Falling in love is ‘more scientific than you think’ / Love Study From Syracuse University

Falling in love is ‘more scientific than you think,’ according to a new study done at Syracuse University.

It’s a lot like taking drugs.  And the breakup can be as harrowing as  dealing with  a cocaine addiction.

Thomas Wolfe once wrote, ” a neuroradiologist can read a list of topics out loud to a person being given a PET scan, topics pertaining to sports, music, business, history, whatever, and when he finally hits one the person is interested in, a particular area of the cerebral cortex actually lights up on the screen.  Eventually, as brain imaging is refined, the picture may become as clear and complete as those see-through exhibitions, at auto shows, of the inner workings of the internal combustion engine.  At that point it may become obvious to everyone that all we are looking at is a piece of machinery, an analog chemical computer, that processes information from the environment.  “All”, since you can look and look and you will not find any ghostly self inside, or any mind, or any soul. Continue reading

Love Finds Its Way Into The Cave/ Autobiography Of A Yogi/ Paramahansa Yogananda

Early morning.  Light penetrates the room as the blogger sits before his monitor reading kind words from two of his favorite blogging buddies.   Another monitor beams a signal from NY as the amusing curmudgeon Imus talks about the “beady” eyes of the young business announcer.  He goes to great lengths to promote his new compilation of fine music and kids with cancer who will enjoy a week at the wilderness ranch because of it. His throat hurts. He has prostate cancer. Businessmen irritate him and he wants to murder one who suggests a quid pro quo for donating 250 thousand to the ranch.

 
The blogger wonders how much longer this icon can produce such an  iconoclastic (some would say bombastic) morning program in the midst of so much boring sameness.   He walks the edge of the Grand Canyon every day and apparently sees the  ranch in the distance.  Will he fall (again) and leave us to the tender mercies of  Today and Good Morning America?

The blogger opens a packet of mail and gazes at the photo of the Avatar.  No.  It’s not the movie.  It’s a photo of Paramahansa Yogananda smiling as he sits on the ground and plays a musical instrument.

Is the blogger a kind person?  He wonders as Imus goes on about Charlie Sheen and his medication.

A loud sound comes from the open window.  It is a bird singing so loudly that his song drowns out Imus.  He must be just beyond the screen because the sound is huge.

Sitting at his desk the blogger once again gazes at the serene face before him and realizes what has happened.

Nature has been drawn to this moment. Love has found its way into the cave.

He inwardly smiles as music fills the room.


Ceremonial First Pitch/ The World Series 2010

Isn’t this just the most wonderful time of year sports fans?  We can watch professional baseball, basketball, hockey and football on the tube!  And there’s candy flying all over the place too as people gear up for Halloween.

Sugar highs!  Home run highs!  High fives!  What a great time of year.

The World Series starts tonight too.  And I’m stoked about making some predictions so here they are:

Game ONE.   Texas 5   San Fransisco 1.   Texas will win the first game even though their players are a little uptight about being in the Fall Classic.   The umpires will behave themselves and refrain from calling a  passed ball  when a batter is  clocked by an errant throw.

I’m not saying they will be good for the whole series however.  There is a good chance  that things will be decided by a seventh game and it could even go down to the ninth inning.  If a bad call results in a Texas victory watch out!  Congress could easily step in as outrage sweeps through the stylish 8th Congressional District of California.  The powerful Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi’s district I might add!

Although unlikely it’s not impossible that the politicians will embroil themselves in our national pastime.  The Texas Rangers live in the home district of Congressman Joe Barton who once suggested that the “C” be taken out of the present BCS college football championship system.   He  introduced legislation to bring playoffs to college football.

So these guys and girls do wander from time to time into the sports arena.  Roger Clemens the seven time Cy Young Award baseball pitcher no doubt wishes this was not the case as he faces some serious consequences for his testimony to Congress about steroid use.

It’s difficult these days to separate politics and sports.  But it’s also difficult to separate politics from art.

Hopefully we will be able to enjoy the World Series and forget about the interminable campaign ads for awhile.  But who will throw out the ceremonial first pitch?

It could be a short break.

Update:  Since the benefits of hindsight are so great I can now say with more certainty that a politician did not throw out the ceremonial first pitch.   Willie Mays did it.  Bless his soul.  And the Texas Rangers did not win.  The Giants scored a lot of runs while shredding   the invincible label of the Ranger’s top pitcher Cliff Lee.  Game two tonight!  Will the Rangers bounce back? Hell yes!  They will show their Texas spirit and beat the Giants evening the series at one apiece or I am a sorry score picking blogger who ought to refrain from making predictions.

Butterflies In The Garden

Last Friday I wrote a silly post and started feeling so good about life I decided to go out and take some photos. I took along my largest telephoto lens and headed for the butterfly exhibit at the Lewis Ginter Botanical Gardens. This we have photographed before but not with this lens. I was hoping to get some shots of the smaller but equally beautiful creatures as they flew above the bushes far over our heads. You can judge how this experiment turned out for yourself.
I hope you will let me know because it’s difficult to be objective when you’re the one making the effort to photograph these flighty little beauties. They hardly ever stand still. Their lives are so short! Maybe that’s why they seem to be in a hurry. Dedicated to Robin Easton who made it home in one piece from her week long adventure in the wild.

 

Here are the Four Tops with their wonderful Reach Out, I’ll Be There. Music that seems to go with butterflies!

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