OXIDATION:

> The combination of a substance with oxygen.
> A reaction in which the atoms in an element lose electrons and the valence of the element is correspondingly increased.

This question continues to resurface as of late......is life on Earth a chemical process related to other chemical processes like oxidation?

Think of it a minute. A piece of metal will slowly change form when exposed to oxygen.
The Earth is being transformed by a process called life. Exposed elements changing form.
Are cars and skyscrapers and freeways and cyanobacteria and DNA and human bodies & minds.....are all these an "oxidation" of Earth? Is consciousness really needed in this process?

Not an especially romantic view that might cozy up beside the many other idealized theories. Take away the inventions of humans...like virtue, purpose, and death....and the idea appears plausible. Especially at the micro or macro level. After all, the magical formula of life...DNA...is merely bonded elements transformed by conditions abiogenesis . No small feat, but yet in the realm of chemistry.

Why there is only one template for life(DNA) is another question in my mind.
While reading some material I learned for the first time that some scientists believe other templates of "life" may have had genesis, but then were exterminated by competing chemical processes which led to all life as we know it. Even with all Earth's diversity it is yet, it seems, a very exclusive club.

Abiogenesis.....is this what the Buddha sees....this simplicity? And all that ghastly suffering surrounding Buddha....is that just "oxidation" as well?

Imagine great forests and cities and civilizations as a sort of residue build-up as atmosphere and energy begin dissolving and transforming Earth, like the rust on my car fender.

Humans take themselves waaaaay too seriously.

Excerpt from 'Akavika' by Stardust

"We approach the roots of human existence.
The flames grow higher, lighting the moon above. The bongos reawaken universal codes. A frenzied erotic trance state. All around the dark wood watches in wonder. What creatures be they that defy reason and make love to the jungle? What be their fate those who wrestle demons and gods? And fear….it creeps the fringes, its ugly eye peering from the shadows upon the puppets and flame. It will have no meal tonight. Death is but a dream of some other world. For if one truly lives, one never really dies. Moments become The Eternal. And the hand of magic rises and falls without purpose or promise.
The hypnotic drum beats end. We collapse in a heavy sweat. There is nothing left inside. The purge is complete. Above, the stars are no closer. The world no more sane. But the personal evils which paralyze our lives are disintegrating into millions of particles and drifting away on a cosmic current. Akavika and I are safe, our lives more malleable, our dreams intact. Time begins once more, and will continue till we again dance with the fire .....


.....Stranded on a desert island with an empty bottle, a piece of paper, and a pencil. What would you do…..a message?…..what would it say? Or would you save the items for more clever plans?
And this.
Let’s say one day you walk the beach of this island and discover a bottle washed ashore. Carefully you extract torn shreds of paper from within, saving the bottle. The message is there…in puzzle form. You must piece together the hundreds of shreds. So you begin. Very time consuming. Weeks lead to months, years. And you wonder if the message will ever come together making sense. Meanwhile, the island has become your home. Only curiosity of other lands.
The island is Earth. The message is Life. But who or what made the bottle?"
__________________________

My intention was a very short story. "Akavika" evolved into a much longer project, involving a character in which I became emotionally involved.

UNDERCURRENTS

Date: 7-14-06
Time: 1:36 a.m.
Place: Blacktop County Rd. 9
.....A loud rumbling noise wakes me. I hurry outside into the darkness. There is a strong smell of hot asphalt & tar in the cool night air. Cautiously I walk down the gravel driveway towards the blacktop road. There, standing with a pair of dogs is this woman (photo). She asks if I have lost my dogs, saying she found them nearby. I tell the woman the dogs are not mine.
It is difficult to breath. The tar road is hissing and popping, acrid vapors steaming from the melting tar. The air is hot on my face. The road appears to slither in pain.
This strange woman suggests I take a photo of the dogs in order to show neighbors who may have lost them. I agree, retrieving my camera from the house. Darkness makes it difficult, but manage to get a shot. The heat and smell is overpowering, and I must back away, up the driveway.
She thanks me, turns and begins walking barefoot down the sizzling twisted road. It was then I asked her where she lives, in the case the dogs' owner is found. No answer from the darkness.
Then she appears once again, slowly walking from the darkness to within several feet from where I stand on the gravel. Almost in a whisper, barely audible above the hissing hot tar below, she says, " I live in you", and she melts into the darkness once more.
I sleep very little that night.

__________________________

Odsessively Ambitious Johnny

Driving along listening to radio. They are discussing early education, namely preschool. The guest stresses how critical these years be. An obsessively ambitious mother calls in to make several points, one being this: children by-passing preschool environment are much more likely to become criminal. She states that "it is too late, it is too late" if children miss preschool. Apparently she believes these children's destiny are then known....criminal dysfunctional incompetence. This woman's totally irrational comments are astounding. And there is no questioning of this ridiculous statement from either the guest or program host.
I begin to suspect a number of weak-kneed quivering yuppie couples are already signing up their little Johnny into a "pre" capitalized public education. Their years of absentee parenting is increased. In fourteen years Johnny will have been hammered and molded into an acceptable product, embracing artificial ethics and morals. But what is an artificial ethic? One example is tactical volunteerism, cleverly designed volunteerism that grooms a college application. His helicopter parents text him from work congratulating him. He avoided criminal activity in dark inner-city alleys, but his lack of real ethics is a sure ticket down the slimy wasteland of Wallstreet. Johnny's corrupt dealings in finance will be met with passive resignation from his now financially struggling parents. They're not sure why Johnny is a back-stabbing crook. They have yet to accept their responsibility in creating him. It is easier for them to blame an influx of crooked politicians. But then where did they come from? The neighbor's kids.
Now Johnny is planning and sculpting his own family. His pregnant wife attends pre-conception school. Little Johnny Jr. must be prepared for an obsessively ambitious life.

CAUGHT WORSHIPPING

Yes, I saw it and heard it once more. It is proof. A ghost?..... An alien? Not so lucky am I. No, I once again witnessed worshippers paying their respects to their god. A very subtle gesture indeed. But I caught it.

The subject was politics on a news program. The guest was doing his best not to blame anyone in particular for the economic meltdown....you know, the usual bullshit. When the words "wallstreet" and "bankers" slipped from his forked tongue I detected a change in tone or inflection. Very subtle. Very. But it was there. No crossing himself. No eyes lifted towards the heavens. No, just an instinctual sign of reverence to his god. As was said long ago...."Thou shalt not take the name of your god in vain" and "Do not bite the hand that feeds you". Even if that hand is filled with maggots.
So long corrupt virtueless bankers remain in power the puppet politicians and subservient public will perpetuate their evils. The public yet has the choice of hanging these bastards by their toes till they rot. Or do they? To challenge one's god is heresy....and deadly. Though not wiser, it is safer to fill the banks with your tithings in hopes you will be 'saved'.
"Blessed be the bankers, for they are the keepers of my finances, my childrens future, and my soul."

Some things in life go relatively unnoticed until they are over.
For some people it is childhood. For some friendship. For some family ties. For others a good job. And for many life itself. For those starving to death-----is it all something of a lie, something beyond nightmares, something beyond a mother’s smile? Yes, life was a lie, a promise unkempt, a body denied, a mind spoiled, a soul unnoticed by man…..and their god. Though not unnoticed by God. Will starvation ever end? No. Will humans notice? Not really. Human reaction to suffering is instinctive, self-preserving. The idea of Christ’s love and compassion is inhuman. Modern day ‘christs’ are superheroes, who notice evil, but cannot see deprivation of the body as worth their time. These ‘heroes’ reflect our lack of compassion for starving masses. If we notice starvation we may put ourselves in peril.
The corpses are noticed, the body count tallied. Counting the dead is a job, a secure job. Reinstituting the lie is another. What is the lie?---that the starving matter. Be sure to notice the lie. Then be sure to do nothing.

Do you still believe the IT myth?

The latest Newsweek cover story attempts to perpetuate the IT myth....that IT is saving the human race. The article wreaks of self interest and east coast patronizing. The droids can fry eggs for breakfast, but they cannot stop 30,000 humans from starving to death each day. It appears the Google and Apple nerds don't give a rip either.
The droids tell the nerds that IT remains a profitable investment, since more humans are being born than dying.