HORARY for Winter Solstice

Near the south galactic pole
between Cetus and Sculptor
beyond the universe of naked eye
Galaxy 253
shimmers

To its west
near the galactic equator and ecliptic intersection
the diffuse nebulae M20 and M8
stellar sphinxes—guardians at the winter solstice point
of our northern hemisphere
shimmer

On my earth
wild roses perfume this afternoon's rain

On my earth
in the 21st century after Christ
after countless way-showers and seed-sowers
the only revolution left
is love.


asha

winter solstice poem poetry

Solstice in Las Vegas

We're leaving tomorrow for Las Vegas. It just seemed like the appropriately jaded place to be this year during the Christmas holidays including the Winter Solstice, my favorite day of the season. The exact moment of the solstice this year will be on Tuesday, December 21, at 7:42 A.M. EST (12:42 UT) but, for me, it defines the season. So, wherever you are and whatever you do during these last days of the year, may you do it with people you love.

Tao of the day

I am restless tonight. Going in circles. So I did an I Ching. My question, what is the Tao of the moment? I got #9 (Taming Power of the Small) "Dense clouds, no rain" changing to #61 (Inner Truth) "a bird's foot over a fledgling; the idea of brooding". That pretty much covers it.

I've had photos of a tiny bamboo garden on my website for the last few years. Occasionally someone writes for permission to use them but last week, a guy emailed from Belgium and asked if I have any high resolution images of the bamboo. I didn't but, I just happened to be going to Oregon in a few days, so I offered to take some when I was there. Naturally it was raining in Oregon. Naturally, I didn't bring my tripod. Bummer. Balancing an umbrella in slow light resulted in a lot of blurry photos. Naturally, I took about 600 pictures so there's a few I can send, in spite of everything. I love bamboo so I may eventually add a Bamboo Garden page to my photofiles. In the meantime...

Wrapping gifts in the presence of a cat

Cat in a box
Here's a little holiday tip you'll want to file away and pass along. It's the definitive step-by-step guide to one of the more demanding tasks faced by cat lovers the world over. Good luck.

Animal Rights Day

Sorry for the graphic nature of the photos. I know they're disturbing. It has taken me a long time to be able to face them myself. I don't generally force them on people like this but I'm posting them today in conjunction with Animal Rights Day to underscore the seriousness of the problem. Tomorrow, things will be back to normal (whatever that is.)

Today is International Animal Rights Day. Light a candle or two. Write a letter. Do something nice for a friend. Read the declaration then, please, sign it. 





Slaughterhouses are also torture chambers. Here's an excerpt of a slaughterhouse employee published by the Washington Post:

"The cattle were supposed to be dead before they got to Moreno. But too often they weren't.

They blink. They make noises, he said softly. The head moves, the eyes are wide and looking around. Still Moreno would cut. On bad days, he says, dozens of animals reached his station clearly alive and conscious. Some would survive as far as the tail cutter, the belly ripper, the hide puller. They die, said Moreno, piece by piece..."

International Day for Animal Rights

Friday, December 10th, is the 7th annual International Animal Rights Day (IARD). People all over the world will be gathering in candlelight vigils calling for the recognition of the Universal Declaration of Animal Rights. Count me in. I'm lighting a candle or three in my little room.

UDAR excerpt:
"Ultimately, the rights of animals threaten the freedom of some human beings to use them as they see fit, or to further their own particular ends. The arguments against the rights of animals withstand neither logical nor ethical scrutiny because they are the rearguard action of a defeated, specious philosophy.

The rights of human beings have been won at the expense of the privileges of the rich and the powerful, and in the face of their resistance. The source of resistance to this emancipation of animals is not reason or justice, but a false notion of human self-interest."

So? A candle. Big whoop. What difference can it possible make? But, in spite of this mocking inner voice, I'm doing it anyway, joining in spirit with others who believe that in an ethical and humane society animals need and deserve rights as well.

UDAR excerpt:
"Science, as much as experience, teaches us that it is no longer possible to assume that animals are mere machines, or bundles of instinct and reflex: they may flourish in freedom or languish under oppression just as we do. We may no longer seek refuge in ignorance."

"There will come a day when such men as myself will view the slaughter of innocent creatures as horrible a crime as the murder of his fellow man. Our task must be to free ourselves by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature and
its beauty". ~ Albert Einstein