time is such a goddamn confusing thing. there's only an instant. everything else is just a memory or dream. Seeking continuity through REM rearrangement of the neurons. It's just so weird, it freaks me out sometimes when I start to think too deeply about it.
And we barely remember--a hazy idea at best, generally--what came before this one infinite instant (<--how can that even be?). There are methods and materials that can cause the isolation and highlight of that instant. Present. The only one that really exists (our concept of past is very much alike that of the imagined future). Unfortunately, the mainstream has been rather effective in shutting down that portion of humanity. They sort of shot themselves repeatedly in the foot though, by being such poofs.
Maybe that's part of why I'm so interested (but bad at forming habits) in dream activity--specifically achieving on-purpose lucid dreams. And why I spent a good part of my younger college days soaring on the wings of demons.
As far as the past goes, it's not even difficult to completely make up a scenario in one's imagination and place it in the shelves of memories. I've tested it. For real. Eyewitness testimony is a pile of crap. Pure dramatics. The human mind is not so difficult to tap. Psychology is really our weakest science with the greatest potential--but no one pays attention to all that junk.
There are so many saps in the world, it shocks and saddens me. How does one get to be like that? If I were like that, how would I know? Am I a sap?
God I hope not.

the 37th annual Mountain Fair opened last night with a some Buddhist monks chanting prayers followed by a sweet drum circle which made me think about Indian powwows where dudes sit around a huge drum thumping away--I want to get that together sometime soon with some homies. It's intense as hell. I got to play a big bass drum, which maybe had something to do with the intensity. BOOM boom boom boom BOOM boom boom boom BOOM boom BOOM BOOM BOOM boom boom boom...hiaalaleellayeleylaalalayelyea!

Siempre digo que quería practicar mas el Español. Siempre. Pero nunca tenía la oportunidad. Hasta ahora. Mis jefes añadieron a unos Mexicanos y ahora puedo hablar. Por primero, no tenía confianza. Siempre tuve en miente las frases y conversaciones, pero siempre vacilé en miedo. No más. Puedo hablar con ellos en tópicos anchos

Me ha ponido casi intérprete entre los Mexicanos y mis jefes--lo comprendí cuando el jefe pide algo y mis amigos me miran para traducir. Pero lo difícil es que no se muchas palabras especificos para los implementos.

Está bien. Gano mucho. Ahora (como siempre) quería irme a un país donde podría hablar solamente en español.

The past several days have been completely taken up by a most enjoyable visit. I don't feel like going into all the details--and you probably wouldn't want to hear anyway.

Camped, climbed, fought, loved, saw Girltalk, imbibed, ate, river-bathed, etc in Aspen.
Chilled in Carbondale.

Now it's time to get back to work for a while, until the day I finally return home to my lovely lakes, far-flung forests, sleepy sanddunes, wrecked roads, and wet winters. Gotta make that money.

I'll write something better once I'm back in the swing of things. Tonight: a concert in the park featuring some musicians connected to Grateful Dead. Should be fun.

Thank God for South Park. Is it okay to say that? Will I be smitten by the nearest lightning bolt? No? Phew! Okay.

Every once in a while, there comes a time when the only solution to a mounting problem is to slap on the closest relevant South Park episode. Today I had to watch Smug Alert (Season 10).

For those of you (meaning mostly me) who've seen the episode, an explanation is unnecessary.
I'm out in Colorado in an area rife with wealth, an area where people can afford to be Progressive and Ecofriendly and 100% Organic. Commercially, of course. Not necessarily morally. They drive their Hybrids; they buy their price-gouged organics; they tout their values--and they are Smug.

Don't get me wrong: I'm all for ecofriendly behavior and progressive attitudes and organic crops. But once such ideas become fads, and once people get lofty dispositions because they buy ONLY organic food, they lose any favorable stance they might have had.

There's a law of Judaism that says that charity must be anonymous: It doesn't count if there's a nametag. I agree with that particular facet. Do good, but don't point out to others that you're doing good. Being ecofriendly, progressive, and organic is good. But don't strut your stuff.

My landlady, God bless her soul, is a prime example of a smugger. She always flaunts her hybrid and her organic-only diet, and claims to embrace eastern religions. However, she hasn't the first foggy fucking clue that her attitudes toward other people don't even touch--aren't even on the horizon of--those mostly-ignored prophets of ALL religions whose culture she and other westerners like her--and other easterners for that matter--try to embrace because it's the cool thing to do.
If someone says they are Buddhist, they are probably lying. Ask them what enlightenment means. If they answer anything other than "enlightenment is realizing there is no enlightenment and that people are people, for better or for worse," they haven't even begun to understand Buddha's teachings--which generally tend toward There Are No Teachings.
The same thing is true of the other religions. Teachings twisted, prophets pushed out. Goddamn, this could turn into quite a rant. Anyway, you know what I mean. Or maybe you don't. It doesn't really matter.

When you're eco-smug, progressive-smug, or organic-smug (or religion-smug), you're no better than the assholes who think only about their own massive bank accounts and private jets when it comes to politics. There's a word that I think a lot of people misunderstand that really applies to Smugness: liberal fascist. Please don't be one.

In other news:
I had a great visit with the family. It was a nice, refreshing break from the doldrums of work. We hit up lots of great beyond-my-budget restaurants, and I took them climbing. Having the dogs stay with me was nice too. Except landlady's attitude toward dogs in the house opened my eyes wider that she's a blesséd hypocrite and far more stiff-necked than she claims.