Robert Frost for Inspiration

As you may or may not have noticed, the Jetta Resurrection has been silent lately. Our staff writer has been worker overtime in a remote location, far away from any kind of "high speed" internet and has consequently been unable to write with any amount of his mediocre skill. In order to diminish the unfortunate rift of posting regularity, we offer you, faithful readers, a wonderful poem. Enjoy!

Mending Wall

Something there is that doesn't love a wall,
That sends the frozen-ground-swell under it,
And spills the upper boulders in the sun,
And makes gaps even two can pass abreast.
The work of hunters is another thing:
I have come after them and made repair
Where they have left not one stone on a stone,
But they would have the rabbit out of hiding,
To please the yelping dogs. The gaps I mean,
No one has seen them made or heard them made,
But at spring mending-time we find them there.
I let my neighbor know beyond the hill;
And on a day we meet to walk the line
And set the wall between us once again.
We keep the wall between us as we go.
To each the boulders that have fallen to each.
And some are loaves and some so nearly balls
We have to use a spell to make them balance:
'Stay where you are until our backs are turned!'
We wear our fingers rough with handling them.
Oh, just another kind of out-door game,
One on a side. It comes to little more:
There where it is we do not need the wall:
He is all pine and I am apple orchard.
My apple trees will never get across
And eat the cones under his pines, I tell him.
He only says, 'Good fences make good neighbors'.
Spring is the mischief in me, and I wonder
If I could put a notion in his head:
'Why do they make good neighbors? Isn't it
Where there are cows?
But here there are no cows.
Before I built a wall I'd ask to know
What I was walling in or walling out,
And to whom I was like to give offence.
Something there is that doesn't love a wall,
That wants it down.' I could say 'Elves' to him,
But it's not elves exactly, and I'd rather
He said it for himself. I see him there
Bringing a stone grasped firmly by the top
In each hand, like an old-stone savage armed.
He moves in darkness as it seems to me~
Not of woods only and the shade of trees.
He will not go behind his father's saying,
And he likes having thought of it so well
He says again, "Good fences make good neighbors."

Bruggeman!

The odd testimony of Israel puts forth a theological claim that is profoundly subversive of the present. Israel has known, ever since the barrenness of Sarah, that there is a deep incongruity between the intention of Yahweh and the circumstance of lived experience. Israel, in the face of that incongruity, did not have many alternatives. It could accept the circumstance of its life as the true state of reality-thus, for example, Sarah is barren and then the promise is voided within one generation. The alternative, Israel's chosen one is most seasons, is to rely on Yahweh's oath as a resolve to override circumstance, so that it is the oath and not the circumstance that tells the truth about reality. In this theological intentionality, Israel embraces this uttered testimony as the true version of its life.

--Walter Bruggeman, Old Testament Theology

XXI

A monk ran into a party of handmaids of the Lord on a certain journey. Seeing them he left the road and gave them a wide berth. But the Abbess said to him: If you were a perfect monk, you would not even have looked close enough to see that we were women.

--Thomas Merton, The Wisdom of the Desert

Oh No He Didn't!

Look at them all... so nice and lined up like that.

A Vague Explanation

The so-called Smiling Figures (Previous Post) from the Remojadas region of Veracruz, Mexico are often regarded as expressions of Mesoamerican humor. These hollow ceramic sculptures are thought by many to be associated with a god of dance, music, and joy. Another compelling interpretation, however, relates them to a cult of pulque, an intoxicating beverage made from the fermented sap of the maguey plant. The animated faces, puffy cheeks, and swollen protruding tongues are regarded as evidence of intoxication. The figures may depict ritual participants, or even sacrificial victims. The survival of many more smiling Remojadas heads than bodies suggest to some a possible ceremonial decapitation and destruction of the bodies. This bare-chested figure, with open mouth and filed teeth, stands energetically with legs spread and arms lifted as if caught in mid-motion. The garb of this celebrant consists of circular earrings, a beaded necklace and bracelet along with a skirt decorated with laterally symmetrical patterns. On her cap are ollin symbols, a sign for motion. This sculpture evokes a festive dance or ritual accompanied by the rhythmic reverberation of the hand-held rattle and celebratory sound escaping from the figure's open mouth.

Mysteries in Mesoamerica

Doesn't she look so happy?

Barber Shop Commentary

It began with a definition of integrity. Dictionary.com served us up three subtle variations:

1. Steadfast adherence to a strict moral or ethical code.
2. The state of being unimpaired; soundness.
3. The quality or condition of being whole or undivided; completeness.

The conversation turned toward a denigration of particular morals and I quickly check out. We all can agree that the infusion of the concept of "completeness" into the definition is significantly more provacative than what conservative, geriatrics think about goodness. (I don't say this to attack conservative values, but more over to attack the values of tired, old conventional thoughts.)

Everyone has an idea of what completeness is, but few of us have it. Like falling asleep quickly or smelling some kind of flower. Paris Hilton and Buddha. A few people feel comfortable in their own skin, but most people don't.

I drove to the Barber shop at the corner of First and Shaw and I listed to the horrible radio station, Y 101.1 (It's a social critique I'm working on).

Why?

(high pitched voice) Annie Lennox is so tight!

Wear the Wrong Colors, be Cautious

Hate it or love it the under dog's on top
And I'm gon shine homie until my heart stop

Go'head'n envy me
I'm rap's MVP
And I ain't going no where
So you can get to know me

Consider the Source

A few days ago, I received this fortune cookie. I was ecstatic. Finally, a sign from the gods detailing the amazing feats I will achieve in my life. Verifiable proof than not only am I a great person now, I will also be successful in the future! In my euphoria, I showed it to a friend of mine who sobered me up pretty quickly with the words, "Consider the source."

It's definitely easy to doubt the reliability of fortune cookies. In fact, a friend of mine once got one that said "Buy the red one" and he wasn't even car shopping. However, even if these unreliable claims are put forth by meaningless traditions, we still have a responsibility to evaluated the claims by themselves, not by their sources.

I've heard a lot of talk on the blogs about anonymous commenting. Anonymous posting is available here. Most opponents of the idea frequently make accusations of cowardice instead of dealing with the truth of the statements. It's easy to say, "Oh, James Lyons is an idiot. I don't have to listen to a thing he says." Our first thought when reading an anonymous comment is, "I wonder who said that?" It is of little or no worth to allow the prejudices of our appearances to cloud the truth, or lack of truth, in the statements we make.

Today, I made a huge mistake and criticized someone about something I didn't really understand. I considered the source before I thought about the meaning of what was being said. It's been driving me up the wall. I've been listening to Eninem: Encore.

Differences Above Similarities

The existance of verifiable atruism among primate populations has long puzzled evolutionary biologists. Altruistic behavior cannot evlove by ordinary natural selection because it decreases the fitness of the individual performing the behavior. An answer to this problem was not clearly formulated until 1964 when a biologist named W. D. Hamilton published a theory which predicts that altruistic behaviors will be favored by natural selection if the costs of perfroming the behavior are less than the benefits discounted by the coefficient of relatedness between actor and recipient.

rb > c

r = how closely the actor and the recipients are genetically related
b = the total benefits to all individuals affected by the behavior
c = the cost to the individual performing the behavior

Simplistically, this theory proposed that the closer the relationship between two individuals, the more likely they will behave benevolently toward one another.

Today, as I drove to work I was cut off by several persons insignificantly related to me. I got mad, made a few verbal and gestural comments, and then took the McKinley Ave Exit. I was listening to Ennio Morricone: The Mission Soundtrack.

Notice to Appear

Most things we do in our lives are for practical reasons. The Jetta was resurrected for practical reasons. I needed to drive to my place of work, I needed to partake more readily in the activities at church, and I needed to pay for a parking ticket. Take time to consider a definition:

cat·a·lyst (kae tE lihst) n.

A substance, usually used in small amounts relative to the reactants, that modifies and increases the rate of a reaction without being consumed in the process.

In this situation, a parking ticket was the catalyst for much of the initiative to resurrect the Jetta. Nothing like "trouble with the Law" to kick your butt into action. Now, it's true that my car did sit in front of my house un-insured and un-registered for a little while... but it wasn't hurting anyone. Come on, we all know that the Clovis PD checks their residential streets for un-lawfully parked vehicles more than I check my e-mail!

But it's cool. I'll be alright. Many, many good things came out of the discipline of paying this $50 ticket. This website, for example.

Today, I drove over to my friend Shawn's condominium. We played some poker, and watched some people move a couch. I listened to Coldplay: A Rush of Blood to the Head. Wouldn't it be great to hear their new album?!

Bankrupt?

I am an artist and I work in a conceptual format. Conceptual art can be difficult for uneducated viewers as it lacks the sedative elements of simpler works. Don’t be confused, art has always been about ideas. From the earliest cave paintings at Altamira and Lascaux to the diverse spectrum of content and form that we enjoy today, art is and has always been confined in the relationship between an idea and the expression (in any manifestation) of that idea.

This particular work is a library of bankruptcy law which I acquired through a generous donation. The volumes alphabetically catalog the precedent setting bankruptcy cases in the history of the United States. At its highest, it measures over 9 ½ ft and weighs over 1,200 lbs. It is the sad story of so many of our people.

Today, I am yet to drive anywhere, though I may try to make it over to the mall to get fitted for a tuxedo. Yesterday, I listened to INXS: Kick.

I Work at an Elementary School

It's true, I am employed by the Fresno County Office of Education and I work in an afterschool program at the school of John Burroughs. I work with children, third graders in particular, and I facilitate their educational development through a variety of games/homework (No Ken, I will not teach Sunday school).

As far as the image is concerned, it is a barbie jean jacket with glitter trim and has been in the Jetta's cup holder for the last six months. It was given to me by a young, second-grade lady named Stevie Sanchez. She's a gem of a girl, gracious in most things, but she desperately needs to work on her "times."

My current milage is 34mpg on the highway and 28mpg in the city. My overall average is up this week due to my numerous trips to Oakhurst, CA. God Bless the US!

Today I drove down to GW School Supply and listened to Kelly Clarkson: Break Away!

The Reason of the Jetta Resurrection

Writing, like any other human action, is an extension of the thought process. You may have noticed that the structure or logic of the writing at Jetta Resurrection isn't very "good" and this in turn might lead you to believe that the staff writers here are not competent. The intent of this post is to confront and contradict that presumption.

Robert Kaplan (1966) made a study of English composition written by foreign students and discovered that there are predictable differences in writing styles. Different cultures use specific approaches in developing a topic. Here is a diagram:

As the diagram indicates, English essay writers tend to be direct, with the main idea clearly stated, examples presented, then followed by a conclusion. Semitic writers tend to include many instances of parallelism, stating related ideas in succession. The old testament is a great example. Oriental essayists tend to develop indirectly. It is considered insulting to the reader to be direct as the reader is expected to determine the meaning. Romance languages, such as French, Spanish and Italian contain long digressions.

Jetta Resurrection does nothing less than simultaneously defy and compile all of these patterns.

Over here, we're comin' from the left, we're comin' from the right, we've already hit the bottom and we're movin' down on the top. We've been here since the beginning and you're gonna wanna wait around for the end.

Today, I drove to school and home and school and work. I listened to The Fire Theft: The Fire Theft.