Ishmael Patel

BEING HUMAN

Sun, 13 May 2012 03:19:22 -0700

I wonder if the sun debates dawn
some mornings
not wanting to rise
out of bed
from under the down-feather horizon

If the sky grows tired
of being everywhere at once
adapting to the mood swings of the weather

If the clouds drift off
trying to hold themselves together
make deals with gravity
to loiter a little longer

I wonder if rain is scared
of falling
if it has trouble letting go

If snow flakes get sick
of being perfect all the time
each one trying to be one-of-a-kind

I wonder if stars wish
upon themselves before the die
if they need to teach their young to shine

I wonder if shadows long
to once feel the sun
if they get lost in the shuffle
not knowing where they’re from

I wonder if sunrise and sunset
respect each other
even though they’ve never met

If volcanoes get stressed
If storms have regrets
If compost believes in life after death

I wonder if breath ever thinks
about suicide
I wonder if the wind just wants to sit
still sometimes
and watch the world pass by

If smoke was born knowing how to rise
If rainbows get shy back stage
not sure if their colors match right

I wonder if lightning sets an alarm clock
to know when to crack
If rivers ever stop
and think of turning back

If streams meet the wrong sea
and their whole lives run off-track
I wonder if the snow wants to be black

If the soil thinks she’s too dark
If butterflies want to cover up their marks
If rocks are self-conscious of their weight
If mountains are insecure of their strength

I wonder if waves get discouraged
crawling up the sand
only to be pulled back again
to where they began

I wonder if land feels stepped upon
If sand feels insignificant
If trees need to question their lovers
to know where they stand

If branches waver in the crossroads
unsure of which way to grow
If the leaves understand they’re replaceable
and still dance when the wind blows

I wonder where the moon goes
when she is hiding
I want to find her there
and watch the ocean
spin from a distance
Listen to her
stir in her sleep

effort give way to existence

Photo

Fri, 11 May 2012 17:33:13 -0700

"All too often, people with disabilities are pressured to feel gratitude for things that are their..."

Fri, 11 May 2012 17:19:52 -0700

“

All too often, people with disabilities are pressured to feel gratitude for things that are their basic human rights — subsidized housing, support services, inclusion in the community, basic acceptance and respect. Some people think that disability is a drain on the economy and an imposition on others. They don’t want to be reminded of the prevalence and inevitability of disability in any society, in any person’s experience or family. In response to this deep discomfort, they try to impose conditions on anything ‘given’ to people with disabilities — conditions like passiveness, submissiveness, limited demands, and constant thank yous.

We have to demand the things that are essential to our lives, equality, and quality of life. We must refuse to feel gratitude for these, except the normal level of gratitude that anyone might feel for living in a time and place that still supports human life. We can’t succumb to feelings like embarrassment or shame regarding our needs, even if those needs are more extensive than the average person’s needs. That will only reinforce and perpetuate our inequality, and the pulling away of vital state- and federally-funded support services.

Gratitude is natural and healthy, but should never be obligatory. Identifying and sharing our real sources of gratitude is a good counter-balance to the tendency for self-destructive gratitude.

”

- Laura Hershey, “The Good and Bad of Gratitude” (2010)

Laura Hershey was fucking amazing. FOREVER REBLOG.

(via flutterflyinvasion)

"You may be tempted to think, “technology isn’t culture; it’s math and science.” To which I’d ask..."

Fri, 11 May 2012 11:39:17 -0700

“You may be tempted to think, “technology isn’t culture; it’s math and science.” To which I’d ask you, “what is math and science if not a culturally defined set of ideas that has been earned by centuries of social collaboration between humans?” We used to believe the earth was the center of the universe and that a sneeze was the sign of evil spirits that could be warded off by saying, “God bless you.” Science and math isn’t an absolute truth, but rather a set of hypotheses that reflect the cultures they came from.”

- Cruise Ship Tragedy a “Normal Accident”? (via sociolab)

é-náhkôhe'šeme: i really feel like the reason 99% of the photos you see of the emerald...

Thu, 10 May 2012 10:21:23 -0700

é-náhkôhe'šeme: i really feel like the reason 99% of the photos you see of the emerald...:

emeraldtriangleprincess:

i really feel like the reason 99% of the photos you see of the emerald triangle are landscape shots is because the pervasive white upper/middle-class judeo-christian imaginary of a majestic pristine wilderness that must be totally devoid of human pollutants is still the dominant framework for…

Lynda Barry, “What Is An Image?” Part 2

Mon, 07 May 2012 16:43:29 -0700

Lynda Barry, “What Is An Image?”

Part 2

"All memory has to be reimagined. For we have in our memories micro-films that can only be read if..."

Mon, 07 May 2012 15:17:04 -0700

“All memory has to be reimagined. For we have in our memories micro-films that can only be read if they are lighted by the bright light of the imagination.”

- Gaston Bachelard, The Poetics Of Space

THROUGH THE LOOKING GLASS -- Further adventures in opticality with David Hockney

Mon, 07 May 2012 13:49:30 -0700

THROUGH THE LOOKING GLASS -- Further adventures in opticality with David Hockney

DAVID HOCKNEY’S SECRET KNOWLEDGE: COLLAGE AND THE RETURN TO AWKWARDNESS

Mon, 07 May 2012 12:22:16 -0700

DAVID HOCKNEY’S SECRET KNOWLEDGE: COLLAGE AND THE RETURN TO AWKWARDNESS

austinkleon: “Images under glass” Speaking of collage, an...

Mon, 07 May 2012 10:53:09 -0700

austinkleon:

“Images under glass”

Speaking of collage, an interesting juxtaposition this morning: after I learn about Mixel, an iPad app that lets you create collages and share them, and after I play with it a few minutes and think, but I like the crunch of the scissors and the smell of the glue when I’m making my collages, I come across Bret Victor’s “A Brief Rant on the Future of Interaction Design,” in which he examines the role of the hand in interaction design:

Take out your favorite Magical And Revolutionary Technology Device. Use it for a bit. What did you feel? Did it feel glassy? Did it have no connection whatsoever with the task you were performing? I call this technology Pictures Under Glass.

Pictures under glass. Sounds like Stanley Donwood:

Computers don’t seem real to me because there’s a sheet of glass between you and whatever is happening. You never really get to touch anything that you’re doing…

Just saying: love the social/democratic/remix edge of Mixel, but I can’t imagine I’ll be getting rid of my scissors and glue sticks any time soon…

Austin Kleon — Steal Like an Artist

Mon, 07 May 2012 09:51:59 -0700

Austin Kleon — Steal Like an Artist

Painting a New Path at the Kennedy School

Mon, 07 May 2012 00:21:48 -0700

Painting a New Path at the Kennedy School

How Psychedelic Drugs Can Help Patients Face Death (New York Times)

Wed, 02 May 2012 22:44:04 -0700

How Psychedelic Drugs Can Help Patients Face Death (New York Times)

"Eating is internalizing the external environment."

Wed, 02 May 2012 20:38:58 -0700

“Eating is internalizing the external environment.”

ratsandcandy666: cj-sewers: twinfawns: Kate MccGwire’s...

Tue, 01 May 2012 01:13:26 -0700

ratsandcandy666:

cj-sewers:

twinfawns:

Kate MccGwire’s installation “Brood” uses 23,000 wishbone remains of battery-farmed chickens, and the unnatural GM uniformity of the bones is shocking. The installation is meant to represent lost life in general, the horrors of genocide and slaughter of innocents.

holy shit

This makes me sick to my stomach, but it’s an awesome installation. Does what it’s supposed to.

chicagoartnerd: Soooooo intricate and lovely. These must have...

Tue, 01 May 2012 01:07:00 -0700

chicagoartnerd:

Soooooo intricate and lovely. These must have take forever. O.O

Drugs Frequently Potent Past Expiration

Sat, 28 Apr 2012 21:53:31 -0700

Drugs Frequently Potent Past Expiration

Vanishing of the Bees -- Film

Sat, 21 Apr 2012 20:30:43 -0700

Vanishing of the Bees -- Film

1000pps: Metamorphosis of Narcissus by Salvador Dali 1937 This...

Sat, 21 Apr 2012 17:40:41 -0700

1000pps:

Metamorphosis of Narcissus by Salvador Dali

1937

This is the second time I’ve seen ants in Dali’s works. The first one was in The Persistence of Memory. Ants in this painting can be seen along the thumb of the huge hand holding the egg.

A poem, of the same title, was also written by the Dali after he made this painting about Narcissus.

Narcissus,
in his immobility,
absorbed by his reflection with the digestive slowness of carnivorous plants,
becomes invisible.
There remains of him only the hallucinatingly white oval of his head,
his head again more tender,
his head, chrysalis of hidden biological designs,
his head held up by the tips of the water’s fingers,
at the tips of the fingers
of the insensate hand,
of the terrible hand,
of the mortal hand
of his own reflection.
When that head slits
when that head splits
when that head bursts,
it will be the flower,
the new Narcissus,
Gala - my Narcissus

LAUGHING AT DISABILITY: DIABETES AND MENTAL DISABILITY ON “IT’S ALWAYS SUNNY IN PHILADELPHIA”

Thu, 19 Apr 2012 16:46:12 -0700

LAUGHING AT DISABILITY: DIABETES AND MENTAL DISABILITY ON “IT’S ALWAYS SUNNY IN PHILADELPHIA”