The Mystery of the Chinese Lamp is poetry... but because it is a "tale" that I may decide to extend... it is inserted here.
The Mystery of the Chinese Lamp
Red silk disguising blood
The lampshade murder
fringed in taunt
embossed in mystery
a gilded clue that flaunts
a detectives scud
comb on comb
softly entangled, sedate
on the vanity plate
smudgeless and calm
domed with Kublai’s crown
a prism like dungeon
blinding the truth
inviting a sleuth
to detect in sniff
an evenings whiff
conjures the opium
for dens of thieves
that deceit retrieves
DeaBeePea 2-2-15
The Mystery of the Chinese Lamp Part 2
Detective Chan
Stands upright
Absorbing sounds
That are quiet and slight
And then he detects
Zephyrs and odors
strangely balanced
in perfumous effects
everything still
to perfect in calm
exacting placements
suspicious in chill
fingerprints concealed
threads unfound
but shiny plate
is a clue revealed
the gloss and fine streak
could only reflect
the use of a chamois
of particular sect
on lamp detected
a symbol of hate
and spite of wealth 
for Chan to conflate
…
DeaBeePea 2-7-15
Punta Mist
September 1979. The day that fog changed my life. I had a few days off work. I decided to do something I have always wanted to do. So I jumped in my 1975 LTD and drove to Northern Ontario... to do a tour of the mining museums of Earlton, Cobalt, New Liskeard, Englehart and Haileybury. I loved driving those curving rollercoaster single lane roads. Especially when the leaves were just beginning to change. The weather was comfortably cool, and sunny. I had a lunch to die for... fresh pickerel at the Busy Bee in Temagami. Then, off to Marten River... and a stop at the trading post. This was a great place to buy some stuff that I absolutely did not need.
When I arrived in Cobalt, I checked in at what I recall was the Albion Hotel. One of those pseudo-dumpy places right out of a Veronica Lake- Alan Ladd movie.It was on the main drag, and near a pub. What more could you ask for? I started my tour of museums, and was struck at the courage, stamina and fellowship that existed in the early twentieth century in these seemingly Siberian locations. I was in total disbelief of the capacity for survival in this harsh environment.
On my way... in the direction of Timmins, the home of many legendary professional hockey players, when hockey was just a game. I had no idea where I was going to stay. I decided to keep my eyes open for a campsite. After an hour of driving on the winding, lonely, single lane road, I came across a place... small... inconspicuous. There was a modest entrance, just past the sign "Hunta", indicating a village, but I did not see one. A ghost town perhaps. I drove to the gate. No one was there... closed for the season I suppose. However, the road was clear. So I continued through the windy trails and came across a lake, or more accurately, a large pond. There was a perfect site for pitching my tent. So I embarked on building my temporary home. All I had was eggs and canned beans... but over a fire... anything seemed delicious. And a glass of wine of course. I read for a while, I think it was "The Guns of Navarone," and then went off to sleep, much earlier than was the norm... for me.
I woke with the sun... not a common practice. When I crawled out of my tent and focused my eyes... I was struck with what I can only describe as an out of this world experience, or more accurately, an intensely in this world experience. The sun was trying to break through a thick misty fog, that had risen from the pond, like a soft white eiderdown blanket. Light was refracting from every direction, forming a collage of nebulas. It was so quiet I could hear the dew at my feet talking to me. Each ray of light, as it touched me, seemed searing. In between each contact point my skin was ice. A kaleidoscope of greys, greens and pale blues, with a touch of misty pink formed a tapestry that made me feel like I was somehow the universe, observing all the little things that made up earth. And I was somehow being transformed, being taken to a new place, being crowned the king of a new planet. Totally alone, in undiminished peace, so relaxed in an insouciant numbness.
Life changing. That bleary veneration. My illumination.
DeaBeePea 12-19-14
New Years Commentary
Friendship. Essence. This year I made friends with people, from a town I was inhabiting, for less than a year. Those from many walks. The Griffin Gang. A group who like to meet every Thursday night to talk and chatter, and occasionally sing. The music joyous and the beverages are grand. Featuring brews from small microbreweries, scattered around the area.
Politicians, teachers, bankers, merchants, rich, not so rich, very young, and much older. I am in the upper quartile!
That is not the only way to meet friends. Some do not prefer that scene. The Friends of the Bracebridge Public Library, The Bracebridge Arts Council, The Northwords Literary Festival, St. Thomas Anglican Church, The Canadian Author's Association... it all happens here. A love of the arts, first and foremost the most important thing in my life. But this passion for old movies, literature, jazz, and art cannot be truly joyous unless shared. I have met some wonderful people who have made this experience wonderful... lots of hugs along the way. And I was encouraged to continue my novel...Square Wheels... thanks to my many friends including those on Facebook... and the Misfits... who have opened my eyes, enlarged my ears and taught me how to laugh all over again.
I have found the proximity to nature and the pleasant view from my home has made a difference in my inclinations. And a daily walk by the falls is invigorating and inspiring.
Seeing the "Messiah" live was one of those life-changing experiences. A flawless example of precision, discipline and perfect order that invariably creates freedom. Wonderful!
For the New Year I look forward to sharing a community organic garden, improving my diet, bicycling a lot more, completing my novel and I promise, I will stay a misfit and continue to watch old movies religiously.
Love to all
DeaPea 12-30-14
Dinky Toys
I had many of these, and they were a very integral part of my 'playing' as a child. My first desire was to get a toy gas station, so I could park my assortment of cars. My brother and my father initially made me one out of wood, and I remember the BP logos, that they cut from an old roadmap and stuck on the gas pumps. It was a wonderfully made and durable toy. Despite the quality of this, I later asked for one out of the Eaton's catalogue, because it had a battery operated car elevator! Looking back, I realize that I might not have been appreciative enough of the initial gas station,which was made with loving hands. My most memorable Dinky Cars were my white Mercedes Benz racing car, my 1940 "Woodie" Estate wagon, a Rolls Royce Silver Wraith, a 1957 Nash Cross Country, the 1949 Hudson and an Alfa Romeo 1900 Coupe. Such fun! I thank my parents for letting me dig up the backyard too! They let me build roads and tunnels and I spent many afternoons driving these imaginary vehicles through mud, sand and sometimes my mother's rockery. Not only that, but these durable toys survived many collisions, of which I was the author. And we also had a long picket fence, of which the upper railway served as a super-highway!
Wonderful times.
DeaBeePea 5-22-15
The Twinkle with a Wrinkle
Poor Tommy Twinkle. All the other Twinkles called him names. “You are such a twinkie they laughed.” Tommy was quite a large Twinkle. He shot around very quickly, darting like a firefly. He flashed his bright smile when you least expected it, and sometimes you could see him in the dark. There was one problem though. He had a wrinkle. So sometimes his flight direction was skewed, and his panoramic glitter would light up a whole city! The wrinkle went from the top of his oval sparkle to the bottom. Some people called it a crease. How humiliating.
He became so distraught that he realized it was time to get rid of the wrinkle. To him, there was no tomorrow. He scratched one of his sparkles…”Mmm…maybe I could iron it out. No, I would burn myself. I am too soft and fluffy for that.” Then he got an idea. He was already a big twinkle. There would be lots of room for more. So late at night he scoured the forest for the littlest twinkles. Some of them were so small they feared not twinkling again. So he talked to them and many of them agreed to join him. So he took these baby twinkles and gently filled up the little space caused by the wrinkle. Now he could really twinkle. And not only that, he could now control his flight. And the little dinky twinkles were proud to be a part of a super-blinky twinkle.
No one laughed at him anymore and no one called him a Finkie Twinkie. He even took some baby twinkles for rides. At night people would see him and think that he was a shooting star. Kids would sing…”How I wonder what you are.”
DeaBeePea 5-26-15
The Murder at Leighdon Hall
The light and willowy carrion lied peacefully in the shade of the storied oak. The gendarmes having inspected, sadly shared the tragedy. Electrocution with a finely charmed necklace... and a hedonistic engraving impressed upon her swelling chest. A heart.
The grounds were sublimely quiet and untouched. It seemed like not even a blade of grass was a subject to to disorder. On the outskirts of Leighdon Hall, a young constable approached a senescent sette, that in the daylight shone with dignity, but now seemed foreboding. Upon it lay a tightly coiled corsage. It seemed strangely valiant, as if waiting for its companion despite fading odds.
Abigail Leigh so elated in engagement. Overwhelmed with a child-like naivite. Sitting amidst the royal elegance of Leighdon Hall, a prelude of celebration before the betrothal ball. Mournfully, she became distraught with the sudden realization that her beau, so fair, was not a gentleman of speakable intention. He caddishly admitted that the forthcoming alliance would be one of convenience. Matrimony by shrewd indulgence.
Almost paralyzed, she composed herself, requesting his patience. Carefully, on shaking legs, she rose from the garden pew, as her not yet pinned bouquet spilled from her lap. Escorted by a light breeze, she lead herself to the shelter of her favourite tree. Abigail was searching for courage. There was little time to muster it. Her sudden foe approached, saying not a word. He just stared and stabbed her with his menancing eyes. She raised her head, trying to challenge him.
"Gregoire," she spoke. Saying his name almost made her sick.
"No matter what you say or do, I will not let you marry me. And God forbid that any child of mine should boast a father such as you."
Gregoire, like a hungry tiger, swiped his giant hand, tearing off her necklace. It snapped and lacerated her gentle skin as she screamed in horror.
Gregoire grabbed her, and steadied her languishing figure. Turning, and approaching from behind, his final act of tortury ensued, as her neck was muffled and gagged. As she subsided, he took the necklace in his mockingly calm hands and branded the love torn pendant into her disquieted chest.
Her memorial lay on the secluded and abandoned bench. It was the clue for justice, and the redolence of doubt.
Curling nut...Tam O' Shanter and curling banter...The cowichan sweaters and the corn brooms, shredding on the ice. The screaming skips and slapping of ice. Rocks that grind and hiss and bang and crack. Scoreboards that keep scores backwards, and fans in lobbies, looking through glass. Pretty gals from Russia and Scotland and long named men, like Uusipaavalniemi. Briers and tournaments of hearts and grand slams.
Dakota teams and even down under. Fun in the patch...beer and good sausage, and ice-makers meeting to discuss humid days. Bagpipes and trophies, and slippery sliders. Hurry hard, out-turn, in-turn and hog, and slider and house. Rings and flash, on-off and guard. Raise and draw, clocks and ends, steal and freeze. A build up of frost so you must read the ice, a story untold. Delivery, from hack to board and colours of stone. Red and blue or yellow and black, some are cutters, some are straight...it's just a game, not rocket science...I think.
DeaPea 11-9-14
A reflection on two paintings:
1908 St George Hare, The Gilded Cage
1919 Evelyn De Morgan, The Gilded Cage
Both artists express lonlieness and seclusion. The Hare painting illustrates it in terms of captivity, cruel and dreadful. The beautiful naked girl, disrobed by captors, is shackled and imprisoned in a golden room. Three butterlies appear to be in counsel about her strife. She is partially blanketed in a golden shroud and the only escape route is an embossed stairway. There is a strange peace and tempered mood of distress, and implication that the captors are rich and powerful. The scenario is of hopelessness and death as a release of life's agonies.
"the transparent counsel
absolving her pale in peril
shackled in gold
the escape a gemlike trail
maybe heaven, maybe hell
secluded and torn
asleep in the despair that is born"
The De Morgan painting is more reflective of lonlieness within a relationship. The woman is full of the mesmerizing inspiration of motherhood and celebration. The gypsies are dancing under an open sky, which apperas to be a mural rather than a live scene. So her vision may be ill-fated. She may not reach the free flying bird beyond. Her husband is bemused and discouraged at her search for womanly freedom, as he sits beside a caged bird, which can be viewed as a prophetic warning.
"the hypnotic delirium
an escaping serum
yearning for a new lonlieness
gypsies in celebration
her maternal duty
altered-state beauty
her world bemused and caged"
DBP 9-6-14
TRUE GRIT
Sherlock Holmes was called to the scene of the crime. The young ladies' motionless body was quiet, yet seemed to be levitating. He studied her. There was no indication whatsoever of disorder. He gently lowered her dress from the neckline down and was startled, or at least, startled relative to his usual stoic decorum. There was a perfectly imposed hole that was clean through her, as neat as a piston valve. Impossible he thought.
The perpetrator must have left something he thought. He instinctively followed a path that the unknown suspect had taken. His feet seemed to be dictated by a vacuum filled by impellation. The room was spotlessly clean, despite the debris of sand, small stones, slush and mud just outside the door.
As he approached a darker place in the room, he spotted a Parnter's desk. Under it was an anthill-like sampling of what looked like ash. He took a sample of it with his tongs and ran it through his sensitive fingers.
Watson caught up to him, and quickly suggested cinder from the nearby hearth.
"No..., " answered Holmes... as he turned his head to look outside through the still opened door.
"It's true grit."
DeaBeePea 9-2-15
The Letter
Dear Minionic Subjects:
I have told Mayor Onion of the Minions of my leave of absense. This is just a letter to wish you well and to send my prayers for the month of July. I have never taken a vacation. I have entrusted the world to many Presidents, artists, writers, doctors, lawyers, Mother's, Fathers, Children and others...of whom I have faith, despite their occasional lapse of spiritual discipline. I will be enjoying the beautiful white beaches of Ko Phi Phi Don. I will however bring my lap top, as a must stay up with my Misfit Challenges. It is funny, some of my friends have told me that I will finally be getting a tan. I never said I was caucasian! Although that has been in dispute for many years, I will admit to being preferentials to Latin girls... I love my J Lo DVD! Did you know "I'm Into You" was written for me? It has been suggested by my secretary NOT to bring my cell, so I will take her advice and let my people contact me via prayer if they so wish. The prayer line might be rather busy, so I suggest that you all just behave, and allow Buddha some work. He usually just sits on his ass anyways.
Love and warm Thoughts to all...see you August 1.
6-20-15 DeaBeePea
D-Bell International announces the new Magic Carpet pill. Just take two tablets once a day and your body will be transformed into a floating protoplasm... a journey to dreamland. No mess, no side-effects...
Call now, pay only 28.88 and get a second bottle free. That's right...a total of 30- 500ml Magic Carpet Pills... only 28.88.
You probably NEVER thought you would fly... well... now you can!!
Call 1-WILL-LEV-TATE and take Solomon's ride now... for only 28.88.
(to the sound of "Magic Carpet Ride)
Close your eyes now
Look to the blanket of stars
Let the Magic Carpet take you away...
DeaPea 1-10-14
David Bruce Patterson meets Aldous Huxley November 18th 1937, soon after his emigration to the United States. We met over an espresso at the Brown Derby, on Wilshire Blvd. in Los Angeles California.
We discussed his novel, "Brave New World"... written in 1931, as well as the source of his manifest thinking and his prophetic philosophy.
Mr. Huxley...how did you come to the conclusions that motivated the writing of "Brave New World"?
Essentially it was my views of "Universalism". All the boundaries that define us... and the incremental political organizations that rule us, are false, evil and are merely fateful coincidence and a deliberate, insecure search for power. Universalism empowers the best of our human qualities.
Yes Mr. Huxley... it seems that most religions, at least formal religions, are non-universalist.
Absolutely. Most of them support superhuman agencies. They are devotional and ritualistic and establish codes that dictate how humans live their lives.
How did you create a dystopia that seems so pertinent to people in the twenty-first century?
It was very evident and has been expressed by many artists such as Hermann David Salomon Corrodi. It was important to me to take the visual and turn it into a literary portrait of dehumanization. And of course what more do we need to know, than the destructive moral evil of war. We are conditioned to accept evil, that is the evil of mankind.
Planned obsolescence was a feature of A. F. 632 London. The accessibility to goods and strict control of distribution was amazingly prophetic. And it seems to me, that you made that society somewhat attractive early in the novel, drawing us in with trickery.
That is exactly right. I wanted to allow the reader to fall into his own traps of greed and a desire for wealth. As the book progressed, I hoped that it would begin to instill self-criticism.
The "Malthusian Belt" certainly was a graphic illustration of how our values can be stretched to virtual barbarianism.
Yes... I did not want to question birth control in itself, but to point out the dangers of such controls, when placed in the hands of dictators or militarily connected oligarchies.
Have you taken on the characteristics of John, the protagonist, in your own life?
Clearly... the opportunity to practice Universalism, and my recent association with comrades in the Bahá'í Faith, seems to be an extension of John's desire to purify, although personally, I do not see the need to purify, as much as the need to rehearse behavioral consistency and communitize my thoughts.
It has been a wonderful journey Mr. Huxley... not many people get the opportunity to meet the one person they dream to meet. And please... would you mind autographing my copy of "Brave New World".
Certainly... but do not treasure it too much... I am only a man who has turned my anger and tears into a novel, a short one at that.
..........................................................................................
Since this meeting with Mr. Huxley... I have opened my eyes to Universalism, and have attempted to take my thoughts from solitude, and entered a society of sharing and loving... seeing the smiles and hope in people that I never recognized before.
... the unity of God, the unity of religion, and the unity of humanity
DeaPea 1-11-14
John Locke
Father of Classical Liberalism
John Locke was a very important figure who was a pioneer in the development of a civil society. His philosophy could be argued to be the commencement of political enlightenment and modernism. Humanism and individual freedom were a catalyst for the evaluation of the relationship between Church and State. Government with the consent of the governed.
Galileo Galilei
The father of observational astronomy.
He espoused Heliocentrism, the model in which the Earth and planets revolve around the Sun at the center of the Solar System. This was much opposed at the time.
Galileo stated that the laws of nature are mathematical. He described them in geometric patterns. His work was a step towards the separation of science from philosophy and religion.
Francis Bacon
The father of Empiricism.
He claims that knowledge comes from sensory experience. Along with rationalism and skepticism, empiricism emphasizes the role of experience and evidence, especially sensory experience, in the formation of ideas. Previous sensory conditions create tradition, which quickly becomes invalid. Observations of the immediate natural world must be prioritized over prior reasoning or intuition. He declares knowledge as tentative and has evolving probability.
Epicurus
He refused to believe in anything unless it was tangible. I summarize his beliefs, though very controversial, as essentially making the declaration that taking care of oneself, using wisdom, personal wellness and justice as main objectives. His recommendations to not fear God, were taken as atheistic, although it could be argued he was just questioning excess humility.
Zeno of Citium
The center of his philosophy was Stoicism. Complete self-control. Negative emotion is the result of wrongful thought. Therefore discipline is imperative. This approach to philosophy was dogmatic. It perceived the notion that we are not a result of life forces, but we ourselves dictate life forces.
Avicenna
He developed theories of logic, ethics, and metaphysics. His approach to modern medicine involved defining the difference between our existence. His “thought” experiments could be viewed as the early application of cognitive therapy.
Thomas Aquinas
He attempted to prove the existence of God by arguing that the Universe had to have been created by something, since everything in existence has a beginning and an end. This has been studied as the “First Cause” argument. Many philosophers after Thomas Aquinas have attempted to evaluate this premise. He also saw Divine Hierarchies as an effective way to implement the practice of faith.
Confucius
He pronounced the importance of decentralization. He expressed Emperorship as a fulfillment of duty for all. He initiated the concept of “do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” His political theory also evolved around his sentiment that people had ‘rites’ and a moral foundation that must be protected,
Rene Descartes
The Father of Modern Philosophy
He advocated dualism, which is the power of the mind over the body. The human mind can override weakness. His motto is considered as the basis for existentialism, “I think, therefore I am.” The existence of the body itself could only be explained by deductive reasoning, a series of mathematical and scientific facts compiled to form a conclusion.
Plato
He believed in wise, benevolent leadership. Pure democracy involved the participation of unenlightened persons, and resulted in the demise of Socrates. He concluded that immaterial abstractions were stronger and more resilient than material effects. In his “Republic” we find his reference to the city-state of Kallipolis, which is ruled by philosopher-kings.
Aristotle
He theorized that there are four “causes”, or qualities, of anything in existence. They are the material cause (the subject as matter), the formal cause, or the arrangement of the subject’s material, the effective cause, which recognizes a creator of the life force, and the final cause, which is the purpose for which a subject exists.
Aristotle is also the first person in Western history to argue that there is a hierarchy to all life in the Universe. His so-called “ladder" of life” has eleven rungs, at the top of which are humans. This evolved from his awareness of simple and complex structures.
He also pioneered metaphysics as the "first" philosophy, and defined what he called analytics, as problem solving based on finding reasoned facts.
Socrates
Most of his ideas are expressed through the writings of Plato and Xenophon and the plays of his contemporary Aristophanes. He could be described as the father of debate. Issues and inquiries could be discussed between individuals, asking and answering questions to stimulate critical thinking and to illuminate ideas. The defense of one point of view is questioned, leading to possible contradiction. He even discussed the validity of rhetoric. He also was aware that a question has its own conclusion as a basis, thus requiring another question.
Bertrand Russell
Russell argued for a "scientific society". His focus was always on world peace. He felt that a single supreme government could enforce peace, and the only hope for mankind was co-operation. He was criticized for idealism but his theories on logic, and his mathematical propensity, implied that peace is an applicable political policy.
Karl Marx
Fundamentally, Marx assumed that human history involves transforming human nature, which encompasses both human beings and material objects. Humans recognize that they have both their actual condition and a potential condition.People are seen as a subjective agent for change. He believes that human nature can be molded, and exists through an application of labor. Social stratification creates the conflict that causes revolution.
DeaPea 1-9-14
Crazy Recipe #1
Stuffed Turnip with Vodka and Prunes
Take approximately 10 prunes, pitted, put in bowl, add 1/2 cup of
Stolichnaya Premium Vodka and 1 teaspoon of allspice. Refrigerate 24 hours.
Bake whole turnip at 350 degrees F until the turnip is softened, 30-45 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool. Then simply slip the skins and root off with your fingers.
Empty turnip leaving a half inch "turnip bowl".
Take the scooped out turnip and blend until smooth. Keep in blender. Add 3 tablespoons of peanut butter, 1/2 teaspoon of sweet basil, 1/4 of a medium sized grapefruit, and one envelope of Kraft Dinner cheese. Blend until smooth.
Take the "turnip bowl" and rub with Partanna Olive Oil.
Sprinkle in Smoked Paprika and then add 1/8 cup of blueberry pomegranate juice.
Then add the blended mixture leaving at least 1 inch on top, Add prune mixture to top and add a dollop of Dream Whip.
This delicious treat is best followed by a dessert of Yugoslavian Gooseberry Ice Cream.
Recommended wine...Turkish Alicante Bouschet
DeaPea 1-14-14
Crazy Recipe #2
End Table Casserole...
originator "The Furniture Monster"
1 Backboard
2 drawers (removed from cabinet)
2 handles (removed from drawers)
4 Screws
Contents of upper drawer
Contents of lower drawer
Contents on top of table
Fresh bougainvillea
Barrel collected rainwater.
Take off backboard and cut into 5 pieces to make open box. Seal sides and bottom with chilled nail polish remover.
Take drawers. Smash to smithereens.
Take smashed drawers and add to box made from backboard.
Fill box with rainwater and soak for approximately six months... until soft. Makes complimentary dessert.or appetizer.
Take handles and sand with emery so the paint and gold embossing form a fine dust. Set aside. Discard handles.
Dip screws in linseed oil. Set aside.
Take contents of upper drawer. Blend (in Cuisinart) for 2 minutes. Set aside.
Take contents of lower drawer, Blend (in Cuisinart) for 1 minute. The contents should still be very coarse.
Note: Broken blade parts can be used as garnish.
Take contents from top of table and saute in large cast iron frypan in juice squeezed from bougainvillea.
Using a litter box...line bottom with coarse mixture.Then layer contents of upper drawer. If too dry, add Drano to taste.
Then for the next layer add the sauteed mixture.
Top with screws and then sprinkle on handle dust.
Cook for one hour on medium heat... litter box may have melted on stove... so clean up and add melted plastic to casserole.
Sometimes served with whiny children.
Nice served with gasoline.
DeaPea 1-14-14