In article , Charlie wrote:
On Tue, 07 Apr 2009 22:27:21 -0700, Billy
wrote:
In article , Charlie wrote:
Darn yer ornery hide, Mister Billy. You think I have nothing better
to do than *study* ? Don't I first have to go buy me one of those
degree things of which so many are so enamoured?
As previously mentioned, "The Worst President Ever" got his degree from
Yale University with a low C average. Obviously, a degree is not an
artifact of intelligence. A degree is kinda like a prop that lends
credibility to the possibility of intelligence, i.e. you've all read the
same books, have the same vocabulary, and have used the same
instruments. Fortunately, none of that is important if you want to
participate in an archeological dig.
http://www.ubarchaeologist.com/Volunteer-Digs.html
Certainly is a tempting idea to leave the daily hum-drum for some exotic
spot where you might be the first person to touch an object in 2,000
years.
Even before I read about terra preta in "Gift from the Past" from 1491:
New Revelations of the Americas Before Columbus by Charles C. Mann
http://www.amazon.com/1491-Revelatio...mbus/dp/140003
2059/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1239208187&sr=1-1
I had started dumping all the small bits of charcoal from my barbecue
into the garden. Often, the wood chips that I use for flavoring are
reduced to charcoal and look to be just the right size (small). If the
charcoal used for heating falls through the grill, it goes too. Mann's
book reminds me of "Island" by Aldous Huxley
http://www.amazon.com/Island-Perenni...ey/dp/00600854
95/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1239208687&sr=1-3
which I must have read 50 years ago. In the encounter between the "Old
World" and the "New", it was the "New" that got crucified and for much
the same reason as that Jesus guy (innocence). Native Americans had
developed an amazing culture, but the records of it were, for the most
part, destroyed by intent by the Spanish, or neglect when native
populations and cultures collapsed from European diseases.
They had so much to teach us, as is just just becoming evident.
Appropriately depressing for this grey, rainy day here in the redwoods
of northern California.
Well, back to gardening. My next book is something called
"Bitter Fruit", Revised and Expanded (David Rockefeller Center Series on
Latin American Studies) by Stephen Schlesinger, Stephen Kinzer, John H.
Coatsworth. I'm curious as to what kind of fruits those may be. It's
waiting for me now at the library, although I still have about 50 pages
to go in "1491".
Now where did I leave that bottle opener?
--
- Billy
"For the first time in the history of the world, every human being
is now subjected to contact with dangerous chemicals, from the
moment of conception until death." - Rachel Carson
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WI29wVQN8Go
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1072040.html