Hektor Protector Contemplates the world

Hektor Protector, a rare and precious Cesky Terrier, sits and thinks about the world. And perhaps reflects on the wisdom of eating his Wendy's gear shift ensemble which turned out to be incredibly expensive to replace in a Volkswagen...

Death comes to a Tree

The Story of Erysichthon

Ovid tells the terrible story of King Erysichton who orders his men to chop down a tree sacred to Demeter. Even the workers quake and try to dissuade him. He runs the main dissenter through with his sword and the rest, trembling, cut the tree down, the majestic, beautiful tree. The dryads scream in agony. Demeter sees and sends Hunger to inhabit Erysichthon's innards. As he sleeps she hovers over him; he breathes her in and he awakes with an insatiable hunger. He cannot stop eating and yet wastes away. Later he sells his young daughter into prostitution in order to buy more food. She manages to transform into an animal and escape. But he sees a business opportunity and sells her again and again.

In the end he ate himself. Demeter has spoken. When man destroys the natural world, he destroys himself.

Now today I witnessed a terrible murder. A gigantic fir tree, decades old, was cut down on the order of my new neighbors in Saint James. This tree was the first to catch the snow in winter, feel the wind as it coursed through our small town, shade my house from the summer sun. Now there is only a gapping hole where it had stood. The side of their house stands exposed in all it mundane banality. The power saws have been churning away for 12 hours and they drowned out the screams of the living being that was killed.

May Demeter note this act of hubris. this act of outrage. May she find a way to remind these sad little people that the earth is all we have...

FRN@NYU.NYC

Ok, something happened to this... wonder where the link went? I will investigate.

Why I love NYC

I just spent a week down at NYU for a Faculty Resource Network Summer seminar. The topic was "Art, Public Policy and Politics." It was an adventure for me as I do not usually get to read sociology or policy. I live in a world of ontological possibilities and reality is a nice place to visit. The best thing about the seminar was the range of experience and interest among the 24 participants. Around one table we had:

-working artists from Atlantic City to Puerto Rico

-museum founders and leaders

-academics in art history, sociology, psychology, economics, and rhetoric-- and of course, philosophy but just two of us

-librarians of architecture

-performance artists and art therapists

-well, and more than I can recall.

Each person reads, listens and comments from his or her own perspective so that made for some fascinating conversations to follow, although at times confusing for this bear with little brain.

Now, here are some photos from the city experience. I do not intend a narrative commentary but have some fun. Look for the photo album marked FRN@NYU.NYC

Here is a video experiment: Amagansett on May 10, 2009. It was windy, sunny and gorgeous.

Here are an assortment of photos from May 10th in Amagansett, Long Island.

Goats- the answer to a lot of our problems

Ok, So my daughter has acquired a pet goat, actually Pan in disguise, who follows her around her garden and keeps her company as well as centered in the world. I want a goat. In fact, I am thinking that the world would be a better place if each person had to keep a goat. Goats need affirmation, by that I mean food, and something to do. Goats remind us that we are human and that other creatures exist in the world, thank you very much. Goats challenge mythologies of Satanic beings whose eyes and horns just happen, just happen, to be quite goat-like. Goats would take us out of ourselves, our cerebral centers of I-ness, and remind us that the world looks different through the eyes of other beings, including goats.

So, think about it. Why not a goat?