Poetry, Security

I’m glad

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by Marina Tzevetaeva

I am glad that I long not for you.
That the heavy sphere of Earth
does not turn under our feet.
I am glad that it’s ok to be funny
— spoiled — and waste no time with games;
not to be choked by a wave of blushing
when our sleeves touch ever so slightly.

I also like that you are undisturbed in my presence
your arms around another woman,
That you don’t ask me to burn in poisoned
flames when I kiss not you;
That, sweetheart, you don’t call my sweet name
any day nor night, at any time,
That in the calm of an Eastern Church
they will never sing for us: hallelujah!

I thank you with my heart and hand
for your — unbeknown to you! — love of me,
For my peace at night, for how seldom
we meet at the sunset hour;
For our non-walks under the moon,
For the sun not over our heads,
For your longing — alas! — not for me,
For my longing — alas! — not for you.

Performed in the film “The Irony”:

It may seem like a stretch at first but I really think when you read it carefully this poem exemplifies the difficulty in identity and rights management.

Here’s a nice instrumental version:

Energy, Security

Best Energy for America

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While reading the New Scientist I noticed an article called the Top 7 alternative energies listed.

A list of the top seven? Not ten (metric) or twelve (imperial), but seven? I’m already dubious.

The US could replace all its cars and trucks with electric cars powered by wind turbines taking up less than 3 square kilometres – in theory, at least. That’s the conclusion of a detailed study ranking 11 types of non-fossil fuels according to their total ecological footprint and their benefit to human health.

The study, carried out by Mark Jacobson of the atmosphere and energy programme at Stanford University, found wind power to be by far the most desirable source of energy. Biofuels from corn and plant waste came right at the bottom of the list, along with nuclear power and “clean” coal.

Does this study really account for the technology changes that are anticipated? Is it a futurist view, or an argument for what the US should be using today if the Bush administration eight years ago somehow had decided to improve national security instead of betting the future on oil companies and SUVs.

To compare the fuels, Jacobson calculated the impacts each would have if it alone powered the entire US fleet of cars and trucks.

It sounds so easy!

He considered not just the quantities of greenhouse gases that would be emitted, but also the impact the fuels would have on the ecosystem – taking up land and polluting water, for instance. Also considered were the fuel’s impact on pollution and therefore human health, the availability of necessary resources, and the energy form’s reliability.

I agree with all that, and I really like this part:

“The energy alternatives that are good are not the ones that people have been talking about the most,” says Jacobson.

“Some options that have been proposed are just downright awful,” he says. “Ethanol-based biofuels will actually cause more harm to human health, wildlife, water supply, and land use than current fossil fuels.”

Yup, ethanol fuel is only driven by the corn lobby/industry. It’s the same as corn syrup. Even though it is clearly bad for health, bad for productivity, and therefore bad for national security, the cost savings that get converted into lobby dollars are somehow able to get America hooked on the stuff.

I don’t see any mention of algae-based biodiesel, or the new forms of biodiesel conversion that use no ethanol…but I guess this study is handicapped by the fact that there are few diesel passenger vehicles on the road today. So it has an assumption that I would challenge.

Security

Sadness and risk management

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The New Scientist asks Is it really bad to be sad. Apparently there are some compelling security arguments for sadness:

Hard evidence for the importance of sadness in humans is difficult to come by, but there are lots of ideas about why our propensity to feel sad might have evolved. It may be a self-protection strategy, as it seems to be among other primates that show signs of sadness. An ape that doesn’t obviously slink off after it loses status may be seen as continuing to challenge the dominant ape – and that could be fatal.

This does not really surprise me. I like the old Hungarian saying “the believer is happy, the doubter is wise” because it emphasizes that doubt may in fact have a silver lining. This is usually forgotten in a “yes” or “just do it” culture. So the implication here is if you use your capability to be sad, you actually may be smarter and safer.

Security

Tango with Cows

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The Getty Center has an exhibition called Tango with Cows, named after a book and poem by Vasily Kamensky:

The absurd image of farm animals dancing the tango evokes the clash in Russia between a primarily rural culture and a growing urban life. During the years spanning the revolutions of 1905 and 1917, Russia was in spiritual, social, and cultural crisis. The moral devastation of the failed 1905 revolution, the famines of 1911, the rapid influx of new technologies, and the outbreak of World War I led to disillusionment with modernity and a presentiment of apocalypse.

This exhibition explores the way Russian avant-garde poets and artists responded to this crisis through their book art.

You can page through the books online, listen to the poem in Russian and English, and download a 6MB PDF of the book.