Planetary

Trailer for an upcoming documentary about the planet, the universe, humans, plants, animals, mountains, and rivers, and that each and every thing is interconnected and inseparable from the other. Interesting premise, no? It's  time. Includes contributions from astronauts, ecologists, poets, teachers, environmental activists, indigenous elders, Zen priests, philosophers, and storytellers. Go here for more infomation about the film.  

A Song of the Rolling Earth

Seems like a good time for some Walt Whitman. From Leaves of Grass #10, A Song of the Rolling Earth (1881 edition):

The earth does not withhold, it is generous enough,
The truths of the earth continually wait, they are not so conceal'd either,
They are calm, subtle, untransmissible by print,
They are imbued through all things conveying themselves willingly,
Conveying a sentiment and invitation...
I speak not, yet if you hear me not of what avail am I to you? 

Useful words for ecologists, and foresters, and Zen students, and all human beings concerned–or unconcerned–with impending planetary crisis. The earth is clearly sharing its truths with us. [NOTE: A complete version of Whitman's A Song of the Rolling Earth is available here].

Love Has No Labels

Lovely public service announcement from the Ad Council. Really, really well done. Will make you cry. In a good way. [NOTE: Go here for more information about the Love Has No Labels campaign to raise awareness about bias and prejudice]. 

Human Behavior

I have been a fan of Björk for a long time, but her upcoming retrospective at the MOMA made me think that I should probably post something about this multifaceted (and wonderfully quirky) composer, musician, and singer. Video shows a live performance of her song "Human Behavior":

If you ever get close to a human
and human behaviour
be ready to get confused

there's definitely no logic 
to human behaviour
but yet so irresistible

there is no map 
to human behaviour

they're terribly moody 
then all of a sudden turn happy
but, oh, to get involved in the exchange
of human emotions is ever so satisfying

there's no map and
a compass
wouldn't help at all

Whole video is nice, but Björk gets expecially animated at 3:33. What a voice. Definitely full screen with a bit of volume–or headphones, better. [NOTE: No idea about the date or venue of this performance].

ReTweet

One of the dragons in the With Wind portion of the Ai Weiwei installation at Alcatraz, "@Large" (see Ai Weiwei at Alacataz). Notice the Twitter birds as pupils in the dragon's eyes. And remember Ai Weiwei's motto, "Don't retreat–reTweet". Amazing exhibit.

Ode to Plywood

Surprisingly lovely video from Tom Sachs about plywood. Plywood is such a basic and common feature of our life, yet there is a general lack of appreciation for this noble forest product. Truth be known, I've always kind of liked working with plywood. Something for Friday. [NOTE: I knew the video was going to be good when they referred to the plywood as "she"].

Blue Dog Mu

George Rodrigue painting, Blue Dog at the Revel (thx, Jim and Jacque), hanging in the living room (see Reading). I sit in a chair across the room in front of this painting and read. And think. A lot.  

This from George Rodrigue:

"People say the dog keeps talking to them with the eyes, always saying something different. People who have seen a Blue Dog painting always remember it. They are really about life, about mankind searching for answers. The dog never changes position. He just stares at you. And you’re looking at him, looking for some answers, ‘Why are we here?,’ and he’s just looking back at you, wondering the same. The dog doesn’t know."

And this, from a teisho by Susan Murphy Roshi on the koan Mu (see Mu):

"So your job is not to resolve some questions about dogs. Dogs, like cats, are a settled matter. They don't have Buddha Nature, they are Buddha Nature–overflowing with it–and luckily we don't assume that we know what that is. It is experienced, but remains always alive and beyond attempted capture by the known."

As the Blue Dog has been trying to tell us. 

[NOTE: Reflections in the painting are from the side window, and I can make out the little jade plant sitting on the window sill].

Tree On A Ruin

White limestone, white tree (probably a Ficus sp.), cloudless blue sky, and blazing sun. Thinking of this trip to Calakmul in Campeche years ago, and how hot and dry it was, and doing all that I can to ignore the fact that it is 3° F with blustery winds in New York this morning with a wind chill of -28° F. 

Rabbit and Deer (Nyuszi ès Őz)

Snowing again.  Good time for an animated video. This one is from Péter Vácz, and the film was his graduation project from MOME Anim in Budapest Hungary. It has been screened in 63 countries in 300 festivals and won over 120 awards. In a nutshell, "the friendship of Rabbit and Deer is put to the test by Deer's new obsession to find the formula for the 3rd dimension". Interesting premise and really nice piece of work. And definitely worth the 16 minutes required to view it. Especially since it's snowing outside. 

David Carr Dead at 58

David Carr, media columnist at The New York Times, died yesterday in Manhattan. Interesting story here. Former drug addict, cancer survivor, alternative journalist joins the Times in 2002 as a business reporter and soon becomes the "gold standard" for insightful reporting on modern media and the digital era. He was a fantastic writer and a keen observer of things.

Nice pieces (here and here) on Carr in today's Times. I will really miss his Media Equation column. And his croaky voice and acerbic wit. Sigh. [NOTE: Image credit to Magnolia Pictures].