tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-40230082011-07-23T13:21:21.135-07:00CityZen Bookmarks - an aggregationI will plant material here; if you comment, I think something will grow ...Ben Tremblayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04097630017893920397noreply@blogger.comBlogger271100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4023008.post-1064188478846693412003-09-21T16:54:00.000-07:002003-09-21T17:01:35.333-07:00I think this is a very important paper:
from Aletheia Forum: "Going Beyond Good and Evil"
My basic premise, in sync with "discourse ethics", is that there are two basic modes of being with others: in one, the aim is to project and solidify one's conceptualization, with others' collaboration or without (collaboration indicates something like joint interest and gives rise to "in-group / out-group" Ben Tremblayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04097630017893920397noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4023008.post-1063634329545684202003-09-15T06:58:00.000-07:002003-09-21T16:49:38.186-07:00A Community of Attention - Green Gulch Farm, a Zen Buddhist community and retreat center, embodies a deeply ecological and humane way of life.
"Communitas, communis - the Latin root for "community" means common or what is held in common, shared by many. At Green Gulch Farm and Zen Center, where I lived for three years, what is held in common is the place, the time together, and the teachings of Ben Tremblayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04097630017893920397noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4023008.post-1063595340845116382003-09-14T20:09:00.000-07:002003-09-14T20:18:30.856-07:00Freakin' cosmic coincidence!
On a whim, to find out if the domain is free, I type cityzen.org into the location and find myself looking at this:
And the site's creator, this other "ben" (complete with l/c "b", like your's truly), writes the following with regards his "ethical projects":"My ethical project is to be in the room to offer the alternative when the powers that be make the decision. Ben Tremblayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04097630017893920397noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4023008.post-1063561268433738752003-09-14T10:41:00.000-07:002003-09-14T10:44:53.150-07:00If we let things get to us ... the being made to look foolish, the petty abuses and trivial exploitations ... we're likely to be spiteful in little things.
Here's what's on my mind: after having attended this study intensive with Prof. Herbert Guenther at Gampo Abbey (google is our friend, yes? *grin*) I came away with a very different appreciation of the 1st precept, "Do not kill". In depth, atBen Tremblayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04097630017893920397noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4023008.post-1063411936410495072003-09-12T17:12:00.000-07:002003-09-12T17:12:16.430-07:00There are so many things we can't do ... and so many of the things we can do are just little.
What can we say of those who don't even do the little they can?"In democratic communities,
knowledge of how to combine
is the mother of all other forms of knowledge;
on its progress depends that of all others."
Alexis de Tocqueville
ask me about itBen Tremblayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04097630017893920397noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4023008.post-1063248953571151772003-09-10T19:55:00.000-07:002003-09-11T08:19:40.230-07:00Nuclear family, privacy, neurosis, isolation, self-loathing, consumption ...
If we came together in small groups to live and collaborate (like we're built to), that'd crack the oligarchs' armour.
What's the first product of this perverse need for nuclear families? Palaces for the oligarchs and the priests ... and then castles.
What's the primary product of nuclear family-style housing? Ben Tremblayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04097630017893920397noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4023008.post-1063215946401773772003-09-10T10:45:00.000-07:002003-09-10T10:45:46.413-07:00See what happenes when a pro tech_docs type gets busy?! (Gawwwd! I'm on a roll!!)
Again, from EcoMagic: "Beyond Illusion: An Ecological Approach to Value"
What I'd call a "five-step sequence for eco-awareness" ... closely related to my "4 steps for linking back to authentic presence" (which I'd be developing if I had secure lodging).
"(1) become more aware of how we are being and what we are Ben Tremblayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04097630017893920397noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4023008.post-1063214385238642862003-09-10T10:19:00.000-07:002003-09-10T10:27:35.206-07:00Survival & Love from EcoMagic
(a small piece of a long essay)
Old Ideals for New Realities
"For centuries, there have been those who devote attention to philosophical, religious, or mystical contemplation aimed at extending human experience beyond the sensate, material realm of everyday life. Some such people, termed moral philosophers, undertake a search for the "good". In their explorations, Ben Tremblayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04097630017893920397noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4023008.post-1063214303097933312003-09-10T10:18:00.000-07:002003-09-10T10:18:23.110-07:00Wooo!
"Explorations in Common Sense and Common Nonsense"
Check out some of his "Bumper Sticker Statements":
What you get is more than what you see
Don't bite my finger, look where I am pointing
People don't want to be evil
People don't want to be neurotic
Reason and emotion aren't opposites
Reason isn't superior to emotion
HTML version of chapter 9 - "Therapy, for the Person and Society"Ben Tremblayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04097630017893920397noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4023008.post-1063205316401248442003-09-10T07:48:00.000-07:002003-09-10T07:48:36.470-07:00Recall God And Fake Orgasms - Screw the whiny CA politicos and their PR machines. Let's recall things that really matter, by Mark Morford"[R]ecall the idea that patriotism somehow means if you don't sneer at the very idea of foreigners, if you don't somehow wish hot steaming death upon each and every detractor of America, if you don't wave the flag at least as high as your TV antenna and believe Ben Tremblayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04097630017893920397noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4023008.post-1063161292118522482003-09-09T19:34:00.000-07:002003-09-09T21:34:41.220-07:00Gadzooks! More sentience!
"Having brought history to a point where nearly everything is possible, at least of a material nature—and having left behind a past that was permeated ideologically by mystical and religious elements produced by the human imagination—we are faced with a new challenge, one that has never before confronted humanity. We must consciously create our own world, not according Ben Tremblayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04097630017893920397noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4023008.post-1063153711226749442003-09-09T17:28:00.000-07:002003-09-09T17:28:31.210-07:00Yumpin' yimminy! There's sentient life on this planet ayup ayup!
Against the Corpse Machine; Defining a post-Leftist critique of violence.
"As long as anarchy remains reactionary, there is little hope that we will have a chance of creating a society much different from the one in which we already live (throw in a little worker’s control here, a few neighborhood assemblies there, federate, Ben Tremblayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04097630017893920397noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4023008.post-1063149740561859412003-09-09T16:22:00.000-07:002003-09-09T16:22:20.543-07:00A lovely synchronicity: just a while ago I was wondering where I might access a set of "core values and beliefs" ... and then I found this (note that it's precisely because I'd want to quibble with the wording that I find this interesting):
The CSMonitor pegs me as a Liberal. *Surprise?!* According to the article, this is the Liberal platform:
* Wary of American arrogance and hypocrisy
Ben Tremblayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04097630017893920397noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4023008.post-1063075252859046452003-09-08T19:40:00.001-07:002003-09-08T19:41:46.673-07:00I get graphomaniacal when disaster looms (I'm staring down potential homelessness right now) and so have a collection of blogs; this is from my .sig:
--
my newest blog:
The Cool Discipline of Freedom | http://kewlmonk.blogspot.com
Beyond Greed | http://chebucto.ca/Current/P7/blog/blogger.html
Basic Bliss | http://chebucto.ca/Current/AEF/raps/blog/blogger.html
MozDawg on DAV & docs | http://Ben Tremblayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04097630017893920397noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4023008.post-1063074629998419812003-09-08T19:30:00.000-07:002003-09-08T20:01:14.940-07:00Ooh. This "freedom to obtain and ability to broadcast information" thing is startin' to tick bigtime:
"Was 9/11 a Hoax?" hosted by
whatreallyhappened.com (I wish they hadn't used the word "hoax" but HeyHo, it's a decent article. )
And moving from hoax to "This war on terrorism is bogus" - The 9/11 attacks gave the US an ideal pretext to use force to secure its global domination"
zhurn replilesBen Tremblayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04097630017893920397noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4023008.post-1062996275417074102003-09-07T21:44:00.000-07:002003-09-07T21:44:35.310-07:00The Futile Pursuit of Happiness by NYTimes' Jon Gertner (September 7, 2003)
If Daniel Gilbert is right, then you are wrong. That is to say, if Daniel Gilbert is right, then you are wrong to believe that a new car will make you as happy as you imagine. You are wrong to believe that a new kitchen will make you happy for as long as you imagine. You are wrong to think that you will be more unhappy Ben Tremblayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04097630017893920397noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4023008.post-1062889166459638272003-09-06T15:59:00.000-07:002003-09-06T15:59:26.253-07:00A while back I mailed something to the Buddhist Peace Fellowship mail list concerning the new upwelling of collaborative solutions for homelessness, and got a fairly substantial suggestion (shortened here; it had nothing to do with buddhism or alternative thinking per se).
to bpf@yahoogroups.com, "Bernard D. Tremblay" wrote:
> > "Facing rising health care costs, and a shortage of affordable
> Ben Tremblayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04097630017893920397noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4023008.post-1062888841986915922003-09-06T15:54:00.000-07:002003-09-06T15:54:01.816-07:00From my LJ this afternoon:
crashing ...
... visited a friend's bio lab (she's writing a thesis on neural cresting). It was fun to talk nuts&bolts science again. That, and US$200, will get me a home.
It's sunny. It's saturday. I should be out and about, if only to try busking. I'm exhausted (horrible horrible long detailed nightmare last night ... first in 40 years!!?)
I'm practically immobile Ben Tremblayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04097630017893920397noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4023008.post-1062810953984734932003-09-05T18:15:00.000-07:002003-09-05T18:57:03.053-07:00Waking the Sleepwalkers; CBC Ideas - William Rees (UBC; he brought forward the idea of "ecological footprint")
[roughly paraphrased]
We appropriate energy flows from nature (we eat almost everything, from the most delicate marine life to insect grubs; what we can't eat, we redirect, such as cactus: we feed cactus to the goats and then eat the goats); our environmental problems aren't problems inBen Tremblayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04097630017893920397noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4023008.post-1062793948727026482003-09-05T13:32:00.000-07:002003-09-05T13:32:28.716-07:00The Halifax Herald Sunday, March 30, 2003
TV critic finds American war coverage 'morally repugnant'
In a war where spectacle is taking precedence over information, Judy Rebick, a teacher of media democracy at Ryerson University, says she can barely watch the U.S. TV coverage.
"The thing that I find most troubling is this kind of excitement about the bombing, you know, almost sexual Ben Tremblayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04097630017893920397noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4023008.post-1062707593156929692003-09-04T13:33:00.000-07:002003-09-04T13:33:13.156-07:00*Decades ago my vision was to leave off the careerism in order to drill down, letting the accumulation of wealth to my peers. I did just that. And now? My peers are idiuhts (the consequence of years mindlessly acquiring and accumulating) and I am as though a friendless stranger ... pushers, pimps, and abusers have more actual community!*
A couple of items relating to the Rainbow Family of LovingBen Tremblayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04097630017893920397noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4023008.post-1062701827234895402003-09-04T11:57:00.000-07:002003-09-04T11:57:07.246-07:00“You ‘know’ in your limbic brain. The seat of instinct. The mammalian brain. Deeper, wider, beyond logic. That is where advertising works, not in the upstart cortex. What we think of as ‘mind’ is only a sort of jumped-up gland, piggybacking on the reptilian brainstem and the older mammalian mind, but our culture tricks us into recognizing it as all of consciousness. The mammalian spreads Ben Tremblayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04097630017893920397noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4023008.post-1062698077084422332003-09-04T10:54:00.000-07:002003-09-10T21:14:21.966-07:00What happens when we slip into bureaucratic spreadsheet think?
In a discussion of Bush's face concern and actual hard-hearted disregard of soldiers' well-being and suffering, and painfully conscious of how poverty is a slippery slope *3 weeks to homelessness, and counting ... gawd I hate this!* I happened to quip "gadd, I can just imagine ... a vet, PTSD and maybe physically disabled, homeless,Ben Tremblayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04097630017893920397noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4023008.post-1062693209999562952003-09-04T09:33:00.000-07:002003-09-04T13:42:51.850-07:00Posted on LIveJournal for discussion at http://www.livejournal.com/users/hfx_ben/92518.html?mode=reply
http://www.inthesetimes.com/comments.php?id=341_0_4_0_C
Don’t Be an Idiot!
By Jim Hightower
9.3.03
The Greek word 'idiotes' referred to people who were so self-involved they focused on their own life and were ignorant and uncaring about the common good.
The greatest offense against Ben Tremblayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04097630017893920397noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4023008.post-876437052003-01-18T09:28:00.000-08:002003-01-18T09:28:35.053-08:00Jeffrey Zeldman Presents: The Daily Report Typeit4Me is a text expander. Peck out a couple of characters and it expands them into a line of XHTML, or a URL, or a stored password, or a paragraph of boilerplate text.Ben Tremblayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04097630017893920397noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4023008.post-876405162003-01-18T07:46:00.000-08:002003-01-18T07:46:59.670-08:00Further reading on today?s posts
Jon Udell: Scripting an interactive service intermediary: ?Gotta love that million-dollar markup!?
Sam Ruby: ?Mark Pilgrim: Now, there is a way to specify permalinks in HTML, but virtually nobody uses it. Ok, I've updated my templates so that the preferred permalink is marked with a rel=bookmark.?
tantek/log/2002/12: ?Mark Pilgrim's recent posts Million dollar Ben Tremblayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04097630017893920397noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4023008.post-860094952002-12-14T16:41:00.000-08:002002-12-14T16:41:31.546-08:00I edited my netscape bookmarks file today, taking out all the "added", "modified", and "last visited" data, and I plan to walk through the resulting html file, commenting as I go.Ben Tremblayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04097630017893920397noreply@blogger.com0