Sorrow Brought Sunshine Today...

I got up in my usual grumpy mood... and then the coffee... That always makes me feel better. Went out to the garden to sow a few plants in the dappled morning sun...

Came back in to check the PC, and lo and behold - one of my favorite bloggers is shutting down his site today. Mockingbird's Medley is ending it's sweet song after 4 years of highly intelligent and acutely relevant political musing - which is a sad note to this rainbow soldier... Jim's always been a friend when I was down, and I suppose we'll still debate even after this; but losing a fellow site is always a sad story. I know nothing lasts forever and all that, but... still.

I went out to my mailbox, and there it was. A little square package of Sunshine from Virginia... I opened the parcel with glee. inside was this small note:

Jimi my friend
I had a little bird tell me you needed some joy today, so I am sending along a care package.
Full of care..
~laugh~
some food for the body, I can never get enough ginger...
some tea for the spirit and some tunes for the soul.
The pottery is experiments, learning curves I don't feel are there yet, but still have my heart in them, so I can't sell them, but I can give them with love...
to you...
Be peace my friend
and know even the smallest act of kindness spirals outward into the world.
I have been blessed by the rainbow of your life
blessings in abundance
Sister Sorrow

...After I dried the tears, the first thing I did was open the ginger ~lips smacking~ and have some - thinking of my Sister, and what an awesome person she is - and how blessed I am to have found someone like her out here in this ridiculously hard-assed world.

The tea is awesome. I love "Sorrow's Red Mix"... I wish I knew how to read tea leaves - but all I know is that they were dancing the happy dance to the CD she made me. Awesome music, and I'll play a few this Friday on the air.

The mug and candle are on the shelf right now, until later this afternoon when I will put them to good use with another mug o'Sorrow's Red Mix and a blessing.

You've given this old curmudgeonly hippy a real reason for joy. I can't express the way I feel in words. Rekindling faith in human kindness is an invaluable solemnity. Thank you is never enough. I was before, but I really am a believer in Karma now.

Peace Love & Light,
ॐ Jimi The Hippie ॐ

Lilacs and Loving Memories

They bloom for about 2 - 3 weeks every year. In that time, their scent permeates the air with a delicious aroma.

They do bring with their beauty, a barrage of memories - my Grandmother's favorite flower, and also a security of sorts - hiding in the bushes from the bullies of youth - a memory shared with a Kindred Spirit.

When I was a youngster, we had a huge lilac bush in our yard - next to the Catholic Church on my block, so I was always in charge of bringing the flowers for Mary "Queen of May". I did so with glee... I loved their magic scent which only came at a certain time of the year. I'd bring in bunches of them and Stella D'Oro would cut them to size and put them in vases in the church. These are probably my only favorable memories of the Catholic Church, besides the Nun I'd had as a teacher in first & second grade - who'd gotten a bit too friendly with my Mother and was inevitably sent away... They'd gotten too close at a Birchwood Acres Clambake, and decided to kick up their heels to a gitterbug - and I suppose they had "too much fun". Predictably, the Bishop heard about it - no doubt from the local "Gladys Kravitz" - and they decided to send Sister Benilda away from the parish. "The Children's Hour" was hot off the Hollywood film express then, and I guess spurious rumors will always fly off the cuff in a small community...

My friend has some similar memories about hiding in lilac bushes as a child, and I sent some flowers to him in the mail. Unfortunately, the post office had other thoughts about what was inside the box...

Oh well. At least he got to smell the magic.

Sufi Thoughts:
"Live from your heart, you will be absolutely effective."

I NEED A Little Laugh Today So...

'Springtime For Hitler'
from "The Producers"

There now... that cheered me up a bit. Hope you like...

...and well, I couldn't resist...
Here's the original version from 1968:

Triad

(Jefferson Airplane Version)
(CSN & Y Version)
Lyrics by David Crosby

...

You want to know how it will be

Me and him / her or you and me

You both sit there with your long hair flowing
Your eyes alive, your minds are still growing
Saying to me what can we do now that we
Both love you -- I love you too
But I don't really see, why can't we go on as three

You are afraid, embarrased too, no one has ever (in your sweet short life child)
Said such a thing to you
Your mother's ghost stands at you shoulder
Got a face like ice -- just a little colder
Saying you can not do that it breaks all the rules
You learned in school
But I don't really see, why can't we go on as mmm three

You know we love each other it's plain to see
There's just one answer comes to me
Sister lovers -- (some of you must know about)
water brothers
And in time maybe others
So you see what we can do
Is to try something new - that is if you're crazy too
But I don't really see, why can't we go on as three
...

Joyous Bealtaine

May day! Delightful day!

Bright colours play the vale along.
Now wakes at morning's slender ray
Wild and gay the blackbird's song.

Now comes the bird of dusty hue,
The loud cuckoo, the summer-lover;
Branchy trees are thick with leaves;
The bitter, evil time is over…

Loaded bees with puny power
Goodly flower-harvest win;
Cattle roam with muddy flanks;
Busy ants go out and in.

Through the wild harp of the wood
Making music roars the gale --
Now it settles without motion,
On the ocean sleeps the sail.

Men grow mighty in the May,
Proud and gay the maidens grow;
Fair is every wooded heights;
Fair and bright the plain below…

Loudly carols the lark on high,
Small and shy his tireless lay,
Singing in wildest, merriest mood,
Delicate-hued, delightful May.
Irish 9th century

LSD Creator Passes From Earthly Plane

AP
Swiss chemist Albert Hofmann discovered LSD in 1938

(FILES) This undated handout file picture released by Novartis laboratories shows scientist Dr Albert Hofmann showing a model of the LSD molecule. Swiss authorities said on April 30, 2008 that Hofmann, the Swiss chemist who discovered the now-banned hallucinogenic drug LSD that was an icon of the Hippy movement, has died at the age of 102.

NEW YORK - Albert Hofmann, the father of the mind-altering drug LSD whose medical discovery grew into a notorious "problem child," died Tuesday. He was 102.

Hofmann died of a heart attack at his home in Basel, Switzerland, according to Rick Doblin, president of the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies, in a statement posted on the association's Web site.

Hofmann's hallucinogen inspired — and arguably corrupted — millions in the 1960's hippy generation. For decades after LSD was banned in the late 1960s, Hofmann defended his invention.

"I produced the substance as a medicine ... It's not my fault if people abused it," he once said.

The Swiss chemist discovered lysergic acid diethylamide-25 in 1938 while studying the medicinal uses of a fungus found on wheat and other grains at the Sandoz pharmaceuticals firm in Basel.

He became the first human guinea pig of the drug when a tiny amount of the substance seeped on to his finger during a repeat of the laboratory experiment on April 16, 1943.

"I had to leave work for home because I was suddenly hit by a sudden feeling of unease and mild dizziness," he subsequently wrote in a memo to company bosses.

"Everything I saw was distorted as in a warped mirror," he said, describing his bicycle ride home. "I had the impression I was rooted to the spot. But my assistant told me we were actually going very fast."

Image by ddaa via FlickrOne trip leads to another
Three days later, Hofmann experimented with a larger dose. The result was a horror trip.

"The substance which I wanted to experiment with took over me. I was filled with an overwhelming fear that I would go crazy. I was transported to a different world, a different time," Hofmann wrote.

There was no answer at Hofmann's home on Tuesday and a person who answered the phone at Novartis, a former employer, said the company had no knowledge of his death.

Hofmann and his scientific colleagues hoped that LSD would make an important contribution to psychiatric research. The drug exaggerated inner problems and conflicts and thus it was hoped that it might be used to recognize and treat mental illness like schizophrenia.

For a time, Sandoz sold LSD 25 under the name Delysid, encouraging doctors to try it themselves. It was one of the strongest drugs in medicine — with just one gram enough to drug an estimated 10,000 to 20,000 people for 12 hours.

Hofmann discovered the drug had a similar chemical structure to psychedelic mushrooms and herbs used in religious ceremonies by Mexican Indians.

Symbol of the '60s
LSD was elevated to international fame in the late 1950s and 1960s thanks to Harvard professor Timothy Leary who embraced the drug under the slogan "turn on, tune in, drop out." The film star Cary Grant and numerous rock musicians extolled its virtues in achieving true self discovery and enlightenment.

But away from the psychedelic trips and flower children, horror stories emerged about people going on murder sprees or jumping out of windows while hallucinating. Heavy users suffered permanent psychological damage.

The U.S. government banned LSD in 1966 and other countries followed suit.

Hofmann maintained this was unfair, arguing that the drug was not addictive. He repeatedly maintained the ban should be lifted to allow LSD to be used in medical research.

‘My problem child’
He himself took the drug — purportedly on an occasional basis and out of scientific interest — for several decades.

"LSD can help open your eyes," he once said. "But there are other ways — meditation, dance, music, fasting."

Even so, the self described "father" of LSD readily agreed that the drug was dangerous if in the wrong hands. This was reflected by the title of his 1979 book: "LSD - my problem child."

One More Quiz...

You Are Chunky Monkey Ice Cream

Truthfully, you're too spazzy to be chunky - you cheeky monkey!

What Flavor Ben and Jerry's Ice Cream Are You?

Cardinal Knowledge

Friday was like a dream for me - I'm still in the clouds. Fucker came by on his silver stallion (GMC) and swooped me off my feet. We were in heaven for a few hours. He bought me 'birthday' dinner and the whole time I was sitting across the table from him I wanted to jump over and tag him. He's so gorgeous, I get so excited thinking about it even now.

Savoring every moment we had together, we went through the motions of what might be everyday routine in perfect harmony - like it was always meant to be... He wanted to take me for a ride in his new Jeep. We headed off to the farm and picked it up... We both loved every second of the trip. Except when he had to bring me back...

Man, he's got me bad. I'm hopelessly hooked. Last time I saw him was the beginning of November last year. We missed the holidays with each other, and I missed his birthday and he missed mine - but I gave him his presents on Friday. That's too fucking long - but I'm not complaining. I'll wait as long as it takes... He's the one.

He told me a beautiful personal story about a cardinal. I was on the verge... The next day, one flew over my head while I was outside planting. I watched as he landed on the tree across the street. I listened to the singing - so beautiful - and then my phone rang. It was Fucker on the other end... My Gorgeous Fucker. I'm still so unbelievably high. I wish I could feel him next to me now...

Sufi Moment:
Every heartbeat creates a new miracle.

What Flavor Am I?

I am Chocolate Flavoured. I am sweet and a little bit naughty. I am one of the few clinically proven aphrodisiacs. Sometimes I can seem a little hard, but show warmth and I soon melt. What Flavour Are You?

Test Yourself...

Greed:	Low
Gluttony:	Low
Wrath:	Medium
Sloth:	Low
Envy:	Medium
Lust:	Very High
Pride:	Very Low

Take the Seven Deadly Sins Quiz

You Live - You Love

Bad news on the restaurant scene... The deal's not going through. Seems there were a lot of hidden debts compiled by the former owners including tax evasive maneuvers. Better to find out now, I suppose.

I was so psyched to start cooking again. I suppose I'll save the menu I made for another space in time... Oh well.

Just a rash of disappointments lately. Must be something in the stars. Sometimes you have to fight your hardest just not to be down. I do have a few happy thoughts to hang on to... now let's see - where did I put those...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY to Me...

Right...

What does it tell you when your partner forgets your Birthday, and your ex-wife calls to wish you a happy one? Well, I guess it tells me that I should be off to see the Wizard. Follow the Yellow Brick Road, fool.

Why even the local radio station sent me an e-mail to wish me a happy birthday - wait, now I just got one from KFOG in San Francisco... Shit, they even got Chris Isaak to sing to me... damn. Thanks ladies & guys...

What song is on the radio?
"I Can See Clearly Now" - Jimmy Cliff ...thanks again KFOG.
I love that station.

I'm not going to feel down about it, after all he never mentioned our anniversary either - so I guess I can take a hint. It's been almost 9 years now that we've been together - I guess there really is something to be said about "The Seven Year Itch". I'll be burning a candle to help me see the pathway.

Here's a little tercet I've written
Just to commemorate this occasion:

At the end, there is always a new beginning...
Head held high and shoulders back
I'm off and on - no beaten track... Often...

Now, where the hell are those Poppies?

Back To The Drawing Board...

I've abandoned the idea - for now, of doing a painting of the Dragonsblood sketch. I think that canvas may actually be too small for what I envisioned...

*Around the blogosphere*... I have been working on some designs for a friend who is writing a kind of science fiction novel. His story is quite interesting, but my designs were not what he was looking for... so I guess I can include them here:

Proposed Seal for the Order of the Oak:



I had fun working on them anyway... got quite a few versions going there, but I think these two were the best. Photo & Print Shop are so cool.

Two Trinities [Bioscience - Genetic Division]:

__________________________________

In my personal time, I've been baring my soul to a Friend (that's a capital "F" Friend...I don't have many of those at all) who has proven to be indispensable. He has shared much with me from over the years, and it seems that we are on comparable paths. He is my Spiritual Brother. I feel so very close to him it is kind of unbelievable. And so it is that I am so blessed by knowing him.

He's such a great person - I always get so excited when I think about him. I do so hope he doesn't think I'm a whack-o... (I am a bit of a whack-o - you know - but not in a bad way) [I hope]

इम्पोस्सिब्ली Impossibly त्रिंगुलातेद Triangulated तवो त्रिनितिएस

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Can't Give Everything

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Now that April Fools Day is over, I guess it's safe to post again. I've probably played the fool too long now. It's time to wake up and Live.

Nobody really gives a shit anyway.
I should just go off somewhere and be a fucking hermit. It's funny - Lily asked, "What just happened behind your eyes? Your mood is changing and I don't know why." - just as I wrote that last line before the quotes.

If only she knew. I'm sure she does. She wrote the words & music.

Music always brings me back. Soothing Savages.
If only... ahhh, too late.

Bringing me back to what? ...Somehow this time it's different. There's nothing left to come back to. That's my fault.
I'll blame it all on me - there's no one else here.

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