should it have been an "A-minus"?

this guy got a B+ in my bartending 101 course:

cheryl art

every now and again, we might be lucky enough to feel In-Spired by art.

below (the pictures don't do the art justice),
but please allow me to tree-t you to a teeny-tiny taste of cheryl art:

tin man

just watched "the wizard of oz" 7.22.12 (10:18)

*  it is one of the most metaphysical movies of all time: 

 

kenny chessney "the tin man" lyrics
saw a man in the movies that didn't have a heart
how i wish i could give him mine
then i wouldn't have to feel it breaking all apart
and this emptiness inside would suit me fine

it's times like these
i wish i were a tin man
you could hurt me all you wanted
and i'd never even know
i'd give anything just to be the tin man
and i wouldn't have a heart and i wouldn't need a soul

i couldn't see your leavin' comin'
you took me by surprise
even now it still seems like a dream

but i know i can't be dreamin'
'cause as i lay down each night
the pain so great that it won't let me sleep

it's times like these
i wish i were a tin man
you could hurt me all you wanted
and i'd never even know
i'd give anything just to be the tin man
and i wouldn't have a heart and i wouldn't need a soul
well i'd give anything just to be the tin man
and i wouldn't have a heart and i wouldn't miss you so

another version:

.

 by tracy chapman:

remember the tinman (lyrics)

there are locks on the doors
and chains stretched across all the entries to the inside
there's a gate and a fence
and bars to protect from only God knows what lurks outside 

who stole your heart left you with a space
that no one and nothing can fill
 

who stole your heart who took it away
knowing that without it you can't live 

who took away the part so essential to the whole
left you a hollow body
skin and bone
what robber what thief 

who stole your heart and the key
 

who stole your heart
the smile from your face
the innocence the light from your eyes
 

who stole your heart or did you give it away
and if so then when and why 

who took away the part so essential to the whole
left you a hollow body
skin and bone
what robber what thief
 

who stole your heart and the key
now all sentiment is gone
now you have no trust in no one

who stole your heart
did you know but forget the method and moment in time
was it a trickster using mirrors and sleight of hand
a strong elixir or a potion that you drank
 

who hurt your heart
bruised it in a place
that no one and nothing can heal 

you've gone to wizards, princes and magic men
you've gone to witches, the good the bad the indifferent 

but still all sentiment is gone
but still you have no trust in no one 

if you can tear down the walls
throw your armor away remove all roadblocks barricades
if you can forget there are bandits and dragons to slay
and don't forget that you defend an empty space
and remember the tinman
found he had what he thought he lacked
remember the tinman
go find your heart and take it back
 

who stole your heart
maybe no one can say
one day you will find it i pray

ozz... is a zoo

alternative titles:  

"sometimes, reality is backwards"
(or)

"we're off to see the wizard"

in the move-ie "the wizard of oz"...

1. a young person has trouble communicating with her family and friends, and...

2. she wishes for another world, somewhere "over the rainbow" where everything is right, and...

3. she meets a wizard (one who uses a number of methods to 'see' the unseen), and...

4. she falls into a dream, and man-i-fests into a different world, and...

5. she enters that new world: one of color, and song, and multiple paths, and...

6. she learns about that world of good and evil, and...

7. she hopes to meet a higher being, a master... a wizard who can accomplish miraculous feats, and...

8. she meets a very smart (yet brainless) scarecrow, and...

9. she meets a very loving (yet heartless) tin man, and...

10. she meets a very brave (yet fearful) lion, and...

to be continued...   

the question is: "is the wizard a wizard who will serve?"  

in other words: can this higher being (who we've never seen) really answer our prayers?

"we're off to see the wizard" 

1. of course, on course, in process, there are hazards along the way.

2. it would be no fun to have every desire answered immediately, always.

3. there's an illusion of evil, or, the opposite of Love: a wicked witch who makes the journey difficult.  (but is she really real?  ...is the journey really that much of a challenge?)

to be continued... 

1. the trail of pleasure (and poppies) can (momentarily) interrupt the journey.

to be continued...

1. a horse of a different color is a moment away.

2. wizards can be asses.

3. along the journey, one might face his/her darkest demons.

4. demons can be overcome.

 

to be continued... 

1. wicked witches can be melted.

2. angry wizards can be seen for what they are.

3. friends' true colors will shine through.

4. it doesn't take a lot to re-cognize: brains; courage; love.

to be continued...

1. it might seem difficult to 'return home'.

2. there is nothing more easy than 'returning home'...

3. ...Be-Cause 'Home' is that which we've never (Really) left.

welcome Home.

revenge vs. forgiveness

'revenge' never, ever works (in the long term).  while we might get a temporary ego-rush as we 'right' a 'wrong', revenge never works (in the long term).  it's a momentary effort to feel better, leading to the inevitable, (event-u-all) feeling worse.

'forgiveness' (according to a course in miracles) is the highest form of Love that wIe can achieve, here on the physical plane of existence.  the premise of Forgiveness (with a Capital 'F') is that we purge our own bodymind of the negative thoughts surrounding a particular event.  it's not about 'forgiving' others, so much as re-Leasing the anger, judgment and fear from our own psyche.

...but (maybe) there's a higher vibration... and it is Known as Non-judgment.  if we don't judge, then we have no reason to ever 'forgive', because we never had any negative feelings (we never blamed) and, therefore, forgiveness is mute.

...yes, there's even a Higher vibration:

Love

Love is the opposite of fear.  Love cannot be described, as It is nonconceptualizable.  Love can be felt, or Connected with, at times, but cannot be described or broken-down or understood.

...and that is okay.  why would the physical-mental bodymind, here in a dream, want to wake-up early into Spirit?  haven't we ever considered that Spirit might want to dream?  don't we know that the dream is not the reality?

when one can sit back and contemplate the feelings of revenge, and righteousness, and justice, and patriotism, and "we're number one!" (ism), and anger, and judgment, and blame, and shame, and criticism, and on and on and on...

...it is just as easy (maybe easy-er???) to re-cognize the similarities, the Union, the Connectedness, the Wholeness, the Symbiosis, the Interdependence, the Harmony, the Sin-phony, and the Reality that it feels better when wIe get to an ocobodymingset of Nonjudgment -- Allow-ing, understand-ing, Namaste'-ing??? 

in a world of revenge vs. forgiveness, 

maybe there's a Higher vibration.

let's dabble in Nonjudgment (for a moment)...

let's see how It feels. 

hummingbird cam

since it is impossible to describe a docile little bird, three inches from your nose...

...introducing the (bedroom) hummercam: 

right: a photo

(the wild video is below)

the video (below) gives more of a wide-angle idea of the dance of the hummingbirds.

in this short/crazy video, notice the activity around the feeder located 

waaaaay down there, on the 2nd floor deck:

.
hummer in the house (literally!):

rooked

to queen a pawn (as castle),
why play it by the book?
and if you want to mate with power, on the h/our:
rooked
__________________________________________

* the impossibilities of a seven-rook mate can only be experienced by playing against a computer who refuses to resign, even as his position crumbles to pieces.

* driven by an unconquerable ego and the insane hope of a draw, white ignored all of the (re)signs... and (of course) suffered the cumulative effect of castle-ing (supported by castling supported by castling).

* the final position, however, would never have been remotely possible (if not for the positioning of black's king)... in addition to the fact that one rook (more or less) would have rendered the final position completely unattainable.

huh?

coast guard house (r.i.)

when in narragansett, rhode island...

narragansett beach:

the coast guard house:

hazard rock:

 

the indian at sprague park:

for other narragansett info, visit http://www.narragansettri.gov/

fowl play

alternative title: dance

is that a sun... or a moon?  

fowl play
by b. irdbrain

something is aflutter, here,
here in the light of day
sharing dance of sweet romance (a game of chance):
fowl play
_____________________________

* the back porch sanctuary set new records this morning:
- 7 hummingbird feeders
- a minimum of 5 (documented) chirpers in simultaneous dance... (doing a lot more chasing, chirping  and bumping than drinking)

* 'alpha red-neck' still rules the roost, posting up in his three favorite locations -- all of which allow for a command view of the battlefield.

* 'little red'-neck (a formerly skittish hummingbird) has become much more aggressive, challenging alpha's domain and even posting-up in alpha's absence.

* 'gracie', the gray-necked, slender alpha-female, has stepped-up her game.  she enjoys chasing (and being chased), sandwiched in-between sips of sweetness.

* '50 shades' (another grey-beard) has shown definite signs of multiple personality order: skittish at one moment and powerfully aggressive in the next.  a true psychotic.

* "love is in the air" (you might say...) as the chirping and dancing often culminates with two (or sometimes three?) hummers -- zooming away into the treeline.  what's going on in there?

* a newcomer to the group ('greenback') has made his presence known -- counterbalancing his small stature with speed, agility and audacity.

* like a protective mother, i yearn for the flitter-flatter of little wings (sometime in the future).  since every living thing  seeks survival/thrival via pro-creation and replication, it is quite possible that these playful creatures are in it for more than just the sugar.

-to be continued...

sun/moon: the video:
coming to a theater near you

4th of july, at steve's