On Black Holes and Limbo

We live in a world where most people believe that their own world view is right. Be it scientists, liberals, conservatives, Catholics, Muslims, evangelical Christians, corporate lobbyists, the list can go on forever, for the most part they really and sincerely believe that their world view is the only correct one.

Can we all be right, or all be wrong? If I believe that there is a truth in our universe even if I don't know what it is, is that correct?

It's really hard to discuss these diverging world views too. If someone says our ancestors lived in tribes and their common belief was a genetic tool to keep them together, someone else may argue that genetic evolution has too many flaws in it to be taken seriously.

What an individual believes is based on her or his bottom line view. For some it's a creator, others an intelligent designer, for others it just happened. On a different scale beliefs involve everything from a dog eat dog world to one where helping your enemy is not out of question.

Some people believe what was taught them as children, and for others it's a life long quest to find something that works for them. Often we're not sure what we believe and our actions in differing circumstances reveals much about ourselves.

I went to a boarding school for the last years of my high school. I sawed a hole in the floor of my room in the closet which was directly over the closet on the floor underneath mine. These closets all had a thirty inch square crawl space over them so you could crawl a long ways in them if you didn't get stuck. You could even cross the hallway and get into the crawl space on the other sides closets. I had a buddy on the other side who sawed a hole too. We never really used our tunnel because it was much easier to use the door. Years later I heard we had become a legend for our renovations.

The dean of our dorm heard rumors about the hole and wanted to see it. I gladly showed him my handy work, never saying anything about my buddies side, and he asked me to cover it so I screwed a piece of plywood over it. When I covered that hole most of the beliefs I had been brought up with stayed inside it. Except for exam days, I spent most of my last two months at this school thumbing around Saskatchewan sometimes making it back in time for the evening meal, otherwise we'd just get into the pantry with our spare key, which is another story, and help ourselves.

When our beliefs fall into a hole and get covered it leaves us in limbo. Why beliefs get questioned is mostly due to hypocrisy. What people say and want you to believe are not backed up with actions or sane reasoning. Power is also a factor. People get on a power and control trip and beliefs seem to lose any relevance.

Which leaves us with limbo. Not heaven and not hell. A game with a boy with no name. A dance at a wake. Till we figure out what happens to stuff when it falls into a black hole it's just a place we'll have to get used to. Will it take the black hole of war till we care no more for dominance, will we self destruct in our certainties?  Limbo ain't all that bad. It has a sense of humor. Your stuck.

Educating my Furby

Money, money, money

The dollar in your pocket is only worth what what someone will give you for it. Our societies have developed many rules which we follow in terms of trading money for something we want, or getting it for something we have to offer. When we borrow money from a friend that friend actually has the money to lend us, but when we go to a bank the laws allow them to give us money which is created out of thin air, and when we pay it back that money disappears into thin air. If we don't pay it back the bank is on the hook for it and they have to pay it back from interest and fees and investments they earn, and then it disappears into thin air.

All countries have a currency. Canada and the USA have what we call dollars, Mexico has the peso, and so on. Individuals, corporations, and governments can trade different currencies and this gives each currency a world trading value which is constantly changing. The Canadian dollar may be worth 92 cents for an American dollar today and tomorrow it may be worth 93 cents. This is based on political stability, economic outlook, and demand. If you go to the bank and ask for American dollars for Canadian dollars, your bank will go to a large commercial bank with all its daily transactions for currency exchanges and ask for whatever they need in American or Canadian currency. These large commercial banks then bid on the interbank market for whatever they totally need for the day. They basically make a bid to a bank which has the currency they want and if it is accepted they get it, and if the bid is turned down they try again till they reach a deal.

The stock market is real simple. A corporation can sell shares of itself, for example a telecommunications company can sell a share of itself for five bucks or one hundred shares for five hundred bucks. These shares are called stocks. They can be bought and sold in the stock market. Like currencies, stock traders bid on stocks from other traders who have them available for trade, and they come up with a deal. If the telecommunications company is perceived to be doing well it's stocks may be worth more. A corporation sells shares of itself to raise money for things it wants to do. Having a share of a company gives you the right for a vote because you actually own part of that corporation.

A bond is loan which someone makes to a government or corporation. It has a maturation date of for example five years or ten years at which time it must be paid back. Bonds usually pay interest at fixed time intervals. They can be sold to someone else.

A future such as a commodity future is when two parties agree on a certain price at a future date. The seller would hope that price falls in the future while the buyer would hope the price goes up in the future. Most anything can be traded in the futures market.

Derivatives are things that come about when people start playing games with all of the above. A simple derivative would be when a bank puts a bunch of its mortgages together and sells them to another bank. Many derivatives involve consumer loans, mortgages, stocks, bonds, and commodity futures. Derivatives can also include other derivatives, sometimes many layers of them.

This article was written for my furby. When I read it to her she never said a word, she just came and rubbed against my nose. And for my 91 year old mom, see, I can write something with no cynicism, sarcasm, conspiracy theories, or religious overtones.

The Great White North

In my traveling years I was wandering around in the southern USA when I got to speak with two friendly policemen while walking down a stretch of highway one evening. The one gent wanted to see some id so I showed him what I had with me. I remember him saying over and over again “Saskatoon Saskatchewan, Saskatoon Saskatchewan”. Then he called over his buddy and they both started chuckling at it. I don't know if they really comprehended that this strange sounding place really existed. I got the feeling that in their minds it was part of a strange fairy land called Canada, the great white north, where great white birds circled the skies while humans and polar bears sat on snow banks drinking Canadian beer.

Our ancestors were nuts to live in cold climates but my guess is the ice ages happened and they got stuck in the cold and when it warmed up again their bodies couldn't take the heat so they just moved further north along with the deer and caribou and musk oxen. And women got good at making clothes while men brought home the stew.

I have an ambiance in which god cruises the northern highways amidst the snow banks on a huge black and silver Harley and picks up chicks drinking beer on the back of half tons to scare the living daylights out of them. For what it's worth?

We have what we call block heaters which we plug into 110 volts to warm our car engines when the temperature goes below about zero F. When you start your car it's best to let it warm up for ten minutes or more so your breath doesn't freeze up the windshield in front of you. Winter tires with studs are best for traction or you won't get far (or if you do you won't stop). Drive with caution, leave ten a car following distance, and if you have to stop in a hurry drive into the nearest snow bank. Leave the Harley at home, eh.

If your going outside for any length of time (more than two minutes) it's a good idea to wear thermal long underwear, heavy socks, lined jeans, a sweater, a hoody, a warm parka, boots with felt liners, a scarf, and mitts not gloves and you don't have to use the thumb either just keep it in the mitt part or it will freeze. And for your head a toque for minimum and then you can add the hoody hood and parka hood and scarf if needed. That should keep you warm for five minutes and the rest is up to exercise. You have to keep moving, not enough to sweat or you'll freeze, but just enough to keep warm. When you're out for more than a couple hours you've got to eat. Anything with lots of calories. Or you'll die.

So come for a holiday and search for the black and silver Harley in the sky. He's here, you just have to be really cold to see him.

Merry Christmas

George Enthroned at Christmas

George sat on his throne. He was feeling down. Not in the throws of despair but just a pervasive mud that almost felt like if he washed his face it would float off and a peaceful joy would be left. The mud always came by this time of year, the Christmas time, a time when as a child he hadn't had the awareness to question things, the ability to comprehend that some ideas from his upbringing were not set in stone.

The human mind was a muddy place. Beliefs were believed mostly because it was easier to believe them than not. They gave us our place in our social world, gave us a right to despise those who could not fit. Mud, mud, mud. Even when you got a little wiped out of your eyes you'd get another face full. But deep down he knew there was a truth, a reality to the world which he'd never understand or put into words.

So George arose and washed his face. He went to his front door and opened it wide and whispered “Merry Christmas to all, whatever it means, and a Happy New Year too”. And a peaceful joy came over him, and a star appeared in the east, ya a Russian spy satellite.

My little canoe trip

I had a room once over an x-rated video store in some Canadian city I believe was Vancouver. I once heard Vancouver was a hole which was hard to get out of if you partook in the less affluent districts. So anyhow I was sitting in my room one night thinking about what I could do other than killing myself and I had an idea. Why not get a canoe and head east. I had a green van bought with some insurance money I got from being in a bus that rolled down the side of a mountain so next day I advertised it and it sold right away. It took a week to cash the check because I was a nobody but finally I got my money and went shopping. I bought a tent and a good sleeping bag and an iron pot and a huge duffel pack and fifty pounds of brown rice and got on a bus for Prince George. I know it was Prince George because I bought my canoe there and a paddle but I honestly can't remember how I got to a creek way south of Williston Lake where I put my canoe in the water and the duffel bag and me inside and we headed off through willow branches and over sand and rocks till the creek got deep enough to paddle in.

My first real memories of this journey was me screaming at the world from the middle of a little treed in lake. Inner city life can really get on ones nerves and it must be a necessity to express oneself and it was such a quiet, solitary little lake. Other than that I had a highway map I really didn't know where I was going so after several days I became more and more amazed at the huge naked dead trees standing in the water as my creek widened and the current slowed and before me a huge expanse of drowned out and fallen timber as far as the eye could see. I knew they'd built a dam to make the lake, but who knew the impediments? There were no signs or anything.

I came to shore amongst the standing dead trees on an afternoon and these huge eagles started swooping down over me getting closer and closer. The power and strength they portray at twenty feet and seventy miles an hour can be slightly unnerving. I finally realized they had a nest in one of the dead trees a couple hundred yards away and they were just screaming at me already and I could hear the air whooshing as they dived ever closer, so I got out of there in a big hurry. I guess they didn't get much company and that's how they liked it.

Good camping spots were hard to come by as the shore was more like a flood zone with the lake being in its formative years and the water level not all that stable. Several times I canoed all night because there was nowhere to find dry ground in the swampy uprooted mess. I found a sand island once flooded that must have been the top of an ancient hill. It was nothing but a tangle of dead branches and sand so soft you couldn't walk on it, but I was tired and didn't care. This lifeless desolation of a place out in the middle of nowhere must surely be eroded by now to lie beneath the waves till some madman blows the dam sky high.

Following the east shore I discovered signs of civilization in the form of logs being corralled in huge floatations and what really gave it away was the buildings and smoke stacks. I never saw anyone and that's how I liked it. Maybe it was Sunday?

As I got further away from this impingement on my solitude I noticed these little guys swimming along. As they got closer their bright eyes laughed as they played in a world where I was a curiosity and they were obviously at home. I believe they were otters and what a treat they provided that day with their total disregard for the conflict in the middle east. May the force be with them and their offspring.

On a really good stretch of shore that finally showed up I camped for a day or two when to my amazement there were engines and voices way down so off I went to find a bunch of drunks in their four by fours fixing a u-joint with a piece of wood. They were out for a weekend joy ride and I walked back with as much steak and canned beans and spaghetti as I could carry. Thanks guys and I hope you made it back. Brown rice can only be boiled in so many ways.

A little bobcat came to visit me one night. The lake had narrowed as I got further north and cliffs along the west side with a narrow ledge along the waterline provided a camping spot that was better than you could pay for at the Royal Hilton. I had a little fire going and in the shadows by an outcrop of rock a little head with pointy ears was watching me. We exchanged stares of amazement for several minutes and then it was gone. Next morning it was totally fogged in you couldn't see anything and a moose tripped over my tent peg. He ran off snorting and just about took my tent with him. A truly amazing place.

Next day I arrived in civilization. Actually the end of a road were a nice family had a little restaurant and some boats for rent. Across the inlet from it was a campground with picnic tables so I stayed there a couple days but there was no toilet paper in the biffy so I only gave it two stars. This place is where the south and north and east arms meet and waves come from all three directions and if your in a little boat it's a fun ride but I made it down the east arm to calmer water. I can't remember much about the east arm other than that there was a picnic shelter on the south shore. Everyone and their dog had carved their name and date into it and that's about all it was really good for, someone's idea of a joke. “Yes Mike, lets build a picnic shelter for all the families to roast their marshmallows in.”

You could see the dam from miles away and it was a long paddle till I got there. I was going to carry everything past the dam, but some guys in a pickup gave me a ride to a campground a couple miles past. The river here was full of eddies and a little swift but I found a quiet spot to load my canoe and pushed into the current and the next twenty miles took about twenty minutes but then it calmed slowly into a lovely valley with cows grazing peacefully below the hills.

I spent a lazy afternoon on some sandbars in a wide stretch of the river and tried to figure out where I should go. If I stayed on the Peace River I'd end up in the arctic and that wasn't my intention and I'd run out of brown rice halfway there and fish are good but not that good and what would I do in the arctic anyhow. So I studied my highway map till I found a stream that led into Lesser Slave Lake, but how to get there? The Peace River only came within sixty miles of the little blue line on the map. But that was days away yet, not to worry. From what I remember the river was sometimes slow and sometimes fast depending on how wide it was and how much water they were letting through the generators and you could sort of keep track of where you were by the ferries and bridges and towns.

When I reached the southern most bend before the river finally makes up it's mind to head north I said “that's it for this stream” and I camped in the ditch by the highway heading south. I think I was there for a week. Every night this family of skunks came to visit and the little ones got so tame they would climb right on me till mom and dad would lead them off to their next nightly adventure.

At about three one morning this van with flowers painted all over it sort of died right beside my tent and after about two days of me unplugging the rad with a piece of wire and some fresh antifreeze from the river we took off from there at a speed of fifteen clicks and my canoe on top. After being pulled over the fifth time by the RCMP we reached the park where my map showed the little blue line and we parted ways. I still puzzle over the beginning or end of their adventure as they surely do about mine.

The little blue line turned out to be overrated. The little lakes were swamps and the blue lines between them needed three inches of rain. So I pulled and shoved and carried for days and days and eventually came to a maze of water and reeds and willow banks and heading towards the sunrise I eventually saw Lesser Slave Lake. It was like heaven – clear blue open water.

By way of another vehicle portage by a friendly farmer I wound up in the Saskatchewan River system and after three months succumbed to civilization half way down Lake Winnipeg when I woke up one morning with six inches of snow on my tent and stuck out my thumb on a gravel road and got a lift into Winnipeg where I got married a year later. The moral of this story is never take a room over an x-rated video store or you'll end up married in a strange city.

Oops, I'm a Mechanic

Yes, I'm a mechanic

Weaving in and weaving out

Of the potholes in my mind

Playing chicken with ideas

Sort of scared at what I find

Superstition is a virtue

Keeps me sane from time to time

If I do it just like last time

Everything will be just fine

In my sleep I rotate gears

All becomes innate in me

When I wake it takes awhile

To separate my entity

Today I had an awful day

The little green men had vowed

But as this trany resurrected

It's integrity better be self-endowed

If I told you how I reckon

You'd say “Oh that's so sick”

So I'll just tell you stories

And you'll think I'm really slick

Your appointment's for tomorrow

We'll overhaul and apply ointment

Have it here at seven thirty

If you dare, we really care

My Wheelbarrow

 

My wheelbarrow

My wheelbarrow was a looker

Till one day someone took her

She was built of used plywood and drywall screws

The angles all cut with a skill saw

Her handles were strong, the two by two's long

And her tire held air

My wheelbarrow was a looker

Till one day someone took her

And every time I painted something she got a coat too

She carried dirt and leaves and firewood and concrete

I was quite proud of her actually

And she was a good dumper

My wheelbarrow was a looker

Till one day someone took her

I was having a smoke at four am when to my surprise

Came a knock at the door, what in our neighbourhood?

“Can I borrow your wheelbarrow, I got to move this tv and stuff

I'll bring her right back” da

My wheelbarrow was a looker

Till one day someone took her

Well at forty below and under three feet of snow

And frozen in six inches of ice

Me in my bare feet and him under the influence of something

But next morning my wheelbarrow was gone

My wheelbarrow was a looker

Till one day someone took her

She never appeared till the weather warmed up

Filled with fine furniture and balancing a pretty lady

Her boyfriend had kicked her out, I didn't have the heart

She thought she'd remember the house da

My wheelbarrow was a looker

Till one day someone took her

I did see her once more, the pretty lady that is

She still said she'd remember the house

I've quit crying now, it's over a year

I'm sure she's a goner

Hello 911

Hello 911?

911: Hello 911, how can we help you?

Me: Hello. I'm scared.

911: Why are you scared, Sir?

Me: My wife is being nice to me.

911: Is this a prank, Sir?

Me: No, no, no. She hasn't been nice for over two years. Usually she's throwing stuff at me and cursing, but today she's smiling and happy and she thanked me for supper, I'm really scared!

911: Has she ever been charged with abuse, Sir?

Me: No, no. She has dementia. She really doesn't know what she's doing.

911: I still don't understand why your calling, Sir.

Me: I'm terrified. What if she wants to kiss or something. I can't handle this. She's driving me nuts. I want to run away but it's too cold outside. I've got real bad arthritis, I can't even go out without hurting.

911: Do you have a bottle of good Scotch, Sir? Why not pour yourself a stiff drink and just relax a little. Do you think that might help?

Me: Hey, that's a good idea. She doesn't like when I have a drink. Maybe she'll clobber me. Ya, I think I'll try that.

911: You think you'll be okay then, Sir?

Me: Yes, I think that might just work.

911: You just relax and take it easy and maybe you'll get lucky, Sir. Good night Sir.

Me: Luck is in the eye of the beholder. Good night.

When I was a kid

When I was a kid

Yellow caragana bushes framed the yard that held the teacherage and the old horse barn and the school with it's side full of tall windows. And there was the ball field and the skating rink that had been dug into the back of the yard. It wasn't a big school, just one room and a little library with a sand table and ten or twenty old books that no one ever looked at, and a cupboard with plasticine to play with when you had nothing else to do.

We had like twelve kids in eight grades so you were a trifle independent cause the teacher was usually with someone else. The most important periods were recess and lunchtime when you'd hurry outside. In winter we'd all sit on the steps inside and tie up our skates and head for the rink even if the bell rang in five minutes it was still fun. Spring and fall were more relaxed and we'd wander around or play ball or do whatever kids do.

If the weather was ok we'd walk or ride our bikes to school. I had a mile and a half to go and we'd usually meet other kids on the way. One big guy would ride his horse sometimes and leave us all in the dust. One time a big kid hung my bike on a fence halfway home and I had to walk. I think my dad had a talk with him cause it never happened again. The kid was actually a nice guy.

I remember one day a salesman drove into the yard and went into the horse barn and smashed some bottles or something and I was like really scared but he drove away and I think it's just a lie I made up anyhow.

In the evenings I was always happy to be home with my old cloths on and outside free to do whatever and have a good supper and watch dad milk the cows and tell me stories.

Then they built the new school with the long hallways and a hundred classrooms and a huge gym and you had to ride a school bus for an hour to get there. That's when my life ended.

Mechanics Curse

Must have had a bad day once when I was still able.  Found it in a pile of stuff.

Response from Stephen Harper (in my dreams)

I never did get a response to the letter in my last post (it's like dropping stuff into a black hole), so I wrote my own. If you think this may be satire, don't second guess yourself.

Fireside musings from Stevie 2013

Well folks, time to take a page from Mr. Trudeau and put up our feet and chill out after a trying year of politicking.

You got to hand it to Rob Ford eh? To get pie faced and then top it off with some crack and show up next morning to run Toronto, what a constitution. If we can get our scientists to clone those genes we can cut our sick days by 95%!

Putin isn't all that bad either, after all he was democratically elected just like me and in democracies the elected should have some expectations of not being threatened or ridiculed by idiots who have nothing but anarchy on their minds. We would do well to move our federal institutions to the arctic to fill the growing need for menial labor. Eighteen hour work days to cool off would do wonders for our pussy rioters.

Our federal scientists are finally putting a sock in their mouths so we can get on with the greatest project in Canadian history. The details are of course “top secret” but we're working on securing long term financial stability by harnessing all the CO2 we've managed to release. The profit from this will be enormous. Just keep those Dodge Rams running a few more years and there will never be any turning back!

The European trade deal has gone over pretty smooth. Some say we gave away too much but here's my take. With wages bound to rocket in Bangladeshy and the third earth where our clothes and car parts are made the prices are going to climb. But the European socialists are going to feel the pinch too and they're going to subsidize their factories just like they do their cheese. Then we can import their cheap stuff and keep the good life because our taxes will be rock bottom and the bonus is we won't be supporting refugees – they'll all go to Europe to work in the factories.

What else happened this year? Oh yes, the economy, yech. Well that's pretty much tied to the States, that's why I sent Doer down there, Obama doesn't seem to give me the time of day. They're so big and confused down there it's hard to say what's going to happen. The trouble is it's too warm in the south and they don't need our oil to heat their homes. We've got some hard core scientists developing a plan to pipeline cold air to Arizona and Texas. A million environmentally friendly low cost pipes, and now with them all legalizing pot down there we can lace it with smoke. Just grow it in the bush and have controlled burns you know, this will be big!

There's been lots of talk and analysis on fiscal conservatism and all that this year, but my ego is real healthy still. Some say there's enough food and medical capacity for the whole world, that there's enough materials, equipment, and labor to update all the infrastructure – for the entire world. They say it's just our economic system of ownership and capitalism that keeps many without these luxuries. But honestly, as an economist, people just don't function that way. People just won't do anything unless they're hungry or get addicted to a more affluent way of life and have to work within a monetary system to feed their desires and get more rewards for harder work. To me it's just common sense, have risk taking Canadians who are cunning and shrewd and can make it on their own. That's how I endure, just step on anyone who gets too big and castigate others when things go amiss. A few economic sanctions here and there and our people will completely revert to the natural human ability to survive without handouts.

A lot of people wonder where I stand on religion and evolution. Well, let's assume for a moment that evolution is valid. Life has altered our planet. Plant life pulled the carbon out of the atmosphere which allowed oxygen based animal life to evolve, a process which happened over millions of years. It is amazing that we have the privilege of living when an awareness of this is growing in the last hundred years. We are the highest evolved intelligence in our known universe, our universe created us! This is an amazing concept. Does it have a plan? Is it aware? Does it judge us? Are we inevitable? Does it make us responsible? It could wipe us out tomorrow with an asteroid and it would go on without a burp. “Scientific” string theory tells us that alternate universes do not even have to exist of atoms and that time is only a consequence of our incapability to comprehend more dimensions because it was unnecessary for our survival. So time is an illusion and we're really god? We plan the universe which then creates us - humans and higher animals have through selection adapted the ability to care and love but these are simply genes for the propagation of the best adapted traits and have no other meaning in our universe other than to help us survive. This has to be a lefty plot to give handouts to lazy bums. God exists, love exists - you can feel it!

And to break into song here: “We all drive down the yellow brick road, the yellow brick road, the yellow brick road. We all drive down the yellow brick road, on our way to paradise.”

To all of those who've been sending us bed bugs in the mail, thanks much. We have enough in the PM office and in our homes to last till hell freezes over. Thanks again.

No one loves me this I know, for my aides they tell me so,

Your friend, Stevie

A letter to our Prime Minister

As a Canadian, I get a thrill out of our politicians and sometimes an annoyance, so I write them a note. Here is one I wrote to our leader spring of 2013.

Prime Minister Steven Harper,

You impress me, Sir! Your mother must be proud. Your unselfish resolve to take over the reigns of Canada and mold it into unity with the universal law of the growth of the GDP, we'll live with the consequences, is an achievement any great leader would envy, and in a democracy yet. All the electors to be cajoled. The feat is immense!

Mulcair is no Layton and Justin is just a pretty face so you'll be around a few years yet. By then you can fix the rules so those tree huggers can't stop the GDP from growing at 10% for the next thousand years. Just keep spending those billions on inspirational war celebrations and action plan ads and conferences and you'll keep your 30% majority. I love it, Sir!

Those pesky scientists who are in your face lately will fall by the wayside. The environmental lakes area would be an excellent site to bury all that spent uranium. Let them study that! You wouldn't even have to bury it too deep. Let them find out how nature takes care of things on it's own.

The way you handled Teresa Spence was awesome, Sir. I mean quietly walking to her tent on Christmas morning for a cup of tea would have altered the history of Canada. No one deserves such respect, especially the misguided. Chretien was a fool to climb on that farmer's combine and invite him to lunch.

Poor Mike Duffy, how can this be fair? You Sir, can travel the world with armored limousines in your luggage and no one even questions how expensive your orange juice was for breakfast. But poor Mr. Duffy, he's probably raised more money for the conservative party than you have, Sir, and we want him to spend all his time in the boon docks of Cavendish for some silly expense account. What's wrong with Canadians? He can't raise money out there!

I am sorry you had to stop increasing the military spending but a nice little war and you could get away with anything. And those greens they almost smacked of Lizzy May. Keep fighting those terrorists, Sir! If we had a Palestinian spring during the second coming we'd have to put him in a British hospital to recover from shock.

Tough on crime, right on! I'm not in a league to report tax fraud over $100,000; however, if I do hear of someone selling their meds for food I will contact Revenue Canada immediately, Sir!

If you actually read this, thank you, and don't lose sleep over any of this, Sir. Our CO2 level hasn't been this high for five million years. It's got to be worth something, Sir!

Len Loewen

Who are we?

Who are we? (Buddha is laughing)

We are the soul of the universes.

Individual souls we may or may not have although we wish,

But we have soul.

We are soul.

The universes give themselves the ability to experience,

By some trick of enslaved dimensions,

Created by life in another time, another realm,

We are the soul.

We allow the universes to experience themselves;

The vastness, the mortality,

The beauty of every landscape and snowflake,

The music of Beethovens, the despair of starvation.

We are all one, what we call life.

On billions and billions of planets we thrive,

An inevitable part of our small universe within infinity.

We are the soul if not the creator.

Who are we?

Rather obvious,

My pea brain

Has no clue.

We think therefore we are, maybe (Kierkegaard mistrusted),

We have to go on only what our brains interpret as ourselves.

We have our science, religions, art, and destructive tendencies -

We can use these to seek; all may have some truth if there is any.

Who are we? This is my story.

Tomorrow I'll tell you a different one,

Lies, lies, lies;

But soul is beyond.