a few more mandalas...

It was 104 degrees in Portland yesterday, pretty warm today, too. Hot, hot, hot, but still not as bad as KC in the summertime.

I thought I'd post a few more of the mandala's I've made in the last year or so...

I don't always follow tradition, but they are all meditations. Some more personal than others-they have meaning beyond that which the casual viewer would pick up, but still, each viewer will find their own meaning.

The process which by which I produce them is a meditation, and sometimes I approach them like keltic knots, tracing them with my eyes.






but mostly I just like to look at them,

or make another ...

and another...

one more...

Mandala

I make mandala's when I get the time, and when I feel like it. here's one from about two years ago...


and another...



I actually have hundreds of these going back nearly 20 years. The oldest are on paper, but I have really gotten a great deal out of using computer programs (these were done in photoshop), and most of them have been done in the last five years. Obviously, I'm not a purist. It's still a meditation, and I really enjoy the process. As I go through them, I may post a few from time to time...

a few interesting links, with resources

Exploring Mandala's

the Mandala Project- Peace through Art and Education

The Mandala Project

Wikipedia's entry- with interesting links

Mandala at Wikipedia

Shockwave Riding...

I love the public transit system here in PDX, such a refreshing change after all those years in KC, which sadly lacks any kind of sensible public transit at all- especially sad when you consider how spread out that city is, and how desperately it needs public transit- I love the trains especially, and I have been reading quite a bit more during my commutes (books on tape in a car just aren't the same). I'll be sharing my thoughts on some of these books in coming entries.

Many consider William Gibson's works such as Neuromancer to be the origins of the cyberpunk genre, but I have to say I think this honor may belong to John Brunner's Shockwave Rider, published in 1975. A world with a society linked by a worldwide system of networked computers (long before Al Gore invented the internet), an antihero worthy of any cyberpunk novel, a worldwide economy based on credit and data, people changing identity's at the drop of a hat (or stroke of a key)years before Madonna made an art of it- this book is a must read. The cyberpunk novels have all been written since the computer revolution of the 80's and 90's, which is one of the things which make this book so amazing. Brunner, heavily influenced by Alvin Toffler's Future Shock was amazingly prescient in his description of a world where the apocolypse came not in the form of nuclear annihilation, or dystopian military oppression, but from a post data overload world where people have lost the essence of their freedom simply because they became distracted and gave it away- to corporations and the government, which seem intertwined in Brunners world. I also found the his innovative writing style in this work has held up well. A few changes here and there, and it would make a great movie- maybe if A Scanner Darkly does well enough this summer, someone out there will run across it and see it's potential. It's certainly timely enough.

Invisible friends....

I have to admit that when i was younger I watched every single episode of 60's sci-fi cheesefest Lost In Space. And I recently wrote an episode review of my favorite episodes of that series at the Internet Movie Database.

I've never really told anyone why I got so hooked on Star Trek in the first place, that show being my initiation into the world of sci-fi. Truth be told, a few years after my parents broke up, I saw my first episode of Trek, and I thought William Shatner looked kind of like my dad. Not a ringer, but kind of in a way. Close enough for a seven year old who missed his dad, anyway. I don't even know which episode it was. I don't remember the first time I saw the episode of Lost in Space which stuck with me all these years, but I know I watched it every chance I could (I even have a copy on tape somewhere). It was called "My Friend, Mr. Nobody, and it touched me just as deeply, Lost in Space or not. In the first season they tried to be a serious drama, before they morphed into the camp classic everyone remembers.



My favorite character was Penny Robinson, and this epsiode focused on her and her invisible friend, who in fact is a non-corporeal alien life form, trapped in the center of a planet for millions of years, completely alone. The story is actually very well written, the acting strong, and minimal need for special effects decrease the cheese factor to the point where, standing alone in an anthology series like Twilight Zone or Outer Limits, it would be more well known as the classic it is. The score for this episode is lovely, even mystical, and it adds to the sense-of-wonder which makes this such a magical episode. Angela Cartright's performance as Penny is outstanding, ( she was already a seasoned vet at the time of this series), more than able to carry the episode focused on her character. The episode at it's core is an exploration of loneliness, in specific a lonely child and her search for comfort and companionship. And about the bond that can develop when loneliness is shared with another- a friend in a most unexpected form (or lack of form, in this case). It definitely spoke to me, and from time to time I still take it out and watch it. The strength of Penny's character in this episode is her openness, her willingness to believe in what is good, her willingness to love. Which is, after all, the only real remedy for loneliness.





I still find it cheers me up, and I have discovered that it is fondly remembered by others, as well- Google the episode and surf around, you'll find fan pages and other stuff out there. And if you spot this episode at the local movie store, (it's available on DVD, and I saw it at Movie Madness here in PDX) give it a shot. It might not be what you would ordinarily pick, but think about a lonely moment in your life, and see if it touches you.


here's a link to my review at IMDB

My Friend Mr. Nobody at IMDB