HSU IT Department

"Some people will use a symbolism of the relationship of God to the universe, wherein God is a brilliant light, only somehow veiled, hiding underneath all these forms that you see as you look around you. But the truth is funnier than that. It is that you are looking right at the brilliant light now, that the experience you are having which you call ordinary everyday consciousness - pretending you're not it - that experience is exactly the same thing as ‘IT’. There's no difference at all. And when you find that out, you laugh yourself silly. That's the great discovery.

"In other words, when you really start to see things, and you look at an old paper cup, and you go into the nature of what it is to see, what vision is, or what smell is, or what touch is, you realize that that vision of the paper cup is the brilliant light of the cosmos. Nothing could be brighter. Ten thousand suns couldn't be brighter. Only they're hidden in the sense that all points of the infinite light are so tiny when you see them in the cup they don't blow your eyes out. See, the source of all light is in the eye. If there were no eyes in this world, the sun would not be light. So if I hit as hard as I can on a drum which has no skin, it makes no noise. So if a sun shines on a world with no eyes, it's like a hand beating a skinless drum, no light. YOU evoke light out of the universe, in the same way you, by nature of having soft skin, evoke hardness out of wood. Wood is only hard in relation to a soft skin. It's your eardrum that evokes noise out of the air. You, by being this organism, call into being this whole universe of light and color and hardness and heaviness and everything."

-- Alan Watts

A friend pointed me to this stunningly powerful and beautiful photography project, by Mikael Owunna. The name of the project comes from Chinua Achebe, but it also makes me think of Carl Sagan's famous quote, "We are made of star stuff."

'Every Black Person Deserves To See Themselves This Way'

It brought me to tears...

In less than 150 words, this is hands down the best statement of why/how both standing for the national anthem and kneeling for it are not just appropriate and valid choices, but also respectful, important, necessary, and yes, patriotic. So far as I can find, this was written by Andrew Freborg, a Libertarian from Oregon. I don't know when it was originally posted (last fall, perhaps?), but I took it from this post. I'm grateful that someone has put into words so much of what I've felt about this over the past few months.




I stand to honor the promise the flag represents.
You kneel because that promise has been broken.

I stand to affirm my belief that all are created equal, and to fight alongside you for that promise.
You kneel because too few stand with you.

I stand because we can be better.
You kneel to remind us to be better.

I stand to honor all that have fought and died so that we may be free.
You kneel because not all of us are.

I stand because I can.
You kneel for those who can't.

I stand to defend your right to kneel.
You kneel to defend my right to stand.

I stand because I love this country.
You kneel because you love it too.

The Jewish population of Bahrain -- a majority-Muslim country -- is very tiny, and yet in 2015, Bahraini King Hamad bin Isa al-Khalifa invited European Jewish leaders to conduct a Hanukkah candle-lighting ceremony in the capital city of Manama. It was the first time such a ritual had been performed in Bahrain since 1948. The King's official sanction of the Jewish ceremony continued this year, and is a vivid demonstration that it is possible for people of all faiths to respect one another and take joy in one another's celebrations. You can read more here.


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Reveals are up over at sshg_giftfest, so I can now admit to having written "The Price of a Memory" (on the fest community or on AO3) for reynardo! Her prompt was positively inspiring, and I had a wonderful time writing this for her.

I would also like to profusely and enthusiastically applaud and thank dragoon811, who wrote for ME a splendid story containing so many of my favorite elements: entangled souls and seventh year, too-clever-by-half Hermione and sarcastic biting Severus, all beautifully interwoven with canon events and a perfect, heart-tugging ending. Go and read Warmth and see for yourself!

Check out all the other artses and fics while you're there, too, because every single one is top-notch. The amount of talent in this particular 'ship continues to amaze and delight me...

From Lawrence M. Krauss, internationally known theoretical physicist. Ambrose Swasey Professor of Physics, Professor of Astronomy, Chairman of the department of Physics and Director of the Center for Education and Research in Cosmology and Astrophysics at Case Western Reserve University, author of over 300 scientific publications:

Every atom in your body came from a star that exploded. And, the atoms in your left hand probably came from a different star than your right hand. It really is the most poetic thing I know about physics: You are all stardust. You couldn’t be here if stars hadn’t exploded, because the elements - the carbon, nitrogen, oxygen, iron, all the things that matter for evolution and for life - weren’t created at the beginning of time. They were created in the nuclear furnaces of stars, and the only way for them to get into your body is if those stars were kind enough to explode. So, forget Jesus. The stars died so that you could be here today.

Which of course makes me think of this:

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On Saturday American Pharoah (yes, that's really how you spell it) became the first horse in 37 years -- and only the 12th in history -- to win the Triple Crown. (If you really couldn't care less about horse racing, you might want to skip the rest of this because I'm about to squee like a horse-crazy little girl!)

THIS IS HUGE, PEOPLE!!

First won by Sir Barton in 1919, The Triple Crown* is American thoroughbred racing's greatest feat: three races (the Kentucky Derby, the Preakness, and the Belmont) in five weeks with the last one, at a mile and a half, the longest and most difficult. As a kid I had all the winners memorized, their names like a roll of drums and trumpets: Sir Barton, Gallant Fox, Omaha, War Admiral, Whirlaway, Count Fleet... I remember holding my breath watching Secretariat back in 1973 when he broke a 25-year drought, and then Seattle Slew just four years later.

And then nothing. For DECADES. A few times someone came close but it had been so long that there was actually talk of changing the requirements, an uneasy suspicion that thoroughbreds had been so intensely bred for speed that they were too fragile to hold up to three races in five weeks, never mind that grueling mile and a half length of the last one. When American Pharoah won the Derby last month and then the Preakness (in a pouring rain), yes, there were hopes -- but we were all used to disappointment.

So when he took the lead right from the gate yesterday, I was so excited I could hardly speak coherently; I yelled, I screamed, I jumped up and down, and yes, I cried as he came sweeping up to the wire like he had wings. He didn't just make it look easy, he made it look inevitable.


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A friend of mine, who knows a bit about thoroughbred racing, did a lovely post about what it means to the horse racing world, and even the relatively staid New York Times let a bit of excitement show through.

So yeah, this totally made my weekend :)

* I speak here of the US version; England, Ireland, Canada and many other countries have their own, equally challenging, Triple Crowns.

This is the most amazing -- and sensual -- pair of dancers I've seen in a very long time, if ever. Their athleticism is astonishing, and yet it doesn't detract from the beauty of their movements by turning it into a gymnastic exercise (and wow, is she bendy!). I was spellbound by their performance; it made me want to cheer and cry at the same time.


(skip to about the 1-minute mark if you don't speak Russian!)
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“There is a vitality, a life force, an energy, a quickening that is
translated through you into action, and because there is only one of
you in all time, this expression is unique. And if you block it, it
will never exist through any other medium and will be lost.”
― Martha Graham