Brief comments

Most of my blog "posts" will be done on my facebook site. I put the word posts in quotation marks because they will be mostly bookmarked articles (of topics I care about; music reviews; movie reviews; and regular columns, such as On Language, Essay feature in NYBR) and videoclips. On this blog, I will post, as I have noted previously, photographs, brief comments on random topics and my impressions of a music cd or book I particulary enjoyed.

Blog notes . . .

Some of the blog entries have been deleted. Unless I have something important to write about, most of the entries going forward would be photographs

Here is a picture of Obama at Oregon rally, as promised

Update on computer situation

I probably will not be posting as much as I have in the past because computer has been taken to a shop for repairs. Unfortunately, it would take approximately two to three weeks to fix.

Note on computer situation

My computer is not working, unfortunately. Hopefully it will get fixed soon.

75,000: Record crowd for Obama in Oregon

Photo later on

Quotations on Justice / Peace

Extreme justice is extreme injustice.
[Lat., Summum jus, summa injuria.] - Cicero (Marcus Tullius Cicero) (often called "Tully" for short),
De Officiis (I, 10

The principles of justice are chosen behind a veil of ignorance. - John Rawls

Peace is the work of justice indirectly, in so far as justice removes the obstacles to peace; but it is the work of charity (love) directly, since charity, according to its very notion, causes peace. - Thomas Aquinas

Without forgiveness, there's no future. - Desmond Tutu

I have always found that mercy bears richer fruits than strict justice. - Abraham Lincoln (1809 - 1865), speech in Washington D.C., 1865

Peace, in the sense of the absence of war, is of little value to someone who is dying of hunger or cold. It will not remove the pain of torture inflicted on a prisoner of conscience. It does not comfort those who have lost their loved ones in floods caused by senseless deforestation in a neighboring country. Peace can only last where human rights are respected, where the people are fed, and where individuals and nations are free. - The Dalai Lama

Many that live deserve death. And some die that deserve life. Can you give it to them? Then be not too eager to deal out death in the name of justice, fearing for your own safety. Even the wise cannot see all ends. - R. R. Tolkien (1892 - 1973

True peace is not merely the absence of tension: it is the presence of justice. - Martin Luther King Jr

Brief amendment to blog entry below

I should perhaps mention, also, that counterterrorism is a legitimate rationale for the use of force. Although I do think, and Just War does go into some detail about this, that civilian casaulties should be avoided and it is important to always take the moral high ground. That said, there are a few topics archived on my myspace blog that I thought were interesting, and I will probably post one of those blog entries here in the near future.

Plains of Rural Texas

The Texas Hill Country, a swath of about 15 rural counties just west of Austin and San Antonio, has not changed much in the last 10 years. In the heart of the region is Enchanted Rock State Park, where cattle roam.

Photo: Mark Graham for The New York Times



Along Route 16 between Kerrville and Medina, Tex.

Photo: Mark Graham for The New York Times



A foggy sunrise on Lake L.B.J. near Marble Falls, Tex.

Photo: Mark Graham for The New York Times

Copyright 2008 The New York Times Company

Happy Mother's Day

Eustress, or epiphany of forgotten ideals

I could have named this entry “the times, they are a-changin’”, after the classic Bob Dylan song. Certainly this was the - somewhat nostalgic - impression I got after a discussion I had with my sister about life in New York. But it is the experiences, filled, as they are, with fond memories of a life that was alternately marked with grandiose dreams and uncompromising hardships, which made life in New York so indelibly meaningful. And although I do not see myself living in New York again for any extended period of time, those experiences I have had still continue to color the life I live today and my hopes for the future in ways that are not readily apparent. For example, my three favorite magazines all have the name “New York” in them. Also, I recall, as a student at a university coincidently with the words “New York” in its name, occasionally browsing journal articles on political theory in the computer lab – a seemingly idle way to spend one’s time, but possibly prescient given my current interest in ethics? Actually I believe those periods of unbridled hope are what’s important; they are the reason I remember New York so fondly, in spite of all the not so good things; and those times, and others like them, are why I am grateful for all I have been blessed with in life.

Picturesque, Avant Gardens

Jardin des Hesperides, 2006
This installation in Montreal has paths of stark white seashells winding through local green algae and vetiver grasses dotted with wild irises. A saffron-coloured lantern looms oversized and weightless in a reflective pond.

Cao Perrot Studio



Glass Bubble, 2006
Monika Gora formed this glass bubble overlooking the Malmo harbour in Sweden. Inside, the climate allows tree ferns, camellias, citrus and magnolias to grow.

Monika Gora



Le Havre, 2005
Designer Claude Cormier organized this basic palette of five colors across thousands of strands of thin Christmas balls.

Claude Cormier



Oak Savanna Vineyard, 2004
This pond is bounded by two fifteen foot high curving walls, with an added decked platform, which provides a diving point, a space for family gatherings, dinner for two and fund-raising events for a party for 300!

Ron Lutsko



Heiner Metzger Platz, Neu Ulm, 2005
An in innocation typical of designer Herbert Dreiseitl, the sheets of water give the illusion of liquid curtains

Herbert Dreiseitl



Tokyo, Japan, 1998
At the Kohjimachi-kaikan hotel, Shunmyo Masuno's tranquil planting and gentle waterfall evoke the serenity of an outdoor garden.

Shunmyo Masuno

Copyright © 2008 Time Inc. All rights reserved.