One Truly Splendid Slice of Beauty

As I was writing my 'Ode to Beauty' (it keeps changing names) I was often thinking of including another aspect of beauty I have previously omitted. I tried to keep it 'above board' for a general audience. But without including the utmost irresistibly indelibly joyful facet yet not revealed, I'm cheating everyone of the one truly splendid slice of beauty which ought not be overlooked, lest one might have not spoken of beauty at all and not done it justice. My google email server is just swimming in emails where I've touched upon this subject again and again, in subtle and coy flirtatious manners which transcend the general and target the specific feelings which gather momentum from the true meaning of that underlying radius of beauty. The radius might just encompass 360 degrees of the whole when considered. Sum up all of the aspects one might think of when considering beauty, and one might not yet have a sum total which comes close to the feelings of beauty elicited by this heretofore unmentioned expression of beauty. The countenance and bearing of the form of beauty comes from abstract feelings felt deeply yet concrete in their effect on my behaviour when I am under its spell. And the three hundred and sixty degrees of influence this infectious affect has over me is only described in two dimensions as complete, yet one has to go into three and four dimensions to fully understand the true influence it has. A circle becomes a sphere, and the sphere in time revolves around from an initial infatuation of a youngster into a full fledged powerful emotion not unlike passion described by ardent love.

So how best to articulate this characteristic of beauty? It's hard to put down in so many words. The previous paragraph simply flowed from my mind through my fingers into words almost effortlessly. But now I must pause to organize my thoughts more succinctly to provide an artful expression. What semblance of beauty is felt so deeply, and at the same time is so difficult to describe. It has two parts. One is the feeling itself; and the harder part to proclaim is the revelation divulging the condition. It is affection. Synonyms include amore, ardor, attraction, attachment, care, closeness, concern, crush, desire, devotion, emotion, endearment, feeling, fondness, friendliness, friendship, good will, hankering, heart, inclination, itch, kindness, liking, love, passion, predilection, propensity, regard, sentiment, shine, soft spot, solicitude, tenderness, warmth, weakness, yen, and zeal.

And zeal is what I've had. Enthusiastic devotion to a cause, ideal, or goal and tireless diligence in its furtherance. Yet patience with pleasant and steady happy friendly un-expectancy. Never pushing more than a subtle word and relishing only in a knowledge of mutual simpatico smiling subtleties known or unknown, yet felt deliciously.

And the whole world of first impressions stemming from this proclamation often leads the hearer to retreat from its source. Only a friendly exuberant impression is intended, yet sometimes the opposite reaction arises. But the truly nice counterpoised response is to embrace the knowledge in no more nor less a fashion as would be the response without having gained said information. Accept it in a vacuum, as one would simply have greeted a new friend, without mistrust of intentions. Giving joyous welcome with little uncertain doubt would be beautiful.

But this is the ideal. And I have been lucky enough to have seen it: once.

And so that none feel I'm the first to ever visit this subject, refer to a beautiful poem "Ode To Beauty," by Ralph Waldo Emerson, which begins:

Who gave thee, O Beauty! The keys of this breast 

What lies revealed

A fern can be a shield
if I'm ready to yield
move my arms aside
and see what lies revealed

Metronomic candor

Metronomic candor - Beethoven Symphony No. 8

Gorgeous serendipity, landed squarely on my nose
No lack of hesitation, dare rob me of my prose
Speaking speech in volume, pitched above three rows
Luck she barely knew me, and nimble on her toes

Born with trepidation, and furrows on her brow
A subtle time and mellow rhyme, and now's when I avow
Overture preamble, pioneering lead somehow
Further salutation, hello goodbye and ciao

What rapid introspection, as during tranquil lull
Was thought and then was lost upon, and glance would soon befall
Approaching gentle movement, commence and dart away
Lunge full bore, sawing bow and sweeping sooth foray

Steeped to incredulity, behind inquiring glance
Thread simple hesitation, woven as a dance
Morphing other voices, and rhythm to enhance
Stretched around my temple, unlikely as romance

Extend seesaw return chutzpa
Winding up reverb
Unleash what's raw and look voila
Adoration cannot curb

Start again, reprise and yet, consider slower still
Metronomic candor, ascending toward yon hill
Drowning with your grandeur, grasping for a thrill
Bass and sound revolve around, strings they do instill

Impetuous dampened softness, rich with full contour
Sweet and slender tremor, ascend with bass once more
Burst horns upon my consciousness, alert to hear the score
Prepare one heart for apex, last passion to endure

Revolve

Your were well within my sensory jungle,
but no orbit could revolve my subtle influence,
without hyperbolic prelude I could bungle,
or sympathetic cogence yielding confluence.

A big blue marble and orange globule held together
without reason or without rhyme,
a weaker force within a greater capacity
describes attraction under ordinary time.

But my whole world held together with a tether
immersed succinctly under firmament,
ample planets circle round my tender mind
creating stratum and arching supercillium.

Yes my zone is within reach of her stomping ground,
my compass points directly to gentle province,
dominion pulling through the level field,
my pale brown eyes adhere a course aligned

Realm rank and scope subside with footsteps fell
before my meandering path around
each rondo falls like an apple
under force of function on the ground

And now the anxious approach
do I dare
I've lost my sphere of introspection
how will I fare?

Happy New Year Bokeh

The world of picture makers celebrate with bokeh
What better medium which with to play
dancing lights radiate the suns rays
reflecting back to my eyes and lens in rainbow colours
A sip of wine a cup of brew
celebrate fine for this year new!

juxtaposed within glowing amber curves

juxtaposed within glowing amber curves
her supple forms waved before my eyes
softly flowing current of the brook
darkening shade provoking dreadful sighs

sunlight shone twice madly upon my scene
she was subtle if unseen
thus she stole my task of racing green
transfixed now I between

my chore before
would suffice no more
it now became thus necessary
to sample sudden sight galore
-------
www.youtube.com/watch?v=U5KRqc7Hud4
Pizzicato Polka

The Dart

Scrolling textures pierce my bloodshot eyes like arching darts aimed at red balloons,
my destiny lie elsewhere, someplace crisper.
Counterfeit facade arrayed along my visor, screechin' sermons like a gray buffoon;
yet she is waiting patiently -- nary a whisper

I drift on, daydreams wander,
wondrous words devastatingly aligned, persuade my mind:
she has scribed them down.
Remove this tumultuous tempest from my brim, 'till I find:
green forest, peat and bog around

Hillsides arise, inclining greater than my city ground;
out there, beyond, is peace and true prosperity;
abstract professions found, intermingled sumptuous forces newly unbound,
can be yet achieved, lest I dawdle aged superfluity

shrieking lucid orange annunciation,
time to change your softly dampered brilliance,
unloosen dexterity, sharpening a once minced temperament,
leap-frog wild decorum, rediscover simple eloquence.

The dart has pierced my wading brow,
And now I find,
my world is left behind:
art supplants artificial mind

A vale of darkness reins the lesser season,
far below the south of forest land;
Between thick trees of pine and peaks of white,
A clay brick path wanders through these somber hills

Water of the brook babbles through an olden hamlet
like a brimming broth before a lazy meal
laced with capsicum pepper mixed with cutlet
quaffed with red and white of dry appeal

Unburdened folk carrying caboodle
fish the meadow beyond cathedral way
celebrate sandpiper calling ruff and reeve,
revive the ancient wanton tumultuous ways

Sweet burning desire sings supple sound
against a sage of dissonant musical saws.
Lanes lined with new houses,
carved gables, tiered windows, overhanging roof

A nature park is where I want to be,
this ancient time is land I long to feel,
juxtaposed between my now and future free,
elixir of the woods hence I may heal.


Douglas Bauman, Dec 2008

Merry Christmas from Flash the Greyhound

Bokeh pepper smile..

Bokeh pepper smile..
Wandering along a paved thoroughfare
Finding many subjects but only few to peek my interest
This city garden brings a smile to share
I find a forsaken bell pepper
Hanging from the vine
Hello my small pepper friend, mind if I photograph your lingering pose?
No not at all, feel free to capture me
But the smile is in the bokeh
Hidden behind
The pepper becomes the glandular nose
the places where maples leaves behind shine forth
and those places where there be no leaves form the eyes and mouth
Enjoy my bokeh pepper smile

rejuvenate my heart

I leave my heart to you
My heart is all that I have left
My last possession, might as well be there
up in the air
blue sky seen through
my heart is gone
only a hole is left where it used to be
but beauty peeks through
Now all I have left is sweet nature
the void where my heart used to be
can be filled by natures essence
It is all that is left to rejoice in
to enjoy, the fragrance and light
Fill me with your nature,
rejuvenate my heart

what words can turn my doldrums into splendor
what deeds can turn apathy back to yearning
what thoughts can think me thoughts of joy
who can turn my darkness into light

My journey has never been a destination
My pleasures past have been the trip
I need a goal or some sheer light
to light up my life
rejuvenate my joy

tiny mushroom

tiny mushroom within a mossy wall
is he short or is he tall
defying gravity and all
the leaves come down, but you won't fall

grant me 3 wishes

Is this an ominous face full of foreboding, or a gentle friendly face like Shrek? I was walking down the trail at McConnell's Mill. There were many people also there, it was a glorious day and all the tourists were out. But then, all of a sudden, they all seemed to disappear. The noise of the rapids, water splashing hither and thither, suddenly ceased. The birds and other sounds were no more. The face began to speak: "I was wondering when you would see me. In fact, I've been waiting here for over 100 years for anyone to observe my slumber. As luck would have it, I am quite patient. So now you are the first, to see my visage and now you are the lucky one. I will grant you three wishes."
I took those three wishes and kept them, but have not yet used them.

Revered again

As is my wont, I'm writing poetry to psych myself up for a Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra concert this weekend. These are my words, just written to the music of Sergei Rachmaninoff : Symphony No. 2

Revered again

Often when I'm up against a wall,
and the very simple words I scrawl,
easily reveal my thoughts to you,
as words I hope that do enthrall

Exposing whence my sleeping heart did fall,
back out onto center stage again,
and the wonder of our dream as when,
I could really have that kind of gall

Whosoever
dares to tell
that kind of truth
in this very soft and cloistered world,
can be cheered
but not revered
until they're mired
in dire understandings least unfurled

Abstract wisdom of the past is clear,
mixed with current subtle sounds I hear,
probing rhythm of my thoughts appear,
I'm trusting you my dear

Reveal our truth
together
inspire trust as freedom
unaffected nature as simplicity

www.youtube.com/watch?v=LrKdPDiBZTI

I believe Pittsburgh is projecting wall art on the buildings this weekend:

billowing morning web

billowing morning spider web well above my head
lucky to have found you my dear or your web I'd have to shed

The race

javadoug was in the race of his life. Sure, he could compete with mere mortals, on bicycles, but he chose instead to race the jet airplane. He gained an early head start, but his lead might diminish when those afterburners kicked in. So he knuckled under, gave it all his heart and soul, and poured his strength in one direction, with the aim of beating mr. jet airplane...

a grand day

a grand day
proclaim parfait
come what may
my words to say
tried to sway
but would allay
your fears away
defray
my cloistered decay
though I turn grey
my heart is gay
sometimes risqué
so please don't slay
my power play

curl up with my petals

Sep 5, 2008

my texture was alluring, you could not resist
my color so enduring, a dream yet I exist
light streams in infinite directions
wavelengths combine
perduance yielding varied flavors
enunciating distinct sensations yet to savor
again curl up with me
affinity divine

joy

Mar 1, 2008 9:13 AM

Her pace quickened as she hastened towards the window. A quick glance told the weather, as well as need be, for the sun shone bright in her heart on this particular dawn. What had previously been veiled anticipation now awoke this day with wild excitement; her plans formed and shifted all week and now the day had come. The big event was in store, and she could hardly wait. Yes, a flurry of thoughts took hold and bare feet trod down the stairs, barely able to control herself. She found her parents already eating breakfast in the kitchen. Then came the look, the famous wide-eyed enthusiastic smile her father couldn't resist, buckling under its influence was unavoidable. He saw the look as she entered the room, that same sweet smile which always convinced him. Her joy rubbed off on everyone who encountered this enthusiasm. This morning was no different.

Doug Bauman, March 2008

The Sage

A sage once told me:
When you feel you are alone, you do not really know how many people are behind you and support you.
When you feel despair, fear not, the despair is only inside you.
When your faith is stretched to the limit, it is time to grow;
encompass a wider range, depth of meaning can be enhanced.
Take a pause, relax, start anew.
That sage was me, my inner voice.
Don't feel home sick, enjoy the company you are with,
be that nature, people, whatever..
Relax, contemplate, slow down.
When you are down, then there is no place else but up,
things will look up.
Take heart

Rossini Overture to L'Italiana in Algeri

www.youtube.com/watch?v=94asd5_o_Sg

little camp fires on a tulip tree

Little camp fires on a tree
posed right out there just for me
Beyond my reach but near my sight
A perilous reach yet dare I might

A lovely little tulip poplar
where I stay above my room
To capture its beauty I dare to try
but they are perched beyond my zoom

So offered now a beauty blossom
up close to view comes far away
a captured version of what I'd see
if I could fly like birds in May

A hummingbird sees this lovely tulip
and I could too if I could glide
Birds and bees would bend their knees
if they could see my aerial ride

Please grab your camera and make the show
forget your troubles and let me know
if you would smell my fragrant flower
enjoy the close-up and let us grow

Dedicated to tygerlyly
a helpful friend, and what a dilly!

freewill

fall in to my tendrils deep and still
feathers softly bristle like a quill
falling uphill

lessons never learned can not instill
real distinction for another skill
but you've got freewill

elusive ray of light

I do it for light, light, light

I discovered a magical ray of pure sunlight,
I followed it up and I followed it right,
it dodged, and it bounded and looped
all around, I'm trying to find if I may if I might,

It was tiny and bright and it lept over head
but I followed it quick, and it wiggled instead
it was canny and clever and quickly receded,
but I followed it through and aimed just ahead

The light landed up on a green maple tree
and the seeds were illumed to be orange, can't you see
it was steady and stable and lingered awhile
and the seeds didn't move, nor extinguish my guile

The result you can see is a striking redound
of a blade in the air, just the way it was found,
and I captured it fine, and now that its mine
I'm happy to show it to you any time

Enjoy

(written to the music of this song:)
youtube.com/watch?v=O8CyJVTCFYs

I recently made some audio recordings of:
Wood Thrush:
javadoug.googlepages.com/MVI_0861.AVI.MP3

Hooded Warbler (wheatie-wheatie-wheatie-oooh)
javadoug.googlepages.com/MVI_0898.AVI.MP3
javadoug.googlepages.com/MVI_0900.AVI.MP3

Hooded Warbler (alternate call, not heard as often)
javadoug.googlepages.com/MVI_0902.AVI.MP3

The Ugly American

1982 - that's me climbing the statue. What's funny is I didn't even remember this!
I met some friends after a Pittsburgh Symphony Concert a few weeks ago, and my friend's wife said she remembers this photo, with me sticking my tongue out posing behind this statue. :-)
So he scanned these old slides for me.

From my friend Simon Lowenfeld, who took these photos:
"these statues used to line one of the avenues of the Forum Romanum in Rome; the Forum was the center of Rome and therefore the center of the Roman Empire; the statues were no longer there when I was in Italy 2 yrs ago, undoubtedly removed to save them from tourists climbing all over them…"

He calls this: "The Ugly American"
A reference to a phrase apparently only known to Europeans, about some sort of yankee think or other, I'm not sure exactly ;-) (He's originally from Romania)

Here is another picture from that trip, this one taken in Austria:
www.flickr.com/photos/javadoug/305729943/

And for more of my exploits on that trip, this time in Romania, read half way down this essay I wrote a few years ago:
javadoug.googlepages.com/beauty.html

mysterious stranger

This mysterious stranger was a very tiny insect visiting my small bachelor button flower. I've been reading about quantum physics and time particles again recently
In the article, a physicist remarks: "“The quantum world has become more tangible, and the nature of reality even more mysterious”

I used to watch a TV show called: "Connections" It would leap from one item to another, throughout history using these sometimes weak links called connections. Almost like gossip, which starts with a fact at one end of a chain, and ends up all the way at the other end of a chain completely different, yet with the show, it somehow wrapped it all up into a sort of quasi circle, with a plausible scenario for their completed elliptical turn, and if you suspended your disbelief, and without skepticism, it was an entertaining concoction of historical events.

My connection is this, I begin with the tiny insect, to which I state he is very very small, and I've got this camera which is able to record his or her beauty in fabulous macro style. But I observe his tiny presence and extrapolate smaller, to particles unseen and infinitesimal. The article appears, thanks to first a visit by Panta Rhei, a contact who just got back from a vacation to the North Sea, so you see I'm leaping here, I'm placing these links together in semblances of connections. She has a contact named Perceval's Land (or he has changed his flickr name now). So in his photostream, I see this picture of the chains and gears of a bicycle, and of course I can't resist, being a bike lover myself, and I see a reference to an article about a possible way to actually observe these particles and or waves without disturbing them, perhaps by fixing what you have disturbed, and a reference to a fellow named Katz; so the article was sent to Panta, so of course I have to google that and I find the article, it is the quantum theory again, about not being able to observe without also disturbing. Sort of like photography, I am able to observe and photograph this tiny insect, but have I disturbed the scene? Have I sent it into an alternate universe? If I had not disturbed this, it might have happened differently. In the schrödinger's cat thought experiment, the cat is in a box, in a state where he is either alive or dead, but at the same time (that departure elides me a bit), and when you open the box (observation) you find the cat is either alive or dead, but cannot be both at the same time, by observing you have disturbed. I once before observed, In any walk with nature, one disturbs far more than he knows.

I could make this program a bit longer, with chains upon links of connections, but I'm off for work, and you see I don't want to be that late, even though I'm already a bit. Many more of these connections are possible! Let's take trips through flickr with many connections. My final connection is this: I just happened to be reading a book by Mark Twain, called the Mysterious Stranger, you can only guess who that is. Well I also read another book by C.S.Lewis called "The Great Divorce" about the divorce between Heaven and Hell. Well in that book, heaven is in the sky and grand and glorious, hell is in the tiny cracks of the ground and is infinitesimal. Therefore, you can begin to see further connections, that hell is the tiny particles of quantum physics, and our great big world is heaven, and well, perhaps by disturbing the tiny particles, we are disturbing hell, we don't want to wake up Satan!

Perdurance

A star appeared one night, midsummer
An apparition of dread yet soon to befall
the stranger who would be firm friend
short term knowing can deceive
Consent to avoid folly too soon
hold back tears of joy for a subtle time
and while thy realm is blurred
sharpen thy tooth on dreams of perdurance,
the long continuance of yon tender relationship
fraught with broken slumber
Determination rewards with eventual pure bonds
of long lasting friendship
sleep tight, thy midsummer dream
sleep well, do daydream,
do care,
hold fast,
friend