Who do you like more:

Zero 7
The Thievery Corporation
Imagen Heap
Other (who and why)?

Running through the naked forest of despair,
Animal wondered when his trek would end and why he wandered.
It seemed an eternity his trek had lasted.

So long ago happiness had left the creature and the trek had begun.
Animal could not remember the goal of his quest
But he would recognize it if, in fact,
This soul-eating prey was to be found.

Hope had left Animal long ago
But his quest was all he lived for,
All he thought of,
All he could respond to as he had in the past.

In his dreams, Animal cried and prayed that his quest would never end.
Repressed in the sewer that had once been his mind,
Truth was feared and ignored by the rotting creature:
The prize of his life-destroying search would be no prize at all.

His memories,
Distorted by time,
Left rose-colored pictures sprinkled with the poison of fantasy.

This fantasy was his reality,
Torn by time,
Robbed of reason,
Rusted by the tears of despair.

But it did not matter;
Animal had died years ago.

Copyright (c) 1970 Michael Dennis Williams

Lying in bed this morning, I thought about a job I had for two years that I ended almost two years ago. It was by far the best job I've ever had. I had lots of time to take online courses. My manager was the General Manager of our division. He would give me challenges, such as "I want you to figure out how to make the organization more predictable." I would spend two weeks thinking about it and researching and creating presentations for him and the organization. What a fantastic job.

I left this job because I became angry at the unfairness of how people who had bad behavior  or had poor judgement were given authority. I wasn't looking to be promoted - I like what I did. I just wanted to see justice. Also, I realized that the leader told people what they wanted to hear, rather than what he though. So I left in anger.

This morning, I sent my manager an email. I felt ashamed of how I had acted and stupid for giving up such a wonderful opportunity. So I wrote him this email:

(name withheld)

"I awoke this morning thinking about the wonderful opportunities that you gave me. I feel the desire to thank you for those gifts and to apologize for taking them for granted.

You treated me with great respect. I appreciate you very much for that and for the fantastic opportunities to learn and expand my mind and share those thoughts with others.

I apologize for the anger that I dumped into your organization. That was disruptive and disrespectful to you; it was unfair to you.

I wish you fulfillment."

This is a very interesting pictoral essay showing 25 families around the world, what they eat, and what it costs. The type and cost variations are suprising to me.

Look at their faces.

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=57521&id=608888964#/photo.php?pid=1290184&id=608888964

Reality is illusory but I bump into it occasionally.

This quote was brought to you by Reality Realty of Reality, Texas. Stop in and buy your dream illusion today!

Today I had a job interview. Southwest Airlines interviewed 90 people on the same day for the same project.

Afterwards, I met my wife and we had dinner at the Cosmic Cafe - delicious Indian food.

Then we went to an introduction to the Breath of Love with Julia (http://www.breathoflove.org/index2.html). It was the most powerful feeling I've ever had by a factor of 100. And the group we were with is a fantastic group of wonderful people.

My wife, Princess Dora, also attended.

I awoke this morning thinking that the shameful Bush/Cheney administration represents a complete failure of civilization.

The supreme court failed. The congress failed. The press failed. The people failed.

Perhaps we can do better this time.

If you were granted one wish, what would it be?
I'd like to see Bush, Cheney, and Rumsfeld sewn together, back-to-back, for eternity and their job to be feeding humanity.

If you could spend one whole night alone with anyone who is currently alive, who would you select?
Lana or Julia - not sure which. Don't need to have sex. Just want to feel my heart swell and mouth water.

If you could spend one whole night alone with anyone in history, who would you choose?
Audrey Hepburn, maybe. She was a sweetie.

If you could physically transport yourself to any place in the world at this moment, where would you go?
Since space and time are connected, I'd transport to wherever DaVinci was working. I could use the motivational boost.

If you could have lived through any war in history (without actually fighting in it) which would it be?
I'd like to have seen the war that Hillary had with Bill when she found out about Monica.

If you could eliminate any one type of insect permanently from the earth, what would you get rid of?
The politician

If you had to eliminate a single type of animal forevermore, which would you choose?
The rapist

If you could have an elegant dinner alone with anyone presently alive, whether you know them or not, who would you want it to be?
Someone who was starving

If you could change one thing in the world right now, what would you alter?
I would have everyone realize that everyone and everything are part of one living organism called the universe and that everything that they do affects that organism.

If you had to assassinate one famous person who is alive right now, who would it be, and how would you do it?
I don't want to seem paranoid but let's let that one slide. How would I do it? Does the word "dickless" ring a bell?

If you could permanently alter one thing about your physical appearance, what would you change?
I would appear to be desirable.

If you could have stopped aging at any point in your life up to the present, how old would you want to remain?
Well, I peaked physically at 12 but...my first major back injury was when I was 34, so that would be good. But my most unbearably-desirable sexual partner when I was 24, so that would be good. But my wife is the most excellent partner I've ever had so I'd settle for not aging anymore from now on, if that works.

The results of my personality assessment
Current mood: enlightened
Category: Writing and Poetry


I recently decided to take a personality assessment from a highly-recommended local pyschometrician. She also had
me do blood and urine tests.

A couple of weeks after I sort of completed the tests, she called me. Actually, I was already on the phone as I drove on a cross-country trip at the time. She had the operator break-in on my call due to what she viewed as an emergency.

She asked me to pull over, turn the car off, take the keys out of the ignition, step out of the car, open the hood,
disable the electrical system, throw the keys into any deep valley or other irretrievable location, walk approximately one mile from the vehicle, and wait for her arrival. Since I was about 1500 miles away, she said that it might take a while but that I was not to leave that location for any reason whatsoever until she got there.

I complained that I might get hungry or need to go to the bathroom. She suggested that I either sample the local
vegetation or simply chew off the fatty portions of my upper arms. Under no conditions was I supposed to leave or even stand up without instruction from a higher authority.

Eighteen hours later, she arrived with an ambulance. As we rode to the 'hospital', she read me the results of my tests:

* delusions of adequacy
* indetectable humor syndrome with a rare wit surfectant
* insignificant contribution disease
* chronic latent friendship functionality
* occasional delayed-awareness ability
* incessant green-grass naivity pathology
* opaque utility virus
* occasional marginal charismatic behavior
* cranial rectal confusion disorder
* permanent temporary commitment disability
* infinitly iterative self-assessment indulgence illness
* tragically deep and irrelevent insights into many aspects of the universe

* significant potential value to mankind as a blurred and nebulous warning sign

She said that, in my case, clarity is a rare and mixed blessing.

COPYRIGHT (C) 2008 Michael Dennis Williams



Currently listening:
Eat a Peach
By The Allman Brothers Band
Release date: 2006-05-23

Interesting journal here: http://homoveritas.net/blog/?p=2496

The Little Prince

I think I'll call my next book

Struggling to be Casual

or maybe

Casually Drowning

There should probably be a section on the importance of not making waves as you go down because it could cause anxiety in the other swimmers.