Two Days and a Night on the Boat (poem)

 

Free boat scraping
barnacles of salt water in Marina Del Ray
the bargain boat bought brought a security guard
living on the empty vessel

Hoisting themselves up a mast near the slip
skill with a bosun’s chair gave a vision
of Johnny Carson’s get-away-yacht
the 26 foot sailboat didn’t have

Leaving the slip with a paddle making way
down a grid row, through a channel
sailing without a motor past breakwaters
toward Catalina and even Alaska

Night fell near the islands
still wind and wonder without maps
of glow from yonder window on the horizon
that seemed to grow larger moving uncertainly

A shipping lane, a careful watchman looking at a scope
in the dark of night a large towboat and barges vector past
what could have been a crushing, splintered feeling
of loss

Wind rose in the morning, waves slapping the hull
the boat taking on water, a screwdriver through
near the keel brought the question
to return or continue

Opening the Bible at random it said
give away what you have and follow me
-to L.A. from the island donating the boat
to an organ donor place and bike across the Mohave.

A Starplate Shed Project

 Recently I started putting together a Star-plate shed. Here are a few photos.

Eternity and Contingent Being (poem)

 

Wind starts and continues
without purpose or self-defining description
customizing experience
as if empiricism were more than formulai
for developing rigorous materially grounded statements

  Beliefs could be like echoes
for ideas ricocheting tensors of tenses
toward temporal certainty
assurance of waves driven across an ocean
the storm’s purity of creation 

  Encounters of interference patterns
meanings in metaphysics
dialectical evolution
unstructured structures compiling purposefully
porpoises diving deep

  Evolving purposes
in G.W.F. Hegel-like structures
realms of absolute spirit
where sub-routines realized themselves through history
and God was like a transcending magnetic force

  One might feel a unique verse
is created like a fossilized footprint
nominalism and realism unified with temporality
words that stand still in the past
while God is eternal.

I asked ChatGPT to evaluate the poem and this is what it wrote... "This is a dense and abstract poem, deeply philosophical in its exploration of existence, meaning, time, and the relationship between metaphysical and empirical concepts. Let me break it down in two parts: grade level and meaning.

Grade Level:

The poem uses advanced vocabulary, philosophical references, and abstract concepts, which would likely place it at a college level (around grades 11–12 or higher). Some factors contributing to its high grade level include:

• Complex vocabulary: Terms like "empiricism," "formulai," "tensors," "metaphysics," "dialectical," "nominalism," "realism," and "absolute spirit" suggest a sophisticated knowledge of philosophy, science, and metaphysical concepts.
• Abstract and non-linear structure: The poem doesn't follow a conventional narrative or structure, making it more challenging for younger readers. Its meaning is more open-ended and conceptual, requiring a higher level of abstract thinking to interpret.
• Philosophical references: The poem mentions Hegelian philosophy (G.W.F. Hegel), which is typically studied at the university level in philosophy courses, particularly in discussions of metaphysics and the philosophy of history.

Meaning:

The poem explores complex philosophical ideas about existence, time, purpose, and the nature of reality. Here's a breakdown of its themes:

• Wind as an emblem of uncaused movement: The poem begins with a metaphor of wind "starting and continuing without purpose" to suggest that natural processes or forces exist beyond human definition and may be without intrinsic purpose.
• Empiricism vs. abstract knowledge: There's a suggestion that empirical science (based on observation and physical evidence) cannot fully capture or explain the deeper, metaphysical realities of existence. The poem hints that "empiricism" can be limiting when it comes to the ultimate questions of meaning and being.
• The nature of beliefs: The mention of "Beliefs like echoes" and "ideas ricocheting" hints at the way human thoughts and beliefs are constantly shifting, changing, and bouncing around in search of truth, perhaps in an effort to stabilize in a world full of uncertainty.
• Temporal vs. Eternal: The "temporal certainty" contrasts with "eternal" concepts (like God). The poem explores how human understanding is confined to time and experience, while higher truths (such as divinity or metaphysical reality) exist outside the constraints of time.
• Metaphysical and dialectical evolution: There’s a reference to Hegelian philosophy, where the unfolding of history is a process of evolution toward greater self-realization, culminating in the "absolute spirit." The idea that history and God are intertwined in a process of development suggests a dynamic, evolving universe where ultimate meaning and purpose unfold over time.
• Purposelessness and Creation: The poem invokes the idea of "unstructured structures" that "compile purposefully" — an intriguing contradiction that points to the way systems or ideas, though seemingly random or without direction, may ultimately be seen as having some purpose when viewed from a larger perspective.
• Eternal vs. finite: The poem concludes with the paradoxical image of "words that stand still in the past" while "God is eternal," drawing attention to the difference between the transient nature of human language and concepts, and the eternal, unchanging nature of divine or metaphysical reality.

In summary, the poem contemplates the tension between the finite and the infinite, the temporal and the eternal, and how human beings might understand their place in the universe. It invites the reader to consider both the limitations of empirical knowledge and the deeper, transcendent forces that might be beyond human comprehension. It suggests that purpose, meaning, and divine reality may evolve in ways that defy simplistic, materialistic explanations."

Faith and the Dynamics of Opposition

Faith is still reasonable though it encounters the fight dynamic of faithless expressions intended to reinforce the choice of unbelief. The faithless believe that is intelligent.

Many believe in Multiverses. Matrix, Holographic extra dimensional universes, dark matter and an infinite omniscient God actualizing every possible universe in his mind a priori as a quantum, virtual fact with an apparent 3rd dimensional Higgs Field facilitating iterative functions of mass and energy.

The oldest poem in the English language is the Hymn of Caedmon- an illiterate goat herder/genius … “Now [we] must honour the guardian of heaven, the might of the architect, and his purpose, the work of the father of glory as he, the eternal lord, established the beginning of wonders; he first created for the children of men heaven as a roof, the holy creator then the guardian of mankind, the eternal lord, afterwards” … (Updated to modern English).

Faith in Jesus Christ is pragmatic and historically supported. Empiricism is somewhat dated i.m.o. Cf. Quine's 'The Two Dogmas of Empiricism'. Concepts include any sort of thought, as phenomena. Perhaps a good contemporary dynamic tension is between physics and metaphysics. It is interesting that Kant's categories remain relevant in relation to physics and metaphysics.

Metaphysics in effect means greater physics. its role is inductive rather than deductive so far as it relates to what may be observed. About empiricism- people tend to misunderstand what it was. Read A.J. Ayer's 'Language, Truth and Logic' and then Quine's 'The Two Dogmas of Empiricism' for a better idea of the relationship epistemology has with empiricism, language, knowledge and percepts. Quine demonstrated that empiricism was wrong about its epistemic foundation.

There isn't a direct tie- a necessary tie, between matter and propositions made with thought about matter (or energy etc.) or anything else that imbues a verifiable truth to empirical propositions. An interesting point to consider though is that of computer programming and writing code from mind and thought that can be converted or made into part of reality. One structures ordered languages to perform tasks that are actualized in the objective world.

Maybe Quine would have taken a position like Sartre at that point, or even Bishop Berkeley. Neither implied that man is impotent and incapable of acting in-the-world. The range of human freedom to act is included within the given realm of possible experiences. God could have written code for the Universe or sentient beings in it in a comparable way without the limits given to human knowledge.

Arthur Schopenhauer and Political Sins Like War

Arthur Schopenhauer was a notorious misogynist who threw his land lady down a staircase. He did develop a rather unique worldview combining elements of Eastern philosophy with Western. Not that it was worth a damn- interesting though. His brief book ‘The Fourfold Roots of Reason’ is technically solid and a kind of reiteration of Kant’s ‘Prolegomena to Any Future Metaphysics’.

If he had put more time into good technical philosophy instead of his syncretistic ontology he could have made a positive contribution. Schooenhauer believed women were inferior and incarnated as such as punishment for sins in a prior life He might have used US Presidential elections as an example if he were alive today. Biden-Harris gave Ukraine another 425 million dollars of war equipment including 211 Striker combat vehicles for some attacks before the vote. Taxpayers are being punished for Democrat Party sins.

If truth means to verify a proposition there are other ways than math for that. If truth means the source of all that is including universes the only God can be true

The Lakers Future Line-up and Threes?

The Lakers tend to enhance their defense to cling to leads and take out good shooters such as they have in the back court. Meanwhile the opposition sinks 3s and goes on to win. When they trail they also believe they can win with defense as if they were the Baltimore Ravens in their championship year.

Playing in the 4th quarter shoot 2s while the other team shoots 3s is like being 2 dimensional in a 3 dimensional game.

The future Koloko, Davis, Russell, Reeves, Knecht starting line up is amazing to consider. That might be a very good team. Jackson Hayes can back up Davis and Kololo to good effect.

The Lakers need three good centers, four good guards and three good forwards... Fundamentals for a variety of offensive schemes.

The Lakers can run a double post three guard offense with Davis as a forward-center because James or Knecht can play guard-forward as good shooting 6 foot eight or nine players. Maybe that's why the ten rebounds and assists per game average for one of the best shooters in the game was a wing position.

Gravity's Space-Time Edge (poem)

 

Cast off from what was known
vortex questions of galactic charm
circles in space-time echoes own
lines of being to the center of storms

Looking down from a singularity too far away
matters that ever last surpass to rise
like flowers of forever that live a few days
and yet must die in December’s darkened sky

The Earth in the beginning
from the mind it was conceived
a place, an island dreaming
weary travelers didst time to leave.

Would a Harris Win Enable a Chaotic Crash of the Dollar?

  A Trump win might generate fairly predictable consequences ( good economy, compiling public debt, peace with Russia etc). A Harris win alternatively could start a series of chaotic challenges to American leadership competence with consequences for the poor as well as average Americans.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/digital-assets/2024/11/02/cataclysmic-collapse-tesla-billionaire-elon-musks-radical-357-trillion-plan-to-avert-financial-emergency-spurs-huge-bitcoin-price-bets/

The Harris commitment to pursue conflict with Russia over Ukraine and her lack of historical understanding of the nation's position in the currents of world political evolution might engender the crash of the dollar while global warming accelerates. Secure borders and a commitment to excellence and supporting the development of every American citizen to be the best they can be is necessary if the country is to have much control of it's own political destiny in one nation under God, indivisible with liberty and justice for all.

Kamala Harris major selling point is that she is female. She has of course signed off on the Democrat's party platform, yet I am not aware of a single new idea she has. Low expectations need to be adjusted downward.

Wittgenstein, Cohen, Quine, Kripke, Language, Wars etc.

 Wittgenstein's Blue and Brown books presented a simple anthropology of language development. It was a somewhat more pragmatic approach than Heidegger's investigation of language and concept meanings with depth in etymology. His thought about language was a part of the development of linguistic or analytic philosophy yet very early. Realism and nominalism questions about words were better understood toward the later half of the 20th century Applying logic to language and meaning as elements of epistemology developed later with people like Cohen, Strawson, Quine and Kripke. 

A thought about wars of the distant future... Weapons like scalpels will be applied to scale of conflict. To destroy a planet or galaxy different tools would be used than to excise opposition forces amid some friendly forces. If people remain stupid enough to have wars they will probably annihilate themselves anyway.

Apparently scientists already bred an ape with a human and aborted the foetus, otherwise there would have been a better alternative to Joe Biden. Seriously though, 16 million years ago a major eruption occurred- with vast left-wing lava extrusion (The Columbia River Basalt Province) from the Yellowstone hotspot and before that the Deccan Traps extrusion 66 million y.b.p. Humans have been around from about 100,000-200,000 years ago and no they wouldn't naturally evolve to a super-being in just 100,000 more years. Many people including James Lovelock and the late Jacques Cousteau have said that humanity will probably destroy the livability of the Earth within 200 years. It does seem likely. 

https://www.usgs.gov/volcanoes/yellowstone/science/summary-yellowstone-eruption-history

Unicorns in the Old Testament. Apparently Re'em was a unicorn as well as the rhino mentioned earlier ( "the scientific name for the Indian Rhino is 'Rhinoceros Unicornis") It had to do with horns. Stipes was the upright stick Jesus was crucified on and the unicorn was a symbol of Christ. I will quote a relevant piece on unicorns from a google search... "The Hebrew word re'em is mentioned nine times in the Bible and is often translated as "unicorn" in English translations. However, some modern translations use the term "wild ox" (aurochs) to describe the re'em, which is the correct meaning". I tend toward being a KJV only reader myself so far as Bibles go, because I like the language, although the Good News version is sometimes interesting too.

Overlapping Tomorrows (a poem)

 

Soft breezes everywhere frostbite laps
oceans of dreams returning to slosh
silently no more than wind and waves
froth reaching jagged edged hours
washing time away

In the dark night sky
she is like thought unsurpassed
water and will
echoes and ideas

Tomorrow's plains of grass
are shelves of land pushed to crenelations
-mountains arisen to heights
where cold ascends toward truth

Nothingess became a symphony
Gorecki’s sorrowful songs
when lives turn to dust
remembered by those still
living in this place

A view of the past from promontory point
starlights for someone new
looking in the distance could be
conversion to the spiritual
one might wish for.