont to bash students upside the head. Now they carry guns. Dark vans with tinted windows transport them around town to monitor the manifestations. A manifestation is a peaceful, prearranged parade by anybody for any reason. Sometimes the bus and metro workers strike in sympathy and the city shuts down. Cars jam the streets. The police blow whistles and shout at the stalled cars and generally make things worse. Many people take a holiday. The French love holidays and take them all the time."

"Everybody smokes everywhere. Cigarette boxes say "Smoking Kills" in big black letters on one side and "Tobacco Causes Impotence" on the other. A popular item is a cardboard container into which a cigarette pack can be inserted to cover the warnings."

"In Paris everybody does the Paris Walk. If you don't do the Paris Walk, people behind you will knock you down and step over you. The basic step is simple; you just shorten the length of your stride by half and walk twice as fast. Paris is one of the most crowded cities in the world and people walk closely together. You must do The Walk in an absolutely straight line. If you swerve, you will collide with oncoming pedestrians in a domino effect which tumbles walkers for blocks. Parisians can estimate distances in millimeters, which is why they drive the way they do."

"In a crowd you see faces from history. A Voltaire sharp-chin slit-mouth face, a pudgy big-nosed Louis face, a girl with the delicate features of an 18th-century marquise. Noble families who marry carefully can trace their ancestors back to the Norman Conquest."

"This is what happens at a good café in Paris. The owner greets you by name, body-blocks an elderly lady who is heading for your favorite table, asks whether you want the usual (a bottle of St. Véran), brings an extra plate of peanuts, and fills both glasses. Everyone in the café speaks French except the couple at the next table, who are in love and do not speak at all. When you leave, the owner grasps your hand, kisses your wife on both cheeks, and begs you to return."

"This is what happens at a bad café in Paris. You spot a good table for two on the terrace; but seconds before you arrive, a party of Americans steals one of the chairs. Your wife sits in the remaining chair to establish ownership of the table and you stand in front of it while 50 comfortably-seated people stare at you with amused contempt. You feel like a bad stand-up comic. Your wife lights another cigarette and pretends she doesn't know you."

"Finally you find another chair and order wine. The waiter appears with a pot of muscadet and two glasses. He sprinkles your glass with a few drops and pauses reverently, no longer a waiter at the Café Bonaparte but a sommelier presenting a dusty bottle of Grand Cru Chateau Lafite Rothschild to the Minister of Culture. He is in fact only a waiter bearing a carafe containing a vile liquid the color of tap water tinged with piss. Without tasting it, you motion for him to fill both glasses. You do not taste the wine because you are embarrassed. You know that you have ordered the cheapest, most abominable wine on the menu, the glass misty with sludge from the bottom of the keg."

"On your right, two New Yorkers complain about their meal at one of the best restaurants in town. On your left, an ancient British couple cannot understand their menu, which happens to be written in English. With pictures. In the corner, a group of Germans loudly recall their student days in Heidelberg. The waiter overcharges you ten dollars on the bill and later presents his girl friend with the lighter your wife forgot."

.

[Text © Michael Howard ]

[Photo Credit: French MBA Club]

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Jungle in a Pot

Here you are, at home, sitting at your computer. Take a look around you: Is there any green you can rest your eyes on? Chances are, there is not.

Not everyone has a picture window with a view of a lush garden, park or copious greenery. For most of us, the view is that of the building across the street, or of the bus-stop, or of rooftops, or of the neighbor's garage, or of the fence around the adjacent property, all of them tiresome and drab.

And here we sit, pounding away at the keyboard, squinting at the screen, boxed in by walls, real or imagined. Time to make your space more user-friendly by adding a bit of green.

Asparagus densiflorus 'Sprengeri',or Sprenger's Asparagus Fern
is an evergreen perennial with delicate needlelike leaves and ferny green arching or cascading branches. It is extremely hardy and thrives not just outdoors, but in containers as a houseplant or on a window sill.

This plant is inexpensive. Of all the possible houseplants, it does not require that you have the proverbial 'green thumb', as long as you pour a glass of water in the pot now and again to keep the soil moist. Asparagus Ferns are very forgiving and do not need direct sunlight. They do, however, need a nearby light-source if grown indoors (preferably near a window). This plant is the perfect option for your office, your home office, your apartment or your room.
-:- It is, what we might call, a cross-cultural plant -:-
Whether you are in Johannesburg, Munich, Chicago or Caracas, or anywhere in-between, go ahead, bring an Asparagus Fern into your life to brighten your 'interiorscape'. Your overworked eyes and stressed-out mind will thank you for it. And, who knows, pretty soon you might add a second plant, or a third to make your own private jungle.

(Fine print: No, we are not commercial growers or salesmen. We simply report on what works best in a given situation based on our own experience.)

Do you have a favourite houseplant? Tell us what it is.

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Introducing Romanian Poet Ana Blandiana

Two poems found in CONTEMPORARY LITERARY HORIZON, a European independent bi-lingual literary journal of poetry and prose in the English and the Romanian language published in Bucharest, Romania.

Totul

Frunze, cuvinte, lacrimi,
cutii de chibrituri, pisici,
tramvaie câteodată, cozi la făină,
gărgăriţe, sticle goale, discursuri,
imagini lungite de televizor,
gândaci de Colorado, benzină,
steguleţe, portrete cunoscute,
Cupa Campionilor Europeni,
maşini cu butelii, mere refuzate la export,
ziare, franzele, ulei în amestec, garoafe,
întâmpinări la aeroport, cico, batoane,
Salam Bucureşti, iaurt dietetic,
ţigănci cu kenturi, ouă de Crevedia,
zvonuri, serialul de sâmbătă seara,
cafea cu înlocuitori,
lupta popoarelor pentru pace, coruri,
producţia la hectar, Gerovital, aniversări,
compot bulgăresc, adunarea oamenilor muncii,
vin de regiune superior, adidaşi,
bancuri, băieţii de pe Calea Victoriei,
peşte oceanic, Cântarea României,
totul

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Everything

Leaves, words, tears,
match boxes, cats,
sometimes tramways, queuing up for flour,
lady birds, empty bottles, speeches,
images stretched by the TV set,
Colorado beetles, gas,
bannerettes, familiar portraits,
Champions League,
gas cylinders, always turned down for export,
journals, white loaves, mixed oil, carnations,
airport welcomes, sodas, bars of chocolate,
Bucuresti salami, low fat yoghurt,
gypsy women with packs of Kent, Crevedia eggs,
rumors, the Saturday night soap opera,
coffee substitutes,
the peoples’ battle for peace, choirs,
the yield per hectare, Gerovital, birthdays,
Bulgarian compote, the assembly of workers,
superior wine, trainers,
jokes, the boys on Calea Victoriei,
ocean fish, Cântarea României,
everything

:: Romanian lyric poet, essayist, and translator Ana Blandiana, born Otilia-Valeria Coman on March 25, 1942, in Timişoara, is considered one of her generation’s most significant literary voices and is known internationally as one of Romania's most outstanding poets. Deeply spiritual in her sensibility and patriotic in her loyalties, she wrote verse of traditional beauty and elegance. During her country's communist period she became a prominent dissident and later a respected public voice for freedom and democratic change. Ana Blandiana authored a total of 17 volumes of poetry, 6 books of essays and 4 books of other prose writings. Her work has been translated into 16 languages.
::

Întrebări

De ce nu se-amestecă totul?
De ce nu se-acoperă
Pielea lucioasă a pământului cu blană?
De ce nu răsare iarba verde şi fragedă
Pe spinarea fierbinte a fiarelor din păduri?
De ce nu le cresc pomilor aripi
Şi păsărilor rădăcini?
De ce nu ciripesc pietricelele fericite
De pe marginea râului?
Eu de ce nu învăţ să urăsc?
Eu de ce?
- O, Doamne, ce copil obositor,
Oftează îngerul.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Questions

Why doesn’t everything blend together?
Why doesn’t the shiny earth skin
Get covered in fur?
Why doesn’t green and tender grass spring
On the burning back of forest beasts?
Why don’t trees grow wings
And birds roots?
Why don’t the happy pebbles chirp
On the river bank?
Why can’t I learn to hate?
Why not me?
- Oh, Lord, what a tiresome child,
Sighs the angel.

[Published in CONTEMPORAN LITERAR ORIZONT, Anul II, nr. 5 (10), Iunie 2009]
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- AMALGAMATED PERSPECTIVES presents 'Childhood' and 'Journey' by Ana Blandiana. Click here -

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Get together right now

: :

All geo-politics aside, all nationalism aside,

the Olympics belong to the athletes,

competing in ultimate democracy without prejudice.

______________________

This is perhaps the only forum that fosters true World-Citizenship. And, at least for the next 14 days, it belongs to all of us who are ready to embrace it.

同一个世界 同一个梦想

One World, One Dream

: :

May we learn to practice World-Citizenship and make it last well beyond August 2008.

On this occasion, may all people of all nations adopt a global perspective of peaceful coexistence for the sake of this planet and future generations.

: :

Newsflash - Thursday, August 7th, 2008:


Sadly,
in yet another part of the world
the opposite seems to be true,
as a new bloody conflict has broken out again
between Russian and Georgian military forces
over the province of
South Ossetia.
[show map]

________________________________________

Find the complete schedule of all the Olympic events here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2008_Summer_Olympic#Calendar

-

:

Click to check broadcasting times and channels (U.S. only)

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:

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::

Uncensored Testimony

:

"Truth will ultimately prevail where there is pains to bring it to light,"
George Washington

Marking the occasion of the fifth anniversary of the invasion of Iraq, a three day Press conference was held in Missouri by the group IVAW - Iraq Veterans Against the War, aka "Winter Soldier", bringing together veterans, service members and civilians to share their eyewitness accounts of the occupations in Iraq. Many spoke out about the indiscriminate violence ordered by their commanders, about the cover-up by American military of widespread civilian killings in Iraq, and about other hair-raising ordeals.


The IVAW is calling for
(1) the immediate withdrawal of all occupying forces from Iraq
(2) Veterans benefits and healthcare
(3) reparations for the Iraqi people


(Note: This event was not reported by any of the U.S. mainstream media...)

Luis Montalván, a 34-year-old former captain with a chest full of medals and two Iraq tours under his belt, said he joined the anti-war movement to denounce the statements put forward by high-ranking officials and to disclose the rampant corruption.

Captain Luis Montalván who is now tied to a cocktail of medications for ailments ranging from post-traumatic stress disorder to chronic pain resulting from an attack, slammed the Bush administration for "perpetrating high crimes and misdemeanors, committing dereliction of duty, lies and mismanagement" in Iraq.

As the medals on his chest caught a glint of spring sunlight,
he called on Americans to "vote the right way"
in the November presidential election:

"Vote for the candidate
who is most likely
to extricate us from Iraq," Montalván said.
(via Middle East online)

[See also: "No, thank you!"]


[Related link: How to pick and choose]



::

Hearing Other Voices

-:- -:- -:- -:- -:- -:- -:- -:-

Conceived of and implemented by Roger B. Humes in June of 2004,

The Other Voices International Project

is a cyber-anthology that erases the boundaries of nations, ethnicities, religions, cultures, and age in order to collect and present some of the world's best poetry.

To date, April 2008, Humes, himself a poet, has published 32 Volumes of poetry on his othervoicespoetry.org site. Each volume showcases 15 poets from around the world with samples of their work and a short biography.

Among the chosen poets are

Poet Laureate of the United States from 2001 to 2003, Billy Collins;

Palestinian poet Mahmoud Darwish;

Jean-Michel Maulpoix, auteur d'ouvrages poétiques;

Multicultural poet, artist and translator Ana Elsner;

Russian poet Yevgeny Yevtushenko;

Arab-American award winning poet and novelist Naomi Shihab Nye;

Jimmy Santiago Baca, of Chicano and Apache descent, founder of Cedar Tree, a non-profit organization for the empowerment of impoverished and imprisoned people through literacy.


Humes, founder and director of this international poetry project, goes about the choreography of content in a very selective way. As stated on the index page: "Participation in Other Voices is by invitation only". Humes is assisted by his artistic partner and co-director, Iranian poet and human rights activist Sheema Kalbasi.


An excerpt from the Mission Statement:

"The soul has become an endangered species and Art must regain its voice to save humanity from extinction.... To help you and I rediscover some semblance of our humanity, these OTHER VOICES INTERNATIONAL POETRY PROJECT writers creatively share the adventures, desires and dreams of the human heart and spirit, wherever it resides. Through this singular poetic voice we can claim unity in our diversity and strive to live in honor of human dignity."

The Other Voices International Project has been indexed by the World Poetry Directory of UNESCO under "journal", United States.

Other Voices is an outstanding resource to anyone who wishes to explore the vast world of international poetry. It is continually growing as new poets are added.

::

Read Ana Elsner's poem about the Oboe


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[Related link: Read the biography of international poet Ana Elsner]


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Nationwide Outcry

:

About the October 27, 2007
National Mobilization
to Fall Out Against The War
- People everywhere want the war to end. They know that with each passing month, the Iraq war and occupation claims the lives of nearly 100 U.S. service personnel and countless Iraqis, most of them civilians. They are aware that the Iraq disaster drains 12 billion tax-dollars away from much needed social programs, from communities and individuals.

- They want their voice to be counted and make Washington take decisive action to end this outrageous war.

- Many of them take their first step in transforming their antiwar feelings into antiwar action by marching in massive nationwide demonstrations for peace.

- Thousands from all surrounding regions and all walks of life travel to 11 cities around the country in a national expression of the breadth and depth of antiwar sentiment in this nation.

The participating cities are: Boston, Chicago, Jonesborough, Tenn., Los Angeles, New Orleans, New York City, Orlando, Philadelphia, Salt Lake City, San Francisco, and Seattle.

Commentator:

"I am marching in memory of Rabha al-Hamzawi, Iraqi, female, civilian, Muslim Women's Rights activist, member of Manar Women's Association, killed on 24 June 2007 near the Jamaliya orchards in Balad. IBC database file #k6772."

:: Click here to see pictures and video ::

.

Check List

CROSS CULTURAL OUTLINE congratulates
Al Gore and the U.N.'s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change for winning the
2007 Nobel Peace Prize


How about taking some time to pay attention to even just one or two of the global issues on the list that are due to the effects of human activity on the natural environment.

How about finding and defining your own personal strategy to help preserve our planet?

: Climate change - Global warming; Greenhouse gas emissions; Sea level rise

: Conservation - Invasive species; Species extinction; Habitat destruction

: Energy - Energy conservation; Petroleum dependence

: Genetic engineering - Genetic Pollution; Genetic Erosion

: Agriculture - Intensive farming; Overgrazing; Irrigation; Monoculture

: Soil - Soil conservation; Soil erosion; Soil contamination; Herbicides; Pesticides; Soil salination

: Land degradation - Desertification; Crop decimation; Famine

: Overpopulation - Urban sprawl; Increased longevity

: Air Pollution - Acid rain; Air Quality Index; Atmospheric dispersion modeling; Chlorofluorocarbon; Global dimming; Haze; Ozone depletion; Particulates; Smog

: Water Pollution - Marine pollution; Ocean acidification; Oil spill; Surface runoff; Thermal pollution; Wastewater; Waterborne diseases; Drinking water quality

: Depletion of natural resources and non-renewables - Overfishing; Deforestation; Depletion of fossil fuels; Over-consumption

: Waste - Waste types; Waste management; Waste collection; Toxicity; Contamination; Waste treatment technologies

It is easy for us to forget about how much garbage we produce because once a week the truck comes along, sweeps up that trash and whisks it away to a landfill out of sight and smell.

_______________________________________________

UPDATE: A Message from human rights activist and poet Ana Elsner on March 12, 2012:

It is now 5 years later. The year 2012. German Filmmaker Valentin Thurn has made his documentary TASTE THE WASTE calling attention to the issue of worldwide food waste and the problem with its disposal. Precisely one of the issues that Al Gore raised these many years ago...
HAVE WE LEARNED ANYTHING in these five years? Have we taken any steps to protect the environment and the billions of people that share this planet? The sad answer is: Clearly NOT! The same old problems still persist, have even escalated and gotten worse on a global level.
How stinging an indictment this is for our so called 'civilized society' that acts as irresponsibly as ever. When will we wake up and rally to the rescue of our abused planet earth? Perhaps not until it is too late...

->CLICK HERE AND WEEP<-
_______________________________________________

::

At the Supermarket Checkout:


Commenting on winning the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize Gore said,

"We face a true planetary emergency. The climate crisis is not a political issue, it is a moral and spiritual challenge to all of humanity."

Gore plans to donate his share of the $1.5 million that accompanies the prize to the non-profit Alliance for Climate Protection.


[See also An Indictment]

[Pass on the plastic]

[Try out a different product]

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Color Art

Art work and images © Konstantin Grabowski

Konstantin Grabowski was born 1965 in Siberia, and lives in Germany. He graduated in painting and graphic design from the University of Omsk, where he studied from 1985-1991.

His oils and acrylics on canvas span colorful abstract, semi-abstract and figurative painting that is modern, yet has a somewhat dreamy quality.




The works are typically rich in relief and textured with multi-layered paint.

Grabowski began exhibiting in 2000. He is represented by galleries in Europe and in the U.S.



Von einem Katalogtext für Konstantin:

" Ein gutes Bild ist wie gefrorene Musik, eine Landkarte vergangener Bewegungen. Paul Klee sagte: 'Das Auge folgt den Wegen, die im Werk für es angelegt worden sind.' Aber es ist noch mehr: Schwere wird unschwer, Leichtigkeit unleicht, der Raum selbst wird aufgehoben und wie von falschen Beweisen entlastet. Es ist so wie der österreichische Schriftsteller Robert Musil sagt: 'Man hat noch eine zweite Heimat, in der alles, was man tut unschuldig ist.' "


"The function of art is to make that understood which in the form of argument would be incomprehensible."

Constantin Brancusi (1876-1957), renowned Romanian early-modernist sculptor


[See also: Art for our sake]

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Mustapha Tirkaa Cek a bu cekrudh

Mustapha Tirkaa is a young and dynamic star of Arabic Chaabi (popular) music also known as Chaâbi, Sha-bii, or Sha'bii. Chaabi comes in numerous varieties which are descended from the multifarious forms of Moroccan and Algerian folk music. These songs are characterized by a swift rhythmic beat accompanied by syncopated clapping. Lately, a new generation of vocal artists and bands is experimenting with incorporating western elements such as rap and hip-hop.

presenting:
Cek a bu cekrudh
(via NODAR - Berlin, Germany)

[Note: The link opens the Adobe Flash Player and runs the x-shockwave-flash application. It will open in a new window. To activate hit > play button. To stop anytime hit the pause button or close the window. If you don't have this player installed or if you have the Adobe player blocked you will not be able to receive this audio file.]


CROSS CULTURAL OUTLINE
is dedicated to showcasing
newly emerging and groundbreaking World-Music
that is not as yet well known internationally.

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Mark Twain elucidates again

Mark Twain on the subject of War
(edited and abbreviated)

There has never been a just one, never an honorable one on the part of the instigators of war. I can see a million years ahead, and this rule will never change. The handful in power, as usual, will shout for the war. The pulpit will warily and cautiously object at first; the great, big, dull bulk of the nation will rub its sleepy eyes and try to make out why there should be a war, and will say, earnestly and indignantly, "It is unjust and dishonorable, and there is no necessity for it." Then the handful will shout louder.

A few fair men will argue and reason against the war with speech and pen, and at first will have a hearing and be applauded; but it will not last long; those others will outshout them, and presently the anti-war audiences will thin out and lose popularity.

And now the whole nation, pulpit and all, will take up the war-cry, and shout itself hoarse, and mob any honest man who ventures to open his mouth; and presently such mouths will cease to open.

Next the statesmen will invent cheap lies, putting the blame upon the nation that is being attacked, and every man will be glad of those conscience-soothing falsities, and he will by and by convince himself that the war is just, and will thank God for the better sleep he enjoys after this process of grotesque self-deception.

Mark Twain (1835-1910), was a popular American writer, humorist and satirist, with a keen wit. Twain is perhaps most noted for his novel Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (published in 1884), which deals with overcoming the entrenched racism of the time.


[See also: A poem by Walt Whitman, and Siegfried Sassoon's Aftermath]


[Related: a Theodore Roosevelt quote]

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Look and Listen

CAN you look him in the eye

can YOU look him in the eye

can you LOOK him in the eye

can you look HIM in the eye

can you look him IN the eye

can you look him in THE eye

can you look him in the EYE





CAN you re member his mess age

can YOU re member his mess age

can you RE member his mess age

can you re MEMBER his mess age

can you re member HIS mess age

can you re member his MESS age

can you re member his mess AGE

Commentary

The anger and condemnation in the kid's voice is entirely justified. We were not the first to pollute and damage our planet. That process started along with the industrial revolution. We are, however, the first to have scientifically researched and assessed the devastating scope and consequence of global warming. Despite this knowledge we have failed take crucial countermeasures.

Our guilt is that of denial, inertia, lack of responsibility and near-criminal neglect. We have sold out to the instant gratification of consumerism, no matter the cost, and to the mind-numbing falsehoods of a morally bankrupt leadership.

Time has come to face up to the undeniable reality of climate change and to join in taking effective steps to halt and maybe even reverse it. The ways and means to accomplish this objective are already at our disposal waiting to be enacted and applied.

Not only do we owe this to our kids, we owe it to ourselves.

[See also: Preserve our eco-system]

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Goliath

:

Examining the Power that is Google





Friend or Foe
Google's page ranking monopoly, also known as "Google-opoly", has been a source of endless frustration to owners and webmasters of modest, strictly non-commercial websites who are exercising their right of free speech and want to be heard amidst the din of blatant consumerism.

It is like pitting an Internet David against an Internet Goliath of dubious integrity, namely google.com, who has been shown to exert unfair dominance over the search-and-ranking business giving giant commercial and ad-laden sites the highest rankings and thereby the greatest prominence. Contrary to the legend, prospects of David winning this (mis-) match are slim to none.



On the other hand, it is an undisputed fact that Google is the world's largest and most widely utilized search engine, fielding about 150 million search requests a day. Beyond that, Google offers an overwhelming menu of tools and services, most of which a mere mortal average web user is blissfully unaware of. The Google development team is comprised of a slew of whizz-kids coming up with ever more far-reaching widgets and applications to enthrall the google-devotees and keep them firmly in the fold.



The Google Cheat Sheet shown above and below lists a total of 44 Google Services URLs, 9 subsidiaries owned by Google, 13 Google blogs, 11 additional tooli-gigs and countless Google domains world-wide.

Impressive? You betcha.

You will probably need to use magnifying glasses in order to make out the topmost illustrations in this post. The reason: 'Blogger',that is to say 'Google', imposes a limitation of a 408 pixel width on each image.

Squint and sigh.




The two opposing camps of Google fans and Google critics are clearly defined and equally vociferous. There seems to be a lot of emotionalism at play here. Few web users have a neutral attitude about the Google phenomenon. Surely, you have made up your own mind in this matter.

And, oh, by the way, have fun trying out some or all of the goo-features listed (you must type each individual URL into your browser window).

Google away...


[See also: 'Google vs. Evil']


[Related: Frick and Frack]



:: Are you google-eyed? Please comment ::

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Hermann Hesse on Learning

Lesen ohne Liebe, Wissen ohne Ehrfurcht, Bildung ohne Herz, das sind die schlimmsten Sünden gegen den Geist.

- Hermann Hesse, deutsch-schweizerischer Lyriker, Essayist, Erzähler und Kritiker (1877-1962)


Reading without love, knowledge without tribute, education without heart, those are the worst sins against the mind.

- Hermann Hesse, German-Swiss poet, essayist, novelist and critic

(Translation by Ana Elsner)


Published in many languages, Hesse is best known for his works:

Siddhartha, an allegorical novel about the search for enlightenment, first published in 1922,

Steppenwolf, a demonstration of the duality of human nature, pub. 1928,

and The Glass Bead Game (Das Glasperlenspiel), a futuristic novel, describing how people construct, deconstruct, signify, encode and program their perception of reality, pub. 1943.

"The above quote of Hesse reminds me of his novel Unter dem Rad, where the protaganist's spirit is crushed by the rigid educational system of the day.

Hesse's short stories called Märchen deal with the artist's struggle to create great art. They are told in painstakingly beautiful detail and sometimes with humor and irony.

Hesse is one of the greatest psychological novelists since Dostoyevsky. He was a manic-depressive who was not afraid to delve into the depths of his soul. One can clearly see the influence that Jungian psychology had on his work.

In his novel Narcissus and Goldmund, the two protagonists embody the two necessary components of the creative spirit: logic/abstract thought balanced with intuition/emotion. Narcissus, the ascetic monk, is of the Father world coming to terms with the processes of individuation through his intellect. Goldmund, the woodcarving icon artist, is of the Mother world feeling his way through life in the quest for discovering his true Self. This novel is literally steeped in Jungian archetypes and dream symbols on just about every page.

Applying the Riso-Hudson enneagram personality theory, Narcissus represents the five (the Thinker) and Goldmund the four (the Artist) on the scale of personality types. It is no surprise that Hesse, himself, was a four with a five wing."

Vincent Russo, Composer, Orchestrator and Conductor

[Take your own Personality Test]

.

DAWN by Ana Elsner

Suddenly and uninvited Dawn appears

and reaches deep inside of you

piercing your outer shell

of eyelid skin and flesh cushion.

OH DAWN OF STEALTH!


Mercilessly it jolts your mind

out of its cocoon of amniotic Suspension

which transcends all laws, natural and man-made,

out of blissful Disembodiment from self,

out of Fantasy beyond description,

where that palpable state of Omnipotence resides.

OH CRUEL DAWN!


Now dreamscapes evaporate under morning sun's invasive glare,

Sleep-drunk torpor gives way to the inevitability of purpose

Synapses twitch into brain-controlled efficiency.

OH DAWN OF DUE-DILIGENCE!


When the bathroom mirror reveals a light crusty stain on your cheek,

the tracks of your tears cast a slip-shadow of remembrance,

as fleeting as the hummingbird darting away,

of that un-chartable nameless territory,

where your subconscious mind is a nightly Explorer,

pouring out and being replenished,

shedding the tears of Pain,

shedding the tears of Ecstasy.

OH DAWN, INTERCEPTOR OF DREAMS!


© Ana Elsner



From 'Ciphers Of Uncommon Origin - Poems By Ana Elsner'
(InstaPLANET Press 2007)
Reprinted by permission

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Ana Elsner's The Intervention Rhapsody In Three Movements

Poetry by Ana Elsner

Oboe

-:- -:- -:-

Sit and ponder this

-:- -:- -:- -:- -:- -:- -:- -:- -:- -:- -:- -:- -:- -:- -:-

I Sit and Look Out

I sit and look out upon all the sorrows of the world,
and upon all oppression and shame;
I hear secret convulsive sobs from young men, at anguish with themselves, remorseful after deeds done;
I see, in low life, the mother misused by her children,
dying, neglected, gaunt, desperate;
I see the wife misused by her husband -
I see the treacherous seducer of young women;
I mark the ranklings of jealousy and unrequited love,
attempted to be hid -
I see these sights on the earth;
I see the workings of battle, pestilence, tyranny -
I see martyrs and prisoners;
I observe a famine at sea - I observe the sailors
casting lots who shall be kill’d,
to preserve the lives of the rest;
I observe the slights and degradations
cast by arrogant persons upon laborers,
the poor, and upon negroes, and the like;
All these -
All the meanness and agony without end,
I, sitting,
look out upon,
see, hear, and am silent.

-Walt Whitman, (1819-1892),
American humanist, poet, journalist, editor, teacher, and clerk at the U.S. Department of the Interior

Visit the world of Ana Elsner, a contemporary poet who was inspired by Walt Whitman

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