30 Dec 2010 -- Critical Element of a Great Performance
-
Even if you're born a performer, it is still the grace of God, to use
J.S. Bach's phrase which gives your performance another dimension. A
magical performance is blessed by a movement which is not of time and
thought. The instrument, including the body mind and heart need to be
in tune. The window must be open and the breeze may come.
Dec 2010 --
- Markbass is my favorite bass amp right now. Compact, powerful, light weight, but.. .expensive.
-
She said "you're a knight in shining armor". There was love - we hadn't
talked for many years - she's got a homeopathy practice. I offered to
mediate her daughter's case to bring an end to the stupid litigation
she's pursued against her school.
- Telling
a married person I am trying to simplify my life sounded like a joke. A
married person with kids thinks my life being unmarried and without
children is much simpler.
- SBB has a free offline timetable now: http://fcd.zvv.ch/fahrplan.php
- Thank God the Almighty, I'm feeling better. Have written a whole book on sinus infection.
-
Mr.
S. said it's very good that you write. "you'll get to my age and
realize how good it was to write your diary". True. But the Larijanis
destroyed 7 years of my diaries. And Mr. S saw the victim before it was
taken to the slaughterhouse (Orange County Dumpster). It was nice
talking to her and aunt -- I joked, that since you just got home give
the key to the "peykane javanan" to go cruise around (like he used to
do). He was the coolest uncle. I don't forget love -- because love is
part of the being and it doesn't die. The "not forgetting" is not a
typical act of memory but a "love repository" which has nothing to do
with time. And she said everytime I make baamieh (okra) you're in it.
And I said everytime I see Pofak (namaki) you're in it (she used to buy
it for me all the time.
-
If you think the studio version of "Light My Fire" has a mostly
uninteresting solo except two or three melodic phrases, check out their
live performance. The solos are pretty chaotic and musically deficient.
Still, a great song, and we play a reduced version containing all the
important musical elements. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6O6x_m4zvFs The Doors - Light My Fire ( From "Live In Europe 1968" DVD)
- ex-band-mate bought a yacht - over a million dollar new, (he got it used).
Dec 2010 -- life is very short...
Life is too short for quarrel People won’t live forever People think they will live forever but death is always around the corner - can catch any of us any time. Everyone’s
responsibility is to approach the other with no image, no idea, no
conclusion which means a quiet mind – to be in the present and see what
is. I can not tell you to love another, but you can remove what’s not love: ideas, images, etc.
Dec 2010 --
- A song that just goes a ya ya ya is hard to find - but these lyrics were in my head from years ago -- and found it :) "porque cantando se alegran cielito lindo los corazone"...
- Good talk w/ Nahal. I carried her a lot as a baby. Now she’s 36 !!
18 Dec 2010 -- What Happens to People As They Age?
The
smelly human residence streets led to beautiful nature- what a
contrast: nature vs. people. People are also part of nature, but we
must have taken the wrong turn at some point -- maybe it has to do with
diet - continuing to eat dead animals (which I don't) even after the
ice age was over? No idea.
Looking at crowds of people -- so
many beautiful your children, beaming with radiance innocence beauty
life curiosity honesty integrity, and then old people - some who have
maintained that intetgrity but most have turned ugly and fat. Why? It
can not be just gravity and time, but perhaps the way of life, tamasic
food, consuming dead animals, poisons, chemicals, alcohol, smoking,
etc., and perhaps most degenerative of all: living with conflict.
Turned down offer to play at steakhouse. That's the least I can do for those poor animals.
She
played a Beatles song and totally screwed it up -- least she could do
to respect them would be to learn the darn song -- but many "khaltoori"
musicians are like that. You'd never play Beethoven khaltoori. Beatles
deserve the same respect.
Father of a 1.5 year old started moving her to the guitar music. She moved herself afterwards to the music -- nature kicked in.
Why do musicians who play along recorded music not record their part too and just stand there smiling? It's just as bad.
This
frikin oriental woman was torturing her 2 year old who didn't want to
walk but her stupid mother was determined to make her walk so the kid
cried nonstop forever. I finally said something.
The dog was
just walking streight with his owner. When I arrived to it and loved it
eternally, it felt it, and it turned around and came with me. The owner
pulled it away: walk streight now, without knowing why the dog turned,
but both the writer and the dog knew. Love is so there and so hidden.
Dec 2010 -- Key To Psychological Change - Emptying - Order - Art of Observation - Psychological Thought IS Disorder.
He
said he can't find a way to forget and forgive. That it is perhaps
genetic. No it is not. Perhaps he's going about it the wrong way,
trying to find a way to forget and forgive; while the key is not to
become something else, but to understand what you are. This is an
insight that no pop psychologist can get near.
The fact is it makes you suffer. You say things and events can just trigger it - home alone or with others.
1)
Stop making conclusions. Conclusions only solidify the self but
psychologically, you are nothing but a bunch of memories, an idea. 2) Stop saying I can not change. If you say that, that solidifies it, writes it in stone, and you're sure to not change. 3) Writing is a great way to bring order to empty the mind. 4)
Memory of the event is there and will always be there, but it's
possible that the memory cells are ordered, so the memory doesn't haunt
you - it stays there, dormant. 5) Thought needs to exhaust itself.
The subject has a limited scope. The subconcious unconcious or whatever
else the pop psycologists call it popps up in daily life. When it does,
that's the clue, the hint; catch that, learn where it came from, let it
tell its story. Otherwise it will keep popping up and after some
decades you conclude you can't change. Change is impossible as long as
you don't understand / see what you are, to see how thought gives the
subject continuity, etc. 6) In the process of writing, you may
have insights, for example, see that you don't have the right to tell
another how to live. 7) Memory, experience, as thought, wants to
empty itself, wants to be put to order. Psychological thought IS
disorder. Similar to a kid who keeps saying mom, mom, and as long as
he's not attended to he keeps nagging. Pay attention to the
thoughts and feelings as they come up. 8) You see what you are
including all the pain you went through, and you empty yourself by
seeing it all, and you move forward. Thought doesn't need to go there
anymore because its limited realm of the known, what it knows about the
subject and everything it can imagine about it has been attended to,
exhausted. This is like the door of heaven opening: thinking has
learned its own limitation, and the mind can therefore be quiet,
orderly, without the dictates of disorderly thought, the known, which
is triggered and seems to pop up randomly.
This is the road of
awareness. Without it there is no freedom from the dictates of limited
thought. Part of it is to understand / see thought in action that all
psychological thought is limited. Being limited it is divisive. Being
divisive it brings conflict. Conflict is suffering. This awareness and
the change that comes through this awareness, are the key to freedom
from suffering.
And when we end our own suffering we stop adding
to the world's suffering. That is the fundamental change that humanity
needs and key to peace. Without it all calls for world peace are
superficial.
Dec 2010 -- Crippled Culture
Some
cultures are so frikin crippled when dealing with death. Check this
out: the doctor knows your loved one is dying. HE DOESN'T F'KIN TELL
YOU. and the explanation is that "in this culture, we don't tell
because it's a morbid subject". WHAT THE F!!
And
then you're shown bullshit pop psychology like "The Kübler-Ross grief
cycle"
http://changingminds.org/disciplines/change_management/kubler_ross/kubler_ross.htm
I have no grief, than you.
Dec 2010 -- Freedom & Love
A
good teacher talks to the class about art of living with freedom
compassion and love. Students can related to it. Then a bad teacher and
parents burden the kids with competition and useless burdens.
He's
been in benediction for 2-3 months now - this amazing energy comes - he
called it advaita - for 2 days he's at one with everything. I said it's
due to a religious life. He criticized those who say sit quietly, but
he sits quietly at the river in the morning and it fills him. He said
it takes care of us. It heals a wounded hand. It's so strong he cries
sometimes. During the day he builds himself up again with thoughts
etc., and at night it's there again.
You can not deny the fact that for the breeze to come the window has to be open.
11 Dec 2010 -- Forgiveness
Someone asked about forgiveness.
I
think the important thing is not to build the grudge to begin with and
to be aware of how that is done, than to forgive. If someone calls you
a name for example, you can accumulate it, get upset, and then ask how
to forgive, but is it possible not to get offended? To see that this
insult (or flattery) doesn't matter and not gather it? The answer is
yes.
On the other hand there are cases where someone does
something so severe that you "fire them from your life". It take a lot
-- I mean really a lot -- for me to ever do that and I've done it with
a very few people -- but in these cases these people are out of my
life, and I don't have to think about them, be bothered with them, and
don't want to see them because it brings back the horrible thing(s)
they did (e.g. destroying my diaries).
But what is critical in
any relationship is not to build an image, to stay with facts, and not
have thought perpetuate the situation, add to it, modify it, give it
continuity, which ultimately hurts oneself and isolates oneself more.
Once the matter is dealt with there is no reason to continue to think
about it which can lead to the question of forgiveness.
9-10 Dec 2010 --
More new videos online on www.rezatv.com
She
has a grandson - 2 year old - after having 2 daughters. She's said
she's amazed how he's like a motor; that they can't just give him a
doll and have him sit and be calm?
Nice to catch up with some old friends. Love never dies.
Spent a lot of time taking her out of the video.
9 Dec 2010 -- Honey Day
Migros is killing reformhaus with selling their organic 8 franc honey for 3.30 ! Honey is back in town. When
a honey is so important to you, you don't want to have other honey even
when you're tempted, and that temptation is around, sometimes stronger
than other times, and sometimes it is determined to soak you in its
nectar, but once you're stuck it's hard to de-stick and a bee doesn't
want to fly with more weight if it can fly with less.
9 Dec
2010 -- Philosophical hypocrisy of hackers who are supposedly fighting
for but in fact violating "freedom of expression" and "right to privacy"
Let's
face it: An army of hackers are on the loose from around the
world fighting for but in fact violating freedom of expression and
right to privacy. The current state of technology and law makes the
internet an
incredibly dangerous place and ripe for abuse by hackers, just like the
wild west or the old Chicago gangs, except that hackers who violate the
freedom of expression and other rights of people and companies are
cowards who hide behind anonymous proxies in their mother's basement
for example to carry these attacks. I was a hotshot software engineer
before many of these punks were born. Unfortunately many of these
hackers don't have the depth of philosophical understanding of what
they're doing. Before this latest subject gives their life meaning they
were playing video games all day
and reading science fiction, now they have a cause to fight but how
deeply do they understand the cause and the consequence of their
actions?
I believe it was a French hacker who shut down my website because I had expressed
my opinion about this whole saga, and they tout freedom of
expression (but I got it back on line after a short outage).
They are hypocrits because
1)
these hackers and "pirate parties" are calling for protection of
privacy, yet they support a cause which itself intrudes privacy (TOTAL
HYPOCRISY) 2) they cheer freedom of expression, which I totally
support, yet, they attack sites of those who have a different view than
them (TOTAL HYPOCRISY) 3) they want to reform intellectual property
law to support artists (I totally support the idea) yet they call for
things like very short copyright durations (see the website of the
Canadian "pirate party" for example). (TOTAL HYPOCRISY) 4) they tout
about being pirates -- does this mean they support the actions of the
Somali pirates? What's so great about being a pirate? I believe pirates
are criminals. If you take people's belongings off a ship against their
will that makes you a criminal.
These hackers should put
their technical talents to good use, to support causes that help the
world not causes that help the terrorists like some of these offenders
have done.
I completely support freedom of expression but I
also support right to privacy. These are two principles that these
hackers supposedly follow but they absolutely don't because they are
hypocrits, they're philosophically weak in their understanding of the
depth of issues. Unfortunately they are now finding a reason to be
important, to be in the news, to fight something in the real world
instead of on their video games. All that energy, all that talent, can
go towards something creative : to create instead of to destroy. So
what can you do to help the world? Destruction is easy. Creation is an
art.
8 Dec 2010 onwards
- Went to Tibits' 10 year anniversary party. It was huge, and by invitation only, and easy to over-eat.
- Big city has a strange energy. Many of the people seem so lost in the occupation of being with so many others.
- Uploaded bunch of other new videos including but not limited to:
Regarding the ethics of the latest saga on the news, regardless of the
entity / government / person the actions are taken against, in
principle, I am against intrusion of privacy. Even if I am handed
private papers of another person, I do not have the right to publish
those. And it is my right to express this opinion without getting
attacked by hackers who talk about freedom of expression but want to
shut down people who express a different view than them.
All
this is public information derived from who-is domain registration
records, public telephone book, and their own websites.. If the hackers
get so upset that this already public information is posted
online, then they really need to examine their philosophical hypocrisy.
If the hackers are so pro FREEDOM OF SPEECH (as I am) why
would they try to shut down my website for posting this PUBLIC
INFORMATION?
These
people have a mirror site or
have domain name redirects in Switzerland, or in another way give
their support
to the hacker movement, wikileaks, whose site has these domains listed
as "mirror sites". They seem to support
Freedom of Expression (which I also support), Freedom of Privacy (which
I also support), yet, they're violating those very principles because
the hackers are shutting down sites that are against
violation of privacy (a principle that is theoretically shared by these
hackers so their action is hypocritical), and they are supporting a
cause which intrudes on privacy (another hypocritical action). This
information is public. I gathered them all from public sources:
.ch - By Swiss Pirates, Piratenpartei Schweiz, Simonet Denis, Römerstrasse 9, CH-2563 Ipsach, Born
21. Mai 1985 -- +41 76 509 84 82 -- denis.simonet@piratenpartei.ch
Pascal
Gloor, Rue du Monnet 1, 2603 Péry 079 346 00 26 - born 27.10.1975
Here's an interesting article: http://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/Swiss_pirates_prepare_to_take_on_internet.html?cid=7502824
.perry.ch
which is owned by: Perry Maurice, rue de la Dranse 16, CH-1920
Martigny. [The only one with that name I can find in the telephone book is:
Perry Maurice Roger, informaticien, rue Liotard 4, 1202 Genève, 079 627
97 72.]
.huissoud.ch
which is owned by: resurrection-jdr, Huissoud Huissoud, Au village,
CH-1682 Lovatens. [The only Huissoud listed in the phone book in that
village is: Huissoud Thérèse géographe, 1682 Lovatens 021 906 89 19].
.delight.ch
delight software gmbh Zurschmiede Elias IT Mühle CH-9506 Lommis delight
software gmbh -- Unterstrasse 39 9000 St. Gallen 071 223 80 71 --
Lukas Unterstrasse l.zurschmiede@delight.ch
.ratm.ch tchetch.net Etienne Bagnoud Place Centrale 5 CH-1920 Martigny Switzerland [not listed]
zurich.ch.-mirror.com hosted out of Grand Cayman
FreedomOfSpeE.ch Matthieu SIMON freedomofspee.ch, office #2854981 c/o OwO, BP80157 FR-59053 Roubaix Cedex 1 France
wl.rekursion.ch
Weiss Rene Seestrasse 40 CH-8806 Bäch SZ -- Weiss René 078 663 74 27
Seestrasse 40, 8806 Bäch SZ -- [listed at the same address and name:
Weiss Alexander Tel.: 043 810 26 31 - Seestrasse 40, 8806 Bäch SZ]
.under.ch l'Usine Brugger Dominic place des Volontaires 4 CH-1204 Genève [not listed]
------
After
some French discussion on a Tweeter in which "anonymous" whose account
was later suspended participated, and my website was attacked, I had a
couple of repeated suspicious visits from the following on 9 Dec 2010 :
21.178.1-93.rev.gaoland.net IP Address 93.1.178.21 [Label IP Address] Country France Region Ile-de-france City Chilly-mazarin ISP Neuf Cegetel Browser Firefox 4.0 Operating System MacOSX
179.103.86-79.rev.gaoland.net IP Address 79.86.103.179 [Label IP Address] Country France Region Bourgogne City Mâcon ISP Neuf Cegetel Browser Chrome 9.0 Operating System Win7
193.47.80.82 Country France Konqueror 3.5 Operating System Linux
---- again on 11 Dec: 93.1.178.21 [Label IP Address] Country France Region Ile-de-france City Chilly-mazarin ISP Neuf Cegetel Returning Visits 1 Visit Length 1 second VISITOR SYSTEM SPECS Browser Firefox 4.0 Operating System MacOSX Resolution 1280x1024 Javascript Enabled ---- Goodbye sucker!
Found some time on the weekend to edit some old Bachehaye Mahal videos. Fun to watch :)
What
a heavy video day again on Sunday. Finished editing 2 Bachehaye Mahal
videos. Worked on other edits. Good talk with Andishe, Gary B., Norouz,
Peyman, etc. -- Fabio called too. When it rains it pours. Also talked
w/ Hamid -- lots of renewed relationships around music and IT.
It
was long over-due -- it was on my mind to do it - and an outstanding
promise I made to my dear brothers, Hamid, Norouz and Peyman and Ali...
to edit these videos.
They
are delighted. We were a great
band. The Persian bands these days are sisi compared to us. We rocked
out. We had high standards. Hamid and I both had a strong musical
background. We played good clean arrangement unlike many Persian bands
who play Khaltoori. And we had power. I had the Beatles energy. Peyman
had the metal background. The others too, each brought an important
unique element. And we each had a good stage character. By the time we
formed that band I had already played with many bands. It was the
others' first band or second maybe. I recruited Norouz in the park at
Sizdeh Bedar. Ali was my far cousin. I met Hamid in a mutual friend's
house and liked him from the first moment. To this date we are like
brothers. He's an angel. With the others too, we hit it off from the
first moment. Norouz was already a tempo+vocals sensation among his
friends -- perfect addition to our band, and he had/has a great
character, easy to work with, etc., we didn't have the ego clash
problem a lot of bands have. Look, 20 years later, we're still friends.
I wished Peyman could improve his musical knowledge and even took him
to a teacher. He had a rock solid beat and a good drummer for us. He
also had a practice space, and of course, a very nice personality. Ali
also. I love these guys still, like my brothers.
---- Dreamed
of AR last night - called him today. He said he wanted to contact me
about his laptop problem. Gave him diagnostic tips. I'm not a hardware
guy but have had to become one over the years just dealing with this
electronic magic box. There is sms, phone, email, and there's morphic
connection / energetic contact. ---- Terry
Jones said they wanted to tell Bush "thank you." He said he admired
Bush because "when he makes a decision, he sticks with it." This is
the lamest line I've ever heard. Bush senior also said the same of his
wife: that she hasn't changed a bit. Is that good or bad?!! ----- Not all reflections about dad are written here (but are logged in the dad file). Like:
woke up with cry of beauty of what a life he led. I have not ever met such a beautiful life-artist.
What happens when someone with whom you have a deep morphic connection dies?
----
Actor
and singer Johannes Heesters has given up smoking for love -- at age
106 -- who will turn 107 on Sunday, has been married to German actress
Simone Rethel, 61.
--- Communication
galore continues. Talked to cousin Ani. She said they're all still here
- only you went away. R in fact asked about me 2 weeks ago "you
had a cousin with pretty eyes where is he?" and funny that I asked her
about R and H since I saw them on the videos I'm editing. H is a TV
character. I guessed it right, by her looks that R is Zoroasterian. She
has a friendly face.
He went to Australia, got a divorce and came back with no kids, no money, no home, and starting from scratch.
--- - I used to love to give good news to dad. He'd be
thrilled to hear from us, and to know we're fine, and to hear good news
from our progress and so on. He used to say our calls would energize
him, to know we're fine would give him powerand joy. Now he's not there
to give good news to. He is. He is part of the totality of universe. A
leaf is gone but the tree is there. In silence there is connection.
When there's connection it also embraces sound. Sound can not produce
silence but sound can come out of silence. [logged in dad] http://home.datacomm.ch/rezamusic/dad.html
- The frikin doctor advises her to go to a hotel after
getting radiation therapy and not tell them. Not only that is illegal,
it is highly unethical. It's like "it's not ok to contaminate your
household but ok to contaminate others". Not! Not only this
contaminates the hotel employees and the next guest, but you could be
that next guest! So the stupid doctor who recommended this must
be told of your moral objection and be advised to never npass on this
immoral advise to others.
3 Dec 2010 -
- Global warming is not a myth like many Republicans
believe. Mom said and I remember too, we used to shovel hills of snow
in our street in the winter. Now we barely get even rain. And this is a
radical change in the climate in 50 year span. Imagine if the planet
changed this fast longer within its long age.
- Another day of torture by Dr. Streit. She packs for
1/2 an hour from 5:30 a.m. onwards every week and makes so much noise -
1/2 hour of torture. I don't understand why these rich doctors don't
get a better place to live where they don't have to disturb their
neighbours specially when they have such crazy work hours - like 6 a.m.
to 10 pm or whatever -- this must yield multimillions a month for
doctors who make something like 50 francs for 5 minutes of consultation
and they even charge you for opening and reading your cancellation note
(this happened to a friend).
- She went to dentist and for
first time got a deep cleaning. She already had beautiful white teeth.
After the cleaning the teeth went brown. She wrote to complain and the
doctor said she has to find another dentist - that he doesn't want her
as a patient!
- We already know many eye doctors and
psychologists thrive on patients not being well and continued need for
their services. Maybe deep dental cleaning is similar.
-
Talked to Suisa. Very interesting info regarding Youtube. They're still
in talks with rights/collecting societies and so right now, putting a
cover song on youtube is not illegal because there is no place to pay
royalties to. Suisa does not accept royalties for Youtube broadcast but
may in the future.
- Andy was very happy to get his USB stick back which I found on the train.
-
Wasted an hour talking to a bunch of stupid representatives at S.B. May
God give me some money and give them some brains :) -- at the end
it was eventually resolved and they admitted they had given wrong
information but it was like pulling teeth. Education is a gift from God.
- Insurance blues -- Sanitas said they'll pay 500 Francs
for checkup. Doctor said 500 is ok. Sanitas took 400 francs out of my
account for checkup!! It's not their fault - looks like the doctor over-billed me.
- Hi Andy. I know what it's like to lose something. I
didn't give your flash drive to SBB lost & found because I didn't
think you'd initiate a search there. Heck, you also ignored my email
for a few days so it must not ave been important, nevertheless I went
through the trouble of trying to
find out who you are based on the data on the drive and called you and
called you this morning. It
took me a long time- had to run a program to extract emails from all
your files and guess yours and other steps, but I didn't read your data
because I respect your privacy. I will send it to you in the post.
- She said her english is wenig, so
ich spreche deutche mit her and at the end sie spreche fluent English
like her mother tongue. Das ist CH fuer sie. She was very kind and
patient to put up with my lansom deutche.
-
Nice conclusion to the drummer search. B will play drums/percussion
with us New Year's Eve. He's a very hot musician. One thing for sure is
that there's no shortage of drummers.
-
It was really a violation of the body's intelligence to sleep so late.
Sleeping when the body is not used to sleeping and being awake when
it's used to sleeping. This really has to stop. A good sleeping habit
makes the body perform more efficiently and for its intelligence to be
fully awake.
- Hard times and diligent work pays off with a wave of inner and outer movement which are one and the same.
-
I think the Swiss really appreciate warmth emotions. They respond so
positively - it's as beautiful as their great responsiveness to music.
-
Rep's name was Mandy. "I remember all my life .... " am I verified now?
she said that was the best call she ever received - a singing customer.
30 Nov 2010 -
- He said there are so many bands but hadly any of them
make any money. He has to spend lot of time and money going to
rehearsals but have only 5 gigs in a year.
-
Good talk w/ B. Her dog died unexpectedly. There is a lot of love for
these close friends in Napoli. E quit smoking at the K center
Brockwood. Great job! D gave up photography study and is now studying
law.
- Good talk w/ Bruno - he's a grand master. His son also
plays Jazz -- bass. It's nice that in this society these musicians can
have such a good life. So far music has been a hobby for me. I don't
have all the papers required in Switzerland in music but I have papers
in other things, like computer science and philosophy and management.
-
30 min on phone with Jury duty people -- "I'd love to serve, but I'm
not there". It's cool, they just need the form back. Ok, fine. Called
the Registrar-Recorder. She was funny - she said: "Those Jury duty
people are out of control. How could they make you do jury duty when
you live out of state" :)
-
Doctor said it was his fault - that he asked me to go in to get test
result while insurance co says it should have been done on the phone.
He charges 50 Francs for 5 minutes of consultation. I think successful
Swiss MD's like him whose calendars are full make something like a
million Francs a year! Nice guy, and us being friends, he will give a
refund...
-
Playing percussion is so easy if you have it in your blood. Drum set
requires more mechanical technique but both are best played if the
person has it in her or his blood, and can feel the music in their
heart and very importantly can foresee the coming rhythm in the brain's
synapses easily. If I had 4 arms I wouldn't need to look for a
percussionist. Awa from Senegal was so incredibly natural on those
congas, and some Swiss people are so unnatural on the African drums,
and some are, but most are not.
- Met Tanja Gutmann today. Miss Switzerland and TV star and actress.
- Having been cheesed out the last days the body
didn't want to buy cheese today - the brain, thought of cheese as
pleasurable and therefore desirable but this was the call of the
intelligence of the body. There was no conflict. Just didn't buy
cheese. I often remember what Dr. Paco Calvo said about cheese: it has
growth hormone and at this age the body is not growing and you don't
want to promote other things to grow in the body...
-
West's fascination with East also shows in these Swiss women I met who
have tattoo written in Chinese - sometimes they don't even know what it
means.
-
The Turkish : buda-ke-var -- this is it -- hamine-ke-hast (in Farsi) --
could denote a victim mentality. What is, must be understood, seen, and
that understanding can bring a change. That is the essence of change.
When
someone is alive one must appreciate him/her -- part of the problem
with a mourner is the thought that "I lost a jewel, I will not see him
again, he will not come back".
It's extremely important that thought learns itself not to perpetuate itself (which gives rise and continuity to sorrow).
She she sees people who were close to him she can't stop crying. She finds this socially crippling.
She
doesn't feel sorry for him but for herself. That a jewel is gone. Did
she appreciate that jewel when alive? Did she love him? Did she give
him love? That's for her to know. I did, and he's part of me.
She said suddnly there is emptiness. That emptiness is worth being with and not escaping from.
I never cry from sorrow but from beauty.
Health is very valuable. It must be cherished while it's there.
Dad's grave stone cost something like $700. What to write on it? X has suggested writing "ghazi-al-ghozat".
25 Nov 2010 -
Tehran
is so firkin polluted they want to declare yet another day of holiday.
I feel affection for mom. She has the comfort of the known but
it's very unhealthy for her to be in that air quality. She still hopes
that we will go live there but I doubt it. She worries about me - to not catch a cold as it's so cold here. It's snowing and is beautiful and like a story.
Went to town many times today. Am tired still from waking up too early.
Decided not to sell the Vietnamese guitar. Just after I decided to sell it it was behaving :)
Found
a Cajon for R. Cajon is very functional (got drum and cymbal combined)
but obviously inferior to the drum set. I checked models and prices for
her and negotiated and then emailed her that if you get this email tell
me. She didn't answer but in person said "I get your emails but I don't
answer". It was the same with phones and sms last year when we had to
relate. So the problem is perhaps not phone phobia which she said she
had but electronic communication phobia.
R said Petra is a
regular at the place. She's there every single night. She drinks water.
It must be a solution for an otherwise void social life? She has a
friendly face.
24 Nov 2010 - Grandparents
I have such fond memories of my grandparents. They're such a big part of my development and being.
Got a gig at the hottest spot in town on the hottest night of the year.
Skyped with Tara and Rusteen. Tara now wants a guitar - not violin - I suggested that to her last time.
- Sakineh Baji was Baji's maid. Maman-bozorg's dad
died just as Aji was born so from sorrow, her milk dried up, so
Sakineh-baji fed her almond milk, meat broth, etc. Agha-joon's
parents died early. Amme went to maman-bozorg's khastegari. Baji was 15
years older than maman bozorg. Dayee Parviz would hide their grandma's
shoes because the kids love their grandma so much that they didn't want
her to leave.
24 Nov 2010 -
Swisscom manager said what the rep told me was "absolutely wrong" - I knew it. "I'll give you 5 francs for the inconvenience." after we talked more she said, "you're such a nice person, I'll give you 10 francs, you took the time to tell us..."
---- -
common experience - when you tell teacher you're not coming any more he
brings out the best. why? maybe till then he thinks he can sustain you
based on confusion on boring stuff... - good talk with ML. She's now an accomplished musician and teacher. I've known her for years.
- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TXSFwWCB07c - Farhad: Koodakaneh - a song that takes you back. Great lyrics.
- There's nothing noble about sorrow. It's as common as having kids.
- does life become complicated as one ages? Isn't part of art of living to try to keep life simple?
-
Another Republican mess: "Jurors deliberated for 19 hours before
returning guilty verdicts against DeLay on charges of money laundering
and conspiracy to commit money laundering. He faces up to life in
prison on the money laundering charge... Prosecutors claim the money
helped Republicans take control of the Texas House. That enabled the
GOP majority to push through a Delay-engineered congressional
redistricting plan that sent more Texas Republicans to Congress in 2004
— and strengthened DeLay's political power."
23 Nov 2010 -
- Nice to reconnect with an old friend, Annalena Fröhlich (www.anna-lena.ch), who's now an accomplished musician:.
I met her in the bus many years ago when I was recording my first CD.
She lived in the next village from the church where I was making the
recordings in. She always had a natural smile with an angelic aura. She
went on to study music and become an excellent musician and dancer.
- A browser has become what I always dreaded about television and why I never wanted to have a TV.
- I
suppose most ailments are due to misuse. I think I discovered the wrist
pain is due to the regular one hand lifting of the heavy blender...
- As
I type this sideways I remember Dr. Andy - bless his energy - who told
me how I was skewing due to a job as a programmer - when I was 21-ish.
21 Nov 2010 -
-
Iran’s capital, with 12 million residents and more than 2 million
vehicles, is among the world’s most polluted cities. A Tehrani
typically inhales as much as 9 kilograms (20 pounds) of pollutants a
year, according to local studies.
- Nice set of Y&P.
- i feel like i'm not missing out on a lot of contemporary pop music because a large % has no melody
I absolutely can't believe AI is 38 !!! I still picture her as 24. Time flies.
Good
talk to GK : like kissing fox - suddenly it might be a handsome prince
and Malcolm's line: a faint heart never won a fair lady. Good talk w/ AL. He also perceived CS to be a very chaotic place and not a pleasant environment.
She went swimming in Kish and loved it. $500 for 3 nights 5* hotel and flight and breakfast.
Nov 2010 - The Father
Dad
had a big heart – a big big heart – it melted away everything that came
in contact with it – his heart was lightened by the light of his great
mind.
Thinking of H, remembered dad’s love for mom’s mom –
pure love – pure greatness – it was so intense – it was so real – his
voice – his heart – his love – his smile – his presence – so strong –
so every lasting as though it is fully absolutely here – that love has
not died a bit – has not even weakened like the warmth of sun on a
building at night – that one had to sit quietly – in nothingness – in
strength of pure energy of presence – and that otherness, that
nothingness, that immeasurable love was here, is here, and it filled
the room and the mind and every thing.
--------
Good
singing on the walk. Came to a song that reminded of Shomal - Shadi and
I in the back of the car listening to Beatles Rock & Roll Music
album (a compilation with silver cover that had come out around that
time). And remembered dad's presence. He truly was an angel. His
energy's vibration was peaceful loving wise. A gentleman to the utmost
meaning of the word without a remote trace of vulgarity whatsoever.
Just remembering that beauty in the form of a far distanced memory, and
feeling that quality of that energy which is still very much still
here, integrated in the core of my being, gave rise to tears and
sobbing of beauty and went on. It was ignited by memory but thought did
not give it continuity, and in fact stopped the sobbing, not
intentionally but naturally after it went on with another song and its
lyrics of love and togetherness and distance. He is not far away. His
goodness, that rare quality of total beauty is very much alive and
right here.
I
also learned English without a good command of theoretical grammar but
got perfect hang of it through hearing and reading and speaking.
--------
A trip down the memory lane.
Persimmon took me back to Iran - to the old days
- grandma - snow - love - warmth - and the song - beautiful one by
Farhad - took me back - regression - and cried a bit in the super
market. Remembered mamang bozorg - sleeping in her arms - synchronizing
with her breath so I didn't inhale her exhale. Their radio was always
on - nice orchestral works. There was love.
A Raveshe-no
teacher tried to pick up my aunt - during those decadent days of 70's
in a French West and hippie influenced society.
17 Nov 2010 - Zurich
face of man ashamed at being seen cussing at the phone for it not having rang as he'd been expecting.
face of swiss woman fedup with the rasta lazy smoker man who's now old and on crutches.
faces of man on 5:30 train stressed from a day he got through with the help of caffeine.
good
to see H. Taking the guitar he bought 40 years ago for over 300 francs
home to restring it - play it - make love to it - make it alive again.
It's been sitting in the attic neglected and out of tune.
bought
bio roasted peanuts after trying some at reformhaus - they're too high
calorie but as a couple of times a year fun food they're ok.
zurich
is looking and feeling very christmasy already. it's really the highest
quality city it's been rated many times but the young girl at Swisscom
shop didn't agree. She said it's emotionally deprived. She was cool. I
told her Orange wants 10 with 10 credit and Sunrise 20 with 20 credit
and Swisscom wants 40 - try to do something..... she ended up giving me
the new SIM for free.
picked up new phone after giving up on the lost one. a k750i in great shape for 24 francs!!
H said the heart pain is probably the chest muscle. makes sense - from the physiotherapy I had today.
spent a lot of time polishing up the resume for a very cool job.
spent hours till late night studying German.
went to chocolate store waiting for tram "I don't eat chocolate but I like the smell" :)
16 Nov 2010 - German
Spent
a long time studying German, trying to simplify the complex rules down
to a usable state unlike people who study it for 2 years and still
can't speak well. I will never speak perfect German, no foreigner ever
does, I am told. Swiss German makes it easier actually. It doesn't use
the simple past but the perfect (like I know why it's called perfect -
well I guess I do - the glass is broken - but grammar makes me want to
vomit as it has all my life. It's an attempt to put rules around
something that developed organically through ages. No thanks.
Nov 2010 - Egyptian Man Gets Justice in Sexual Harassement Case
He
apparently got 5 years in prison for grabbing European woman into his
shop, groping her etc. before she ran away. This was probably not his
first time. You get these people with a conservative background along
side German and other European babes marching up and down the streets
of 5 star toxic resorts and a few of these men are criminally minded
and are stupid, like the man in question who attacked the woman
probably knowing she flies away the next day but with a little help
from her friend she reported him to the nearby Tourist Police who
arrested the guy the same day and through followup via the embassies
information came of his sentencing. Knowing it was probably not his
first time, that so many of the same kind of criminals get away with
it, and the pain the woman went through, the tough sentence is just
under Egyptian law and obviously, as with any such punishments should
set an example for other such criminals. European travellers to Egypt
should be very careful. Unfortunately, it's never a good idea for a
woman to go anywhere alone in streets of Egypt.
Doing some
googling I learned that Egypt has a big problem with sexual harassment.
A Facebook group set up for this says: "A group against Sexual
Harassment in Egypt! If we can stop it in Egypt we can definitely stop
it ANYWHERE!". It refers to sexual assault (Article 268 of the Penal
Code): This is another sexual crime and can be applied to cases of
touching and other physical harassments. -->This is considered a
more serious crime and is also tried in the larger criminal court
(جنائية محكمة) with 3 judges. Sentences range from 3 years to 15 years
in prison.
-
I helped the Swiss woman claim her right and report him to the police
who subsequently arrested him through an interesting operation we
witnessed. Reflecting back to that time (a long time ago), I have no
regret because if the guy had not been arrested, he'd be in the street
again doing this to other women too and only bolder and with more
viciousness because the last time(s) he had gotten away with it. It's
his problem that the penalty is so severe within that system. The
police already told us he will get 7 years so I guess he should be
happy about 5. I reflected back at it, not feeling sorry for the
criminal at all but in general, out of humanity and compassion, but
determined again, that we had done the right thing by going after the
criminal and seeking justice.
14 Nov 2010 - The Beatles are Alive & Kicking
It's
amazing how alive The Beatles still are. In the country's biggest CD
store, they have the Red & Blue albums (hits compilations) on promotional stand. Unbelievable! And they have on display: - Complete mono recordings. 10+ albums. 459. fcs. Original studio recordings. 13+ albums. 400 fcs.
-
The autumn wind cleaned the leaves with such amazing innate
intelligence in the Earth & Heaven. It was an intense hurricane of
leaves - the sky filled with leaves, a snow fall of leaves.
13 Nov 2010 onwards
Good
talk with Dr. DD -- though we have not seen each other for a long time,
there is love and it travels through the phone lines.
Good
talk with MN who said everyone is too busy to keep in touch though they
want to. I said I have not given up. I still have hope that I can
simplify my life to the point I was when I was in my 20's (minus
university because that + full time work didn't leave much time) and be
able to have more time for leisure and keeping in touch and creative
work.
Good talk with RVB. Love is not effected by time.
Good
talk w/ TG - They got a Cavapoo. Their last dog got old and stinky and
lived in the dungeon and finally put out. It seemed cruel to not care
for an old friend and not care for it when it's old. I'll never want a
pet anyway.
Good talk w/ GB - there's love despite the past.
The
woman in Texas couldn't handle the problem and she just hung up!! The
guy in Denver took care of it. And the woman in Arizona took care of
the technical issue. I gave both their managers complements for them.
Good guitar practice.
Memory is not love.
She said my parents have died for 32 years and it seems like yesterday.
I don't tell her this product I wish she would've loved him more when he was alive. I think she wishes the same.
-------- Dad
went too early. Like the scent of Linden flowers that come and go, fill
the earth with their subtle penetrating drunkening fragrance, and
suddenly disappear. That pool of goodness has not gone. It's here but
it lost an important body. He was an embodiment of goodness, no doubt.
I feel regret in some ways but regret is of the past and it can not
change anything. Perhaps he could have been better taken care of.
Perhaps we should have had him under a doctor's supervision in
Switzerland. And how I regret allowing him to fly alone. But after all
this he was ok. He has had a weak heart for a long time and there was
not much that could have been done that wasn't done. And most
importantly, he was happy, and he died a happy person.
A nap brought light to the being. Still can't find the energy to go to Zurich to my friend's concert.
-------------
9 Nov 2010 onwards
Liver
cleanse is very powerful. Like a big car wash. The stones were emerald
green from all the green smoothies and power greens. Tried bouldering.
Beautiful
girl came in the tram and sat next to me but she was reeking from
cigarette smell so I had to move to a different seat. How sad that
people can smell like ashtrays.
Listened to Taylor Swift newly
hyped album. She has a good sound and a couple of good songs. I like
her personal approach to songwriting, which is probably her key to
success.
I started telling Brigitte about Victoria and green smoothies and she said: Boutenko.
Yes! She said many of her patients have read Victoria's books and she
has read two of them. "It's one of the best things I've ever heard".
Viva Victoria!
X, French speaker, has been speaking German for decades and still gets the grammar wrong.
Nov 2010 - Drum Set -- a bit of history -- & Percussion
I
love drum set. Watching a good drum set player is spiritual orgasm.
However! Let's look at the history. Once upon a time there was Jazz,
and then Buddy Holly, Buddy Rich, Elvis, and eventually the gods sent
Beatles down :)
Beatles revolutionized pop music. This is an
undisputed fact. They made so many things for the first time that
nowadays are utilized as standard -- they were pioneers. Aside from
writing great songs, they formed themselves as a quartet utilizing a
drum set, in the style of Elvis, Blues, Jazz, which have roots in music
of Africa. So in some ways it all started in Africa... but let's not
talk about that for the moment,
This 4-piece concept with a drum
set evolved into a standard which today we see in almost every rock and
pop band. Ringo was very musical. In many of today's rock bands a drum
set is unbearable -- it is played as loud as physically possible and
with very little musical value except to keep the beat.
Tonight
I saw a band, famous around here, but they will never move beyond
Aargau let alone Switzerland. I don't think their fame even gets as far
as Olton, let alone Bern. They're simply too loud, too crude, and their
choice of music sucks. Their drummer, a nice guy and a friend of mine,
was playing with very little musical value -- just banging the hell out
of the drums, and not with great musicality -- partly because the music
itself is shallow and doesn't allow great musical expressions.
At
the end, it's the music that matters. The Beatles who made Elvis evolve
into what is known today as mainstream rock, had very rich music. These
days many bands are about image, looks, attitude, but the music is
simply missing, so they have to play very loud because when it's too
loud, your mind and ear is dulled and can't tell the lack of musical
value. But it can. A sensitive mind and ears, can hear good music,
which is humming across the universe. Beethoven heard it, many great
artists hear it.
Long story short, I feel, while drum set is a
great instrument, and I've played it since I was a kid, and love it, it
is loud and dominating. A club owner today told me percussion is ok but
not drum set because it gets too loud. For our purposes, it's clear to
me that percussion, not drum set, fits the band's strategic
positioning. Later on, we can always add drum set if we want to.
One
of the things I really like about a drum set is the cymbals. The
metallic ring has a deep rooted effect on us. But that sound can be
produced by other means, and also by percussion players -- El Cajon,
tambourine, bells, etc.. I also like the idea of having more than one
percussionist -- so many fun things can be done with various percussion
instruments.
- Talked w/ Raj - Working hard at German. - Talked w/ Khoi. I never forget the hard work he put into my case (both of us actually, worked very hard together). - Talked with Silvia after a long time. She was one of my first "train friends".
3 Nov 2010 - Jam with Stefan & Awa
-
Met Stefan and Awa. They're really good musicians. It was a lot of fun
jamming. Awa is from Senegal. Says she never played the drums but
sounded like a pro !! Stefan also has a very good touch. I love the
sound of congas - always have. Very happy to have met such good musicians and nice people.
- What a beautiful car: 2010 Camaro with a 6.2 engine.
2 Nov 2010 - Found A New Gem (Avanir)
-
Avanir stock (NASDAQ:AVNR) was up 98.4 percent at close Monday, adding
$2.38 to end at $4.80 in very heavy trading: Volume was 55.3 million
shares, compared to the three-month average of 2.8 million.
Looks
like a great long term buy&hold. It's $4.80 now. One analyst has a
$15 target, another I talked to a $10 target. Their drug really helps
people who are suffering. No competition.
28 Oct 2010 - Recommendation for Swiss
-
"so what do you prescribe for the Swiss since they dun seem to be a
contented people for all their affluence." A friend from Singapore
wrote.
What can I say? It's hard to generalize. This is such a
great country and so many things are handled so well. I would suggest
realizing more the limits of thought. This is an extremely
thought-dominated culture, like most of the modern world, but to an
extreme case. And it has one of the highest rates of suicide.
The known is extremely important here and cherished. When thought
understands, sees, its own limitation, the mind can be free from those
limits. Love has no limits.
-
"what are your impressions of swiss and europeans? how does their
mannerisms differ from that of americans? what do each identify with?
culturally? ecomically? tradition?"
hard to generalize. in one
word, swiss are lovely. european is a huge generalization - greek and
swedish are very different in cultures but human experience is the same
everywhere.
-
The most important thing is the source. It just makes sense that a
being is attentive to its source, the very essence of its existence.
-
There is always time to stop and pay a musician. He was from Latvia -
playing accordion and then switching with one hand to a wind instrument
(I think it was an alto horn). .
Oct 2010 -
- Good talk w/ great friend, incredible drummer, and super heart surgeon Dr. Mehrdad Amirhamzeh.
Sinus infection at this age doesn't usually effect the heart and if
does, or in case of stress of illness, heart repairs itself. He went to
Armaghane Tarbiat -- that's how he's so baa-tarbiat :)
- Good talk w/ Azadeh - she complains it's cold there but it's 15 degrees. We have ZeRo! She loves the videos.
- MT had 12 students - in and out in 30 minutes - he has hard time
controlling his temper. Good friend. The gig I got him was good but 100
Brits from Leeds drunk didn't care for guitar music.
- Good talk w/ Falk after a looooooooong time.
- I didn't know that chess was originally Persian. Shatranj.
-
Georgian criminal gangs are chiefly responsible for the large rise in
burglaries in French-speaking Switzerland over the past year, the
Geneva police have confirmed. .. up by 21 per cent in 2008 over the
previous year, said the police on Tuesday at a presentation of their
2008 annual report. Denner in a small village around here got broken
into – 20’000 Fc worth of cigarette and Nivea, and a car were stolen
to get away with. Why did they have 300 cartons of cigarettes at the small village's shop?!?!
- Acer wants 89 for a reinstallation CD. What a ripoff. Dell sends it for free!
- Dreamed of Faith -- today mom said her sister has died.
Oct 2010 - No Image
-
It is powerful to approach someone who had acted stupidly before and
have no image. Images block love. Love has its own power which we
need to let operate more and more in this world. That requires
understanding the limits of thought which naturally suspends it from
entering where it doesn't belong.
- Sold my March 1978 Ovation Legend 1617-4 American made guitar. Researched. Talked to some friends I respect.
Al: i would always buy an all-wood guitar.
Bruno: I don't like the sound - sounds compressed.
I played a note and decided i don't like the plastic sound. Although overall it sounds good. Action needs adjustment.
sold!
Al: look at craigs list. I did. Same thing selling for less.
If
I was a collector I would keep it -- it played on Dancing Hands and the
clean planet song. But I'll buy a nicer acoustic maybe -- an all-wood.
I just joined the ovation dislikers -- I listened closely and can hear the sound of plastic.
-
Listening to his composition was mind opening. What he said was a good
omen -- much needed. He's an angel. I hope to be able to record his
orchestral works specially.
Oct 2010 - A Murderer Prince
I
don't like to follow bad news (which is most news) but someone sent me
this link and I've followed the story. I am disgusted by the cruelty
and vulgarity of this Saudi Prince. There is nothing princy in his
behavior. A video camera caught him beating an non-provoking servant in
an elevator. Prince Saud bin Abdulaziz bin Nasir al Saud,
grandson of the King of Saudi Arabia, was convicted of murdering his
servant in a London Hotel. "The Saudi authorities have been pretty
unhelpful," he said. "We have been trying to get any information about
either the victim or the prince. "He has never told us anything about
himself - clearly he was travelling through the world in a playboy
lifestyle." "Saud's father Prince Abdulaziz, a nephew of King Abdullah,
collapsed and had to be treated by the Old Bailey matron after the
unanimous guilty verdict."
The criminal will be locked up for many years. I'm impressed by the efficiency of the British court. Very swift process.
"A
British court sentenced a Saudi prince to at least 20 years in prison
Wednesday for beating and strangling one of his servants at a swank
British hotel."
"Each
day the pair would rise after 3pm and go down to the safety deposit box
at the hotel where the prince had lodged €30,000 (£26,000). Then they
would hail a taxi or ask a chauffeur to take them to one of the
capital’s most fashionable restaurants where they thought nothing of
spending £500 on a meal for two. This would be followed by visits to
clubs"
Oct 2010 -
- Like & dislike can be ways of identification and giving the self continuity.
- Mexican security forces seized at least 105 tons of
U.S.-bound marijuana -- estimated street value of about $340 million.--
police arrested 11 people who were traveling in the convoy and called
the army and state police for reinforcements -- An unprecedented 28,000
people have been killed in drug gang violence since 2006.
-
The ant was carrying a stick much bigger than itself. It had to go
through many obstacles but it knew exactly where it was going, where
its end direction was. It was a big crows of ants there, all working
hard for an aim - perhaps to save for the winter. It fell off a cliff
-- it was holding itself in the air by hanging on to the stick by its
mouth. The human, watching, put the stick off the cliff and the ant
continued, without emotion, but perhaps grateful for that helping hand
that just came out of the unknown. Are we also like ants to some bigger
creatures? I've always wondered about that -- we're so busy in our own
little limited world of the known.
- Old friend called. He has wife and kids but when he gets a
chance he mbates to make his nerves calm down but it makes it worse and
brings nervousness and depression which is a vicious circle. He gets
prompted by p on the internet. Thank God I got one nasty channel
blocked on my system. I hate p.
- He said he has a hard time categorizing me in the various categories of creatures he knows.
- Woke up at 6 with a nice song. Recorded it.
- Had a huge pile of kale in green smoothie.
18 Oct 2010 - More Reasons Facebook Sucks
Facebook in Privacy Breach -- Top-Ranked Applications Transmit Personal IDs, a Wall Street Journal Investigation Finds
18 Oct 2010 - Swisspost / Postfinance
They appreciated the constructive feedback and advice to sort it out internally and communicated one message to the customer.
- She smokes 30 cigarettes a day and claims to like it. Of course it's hard to believe.
-
Learning a new language, feels like kindergarten again we learn till 12
only. And we learn a b c d. It's actually too slow and I might change it.
- It was nice hearing 1 through 10 in Tibetan, Albanian, Somali.
17 Oct 2010 - Energy & Tradition
do you have the energy to meet tradition's demands? to sit politely to serve to worry about what x and y think. your body needs the energy to heal take care of yourself when you're healthy you can give more
you
need to gather all your energy to find out what works and doesn't, be a
scientist, and get through this storm and find good health.
don't
run yourself down, with too much obligations. too many frikin birthdays
and this and that. all my friends, their kids rule their lives. perhaps
there is another way.
17 Oct 2010 - A Sunday
-
The old fashioned way is you call, they're not there, you call again.
Simple. Now there is answering machine, caller ID, and email. Told her
to just call.
-
I guess it's normal for a Swiss woman to expect to go on weekly climbs
with 5 men and her partner not mind. I guess Swiss men who don't mind
are just shole-zard or shir-berenj!!
- Except
for getting woken up with the nonstop 15 minutes of shouting bells
early morning, it's a perfect day that starts with stretches, breathing
exercizes, eye exercizes and a much needed colon cleanse after days of
anti-biotics. The concept of a "perfect day", a good day or a bad day, is an illusion -- just an abstraction in the mind.
-
Some people, and many Persians have a thing, where if you're asked to stay for a meal, you
don't want to impose so you say no -- many other people would just be
frank and say yes or no depending on whether they want to eat or not.
Kind of hard to explain.
- Cognitive dissonance is a leading cause of degeneration of the brain and disintegration of a person.
- It's snowing in Arosa. Got an invitation but no time.
Oct 2010 - Definitive Chords For Beatles "Michele"
F, Bm7, Eb6 (68888 or 1313), Ddim7 (same as B dim7 best played as 3434 -- or move from 0101 to 3434), C Bdim , C
Fm, %, Ab (or 7 or sus for more color), Db, C (or 7 or sus), Fm
Oct 2010 - Beatles "Nowhere Man" A vs. F#m case settled
After a thorough research, I am now convinced the chords are as follows: verse: E, B, A, E, F#m, Am, E chorus: G#m, A, G#m, A, G#m, F#m, F#m, B
UPDATE: Dear Alan, Al, Angela: I
examined many videos of Beatles playing Nowhere man. Here's a good one
where you can see the hands clearly:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yRv34Cat3Vw They play it like this: verse: E, B, A, E, F#m, Am, E chorus: G#m, A, G#m, A, G#m, F#m, F#m, B
I
like Alan's arrangement and the way Al and I always played it using a A
instead of F#m specially on the verse. In the chorus F#m doesn't sound
as good as A.
What do you guys say? Do you still like A better
than F#m in the chorus? Is this a better arrangement and perhaps
Beatles didn't know it?
Thanks Reza -------------- Actually it seems that George is playing it with an added 7: G#m, A, G#m, A, G#m, F#m, F#m7, B
-------------------------------
And then there are those who destroy Beatles music - like Smashing Pumpkinn' version :
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m2-v3tFIwDg
The
drummer did not learn what Ringo is doing which is for a very musical
purpose, the guitarist didn't even bother learning the solo properly.
You don't play Beethoven 1/2 right.
Oct 2010 - Mobile Phone Poison
I
slept long but the brain was disturbed. I had no idea why until I woke
up and saw the mobile phone was on -- I always turn it off when I don't
need it and specially at night. And now I remember I also dreamed
about mobile phone -- it was a central part of several scenes.
- Music of Rachmaninov is depressive. I listened to many things and can't dig them today - before I used to like them. - I really dig Stravinsky today. He's great.
-
Talk w/ 3 and 6 year olds about importance of being soft spoken - that
people who don't have reason, logic, a good case, shout. - Good talk w/ Katie at university. - Good talk w/ Jalal after all these years. He sent pictures including my first ski trips. - Good talk w/ AR re music etc.
- Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture is absolutely mad. Beatles got the intro theme for All You Need Is Love from this piece.
Oct 2010 - "Bitchy Woman"
-
Bitchy woman still has an obligation to treat customers with respect
but in Switzerland, specially if you're a foreigner, you can't always
expect that. I'm a person of reason. She absolutely had no case except
some illusory images in her mind, or bring on period, or having had a
bad day at home, or who know, and who cares. I stayed calm and just
called the boss. The doctor spoke perfect English - understood it --
looked into it -- 2 days later he wrote that ... "I would like to
apologize for the misunderstandings..."
- Case 2: the fax I
sent in June never arrived -- it did but they probably destroyed it
before the boss sees it. Called today and talked to the boss. She was
very understanding and extended her apologies. I advised her how to
handle it: instruct workers that it is absolutely not ok to talk about
one client to another client. Specially when it's false info.
Welcome to the old world -- world of the old mind with its images, illusions and power of status quo. How I miss California!
Here's a non-expert, layman advice to a close friend who is suffering from an illness:
1) see your doctor and act under the guidance of your doctor 2) delete homeopathy completely. spend the money on other things. 3)
be a scientist. develop hypothesis and test it. no doctor is inside
your body like yourself. no doctor spends as much time on your problem
as yourself. so help the process and the inquiry. it helps your doctor
too. 4) find out what makes you feel better and worse. 5) go on a rigid diet. 6) see a nutritionist. 7) don't take a "we" approach. Put yourself first - the kids need a healthy mother. 8)
clean up your diet. clean means organic. it means no fast food. no junk
food. no added sugar of any kind. no drugs of any kind. 9) drink green smoothies every day. make sure you get plenty of greens. 10) actively increase your raw food % of diet significantly. green smoothies is a great way. 11) manage stress 12) find roots of problems instead of resorting to sleeping pills for example 13) take it easy wit the kids. freedom and understanding go a long way. dictatorship will make the kid worse. 14)
do gentle yoga, etc. - sign up for a feldenkrais class for example.
TAKE CARE OF YOURSELF. get regular massage instead of paying homeopaths. 15)
must take a holistic approach. years of always being under pressure
from outside and self made walls -- get a K book and learn more about
setting yourself free from bondages of thought and tradition and fears
and worries and image making etc. -- outer and inner pressure and
stress for year after year results in a system getting off balance.
Make sure you have leisure time. Pick up a hobby that gives you beauty.
listen to good music. make sure you have contact with nature. TAKE IT
EASY. You can solve your own problem - with the help from the doctor -
but you have to take it very seriously -- pressures of tradition will
not help -- you have to take a scientific approach and do the right
things and remove the wrong things. 16) Do colon cleanse.
14 Oct 2010 - New Old Friend
-
Renewed contact with 87 year old friend who wrote the most beautiful
letter in admiration of my CD "In Friendship". She lives by herself,
takes care of herself. Doesn't go on the train but goes on the bus -
and every day she walks with her walker by the river.
-
Tried to help friend's chinese girlfriend who doesn't speak good
english on a chinese OS on Win7 which I don't know set up dialup
networking!
-
Some people prefer not to communicate with others to test their
assumptions because doing so would shatter those assumptions. People
closest to Krishnamurti sure didn't seem they got it ;-)
13 Oct 2010 - Chili Pom Pom
-
Chilian miners are being rescued after a long period under
ground, through a hole. As one got out he got on his knees and prayed
to God. It was very touching. These guys look tough - anyone that can
survive these conditions can do anything in life. I remember that from
surviving Polish killer mountains.
12 Oct 2010 - Time & Grief
She
said the specialist said grief takes time to resolve. She is
right, there is a physical element to grief just as is for any
psychological trauma -- and time has a role in healing anything
physical. However, time has no role in change of psyche -- what is will
be what will be unless what is changes in a now. The
psychological roots of grief need to be understood in order for it to
resolve. Part of that understanding is for thinking to see its own
limits and not enter where it doesn't belong.
I
am interested in deleting any element of thought which plays a role in
grief of e.g. death of a loved one (which is not death of love).
To
another, the role of thought may sound like rhetoric -- it is, as long
as the person does not see for oneself, the limited, divisive movement
of thought which is rooted in time and creates psychological
disorder. It's easy to say, I do not understand and brush somethings
aside, but when mis-applied thought creates so much misery, it deserves
to be understood, at least, where it belongs and not.
Love is not of thought. Thought is of time. Love is timeless.
Oct 2010 -
- Green smoothies must be drank very slowly - sip by sip - mixed with saliva. - Victoria Boutenko changed my life by sending her wonderful book. Now I'm drinking "green smoothies" every day and loving it!
10 Oct 2010 - Sladjana Vidovic
-
Sladjana
Vidovic, 16, killed herself in October 2008 after being a victim on
bullying. She was a student in the Mentor High School, in Mentor, Ohio.
What the heck were those teachers teaching the kids. What is the point
of teaching maths when they can't teach kids to appreciate diversity?
Sladjana had an accent. They made fun of her name. They abused her. And
the frikin school says they destroyed the records of the abuses when
they became computerized (sounds like hogwash). I spoke with her older
sister Suzana today. They didn't have the strength to go public about
it till now.
I have been a victim of bullying and I know how
painful it can be. Bullying is not just against kids. A much older
adult than Sladjana could break down let alone a 16 year old.
How
extremely sad. I will dedicate my book to the memory of Sladjana and
all other victims of bullying. And shame on Mentor High and on teachers
and administrators who were totally useless in educating the other
kids. One of the bullies stood there laughing while looking at
Sladjana's dead body. Are these humans or animals? What is the function
of education?
Sladjana was beautiful, she was joyful, she was
deep, she was authentic, she was simple, she was loving, smiling, loved
music. The bullies were jealous of her. Same story.
- Good talk with Jan Jan Janda -- good old friend. Not only love doesn't die, it also does not get old! - Good talk w/ UB who was just about to call me - will be here for 3.5 weeks.
Oct 2010 -
- Heard Tehran's air is absolutely unbearable today. - A code bug made their assets under management go from $70Bil to 25Bil !!
9 Oct 2010 - Backwards Brugg
-
Our Postbus got attacked by a bunch of drunk hooligans in Brugg,
Aargau, Switzerland. I had heard the place is quite backwards, uncivil,
and rowdy on weekend nights. The poor old man bus driver had to face
off these group of young drunks who attacked the bus and wouldn't let
it go. He asked for my help in watching the door so they don't get in. I had to do a martial arts exhibition
to keep the whole group of attackers off the bus -- they had a choice
-- come in or
face the bulleting multi-angled power kicks. We managed to get away
from these loud drunk vulgar chickens. The driver was appreciative of
the help. It had been a long time since I had to use martial arts -- it
was a good exercise -- 8 drunk hooligans were intimidated by it so it
must have been effective :)
- My band's 1 page html index file translates to 37 pages of junk html code. I hate html.
8 Oct 2010 - Cut
-
Hand's big vein cut by a button while shaking shirt after haircut.
Blood gushing out. Alone. Emergency didn't understand English - dressed
myself and rushed out. Car showed up just then and went to
hospital. Nurse showed up just then, took care of it. Was back just
when friend came from shopping. Thanks.
7 Oct 2010 - Music revelation
- Amazing
how much you can tell about a person by listening how they play an
instrument - not the mechanics but how they express music. Listened to
a famous guitarist from Finland but I don't like the expression.
- Good walk.
6 Oct 2010 - Victoria Boutenko
Had
a "green smoothie" thanks to the wonderful book Victoria Boutenko sent
me as a generous gift. She's found out that eating a variety of green
leaves is a very good thing to do and the best way to do it is to chop
them up in a blender as a smoothie with fruits etc. And she's right!
- About Spinach:
Organic
oxalic acid, defined as that which occurs in nature in its raw form,
can actually be beneficial to the system. Once foods containing oxalic
acid are cooked, according to the dean of juice therapy and author of
Raw Vegetable Juices, Dr. Norman Walker, the oxalic acid becomes dead
and irritating substance to the system. He feels that in its cooked
form it binds irreversibly with the calcium and prevents calcium
absorption. An excess of cooked oxalic acid may also form oxalic acid
crystals in the kidney. In the live organic form of oxalic acid, Dr.
Walker claims oxalic acid stones and calcium blockage do not occur
because the organic oxalic acid can be metabolized appropriately.
according to Dr. Walker, oxalic acid in its raw form is one of the
important minerals needed to maintain tone and peristalsis of the bowel.
- http://oxalicacidinfo.com/
5 Oct 2010 -
The
teacher didn't send the class report as he had promised. I emailed him.
No response. No phone. Nothing. I went there today. He said he sent it.
We looked, and surprise! It was not in his sent-items folder so it was
just empty talk - he had thought he had sent it... now it's done.
First MRI of my life. It was so loud.
Old woman sitting next to me had so much frikin perfume or hair spray I had to move away.
Remo called me "master of guitar" :)
He
showed me CD of this guy who is famous on Youtube doing amazing things
on the guitar. I don't like it - a lot of sounds - and not all so
pretty - but no music.
Good to catch up with friend. He's become a Director. He said though we haven't seen each other for years, he trusts me.
Played
out. It was a blast. Kids loved it - they wouldn't want to go away.
Also people of all ages. We play great music and with the right spirit
- so they love it.
we talked about things you might laugh at or discount and discard but she's beginning to see it
that there is no psychological security until you stop seeking security
that thought gives continuity to sorrow
that emptying of consciousness of its content is extremely important -
writing is a good way - and awareness during the day of thoughts and
feelings that bother us...
that one should not live there unless one has to
now she's open to the idea - let's wait till the paperwork is done -
then she sees the stream of income - then she no longer has to live
there - Abbas and Sirus live in Shomal b/c they're smart and they don't
have to live in a polluted city. For someone who doesn't have to and to
do it is stupid because the place is a gas chamber - she regularly
complains of air pollution and traffic. T wants her to live 99 years.
Kids should not be lied to. Adults neither. Lying confuses kids who will
then react in other ways.
She sees that we try to get security from the known - the limited realm
of the known - the woman prefers to live with a known wife-beater than
have the unknown and be free from him.
The grass is always greener on the other side. It disgusts me to hear
that work is an escape. Workaholics always find new excuses like any
"holic". Before it was an escape from him now it's an escape from him
not being there. It's a comedy. A tragic comedy. Millions would wish
they had the opportunity to get out of it and she does. Time can solve
certain things - perhaps even being used to someone's presence but not
much more fundamental things than that. I know those who are still sad
decades after someone goes away. Time doesn't solve sorrow. Attention
can. Attention to the root of sorrow, the process which gives birth and
continuity to sorrow.
In the process of wanting security in the known many shut the window.
The breeze is the unknown. The breeze can't come if the window is shut.
Keep it open. She got it.
Oct 2010 - Disable Gmail Spam filter
There's no straight forward way of doing this but here's a workaround: Create a filter. In the "Has the words" field, put in "is:spam" and selection action "Never send it to Spam". Voila!
Oct 2010 -
-
Asked a friend to mediate a potentially messy situation which he kind
of had a hand in despite good intentions and he did and it did get
resolved.
-
Sitting in a refrigerator maving hot fresh made carrot soup - from the
carrots fresh from the garden, overlooking far away frozen Alps and
balloons that seem to be still but move away fast.
- Even the Swiss mosquito is civilized. It stopped bothering me after I guess it sensed it was a bother :)
-
Fr.. Christen from Migros Baden (M Metro-Shop) took too much money - I
trusted her and put coin on the counter for her to take it - then
noticed it didn't seem right - 'wait!' and just before she emptied her
hand in the drawer I had her count it and she had taken too much and
only refunded some which she would not have if I had not stopped her to
count. This is not cool. 03.10.2010 10:12
-
I don't get Northern Europeans' obsession with South American dances.
They get so obsessed with it. I'm invited to a Salsa class. These
classes charge something like $30 a class and you change partners so
you have to get mixed up with all these people you don't know who could
be smokers and meat eaters etc....... NO THANKS.
-
There are 99 dancing schools in Zurich, 1008 in Switzerland. That's really a great joke
............this country is so un-dancy. i've never seen people so
stiff in a concert as here, and there are a 100 dance schools in
Zurich. sooooooooooo funny. makes sense. I have yet to see salsa that
is not sleazy. It's just a precursor to more intimate contact, it
seems.
Oct 1 2010 - A listener comment
This one came after a long time since a concert:
This
was by far the most interesting concert that my husband and I had ever
attended. It was fun, full of energy and passion. We were so inspired.
Of course the music was fantastic, one of the great performances of the
Beatles and variety of other songs, but most importantly Reza's passion
for music, the message of peace, and his way of being that conveys to
love and friendship. We were so inspired and couldn't help noticing
that we got a lot more than listening to live, energetic music. There
was more ............, we sensed transformation. We were so grateful.
We have two Cds
from Reza and they both reflect the same message of friendship. I
highly recommend both CDs. I've listened to it many times and never got
tired of it. People always ask me about his music and how they can get
it.
Much love, Farzane
Sep 2010 -
-
Had fresh squeezed potato juice - very nice - full of catalase.
Sep 2010 - some news headlines
-
"California woman earns college diploma at age 94." -
More consequence of the George Bush disaster: "The nation's poverty
rate jumped to 14.3% in 2009, its highest level since 1994, and the
43.6 million Americans in need is the highest number in 51 years of
record-keeping, the government said Thursday." - On a flight, I once met the people involved in cultural exchange between Bern, CH & Bern, Indiana. "What
originally seemed a crazy idea, on Saturday evening became reality: a
replica of Switzerland’s Zytglogge tower now stands in Berne, Indiana."
-
Texas is biggest carbon polluter [Associated Press] - Texans' fondness
for large, manly vehicles has helped make the Lone Star State the
biggest carbon polluter in the nation. The headquarters state of
America's oil industry spewed 670 million metric tons of carbon dioxide
into the atmosphere in 2003, enough that Texas would rank seventh in
the world if it were its own country, according to the most recent
figures from the U.S. Energy Information Administration.
Sep 2010 -
-
She had an easy smile - the kind that's more easily found on the East
than the West. A smile of understanding, intelligence, and appreciation
of values and diversity. - Met Russian guy who worked in Ghazvin, out of all place. - Lots of responses to the new article/book. - The entire year there was not a single warm night in Switzerland. -
CONCLUSION: Nasal irrigations performed with large volume and delivered
with low positive pressure are more effective than saline sprays for
treatment of chronic nasal and sinus symptoms in a community-based
population. (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18025315) -
What the guy in Texas refused to do because he was hard-headed, the guy in Arizona did without any problems. -
She said Zurich people make fun of Aargau people that they wear white
socks. I must be very Aargauish. Also in the US they wear a lot of
white socks. -
After many months of work, released: http://home.datacomm.ch/rezamusic/Sep2010_circular.html -
I thought Germans got the numbers backwards (a 34 is actually
pronounced with the 4 first). The Greek seem to have it upside down --
maybe that explains the economic troubles there... But I love their flexibility. - They were loud so I spoke softly -- that'd be the easiest way.
-
A dear friend, after all these years, came to the US. We were school
mates. I like people with "vafa". He found me and knew more about my
childhood than I :) He wants to start a new life. I will help with his resume.
16 Sep 2010 -
-
Good talk to maddog. His medical practice is booming. He said when
heart muscles weaken there's not much that can be done - if a person is
in bed all day it makes it more probable to die earlier but wanting to
live and motivation can help. He has other patients who take 10
medications. He said 82 is a good age - average lifespan is in the
70's.
-
Saw Ivey after a looooooong time. She has a 2 year old puddle with
perfect 'directions' joyful and bouncy. It knows it when someone loves
her - it jumped on me. 'i love your music' she said...
-
A young fly fell in love and wanted to sit on me all night :-) -- I
actually felt affection for it - it was small and cute - I really
wanted to catch it and not kill it but had no way. On the nth try, hit
it, it fell down, but was perfectly healthy but a bit dizzy. Then I
caught it with the bug catcher and set it flying free outside :)
15 Sep 2010 -
- Lebanese have many dishes similar to Persian. Such as a 'fesenjoon' with walnuts and pomegranate.
- She has the most important job in society -- a primary school teacher -- to make new humans who make a new society.
-
Doctor said a few American saying: in my case, it was, "either the
patient wears you out or you wear the patient out" today it was the
former :) - I refused to comply with another saying "just do it"
because of the risks.
-
What I love about the Swiss is their lack of fear in meeting
'strangers' and the eye contact. They're very open people and they hate
unidentified calls but I'm an old-fashioned guy from the era where
phones didn't have a caller ID.
-
She said you have great persistence in staying in touch which is good.
I said I am very busy anyway and am not after her but was just
wondering about that amazing school. She's taking a semester off for
reasons she wants to explain later. I said I'm not after her but I
think people who don't want to be pursued should just say it to the
person who emails or calls or phones them but some don't want to do
that because they like having bumble bees - it gives them a sense of
being... She agreed. Anyway not the case in this case because I'm not
after her but just wanted to talk to her about her school and was
curious if she got my mail.
- I emailed 3 times asking if he
converted the video successfully. No answer. When I called he was very
friendly and said he had. Email is proving more and more to be a very
poor way of communicating.
- They grow coffee and cacao in Hawaii - and free--range eggs. From IT consulting to farming... Love never dies.
-
Good talk to P. He had promised the pictures and I never heard back. He
said "you're a funny cat". He was honest, he said: I dropped the ball
-- the usb was in the box - i moved - it's still there.... That's cool.
Life goes on. At least now I know. Because when people promise they set
an expectation and if it doesn't happen - in this info age - it can
give rise to thoughts and insecurities. Good friendship -- we go way
back to high school. Next time I'm in town "we'll break bread" (share a
meal). Take care buddy. Ok Reza. Be well. He didn't sing ladies night
this time but said will sing it at the next class reunion, in bikini :-)
- lovely talk w/ D. "Just raising kids". Doc works on Sundays too.
11 Sep 2010 -
I
still have such a deep connection with the Orange house - woke up and
thought the light was through the window of there - so long ago -
that's where my roots are.
10 Sep 2010 -
-
It feels strange but maybe healing even works on the phone and
remotely. Some people believe it does. Power of love and healing know
no physical boundaries.
9 Sep 2010 -
Great
talk w/ Friedrich Grohe. There's such a synergy. An old person with a heart of a
child. He's truly like my father. Evelyne asked him on the video what
impressed you a great deal about K. He forgot then, but later he
remembered. It was what K told him in the Saanen tent where he gave
talks: "love has no cause".
Good talk w/ Evelyne Blau.
For
the sinuses I've stayed off all medication. Took decongestant a couple
of times. Spray decongestant is to be totally avoided (it's addictive).
The I got this special herbal remedy : Pelagonium Plus and a sinus
herbal pull and finished a bottle of wellness formula and taking vit C
and liquid garlic and vitamins. And discovered a good way of
moisturizing the mucus: lie to side, use spray/drop bottle and put
drops of high grade saline in nose... it's important not to blow too
hard. Also very important is to drink a lot of water. When one catches
a cold it's important to not let congestion last or else it leads to
bacterial infection of sinuses. I don't think I need the cortisone
spray, let's hope. Heavy exercise/breathing (e.g. fast bike up hill)
also de-congests. The most welcome string of white rubber came out of
sinus today. Also it helps to breath-in hot steam. Also took echinacea
liquid and cat claw (herb) and enzyme. Hot shower / steam room helps.
Also very important not to eat cheese / milk b/c they create mucus.
8 Sep 2010 -
She said out of 53 people 3 people showed up to the class because they hate French.
Position of computer screen is very important for posture.
Marriott
put a untrained girl on the phone who wasted a lot of my time - she
couldn't even look up hotel categories. Pointed out lack of training to
the manager. The apologized and said will take steps to do better
training. I wasted time so asked for some points and they agreed.
7 Sep 2010 - Price of Fame
Good
news: John Lennon killer Chapman denied parole in NY. After Tuesday's
decision, the board wrote to Chapman that it remains concerned about
"the disregard you displayed for the norms of our society and the
sanctity of human life when, after careful planning, you travelled to
New York for the sole purpose of killing John Lennon." The panel said
"release remains inappropriate at this time and incompatible with the
welfare of the community." He said he had been seeking notoriety and
fame to counter feelings of failure. Lennon would have turned 70 this
October.. [Extract from AP]
7 Sep 2010 - German Meat Eaters
On average a German person eats 1094 animals in their life!!! in details: - 4 cows or calves - 4 sheeps - 12 goose - 37 ducks - 46 turkeys - 46 pigs - 945 chickens
- Congestion due to the cold -
went for a run and it opened up - nice lunch at vier linden -
skipped the white rice but nice bread and a cherry chueche for
desert. Bellview apotheke has its own herbal formula - giving a try.
Saw old friend Bettina. She had a big accident on roller blade, they
had to replace her jaw! But now she is ok but just looks different in
her lower face.
5 Sep 2010 -
- Some Swiss farmers resist using modern equipment and prefer to do many things by hand. - Productive rehearsal. - Angela's an amazing bass player. -
9 pm to 7:30 am sleep minus one or two wakeups. The spray did wonder
with breathing. Loading up on wellness formulas. Immune system weakened
by stress and little sleep due to cat allergy etc., a bike ride up hill
opened sinuses. Exercise seems to have immediate immune boosting
effect. Watching fun movie of Robin Williams.
3 Sep 2010 -
- Finally
a bit of relief after days of nonstop extreme intensity. The wave of a
Friday good mood of the population helps. Went home. Dropped off the
files, picked up files for edit. Started the sinus formula again.
Watched Evelyne's interview with Friedrich - very interesting. Glad F
is coming tomorrow for an intense highly efficient targeted session.
-
A graphic melody came in my head during the lunch break, reflecting how
I felt and how I felt the outer world was feeling - Friday clear warm
day after days of winter in August. Recorded it. Actually came up with another lyric/motif too as the train got there.
-
I like the big desktop display. Same day the subject of getting one was
suggested, found and ordered one online - perfect solution for a
fraction of the price.
-
Checked out 4 Gary Moore CD's - didn't like any. Such boring
repetitious music. At least Philipp Frankhauser makes something
interesting out of Blues.
2 Sep 2010 -
- Sensitivity is power.
-
The cat is a helpless weak creature but she's a wise old woman. She
did't take no for an answer about food after I hung up the phone. "I'm
telling you to get me some food" she said. And she got it! She went for a cruise and came back for more.
-
Started the day with gardening which I love to do but hardly every get
the chance to do it. Clearing the path between the flowers and
raspberries - cutting the dead flowers - eating godly gifts from
heaven, growing from the earth, bestowed on bushes, in the background
of endless fields of green.
- Told the cat last night not to meow loudly at 6:30 pm - and she didn't do it!
31 Aug 2010 - Some of the reasons why I don't use Facebook
- It's still August and it feels like Christmas here.
-
Meeting room smells like octopus from the people who eat these disgusting sea foods (must be the Korean lady).
- Blues is so boring.
28 Aug 2010 -
-
Moeri is 14 - that's 98 years old in human terms. She limps, can't
hear, and has other healthy issues as well. "But she's not complaining
- old people usually complain". She just snores even when awake and
doesn't seem to ever go to bathroom. She has a comfortable bed but
prefers the box. She feels love and there's an aura of dignity about
her. She loves to be petted.
-
Discussion on psychological time, thought being rooted in time,
thought's role in sorrow and fear, fallacy of methods in order to make
thought quiet, made-up vs. natural quietness, etc.
27 Aug 2010 - New Filenet Reunion Updates
-
www.filenet-reunion.com
26 Aug 2010 - Old Friend
-
It was great to meet old friend Friedrich Grohe and go for a nice walk
together. Such a gentleman and such a wise man. Too bad my emails
hadn't reached him through his secretaries and/or filters? But fax
works.
-
I always thought cheese might be addictive. Heard that the fat in
cheese acts like cocaine (have not verified it with the source).
25 Aug 2010 - Alone Traveler
-
She's never traveled alone.
It's her first time. I've often traveled alone. It's wonderful.
Traveling with a very good companion is even better, otherwise,
traveling alone is great because you can set your own pace and you're
totally free to move around with no friction with a companion which may
not be fully of the same mindset and attitude.
25 Aug 2010 - Lena
-
Lena is 2.5 years old.
Today is her first
day on the train and on the ship. She doesn't like green leaves salads
so she looks at me with wonder eating it out of the bag. She's eating
her thumb the whole time. She has a tear in her eyes, missing her mom,
but her godmother, Marianna, is taking good care of her. Getting off
the train she asked: where is my dad? 'he's at home', her godmother
replied. Her eyes are brimming with longing for her parents -- longing
of attachment.
- He said play some Beatles so they know the Beatles are still alive.
-
I gather from various people it's normal when a person goes away for a
long time, for her/him not to call the parents for 3 months - it's
assume no news is good news. That is very interesting. It reflects the
high degree of trust in the outer world, a world which is represented
by the utopia which Switzerland is. "The other students from other
countries were calling their parents every day / vice versa".
-
Her 90+ year old mother is in the old people's home 10 minutes away and
he only foes to see her, maybe every 2 weeks. I guess that's also the
Swiss way, and it's not like he lives in a rat race.
-The
tears of attachment of the 2.5 year old soon will give way to a
calculating perfect society which has a rule for every little thing you
can ever think about, and somewhere, the emotions might get crushed,
might not.
- His wife is willing to give up her right to the
$20M farm (I don't believe it) - but if true, he could get a Russian
goddess to serve him lunch instead of the wife who is just there as a
semi-prisoner.
- They made suits in the hotel, 600 square
meters each, mainly for Arabs. One guy rented a 9000 Franc/ night suite
and only went to shower there as he stayed in another place (according
to Jasmin).
- Chad Hoopes, 15 year old played a great piece by Halvorsen. The kid was amazing.
23 Aug 2010 - Guitar Love
-
Playing guitar gave so much joy. I love nothing more than playing the
guitar. Fingers placed on familiar locations of fretboard - brain
rejoices.
-
Green color is therapeutic. That's maybe why surgery outfits are
sometimes green. Heard one should not sleep in sheets with aggressive
colors. Green makes sense.
22 Aug 2010 -
-
From loving the kids all day to screaming at them all day - - little
angels turn into little disobeying monsters - - and the approach of the
parent in using force utterly fails. I proposed a different approach --
one rooted in understanding and peace and cooperation and not coercion.
I know it works.
- Diamond bracelet on sale on Amazon for $145,000. We saw one for 70,000 at Palace which I liked better.
- Helped friend with resume. A CPA, she had frisbee playing and cooking as her specialties!
-
He doesn't want to divorce her fearing she will deplete his money
despite her saying she wants no money but wants freedom. He threatened
her if she goes ... -- what a life!
- Got energy back after setting up a mirror site to the free secondary host just in case.
- Updated entire site with updated copyright, and mass cleanup of html. HTML is such a lousy "language".
18 Aug 2010 - I hate wireless internet (wifi) & cell phones
- http://home.datacomm.ch/rezamusic/SEC_warrantholders-shortsellers.html#PART3 -
Some oxygen came with a director buying 60k shares while the company
struggles through this warrant expiration period and the possible
manipulation associated with it. -
After 3 days of using wireless during this course, my hands feel
burned. Really. It's serious. The lap on my laptop, as soon as wireless
is enabled I feel it in my testicles. I feel its harm, just like cell
phones which I hate and try to not use as much as possible.
17 Aug 2010 -
- I was teaching the class today :) -
Nice to get some nice waves. Fr. Ruckstuhl was very nice - - just the
fact that she listened and showed consideration and kindness was enough
to alleviate my pain, not about the money but the principle of this
stupid doctor's incorrect bill. - Migros sent us a 20 Franc gift
certificate and an apology letter. We returned the bad broccoli and the
lady gave us hell in the process of returning it. But her management is
sorry. - DVD arrived from Bobby. Nice gift.
16 Aug 2010 -
-
She took German lessons, twice a week 1.5 hours a day, for 2 years. Never used it at work and it's fading away.
- Middle of summer feels like middle of winter in Switzerland.
- 2 15 year olds were smoking. Talked with them. They said they're already addicted and can't quite. What a tragedy.
- Found organic broccoli. Out of season but an incredible natural drug for the body..
15 Aug 2010 - Thought Monster
-
Thought has an amazing power to divide. It's its nature to meet its
application which is practical things. When it enters the realm of
psyche and relationship it wrecks havoc then it gets used to it and
when there's no havoc it creates it. The human brain in general is used
to having problems. It knows not peace. Some people understand and see
that limitation and by seeing it can be in a state of freedom from it.
-
The movement of thought is the maker of the "me" and as it gives rise
to "me" in its divisive thinking, it has so much momentum that its
perception and assumptions and conclusions are taken as truth. A human
serious in wanting to end one's suffering pays attention to that,
inquires into that movement, and that inquiry can bring an end.
15 Aug 2010 - Stupid Psychologist
-
Why should not a child grasp the concept of death? A psychologist says
tell the kid the person has gone to a old person house- somewhere
people go at the end of their life. And the child sees the person is
gone - not there anymore - he didn't say goodbye - suddenly gone one
day. And then if a mother wants to take a vacation the psychologist
says don't go away because the child may think you too may never come
back. How stupid and dysfunctional this approach is. It's dishonest,
and it teaches the kid from early on to avoid the concept of death, to
treat it as a morbid subject, and that conditioning carries on and
contributes right back to the culture which does treat death as
something to be avoided. So it's a vicious circle of you being the
world and the world being you. If someone dies, I tell the kid he is
dead and they have no problem understanding the concept - they've seen
it in cartoons, they've seen dead insects, they know death. To not
teach them that death is a subject to be avoided and in fact a subject
to be lived with, prevents further lies and confusions, and helps them
have a more enriched and meaningful life.
- The psychologist,
a young man, asked his young woman client if she masturbates. It had
nothing to do with why she was seeing him -- it was just helping him
satisfy his sick desire to hear the story -- what would have been the
next question, the next actions?
- Osho thought problems can
be solved through approaching them sexually but he failed miserably. He
wanted the kids in his promiscuous commune to not know who their
parents were. He was a pimp and a convicted criminal.
14 Aug 2010 - Old Friend with Alzheimer's
A
wonderful lady and an old friend. Her daughter said they had to take
her to assisted living b/c she's forget to eat or takes her medicines.
She mixes her memory - thinks she's been to the moon. Her conversations
with the other residents there is interesting. I took a chance that she
may not remember and and called her.
She remembered me. She said she's 81, but I think she's 82. I can’t be sure but we had a great talk About her trips to Switzerland She asked what I’ve been doing - Do u have a computer by chance? - I don’t get anything by chance.
She
can’t have a piano and computer there. She didn’t say she doesn’t want
to play. Maybe she’d like an electric piano she could play with
headphones. She was worried people would gather around her piano… She
doesn’t get bored.
Everything she said made perfect sense and
wise. I said my dad had a happy fulfilled life. She said: well, you’re
a part of that, and vice versa! She is very right. We exchanged big kiss and hug
11 Aug 2010 - Old Loved One
"Hi Reza- I received your
letter in the mail. I can't believe you lived here for so long! I
love this little place, it is a very peaceful and comfortable place.
It has a very warm energy, which I am sure has something to do with
your presence being here for so long. I would be thrilled for you to
come over and see the place. I have a few pictures, if you would like
me to send them. I actually am going to be moving soon. I am
originally from WA state and am moving back so I can go back to
school. School starts Sept 23, so hopefully I can find a renter before
than. But who ever moves in I will give them your information if you
are unable to come before than. I would say you could move back in,
but you live far away. Otherwise that could have been a nice reunion.
My number is ... Love and light- ES"
I cherished the pictures - my beloved plants are still there - many years later still blessing the place with eternal gifts.
14 Aug 2010 - Peaceful Saturday
-
Bread-seller lost 15 kilos. Looks much better. Her secret was not to
eat carbs at night. The organic olive bread was so good, but too salty.
Work out outside. Rain has taken a break but it's way too cold for
mid-August. California dreaming.
- Thunderbird is the best email software and beats all others hands-down.
13 Aug 2010 - Cheating on organic food by Swiss vendors
"My uncle has a friend who was a top boss of X or Y he said that the chance to get bio when it says bio is only 70% same with havellar products he said that if bio article run out that they don't want their customers to go to the competitive provider so they fill "normal" food up and put the bio stamp on it it's all about economy! it's true that they get tested but the inspectors always announce when they're coming so migros and coop are prepared and take the cheated products out of the sortiment"
12 Aug 2010 - Incompetent Apple in Texas
- Apple in Texas put me on
a 15 minute hold - she had no idea how to handle it - I eventually just
got tired of waiting and hung up. Called back. Call went to Arizona
this time and the guy took care of it in 2 minutes !!
-
Another old friend from Texas said he went to Iran 18 years ago -
filled out his arrival form in English instead of Farsi which got him
kicked back to the end of the line, then upon leaving he had 2 carpets
that he didn't declare which caused an upset, then his sister gave him
a gold coin which he didn't declare and they weren't gonno let him get
on the flight until the manager came and turned out to know him from
being top student. Anyway he vowed not to return to Iran but I told him
it's much easier to come and go now.
- My Aunt told him I was in
Houston and he stopped talking to me (and I had no idea) thinking I
went to Houston and didn't call him. Well, maybe she got it mixed up
with Boston and didn't even give it the benefit of doubt!!
11 Aug 2010 - Progress
-
She is frustrated that her voice is not improving and she doesn't like
her voice. It's normal to feel we're not making progress but we are and
sometimes it becomes evident when we take a break and go back and
realize: wow, I really got better...
- With music as with
life, the important thing is to enjoy it. Sometimes we need to do
things like bringing order to the room because we have to but even that
can be done with joy, with an inner sense of quietness.
-
Great jam with Fabio. We agreed to plant the seed, give it water,
sunshine, love, and time, and let it grow. Rezangela has never sounded
so good before (also the large bass amp helped).
-
Bush did really ruin the economy so bad it's finding a hard time
standing on its own feet "The number of U.S. homes lost to foreclosure
surged in July, another sign lenders are moving quicker to take back
properties from homeowners behind in payments."
10 Aug 2010 - Snow in Summer
-
I was gonno go to Murren for a day of mountain hike with the friend who
are attending the Krishnamurti gathering there but there's snow in the
forecast this week !! Temperature are: Low -6 to High -3 Oh my God.
Aug 2010 - DOE loan guarantee to Beacon Power closes
-
Angela Jaggi proved to me that she is the one and only goddess of bass.
She playes complex things like Don't Let Me Down, Something, With a
Little Help, Europa, and other things, like a breeze, like a master.
She's a genius.
- 650,000 people died from colon cancer last year. Hardly any were vegetarian!
09 Aug 2010 - Spontaneous Question
-
His friend died. My dad died. He asked: What do u think of death?
It's important to live with it, to understand ending & the desire for continuity, the weakness of not wanting to end...
- can we ever know?
We spoke about it -- that we need to live correctly now ... join the stream or not ... love doesn’t die.
- does death make sense?
It’s a fact – I wish I could live forever. However, renewal – destruction and
creation is the way of the universe.
... to live with death - to die to attachments etc
and conversation continued.
09 Aug 2010 - Facebook Friends vs. Deep Friendships
-
Most people have hundreds of Facebook "friends" yet, "according to work
published in the American Sociological Review, the average American has
only two close friends, and a quarter don't have any." "While social
networking sites and the like have grown exponentially, the element
that is crucial, and harder to investigate, is the quality of the
connections they nurture.... Yet we know that less is more when
it comes to deeper relationships. It is lonely in the crowd. A
connection may only be a click away, but cultivating a good friendship
takes more. It seems common sense to conclude that "friending" online
nurtures shallow relationships — as the neologism "friending" itself
implies."... Great article on: http://www.usatoday.com/news/opinion/forum/2010-07-27-column27_ST_N.htm
I don't use facebook and am very happy without it. I have a dummy ID for desperate situations.
- The tobacco criminals take another victim: A friend wrote:My dad died Fri PM. He was 71. Very long battle with lung disease causedby smoking.
08 Aug 2010 - The Great Gift of Ability to Stand Alone.
-
To have a good brain in this mad world is a blessing. In this country,
mental health is such a profitable business where customers are
harvested among the non mentally ill for not wanting to fit into the
rigid ways of the society -- where angels learn how to cut themselves
up in clinics, where there's probably more psychiatrists and
psychologist per capita than anywhere, where if you fail a driving test
so many times you are obliged to see a psychologist, and so on. The
world is a tough society and if you don't conform to its mold,
pressures of becoming, circus, and dictates it has ways of crushing you
and one of the most civilized ways is to put you on medication, send
you to clinics, which ultimately make the person more insensitive,
dull, conforming. I know several people like that. It's the same way in
the so-called spiritual world, and any kind of group mentality. That's
why it's important to be able to stand alone and think for oneself,
which is the greatest gift after health.
- He runs a $600M business. I knew he wouldn't have turned Republican. And he hasn't.
- At the reunion he said "I get your emails. Thanks a lot for what you're doing - it's good".
07 Aug 2010
-
We donated the proceeds from the concert to Josh Oxford's medical
expenses. He had an accident that same night and was a friend of the
soundman.
-
Stopped taking steroid spray for sinus and will give it some days of
totally natural therapy. Chemical medicines put the entire system out
of balance and so inhibit natural healing. Nose was stopped, saline
rinse really helped and opened it up instead of this stupid medication.
-
He wanted to be a farmer but instead of a shovel he got a guitar. His
mom wanted him to become a violinist. Don't know how he could get that
anger out through the violin :)
-
He wrote: "I really look forward to seeing you. As I have told Tim and
others at rehearsal, I have very fond memories of my musical adventures
in Ithaca, the friendships and the education I received have made all
the difference in life."
-
When you buy a bad product, it's your fault. You may get a refund or
exchange but you gotto take a lot of heat for it. That is Migro's stone
age customer service. The CEO thinks we are right but the flippin
workers are not trained away from their farming, supplier-side
mentality that customer is wrong by default.
----------
a
few days later the manager calls and wants to have a discussion. He was
nice and well intentioned but they don't realize it's a question of
training. Their staff are apparently not trained about customer
service, and it's not in their culture, so!
03 Aug 2010 onwards -
- A spot on Mars called
Nili Fossae that is rich in clay mineral-rich rocks could be a prime
spot to search for the fossilized remains of Martian life that may have
existed 4 billion years ago, a new study suggests.
-
Definitely don't want to use facebook though it's so popular with many.
I don't have time to read x write: "I took my dog to the park today".
Who gives a frog?!
02 Aug 2010 onwards -
-
Reza Jozi said he's found salt water to be the best treatment for sinus
problems. Jamey and another doctor also said they like to use saline
instead of drugs. Others swear by medications. Anyway, I'm still on the
spray + saline and will get off the spray asap. Jamey also had the
explanation for the pain -- that I probably blew air in the cartridge
of the nose. Hand pressure at night helps the air get out - I feel the
nose make a sound as it readjusts itself. Pain is getting less and less.
-
"if you like to do a lot of things and have your own schedule, then
don't have kids because then your life revolves around them" (lg).
- Good talk w/ Stephanie Perry. Good feedback from other classmates about the concert.
01 Aug 2010 onwards - Good music doesn't need to be loud
- Extract from my email:
Phil, I didn't even know we made any money, but if we did, sure, it's a
good idea to donate it to a good cause. Tim, please keep us updated.
Thanks.
I had a lot of fun -- the execution was very impressive -- no small
feat -- and given the constraints, we did really well. I had not
received so many complements in one night in my entire life. I tried to
capture some of them and type them up and maybe put them on my site
(address below).
- We
rocked the house. I had not received so many complements in one night
in my life. People really really enjoyed it a lot.
- Neither drummer showed up on time for soundcheck. I really enjoyed playing the drums - they played some hard stuff: funk
fusion etc. - but I kept up and they said they never thought I played
such good drums. One said : you brought it all together.
-
The vibes and intensity was amazing -- how it all came together --
months of intense preparation and coordination and boom, in 2 days it
all comes together and in 3 hours it's executed.
-
I was trying to tell the soundman that we should not be too loud like
99% of bands who play in places like these but it was impossible. Liisa
jumped on me (not literally) with her bitter bossy attitude saying
you're not on that side of the
stage -- of course I'm not, who asked you anyway -- and what I was
about to say had nothing
to do with that -- later on I told her what I had wanted to say to the
soundman and her response was that she only made the comment to side
with Tim whose position was only that he
wanted to know what I wanted to tell the soundman before I say it (but
her comment was totally different and out of place and polarizing). I
was friendly with her -- even asked her to play on my song. And then
others, outside, tell me,
you're brave to tell them not to be too loud because we also don't want
it too loud but don't have to courage to say anything. Well I do, and I
did
:) --
- They were saying, the soundman is a pro, trust him -- well, the monitors were screwed up so vocals were effected.
- Another band member told me he totally agrees that it should not be too loud.
-
Overall the performance was incredibly good. And we had very little
friction in the 9 months of preparation that led to it. The affection,
mutual consideration, old friendships, made it easier to go through the
sometimes hard times.
-
One drummer was playing so incredibly loud - hitting those drums with
full power -- it's not necessary -- I asked him to play softer and
thankfully he did.
-
The night before, the place was so loud, even in room without music,
which it was literally impossible to have a conversation, and those who
did, said they only heard people partially. I was wearing earplugs just
to be there but had some good conversations before many people came,
and outside.
- Loud music is a disease of our civilization. Good
music does not need to be loud. And most music is played too loud
because it sucks and people play it too loud so you can't tell how
awful it is.
-
Organizers worked hard at the two events (minus
the concert) and did very well -- the program was very well organized.
One criticism many people had was that the name badges
were printed with a way way too small of a font. If they couldn't get
the name badge rightly formatted, it's no wonder there was such an
ordeal and resistance to copying the yearbook's pictures for the badge.
Some people said they would have liked to have seen the pictures on the
badges and that copying it would have been easy. I offered to pay for
it an get someone to do it but the organizers resisted it for no
apparent good reason, so I just scanned the yearbook and had it on the
laptop which then people said, oh, what a good idea and they were so
appreciative. The fonts were tiny and there was lots of free space
around them so they could have easily been at least 5 sizes larger.
Many people said they need glasses to read. Someone wrote: "Thank God I
remembered my Year Book,, With out it , I would have been
lost. "
- The rehearsal I was not at because I only
traveled there for the weekend, apparently a keyboard player came
totally unprepared, asking to have prints and so on - so keyboard parts
were reassigned and that was much more of a topic than email traffic.
-
Brick House was a bit success. Tim is a funk man no doubt. Phil and I's
idea to have a large free area in front of the stage turned out to be
good because it was packed.
- There's plenty of small-town mentality in this neck of woods.
-
I forgot my camera in the plane (found again) so I have no footage of
the concert. I hope Tim sends it to me. The guy who was supposed to
change the tape totally forgot -- so if it wasn't for me, we'd miss 1/2
the concert on video. It didn't make sense to have lost it forever -- I could not get any hints life was trying to give.
- Kids can waste so much time on computer games. Got Kerry (8) to play more piano -- she's very musical and plays really well.
- Friend has house to
sell in the US for $320,000 -- a big modern colonial design beautiful
house. The property and school tax by itself is $8500/year which is the
rental of a small apartment. Plus other small charges like insurance,
association feel, etc.
- They removed the black mole from the walls and their headaches stopped.
- Had organic vegan pizza -- incredibly delicious.
- Some of the women still smoke - 30 years later. Met one who was quite sleazy, still.
- Two times his guitar's cable got pulled out because he failed to pull it through his strap (lack of stage experience?)
30 July 2010
- Young teenagers carrying cell phones on their belts should be alarmed of the dangers. - Pharmacist said pharmacists don't take a lot of medicines. -
Dan was a genius - you'd ask him a question and he'd just go on and on
explaining every bloody detail you'd ever not want to know. If he was a
genius why was he delivering pizzas?
26 July 2010
- Finally finished processing notes that were waiting for almost 3 months. - TV makes people stupid by constantly feeding the brain with words and leaving no space for nothingness, for intelligence.
25 July 2010 - Some news and commentary
-
19 die in the Love Festival in Germany. How could a techno party
be termed for love and peace in which people destroy their ears and
brains and nerves by loud pounding sound and thrill drugs, "uppers and
downers, either way blood flows"? Love and peace has nothing to do with
drugs. And the stupid mayor and police and organizers all may have responsibility in this disaster.
- A message from heaven? American rock band Kings of Leon said they were
forced to abandon a concert in St. Louis at the weekend after three
songs because pigeons kept pooping on them from the rafters.
-
Depth of corruption: Guards and officials at a prison in
northern Mexico allegedly let inmates out, lent them guns and sent them
off in official vehicles to carry out drug-related killings,
- Pakistan spy service aids insurgents, reports assert.
-
An animal rights activist in salad dressing -- she wore
an all-lettuce gown -- never got to promote her pro-vegetarian message
on Sunday after Jordanian police said the one-woman demo was
unauthorised.
- Dread forcing your toddler to part
with the pacifier? .. A new study indicates 80% of parents lie to their
children to try to influence their emotions or behavio
- Air pollution and asthma symptoms may increase suicide risk, two new studies from Asia suggest.
-
They're looking at outlawing bullfighting in Catalonia. A good step in
civility. Yes, bull fighting has all the outward appearance of civility
but it's a vulgar act of aggression and cruelty.
24 July 2010 - iTunes & Amazon
- New page of links to iTunes & Amazon for purchasing my two CD's, 'In Friendship' & 'Dancing Hands' :
-
10 hours of sleep was a blessed gift from heaven after a week of short
nights and body fighting bug bites etc. -- morning asanas and
paranayamas were much needed.
- I spoke too soon. Swiss weather
is miserable cold again - feels like deep in November on 24 July. So
cold that even the losers with their beers beards chains and tattoos
are not out outside the train station.
-
Bike ride - quickly in
outer country side - such a lovely country - full of moisture and
fragrances that takes one to Caspian sea and childhood and penetrates
deep into the heart - cat ran with one - foxes
and deers - even a little cat that looked like a little dog but say
like a cat - then in the city, people with their ugly ways manipulated
by poison makers (cigarettes...)
- The country side was so cozy
on this miserable cold July winter - the kind you want to get in the
hut, make pumpkin soup and hug each other. "only fondue missing".
-
It is indeed such a small world. Met lovely couple from Ithaca.
Airforce retiree Mr. Turkish. He said the guys who built the Empire
State (shown on postcard sitting at extreme hight were American Indians
who are not bothered by heights.
23 July 2010 -
- Jansport -- attention Cindy Blackard's manager: Cindy
handled the complex case with utmost competence and professionalism and
with a great attitude. I really appreciate this excellent service. Reza Ganjavi
-
Alice Ploss has an amazing ear -- and what a great musician she is.
It's amazing to reconnect with friends from so many years ago - and
some whom you know and remember but not necessarily in the same social
circle - but all that we all mutually shared back then serves as a
background for new friendships. New old friendships.
22 July 2010 -
- Angelo Gilardino's new work is incredibly powerful delicate and beautiful.
-
The weather has been absolutely perfect the last few days - warm with
cool breeze - and today it rained - it's all lovely. Switzerland has
good weather 4 to 6 out of 52 weeks.
- She’s a senior
associate dean of administration and finance. Big title but a humble
good hearted sincere hardworking honest woman and a dear friend like
her husband who's one of my best friends.
-
It is so easy to ignore death, to not live with it, to count on the
certainty of the body's health and avoidance of accident. To have
kids means you get fully engaged in the game with no time to even think
about life let alone death.
-
Such is the nature of gratefulness. After decades seeing fruit yogurt
or pofak-namaki I remember my aunt who used to buy these things for me
and am appreciative of it. Told her tonight in the conversation which
centered around dad and her love for him etc.
- I don't like this stupid song "tell it like it is" but have accepted to play it and will. Musically it is so stupid.
21 July 2010 - Unfriendly Bostonians?
-
I used to deal with different people from Boston and found so many of them to be
very stressed and unfriendly -- the only other place I felt this way
was Geneva, Switzerland where large numbers of locals (if you can find
them vs. the majority foreigners) were so unfriendly.
- A quick websearch found these funny results (reposted with credits):
posted by dinty_moore at 8:30 AM on January 2, 2008 [3 favorites] Bostonians
hate everything. The thing that they hate more than anything else are
other Bostonians.
By MrMonkey on August 25, 2007 Interacting with the Bostonian: Simply the rudest people around. Being
from Brooklyn, New York where we are nationally stereotyped for being
real a-holes, I was absolutely stunned at how horribly obnoxious and
unfriendly people in Boston were. Of course, there were a lot of
exceptions but for the most part, people are just nasty. Even in
France, where the populus is known for its hatred for Americans, we had
a more pleasant time communicating with people than in Boston. Just letting you know, if youre expecting hospitality and welcoming, do NOT go to Boston.
21 July 2010 - Salsa & Tango Blues
-
Many northern Europeans are so fascinated with Argentinian Tango, Cuban
Salsa, and so on. It just seems so unnatural, and the fascination,
fascinating. Tango is for Argentina and Salsa for Cuba. It comes
natural to them and it comes so unnaturally to many Northern Europeans
who put an incredible amount of energy in learning it and still the
stiffness somehow doesn't do the dance its justice. It's a healthy
hobby but it causes too much mixup and at times conflict. I will never
tolerate my partner going on Tango and Salsa with other men. These are
extremely sensual and intimate dances which should be reserved for
partners or for those who don't have a partner or whose partner doesn't
care to have his or her energy-mate mixed up with others at such a deep
level. One guy who was tolerating his wife going salsa dancing with
other men in a so called class was faced with the question of whether
it's ok with him that she travels to Cuba with another woman and two
guys for some salsa function -- it's not hard to imagine what the
outcome would be.
-
Southern Europeans don't have as much of a fascination with Salsa and
Tango as Northerners do. Why? It seems the case to be that they already
have a warmth that is missing in the North which causes Northerners to
have this fascination and try to find warmth in it. It just seems so
superficial. Now they have a class to educate the Swiss about Tango
music. What's there to learn about this boring music? I've heard the
best of it -- Piazzolla, Nazarath, etc. -- I like some of it but in
general it's just as monotonous and boring as Salsa music.
21 July 2010
-
In Switzerland many people don't drive defensively. They have too much
faith in the system but this gets them into trouble. In chaotic streets
like in Tehran and Cairo, drivers have to drive defensively and you see
less accidents. Outside the city, on highways, it's a different story
-- there, you can trust the system and in Iran where road conditions
and the ways signs are handled and driver education levels are
inferior (in many other countries driver education is taken much more
seriously).
- Rules are for people not the other way around.
Here in Switzerland it seems that people are for the rules and not the
other way around.
- Also the unknown is a very strange concept
here, where knowing and certainty are praised. We can think about what
we want in life, have a vision about our purpose in life, but to be
open to the unknown is absolutely essential in living an intelligent
life.
- The kids asked: where is grandpa? when is he coming? is he in the hospital? They were told: There is an eternal house where they're happy and people go there. But
kids are realistic. I told them he has died. Their mother told them the
same thing. They understand ending unlike many adults. It's much better
to be direct with kids than confuse them with "he's in another house
and left and won't ever come back..."
- Rumor has it the place is bankrupt. I won't be surprised given the financial mismanagement.
19 July 2010 - Death
-
After her dad died she was devastated - went to his grave and cried so
hard she passed out at home. Her aunt called that she saw the dad in
dream who said my baby is so sad and her mother in other side of the
world. She woke up that her dead dad even worries about her in the
other world. Since then when she went to grave she told him of her
kids' progress and other good news. "that he can't handle unease of his
kids even in the other world".
- Some people don't see conflict in the way they live. They compare it with those with worse conflicts.
19 July 2010 - Cold Potatoes
- My laptop likes to sit on a cold bag of potatoes on a warm day when the CPU is running nonstop.
- Talking to TR was energizing & to PM was enervating. Really psyched at the program.
- Sorted out discrepancy with Sunrise for a friend.
-
First the organizer said, we can't have picture badges this time
because we don't have money and person. I said I'll get you both. But
it didn't get through and the subject dragged on. Maybe she doesn't
want it because her pictures is not in there :) (just a wild guess)
because copying some pages costs zilch and cutting pictures out takes 1
hour. And it's so helpful.
- Lufthansa sometimes sucks. I really try to
avoid them when possible. On mom's ticket they're giving her 1/2 the
miles for the inbound after we spend $2000 on the ticket. The US
airlines are so much better due to the competitive environment. Now they're advertising flights to Italy "with Italian flight
attendants" and pasta I guess. Last time they apologized for the gay
flight attendant's cocky attitude. Anyway they have come across as
cocky and arrogant time and again in Europe. In the US it's different
-- it plays by US's rules of customer service which is far superior
than European ones. They would be out of business quickly if it
operated as a US airline with their European constipated customer
service attitude. An old lady was cold and told the hostess who
answered we'll regulate temperature after take off -- I gave her my
blanket -- which is something the hostess should have done. "that's
good advice" she said later.
-
Filthy tables. Arrogant servers. Sensor not working so it's extremely
cold. Distorted speakers. No isle seat as promised. That was Lufthansa.
-
Ticks are strong this year and are event present by the city lake.
Where grass is short there's no danger (too dry for them) but any long
grass or bush can carry them.
-
He said Clapton is like McDonald's to the guitar -- nothing original or
exciting -- I fully agree -- he looks so bored on stage anyway. He
likes Beck.
- Both Peter Gabriel and Sting are playing what they consider classical music now!
-
Tara made fun: ask zeze "kare mikham" or "kam mikham" -- "mooham
khiseh" "mooham rizeh". Told her to take care of others, and also asked
Rusteen that he's the man of the house.
18 July 2010 - Her Psychiatrist Lost
-
She told her psychiatrist she wants to reduce her visits to once a
week. He said, if you don't come to me two times a week, you can't
survive. She stopped going to him completely and not even she survived,
she became freer and happier than ever.
18 July 2010 - Homeopathy or ... ?
-
A friend just got a bill from Elsbeth Hofmann Bolt for 600 francs for
having given the friend a tiny bit of white powder to take once to
solve all her problems which she discussed with her. Is this a joke or
real? It's an insult to intelligence as well as an insult to the
scientific community. Of course the magic white powder did not work.
The 600 franc bill includes 2.5 hours of consultation at an outrageous
rate of 140 Francs/hour in which Ms. Hofmann asked a lot of questions
about her past -- starting from time of being a baby. Then she
supposedly spent one hour at home searching what magic formula would
solve the friend's problems of chronic
fatigue, demotivation, low energy, sleepiness, and nightmares. The
answer was in one application of a tiny bit of a white powder which she
charged 8 Francs for. And she then charged another 105 Francs for a
consultation in which she asked friend if the powder worked. She had
told the friend that her nightmares would be better and they spent
time talking about that in the second meeting. Neither the nightmares
nore any of the other symptoms had gotten any better as a result of the
white powder. I feel sorry for the insurance companies that have to foot such ridiculous bills.
17 July 2010
-
5/14/2010 8:48 PM
Are you calling from a store? No, I’m an individual. We all are. Are
we? When a person has conflicting desires, is broken up inside, caught
between what you should be and what you are, then the person is not an
individual. To be individual means to be indivisible, united within,
and not divided. Yes of course. Then, what is the root of
division? It is thought, it is within the thinking process itself. The
nature of thinking is divisive. Yes it is. Why is that? Are we all one and united or do we feel we’re individuals. Look up that apple pectin and we’ll go into this more :)
----------
It
turned out the apple pectin was not organic though the distributor
advertised it as organic (bastards). They gave me a refund.
17 July 2010
-
Told supervisor that the rep didn't listen to the question at all and
instead heard what was in her head and answered accordingly (nothing to
do with my question). He apologized and gave 4000 bonus miles !!
- Dr. S said I don't know why. I said love has no reason. (book gift). - Dr. K said what can I do for you? Nothing. (machine tuner gift).
-
a grumpy bitch has turned into a happy person by quitting smoking. "She looks so much better and feels better."
- An old headline from 2008 reads "Guitar Center bought by Mitt Romney’s
Company: No More Haggling Allowed" but not long ago I got a lot of
discount but now they said Bain bought us, no more haggling!
14 July 2010 onwards
- Many Swiss bus stops stink not only
from the smell of cigarette buds on the floor but also from the
ashtrays which are positioned right next to the waiting bench -- so
instead of the magnificent smell of Linden trees, or the tender,
innocent smell of rain, you are served stinking smell of burned
disgusting cancer sticks.
-
Isn't it important for education, whether by parents or in school to
ask whether it is important to develop the child's psychological ego,
sense of self or not. It seems that a child is naturally free from the
sense of self until it is taught to make images through comparison,
flattery and insult and other destructive means. It seems that the
parent and teacher should be careful not to contribute to development
of psychological images. They do, and that is why there are so many
psychologists around!
- Even the smile of the lowest ranked in society at a considerate gesture made the world a better place.
-
Somebody forgot their violin in the train. Talk about being absent
minded. Swiss trains are surely safer than NY taxis where Yoyoma left
his cello :)
- South East Asian woman eating some warm dinner on the train which has a disgusting smell. How inconsiderate. Maybe
it's some kind of unfortunate sea animal which ended on a dinner plate
and it's getting even by smelling as bad a possible.
-
Talking to my cousin Abbass – and told his sisters too recently, Simin
& Shirin, that the love their mother had for me, the love my two
Amme (father-side aunts) had for me was incredible. I feel their love.
It’s alive in my heart. I don’t know why I am crying. This is not a cry
of pain. I am even smiling now – it’s a cry of beauty and amazement
that the seed they planted – this incredible amazing love they
expressed to my heart is so wide awake after all these years.
12 July 2010 onwards --
-
I lost respect for the Dutch team. They showed weakness from the
beginning by being extremely violent. Good thing they lost to Spain who
won the world cup. I only like the games for the 'skill in action'.
-
A mother's psychological ego can be destructive to a child's
development. Reward and punishment hardly ever works. Suppression
backfires. The way of understanding and friendship and giving
importance to peace not coercion works best with children. The
rationale for coercion is there has to be a line drawn -- that
otherwise teenagers will keep pushing the line. I am not a child
psychologist though this was one of the subjects I was considering at
university. But I've studied the subject practically and theoretically,
and I've gotten amazing results from having dialogues with children.
Their brains are often far more advanced than their bodies and if we
call on understanding, it goes a long long way.
-
Sound of mother reading to her kids is so sweet. There's so much love.
Love rules the universe. There is a tremendous love in motherhood. No
words can describe it, and not being a mother perhaps I could never
grasp it, however, what I do feel observing and feeling it, is that it
is incredibly beautiful and powerful.
- There are incredible
number of psychological monsters in this world and the root of it is
image making and thought as an illusion machine.
- I am so glad not to have children of my own.
-
I have to forget and forgive them. I am disgusted by the smell of
cooked meat and this makes my state of being miserable but they have
other constraints, disorders, limitations, and seeing that I have
affection for them. They could have been more considerate -- by waiting
a little bit for example -- they know very well this smell makes me
want to puke -- but I see these things and am cool and not distressed
anymore. Sometimes it's hard to be fully aware when the body is so
tired. This includes being totally in the present with inconsiderate
people, and not to sulk, not to be affected by the discomfort they put
create. But it is my responsibility as a human, in any relationship, to
be without an image. So I move forward with quietness.
08 July 2010 onwards --
- Content with every breath. Like a kid
in her mother's lap. Couldn't ask for a lot but just to have the
nostril open after the sinusitis saga and while it's open I smile and
cherish it. Gratefulness is so lost in today's rat-race world - to take
nothing for granted - everything that works must be appreciated while
it works and not when it breaks.
-
Two lovely Germans sat next to me on the train. One goes to a
university specializing in field of education but had not
heard of alternative or holistic
education and some leading educational philosophers like John Dewey and
Jiddu Krishnamurti. Good contact. Maybe they will email me. Swiss
hardly ever do. If you get their emails they're happy to have contact
but to show such initiative is simply not Swiss.
-
Peter Gabriel's new concert tour flier said: "No Drums, No Guitar" -
he's touring with an orchestra -- maybe like McCartney he wants to
aspire to be a classical guy - why not? I wasn't impressed with his
album but maybe have to listen again. It's a shame to take the guitar
out. If I ever do orchestral works, the guitar has to be there. Guitar
needs more concert stage not less.
- She toured California and was
disappointed about LA "what a horrible city", and her favorite was San
Fran - pretty typical.
- We've had something like a week of summer days and no summer nights yet.
-
More and more in Europe kids are mandated to learn English from
kindergarten and grade school, something that was the case in Iran when
I was a kid.
-
1.5 year old kid walked up and I offered him some of what I was eating,
with his mother's permission. He neither liked mixed sprouts nor hummus
(all organic) at first but he came back for more.
- At 11 a.m I am his 15th patient !! these Swiss doctors probably make several millions per year.
-
PAYERNE, Switzerland - An experimental solar-powered plane completed
its first 24-hour test flight successfully Thursday, proving that the
aircraft can collect enough energy from the sun during the day to stay
aloft all night.
-
Met 3 youngsters - 15-16 year olds - good head on their shoulders - one
was even well versed in famous philosophers. Already searching for a
career, the best tip I could give them was, find something you love.
-
Rep said it can't be done. I had a case because yesterday they said it
can be done. I asked to speak to supervisor. She said I'm trying to
help you, it can't be done. I had to hang up. Called again. Got a
supervisor. He said, it can be done!
- He also lost his dad - at age 61, he smoked 2 packs of cigarettes a day. Another victim of Big Tobacco.
05 July 2010 -- Wake up call
-
With finally summer time and windows open, it
seems the whole neighborhood woke up at 5:15 with the moaning of the
Eastern European lady next door's -- up and down and up again... Some minutes later she went
to work - and then her partner.
05 July 2010 -- "One in the spirit"
-
A friend wrote an email calling me "brother in spirit".
Immediately kicked off the song in my mind by Kim Palmer, the dear friend who's no longer alive:
one in the spirit are we one in his love ever free free to give love eternally blessed are we
- Angela Jaggi is the best Beatles bass player I've ever known! She is simply amazing.
-
It's very important to a) boost the immune system when traveling. b) on first sign of cold go on therapeutic dosage of vitamin C and keep it up way past cure.
c) if you lose to cold, take some decongestant. Living with congestion
means sinuses can move from viral to bacterial infection.
d) if infection persists antibiotic + decongestant + fluimucil. Careful
about spray decongestant as they can create rebound effect. c) use all means of boosting immune system.
04 July 2010 -- Drunk Germans and Italians
-
German guy downstairs came in at 2 am with another German neighbour
Sacha, and blasted music and the drunk one seemed to have a monologue
till 3 a.m. -- then Tomi with another Italian friend had a street
discussion at 5 a.m. -- they were all drunk. Much of the chaos in the
world is because of alcohol abuse.
01 July 2010 -- Anniversary...
-
30 years ago today, I flew from New York to California to start a new life, go to college. - 1 week ago today, dad died. I started writing an article about him -- it's in draft stage and being actively updated: http://home.datacomm.ch/rezamusic/dad.html - And some random pictures of him: http://ganjavi.kwebserv.info/Dad-pictures-group-1.html -
Felt like rejoicing for him - in the style of Blacks' concept of 'home
going' - not based on idea of going or becoming but for his joy for
life as his life itself was a celebration of simplicity, comfort,
beauty, and love. - Lots of new videos on www.RezaTV.com - Nertherlands played beautifully and kicked Brazil out of the games. -
Talked with Alan, my old landlord from beloved Fairhaven. I used to pay
$225/month when I moved in in September 1980 and stayed there for 12
years and rent went up to 395 or something (I don't remember). Now it's
almost triple what I paid 30 years ago (makes sense). Such a lovely
place. Perhaps I will visit it again.
29 June 2010 --
-
What we can not do is to give way to sorrow -- that does not help
humanity although that is the way of the world, the habit of the human
brain.
-
When you lose a great friend... you haven't lost him, she said. It's
true that in many ways he's right there but I still need to understand
certain things... and have time to ponder which the circus after
someone dies is totally contradictory to this spirit of pondering.
-
Someone did a search: "I am totally unhappy with smoking and really
want to quit". The 4th result google returned was my 'keys to stopping
smoking' page...
-
Persistence pays. Lufthansa just took the miles w/o informing me (it's
their policy to do so) -- but after much persistence I got them to
reinstate it. Sandra, very nice, said it's very difficult to get miles
reinstated. Will send her a nice complement.
-
What kind of a ripoff is this? Lufthansa miles and more customer
service phone number which is free in the US: "Switzerland: 1st to 2nd
minutes are charged at local rate (call from the Swiss landline). 3rd
to 12th minutes are charged at CHF 0.86/min. All additional minutes are
charged at local rate (call from the Swiss landline)."
28 June 2010 --
-
The whole idea that death = sorrow is defective. For a great person who
has lived a long, fulfilled, happy life, what is there to be
sorrowful about? Part of the greatness was living with death, knowing
it is always around the corner - that once he may sleep and never wake
up. And he was perfectly ok with that because he knew it was
inevitable, the nature of things. Meanwhile the circus goes on.
- The cool pharmacist proposed something else. Sounds really good.
-
The bio-shop had new chips - finally - to buy for friend who likes
chips - only one was sugar free - and they were around $7 - talk about
ripoff. Paid around $35 for 3 anti-biotic pills.
- Lots of new links and newly edited videos on my site, www.rezamusic.com
27 June 2010 --
-
Finally a warm day in this refrigerator. -
Nice to have a good friend over - volley ball - it's a nice change to
the temporary chaos. Like in childhood, the kind of friend you end a
day with and look forward to spending another day with. - Pink Floyd cover band is a good idea but musically is so limited. They played 4 chords for 30 minutes. -
We went to offer to catch the frogs but he wasn't there. They're
shouting again to our ears - to them, it may be a song of joy - like
the junk psychedelic so called melodies this band was playing tonight
which is considered as music. Floyd has a good sound and a lot of great
songs - but many are too dark for me to sing.
24 June 2010 -- Goodbye
-
He left in peace, he left in sleep, his heart gradually stopped, before
he goes he said all his wishes have come true. I don't know if he knew
that he'll never wake up - probably not, but as great as he was, it did
not matter because he lived fully, with dignity, with a joy which was
always the light in his mind, or a mind which was always the light of
joy. His friend said people like him are rare.
-
To say he died is such a silly phrase. He did not die. The body that
embodied that greatness died. His love and greatness, his values,
rationality, goodwill, harmlessness, innocence, utter fearlessness,
positive attitude, lack of suspicion, deep insight, contentedness, competence, are
qualities that live on and contribute to the wellness of humanity. He
did not contribute to sorrow, anxiety, fear, craving, and misery
which so many people all over the world are caught in.
23 June 2010 -- Misc
-
The Louisiana judge who struck down the
Obama administration's six-month ban on deepwater oil drilling in the
Gulf of Mexico has reported extensive investments in the oil and gas
industry,
- Human Ancestor 'Lucy' Walked Upright 3.2 Million Years Ago
- Dallas, Texas
– The city's new police chief faces one of the worst tragedies that
could befall a law enforcement officer: living with the knowledge that
his dead son was a cop killer.
23 June 2010 -- German
-
D: you will never meet someone who learned German as a foreign
language and speaks it perfectly, even if you grow up in a foreign
country and your mother is German but not your father. He said within
Germany people are very intolerant of accents from areas other than
where they live. P has been studying German for 1.5 years and still
can't speak it.
- Asked Sylvana if I could have 10% discount if I shop in German :)
22 June 2010 -- Coop Organic Cheese False Label
- When I first came to Switzerland big label on the pack said 100% orange juice - bit ingredients said it has added sugar.
- Case of Swiss cheese false label closed. See"March
2010 - Two Case of False Labels on Swiss Products". They admitted they
were wrong and will correct it nationwide for the second time.
Dear Daniele
Thanks for getting to the bottom of this. First they didn't put any of the
ingredients on the package except cheese and walnut which is misleading by
itself. Then after I complained they changed the nation-wide label to include some of
the ingredients but still omitted the E-numbers. I'm glad they've corrected this so the consumer gets the correct information on
what they're buying but you know, to me this seems very suspicious. I would
suggest Mr. Loosli may want to do an investigation on this because this is really
bad for coop. Coop has all this great natural food but a person
decides what goes on a label, he or she drops these E-numbers. Was it an error?
It doesn't seem like it, since it was just the E-numbers that were dropped which
still made the thing look like it was 100% natural and organic which it is not.
Very best wishes
& Friendly regards
Reza Ganjavi
22 June 2010 -- The Sweet Red Princess
-
Morizz event was fun. He brought his amazing red hollow body Gretsch. Obviously
having bought it in Switzerland he paid around $2000 too much for it
but the thing is so tame, and elegant and cooperative. It's there for
you. From the first touch it was obvious. Perfect action. We liked
the music and got into it.
- Didn't trust the bike being at the station overnight after two was stolen from the same place.
20 June 2010 --
- Tired of being in a refrigerator. 10 degree weather on 20 June!
19 June 2010 --
- NEW YORK: John Lennon's handwritten lyrics to the final
song on the Beatles album Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band have
been sold to an American collector for $US1.2 million
-
"My first teacher on the subject of ear, nose and throat was the famous
Miles Foxen, of Westminster Hospital. He always said: 'Any cold
still present after 14 days is sinusitis, unless proven otherwise.'"
-
American and Swiss manners when it comes to hello and goodbye are so
different. Swiss have these long goodbyes - specially in Bern region -
which are kind of cute.
- Working with computers a lot makes a person become too fast - changing physical position like changing windows.
-
Amazing how this instrument, this being, has innate power to heal
itself. That is life. A machines that we know can't do that.
-
Grandfather is with me, part of me, his love is here -- having kids
meet their grandparents enriches both parties. Agha-joon used to order
chelo-kabab from Shayesteh for me quietly (as a special order) b/c he
knew how much I loved it. That was after I was forced to become a meat
eater and long before I quit meat.
- She said Swiss people like to talk to strangers but they're not sure if the other person wants to be disturbed :)
12, 17 June 2010 -- British Petroleum
-
The Gulf of Mexico oil spill is a terrible disaster and BP is
responsible for it. BP is also responsible for other terrible things
like their role and history in Iran.
Sixty years ago, BP was called the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company.
STEVEN
KINZER: At the beginning of the 20th century as a result of a corrupt
deal with the old dying monarchy, one British company, owned mainly by
the British government, had taken control of the entire Iranian oil
industry. This one company had the exclusive rights to extract, refine,
ship, and sell Iranian oil. And they paid Iran a very tiny amount, but
essentially the entire Iranian oil resource was owned by a company
based in England and owned mainly by the British government.
16-Jun-2010
- Tony Hayward, CEO of BP is getting fried in the US congress. BP's
history in Iran is a shame and while the oil spill is very unfortunate,
I totally support putting these guys on the hotseat and get BP for take
full responsibility for their mis-judgment. Mr. Waxman said it appears
BP wanted to save $7Mil so they took the riskier option that caused
this mega disaster. "BP knowingly risked well failure to save a few
million dollars". Hayward is dodging the questions and sounds very
cunning -- he doesn't seem to take this whole thing very seriously!
Hayward makes $6M in salary and another 10's of millions in stock options..
- "BP has a systematic safety problem - plain indifference, disregard for safety and health of employees"...
- BP should be banned from doing business in the US after this shameful reckless environmental disaster.
- David Plouffe wrote: "When BP CEO Tony Hayward testified before Congress this morning,
many expected to hear him apologize for the disaster his company has
caused. Instead, GOP Congressman Joe Barton was the one saying he was
sorry -- to BP. In his opening statement, Barton, the top Republican on the committee
overseeing the oil spill and its aftermath, delivered a personal
apology to the oil giant. He said the $20 billion fund that President
Obama directed BP to establish to provide relief to the victims of the
oil disaster was a "tragedy in the first proportion.""
- Only In Texas: The
Texas Republican (Barton), the House's top recipient of oil industry
campaign contributions since 1990, apologized Thursday for apologizing
to the chief of the British company that befouled the Gulf of Mexico
with a massive oil spill.
16, 17 June 2010 -- Goodbye to Windows Pagefile
-
Increased RAM = no need for pagefile = better performance. My research determined this is the way to go. - If using pagefile good to have it clear on shutdown.
-
Wrote hot letter to Thermalbaden reminding them of their moral and
legal obligations to customers. The mentality is from the era of the
Roman Empire just as the baths.
- She talked of the taxi driver who spoke of being
human, of barekat (blessing) and that money is not important. She wants
x to leave the past behind, she can't guarantee others' bahavior but
told some. She thinks it's x's imagination - maybe a bit but surely the
essence is there. And that jackass broke his promise. Even a jackass
wouldn't but he is worse -- no values -- a thief of trust. I feel sorry
for her - and there is affection.
16 June 2010 -- Swiss
-
I really enjoy the simple aspects of life here. One teacher came to the
village once a week for a few months to teach the kids how to brush
their teeth.
- You can walk in the organic market, take what you want and
leave the money for them (no attendant) -- but the test apples were
much better than the for-sale ones - sure way not to have repeat customers - sure way to sell apples
-
They've started teaching kids English in kindergarten. Today I asked
directions from two youngsters, 12 and 15 and they both spoke perfect
English and they had German speaking parents and just learned it in
school. Also a teacher's little child who picked up her phone spoke
English.
-
The Swiss national football team won against Spain in round 1 of
Worldcup football. Major streets got closed from patriotic shouts of
fan(atic)s. The interesting thins is any form of egotistic,
self-centered emotion such as patriotism, as "me and mind" immediately
gives rise to "you and yours" even if the other party has no sense of
such acts of identification and self-extension.
-
Even 2 hours after the game the streets are blocked, people shouting
slogans, waving flags, and ringing huge cowbells they carry on their
shoulders.
16 June 2010 -- Real Estate Sharks
-
He is in the Swiss real estate business himself and he calls them
sharks. This one agency tried to take advantage of my friend by trying
to impose the burden of finding someone who pays 28% more rent than the
current contract, and so on. We wrote a nice letter. It's better to
make sure they understand they can't screw with you earlier than later
otherwise they'll try and dealing with it at the end of the process is
more difficult.
[17
June: the power letter saved friend over $500 -- the agency saw they
don't have a chance to pull their trick in this case and revised their
plan].
14 June 2010 -- throw away the table salt
see section:Refined table salt
http://www.alkalizeforhealth.net/Lsalt.htm
even normal salt. i would go ask reformhaus and throw away the migros table salt
table means it has anti-caking agent chemicals and it's processed so lacks other minerals...
Here's a great site:
http://curezone.com/foods/saltcure.asp
13 June 2010 -- misc
- She said people are so unfriendly in Switzerland. I said where
are you from? She: here. People often have remarked that they like how
in the US people talk to strangers -- or maybe that's their image here
since i talk to "strangers".
- The drugs made her insecure, so she wants to cling on to school as security - a school she hates.
-
Wholefoods Market is way over-priced. Their buffet sucks -- not organic
-- full of dead animals -- and way too expensive. They have some good
things but I hope people don't buy there thinking it's all good and
fairly priced. I was against the merger with Wild Oats. any further
mergers is death to this market as prices will sky rocket further in an
almost monopolistic dominance.
12 June 2010 -- Churchbell Torture
-
Every saturday night and sunday morning we have to go through torture
as several neighbouring churches ring their bells at a paralyzing,
torturing decibel level.
- It meant a lot that mom called to ask how I am - it's simple but it meant a lot.
-
The frogman said he'll get rid of a couple of his frogs but the rest
make his pond very disturbing to his neighbors. Actually he said he
couldn't
catch them. The suckers are loud as hell. Just the horny males singing.
What kind of female would be attracted to that kind of loud scream? He
wants to spread his sperm and she wants a good looking capable rich
artistic creative intelligent frog!!
-
Hour twenty minute talk w/ FR. It'd been a long time since we wanted to
talk. It was great. The kind of friendship that we can talk all day.
But we also share realization of value of silence.
7 June 2010 -- Disease of Loneliness
-
Loneliness is a disease people pay a high price to get rid of but all
medicines for it are simply an escape from being nothing which is
tremendously powerful, but that power involves psychological death to
longing and all that give thought continuity. Watching this couple and
many like them who are only together because they can't imagine being
alone -- and the price they pay for it, the drama, the pain --
togetherness is wonderful - we care social creatures -- a community
gives us power, a sense of well-being -- laughter and sharing are
healing -- but as long as loneliness is not there as an underlying
disease which togetherness is trying to solve. I'd rather be without
somone than to be with someone just to not be lonely. And then there is
aloneness which is the essence of angelic life : to be one with
oneself, not broken up, and such people, in this broken up society, are
angels and much needed for bringing about a new world.
-
I stayed long enough in Geneva to see this great person -- then buzzed
out of there -- not my kind of place. The lake is so fantastic - a shot
of utter beauty suddenly appears as the train leaves Lausanne heading
to the Alps of the musical Bern.
5 June 2010 --
- Katie is going to her senior prom and just walked in the door with her date. - Nice to get some warm weather for a change. The earth is rejoicing. -
Some artists are deprived from an extensive social life while working
and creating and practicing but they share this with others in a much
larger social scale. - Finally had some time to do some editing: www.rezatv.com -
If the potatoes are growing (have a green tinge) then they are
poisonous and are not fit for anything except growing or composting. - Canon camcorder support line was useless. They don't understand a lot of the concepts.
-
I met a girl with 3 snow tattoos on the side of her palm. Very angelic
girl and the reason she got these were pure, because she loves snow and
mountains. - More
link of tattoos with vulgarity: "WENATCHEE, Wash. - Police in
Wenatchee are surprised at the amount of contraband an inmate was able
to smuggle into the jail rectally. The Wenatchee World said the man
internally carried a cigarette lighter, rolling papers, a baggie of
tobacco the size of a golf ball, a smaller baggie of marijuana, a
1-inch smoking pipe, a bottle of tattoo ink and eight tattoo needles."
-
"MIAMI - More than half of the federal judges in districts where the
bulk of Gulf oil spill-related lawsuits are pending have financial
connections to the oil and gas industry, complicating the task of
finding judges without conflicts to hear the cases"
-
"Department of Transportation address a far more common aviation
crisis: the growing number of people who are too fat to fit into tiny
airplane seats and the discomfort they cause their seat mates."
4 June 2010 --
- Fabio responded to the ad and we had a great talk.
- i don't condemn ir. but when u say u had it b/c it was there that is
funny -- well not funny, but kind of interesting because there are so
many things that are there but my body's intelligence just doesn't go
there -- it's not about effort -- i don't shy from it or try to avoid
it - my being has learned to die to something on the spot and it's not
an argument or discussion -- if there is internal discussion or my
mouth is watering at the sight of it - I go take a small piece - and
eat it slowly - with full awareness - not as a joke or a cause for
party which is unawareness - and taste it - and body asks itself, do i
really want to swallow this? and usually it's not. not a decision or
conflict about it - to make a problem of it is to be slave to it.
1 June 2010 -- Compassionate Switzerland
- Switzerland can be best described with one word: Compassionate.
-
I must have such a strong morphic connection with fairhaven and
havenwood, related to everything there, the trees, the land, the ants,
the air, etc. -- I bet they also miss me :)
- Zurich is frinkin 8 degrees in June !! Give me California please.
-
So much ugliness at the bus station - everywhere you turn your head you
see people smoke - they all look like dragons, puffing out smoke,
addicted, nervous, and obviously unhappy.
30 May 2010 -- Misc news items
AP
- Officers pulled over a white minivan with Ohio license plates while
"running drug interdiction" on Interstate 40 in east Arkansas, said
West Memphis Police Inspector Bert Shelton. Two men got out of the van
with the assault rifles and opened fire on the officers, he said.
Traffic stopped as authorities searched vehicles on Interstate 40
looking for the suspects, who were spotted about 90 minutes later in
the parking lot of a nearby Walmart, officials said. Dozens of officers
swarmed the vehicle after a wildlife officer rammed the minivan with
his car, and both suspects were shot and killed, authorities said.
Shelton said the two slain officers were doing the "most dangerous job"
in the department because they dealt with drug traffickers.
AP -
BAGHDAD – A suicide bomber detonated himself Monday outside a textile
factory where crowds had gathered shortly after two car bombs went off
at the same spot in the worst of a series of attacks that killed at
least 75 people across Iraq, the deadliest day this year. [A fool
called George W. Bush said years ago: Mission Accomplished!!]
AP
- Bush: Book begins with decision to quit drinking. Bush said the book
is less autobiography and more an analysis of key decisions in his
life, both before and after he was elected president. Topics will
include the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the troop surge in Iraq, his
responses to terrorists attacks and Hurricane Katrina and the financial
meltdown. He said he hopes the book will be a tool for historians
evaluating his presidency [the evaluation will just get worse as we go
through the worst recession in our lifetimes]. "I don't think you can
come to a definitive conclusion about a presidency until the passage of
time," Bush said. "I want to put you in my position." He said his
biggest regret was not finding weapons of mass destruction in Iraq [And
that was the reason for going to war and wasting so many lives and so
much money].
27 May 2010 -- Coward Matador
- Those who pretend to be hotshot macho and tough and yet torture animals to death are nothing
but a bunch of cowards, and those who watch and support this criminal
activity called bull-fighting are just as bad. What is so noble about
killing a creature with a lower form of intelligence and skills and
capacities (e.g. to carry a sward) by continually inserting banderillas
(sharp barbed sticks) in its poor back until it bleeds to death. What
is so great about that El Matador? If you have the guts, face a man of
equal skills and tools not a harmless grass-eating bull which doesn't
even harm an other animal by eating it.
- I was delighted to see this bull kick the socks off this coward matador: Here's a video of it http://www.nationalturk.com/en/bullfight-injury-as-matador-gored-through-chin-in-madrid-spain-56646415/comment-page-1#comment-6613 and on the same page, there are some interesting public comments.
- This is as bad as cowards who hide behind a computer screen and nick name and attack other people.
[15
June a matador in Mexico ran away from the ring two times and was
arrested for breaching his contract to kill the poor bull].
27 May 2010 onwards
- She finally got sick of ketchup after having it with soup!! -
Youtube is still the best video site despite the 10 minute limit - it
allows up to 2 GB per video. Yahoo has a 150 MB limit (15 min).
Metacafe's limit is 8 minutes. Google video no longer accepts uploads.
Other sites don't have the access control I like. Youtube can also mean you get stuck in a recursive tube and waste hours trying to figure it out. They
write: “If you're unable to find the answer to your question in the
Help Center, you may use the contact forms located there to send us
your question.” But there is no contact forms located there. They
also wrote in the email: “If you do wish to reset your password, please
use the following link:” But there is no link there.
They
confirmed the account was active and in good standing. So what's the
problem? Technical glitch. Waiting sorted it out. The key is when this
happens, give it 8 hours, then don't try to login but go to the
password reset page and the next email they send will have a link.
- Got 120 unprocessed/unanswered emails.
26 May 2010 -- New Coverage -- 400% 12 month gain estimate
- She asked about Switzerland... "I can't think of a better place to go to."
-
He switched to driving buses in Zurich b/c he said people are more open
minded, and he's tired of the closed minded bus company here. And in ZH
people change every few years, and here you see the same people year
after year.
- Attacked 35 page todo-list down to 12.
-
I hate facebook. Suddenly some web searches show up on the bloody wall.
It's an absolute invasion of privacy that flipping facebook doesn't
seem to care -- without you wanting it, suddenly the books you searched
for show up on your "wall" unless you opt out. Anyway I only use it to
see friends list when looking for old friends.
-
"In Johannesburg, around 17 murders are committed each day. Burglaries
and the violence that accompanies them feature regularly make the local
news headlines. A recent survey we conducted of young burglars showed
that most of them were not aware of having done anything wrong. When
you live in Alexandra, a poor township to the north of Johannesburg,
and every day you see luxury four-wheel drive cars passing through on
the way to Sandton, you think that you, too, are entitled to a slice of
the cake."
-
The word "work" in Swiss German lingo has a very specific meaning --
it's work vs. life -- or rather as Swiss French say The Swiss Germans
(generally and stereotyping is stupid anyway) "live to work" vs. the
more laid back French (another false stereotype because most Swiss
French I know are also hypered up by caffeine and they calm down by
wine) are thought to "work to live". Aside from these silly
generalizations, the word "work" in German has a very strict, stiff
meaning because the God here is work and work is separated from life
and as a friend said most people are doing work they don't like.
There's a whole different outlook altogether. I vow not to use that
word since it is often misunderstood here.
- Brigitte
S: The guy had gall stones & hepatitis - was all yellow - before
they put him on medication he drank 1/2 liter of olive oil and became
well.
- DNA tests pinpointed the mummy of Tut's mother — and
confirmed she was a sister of his father — but the mummy has not yet
been firmly identified. Brother-sister marriages were common among
Egypt's pharaohs.
- Email has proven time and again to be a terrible mode of communication for any sensitive matter.
25 May 2010 -- The new Swiss no-smoking rule falls short
- Swisscom reps completely clueless. I emailed the
CEO. He emailed me back today and sent the case to senior agent who
called and resolved the problem. Never fails: if you don't escalate to
CEO, customer service case is treated in the stone-age manner.
24 May 2010 onwards --
- Swiss banks UBS, Credit Suisse and Vontobel are among 146
financial institutions that have invested billions of dollars in cluster bomb
producers, campaigners say.
- T-shirt said: I put ketchup on my ketchup -- well describes a ketchup loving friend.
- She said age 5 to 10 is the most precious years of a kids' life and so should not be pushed into going to school early.
- Jazz guitarist played Bouree and destroyed it.
23 May 2010 -- Sunday Morning Torture
- For 15 minutes at 9:15 3 different churches miles apart ring
their alarm clocks so loud they combine into one massive, deafening
explosion of continuous noise. At 10:55 they start pounding again,
disrespecting all wishes for peace and quietness on this Sunday. And
here they come again at 12:10 knocking the socks out of any ear that's
trying to have peace. Here it comes again at 6:20 pm.
22 May 2010 onwards
- Met friend who has properties but he says managing them is a lot of headache -- what I always thought.
- Read that average American male age 50 has 5 to 22 pounds of compacted
fecal matter stuck in his digestive system.
-
BO wrote: "Now, the House and Senate must iron out their
differences before I can sign it into law. But the financial industry
will not give up. They have already spent more than $1 million per
member of Congress, lobbying on this issue. And in the coming days,
they will go all in. This is their last shot to stall, weaken, or kill
reform, and they are not accustomed to losing."
- She's a pretty girl but when I saw her tattoos around her ears it was like cold water.
21 May 2010 -- Customer Service at Swisscom is a Nightmare
-
The idea of customer service for Swisscom seems to be to sit there and
tell the customer why he or she is wrong. "It could not have happened".
Well, it did. But that does not get through their thick heads. If you
want to speak to a supervisor they just pass you to another customer
service agent. One of their supposed supervisors told me they must do
that because supervisors don't talk to customers !!
-
If you can forget about the screwups of Swiss providers and don't
expect them to stand behind their messups and take responsibility for
it and provide some sort of a reasonable customer service then you can
live in Switzerland peacefully otherwise you have to constantly engage
in pulling teeth to get a simple grain of truth understood by they that
they might be at fault and the customer might just be right. Stone Age
Customer Service in Switzerland is proven time and again.
-
Then you get this friking wine company (StadtKellerei Basel, CityCellar
AG, Rotterdam-Strasse 21, 4053 Basel) with the phone numbers
061-331-7045 and 061-205-1890 owned by a chap called Markus Wyser who
obviously doesn't care about people's wish to not be bothered by
incessant sales calls.
I've asked numerous times not to get phone calls from them and
everytime they promise but it happens again. I spoke with Ms. Nakiwala
today who promised for the 5th time to remove me from their list and
not to call me to sell their flipping wine. First today it was Thomas
Meier who called and Nakiwala came on the phone as a manager. She said
she is new and apologized but they have zero credibility because every
one before her also promised never to call again. If someone calls you
5 times and you politely ask them not to call again how do you talk to
them the next time? They're calling me, I don't want to have anything
to do with them. CityCellar AG, in Basel, CH-270.3.013.238-2, Aktiengesellschaft (SHAB Nr. 216 vom 06.11.2009, S. 8, Publ. 5330098). Eingetragene
Personen neu oder mutierend: Wyser, Markus, von Niedergösgen, in
Mühlethal, Mitglied des Verwaltungsrates, mit Einzelunterschrift
[bisher: in Mühlethal, Präsident mit Kollektivunterschrift zu zweien].
The policeman neighbour said I can report them for harassment to the phone company and have their number blocked.
20 May 2010 onwards -- Eight Swiss Students & Their Teachers
-
Eight girls and two teachers surrunded one in the pool conversing in
broken English, excited about music and prospect of doing concert at
their school. A bunch of them came later and asked if I like their
teacher and were trying to hook me up with her :) A very friendly and
nice group. A couple of the girls played guitar and another one asked
if she could take lessons. The lack of fear in this society attests to
its greatness.
-
Divide and conquer is an old trick. Perhaps a gossip-loving culture
like the UK is promoted by the rulers and their extreme excesses
because division is easier to rule.
-
Fedex in Switzerland does not have a toll-free number! It used to but I
guess it's competing on the poor customer service instead of making
others compete on good customer service. I called and asked them to
call back. Turns out the driver wrote the wrong tracking number on the
notice. The last few Fedex and UPS drivers I've met in Switzerland are
class acts in lack of education or intelligence or whatever it may be.
- 800 schools took part in the national UK debate contest. My friend Edward and his partner won the top prize.
-
Thermalbaden is such an amazingly backward place in terms of mentality.
I have not yet met a single person who works there and his head is not
stuck in the sand.
18 May 2010 onwards -- Four Italian Young Ladies
-
Met 4 Italian young ladies in the vegetarian restaurant. Two sisters
from Firenze, one from Milano, and one from Venezia. We had really good
deep talks. The two sisters asked really good questions. The older one
finished her economics degree and is going for a masters - the younger
whom I could tell was younger by her manners, will study art history,
perfect for a job in Florence. They were from the country side and
their sweetness and intelligence was refreshing and holistically
stimulating -- they seem to belong to the new mind -- but are still
burdened by the rotten ways of tradition, like smoking. Laura who was
the only vegetarian promised herself to stop but didn't. I recommended
reading: http://home.datacomm.ch/rezamusic/cig.html
And about macroeconomics, markets and investing in Nasdaq : BCON She asked if I have written a book "It's nice to have met someone... who knows..." For now, Reza Ganjavi's book of life is this.
16 May 2010 onwards --
-
Peter Gabriel's new album is depressive and sad in different ways -- I don't want to say it sucks but it does!
- H: I don't recommend (having) kids to anybody.
- Bob said his 16 year old depressed friend has gotten really into Beatles and hearing it nonstop.
-
Tribal hooligans are out in support of their favorite football team. At
11 a.m. on Sunday, different people on the bus and train reek of
alcohol. Decadence in full swing -- it is not the yuga, the epoque --
vulgarity is inherited from animals and until a person can set
themselves free it will continue.
- To say freedom is not a discrete, final event in time, is not to say that it is continuous. It is outside that field. [lg]
-
He was very happy to see me - likewise - he: u made my day - he spoke
with such high regards for my dad - that great men of
character like that are not that common and that he's something
extraordinary -- "it takes one to know one" but he sincerely said no,
he's of a different level altogether. I do believe it takes one to know
one or at least to recognize one -- people of such degree of greatness
are sometimes not recognized and taken for granted by the people
closest to them -- but I do know what he means. The flaws of character,
if we start picking on them, are part of being a human -- not to say
one should not grow -- seeing *is* action, as for an intelligent
person, change is not a matter of choice. And by greatness we don't
mean power position wealth and looks -- not at all. Greatness is of
values, quality of judgment, awareness, affection, of love for truth,
and for love for wisdom. I didn't know, but dad saved
his life once -- well, once is enough!!
-
He said having to manage property takes too much time. Exactly why I
never wanted to have property/dealing with tenants and frikin broken
pipes and this and that complaint.
- He said in Switzerland he
observes old people take journies on trains and are content whereas in
his home country, UK people are nervous in the trains.
- He said having wife and kids is a headache. I've heard complaints about
marriage all my life and very few times heard good things about it. I
tend to listen to the advice of so many over so many years and it makes
sense. There is a totally different quality possible.
-
The Indian food was so hot that afterwards I felt tipsy from the
pepper. An aging man, with a cozy home, orderly and clear, with a
guitar he bought long ago. There's a feeling of dignity here with a
happy palm tree in this cold climate and the otherness is now here
calling for silence.
15 May 2010 - Rajneesh (Osho)’s Fraud & Review of movie GURU - Bhagwan, His Secretary & His Bodyguard
15 May 2010 -- Swiss anti-smoking laws have long way to go
-
The new non smoking rules in Switzerland are unbelievable -- nobody
thought it would happen -- but still, long way to go. The places of
heavy smoke still reek and are toxic -- maybe it will take a year for
it to get less toxic. One place I went into has a smoking section
separated by a door and a connected bar that freely allows the smoke to
travel (like piss in swimming pool).
-
Cinemas for 14 and over show advertisement for cigarettes. Shame !! Big
Tobacco drug pushers still have a lot of power here.
-
Non organic product advertised as organic. They ignored the call to
deal with it until followup and then surrendered which was an
intelligent move -- it takes real stupidity to want to fight something
you know you're guilty of. They will give a full refund.
-
Some of these "naturapaths" are voodoo doctors in Switzerland. She gave
her a powder to take after talking to her for 1.5 hours about her life.
The powder was supposed to cure her ills. No description. It turns out
to be a chinese herb with benefits unrelated to her problem. The best
herbalists I know say herbs take a long time. So this voodoo doctor is
just relying on placebo effect. Where's science?
- Nice to see the Euro drop after a long period of over-valuation -- down to 1.2359 -- lowest in 19 months.
-
Nice to see O reining on the cozy oil relationships between the
regulators and oil executives. Same crap is going on in the financial
markets and medical world and Republicans are mainly responsible. Look
at SEC's Republican commissioners for example, and look at Chairman
Christopher Cox of SEC and Chairman Andrew von Eschenbach of the FDA,
both Bush nominees.
- Two people at
CITI gave me wrong info -- they were in India and Texas. I had to
escalate it and the manager discarded what they both said. I only
thought they were wrong because what they said didn't make sense. I had
more experience than them on the type of subject to guess the right
answer.
- Indian call centers do too much robotic training. These people sound like robots.
> you wanted this, am I right? (of course you are, that’s what
I just said). (and they keep asking if what you said is what they heard)
> may I place your call on hold for 1 or 2 minutes to transfer
it ? (of course you can, how else are
you going to transfer the call)
a sloooooooooooow process...
9 May 2010 onwards --
- Many days of rain and cool weather is not a-typical of Swiss spring. Summer will eventually come, show its head and disappear.
-
Frank is probably the best drummer I've ever met. He knows the Beatles
stuff as well as everything else under the sun. He said Ringo was such
a musical drummer that all the parts he played were for musical reasons
and must be played. A duo he met had recorded the backup voice tracks
and used a drum machine because they auditioned 10-15 drummers and none
could play the stuff. We did the same until G got the scores to learn
the stuff. Frank has an amazing mind -- a good drummer as every other
instrumentalist executes from mind onto the instrument. His fills are
mind blowing. He uses this particular crash a lot as almost a ride as
it doesn't ring much. He goes through many cymbals till he finds what
he's looking for; this one isn't expensive.
-
There was a ghost in that room -- it was a silly one -- and one ordered
it to leave and energized the wall and it left -- we are always
stronger than ghosts -- as long as we are fearless and healthy --
because we have a body. It rattled the bed which only made the sound
when it moved and there was no other movement - even when the brain was
awake and watched intently - the bed moved and mad sound but nothing
was moving it and one was still. The silly ghost left and there was
quietness. I have an idea how it ended up there... it piggy backed off
X's or that other place. I don't hang around people with the quality
of life as JB so this was an unusual event with unusual and not
surprising consequence as the effect of such things on chakras is
known. [it really appears to be related to the heavy pot and cigarette
smoker I met -- of course, I don't touch that stuff but he had it all
around him and probably the associated ghosts -- looking back at the
video, I am now convinced of it].
Then
as the morning came there was a connection with the bird outside -- as
though one knew when it would start to sing -- or those two were so
much in sync -- as though I asked it to sing and it immediately
started its sweet song. Wordless connection with nature is not unusual,
we are part of it -- but it may take living in harmony with it.
- Cannon camcorder support line is useless. They have very shallow technical knowledge.
8 May 2010 --
-
JB has been at it for 50 years -- he started playing the drums at 3.
So did I :) -- we had a good band for a while.
He wrote some smart lyrics and nice music.
7 May 2010 -- The trap of continuity
-
A suggestion has to always be made when there is demand, vacuum, space
to receive that suggestion, therefore it is received in the intended
spirit. If a person does not feel hungry, even if she starts speaking
about food, if you offer her food she may think you're shoving it
inside her throat.
- Thought's ability to turn events from
discrete to continuous just causes suffering therefore a
disciplined mind knows the limitations and habit in its scope of
operation and seeing that bring freedom from the trap of continuity.
- Thank God I'm not married and have no kids. Could not stand the pressures of a wife for a single moment.
May 2010 -- Growing Ancillary Services Market. Beacon (BCON) right at the heart of it:
- High-Speed Trading Glitch Costs Investors Billions - a trader
accidentally placed an order to sell $16 billion, instead of $16
million, worth of futures, and that was enough to trigger sell orders
across the market (this could be the cause but not sure) - one $40
stock fell for a time to one penny.
April 2010 -- Way of the world
-
Most modern music is plagued by vulgarity of heavy trash material or
criminally influenced unmelodic cheap poetry. And when it sees an angel
playing to the rhythm of the Empire it wants to absorb it to its
ways -- a music industry insider trying to teach an angel how to look
and feel angry not knowing she is dancing to a different beat
altogether.
-
The power of Rock is often attributed to sleazy vulgar behavior but
that is a misnomer. Beethoven can be pure Rock too (or rather vice
versa).
April 2010 -- A Master Philosopher's Endorsement
-
Reza, you are probably the brightest student/friend that I've known
during the last many years. You have brilliantly combined the world of
data/facts with the job of being a human being and philosopher--not an
easy achievement. And you have excelled in both. As I said, you are a
philosopher at heart, and always will be; but I also admire you
competence with "gadgets"--a skill I don't have. You have mastered
both worlds. Dr. C.
May 2 2010 onwards
-
Dendreon finally obtained approval from the FDA for Provenge. I knew
this would be coming 3 years ago but it couldn't come until Wall Street
crooks, certain analysts, hedge funds, and analysts got their
way. Meanwhile tens of thousands of men died but for criminal
manipulators that does not matter because their God is money and that's
all that matters. But I , like many other small investors were right
and the approval finally came and the stock went from less than $4 to
$54.
-
The six year old reminded one of my life and times pre-7 and the role
of all that affection in shaping my life. I can understand similarly
that children who are abused can sometimes grow up to have problematic
lives and in some extreme cases end up like a couple of animals I know who pose as humans.
Conversely, the love and caring and attention and wisdom that my
grandma and others gave watered my heart for the rest of my life... I
also talked with her about the importance of saying the truth --
that joking is good and humor is important but it is essential to tell
the truth and that brings power to one's word and removes any fear that
comes if one lies which leads to more lies. We also talked about importance of being able to say sorry and admitting
- Some therapists are so greedy for money that they go all day
without any breaks except for 10 minutes, back to back patients – and then take
a nap on a patient as they supposedly do cranio sacral or whatever other
esoteric stuff that half the time doesn’t work. I caught one once napping on my
clock at 140 an hour! The right way to do it is to close the “factory” and take
a break.
Friend wrote note to doctor canceling an appointment well
ahead of time. “All he had to do is to open it and read it – and he sent a bill to me for the
time he took to read my letter”. This is worst because the psychiatrist knew this person’s gentle
nature and that no issue would be raised with paying it – this shows crooked
love for money. And “it was hidden somewhere in between other charges of 5
minuts each…”
April 27 2010 onwards
-
You can say a 1000 Om's and still not invoke the immeasurable when your
instrument is out of tune. A poorly tuned guitar or piano can't play
well no matter what. They slept 3.5 hours after starting to drink at 5
a.m. after being up all night... and this is probably not an exception.
Not my cup of tea, thank you.
- They stopped the construction to allow us to have lunch in peace.
-
Careless promiscuous people run the danger of not only disease but
psychological entanglement which is even more serious. So she came back
to him at 3 a.m. -- imbalance attracts imbalance.
-
Fire is a symbol that's used by various religions and traditions. This
likely refers to the fire which is inside us when we are young and for
most people it dies out due to conformity and other factors.
-
Incredible sunset and clouds – magestic beauty of this planet despite
many highly wasteful and vicious people who live on it. I am not a
Mozart fan nevertheless the smooth music and sunset and bouquets of
clouds made the dinner romantic. A different scene from the "bombastic" day before.
April 24 2010 onwards
-
It was great to see Louis and his family. Asha is very kind. Mark
wished one good luck and gave tips on publication as did Lori recently
who is a pro. Michael was temperamental as ever. He forgot so quickly
all the attacks in collusion with Diane and to defend Friedrich who
didn't even need defense because he wasn't attacked to begin with but
that's normally the case with the super rich -- they get people like
Gisele or Michael whom on a number of occasions have defended him
without even really understanding the case or cause, but only out of
tribal mentality and also a loyalty that may sometimes and in one
instance surely be related to desire to win brownie points. All this
matters not to me -- people can think and live how they want -- but
when in that attempt to win brownie point they start sacrificing others
then there's something wrong -- and how easily Michael forgot the
numerous occasions he did just that to another but in every occasion
behind the poor guy's back. Ulrich is a good man. He's harmless and
peaceful. He has certain interests and in perusing them he's not
stepping on others. There's something simple about many Swiss people
which is often refreshing -- I think it's related to their education..
-
The performance was a big success. The otherness blessed us with its
presence. Beatles music is classical music and deserves the same level
of attention to detail as Beethoven. People came from far away places.
It was very participatory so the thing moved on its own. It was healing
and refreshing. It was about good music which does not need to be too
loud.
-
Talk about gossip-minded backward mentality. It seems that some of the
people who work at the thermal bath possess the most backward minds and
rely on gossip to fuel their extremely boring lives.
- Nice gig. I had a dream a few nights ago about RH -- woke up and thought he may come to the gig -- and he did.
April 17, 2010 onwards
-
Some people are so used to living with conflict, dissection, friction,
dissonance, that not only they accept it as a way of life but it even
infiltrates their humor. We operate at a totally different frequency.
- 10 years later comments about In Friendship still come:
- Rezangela practice was refreshing. It took a bit for the train to take off but once it did it was a great cruise.
-
On the bus, the kid on stroller who couldn't even talk yet said
Ball -- pointing to my large exercize / sitting ball -- he wanted it
but the ball was 3 times his size. He offered me his ice-cream in
exchange, nein danke :)
- Best clean-tech investment around...Nasdaq: BCON
- Her grades have improved. She has more motivation. Yes we can!
-
Lennon's 1970 interview with Rolling Stones --
http://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/16313366/john_lennon_the_rolling_stone_interview - Another Tupolev disaster - Polish President Lech Kaczynski and his wife died Saturday
along with 130 others when their plane crashed while coming in for a landing in
western Russia,
officials said. The presidential plane was a Soviet-built Tupolev TU154M, at
least 20 years old.
-
There is no guitar community on the internet - perhaps Cristiano's --
the rest are just reflections of the competitive minds that miss the
boat on what the guitar is all about -- it's not about competition and
who can play the harder piece.
- Palin, echoing the stupid, pronounces "iran" as "i" "ran" like a true redneck should.
- Talked to 2 x 17 year old smokers - facts speak. One was corrupt -- the other one very alive.
-
Talked
to the owner of Biotec Foods which makes Cell Guard. Asked him if
he's a doctor. He said he has a bachelor's degree in accounting!
Phyllis Balch mentions this product and recommends enteric coat - but
this product is not enteric coated. http://www.biotecfoods.us/ --
he said Catalase is iron and that most resveratrol comes from China
(and so is sprayed etc.) - I told him there's a co that makes organic
res. They buy their herb powder ("is swiss") from botanical
international
- Gave Alexander Technique lesson to musician.
- Dr. H says cheap mic cables don't matter.
- Dr. Satz said there are lots of tics this year in Europe as the winter was hard so tics slept good and are strong.
- FOR OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT 800-338-0252
Why I will try to avoid doing business with Staples:
1)
rep told me wrong info on refund - she said items bought on website
can't be returned to the store. Manager said she was wrong.
2) I
had a call from 877-312-9737. According to your agent you call everyone
who puts an order online to verify it was really them. What a lousy
practice. This wastes people's time. No other online vendor I use does
this. You need to improve your technology to detect fraud.
3)
You monitor every call that come in without informing the customer.
Manager, Adam, apologized. Apology is not good enough. There was no
recording informing me of this as Adam said there should have been.
What went wrong?
One simple transaction cost me a lot of time and nonsense at Staples.com -- a website to be avoided.
April, 2010 - A hot email [warning: contains expletive language for the first time in my online journal]
Congrats again - seriously - I always felt - as I've told you - that
you cared too much about others' needs - carried too much weight of how
x and y would feel including moderating relationships that didn't need
your moderation and what if I didn't buy the right gift - what if I
didn't say the right thing or go to the right party or conform to this
or that tradition. FUCK IT !! Put your health first. At least for the
sake of your kids. Your health is the best gift you can give the kids.
If you eliminate your walk to cater to some fucking tradition that means
someone or some tradition may like you but at the cost of you being
more stressed which is the worst thing you can do to the kids -- every
yell at the kids goes in their heads and they'll have to get it out of
their head later in life if they're lucky to have the insight to empty
their consciousness of its content (which is the real meaning of having
a meditative mind). Traditions are for us not the other fucking way
around. Excuse my French but been listening to an interview and picked
up the F word again -- I like it today - it conveys exactly what I want
to say. Traditions are often corrupt - rooted in selfishness and conformity - they
don't want you to think freely and stand on your own feet. They want
you to fucking depend on that very tradition. Tradition wants you to serve it. Some traditions are good
and we can keep them but to lead one's life based on what people think
is a guarantee for suffering.
Love
Reza
April 6, 2010 - Hurray Patrick Byrne
Overstock turned profitable.
Byrne says his point was to expose "crooked" hedge funds and how federal regulators were powerless to stop them.
"We've got a group of parasites who have found a loophole that they can
keep on using to just drain resources out of entrepreneurs in America,
and in the process kill small companies," Byrne thundered on the call.
A larger case is pending. In 2007, Byrne filed a $3.4 billion lawsuit
against brokers Morgan Stanley & Co., Goldman Sachs & Co., Bear
Stearns Cos., Bank of America Securities LLC, The Bank of New York,
Citigroup Inc., Credit Suisse (USA) Inc. and others. The firms say
Byrne's allegations of a naked short selling conspiracy are without
merit. Trial is set for September 2011.
--------------------------------
April 6, 2010 -
- Traditions and taboos just appear unchangeable.
It takes courage to challenge and break them and once done one sees
it's possible and is not locked anymore into self-imposed barriers
which enslave the mind.
- She’s a deputy PM but she runs the show. She’s very
competent. She’s quite young and I see a bright future for her. I told her I
could give her a good recommendation for a job anytime.
-
Stinky smoker worships coffee too as though if you don't drink several cups a day you're not ok.
-
Tobacco industry has been very successful at brainwashing people that
puffing this ugly nasty toxic thing is cool. It's not. It's sickening.
-
70's songs were blasted at Davos ski restaurants. Why? I think it's a
escape to find melody. Hiphop and rap is not cutting it for people.
People are seeking melodies.
- The guy spent 800 francs on a
watch to tell him if the weather is sunny now or not. And it doesn't
always work. And it gets the elevation wrong too.
- Break dancing for a musician is deadly (too hard for hands).
- It's always refreshing talking with Phil. He's a mine of wisdom when it
comes to music. Jacksons traditionally are bland and don't have
character because metal-heads don't care about the guitar tone, etc. -
they destroy it via amplification. Mix pickup guitars are better than
same-type. Flatwounds used for bass recording like classical guitar.
Lennon complained about the Epiphone Casino hurting his hands.
Rickenbacker good clean sound but I look for a new sound. Les Pauls
rule but too heavy.
April 4, 2010 -
-
A very intense unusual dream - it is too pressure to put it online
where there are sleazy loose dogs who call themselves humans hang out
among real humans. Accounted in private journal.
-
Bloody bells ring off the walls at 8:45 on Sunday and ring for 15
nonstop minutes. Feel like sleeping in? Forget it. You're bound to get
up by the torturous bells that are louder and more disturbing than a
punk-metal concert.
April 2, 2010 - A bunch of news headlines from article I downloaded but never had time to read
- Williams told US talk show host David Letterman that "Australians are
basically English rednecks. You down there, 'how are ya? Good to see
you. Hello.'". "I think Robin Williams should go and spend a bit of
time in Alabama before he frames comments about anyone being
particularly redneck," Rudd said. The comedian went on to say: "I
realised that if Darwin had landed in Australia, he would have gone:
'I'm wrong'."
-
The complaint alleges that Novartis's sex discrimination includes
policies and practices that keep women employees in lower positions.
"Novartis in effect bars females from better and higher paying
positions which have traditionally been held by male employees," the
complaint says.
-
Marijuana is the most common illegal drug consumed by drivers on Swiss
roads, according to the country’s first nationwide drug statistics
study. But cocaine use is growing rapidly among motorists, with the
percentage of drivers testing positive for the stimulant nearly double
that found just a few years ago. [unfortunately]
- Another Texas marvel: Texas Republican Rep.
Randy Neugebauer acknowledged Monday that he is the lawmaker who
shouted out "baby killer" during a floor speech by Rep. Bart Stupak, an
anti-abortion Democrat whose vote was crucial to passing the Democratic
health care bill Sunday evening.
- Rule 105 prohibits a short
seller from covering short sales with offering securities purchased
from an underwriter or broker five days prior to pricing of the
securities.
- New health insurance requirement ... was GOP idea. (now they're opposing it).
-
Germs in the gut may help drive appetite, says new research into the
link between obesity and bacteria. Previous studies have shown that
overweight people and normal-weight people harbor different types and
amounts of microbes that naturally live in the intestine.
-
The Republican National Committee spent $1,946 last month at a
sex-themed Hollywood club that features topless dancers and bondage
outfits. Listed in a monthly financial report, the amount is itemized
as expenses for meals at Voyeur West Hollywood.
- Archaeologists
have unearthed a 3,500-year-old door to the afterlife from the tomb of
a high-ranking Egyptian official near Karnak temple in Luxor. These
recessed niches found in nearly all ancient Egyptian tombs were meant
to take the spirits of the dead to and from the afterworld.
-
Interval training can cut exercise hours sharply -- [very interesting
article By MARIA CHENG, AP Medical Writer – Thu Feb 25, 12:28 am ET].
Some experts say intense exercise sessions could help people squeeze an
entire week's workout into less than an hour. [Reza Ganjavi's note:
After reading the article carefully and speaking with a friend who did
this training intensely, bottom line is this: walking can be enhanced
by sprints.]
- Here’s one record the Swiss may not be so
enthusiastic about holding: more suicides are committed here using guns
per capita than anywhere else in Europe.
- Stock market
slides may hurt more than your savings. New research suggests they
might prompt heart attacks. Duke University researchers found a link
between how a key stock index performed and how many heart attacks were
treated.
- Canadian-born art collector Peter Silverman bought
"Profile of the Bella Principessa" at the Ganz gallery in New York on
behalf of an anonymous Swiss collector in 2007 for about $19,000. New
York art dealer Kate Ganz had owned it for about 11 years after buying
it at auction for a similar price. One London art dealer now says it
could be worth more than $150 million.
-
Police in Connecticut say they had ample warning of a bank robbery
because the two suspects called the bank ahead of time and told an
employee to get a bag of money ready. Police arrested 27-year-old
Albert Bailey and an unidentified 16-year-old boy... the suspects were
"not too bright."
- LONDON (Reuters) – Interfering in
mosquitoes' sex lives could help halt the spread of malaria, British
scientists said on Tuesday.
- analysed popular brands of
pet food and calculated that a medium-sized dog eats around 164 kilos
(360 pounds) of meat and 95 kilos of cereal a year. Combine the land
required to generate its food and a "medium" sized dog has an annual
footprint of 0.84 hectares (2.07 acres) -- around twice the 0.41
hectares required by a 4x4 driving 10,000 kilometres (6,200 miles) a
year, including energy to build the car. "Owning a dog really is quite
an extravagance, mainly because of the carbon footprint of meat,"
Barrett said. Cats have an eco-footprint of about 0.15 hectares,
slightly less than driving a Volkswagen Golf for a year, while two
hamsters equates to a plasma television and even the humble goldfish
burns energy equivalent to two mobile telephones.
-
The EPA said scientific evidence clearly shows that greenhouse gases
"threaten the public health and welfare of the American people" and
that the pollutants — mainly carbon dioxide from burning fossil fuels —
should be reduced, if not by Congress then by the agency responsible
for enforcing air pollution. "These long-overdue findings cement 2009's
place in history as the year when the United States government began
addressing the challenge of greenhouse-gas pollution," said Jackson.
-
NEW YORK (Billboard) – Peter Gabriel eschews traditional rock'n'roll
instrumentation on his upcoming album, "Scratch My Back," which sports
orchestral covers of material originally recorded by David Bowie, Paul
Simon, Neil Young, Radiohead and Arcade Fire, among others. [Reza's note -- this is a sign of age]
-
Yemen once set 15 as the minimum age for marriage, but parliament
annulled that law in the 1990s, saying parents should decide when a
daughter marries. [pre-stone-age thinking]
DENVER
– A Qatari diplomat trying to sneak a smoke in an airplane bathroom
sparked a bomb scare Wednesday night on a flight from Washington to
Denver, with fighter jets scrambled and law enforcement put on high
alert, officials said. Passenger ...told The Associated Press she
smelled smoke about an hour into the flight. She said she later looked
out the window and saw two jets flying alongside the plane. [STUPID GUY]
-
WEDNESDAY, Nov. 25 (HealthDay News) -- Sphingadienes, natural lipid
molecules found in soy, could become a key ingredient in treatments for
colon cancer, California researchers have found.
- LONDON (AFP)
– A diet heavy in processed and fatty foods increases the risk of
depression, according to research published on Monday. Researchers at
University College London also found that a diet including plenty of
fresh vegetables, fruit could help prevent the onset of depression.
-
WASHINGTON – Women may think of men as primitive, but new research
indicates that the Y chromosome — the thing that makes a man male — is
evolving far faster than the rest of the human genetic code. A new
study comparing the Y chromosomes from humans and chimpanzees, our
nearest living relatives, show that they are about 30 percent
different. That is far greater than the 2 percent difference between
the rest of the human genetic code and that of the chimp's, according
to a study appearing online Wednesday in the journal Nature.
-
This is a real shame. Ultimate vulgarity in the heart of the biggest
democracy: "Police say the 15-year-old girl went to a party with some
men at Rowan Towers on March 28 and the younger girl tagged along
because she was worried about her stepsister's safety. They say the
15-year-old sold sex to men and boys there, then took money to let them
touch the younger girl. They say the touching turned to forcible sex as
at least seven men raped the 7-year-old."
-
Prosecutor: Greed prompted Ill. fire that killed 7. The owner of a
suburban Chicago apartment house had his maintenance man set fire to
the building, killing seven people including a newborn, because he
wanted to cash in on a $250,000 insurance policy. "This fire was set at
a particularly chilling time of the day, on a Sunday morning at about
6:30 when it would be pretty safe to assume that most residents in that
building were there and were sleeping," Alvarez said. "If I could talk
to them, I would say why? Why would you do something like this to
anybody?" Grays said, his eyes wet with tears. "I don't know what's
going through their minds, but I know what's going through my mind and
my heart. I want to say it would be hatred, but I can't. I can't hate
nobody, you know?"
April 2, 2010 -
-
Davos sucks -- there are cars everywhere -- you want to walk from one
place to another you have no choice but to get exposed to lot of car
exhaust and racing buses. The mountain is fabulous -- the ski resort is
world-class but you wonder about the wisdom of being exposed to so much
sun, even from behind clothing. And there are people getting sunbathed
at 2500 meter elevation!!
-
Our 5* hotel makes it a nice little holiday but to go for a walk means
you come back with car exhaust in your lungs. What a pity. And the
mountains are so close that this village can be claustrophobic.
- Two women ahead of us, I said I
don't want to be behind them so we waited - just by their quality of
energy - later walked into gondola and both were in there - the place
reeked of alcohol of their breath - it wasn't too late to get out and I
did !
-
No fun getting stood up by a stupid irresponsible friend of
friend who's staying here who agreed to either be here or leave the key
in the mailbox and didn't fulfill her promise. I don't like her smoky
smell anyway and don't want to have anything to do with her. I am fed
up with irresponsible people and there are plenty of them specially
among the young in rich cultures like this -- full of them.
- Good thing I don't have to socialize with her. I dealt
with one for over a year and that was enough.
-
Skiing at Davos was great. Should not have rented the poles anyway as
the last run without them was blissful. I may never ski with poles
again.
-
The ski resort lied to us -- we understood them say the card was a depo
- it wasn't - they sold us a worthless card and then lied about it
having been in use for 10 years. A year or two ago we were here and it
didn't exist. It's worth one email.
- Reformhaus manager said he didn't approve of Chandra's poor customer service and will investigate.
- When I go to a place for the first time I usually get
the detailed directions, bus number, stop name, etc. - specially when
carrying heavy bags. I left it to a friend this time. We got to the
station with heavy bags and had no idea where to go - let's go this
way, it's a few minutes. I said no, let's call - get the directions.
And then we took a bus and got to where we needed to go. It turned out
to be the opposite direction and a good bus ride.
- Manu chao
is so boring -- I heard him years ago - and again tonight - you can
smell marijuana in every note he sings and cheesy French pop folk
melodies.
- Older German woman asked me to ride her BMW. I don't want to go the
Frankfurt to network at the fare b/c everyday not worked I lose a lot.
April 1, 2010 -
-
They speak Romansch here. It's a nice language and the culture is warm
like Italian. Italian is the most beautiful of all languages. -
Experts say piracy will continue to be a problem until an effective
government is established on Somalia's lawless shores. The country has
not had a functioning government for 19 years.
- Saying
low-slung pants give their wearers a bad image, a state lawmaker is
making the point... Bill Cosby caused a stir by blasting baggy
pants, alongside other things he considered missteps by black youths,
at an NAACP event in 2004. President Barack Obama, as a candidate, came
out against low-sitting trousers in 2008. "Some people might not want
to see your underwear. I'm one of them," Obama told MTV News.
-
She says she has a revelation from her angels that it's time to go --
it's been 4 months now but she's still around, healthy and kicking. So
her loved ones told her, maybe angels have a different concept of time
and are on a different schedule :)
-
At :47 I was getting done washing dishes and hadn't finished packing
yet so last minute mental list of what else to take and packed high
speed to make it to the :08 train. Downstairs realized forgotte the
vegs so back up and down and sprint to the bus. The bus was very late
by Swiss standards and got to the train station at :05 - friend was not
at the meeting place so wondered what to do - the station was full -
which way do I start walking? the train is arriving any minute. should
I just go with it? what will the friend do? And then started walking
forward and we met. Apparently friend never heard me say platform 1
Kiosk but I am 100% sure I said it. Now the train is rolling into new
moments and all troubles are resolved and not just left behind. The
cell phone is off. Token is at home which means no corporate email this
weekend for a change.
-
The greenery soothes the being. I don't want to say "the soul" as that
is such a misnomer. By soul we often mean the depth of being. -
Stinking smokers came on the train. Such a violent backward habit
smoking is -- it injures the being deeply and the most superficial
evidence of it is its extremely ugly smell. - People buy snakes in
the shop -- 100% junk food + junk drink "Energy Drink". They eat that
junk for food which depletes them of life energy and dulls their body's
intelligence, then they need coffee and "energy drink" to boost their
out of tune instrument. Much of the so-called music these days is an
extension of this dissonant state. - We got off the train too early but it didn't matter as the guitar was there and with it came beauty.
March 31, 2010 - Cell Phones Disrupt Sleep
-
I love March -- such a powerful month -- it's not like October when
people worry about stock market meltdown or January when the momentum
of stream of human consciousness reminds those with failed new year
resolutions that time can not change the psyche, that
psychological time is an illusion. Vulgarity can not turn into civility
by the virtue of time. But there is a solution for laziness in simply
changing the diet.
- My brain was buzzing last night - I
thought it must be the neighbours cell phones as mine is never on at
night. It was particularly strong and disrupted sleep. In the morning
realized mine was on all night!
March 2010 - Two Case of False Labels on Swiss Products
- At organic bakery in Zurich, the Linzertorte had a list of ingredients
which did not include sugar. The lady told us the dough has raw sugar
-- it was not listed.
-
At coop, a cheese with walnuts has big
label: BIO and natural, and the label just lists walnuts. The fact is
it has different E-numbers but these are not listed on the label and
therefore the consumer who sees the BIO sign and reads only walnuts, is
misled. (product: Bio Schmelzk. Nuss). The big cheese where this piece
was cut from has a different label: "bio nusskasse" which has listed as
ingredients "E331 and E333 (both are preservative/anti-oxidants)" and
other things like lactose etc. I spoke with the chief, Mr. Fontijn who
said he'll get back to me -- we'll see!
[update: 25 May -- no news yet -- called -- he will contact me later] [update:
22 Jun -- after escalating to the CEO they wrote back and investigated
and said they made a mistake. Convenient: organic natural product
except two not so friendly E numbers which were eliminated. After my
first complained they changed the labels nation-wide to include more
than just "cheese and walnut" and now they said they will modify it to
include the E numbers as well!]
-
If you ask to try the meal from the buffet and you are given a spoon of
sample and you don't buy it, for years you're treated like a criminal
-- that's the customer service for you in this neck of woods! -
So many stinky people on the bus -- they come in reeking of cigarettes
from a distance -- I don't want to imagine how it feels inside
their bodies. - So many fat people and this is not even America.
And people out of tune from eating so much junk. Food companies are
partly responsible for making all this junk that doesn't kill but !
-
Christian terrorists prove humanity's vulgarity and primitive thinking
is not focused in one group. "A Tennessee man authorities say is a
white supremacist has pleaded guilty to plotting to kill
then-presidential candidate Barack Obama and dozens of other black
people in 2008". "Nine alleged members of a Christian militia group
that was girding for battle with the Antichrist were charged Monday
with plotting to kill a police officer and slaughter scores more by
bombing the funeral — all in hopes of touching off an uprising against
the U.S. government."
March 2010 - Trap of confidence
She's
very wise. She said x doesn't return an email to show her not being
well. That really makes sense. She thinks shyness is not good. I see
something beautiful about shyness. She views it as caused by lack of
self esteem. Of course the other side of the coin, arrogance which
people often call confidence is also not good. The intelligent good
state is the confidence of innocence and not confidence of ego which is promoted in this day and age as key to success.
-
Dad's recovering -- an old body but a young mind, a child within, full
of joy for life and every day that's a gift from the universe. He
wishes to write two letters - first in Farsi and then translate them -
to Armand and Angela.
March 2010 - More on Persian New Year
"Nowruz,
the day of the vernal equinox, is celebrated by more than 300 million
people worldwide as the beginning of the new year. The celebration
predates Islam, going back thousands of years.. Under the Achamenid
dynasty, which ruled about 2,500 years ago, Persia stretched from the
Indus River to Egypt, to central Asia, forming the largest empire on
earth until that date... "Nowruz, with a history of 6,000 years, promotes the message of unity, honesty and happiness," Emomali Rahmon
28 March 2010 - Invitation from hell
At eightfukin in the morning on Sunday the bloody bells ring like
hell to invite you to heaven and one after another tower joins it in an
ever louder volume to impose its losing grip on society. This is not an
invitation but an assertion of "I am". And they ring for 15 minutes to make sure everyone is awaken before shutting up.
And they return full blast a couple of hours later.
And they return full blast another half hour later.
26-7 March 2010 onwards -
-
Met friend to help her manage completing her diploma. There are a lot
of life skills that they don't teach kids in school and they should.
They teach them a lot of intricate maths and physics but miss the boat
on communications and the art of living or the art of loving as Fromm
puts it.
- What a great site -- http://lpi.oregonstate.edu/infocenter
- Preparing publication of documentary on the case: "Reza Ganjavi vs. Jeremy C. Smith, Todd Tipton, William D. Jennings, et al."
- Brand new idea emerged in an email I started writing to CF. Power of dialogue!
-
Obsession with being white? (LOS ANGELES – Detectives found large
quantities of general anesthetic and dozens of tubes of skin-whitening
creams in Michael Jackson's home after the singer's death, search
warrants unsealed Friday show.)
- Nearly 18,000 people have died in drug-related violence since President
Felipe Calderon launched an assault on cartels after taking office in
December 2006. -
Drug users support this kind of crime: The decapitated body of
the police chief of a northern Mexico town and the body of his brother
were found inside the chief's patrol truck Friday, authorities said.
Hours earlier, gunmen killed a deputy police chief and his bodyguard in
another part of Mexico's north. The body of Heriberto Cerda, the police
chief in Agualeguas, was found on the bed of a patrol pickup truck,
which was left on a dirt road in the nearby town of General Trevino.
His head was on his lap.
If this is not terrorism what is? In
this case their god is drugs. At the root of every form of terrorism
are two facets: 1) tribalism 2) fanaticism/blind-belief.
Canceled a $100+ order from MyVitanet.com
after reading a lot of terrible reviews about them. Took a long time to
find the right vendors and ended up placing orders with four different
vendors including a Canadian one.
26 March 2010 - These "Men of God"
Another shameful scandal of the Catholic Church. Both
involve some of society's most vulnerable: deaf children for whom the
admonition "never tell" is easy to enforce because they have difficulty
communicating... In a signed statement last year, the 67 former pupils
at a school for the deaf in Verona described sexual abuse, pedophilia
and corporal punishment from the 1950s to the 1980s. They named 24
priests, brothers and lay religious men at the Antonio Provolo
Institute for the Deaf... One victim, Alessandro Vantini, told the AP
last year that priests sodomized him so relentlessly he came to feel
"as if I were dead." "How could I tell my papa that a priest had
sex with me?" Vantini, 59, said through a sign-language interpreter.
"You couldn't tell your parents because the priests would beat you."
March 2010
- She's studying veterinary medicine and for specialty she prefers small animals. -
"it's safer". She agreed. Saying goodbye to Marianne it was natural to
say "so long Marianne" and it set off the song during the walk.
-
I hate it when people just stare at you. Like it's a cinema show,
without even paying a ticket price. You just sit there, pull out the
laptop and he just stares -- looks at your atypical complexion -- and
his thought processes his perception, placing you into his little
shoe-boxes of categories, likes and dislikes, and takes interest in
your moves -- the moves capture his robotic attention further. And
meanwhile face makes animations when thought is active. In this case,
he was a nice guy and did not seem to have evil thoughts of prejudice,
nevertheless, to be subjected to thought matter and prolonged stare
made you want to wake him up from his cinema by capturing his attention
by staring back - not in an unfriendly way, but without an expression
-- an alarm clock needs no expression -- it just is. And it worked as
he stared away only to snooze back and it took one more ring to get him
to respect my wish not to get stared at.
- Momo is a
10.5 week old dog. can't it walk? "it can but it's not used to the
city". It comes from the country side first time to the city and the
noise of trams and cars and cigarette-butt field streets freak it out.
But it found some affection on its first interaction of a city boy.
-
Met classical guitarist. The music schools do something destructive to
the minds of musicians by burdening them with competition which is so
prevalent in every form of so-called education today. So it's all about
comparison -- my pieces vs. your pieces, and whoever plays harder
pieces wins (never mind that the pieces are often butchered or
interpreted according to the wishes of some teacher which sometimes
turns into simply mechanical following of dynamics or phrasing (check
out Sharon Isbin's artificial deliberate interpretations for example)
which have nothing to do with music.
- The little girl refused
to eat the junk food grandma was forcing her to eat - I supported her
-- ah ah, abfall essen -- she agreed -- her body's intelligence is
still awake. Now grandma is eating the disgusting looking item (a white
junk covered in a brown junk).
- Arabic speaking man - then Portugese speaking woman - shouting at their cell phones on the train. So inconsiderate. - Somebody gets a fixed price contract and they keep pushing to rush the job. End result is literally nightmare and mega stress.
- There's an organic restaurant which has the best meals in Zurich. "large or small"? A large small :)
-
People who think in polarized, tribal ways are quick to change sides to
cater to their categorical thinking: a foe becomes a friend in
opposition to a new foe.
- Irish pub worker said he still doesn't believe the cig ban will happen. The place reeked anyway.
-
Error in Amazon terms and conditions. Your web page:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html/ref=hp_navbox_center_ret?nodeId=901888
has an error. It says: "General Returns Policy -- You may return most
new, unopened items sold and fulfilled by Amazon.com within 30 days of
delivery for a full refund. " Your customer service agent Bjorn and
Jessie in Philippines tell me that the same policy applies to used
items sold by 3rd parties but fulfilled by amazon. If they are right,
your website is wrong and vice versa. What is the truth of the matter.
Are used items sold by 3rd parties but fulfilled by amazon have the
same policy as new items? [I didn't tell Amazon that Bjorn was trying
to argue that the word "most" in the phrase "most new items" means "new
and used". False
-
Many would envy an angel if they saw one -- how s/he would shine -- but
they don't know that the angel lives a life of purity and austerity not
in the sense of sleeping on a bed of nails but living in harmony with
ways of nature.
- Winlogon is not showing up on event viewer. "In Event Viewer, right-click Application in the left pane then click
Properties, then click Restore Defaults and Clear Log on the General
tab, and Restore Defaults on the Filter tab, then Apply, OK".
22 March 2010 - Asking
- Inquiry
is like opening the window so breeze could come. Asking, even the
seemingly impossible question can open doors. When everyone may think
the answer would be no, often the answer turned out as yes when asked.
-
For two decades I've heard US presidential candidates give lip service
about healthcare reform. It's finally done by the current
administration. Republicans, insurance companies and big pharma were
against it.
- Most often the teachers ran out of things to teach the pupil...
22 March 2010 - Norouz Pirouz
Pictures of haft-sin made me cry. How
deep rooted it is - and how beautiful. The smell of sonbol. What a
great tradition. One of renewal, goodness, beauty, sensitivity, love,
love, love.
Being such a non traditionalist, I had no idea how
much this means to me. I have nothing - no traditions - nothing to hang
on to - no ceremonies - no rituals - I am even dead to birthdays which
are just another number to cater to the judgment of many Europeans who
are so age-conscious. But apparently, Norouz is deep rooted, and
because it is beautiful, it is good, it's here to stay.
Har-roozetoon-norouz.
-
4 hour nap on Saturday revived the being from a week of nonstop project
demands and hard work. Flexibility was the key to sanity. Perhaps a
more stiff manager -- from places where every bloody thing has a plan
that's written in stone and deviation from it is a crime -- would flip,
but we managed change like a breeze but not without a toll on us.
-
Aldi is killing Coop and Migros. They understand certain things about
customer service that Coop and Migros can't think of. A good company
needs to have customer service basics instilled in its workers through
training (unless in a place like US, it is part of the culture). Aldi
has it written. Coop and Migro just rely on the people who don't have
that in their blood so it's not working. Aldi took items back that were
opened and had no receipt. Migros and Coop would first scrutinize and
treat you like a criminal for the very intention to return something -
then would say it can't be done without a receipt (not even store
credit) - then say everything else to make sure you don't dare come
back for a refund or exchange. That's not Migro and Coop's policy
but the mentality here -- the supplier-ruled history which is being
shattered by competition.
- Anousheh Ansari,
the first woman to fly into space as a passenger spent $20M on her
ticket. She was on the new year program. They also had Mohsen Namjoo, a
very depressing singer. Most of his songs are in A minor and use two
chords. I couldn't handle hearing the painful "music".
- Harrison was really into Hoagy Carmichael who was a great songwriter.
- Ringo Starr is a great drummer but he just can not sing.
March 2010 -
-
In the desert someone challenged Tyler the madman to eat a live ant -
he did and the ant bit his intestines and he had to be taken to the
hospital.
- Never liked Andrea Bocelli's voice and singing -- it's too painful to listen to.
-
As much as I like the convenience and sensibility of public transport
(vs. many American big cities' lack of efficient public transport
network), some people's aura is so painful to be near -- and that's not
to mention morning drunks and reeking smokers.
-
Maestro Phil Maynes said: many guitarists miss the rhythmic specifity
but this girl who was playing a Gibson SG had it. Pete played SG
during Live at Leeds.
- So strange when people bring poor
lamas to Switzerland or take Alaskan Huskies to South Africa like my
friend did. Two lamas in the village died because dogs went to toilette
in their grass.
- The Fluoride debate is absolutely settled: yes to toothpaste fluoride.
- Talked with two Persian polymer physicists at the lake about plastic.
-
She got a free carrot cake advertised as home made. It turned out the
only thing homemade about it is they pour the mix from a plastic bucket
that comes from a factory and on the package there is a list of
ingredients. I counted 10 E-numbers and other things I couldn't even
pronounce :)
- German speaking people work till 5. If you're English speaking press 1. She didn't press it despite speaking fluent English :)
17 March 2010 - Tip to a CEO
I
told this to a CEO before who used to speak very fast. You don't speak
very fast but the tip may still be valuable. These are just general
remarks to support the idea of good articulation is helpful:
Sometimes
there are international investors/analysts on calls / presentations /
webcasts -- so it's important to be articulate and sensitive to people
who are not used to our accent. This is achieved through a tiny
reduction in tempo.
Also, being a performer, I know that
sometimes things move faster than planned on stage because of
nervousness etc. (even Elvis got nervous).
Some other reasons people speak too fast at presentation:
- we try to save time if the timeslot is very short. - we're very excited about the topic - we are generally fast creatures these days because we work with fast computers all day.
A bit of slowing down does us good. Also good articulation projects a good sense of balance, clarity and confidence.
March 2010
-
Power of meditation is to see hidden processes in the mind -- useless
low frequency hum that are nevertheless there in RAM yet consuming CPU.
-
TV or radio or any non music source when not intently listened to
provides source for the mind source of unnecessary inference.
- For the young neighbour internet is more important than food. The other one bought a $3000 BMW 990 cc motorcycle off ebay.
-
Project managers wouldn't have a job if techies would not so easily
dive so deep they couldn't rescue themselves from the depths of their
technical fancy.
-
Customer is wrong around here anyway, and if you're a foreigner, you're
doubly wrong. In most places except the US or warm hospitable cultures, customer service is a
foreign concept.
14 Mar 2010 - Only in Texas
-
"No memorial oration or eulogy could more eloquently honor President
Kennedy's memory than the earliest possible passage of the civil rights
bill for which he fought so long." Lyndon Johnson There are many
theories about why Texan Oswald killed JFK but it can't be a
coincidence that it happened as JFK was fighting for civil rights. http://home.datacomm.ch/rezamusic/1964.html
- In the news today:
A far-right faction of the Texas State Board of Education succeeded
Friday in injecting conservative ideals into social studies, history
and economics lessons that will be taught to millions of students for
the next decade. Decisions by the board can affect textbook content
nationwide because Texas is one of publishers' biggest clients. [many
examples include: ] Numerous attempts to add the names or references to
important Hispanics throughout history also were denied, inducing one
amendment that would specify that Tejanos died at the Alamo alongside
Davy Crockett and Jim Bowie. Another amendment deleted a requirement
that sociology students "explain how institutional racism is evident in
American society." [AP]
13 Mar 2010
- Grumpy Swiss man on the bus was sitting side ways because he
didn't take off his backpack. I said can I sit here (on a 4-seater
section) but he didn't move and was taking up four places. I said could
you let me sit here. He grumped: you can do that in your home country.
I said, it's a matter of rights, do I have the right to sit here? He
moved his leg a bit towards his 1/2 of the section. I said thank you. A
minute later he grumped back: why is your bag on the seat? you just
paid for one seat. I hinted back in approval, meaning, I don't want to
argue and ignore your comment. Later I told him gently, you're allowed
to put your handbag on the seat next to you (if it's free and the bus
is not crowded) and if you like to do that too you'll sit more
comfortably (and not sideways to take 4 seats by sitting with your
backpack on). Greeted him kindly on the way out and he reciprocated.
Another guy sitting a few rows back looked so utterly unhappy.
-
His controlling mother is there on skype like a ghost that you hear its
sound but can't see her face. I helped him out and he appreciates
it.
- He switched from PC to Mac and loves it. Before twice a month he had to get PC mechanic.
-
This is the kind of work I like to do -- to write a concert flier - not
to write court pleadings against lowlife bastards who have nothing
better to do than bother other people and waste people's time.
- Demands of the project are very very heavy and consumes enormous amounts of time -- like a double-full-time job,
- I absolutely hate using cellphones -- I feel the pain in my head which feels like shrinkwrap in a microwave.
- Dancing in the snow with Obladi, Penny Lane which is such a masterpiece.
- Culmination of the extreme project -- incredibly demanding.
-
Naturapath/homeopath fraud? 3 hour interview about her past led to her
getting a white powder in mail which is supposed to solve her problems!
- Didgeridoo shop changed to a vacuum shop. No wonder!
-
Rappers miss out on power of melody. Some rap is cool, I have nothing
against rap and like some hiphop too but melody is largely missing.
- Music industry is bogged by cheap uninteresting hooks as long as it's a hook.
- Idea of natural toothpaste in Switzerland is to have saccharin (artificial sweetner).
-
A Swiss junkfood maker is marketing chocolate with fully English
writing on it. This is a revolution in
Switzerland -- a Swiss company marketing a mass product with English
writing only on the front cover including "no artificial colors or
flavors" but
huge amounts of a drug called sugar! Many food companies love sugar
because it's addictive and it's cheap. I know a person who works for
this company and she told me horror story about research into
increasing sugar quantity of certain items to increase profits.
Needless to say the ingredients were written so small it was impossible
for majority of people to read it. Shame!!
- A large Swiss insurer's moto is in English: "because change happenz".
-
Sensitive Swiss youngster attempts suicide because of the demand to
mold into status quo and stringent bounds of tradition -- with its rotten
ways of comparison and becoming -- is too heavy to handle.
- The ambulance driver is not wearing his seat belt ! It costs about $1200 for ambulance transport of a few minute ride.
9 Mar 2010 -
- Hundreds
slaughtered in Nigeria religious violence. Christians and Muslims are
still killing each other and Muslims are killing Muslims of a different
sect and humanity hasn't evolved psychologically except for a few. More
people need to get out of their shell of tribal mentality and dictates
of divisive thought.
- C. said he hates sledding -- he has a lot of patients injured in sledding accidents - much fewer than skiing incidents.
-
Great talk w/ Karen. She's amazing. And very generous. So is Jeff.
Their hearts and door is always open it seems. The early years of
a child are under-estimated in importance but they're the most
critical. A child learns to trust,
- M thinks the less school
the better -- to invest 1/2 the money in life enriching
experience like taking the kids to Europe to see their grandparents.
He thinks of school as a conveyor belt.
- Both E&K said the school is not so important but the teacher is.
-
Our parents bought a house near Raveshe No., the alternative
school based on ideas of Dr. Yamini-Sharif who was one of the leading
educational philosophers in the world, with ideas close to those of J.,
Krishnamurti, such as dangers of comparison in education. K
congratulated oneand said one was lucky to have gone to such a school.
- The main thing I dislike about living in California and most
of America is the size. Certain places like Manhattan is different but
most places are too big according to Haldane's theory which I agree
with "on being the right size".
-
Oak Grove School plays my CD as call waiting music -- it's cool -- they
wore out one CD after years of playing it and I sent a new one...
8 Mar 2010 -
-
This is a special day - I don't believe in day of this and day of that
as they're sometimes commercially promoted "boss's day" "secretaries
day" etc., but March 8 is a special day as it's the Woman's Day and
women have been suppressed throughout history by jealous, possessive,
chauvinist men. Even in Switzerland till 1970's women couldn't vote.
So, today is special. Talking about days, I wonder if birthdays have
significance actually -- if they are astrologically familiar time. I
reminisced about berenjak - kafshe verniye barrag - shalvare
makhmale no - eid shopping done before birthday - excitement of coming
together - almost every kid in the class was invited - marjan and negar
spent the night every year - decorations - gifts - cake - play -
madness - love.
- Shazam is an amazing program. It recognized the amazing Beethoven piano
piece that permeated the being for hours after hearing it in the bus.
-
Phil Maynes is a fantastic songwriter and a killer musician. I remember the
Ovation he bought when he was 16 or so walking down Sunset road. It
came in post. He bought it with his salary as a paper-boy. I remembered his sign though I'm not into astrology.
- Rice & lentils give body joy. So does walking.
- When a hatred driven person learns to respect you, not by force, but out of understanding, there is hope for the world.
- Heard a new word today: 'thugocracy' which happens when fanatics have power.
-
He is a very capable musician but like many who get so sucked into
exotic cultures, that obsession has overtaken music. African music in
ice cold center of Europe was so unnatural, and it was boring. I love
some African music but this dingy flute improvisation with
uninteresting sounding little drums was not my cup of tea.
-
It's a pity that lyrics are sometimes written in bad grammer to comply
with the illiterate. A lyricist has a responsibility at least to those
learning the language to speak correctly. "we was" is flat out wrong
and off.
- She wondered if I'm not mad at X - of course not -
I don't hold things against people - I try to see people for the first
time every time - and if there is an issue, if I care for somebody (or
have to care for work or professional relationship) I talk to them
about it and work it out, and if I don't [care for them], they can go
to hell.
Mar 2010 -
-
The snow was making love to the Earth today. At the end it had a
climax of beauty -- huge pieces of snow, the size of ping-pong balls
danced down the sky smiling in their tender moves. They completely
overtook the earth & sky. Later the slowed, became smaller, and
gradually dissipated into eternity. Blue sky came.
- It's amazing how much work goes into preparation for a performance.
And working double-full-time it seems due to the extreme demands
of this project, the system is maxed out.
-
She laughed with the two guys and one became obsessed with her. It's
the sick world we live in. Some women same way, when a man is friendly
they imagine that he wants to sleep with them and when he doesn't they
get disappointed. And guys specially are so bad at getting hints and
interpret everything the way they want to hear it. For example girl
saying "I have a boyfriend, I'm not interested" gets interpreted as
"she's not interested b/c she has a boyfriend"! Directness and clarity
always works best - any ambiguity is used in favor of illusions.
-
He is 20 - young and short but with an awake heart and mind - another
internet addict - eats bread and bananas for food - loved the spider
catcher - "you were singing - it was very good - it was very good" :) [lg]
- Ulrich said storytelling weekend is big so I shifter the plan.
-
7 day old baby was crying, mother was puzzled - it was clear to
me why: he was too hot. She opened the zipper and he stopped crying :)
- Village kid was getting car sick even on a 10 minute ride for first years of her life. From unter- to ober- boez.
-
Oh my God, Serra is 30! I still think she's 16. She's teaching first
grade at a hispanic school. Gotto spread the perfume around. I never
forget her mom's speech at the same school she's a principle of, Oak
Grove School, when Serra was a student there.
- He was caught
napping in the barn again instead of working. He dropped the
walki talki and quit his job. He's done it before - to leave
everything behind.
- Dave Anter is really cool. Guitar, amp, percussion, friendship.
- Amir Ghoreishi is so cool and an amazing dentist.
3 Mar 2010 - US vs. Swiss customer service (again)
-
World of difference between American customer service and Swiss. In
Swiss returning an item is as bad as committing a crime. She bought
something - same day, with receipt, she was shy to return it "she will
remember me" [as some sort of criminal for having returned this]. I
took it there and returned it without a problem. It's often not without
a problem to return things here.
- Planetwave guy (in US) said: you bought it so I want to make sure you're happy. World of difference.
2 Mar 2010 -
-
Many people, specially the young, take their happiness and health for
granted. But some who have known the pain of not having happiness and
health, some who have dived deep into the swamps of sorrow, do not
forsake happiness and health when they have it. Their numbers are few.
Those who give real importance to healing, to balance.
-
This is an environmental disaster: heard Tehran had 1 hour of snow the
entire winter and it immediately melted. It used to snow for days at a
time and stay heavily. Poor planet.
-
Dr. T told dad R is such an affectionate person, to hear his name makes
him happy. They washed the family cemetery. Funny he watched program of
guy who went to Rasht and Masooleh, and i also dreamed about Masoule.
-
Fender Amp Can weighs 6 kilos. Crate TX15 Taxi is 9 kilos. Both are 15
watts. Crate is 8 inch woofer, Fender 6. It's a pity Fender doesn't
make the ampcan anymore (since Aug 2008).
- Since Starbucks took over the Dedrich shops they killed the live music that Dedrich sometimes hosted.
- Chris White -- missing in action -- Blake will do some investigation.
-
Talked to Rowan - she's teaching yoga which seems to be the default
profession in Ojai -- there are more massage therapists and yoga
teachers there per capita than anywhere in the world.
- Niki is so loving -- every sentence of hers is filled with adoration and love. I was surprised she knew my birthday.
- Shadi told Tara story of Ramin's Dayee Farhad bringing him a violin. So both kids want a violin now.
1 Mar 2010 -
-
Grabbed the wild bull by the horns and tamed the sucker. It was
important to exclude extra bodies and streamline decision making to
only those who count.
- California kids saw snow and were amazed.
- S. has a nice offer for gig.
28 Feb 2010 -
-
In this country young discontented people are quickly put on
medications and it often screws them up. She looked awful - pale -
sleeps 3 hour nights - 9 subjects at school she's buried under... she
wants to stop to medications.
- Many young musicians are
technically good and have good musical ideas but the culture is not
there - the richness and maturity of an enriched life and travel and so
on, is not there -- one can transmit this to another by working very
close with someone.
- She had one bad experience and wants to
close the door to something that can help her. It's her call. Not the
first time that something helpful is ruined by an incompetent
practitioner. `
27 Feb 2010 -
- Talk to Ellen & Jeff and Michael & Brianna & Abby, Chris (msg).
- The aggressive brutal music many youngsters listen to effects them in a wrong way.
-
3 feet of snow in Upstate New York. Spring weather in Switzerland.
Lorenzo the Marouni man's business was slow. People don't want to think
of warm chestnuts when the weather is warm - it's too reminiscent of
the snow.
- These rude Peruvian bands come to the center of
the city, break all the rules, don't get a permit, use very loud
amplification, and the police did nothing about them (till later). I
could hear them all the way from the clock tower to the station.
- Received multiple invitations for accommodations.
- T&R both want violins and colorful balls.
-
Christa said you and I were like brother and sisters and I always have
a special place in her heart. Too bad she can't come because her dad is
ill.
- Why is so many of Mozart's pieces so cheesy and boring like much of French pop music?
27 Feb 2010 - SEC finally makes a move in the right direction
- http://sec.gov/rules/final/2010/34-61595.pdf - Better late than never. Better little than none. It's got a long way to go to tie up the hands of market manipulators.
26 Feb 2010 - Swisscom subsidiary caught
Source: Swissinfo.ch
http://sec.gov/rules/final/2010/34-61595.pdf
An
Italian subsidiary of Swiss telecommunications firm Swisscom has been
caught up in a tax fraud and money laundering investigation with
alleged mafia links.
However, the suspected fraud ring does not
end with Fastweb and Telecom Italia. Prosecutors have talked about a
string of fictional companies and law firms being set in numerous
countries and the involvement of Swiss banks in laundering the
ill-gotten gains.
24 Feb 2010 -
-
Got Assad brothers' Latin American music for two guitars for 5 francs
(1/7th of original price). I don't like the sound. It's got that ugly
chemical studio reverb which is good for pop music but kills classical
guitars. And Piazzolla is boring as ever. I can't even handle listening
to Piazzolla except maybe one of his works. The other pieces on the CD,
some great ones, are destroyed by the cellophane sounding reverb.
-
"In the second half of 2009, the number of spam messages sent per day
skyrocketed from 600 million to three billion, according to new
research."
-
GM to end Hummer after sale to Chinese buyer fails. Good news. Those
gas-guzzlers are a culmination of stupidity and irresponsibility.
-
Most senior analyst guy was trying hard to explain something that
sounded so complex and confusing. I said, are you saying what happens
if X logs and incident and it's ignored and he needs to escalate it
what he needs to do? He: yes! Mind can get itself so
tangled in complexity. It's a virtue to see things simply.
21 Feb 2010 -
-
Tara is in my heart -- god, it's been 6 years since she came back to
us. She wanted to skype instead of phone and we had a wonderful
one-on-one and shared good stories and laughters. Rusteen was busy
playing with chalk and when she went to call him he was onto dirt so
one hand had chalk on it and one in soil.
20 Feb 2010 -
-
Amazingly fulfilling performance. Sharing, power of good music, being
one mind and one heart with the listeners, their contribution, our very
strong repertoire, almost everyone knew almost every song, even a
youngster who hadn't heard an old song said cool. Those who like
everything you play. They trust your choice of songs and listen to even
things they don't know because of that trust and dig it. I
can tell immediately when a person is a Beatles fan. The honor to
perform the great work of genius musical mind of
lennon-mccartney(+martin), the great spirit was there, it filled
the room, it touched everybody deep in their hearts.
The policeman in the bus: I love your CD – it’s peaceful
& relaxing.
Angie did really well -- she was right there with her bass: solid and musical, and she sang her parts well.
"you're a good performer"
20 Feb 2010 -
- Another one bites the dust. Jecklin closed its CD shop. Bought several CD's -- top class, 38 fc CD's for 5 or 10 fcs.
- Didgeridoo is not a musical instrument. It's a sound-making instrument.
- Most of Jobim's music I don't like.
- Listened to 100 CD's and bought 10. Bought another 4 yesterday.
-
Asked her if she’s Andrea’s mother. I was sure though I’d never met her
before. Her face was a copy of Andreas’. Sure enough, she was :-)
19 Feb 2010 -
- Finally some good news coming out with Taliban asses getting kicked.
-
Tiger Woods did a well-staged apology. It didn't cut it. It appeared
insincere and that he only is sorry because he was caught and lost his
sponsors.
And he's taking therapy, treatment which also sounds superficial. At
least he had the character to apologize when caught, some idiots don't
even have that much character and think not admitting to mistakes is
strength -- no, it's stupidity. There is not much glory in being
insincerely sorry
after you're caught if you would have continued with the wrong action
if you hadn't been caught. But it's better than nothing. What I read
between his lines was, his main goal is to get his corporate sponsors
"business partners" back, and lines like: I don't know when I'll return
to golf but I don't rules out it will be this year. Ok, got it,
planting seed with the sponsors.
18 Feb 2010 -
Dr. Tek "Hi Tek" -- PhD in CS - said hardest part is to understand what the customer wants. I: for the customer to understand what they want (and good analyst helps that).
17 Feb 2010 -
In
an interview on MSNBC this morning, newly retiring Sen. Evan Bayh
declared the American political system "dysfunctional," riddled with
"brain-dead partisanship" and permanent campaigning. Flatly denying any
possibility that he'd seek the presidency or any other higher office,
Bayh argued that the American people needed to deliver a "shock" to
Congress by voting incumbents out en masse and replacing them with
people interested in reforming the process and governing for the good
of the people, rather than deep-pocketed special-interest groups. [The
Newsroom]
- S came - nice guy - stage manager for Pink Floyd. They take him to
tune drums for people like Gilmore. We welcomed him to jam with us
anytime and in due time build a repertoire. He has very good feel for
music but his technique is not a virtuosic drummer as he admits it
too... He played certain things amazingly well -- he has a good ear. We
like him.
-
X wants to bring in his buddy as a contractor at a time when company is
getting rid of contractors. So cunning political games are played --
standard things that make the corporate world suck: making
someone look bad, stepping on others to get ahead, etc.. I have
no interest in any of these games.
16 Feb 2010 -
- Feeling good despite a day of over eating and unintended sugar
(but still within calorie limit). Been doing launches / yoga / leg
exercises Angie gave etc.
- Dreamed of Mary Cadogan last night
- very lovely person and very kind. People were giving me money that I
wasn't asking for, for music.
15 Feb 2010 -
-
Talked with Donna after years. Unfortunately she's a hunter. She
remarried after x died. She speaks fluent Farsi still and said it's a
beautiful language. She remembers me in her kitchen "I always loved the
fact that you liked my cooking... it made it easier to cook when you
were around"... She wrote : "Dear Reza, I'm so very glad that you got
in touch with me. I can still see your sunshiney face in my kitchen,
snitching little bites of this and that and saying, "Bah, bah...this is
so good!" I always said that you were good for my kitchen."
14 Feb 2010 -
-
Angela's bass playing has improved so much -- her articulation is
solid on the right hand. Her left hand has stretched out and
strengthened. And of course improved technique in the hands of a
musical mind means great music. All that practice is paying off -- I'm
very touched -- and to play guitar in that bass canvas is a pleasure.
-
I never start a fight with someone. Never. But if someone picks a fight
-- and people sometimes do because they're stupid, shallow, crazy,
malicious, burdened by envy and jealousy, causeless hatred, fragmented,
abused, obsessed, etc. -- then he ends up really sorry because I don't
attack but when I get attacked the strike back has surprised myself too
-- because universal forces help a peaceful person who is attacked.
- Valentine's Day is meaningless to me. Every day is Valentine's day.
- Such sweetness.
- Peaceful powerful feeling. Special supplements. Great movie. Such tenderness.
-
Carnival has ended. Now bad musicians can find another reason to get
drunk. It's actually a good thing -- it's a celebration of joy instead
of worship of sorrow which many religions promote. The customs are
awesome -- very beautiful and creative.
- Reviewed iron
inhibitors and enhancers for friend and natural sources. Doctors
obviously say injection is the only way but in most cases, I believe,
they're wrong.
-
IBM showed my friend an ugly piece of almost binary looking long
paragraph. Friend pointed to one library saying this one I don't have!
13 Feb 2010 -
Goo
talk w/ UB. We joke that we switched places. Apparently KFA is denying
there is even informal discussion about the land. Troy said: if you
care about the work, just make a donation to the foundation.UB is very
kind and extended the offer.
Good talk w/ Asha. She: where you've been? Said she's always in my heart. Mark returns soon from India.
11 Feb 2010 -
-
People forget Karma. You hurt someone, or act with malicious mischief,
it comes back to you. There's Instant Karma as well as Delayed Karma.
-
White gold dancing down the sky blessing us with its frozen beauty.
Carnival started -- lots of bad musicians in great customs.
- Talked to Earnie Ale (Ernesto) -- it seemed like yesterday. He was in the desert.
Feb 2010 -
-
Just when you think you've seen it all, you run into Greg Gutfeld of
Fox News. Why is Fox News filled with one after another idiot?
- Advised her to return the hard disk and not buy one until she has
to because hardware prices have been going down for 20+ years. I just
bought 1.5 TB at price I paid for 300 GB a few years ago.
-
Desert State Of Mind -- Joshua Tree calling -- long talk with Tara.
Rattle snakes and scorpions don't attack unprovoked. It seems natural
and civil. But some people are worse than animals. They attack others
unprovoked just to have fun and get a kick out of it to spice up their
empty pointless confused lives and jealousy burdened minds. It's also
natural to warn an attacker before kicking their ass: the rattle snake
rattles its trail. It doesn't attack something that's too large for it
to eat, unprovoked. Scorpions that hide under rocks sometimes inject
people but she said it's rare and they never had a problem.
-
People don't like to see campers off the trails so campers have to go
deep inside the desert or sleep at campground where there are fire
rings and others.
- Mojave & Colorado Deserts (north & south) -- remember it from env.bio. class. --
- One Magic Click -- on the floor - legs on bed - one lower-mid body twist.
- Two concerts in the US on the horizon.
-
Now a driver's license can be renewed on the web. California is a great
state. Too bad it's doing so poorly financially. The big hit global
economy took as result of George Bush administration's miserably stupid
decisions impacts all fiscal entities.
- Guitar is the most beautiful instrument in this large orchestra.
-
There are so many loners here. Maybe not literally but practically. The
society is very though dominated here -- and therefore isolation and
separation is rampant -- I know so many people who have such distanced
lives even from their 'loved ones' -- kids who don't call or see
parents but rarely even when they live an hour away -- and flipping
thought which closes the door on so many possibilities.
- Mom says, when God closes one door, he opens another. (Not "he" as in Farsi "oo" is neutral - not male or female). - When thought closes doors, it remains closed.
8 Feb 2010 -
-
She asked about secrets of youth. Of course many factors are obvious.
Importantly also is lack of cognitive dissonance, managing stress, etc.
-- this led to the role of understanding, transformation of what-is,
correct place of thought, etc.
- She said Switz law is against marriage as married couples are taxed individually at rate of total income.
-
Told her to eat that banana soon - it's sitting on her desk blinking at
me all day -- hard for a bananaholic - but it's not bio so.... - She
messaged out of the blue that she likes his name. I learned a long time
ago not to argue with ladies - specially certain time during the month ! - Talking to Claire, it seems like yesterday that I was there -- she said it's a sign of affinity. -
Jackson Guitars are nice but too bad they're market positioned for
metal players only with an aweful red and black flashing site and an
aweful music in the background.
7 Feb 2010 -
- AA met Doors' drummer John Densmore who's a friend of JA.
- Talked to MA, AA, IB, BB. Four places confirmed.
- BB King has a lot of bad songs. Many people record a lot of bad
songs. As fillers, etc., but sometimes even their best is not that good.
-
Going through Paul Simon's catalogue of hits. Embarrassing to read he
didn't give Los Lobos any credit for their song ""It was not a pleasant
deal for us. I mean he [Simon] quite literally — and in no way do I
exaggerate when I say — he stole the songs from us... We go into the
studio, and he had quite literally nothing. I mean, he had no ideas, no
concepts, and said, 'Well, let's just jam.' ...Paul goes, 'Hey, what's
that?' We start playing what we have of it, and it is exactly what you
hear on the record. So we're like, 'Oh, ok. We'll share this song.'
...A few months later, the record comes out and says 'Words and Music
by Paul Simon.' We were like, 'What the fuck is this?' We tried calling
him, and we can't find him. Weeks go by and our managers can't find
him. We finally track him down and ask him about our song, and he goes,
'Sue me. See what happens.'" (source:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Graceland_(album))
Reminds me to what Simon & Garfunkel did to Scarborough Fair!
-
I am not impressed by any of Paul Simon's solo material enough to want
to play any of them. He is a good musician but not a great song writer.
I like his work with Africans and love the percussion and drum works.
- Windows XP virtual memory custom size initial (MB): 2046, Maximum size (MB): 4092. Rule
of thumb: around 1.5 time RAM for initial and 3 times for maximum.
Having pagefile on a different partition of same drive doesn't help.
Having it on a separate drive helps. Anyway, for normal applications on
modern day systems with large RAM pagefile is not used but turning it
off drains the RAM when programs request address space which is usually
more than what they need.
5 Feb 2010 -
-
Working from home is great -- compared to that noisy office, here I have peace and quiet and can be much more productive. -
What a mistake to go to town for lunch. It was nice to see one angel
among the crowds of ugly people with their ugly ways of smoking which
you simply can not get away from -- smokers have infiltrated
Switzerland and May 1 can not come too quickly. Many young people
smoke, stink in the bus, make a mess out of the bus stop -- but also
older people -- like that stinking woman in the bus.
- Copied files all night to new disk only to realize it was FAT32
formatted by default. I don't care, the machine did it - so it copied
during the day. New organization of digital assets.
Feb 2010 -
-
Too many calories yesterday – lunch with HK – I always learn something
from him – he is so much like me though much older - comes from the
same class - and has the same kind of father who did not take a penny
in bribe though he could have become very very rich if he had done so.
-
Perfect timing - took a chance on next train - had connecting bus and
made it to meeting on time. Khastan Tavanestan Ast. (wanting is
ability).
- He said it was the American movies that promoted
smoking and drinking -- before then, when he was younger, smoking was
not promoted -- till Hollywood movies came along,,,
-
He said programming is good for memory -- never thought of it that way
but it's true -- you have to have a large mental concept of the upper
and lower algorithms -- it's a very interesting job unlike accounting
which is boring and dry as hell. He heard a software manager in India
say Indians are good at software because culturally they're patient.
Not true. Indians are not any better at software than anybody else.
It's just that labor is cheap in India and the industry has boomed
because they offer programming at blue collar rates to western clients.
- Found an old friend - he's now a topnotch K9-dentist. "Over 50% of
cats and 85% of dogs over the age of 3 require professional dental
treatment."
- Why do 90% of jazz fusion funk songs sound alike? Very
similar active bass lines, same tempo, and same idea of a sometimes
nice melody followed by garbage improvisation.
-
When you need something and you don't have it and you look and it's
there, you take it as a positive sign. A perfect day for skiing.
Smokers at the station are missing out on the full grandeur the morning
has to offer. A morning that wipes out all past and makes future so
unimportant. Pure and brilliant. The trains puffs away the snow on the
rail as it smoothly scrolls to the station. Trees are hosting new snow
and ancient statues take a different form with a new tone of white.
- Very intense day at work. Some music at night splashes perfume on life.
-
Disaster Recovery is the most boring part of IT. I know a DR director
who quit for that reason. Like Security jobs -- boring because there's
never any action, well, here, in RSA and LA that's a different
story.
-
Having been an engineer helps a lot in managing engineers -- there are
certain wrong things to do, e.g., forcing them to get out of bed too
early which is what someone wanted to do -- let them work at night
which is what they prefer. They know better when they're more
productive.
-
As young teenagers we didn't listen to Britney Spears or other shallow
music like kids now do. We listened to Carpenters for example which has
a lot of musical value. Some songs 'can still make me cry, just like
before" and take me right back to the dusks and dawns of pre-revolution
Iran where love was in the air despite a corrupt system.
31 Jan 2010 - Nobodies who want to be somebody
- M is happy I gave him the gig. I need to go to an important meeting. -
Lots of snow - finally - it seems like the old days when a lot of snow
used to stay on the ground -- now with the planet warming it comes but
doesn't stay long. - One step away from getting a new gig. The cold call worked. -
With Swiss going non smoking lots of gigs are opening up. Real gigs
that move people separate the men from the boys -- the
artist-wanna-be's and cyber-kings-who-are-really-nobodies from real
musicians. I never consider myself to be anything until some bozo comes
along and wants to compare himself. I don't compare. The bozo does. And
he follows his own lame and retarded mind in finding sustenance in
comparison. Others put claims in your mind and want you to have claims
because that's the ugly way of the world. We surely are not short of
psychopaths in this world. They are everywhere and in places where
people are closer to each other just show up more. And the worst kind
are the ones who want to find fulfillment on the internet in every way
possible -- by bothering others or kissing up to them which is just the
other side of the same coin. - Plans for video are moving forward. -
I keep waiting for some good news against the bad guys but news is all
about bad news. The taxi driver in Vienna said he stopped reading the
news but can't get away. One piece of good news is that the SEC is
finally getting off its butt and is going to regulate short sellers
except that reportedly the two idiot Republican commissioners are
trying to block it after Republicans made the SEC a bed-partner of Wall
Street instead of the Cop that is supposed to protect Main Street.
Jan 2010 -
- Good meeting with B. We see eye to eye on possibility to collaborate.
- Tara 5 years old called to ask how to make baadbaadak :)
28 Jan 2010 -
- Money for CD came after 6 years!
-
There's a tiny village in AG that's known as suicide village. 2 farmers
killed themselves there. With suicide rate being so high in Switzerland
the saying "if you give the guy a free rope he hangs himself" is not an
appropriate remark as it can be taken literally!!
- Visited some cool computers such as the sexy IBM Z-10.
- Soon we'll be talking in terms of PB Petabytes (1024 TB) and EB Exabytes (1024 PB).
27 Jan 2010 - Gig
- The gig in Aarau was a lot of fun. We played two séance
for two large groups. The second séance was obviously better. Can't
wait for CH to go non-smoking so we can play in public places I refuse
to play at because of the smoke.
-
For some time now I've been counting calories (in my mind not
formally). The awareness is very good. You tend to avoid or minimize
high calorie food.
- Can you imagine people eat, the kind of food we eat once and feel guilty, every day!
26 Jan 2010 - Vienna
As Lennon said, "Made
a lightening trip to Vienna". I've always loved Vienna - perfect like
Zurich but much bigger -- lots of great bio shops and veg restaurants.
Organic and healthfood is big here like all German speaking
places. But Big Tobacco rules here. Buildings are either smoking or
have a smoking room without a separate ventilator so smoke spreads
everywhere. Stone age!!
-
The Who will do a "compact medley" at the Superbowl. "We're kinda doing
a mashup of stuff... a bit of 'Baba O'Riley,' a bit of 'Pinball
Wizard,' a bit of the close of 'Tommy,' a bit of 'Who Are You,' and a
bit of 'Won't Get Fooled Again.' It works -- it's quite a saga... A lot
of the stuff that we do has that kind of celebratory vibe about it --
we've always tried to make music that allows the audience to go a bit
wild if they want to. Hopefully it will hit the spot." Pete Townsend
25 Jan 2010 -
- H had 30k emails in one weekend.
-
The Who will do a "compact medley" at the Superbowl. "We're kinda doing
a mashup of stuff... a bit of 'Baba O'Riley,' a bit of 'Pinball
Wizard,' a bit of the close of 'Tommy,' a bit of 'Who Are You,' and a
bit of 'Won't Get Fooled Again.' It works -- it's quite a saga... A lot
of the stuff that we do has that kind of celebratory vibe about it --
we've always tried to make music that allows the audience to go a bit
wild if they want to. Hopefully it will hit the spot." Pete Townsend
24 Jan 2010 -
- G is coming to jam. - He's a great musician.
23 Jan 2010 -
-
S is coming to jam and maybe with one rehearsal to come play with us at
the next gig. I'm happy going it as a duo but am also open to having a
drummer -- only if it's the right one -- and there aren't that many
great musicians around. Most approach music too stiffly and lack the
emotion required for having a relaxed yet powerful groove and feel.
22 Jan 2010 -
- Jammed with B who is an amazing drummer. Now A knows what I meant by
playing with top notch musicians and why I didn't want to play with
these other drummers we've tried out so far. There was magic ! He
incorporated original African drums into a drum set. The African congos
make you want to cry from beauty. The sound is so warm and authentic,
innocent and pure, that no Remos, Pearls, and Ludwigs would ever be
able to manufacture such drums. He finished Jazz school and spent a year
in Africa. Very musical and skillful. It was such a pleasure to jam
with him. The drum beats and fills were spiritual orgasm. Utmost
beautiful music which as a producer gives me a ton of
imagination for possibilities of cooperation.
-
Dreamed of floods and natural disaster in California. Had no idea why. Today the news says:
"A
new storm with tornado-like strength pounded the Southern California
coast this afternoon, flipping a car, causing major street flooding,
damaging homes and stranding motorists. Witnesses reported seeing a
tornado touch down in Sunset Beach this afternoon and lift boats out of
the water as it came onshore, sheriff’s officials said."
- Heard from a great drummer who knows this music well and has great connections.
21 Jan 2010 -
-
Said no to a few drummers - two way or one way - it takes a lot to have
the right match. Sharing the same goals are extremely important. And
equally important the ability to comprehend and share
philosophical insights. A person who spends the rest of his or
her music life playing hell music doesn't belong in our band. A person
who doesn't speak my languages can't be in the band because I need to
communicate with them clearly, directly. And there are a lot of other
reasons and then come the esoteric ones which are actually not esoteric
but reflect on how one lives, one's actions, and also one's genes, IQ,
etc. Then comes blood. How much does this person have music in their
blood? How cultured they are, etc etc. -- with a young person who has
the right profile I can spend time and convey certain things -- with X
this was very successful -- she was able to understand what sound I
wanted and get it -- and she could hear that it sounds good. She
suffered from what a lot of young people suffer from specially in rich
countries: not being interested and passionate about anything in life,
and another big problem many young people have: lack of communication
skills.
-
Dell says for English press 3. Ok. Then the guy tries to argue that he
can't get me the right keyboard layout. I know he can. Instead of
trying he wants to argue. And I say I don't want to argue, and he says
he is doing me a favor by speaking English. No, because they have a
English speaking line. I asked for the manager whom after looking into
it said, you are right, we can order the right keyboard, I apologize...
- Sonja who speaks good English 20 minutes to translate a
short paragraph from English to German. Just shows how difficult German
is. On her trip to the US everyone called her Son-ja not Sonya.
-
He said many physiotherapists became osteopaths because of money but
now the rules for the certification are getting tougher (more years).
-
A lot of disabled people work at Vierlinden. I ordered a pie and said
everything with gestures (didn't feel like talking). She thought I
couldn't talk. At end I said danke. She was happy I can talk :)
20 Jan 2010 -
I
knew something was ticking today. It was in the air. It was in the
stomach as the crazy man used to tell Raman :) the osteopath did
wonders, and there's more to it than that. It's such a great field and
"school medicine" doesn't recognize it. Low calorie is way to go. Hip
knows end of therapy means it needs to be well. Shopping was 25 Fcs
even. Absolute clarity that Markus is the wrong person for us. Wrote
him a letter. Found 2 new drummers, both interested including a German
woman who is responding to my ad despite the tough criteria it had :)
She’s coming today! Got a lot of calls from other drummers too.
Got a gig in Geneva: “The client has had a good listen to your music and decided she does want to book you for her wedding.”
New keyboard arrived.
Lots of DVD’s etc. arrived from US.
Friend got some pearls.
18 Jan 2010 -
-
What a good feeling to have won over a group of cyber delinquents. It
was hard work dealing with these jackasses but at the end I succeeded
and all the hard work paid off. In itself, winning over deliquents is
not a feat to be proud of but given the circumstances it was a good
feeling regardless.
-
3 year old Rusteen cut the sock he as wearing with scissors and when
asked why he said, "I wanted to see what happens, but I was carefull" :)
17 Jan 2010 -
-
Great performance. There was love magic and music flew by its own grace.
16 Jan 2010 -
-
Rehearsal sucked. I miss Rosa'd artistic touch. The new musician is too
"heavy handed" and has problems with musicianship and dynamics and I am
not motivated. I guess years of playing with ultra-heavy rock bands
hurts people. The energy was too strange. Something in the
aura did not
put us at the same frequency. It was not just the smoke that hurt him.
There was something wrong which I can speculate but it's not my
business. Let's just say it is not a good match. I canceled him for the
next gig -- we'll
play duo -- and we'll see afterwards.
-
There are lowlife sickos in this world who are nothing and by bothering
other people want to be something. Of course it happens mostly to
people who've done something of value. Having best-selling CDs
like I've had is enough of a cause for these psychologically sick
people.
- News of Iran is too depressing. I don't know why I read it.
-
I’m glad it's out of my hair. No matter how nice of a guy he is,
he’s obviously not a fast learner. This was proven to me as he couldn’t do
the simple intro to a song despite showing him exactly how to do it
several time. A also noticed it. I need to work with Ace players,
someone to whom I say A he goes to Athens and back or as they say in
Persian, you say F and he goes to Farahzad. He played a couple of
pieces good, but in terms of musical maturity, Angie playing a
year with some direction from me about musicianship is far more
mature than his 10 years of playing heavy metal. I know a lot of
frustrated musicians here. Lots of them. I've seen very few Swiss
people who could play good Reggae or good anything groovy with real
groove. There are some, but not many. R has Spanish blood. She's also
artistic. She does really nice paintings -- things she loves to do she
can do them well. But she has other problems -- communications etc.,
but I have hope for her - still - not necessarily for working with us
but in general as a musician if she decides to pursue music more
seriously. That's it - to do anything right you gotto be serious about
it - and that includes having serious fun. She also had a heavy metal
background but I saw she could drop it easily and she did. She was more
ripe and I could guide her the way I heard music which people seem to
like.
I saw potential in
R. so I invested time in her. In M I don't see potential for doing what
I want which requires a high degree of subtleness. Maybe we'll find the
right person - or a drum machine. The frequencies just do not match.
Younger people might spend 6 months beating around this. I saw it in a
flash after the 3rd meeting. What is reveals itself.
15 Jan 2010 -
-
25 of Dey and still no snow or rain in Tehran and weather is like
Spring I heard on the phone today. Has winter forgotten Tehran or like
many others stays away because of air pollution?
- Some drummers have a hard time reading music. Whatever! Playing drums by
ear is very easy. It's good for any drummer to be able to read notes.
-
I am happy not to be on facebook. It's so superficial. I just get
on it sometimes when I have to or to see some friends' pictures that's
not elsewhere.
14 Jan 2010 -
-
We are constantly bombarded with unnecessary content. Media has a big
role. It was OJ Simpson case in the 90's. Now Palin is talking on Fox
catering to the fanatic crowd. At the same time she looked very bad in
a 60 Minutes interview with McCain's adviser who basically said what an
airhead she is.
Met
guy skiing - Chinese - he said 90% of people in China like the
government and they have freedom of speech as long as they don't want
the party to change. What he described sounded very capitalistic with a
big division in wealth. Also met 2 dutch sisters - one a blond
policewoman and some others.
I'd rather not read the news every day. News is normally bad news. It drags down creativity.
13 Jan 2010 -
-
Spoke to Uncle Yusef Ganjavi (Yousef, Joe Ganjavi) who was the head of
the Iranian National Gas Company many years ago. Such a great man
indeed. One of the greatest men I've known. He is now 87. Hopes if he
can survive this hard unusual English winter to fly to Canada to meet
my other uncle Ozhand who is the head of a university, and to go on an
Irish cruise and later come to Switzerland. Such immeasurable love. He
said hello to everyone. Hopefully we can celebrate his 100th birthday.
He said he'll invite everybody.
Jan 2010 -
-
Bought a $275 Boss outfit for $25. Bought $800 worth of clothes
for $150. No joke. Just a super post-holiday sale. That's why I never
pay full price for clothes.
- The bus stop indeed was like an ashtray. What a shame.
- Joubin called inviting one to Nice -- they heard my CD at dinner "what a feeling ... we loved it". [lg]
- Village girls may be more simple and loyal than big city women ...
- Body loved quinoa
- Elio quit smoking finally -- great news.
- Good talk during the walk about psychology and religious theory.
-
NH tax evader gets 37 years on weapons charges... Brown made several
outbursts throughout the hearing. At one point, he was removed from
court when he would not be quiet during testimony from a forensic
psychologist, who concluded Brown has narcissistic personality
disorder, characterized by grandiosity, a need for attention and a lack
of empathy. Singal referred to Brown as a 6-year-old child needing a
time-out. (AP). I know another sick guy in America like that:
"narcissistic personality disorder, characterized by grandiosity, a
need for attention and a lack of empathy."
-
Reza Jozi is wise. He saw cause of muscular cramps as over-workout,
lack of potassium (also magnesium) and dehydration. Recommended muscle relaxant ice and time and drinking water. He said after
certain age after work out it's harder for body to relax. So he takes a
pill sometimes. I do it naturally. He's been going to yoga class and
likes it.
- A friend is concerned about her lack of motivation. The
classic answer is to set your goal high enough to get motivate but not
too high to burn out. Beside that, there are a number of other factors
in play which are worth exploring. She's going to a psychic channeler
to get help. I don't think that's necessary! One can explore a lot in
dialogue with oneself or with a good friend. A long term problem took a
lot of her energy. Now the problem is gone and she has more time. The
brain meanwhile is used to being in a state of having problems. It
easily forgets 5 years of pain and compares what should be with what
has been a long time ago. Perhaps we will talk more after her meeting
with the channeler. There's a lot that can be explored. The society is
hard here and makes people very self-demanding and hard on themselves.
I don't believe in psychotherapy as it is generally applied but finding
roots of habits are important.
Jan 2010 -
Music Fashion
- Fashion in sound of music changes every few months or weeks even
(e.g. in NYC).
- I don't follow fashion. I don't believe in fashion. Fashion only
benefits fashion makers. Fashion is too transient.
- Our sound will emerge on its own. I am not looking for it.
-
I do want to do more with keyboards but guitar will always be a central
figure in my music, and the world needs that because too much of new
music is dominated by too much keys and beats.
- Stuart Smith is a great artist. He carried all the lead guitar on
Eagles tour.
Jan 2010 -
Emotionally Deprived Swiss Kids
- Friend stopped smoking after one session of mental ginger discussion
we had.
-
Unless they're really needy the parents I know would never charge their
child for use of the occasional use of their car. In Switzerland it's
normal I guess. Even parents who make good money, charge the kid by
kilometer for the use of car. Hard to swallow but it is what it is....
Actually, come to think of it, it's sick, it's flipping sick -- that
your kid buys something and needs a car to go pick it up and you charge
the kid mileage while you have a good salary and the kid earns pennies
compared to your dollar.. Incomprehensible.
-
The Swiss parents both had miserable childhoods, deprived of emotions
and love. So they don't know any better. They're loving and smart and
so I suggested putting some ginger in their mind -- provide a different
perspective on things. There's something very uncool to charge a kid
IRS mileage rate which is more than the price of renting a car to
borrow the car for 2 hours to pick up a personal item and not for
business. Putting it in a form of a question is non confrontational and
it may make them start thinking there's a different way...
-
A Swiss grandmother told her kid who was then a mother herself: if your
kid cries just lock her in the bathroom until she stops crying. Years
later the mother admits she received bad child-raising instructions.
Jan 2010 -
Cleanup After George W. Bush's Disastrous Mess
-
"The Environmental Protection Agency on Thursday proposed stricter
health standards for smog, replacing a Bush-era limit that ran counter
to scientific recommendations."
Jan 2010 - New Leonardo
- "Profile of the Bella Principessa"
was bought from Kate Ganz in 2007 for about $19,000 for a rich
anonymous Swiss
collector. Fingerprint matching has experts believing it's Leonardo Da
Vinci.
It
is now estimated to be worth $150 million and the first Leonardo
painting to have been discovered in a 100 years. The Swiss collector is
ecstatic. Ganz is in denial: "Nothing that I have seen or read in the
past two years has changed my mind, I do not believe that this drawing
is by Leonardo da Vinci".
-
Sign says 7 articles only in express lane. Woman goes with 15. Groups
them and says it's 7 (5 bottles of jam she called 1 item).
- People are cool and even the cashier doesn't react or says anything
in a similar case my friend saw.
- Got almost hit with a car two times today by these mad drivers.
- Bought drum set today.
- A little bit of progress at a time.
Jan 2010 - Full Moon
I wish I could run and hide from the full moon.
It
seems that everytime I say something to some one that everybody else
wanted to say it too but didn't or couldn't, they smile in approval.
E.g., train today told girl blasting rap, sorry, I don't want to hear
this. Or girl on bus shouting on her cell phone, sorry, this is a
public bus, please keep it down. In both cases others who were also
bothered by the noise signaled their approval of my comments.
Jan 2010 - Azari
He
said my positive prejudice towards Turks (Azari's) is due to my
"fetrat" which he defined as "esalat mabni be ehsas" linked to my
upbringing around Azari speaking grandparents, mom, etc. and fondness
of that rich warm emotional culture.
He cited case of a boss
who was badmouthing a subordinate tea-man, and an Azari office mate
emotionally slapped the boss. He said if it was a Mazandarani person he
might have ignored it. He said it's a genetic matter -- that Azaris
speak what they fee.
I am wary of stereotypes but there might be
some truth to the fact that different cultures have different
temperaments, values, etc.
3 Jan 2010 -
-
People are so unnecessarily stressed and hurt by drugs that are so
decadent and so common such as caffeine and nicotine and alcohol.
-
A problem should never be approached by the attitude "forget it" "it
can't be done" "impossible". Never. Otherwise it surely will become
impossible as all doors are shut immediately. A much more intelligent
approach is to start with not knowing - without stress - without
hysteria and emotional reaction - in calmness - and ask, what is the
problem? what creative ways can be found to solve it. If after thorough
investigation it is determined that it can not be solved that's a
different story than starting with a "can't do" attitude.
-
I am a feminist in the sense of believing in the freedom and equality
of women and feel utmost upset that women has been treated the way she
has been. I have a deep rooted distrust towards women when it
comes to "love
& relationship". Basis of it is Neda Notley, a girl I knew in
Iran
as a teenager and all that I've seen in women specially in the big
cities. I am very cautiously optimistic that someone from a small
village who is not corrupted by ways of the ego and the world can be
loyal. Otherwise, by default I don't trust my heart with any woman and
surely depend on none. I trust Angela though. She's not a woman. She's
an angel. Oh, I remember another Neda -- it was surely before I was 7
-- maybe 4 and 5 -- she used to come - eat - and leave.
Grandma
would wonder: you came to play! Very practical girl already!
(c)
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