Voilà une dizaine de jours que je rédigeais un article inhérent à une requête simple: la mise à disposition de conteneurs et bacs poubelle.

Le message est visiblement très bien passé puisque depuis hier, c’est chose faite à proximité de mon immeuble d’habitation.

Et pour l’occasion, ils n’y sont pas allés de main morte, pas moins de 4 gros conteneurs poubelle qui arrivent d’un coup d’un seul, à point nommé. Les riverains ne sont pas habitués à cela, car évidemment ils n’en ont jamais eu à disposition! Ils n’auront que l’embarras du choix, quel conteneur pourront-ils bien choisir pour déposer leurs déchets n’est-ce-pas?

Mais en tout cas, je m’en réjouis pleinement et c’était là tout le sens de ma requête, c’est plus de propreté dans les rues de notre ville et plus de responsabilisation des habitants, les invitant à non plus déposer leurs sacs poubelle sur les trottoirs mais dans les conteneurs prévus à cet effet.

Serge Pugeault se vante constamment de la rapidité de la majorité municipale à entamer la réfection de la Halle du Boulingrin, alors que par le passé ce dossier paraissait au ralenti.

C’est clairement de la mauvaise foi car si Adeline Hazan et son équipe ont eu la possibilité de lancer aussi vite ce dossier, c’est grâce aux travaux d’études réalisés par l’équipe précédente. Il serait bon qu’ils ne l’omettent pas!

M. Pugeault met en cause la lenteur du déblocage de l’aide de l’Etat à la réfection qui était bloquée depuis 1996…C’est aussi objectivement l’une des causes du non avancement du dossier par le passé !

Surtout, c’est la preuve que gouvernements de gauche comme de droite n’avaient pas rempli cet engagement, alors même que Serge Pugeault se répand partout en affirmant que l’enveloppe accordée dans le cadre du plan de relance n’est que le rattrappage de cette promesse non tenue.

Enfin et c’est important de le souligner, c’est Jack Lang qui a classé ce bâtiment pour des raisons politiciennes en 1985, alors que sa qualité architecturale est très largement décriée.

M. Pugeault a la mémoire bien courte et une lecture partiale et partielle de ce dossier, il n’a même pas le souci de la cohérence dans les propos qu’il tient, trop occupé à politiser à outrance et à vouloir discréditer l’Etat et l’Exécutif…

3 more episodes down (“…And Down”, “Abandoned” & “The Other 48 Days”) and so much to talk about. First we get a Sun & Jin flashback episode centered around Sun losing her wedding ring. While nothing really happened this episode I still thought it was a great episode. No main plot revelations were needed because Sun and Jin carried the episode like it was Sawyer with a gun shot wound. And speaking of speaking of gun shot wounds…I’m sorry Sticks, I think I’ve jinxed your family. One episode after I declared no main characters would die in Season 1 Boone took a nose dive in a tree-parked plane. Incredibly  only 2 episodes following my latest dumb prediction that no main characters from Season 2 will die, you get shot. There is nothing I hate (or love) more than hott on hott girl crime. On the bright side you’ve given Sayid an out and he can now go back to pining over a much more worthy gal.

Now it’s in poor taste to mock Sticks after she was given a semi-tragic death scene and a spectacular flashback episode. First we find out Stick’s dad was the person Jack’s wife killed in the car crash (we even see Jack in the same room). Then I remembered Jack viewed her dad as a lost cause and didn’t even bother to work on him. Next we meet a mother-in-law so mean that we actually feel bad for Sticks. Really? You’re not going to feel even a little bad after taking all her inheritance? Well I hope Sticks gets back at you someday and pretends to get beat by her boyfriends just to con you out of money. Dammit, now I’m even OK with that behavior!  And for a cherry on top Shannon (got to give her some respect) selflessly runs off to chase ghost Walt resulting in her own demise. Stick’s I’ll miss you in a bikini and I’ll miss you because I think given time you could have really redeemed yourself and turned into a productive citizen on magic island.

And now to the meat of it. The Tailgaters!!! The beach scene was AWESOME. The plane looked like an asteroid falling to earth which keeps me wonder how all those people survived the crash. We also get a great parallel between the tailgaters and tribe prime. Great writing to show how the survivors of Oceanic flight 815 continued to live their affluent first class existence. They got all the luggage, they got all the skilled survivors and they even landed on the beach instead of the water. The folks in the back of the bus were literally in the back of the bus. Those second class citizens were awarded beach front property right in the lair of The Others. They got no resources from the plane, no doctor and not enough good people to help them survive. I thought the symbolism of Ana letting gimpy-leg guy die in order to save resources was so striking verses Jack (at the same exact time across the island) spending too many resources to save the doomed US Marshall. Then The Others come and turn the happy to be alive Tailgaters into an untrusting band and cause Mr. Ed to give up speaking for Lent. Very interesting that The Others were able to infiltrate both sides and they are a bit obsessed with kids. NEW PREDICTION: The island is really Michael Jackson’s super secret Neverland 2 ranch(too soon??). If that prediction doesn’t work then I suppose they kidnap the kids so they can retrain them while they are young so someday they can grow and be child kidnappers and killers just like their Other parents. Oh and before I forget, how about the fact that Boone was talking to Bernard when he was in the plane! The monumental events that followed made me totally forget thinking…who the hell is answering the plane radio?? The range can’t be so good, it’d have to be somebody really close…you know like Rose’s white husband (love that they made a half joke about it on the beach). All in all great episodes and I don’t hate Mean Bitch half as much. She is almost a product of her magic island environment…notice I said almost. Jack would have saved gimpy-leg or cried trying…

Next up on Finally Lost…On Day 48 (NUMBER) the two tribes converge and we get to see how Sayid reacts to Mean Bitch killing his girlfriend. I predict he will fix a transceiver and shove it where the sun don’t shine…

p.s. I think it’s very interesting that while Shannon saw ghost Walt the other survivors heard the strange whispering. What is going on there…

Bon, je sais, je suis un peu en retard dans les ”feed in”. Mais, je viens de porter davantage attention à Bernard Adamus, à sa musique. C’est étrange, mais de ce temps là, je feel chalet, grosse couverture, gros café sur le bord d’un lac. Pis, sa musique me met encore plus dans le beat. Son son, je le trouve vrai, pas de niaisage, pas de prétention: j’aime. En plus, y’a de l’harmonica, like a Bob Dylan moderne… Je vous partage une photo prise un samedi après-midi d’octobre à la Taverne chez Normand sur Mont-Royal. Une photo ben simple, sans flafla, un peu comme j’ai perçu le gars.

http://www.myspace.com/badamus

Ce stade, qui il faut le dire, a été un véritable gouffre financier, avec un coût de 57 millions d’euros, est bien loin de répondre aux attentes que l’on pouvait en avoir.

En effet, ce stade ne peut accueillir d’autre événement sportif car il n’a pas été conçu pour. Ainsi, il a été précisé au dernier Conseil Municipal qu’il manquerait 1 mètre de pelouse pour pouvoir y accueillir des matches de rugby du Top 14! 1 mètre de pelouse, vous rendez-vous compte?!

Ensuite, ce stade vraiment mal situé et très mal ouvert sur la ville. Aucun commerce ne peut se développer autour comme cela peut se faire dans les autres villes disposant d’un équipement digne de ce nom.

Enfin, il est impossible d’y installer une scène pour des spectacles, les poids-lourds ne pouvant avoir accès à l’intérieur du stade!

Que dire de la pelouse dont la piètre qualité empêche, sauf à payer un prix prohibitif de réfection, la présence de publics et de l’insuffisance des loges pour les mécènes et entreprises, l’absence de couverture des coursives…

D’où l’intérêt de réaffirmer l’impérieuse nécessité de construire un Zénith à Reims.

Ce zénith est primordial pour l’attractivité de nos territoires, notamment envers la jeunesse et en terme d’image.

Coté professionnels, la demande est unanime, tous les producteurs locaux sont favorables à ce projet, mais surtout l’exemple le plus flagrant, est la demande de Messieurs les président et directeur de programmation des Flâneries Musicales de Reims qui souhaitent tous deux une vraie salle de spectacle de grande capacité.

Non vraiment, le stade Delaune, même s’il  présente une belle esthétique, est bien loin de correspondre aux attentes des rémois(es) et des champardennais.

Lundi s’est déroulé le débat d’orientations budgétaires de l’exercice 2010 sur fond de projet de réforme territoriale, de réforme de la Taxe Professionnelle et de transfert de responsabilités de l’Etat sur les collectivités locales.

Cette séance de Conseil municipal avait comme un air de déjà-vu ce lundi, chacun restait campé sur ses positions, comme il y a un an. Normal me direz-vous, majorité et opposition dos-à-dos dans un débat stérile, avec des critiques maintes fois entendues et des réponses redondantes contrant ces mêmes reproches, entre petits coups de griffes et phrases pseudo humoristiques. Des échanges verbaux rappelant les discours d’entraîneur de football dans les vestiaires, toujours la même litanie, le même verbiage, les mêmes remontrances, les victoires et les échecs passés… une sorte de bouillie verbale indigeste pour certains et appétant pour d’autres.

Morceaux choisis de ces passes d’armes à fleuret moucheté.

-Jean-Marc Roze (UMP) : « Comment pouvons-nous débattre, nous n’avons pas tous les éléments comptables pour apprécier votre gestion (…),  27 pages de chiffres pour éclairer le débat, mais il n’y a pas la lumière à tous les étages (…). Investir sans nous endetter relève de la science-fiction ».

-Adeline Hazan : « Comme d’habitude pour suivre Monsieur Roze, il faut se munir d’une calculatrice. Depuis plusieurs mois, vous affirmez que les dépenses de personnel vont augmenter de 13%, ce chiffre est purement fantaisiste et peu sérieux. La hausse n’est que de 0,5% ».

-Jean-Marie Beaupuy (MoDem) : « Vous jouez avec les variations de compétence entre la ville et la CAR, il est difficile de comparer d’une année sur l’autre (…)  Il manque un plan de relance(…)  Il faut aller plus vite, plus fort, plus loin (…) Madame la Maire, vous parlez des errements du passé et en même temps de la richesse culturelle et sportive de Reims, mais il faut mettre en exergue le grand écart entre les errements et ce dont vous vous rendez fiere (…) c’est sans doute un pêché de jeunesse ».

-Adeline Hazan : « Vous avez utilisé le terme de schizophrène, restons courtois (…)Vous parler de pêché de jeunesse Monsieur Beaupuy, tout le monde ne peut pas se le permettre (…) Je n’ai aucun état d’âme d’avoir soutenu certains projets sous la précédente municipalité, mais je dénonce certaines gestions financières antérieures (…) Le projet de tramway était dans mon programme en 2001, contrairement à la liste concurrente. En 2008, j’ai soutenu ce projet dès le début, ce n’est pas le cas de certains membres de l’opposition actuelle ».

-Stéphane Joly (Verts) : « Avec ce débat d’orientations budgétaires, en sortant de la salle, nous serons moins inquiets et rassurés ».

-Catherine Vautrin (UMP) reprochant le manque d’un véritable plan de relance et l’instauration d’une taxe sur les enseignes des commerçants…

-Serge Pugeault : « Concernant les enseignes Madame Vautrin, nous appliquons la loi que vous avez votée (…). Puisque l’on parle de plan de relance, l’Etat avait alloué 8 M € en 1996 pour la rénovation des Halles, cette même somme plusieurs années après est allouée à l’édifice au titre de plan de relance de l’Etat ! ».
Finalement, pourquoi créer un festival culturel « Reims Scènes d’Europe », quand une séance de Conseil municipal peut parfois se muer en vaudeville.

O.M-L

Source: http://www.lhebdoduvendredi.com/Conseil-Municipal-un-air-de-deja

Compte tenu d’un emploi du temps désormais plus chargé qu’au cours des mois passés, et devenu également plus sélectif et exigeant au fur à mesure de mon “apprentissage”, j’ai entrepris de vérifier, avant d’aller voir, si l’exposition du Centre Iris, que je fréquente à chaque nouvel accrochage, valait la peine de se déplacer.

Pour cela, ce n’est pas la petite image dévolue à chaque auteur sur le site du centre qui aidait beaucoup et je suis donc allé farfouiller sur Google. Sur les 4 photographes, aucun de dispose d’un site ou d’un blog sauf un, Philippe Bernard dont le site ici, bien que rudimentaire, présente honnêtement le travail, tant la troublante série d’autoportraits récompensée par CAFéFOTO (illustration ci-dessous tirée du site de l’auteur) que d’autres.

Maintenant, que faut-il penser de ceux qui, photographes en recherche de reconnaissance, ne disposent même pas d’un site web présentant leur parcours, leur vocation et leurs travaux ?

On Miracles.
The capacity of the human mind to take things for granted is apparent.
As the pace of life in general continues to quicken, we have a difficult time processing everything happening around us.
We are forced by sheer necessity to ‘block out’ extraneous sounds, movement and other ’stimuli.’
This concentration of the most narrow of subjects creates the unwelcome effect of blocking out our awareness of the miracles taking place around us.
Being aware of miracles is the necessary component to complete the miracle itself.
Like the old saying ‘If a tree falls in the forest, and nobody is there to see it fall, did it really fall?’
The same can be said of miracles. If a miracle takes place, but nobody is aware enough to realize it for the miracle it is, is it still a miracle?
We are, again, into the topic of ’cause and effect.’ When something in our life goes ‘right’ for us, are we grateful? Or do we just go on our way, assuming that this event is a part of the norm?
When something in our life goes, by all indications, ‘wrong’ for us, we are quick to place blame. We blame any number of causes: the economy, the government, the other driver, fate, our family, our co-workers, our spouse. If we have no sense of self-worth, we immediately blame ourselves.
What if we came to the conclusion that events are neither ‘right or wrong’ but just ‘are?’ Would we then free ourselves of recriminations, blame or obsessive dwelling on the past?
It is, what it is.
Listening is the first step towards awareness.
How many times have you heard a little voice in your head, telling you what ‘not to do’ but you do it anyway? Then, when the outcome is less than favorable, you play the ’shoulda, coulda, woulda,’ game.
How many times have you heard a little voice in your head, encouraging you to do something positive and life-affirming, but you ignore it out of fear of change, fear of growth, fear of a new identity?
Then, when your life doesn’t change, when you continue down the same path you have traveled for years, you lament the ’sameness’ of your days.
As a thinking, living, breathing, humanBEING, you are in charge of your own destiny.
You make the choices which create your life.
This type of freedom paralyzes people who have always looked to others for guidance. Whether it is parents and teachers when we are younger, or spouses, religious leaders and bosses when we are adults, we abdicate our individual power over our own lives.
We all have the innate human longing to be loved. We all want to ‘fit in’ with a group. There are those rare individuals who are true ‘hermits’ who live in their own solitude quite contentedly, at least on the surface of things. But for the most part, humans thrive on connections, with each other, with pets, with Higher Powers.
There is a broad spectrum of how much ‘togetherness’ each person requires to be centered and whole. From those who ‘hate to be alone’ to those who get by just fine with minimal human contact, there are those who fall somewhere in the middle.
It comes back again, to individual choice, individual power. We all have the power to choose whom we have in our life. Nothing, least of all human relationships, is set in granite. By making the choice to allow another soul to follow his own journey, we are freeing ourselves of the onus of being his jailer when we keep him tethered to a relationship which no longer serves either soul.
There is a societal pressure to maintain that which already exists. This stagnation in systems, relationships and governments slows forward progress to a crawl.
To ‘think outside the box’ is to allow the flow of new ways of doing, new ways of being, new ways of creating. To stay locked inside the box of ‘what is’ creates nothing but the atrophy of withered expectations.
It is better to ask ‘Why NOT?’ than to ask ‘Why?’
Giving up on life, giving up on change, giving up on forward movement and growth in our human experience is the same as asking for a ‘do over.’
If you stagnate in this life, you can count on coming back and repeating the lessons you abandoned. While there are no ‘failing grades’ in Earth School, there are quite definitely ‘Incompletes.’
To end this channel, which has meandered through a variety of inter-related topics, we ask you to consider this:
Connectivity.
We are all connected in Spirit. The choices one individual makes, creates a ripple effect which ultimately effects the Whole. What happens if the collective group of souls on the planet ‘give up?’ What if the overwhelming stagnation of purpose and growth wins? What if ‘nothing ever changes?’
Then, it would seem that the entire collective of souls known as human beings would have to ‘do over.’
Is this the point we are approaching, the increasingly hyped version of apocalypse theory known as 2012? If so, WE hold the power, both individual and collective, to create CHANGE. WE hold the power to increase the vibratory frequency of this planet through positive action.
The truth is, each one of us is a part of the problem. We can also each be a part of the solution.
The proliferation of spiritually based collectives on the internet is an obvious sign of our awareness of this truth. As we become aware, the miracles which have always been here (and in the forest) will be acknowledged. The more miracles we acknowledge, the more awareness, and the more miracles. An ever spiraling, ever uplifting, ever ‘lightening’ effect on the entire planet Earth. As we ‘ascend’ through this awareness, the impetus for change and growth towards this Light of understanding will increase exponentially. We will accept our positions as co-creators of our own lives.
Life is Good.
Love is ALL.
I thank BERNARD for this message today.

Je suis ravie de vous informer qu’un de mes artistes nicaraguayens préféré, Bernard Dreyfus présente ses œuvres – huiles et acryliques sur toile, dessins sur papier – à la maison de l’Amérique latine

Du mercredi 25 novembre 2009 au vendredi 22 janvier 2010 de 11h00 à 19h00.

L’exposition comprennent l’ensemble d’environ cinquante œuvres réalisées par l’artiste nicaraguayen depuis le milieu des années 1980 jusqu’à aujourd’hui. Cette présentation à la Maison de l’Amérique latine est sa première grande exposition personnelle en France.

Pour en savoir plus: Maison Amerique Latine

Hey everyone, Bernard here. Starting my new project to turn my aluminium bike into a fully carbon framed one. On its own, it doesn’t sound like much, but there’s abit of history to this particular undertaking, so indulge me a little while…

This merida that I’m going to upgrade is actually my 3rd bike. The 1st being a monstrous 16kg road/cyclocross (it even had disc brakes) bike I bought new for about SGD240 on eBay during my days in australia.

My 1st Ride. Heavy!!!

Needless to say, I suffered alot while cutting my teeth on this one. Its colossal 16kgs in weight was actually the least of its problems. The disc brakes on this ones were the cheap non-hydraulic types (which carry their own set of problems) and never stayed true… Even with continual adjustments, I was constantly grinding my brakes while pedaling.  Love-HATE relationship with this 1st one (I think everyone loves their 1st bike the most… something like all your 1st gfs/bfs.. I just hated this one the most as well). Needless to say, I wanted a new one, fast… so I started on my 2nd bike after just half a year.

My 2nd bike I made from scratch. I bought the parts individually online (yeah, I STILL have not learnt my lesson about online bikes). Decided to up the ante on this one as I would work on it as a project over a planned 3 months, which allowed me a better budget. Put together Mavic Aksiums  (new), full Ultegra grouppo (2nd hand), Trek madone frame (2nd hand 90s model, full carbon, took 3 months to arrive from Europe. 3 months.), Look carbon fork (2nd hand), Selle SMP saddle (new and oh-so-comfortable). Spent SGD 1300 for this one. Worth every penny spent. Just riding it over my 1st bike allowed me to pull for the whole ride at a faster than usual speed instead of constantly being pulled by my cycle buddies in Australia. Sweet ride. Fell in love with this one and dumped the previous bike… It was painful, but the relationship had to end…

Now, my 3rd bike, the one I’m currently looking to upgrade. Got it because I was trying to get my woman (CY) interested in road cycling. Obviously, I needed an extra bike to ride with her so I passed my 2nd (read: most beloved built-from-scratch full carbon bike) to her as she was just about as tall as me, and the bike would fit her somewhat well. So I bought the Merida from a cycling buddy who was converting back to MTBs (why would anyone even do that? :P ) after coming back to Singapore. Merida S3 entry level alu. Tiagra grouppo, upgraded with carbon fork. Got it at 300 bucks which was a steal considering that the bike was only about 1 year old, and hadn’t done many miles.

Now, why the upgrade? Cause CY crashed during a group ride when the newbie in front of her jammed his brakes with her riding 2 inches behind him. She escaped with only minor bruises, which I’m truly thankful for, but the dropout on the carbon trek got bent… Sent it to the bike shop, and was told that there was also a hairline fracture and that they’d be nervous about bending the dropout straight again… Personally, I’m okay with riding with a restraightened dropout with a hairline fracture (esp since this particular frame was my carbon frame that I waited 3 months for and fell in love with after…), but I wouldn’t let her do it as she was much less of a “bike whisperer”… So she bought herself a new carbon Wilier Montirolo (which is another story in itself) at a discount from the same bike shop that was nervous about straightening the dropouts (hmm….). So now I have a slightly defective carbon frame and fork sitting around my house. While the idea of riding with a dropout that has a hairline fracture may border on downright dangerous, I think I have found a way round it. I’ll get the fracture welded shut. I’ve been riding it with a hairline fracture for the longest of time with no problems in australia anyway, and while the recent crash may have excerbated (it grew SLIGHTY longer I think), I think its pretty safe to say that the dropout won’t fall apart. To further ensure this, I’m going to get the fracture welded shut (I know an aluminum worker). What do you think? Maybe you think I’m crazy, but I can’t bear to throw my carbon frame that’s otherwise perfect away… So I think I’m gonna do it!!

I’ll be updating you on my progress with before-during-after pictures and periodic updates… So stay tuned!!!

I swear, even before the semester started, I’ve been wanting to blog about WiMax for the longest time! First coming across this term when I got my new laptop (Acer – Timeline) I was intrigued by the cool sounding tech-y ‘thingofajig’ that nobody has ever heard of. So I googled it and boy was it amazing.

Recap from Ms Kwa’s lecture on 11th November 2009 where she touched a bit on WiMax being the new frontier of freedom without the hassle of hotspot hunting. Where the area of coverage is about 50KM in radii or diameter and sports enormous bandwidth capabilities as well as unparalleled speeds.

Sounds a little like Alien Technology to you? I assure you that Singapore is in-fact in the running for being slow for this technology. Developed countries such as India, Pakistan, America, Malaysia, Japan and Korea already have such technology implanted into their lifestyles and truly it has been nothing short of a blessing.

Think about it, no more crouching high and low for a router, no more hacking into your neighbor’s WiFi connection, no more disgustingly obscene data charges and most prominently for commuters, especially commuting students, no more sleeping or wasting time onboard the train/ bus.

A comparison between WiFi and WiMax Technology:

• WiMAX is a long range system, covering many kilometers, that uses licensed or unlicensed spectrum to deliver a point-to-point connection to the Internet (WiFi is retarded in that sense)
• Wi-Fi uses unlicensed spectrum to provide access to a network (WiMax is licensed and probably chargeable)
• Wi-Fi is more popular in end user devices (WiMax capable devices are really difficult to find)
• WiMAX and Wi-Fi have quite different quality of service (QoS) mechanisms (WiMax beats WiFi hands down in terms of speed, security and range)

A setback that WiMax has yet to counter since WiFi is the bitrate in relation to the distance from the source. It is either a strong bitrate or the ability to take the service further.

Overall, WiMax, though being awesome in so many ways, it is not perfect. Yet for all the perks, it is safe to say that this service deserves a full 5-Star rating for bringing the generation of 4G closer into our palms.

November 8, 2009
It is very warm here for November, I am trying to clear my mind and focus my thoughts so that I may be open to guidance from Spirit. Trouble is I’m so grounded in this day to day reality that I am having trouble being open lately.
My body feels even heavier and ungainly than usual. My joints protest when I climb stairs, and my head has a nagging ache.
Why, I do not know. My nose feels rather ’stuffed – so I guess it is allergies. I am fifty years old but I feel twenty years older.
I watched a special History channel show on Einstein yesterday. The parts I was able to see were interesting. The portion which has stuck with me the most is the part about gravity.
Instead of something ‘pulling’ us towards the earth surface – we instead are pushed into the earth’s surface by the force of space. So, today, I’ve been feeling this force more – after hearing about it. Much like the show I saw on those deep sea divers who took their vessel much deeper than usual expeditions – in fact, to the lowest point ever in the ocean.
They talked about the force of the pressure of the water above them – how, if they weren’t in that pressurized capsule, they would be killed instantly. Yet, there are creatures living at that level who have evolved for that environment.
Makes me think about our own environment. Have we, too, evolved because of the place in which we live here in the physical? Of course, say the scientists.
All of our physical senses are a result of needing them to survive in this physical world. Where am I going with this? I don’t know………like I said, I have this headache, and I’m just trying to work through this ‘congestion’ of thought and be more open again.
So, this tremendous ‘pressure’ from Space is keeping us ‘pinned’ to this Earth. Without it, we would not be here.
Then, the show talked about Einstein’s theory of relativity. The whole time/space thing. If you travel faster than light, then ‘time stands still’ because the light doesn’t reach the destination before you. OK, so this stuff is way over my head, and I struggle with these concepts.
Are the alternate realities in which we are living actually in different places along this time/space line? When someone dies, do they ’speed up’ to match the vibration of their next ‘reality’ and hence merge with this other piece of them which is living another complete life in another complete dimension?
When mediums connect with our LOIS, are they connecting to these ‘others’ which have been existing side by side with us, but in a faster vibratory level?
If this is so, then the ‘me’ who resides here, in this place, in this time, is but a sliver of ‘ME.’ There are plenty of other ‘ME’s’ experiencing LIFE in other vibratory frequencies.
This would go a long way towards explaining dejavue. (SP) If another part of us which exists in another vibratory frequency has ‘been there, done that’ then when we come across the same location, experience or person in this lifetime, we feel like we’ve been there before.
Because, we are all connected. So, in a sense, ‘past lives’ is a misnomer. ‘Other lives’ is more appropriate. This statement, of everything happening at once, has ALWAYS bamboozled me. I just could NOT wrap my brain around this concept.
Yet, this story of Einstein, told in more laymen’s terms, has helped me, at last to make this connection. That’s why all of our Spirit Guides are accessible. Part of their experience, in their alternate lifetime, is instructing us on these matters. Yet, they don’t just ‘tell us.’ Part of our learning is to seek out the answers, and let our own brains reach conclusions and/or theories.
This is why the phrase ‘We Don’t Die,’ is SO TRUE. The one ’sliver’ of a soul does integrate with the whole Soul when this particular life experience is complete. BUT – the SOUL lives eternally.
For some reason I was just given the image of the RCA dog, sitting next to the gramophone with that big ole cone shaped speaker next to him, his ear cocked toward the sound.
What I am seeing are concentric circles emanating from this cone-shape. (Picture these circles in the same shape as the cone. They are complete circles, stacked one above the other, like a Slinky toy. But, the circles gradually get bigger and bigger, the further away they get from the Source, which is of course, the Gramophone. Each of these circles represents a vibratory level of LIFE. They are infinite to us.
They have been created and will be created, because they are the ALL.
This brings to mind the scene from the movie Titanic – at the very end – when the leading lady crosses over and immediately is in the Titanic, fully whole, all casualties of this great tragedy fully alive and once again enjoying the voyage. Did she cross over into the next vibratory frequency of LIFE? Did she merge with the part of her that continued on in that level, as she grew older physically here on this Earth? And, what is the level beyond her beloved Titanic incarnation? What other pieces of her reside in the higher, faster vibratory levels?
Following this concentric, yet ever expanding circle theory……..is this process never ending? Do these bands of existence just keep repeating, forever and ever?
If we view Consciousness as a process, instead of a fixed ‘thing’ then yes, indeed. We are a part of this consciousness, and this Consciousness is a part of US. We are a ‘creation’ of this Consciousness, and at the same time, we Create our own levels of same. So then, we are in simplified terms, Co-creators with Source.
To me, as I process this, this means that ‘I’ am not, as some would explain, my physical self, my etheric self, and my Higher Self. Instead, I am much more diverse than this. I am every lifetime I am currently living, in these infinite vibratory levels. If time has ’stood still’ because we as a consciousness, travel faster than Light – then each and every of my ‘existences’ are happening in the NOW.
The NOW, IS. This also holds enormous, and ultimately comforting implications for those of us who ‘grieve’ in this level of LIFE. Because, while this portion of ME is grieving the perceived ‘loss’ of my LOIS, my LOIS and another ’sliver’ of ME are alive and well in another vibratory circle of Life.
The physical ‘you’ misses your LOIS. But, your Soul is connected to them, and can never NOT be connected to them.
This concept, then, teaches us that all conflicts here in this Earth experience are created by us. All suffering is created by us. Disease, famine, drought, murder, mayhem, war. All created by us.
Do we understand the power we possess, as an integral part of the ALL? As Consciousness? I know we don’t, because I still struggle with wrapping my physical brain around this.
Is this the Ascension of which so many speak? When we all Ascend, will we be moving to the concurrent existence that already IS?
I leave this with you, and I thank BERNARD for presenting these difficult concepts to me in visuals and terms which I am beginning to comprehend. I will say that another aspect of this which ‘clicks’ for me is the ‘worlds’ we visit during our dreams. Too many times to count, the dreams I remember involve situations, people and events I don’t recognize in this ‘level’ of life. Yet, in them, I am interacting confidently and ‘familiarly’ with those around me. Am I glimpsing portions of my ‘concurrent’ ME’s when I am having these dreams? Is my sleeping mind opening up to these other realities in which I am simultaneously participating? That makes sense, doesn’t it? Enough for now. Happy Sunday to my fellow ’seekers.’ ~~~~~~~ peacefulsue (Susan Fawcett)

I gave the following talk at the RAM’s seminar on Friday 6 November 2009. This is the text used. The line in the middle indicates the place where I spoke about my other methodology, which was drawn from my earlier posts here about methodology.

In 1905 Cézanne wrote a letter to Emile Bernard in which he commented that ‘time and reflection […] modify little by little our vision, and at last comprehension comes to us.’ This quote comes from the article ‘Making Space: The Purpose and Place of Practice-led Research’, written by Graeme Sullivan (2008). It’s a nice idea, and also one that belongs to an earlier era, when stating the concept that ‘comprehension could be attained’ was still possible. In this postmodern time such utopias seem naïve, yet the notion that action and reflection are bound in an iterative cycle of alteration and modification is one that this talk will explore.

This is right and proper, since it relates to a topic that happened ‘before my time’ (the mid-1960s) in a country from which I was once geographically disconnected (in Wiltshire). The way in which I am going about uncovering its contours is one that relies on recognizing the iterative nature of research, the way that this process impels further inquiry, and the reflective scepticism that it engenders.

To Cézanne’s ‘little-by-little’ modification I will add precarious moments of clarity, confusion and boredom that also shape the research process, enabling and disabling potential outcomes in future writing. I will discuss this in terms of categories and tags when I explain my working with a blog.

My research into the Wardour Castle Summer Schools seeks to clarify the events in terms of who was there, what went on, what its impact was and how it has been documented. It also seeks to track the process of research and to be attentive to the choices made in documentation. In bringing these forces together, my research adopts forms that complicate, confuse, blur and reconfigure research and publication. My methodologies above all emphasise the little-by-little modification of my vision of these events, to understand better how there were comprehended, as well as my own comprehension of them. It’s research that is led by my practice of composing a new idea of the Wardour Castle Summer Schools.

Earlier I mentioned Cézanne, before immediately moving away from it, critiquing Cézanne’s comments and opening up space for positioning my research in relation to the research-led and practice-led methodologies that provided the impetus for the book in which Cézanne is quoted. My research responds to the literature of this debate, as well as forging idiosyncratic methodologies that suit my topic. If my reference to Cézanne is unconvincing, it’s because I am skeptical, but such a problem need not be debilitating, since it enables new thoughts: a modification of vision. In this specific case, I know that finishing reading the book will prompt some major changes in my methodology and critical stance. With major changes looming it’s important that I clarify where I am now, so I know what’s changed. More generally, this is research in progress, unstable, subject to contradiction and alteration. It’s also research that is flexible, prone to following fashions that indicate the possibility of shared understanding. Responding to last week’s seminar, I want to re-begin this seminar with a quote from Jorge Luis Borges:

On Exactitude in Science

In that Empire, the Art of Cartography attained such Perfection that the map of a single Province occupied the entirety of a City, and the map of the Empire, the entirety of a Province. In time, those Unconscionable Maps no longer satisfied, and the Cartographers Guilds struck a Map of the Empire whose size was that of the Empire, and which coincided point for point with it. The following Generations, who were not so fond of the Study of Cartography as their Forebears had been, saw that that vast Map was Useless, and not without some Pitilessness was it, that they delivered it up to the Inclemencies of Sun and Winters. In the Deserts of the West, still today, there are Tattered Ruins of that Map, inhabited by Animals and Beggars; in all the Land there is no other Relic of the Disciplines of Geography.

Suarez Miranda,Viajes de varones prudentes, Libro IV,Cap. XLV, Lerida, 1658 (Borges, 1999)

Predating last week’s seminar by a week I wrote:

In mapping the ‘lieux de memoire’ of these events, my map-making needs to embrace modernism’s lessons and to inhabit the tattered ruins of previous maps, by which I mean to be creative in the patchiness of memory rather than to focus on finding the edges of its tatters as a precursor to sewing it together.

I then discussed the work of Otto von Busch, a Swedish fashion theorist with a speciality in hacking fashion.

Before this is dismissed as too tangential from my research it is worth considering a juxtaposition. Firstly, Otto von Busch, again.

Compare that with the following quote from Graeme Sullivan, writing about Cézanne:

A […] lesson to be taken from artistic and scientific investigations of a century ago is the realisation of the necessity of communicating across fields of inquiry. [….] Coming to understand the interconnections among visual forms, patterns of inquiry and different perspectives offers the possibility of  making intuitive and intellectual leaps towards the creation of new knowledge. (Sullivan 2009, 43)

The link between these two theorists is a meta-methodological one. If you look up ‘metamethod’ in the 2009 book Fieldwork Is Not What It Used To Be: Learning Anthropology’s Method in a Time of Transition, one is directed to the index entry on ‘craft culture’. At the risk of stammering, the meta-metamethodological content of this book sews together the tatters of map anew to connect method and craft with conceptions about both method and craft.

(As an aside, Steven Connor’s work on stammering and Alvin Lucier is fascinating. http://www.stevenconnor.com/phonophobia/ See too Borges on Funes ‘a certain stammering greatness’ for his mind is ‘folded in on itself’ (Connor))

The point is that Fieldwork Is Not What It Used To Be is a book that reflects a postmodern way of working, where hierarchies can be connected in new ways to destabilize old ideas. In this case there is a new connection between metamethodology and professional craft, that is, the practice of undertaking fieldwork, which is as practical as anthropology gets. The map has been connected in new ways, no longer reliant on linear connections represented by ratios of scale.

If this is post-Borges in its conception of mapping, then it’s interesting to consider the recent story about the fictitious town Argleton, reported widely in the press this week. <http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2009/nov/03/google> Borges’ fictions seem alive and well.

There is another reason that I refer to Fieldwork Is Not What It Used To Be, since it is a text written by professors and their best former students who worked together at Rice University. The book is motivated by a shift in what students wanted from the 1980s, where theory was taught prior to practice, to today, when most graduate students within universities already have experience working with NGOs and other places where they are practising fieldwork (17). Rather than simply reworking new syllabuses, the book seeks to engage in new ways of thinking, lead by the young practitioners in the discipline. This may go some way to explaining the particular methods I have chosen for my research. It also recalls Neil Heyde’s comments in the first of this year’s seminar’s about this as a forum for working through new problems.

If my talk still seems to tangential, then it’s time to tell you more about the Wardour Castle Summer Schools, and the ways in which some tangents become centres.

Taking place in 1964 and 1965 these events brought together a wide range of composers who later formed the core and the tangent of British music making. Darmstadt and Dartington brought leading composers and performers in contact with those less experienced, in lectures and concerts. Wardour Castle fostered a culture of discussion among the UK’s young practitioners.

You can find this text on my blog, and if you have anything to add, do use the comment option.

Forgetting:

Recently the New Scientist reviewed two books. One on remembering everything, one on the virtue of forgetting. Yadin Dudai on remembering:

The scheme seems ingeniously simple and technically feasible. To overcome oblivion, say the authors, all you need are sensitive miniature sensors and several terabytes of storage, which are already or soon-to-be affordable. You can then record every minute of your life using video, audio, location and physiological signals, culminating in the commitment of this endless stream of information to your personal MyLifeBits account in your pocket and/or in cyberspace. Proper software will permit you to retrieve the information years later, and it will even pass by default to your progeny for eternity, with the hope that they will pay attention to it.

http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg20427311.700-memory-and-forgetting-in-the-digital-age.html

Part of Microsoft’s research project includes new work on ways of annotating, hyperlinking, and full-text transcription of a life’s experience. http://research.microsoft.com/en-us/projects/mylifebits/

Yadin Dudai’s critique utilizes the lastest scientific research on brain function:

as cognitive psychology and neuroscience demonstrate again and again, two individuals sensing the same input, or the same individual sensing the same input at different times, may understand very different things. So registering bits of episodes is unlikely to really preserve these episodes. [….] Most importantly, though, the authors, consumed by their hunt for every last bit of information (and even offering practical advice on how to make an extra buck in the process), forget forgetting.

Dudai then continues, stating that ‘for the human condition, forgetting is at least as important as remembering – sometimes more so.’ He then gives two examples, one a real mnemonist, Solomon Shereshevsky, and other ‘Funes the Memorious’, the subject of Borges’s fictional story from the 1940s. Funes’ reconstruction of an entire day takes an entire day. Borges:

‘To think is to ignore (or forget) differences, to generalize, to abstract.’ (Borges 1999, 137)

To an extent about which I cannot be precise, loss of memory of details and the unmemorability of the events are entangled.

My methodology extends from this position, and seeks not to try to record everything, nor to gather all the facts. When Michael Hall told me that he wouldn’t let me listen to his recordings made with composers I was glad. Some of those composers are now dead. So too was David Lumsdaine when we first met:

I first met David Lumsdaine in November 2003. I had travelled from my home in Sydney’s South to Cremorne, on the Lower North Shore, hoping to interview him. Before I asked any questions, he explained to me that he was a ghost, for, as a composer, he had died years before. He then described something of the trauma of this death. The conversation continued until he was assured that I understood that any answers he gave to my questions were as reliable as those divined by a spirit‐medium. When it seemed that this was understood, he allowed me to turn on my microphone, and the interview commenced.

The recording of that conversation, like subsequent discussions I have had with Lumsdaine, occupy a ground between the supposed voices of the dead captured on tape, and insightful thoughts by a commentator intimately familiar with the music. (Hooper, 2008)

My methodology is grounded on the importance of disciplined creativity in the face of forgetting, of sewing the tatters of the past together into new forms. In so doing I am aiming to generalize and to abstract. To a large extent, that is why the focus of this talk is not on the events of the 1964 and 1965 Wardour Castle Summer Schools, which I have published online to be viewed by all those with an interest.

When documenting, it’s important for me to forget, but also to record decisions that lead to forgetting, since they are the records that enable me to join together different levels of abstraction and to hone a methodology that engages with the disciplines of musicology, anthropology, design and fashion.

Busch, Otto von (2009), talk at the RSA http://www.thersa.org/events/audio-and-past-events/2009/hacking-design–folly,-theft-or-a-new-democratic-dawn

Borges, Jorge Luis (1999) Collected Fictions trans. Andrew Hurley (Penguin).

Fieldwork is nor what it used to be

Hooper, Michael (2008) The Music of David Lumsdaine 1966-1980 (PhD thesis).

Mayer-Schönberger, Viktor (2009) Delete: The virtue of forgetting in the digital age (Princeton University Press).

Sullivan, Graeme (2009) ‘Making Space: The Purpose and Place of Practice-led Research), Practice-led Research: Research-led Practice in the Creative Arts, H. Smith and R. T. Dean (eds) (Edinburgh University Press).

So I took a huge gamble and bought a $10 power adapter from Amazon. To my surpise, not only did I get the right kind, it is an actual Dell adapter.

The battery light came on as soon as I plugged it in! I went into setup when I booted him up, and saw that the battery is being charged and am getting no more annoying power configuration messages.

Keeping my fingers crossed (when I’m not busy typing!)

I’m currently caught in a seemingly endless cycle of Windows updates and software upgrades. I can’t get the service pack I need unless I have the correct version of IE. I can’t seem to upgrade IE without installing that service pack first. Arg! Speaking of which, am I gonna have to go to the pirates for this one?
So while Bernard is pretending to fetch updates I think I’ll write for a while. But wait, Bernard is busy updating his lazy ass. Arrg!

Cela faisait quelques heures qu’Adeline et Valérie avaient quitté la maison. Tous les autres les avaient regardées partir. Elles avaient mis leurs affaires dans le coffre de la voiture de Ludovic et Adeline, et avaient pris la route sans un regard pour ceux qui restaient. Seule une main était passée par la fenêtre.

Florent n’avait pas supporté cet adieu de sa femme et il était rentré dans la maison, pour se voiler la face quelques instants. Cependant il ne put fermer les yeux longtemps. L’absence de Valérie le déchirait.

Il se laissa tomber sur le canapé et les autres le rejoignirent. Ludovic s’assit à côté de lui. Il ne lui avait plus adressé la parole depuis que Valérie les avait découverts. Son ami fixait ses mains qu’il tordait dans tous les sens.

Florent releva la tête et, du regard, fit le tour de ses autres amis qui avaient été mis au courant du drame. Il voyait bien, à leurs visages angoissés, qu’ils ne savaient qui soutenir. Pourtant, lui savait bien qu’il était le seul en faute. Dès le début il aurait du refuser plutôt que de se laisser entraîner dans quelque chose qu’il regrettait désormais de toute son âme. Mais c’est seulement à la fin de l’histoire qu’il se rendait compte que tout cela s’était joué sans lui. À aucun moment on n’avait tenu compte de ses sentiments.

Il s’en voulait d’impliquer tous ses amis dans cela.

Ils avaient aussi leurs problèmes, leurs angoisses, leurs emmerdes.

Il regarda Ludovic. Désormais, lui aussi était seul, abandonné par sa femme. Sans doute allaient-ils rester ensemble, au moins le temps de trouver quoi faire. Il allait simplement essayer d’être heureux avec lui.

Qu’aurait-il pu faire d’autre ?

Fin

____________________

Et voilà, cette histoire est terminée. Ou plutôt, la première partie de cette histoire. Car je ne suis pas un monstre, je déteste faire souffrir mes personnages et j’aime particulièrement les fins joyeuses. C’est pourquoi cette histoire aura une suite. Je ne sais pas quand je commencerai à l’écrire, mais Florent et toute la clique ne seront pas laissés en plan.

Bisous

-Ma future ex-femme.

Ludovic mit un moment à comprendre cette proposition, qui était pourtant des plus simples.

Valérie les avait vus et elle venait de quitter la chambre avec l’air de quelqu’un qui va s’effondrer sous peu.

Florent n’avait pas bougé. Il fixait toujours la porte de la pièce, grande ouverte. Sous le choc, il était incapable de prendre une décision.

Ludovic se redressa et le frappa à l’épaule.

-Mais cours ! Rattrape-la !

Ces injonctions le laissèrent de marbre. Résigné, il lâcha :

-Pourquoi faire ? Lui dire que c’est pas ce qu’elle croit, alors que bien évidemment c’est ça ? Elle est pas conne non plus.

Ludovic eut l’air de réfléchir un instant.

-Non, tu ne m’aimes pas, laissa-t-il tomber sur le même ton que s’il venait de dire « Il fait beau aujourd’hui ».

Florent s’agaça de cette remarque.

-Ne compliques pas les choses s’il te plait !

Il se prit la tête dans les mains, soupira, et sans même qu’il ait eu le temps de s’attarder sur sa tristesse les larmes affluèrent à la surface de ses yeux.

Brusquement, il rejeta les draps au pied du lit et se leva. Il enfila rapidement son pantalon et un T-shirt puis quitta rapidement la chambre. Il ouvrit toutes les portes du couloir et jeta un coup d’œil à l’intérieur de toutes les pièces pour voir si Valérie n’y était pas.

Il la trouva dans l’entrée, adossée au mur, sa main tremblante cachant toujours sa bouche. Livide, elle fixait le sol sans vraiment savoir ce qu’elle y cherchait.

Florent s’approcha d’elle, elle releva la tête vers lui sans montrer d’émotion autre qu’un terrible abattement.

-Valérie… je…

Il faisait de son mieux pour ne pas craquer.

-Est-ce que je peux au moins t’expliquer pourquoi j’en suis arrivé là ?

Elle ne répondit pas. Qui ne dit mot consent.

-Le premier jour où vous êtes partis vous promener sans nous, Ludovic m’a dit qu’il voulait me parler, et il m’a annoncé qu’Adeline voulait divorcer. Je n’ai rien dit aux autres mais la seconde fois où vous nous avez laissés seuls il m’a… Je me suis laissé faire. Aujourd’hui c’était la deuxième fois.

Il se tut après ce semblant d’explication. Elle sourit tristement. Sa voix trembla :

-Florent… Je peux pas.

Il la vit passer devant lui et ne réagit que quelques secondes après qu’elle eut disparu.

Il prit le chemin de sa chambre. Elle était là, penchée sur un tas de vêtements.

Florent ne tarda pas à comprendre.

Elle faisait son sac.