cardinal points

Work in the morning.

Think in the afternoon.

Eat in the evening.

Sleep at night.











Photograph: "Morning Work" by J.H. Field, early XX century.

--30--

st sebastian

Why do I feel like St. Sebastian
All shot full of arrows?

The cell door is open.
I can walk out any time I want,
Yet I stay in here.

I used to go to the beach
And watch the gulls, but now
It's too much trouble,
And the gulls are depressed.

The sand runs through the glass,
And the glass lets it.
Water always runs downhill,
And the cell door is open.
Yet I stay in here.

"I'll never be free," I say.
"Never able to go to Safeway
And get what I want with
My handsome face and my
Luxiurant silver hair
And moustache."

Painting -- St. Sebastian, by Andrea Mantegna, oil on canvas, c. 1480. Click on the image for a larger view.

--30--

apple girl

Young Korean who calls herself "Apple Girl" singing Beyoncé's "Irreplaceable."



She's accompanying herself on four i-phones coordinated in a series. One is a mic and the other three she uses as instruments.

She has more videos accessible through the thumbnails at the bottom of the window which will pop up after the song ends.

--30--

ugh

Tiring of the unsightly and increasingly painful skin lesions that have popped up on various parts of the body over the past eight months, I finally saw a dermatologist. "Psoriasis," he said. "That's what I thought," says I. So now I have some new jelly to put on those nasty spots. This is a prescription med, so I'm hoping it works better than the over-the-counter ones I've tried.

Lesions didn't stop me from having a great practice this morning. The sun is finally shining in Seattle, and we're supposed to hit 70 degrees the next three days in a row. It's a pleasure to get out of bed in the morning and look out at the bright, moist world and abundant greenery of this charmed city. After the optimal two or three cups of coffee, it's time to sit cross-legged on a couple small cushions and attend to the breath, and so begin.

The stretches and bends, especially the back bends, feel wonderful after a night's sleep, and coax the body more fully awake. Pranayama quiets any Parkinson's tremor. All's right with the world.

It occurs to me that if I start feeling much better than I do now, I might have to seek more medical attention.

--30--