tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33769752011-12-14T22:01:07.268-05:00Gaga's compelling, quirky, fun stuff.Gagahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09510784456060371457noreply@blogger.comBlogger421100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3376975.post-1102313898390313642004-12-06T01:07:00.001-05:002005-08-16T17:14:05.746-04:00

As they [the terrorists] topple the flaunting American flag, the President in Superman II (played by EG Marshall) moans 'I'm afraid there's nothing anybody can do. These people have such powers, nothing can stop them.' An aide whimpers: 'Where's Superman?' **************************************** THE YEAR WAS 2081, and everybody was finally equal. They weren't only equal before God and the law.

Gagahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09510784456060371457noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3376975.post-1062958915731548612003-09-07T14:21:00.000-04:002005-08-16T17:14:50.820-04:00

(Originally written Wednesday January 26, 2000)It's been a long time since I have written my rants to you. It's not that I have abandoned my writing. It's just that, like you, suddenly I find myself busy in my job at the university, and it has me tied up so I haven't had the time, or gumption, or both, to write (gumption--what a word, huh?).Anyway, I think I left off after New Year's wishing

Gagahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09510784456060371457noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3376975.post-1062722828790897762003-09-04T20:47:00.000-04:002005-08-16T17:15:39.110-04:00

originally written September 25, 2002Gagaite:[Saddam] already has comitted the crime and gotten away several times He "invaded " Kuwait dude... INVADED, he Killed thousands of Kurds, murdered... actually it wasn't war... it was murder they had no notice or defences! The towns were sleeping when he gassed them till they died in their streets running out of their homes while their eyes bled

Gagahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09510784456060371457noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3376975.post-1060123608809925142003-08-05T18:46:00.000-04:002005-08-16T17:17:23.360-04:00

While the ponderous Sir Professor explains the entire mystery of life, he has in distraction forgotten his own name; that he is a man, neither more nor less, not a fantastic three-eighths of a paragraph.—Soren Kirkegaard, talking about G.W.F HegelAnd such it is sometimes when we get too caught up in thoughts about what we are and what we do, what expectations we have about ourselves, perceived or

Gagahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09510784456060371457noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3376975.post-1060036021472244002003-08-04T18:27:00.000-04:002005-08-16T17:18:01.286-04:00

Gagaite:Well, it's late at night and I'm sitting here working on musical essays for the MA program that I've enrolled in. I plan to write my last essay about John Cage's piece, 4'32". I know you know it. I would be curious to know what you think of the piece. What the hell does silence have to do with music?Your musical debutante,HGaga Sez:Dear H,Isn't it 4'33"? I forgot, but it was the

Gagahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09510784456060371457noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3376975.post-1058886913724264432003-07-22T11:15:00.000-04:002005-08-16T17:19:18.020-04:00

When they said REPENT REPENT I wonder what they meant -Leonard Cohen, "The Future"Lumbini is what this is supposed to be about, but Lumbini is so inconsequential, there is really not much to write about.What I did notice was the enduring trip aboard a mini-bus through the winding hills of the Kathmandu valley that dropped sharply to the flat Terai plain, which is what you imagine India to be like

Gagahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09510784456060371457noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3376975.post-1058824504382477112003-07-21T17:55:00.000-04:002005-08-16T17:20:06.910-04:00

All is not so great about the Great White North, alas...I shouldn't necessarily wave the Canadian flag every time I read about something sane and life giving that comes from the folks in Canada. No siree.There are many inane things one has to deal with there...like taxes. Sure, taxes are a measure to spread the wealth around for the benefit of the public good (or at least that's what they

Gagahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09510784456060371457noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3376975.post-1058479432251489122003-07-17T18:03:00.000-04:002005-08-16T17:20:42.706-04:00

My Japanese sculptor friend raises this interesting anecdote. The Gaga-ism follows.Gagaite:Though I have to keep up reading books, I found another topic I want to talk.About language.I might talk about this. My Kansai friend (?, I want to say they are just my classmates) said, "All people who speak standard Japanese, that is my language Tokyo dialect, should be beautiful." This misunderstanding

Gagahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09510784456060371457noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3376975.post-1058479066246498322003-07-17T17:57:00.000-04:002005-08-16T17:21:41.286-04:00

It was heartening to note the peace protests throughout the world Feb. 15. While it won't do much to change the policies of Bush/Blair, at least it gives us hope that not everyone agrees that war is the only solution--as the US/Britain seem to be bent on waging. Besides, I was of the impression that everyone was for the war--and this made me sad--but since millions across the globe are against it

Gagahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09510784456060371457noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3376975.post-1058478723140788882003-07-17T17:52:00.000-04:002005-08-16T17:22:23.300-04:00

From one Negro to another. Enjoy?Hey, NegroVery good overview of the common themes--or lack thereof--in hollywood films. I've been so underwhelmed by new releases since I moved back to the states that I don't even bother anymore. Why do these films get reviewed? Food critics don't run out and write up the latest Cajun McChicken sandwich at McDonald's. By the time a fresh idea gets ground

Gagahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09510784456060371457noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3376975.post-1058478579246956562003-07-17T17:49:00.000-04:002005-08-16T17:22:56.036-04:00

So,I'm at the transit lounge here in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, with a long gap between the flight from Bangkok onward to Nagoya, Japan. In fact it is so long (5 hours), I decided to fork out the $18 US to take up the nice service the airport here offers, including this email message I am currently composing to you.Among the other priviledges: hot shower, free food, movies, CDs and if I wanna feel a

Gagahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09510784456060371457noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3376975.post-1058478021805465952003-07-17T17:40:00.000-04:002005-08-16T17:24:36.550-04:00

In the 1995 book entitled Climbing Mount Improbable by Richard Dawkins, the author posits that the difficulty that arises in understanding evolution (i.e., that all the variations of life we now witness are in fact the result of a series of mutations based on conditions and natural selection) occurs because we are too nearsighted. That is to say the arguments by creationists viz., there is a God

Gagahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09510784456060371457noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3376975.post-1058477669181845492003-07-17T17:34:00.000-04:002005-08-16T17:25:17.430-04:00

This Indian brave walks into the chief's teepee and see the chief wanking. Embarrassed, he backs out in shock. A few hours later he goes to the chief's teepee again and there's the chief, still wanking away. The brave leaves the teepee and goes to the tribal elders and says, "I think the chief need a woman."So, they arrange for a beautiful young woman to go to the chief's teepee as a companion.

Gagahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09510784456060371457noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3376975.post-1058477261155595902003-07-17T17:27:00.000-04:002005-08-16T17:26:38.213-04:00

A Gagaite wrote:You speak wise words, my friend! I would love to do something more creative than what I am/have been doing. I do not want to go back to academia, myself. The advertising agency idea had not occurred to me. It is a thought. I am trying to cleanse my mind of frantic thoughts, and my body of stress and connect to the Universe and be enlightened about what to do next. I still have not

Gagahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09510784456060371457noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3376975.post-1058477021580883982003-07-17T17:23:00.000-04:002003-07-17T17:23:41.616-04:00

Negro Well, Every once in a while I need to clarify why I use the term Negro the way I do. Let me state at the outset: my use of the term Negro has no intention of offending a fellow race of Homo sapiens whose gene structure is such that the skin pigmentation is black. Uh-uh. No way. That would be racist, and in this life, who has the time for that? My usage of Negro is completely devoid of

Gagahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09510784456060371457noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3376975.post-1058462438966436382003-07-17T13:20:00.000-04:002003-07-17T13:20:38.986-04:00

In the Valley of the Blind... When you think you are doing a really nifty thing and only you are doing it, well, just look ahead and behind at bit, because there are always others doing it too. Lesson learned for me is that here in Kathmandu as I prepare for my first trek (A 7 day trek up to Langtang--3,800 metres) I wanted to find out more about the more grisly Mt. Everest Base Camp trek. I

Gagahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09510784456060371457noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3376975.post-1058462174576607742003-07-17T13:16:00.000-04:002003-07-17T13:16:14.616-04:00

Himalayan Trek Here then is the first Himalayan trek I did: Just back to Kathmandu after a 9 day trek into Langtang, Nepal Highlights (I'll keep it brief here) are as follows: * The rhododendrons and other flora along the Bhote Kosi (a river which originates in the Tibetan Himal, flowing through the deeply cut Langtang Valley) were in beginning bloom. The shades of the rhododendrons varied

Gagahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09510784456060371457noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3376975.post-1058462068351251712003-07-17T13:14:00.000-04:002003-07-17T13:14:28.400-04:00

But this one goes to eleven... 1 One thing that really bugs the Nepali folk is the way tourists make promises they don't keep. For example, a Nepali guide told me a Dutch guy came for a trek with an obvious shortage of money. The Nepali, who makes perhaps $240 US a year, lent the guy a few thousand rupees just so he could finish the trek and get back to Kathmandu. The Dutch guy promised to

Gagahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09510784456060371457noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3376975.post-1058461913687888432003-07-17T13:11:00.000-04:002003-07-17T13:12:12.270-04:00

Namche, Nepal I'm spending a day here to acclimatize (more about thia later), so I thought I'd pen something. One cannot describe several things until you experience them. This is obviously true...these words, these symbols I compose to represent my experience are, well, poor substitutions of you actually doing it yourself-- I could go on here about how this ties into the teachings of Jesus or

Gagahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09510784456060371457noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3376975.post-1058461815053953542003-07-17T13:10:00.000-04:002003-07-17T13:10:15.110-04:00

18,348 feet—Kala Pattar I climbed to 18,348 feet (5,600m), the highest you can go on this planet without special gear as a mountain climber. I got up a 5:00 am and made the top of Kala Pattar as the first person that day to do so--touched the very top and said a prayer for all I love (and those I don't love so much)--and marveled at Mount Everest. I think the hardest day of the entire trip had

Gagahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09510784456060371457noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3376975.post-1058461538084710572003-07-17T13:05:00.000-04:002003-07-17T13:05:38.113-04:00

Diamox...or Hashish? Diamox is a drug that is highly recommended for high altitude sickness, caused by a lack of oxygen. Initially diamox was used to treat glaucoma, an affliction of the eyes. What diamox does is squeeze out water from the blood, which is passed out as urine so that you're left with a thick, hemoglobin-rich solution. Since hemoglobin carries the necessary oxygen to the cells of

Gagahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09510784456060371457noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3376975.post-1058461278377617222003-07-17T13:01:00.000-04:002003-07-17T13:01:18.293-04:00

Kshatriyas, Tibetans, Beer, and Lumbini... but no Pokhara Like I say, Nepal is rapidly becoming my second favorite country on Earth (Thailand is, of course, my favorite). I got waylaid here in Kathmandu--I was planning a whirlwind tour to Lumbini (birthplace of Buddha), then on to Pokhara and a view of the Annapurna Himal, but it's a lot of bussing, and I booked a flight back to BKK for Sunday

Gagahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09510784456060371457noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3376975.post-1058461164306681032003-07-17T12:59:00.000-04:002003-09-08T20:04:54.423-04:00

The Future—Lumbini in Tow When they said REPENT REPENT I wonder what they meant -Leonard Cohen, "The Future" Lumbini is what this is supposed to be about, but Lumbini is so inconsequential, there is really not much to write about. What I did notice was the enduring trip aboard a mini-bus through the winding hills of the Kathmandu valley that dropped sharply to the flat Terai plain, which is

Gagahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09510784456060371457noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3376975.post-1058460314933703832003-07-17T12:45:00.000-04:002003-07-17T12:45:30.990-04:00

Good you're out! Lar, You finally got the balls enough and got over the inertia of Japan. I can't say how thrilled I am for you, and I want to say I am cheer leading you on in these tenuous difficult first days and weeks! The first thing that hits home as you are noticing is the lack of a regular paycheck. It takes a while to wean off that jones. Then there are the reverse culture shock

Gagahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09510784456060371457noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3376975.post-1058459113220982902003-07-17T12:25:00.000-04:002003-07-17T12:25:13.223-04:00

That Old Man Thing Gaga: I seem to have reached that stage in life when I must face my age square in the eye and admit it. My body does not respond too happily to tough trekking which was always one of the joys in my life. I might go for a small amount of rough travelling yet but my preference is for hot running water and eggs for breakfast, and being neither too hot nor cold nor suffering from

Gagahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09510784456060371457noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3376975.post-820753652002-09-24T22:51:00.000-04:002002-09-24T22:51:02.380-04:00

On Photography II Seems my little essay on photography touched some Gagaites in all the right spots. Thanks for you comments about it. I thought I'd show a few more annotated photos from the vast array of great works out there in this medium. 1 Eugene Atget was an amateur actor in his youth, and at the turn of the 20th century, he took it upon himself to document old Paris before it

Gagahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09510784456060371457noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3376975.post-820752622002-09-24T22:48:00.000-04:002002-09-24T22:48:44.610-04:00

On Photography Do images bring you to tears? If they don't, are you sure you're alive? I got a sudden shock (shock--you know, that this too, too flesh will one day be worm meat) just now watching a 1956 CBC (Canadian Broadcasting Corporation) TV show about Yousef Karsh and his photographic work from his studio at the Chateau Laurier Hotel in downtown Ottawa. I've never seen him work (although

Gagahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09510784456060371457noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3376975.post-818554342002-09-20T00:04:00.000-04:002002-09-20T00:06:15.000-04:00

Spin in the Cycle Originally written Thursday, April 27, 2000 #4 Grounded I Let us first establish that all life on earth-- both animal and vegetable-- is constructed of exactly the same substances. The simplest definition of life is that it is a substance which in a nutrient solution has the ability to subdivide itself into two identical parts. This process is governed by a substance we

Gagahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09510784456060371457noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3376975.post-818293792002-09-19T13:12:00.000-04:002002-09-19T13:15:01.000-04:00

Spin in the Cycle #3 originally written Monday, April 24, 2000 It all rolls into one And nothing comes for free, There's nothing you can hold, for very long. And when you hear that song Come crying like the wind, It seems like all this life was just a dream. -Robert Hunter/ Jerry Garcia-- "Stella Blue" I use this lyric in connection to what Larry wrote to say about this "impermanence" I

Gagahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09510784456060371457noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3376975.post-817971542002-09-18T20:30:00.000-04:002002-09-19T09:46:35.000-04:00

Chemistry 1 I was flipping through the November issue of Wired! magazine and came across an article about Leo McCloskey’s work on wine. Leo has figured out the chemical components of a whole slew of wines, and through his tinkerings in the lab, he can make you that bottle of 1983 Paulliac Bordeaux from scratch. That’s right—no oak, no aging, no yeucchy tannin sharpness—a perfect bottle of

Gagahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09510784456060371457noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3376975.post-817958552002-09-18T19:58:00.000-04:002002-09-18T20:01:23.000-04:00

Erised=Desire "Let me explain. The happiest man on earth would be able to use the Mirror of Erised like a normal mirror, that is, he would look into it and see himself exactly as he is. Does that help?" Harry thought. Then he said slowly, "It shows us what we want ... whatever we want..." "Yes and no," said Dumbledore quietly. "It shows us nothing more or less than our deepest, most desperate

Gagahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09510784456060371457noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3376975.post-817957382002-09-18T19:55:00.000-04:002002-09-18T20:13:12.000-04:00

Are You Experienced? Yet another wonderful weekend at my brother's digs in Oakville, Ontario and a visit to my sister's in Georgetown, where we (several family members) hung out like one is supposed to. Actually, this piece is on the good "supposed to do" stuff rather than the not good "have to do" stuff. In it I really question if the "have to do" stuff needs to be done at all! But first

Gagahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09510784456060371457noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3376975.post-817953662002-09-18T19:45:00.000-04:002002-09-18T22:26:02.000-04:00

Watts...Again? Perhaps my last entry on the Alan Watts theme. Again, from "The Essential Alan Watts" (1977). ...imagine what it would be like to regress, as it's called in psychotherapeutic language, to babyhood. And, here you are. You really don't know anything about anything. All you know is what you feel. You've no sense of time. You don't know the difference between who you are and what

Gagahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09510784456060371457noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3376975.post-798453252002-08-05T10:22:00.000-04:002002-08-05T10:22:42.460-04:00

Could this be the Rosetta Stone of the march towards English language and culture hegemony? This tidbit is taken from a speech by Winston Churchill in 1943 (http://www.winstonchurchill.org/ffhprice.htm), where he touts the "Anglo-American" brotherhood. Hmm.... This gift of a common tongue is a priceless inheritance, and it may well some day become the foundation of a common citizenship. I

Gagahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09510784456060371457noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3376975.post-111250932002-03-25T23:11:00.000-05:002002-03-25T23:40:20.000-05:00

(written June 25, 2001) Dearest my Spam Family, Warmest regards as we pass through the summer solstice and into summer proper. It's a big deal in Canada, believe me. For 6 months of the year at this time, we come out of the igloo, unhook the sled dogs, and enjoy the warm weather. A. The weather is fickle here. Last week it was 31c and humid here in Stittsville, the farm community turned into

Gagahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09510784456060371457noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3376975.post-109962912002-03-21T23:38:00.000-05:002002-03-25T23:16:15.000-05:00

Small Pieces Composed in an Economically Poor State of Being Le Roi Davide 1. "On bass guitar, put your hands together for B.J. Brophy, oh knee guy she mass," (clap, clap, clap), "on drums, let's hear it for the man from Detroit, mistah Cooley, oh knee guy she mass" (more clap, clap, clap), "aaaaannnnnndd, let's here it for the soul sounds of the Motown Revue singers, oh koo da sigh" (and the

Gagahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09510784456060371457noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3376975.post-107653052002-03-15T10:49:00.000-05:002002-03-16T13:13:40.000-05:00

The flight from Tokyo to L.A. was fast. There was a tailwind so the average speed of the plane was 670 m.p.h., which equals the lower cruising speed of a B-2 stealth bomber. The trip took about 7 1/2 hours, when it usually can top out at over 10. I had a nice walk around L.A. and I'll write my remarks on that in a future posting. Highlights are how clean it is actually -near the beach anyway. I

Gagahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09510784456060371457noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3376975.post-106650272002-03-12T14:22:00.000-05:002002-03-16T13:09:18.000-05:00

The Cost of Finite Charity Please don't take this wrongly. I am as grieved and solemn and hurt and mixed up by the events of Sept. 11 as anyone is. A great ignorance, AKA evil, was unleashed on the United States on that day. It is the greatness of the American people to rise to the occasion and as people, like you and I, dug deep into their hearts to do what is humanly the best. And besides

Gagahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09510784456060371457noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3376975.post-105872122002-03-10T11:30:00.000-05:002002-03-16T13:10:07.000-05:00

(Ottawa Citizen, September 25, 2001) * Gaga for courtesy For reasons he doesn't explain, a professor in Stittsville insists on being called "Gaga." To some it's colloquialism for "crazy for something." The world traveller isn't crazy about the way tourists are treated by banks in Canada. He points out Sparks Street is a "tourist gawking centre" and treats visitors in a way he didn't

Gagahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09510784456060371457noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3376975.post-105606002002-03-09T12:12:00.000-05:002002-03-16T13:11:04.000-05:00

You may appreciate this dialog on educational values. Gaga ~~~~ --- S wrote: > Hi Gaga, > > I appreciate your perspective of seeing things as they are. > > I think what sets [our school in India] apart from most is that we are not working based on people's expectations (not that we don't consider them), nor are we moving with the market, so to speak. The challenge we have before us is how

Gagahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09510784456060371457noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3376975.post-105069112002-03-07T18:08:00.000-05:002002-03-16T13:11:47.000-05:00

Chemistry 1 I was flipping through the November issue of Wired! magazine and came across an article about Leo McCloskey’s work on wine. Leo has figured out the chemical components of a whole slew of wines, and through his tinkerings in the lab, he can make you that bottle of 1984 Paulliac Bordeaux from scratch. That’s right—no oak, no aging, no yeucchy tannin sharpness—a perfect bottle of

Gagahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09510784456060371457noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3376975.post-104581362002-03-06T13:58:00.000-05:002002-03-07T18:22:10.000-05:00

Yep, August. The dog days of summer. It's been a hell of a good one in my neck of the woods so far, made even better driving the bicycle on sunny country roads. Some random musings for you, on this the day Elvis died on the throne in 1977. 1 From a friend in Sedona, Arizona: Physically speaking, man's purpose is to help enrich the quality of existence in all of its dimensions. Spiritually

Gagahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09510784456060371457noreply@blogger.com0