American Puzzle has left a new comment on your post "Reflections on the beauty of waterfalls":
A philosophical poser, indeed. I like "Me's" answer above. This is an excellent question - why is it that we are drawn to certain things we perceive as beautiful, powerful, awe-inspiring? But earth-based phenomena in particular. As for me, I have the same reaction to the ocean as I do to waterfalls - even small lakes, ponds, and rivers to some extent. When I hike, I always seek out the trail with a body of water in some form...but why do I do this? I have no idea - I feel drawn to seek out and observe water, but am not drawn to stand under the fall or play in the lake. The mystery and constancy attract me - in addition to rocks and earth, the water connects me (or any individual) as a human to our interconnected past. We are so dependent on this land and especially water, that dependence likely works its way through our subconscious to become fascination and admiration on the surface. Maybe. :P Or maybe there's an element of fear in our fascination - water, especially waterfalls and the ocean, are uncontrollable by us...anything we can't control fascinates us. Great questions and really enjoyable to read - thanks for sharing! :)
Posted by American Puzzle to Jim's Eclectic World at 8/27/08 5:41 PM __________________________________________________
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Wednesday, August 27, 2008
Friday, August 15, 2008
[Jim's Eclectic World] New comment on Yellowstone buffalo: Borders, migration, and the p....
Jim Macdonald has left a new comment on your post "Yellowstone buffalo: Borders, migration, and the p...":
Hey, thanks again for the comments. The buffalo situation has been out of control for a long time; last year just happened to be the worst.
I enjoyed the essay you just wrote about the "Academic Community" - there's a lot to chew on there in terms of the nature of community and how it's utterly lacking in our society. Look at this correspondence. You are God knows where; I am in Bozeman. We probably have read things that we are thinking about more deeply than people who are close to us in other ways. What then is community? What are these strange new boundaries? How are some overcome so easily, creating quasi-communities, not so in others? How much more disconnected and connected can we become?
That goes in some part why I feel such connection to the buffalo and to the indigenous peoples on the plains who have been severed from that and so many other connections. If we do this for the buffalo, we take a step toward re-drawing boundaries in ways that favor the more sensual / the more experiential aspects of connection; the ones closest to our perception and being.
In many ways, I think we are driving at the same thing, eh?
Cheers,
Jim
Posted by Jim Macdonald to Jim's Eclectic World at 8/16/08 2:14 AM __________________________________________________
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Hey, thanks again for the comments. The buffalo situation has been out of control for a long time; last year just happened to be the worst.
I enjoyed the essay you just wrote about the "Academic Community" - there's a lot to chew on there in terms of the nature of community and how it's utterly lacking in our society. Look at this correspondence. You are God knows where; I am in Bozeman. We probably have read things that we are thinking about more deeply than people who are close to us in other ways. What then is community? What are these strange new boundaries? How are some overcome so easily, creating quasi-communities, not so in others? How much more disconnected and connected can we become?
That goes in some part why I feel such connection to the buffalo and to the indigenous peoples on the plains who have been severed from that and so many other connections. If we do this for the buffalo, we take a step toward re-drawing boundaries in ways that favor the more sensual / the more experiential aspects of connection; the ones closest to our perception and being.
In many ways, I think we are driving at the same thing, eh?
Cheers,
Jim
Posted by Jim Macdonald to Jim's Eclectic World at 8/16/08 2:14 AM __________________________________________________
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[Jim's Eclectic World] New comment on Yellowstone buffalo: Borders, migration, and the p....
American Puzzle has left a new comment on your post "Yellowstone buffalo: Borders, migration, and the p...":
First of all, I had no idea the killing of bison was getting so out of control. Yellowstone has such a special place in my heart and mind that this information affects me emotionally. You raise such excellent points about boundaries and their arbitrary nature - also the idea of resistance and silence - when we are silent in such matters as these or wherever we witness injustice, silence is active, not passive. We actively choose to be silent and in that silence some of the worst crimes can be committed.
Posted by American Puzzle to Jim's Eclectic World at 8/15/08 6:36 PM __________________________________________________
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First of all, I had no idea the killing of bison was getting so out of control. Yellowstone has such a special place in my heart and mind that this information affects me emotionally. You raise such excellent points about boundaries and their arbitrary nature - also the idea of resistance and silence - when we are silent in such matters as these or wherever we witness injustice, silence is active, not passive. We actively choose to be silent and in that silence some of the worst crimes can be committed.
Posted by American Puzzle to Jim's Eclectic World at 8/15/08 6:36 PM __________________________________________________
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Monday, August 11, 2008
[Jim's Eclectic World] New comment on Yellowstone buffalo: Borders, migration, and the p....
Dagny has left a new comment on your post "Yellowstone buffalo: Borders, migration, and the p...":
You make a great point that human boundaries have never served animal migration routes well. They need to go where they can survive. That instinct is built in them. If we as humans spent more time observing them than trying to change their biological instincts we might be able to better serve them.
Dagny
www.onnotextiles.com
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Posted by Dagny to Jim's Eclectic World at 8/11/08 5:03 PM __________________________________________________
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You make a great point that human boundaries have never served animal migration routes well. They need to go where they can survive. That instinct is built in them. If we as humans spent more time observing them than trying to change their biological instincts we might be able to better serve them.
Dagny
www.onnotextiles.com
bamboo and organic clothing
Posted by Dagny to Jim's Eclectic World at 8/11/08 5:03 PM __________________________________________________
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Monday, August 4, 2008
[Jim's Eclectic World] New comment on Yellowstone and class.
Jim Macdonald has left a new comment on your post "Yellowstone and class":
Hey there,
Thanks for the kind words and the comment.
On foreign workers, I say in the other piece on the company towns of Greater Yellowstone that they too represent a special class - typically workers who are not poor in their own country. Or else, how do you come up with the initial $2,000? College students, professional types, etc. I'm sure I came to Yellowstone originally poorer than most of the foreign workers.
But, the class distinctions and hardships relative to society are the same; one of the points I think I was making in some of these essays was that it's even ironic that people who are relatively privileged get thrust into the lower rungs of the class system as it exists in Yellowstone. It must be doubly so for a foreign worker from a college or professional background suddenly thrust into a position in the United States where so many are xenophobic, so many have stereotypes of immigrant workers, and where these people have been lied to by their employers and put into the unenviable place of having to work extra jobs just to make it back or to earn the money for their own studies or their families.
Anyhow, it's very nice to see someone thinking about these things in terms of her own experience. And, having done the grad school thing, taught classes, dealt with the various family and societal issues faced by students, it was all the more refreshing to read things from experience I can relate with.
If there was something I didn't feel entirely comfortable with in your essay was your words hedging a bit on your support of unions. I definitely agree that the big unions are largely corrupt or out of touch with their workers, but the union concept is essential to resistance against classism in society. I guess I take a wobbly approach - where workers themselves are the direct participants in their union leadership - but that's the exception unfortunately rather than the norm.
Take care and thanks again. Be sure to pop me an email if there's something you'd like me to read.
Posted by Jim Macdonald to Jim's Eclectic World at 8/4/08 2:25 PM __________________________________________________
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Hey there,
Thanks for the kind words and the comment.
On foreign workers, I say in the other piece on the company towns of Greater Yellowstone that they too represent a special class - typically workers who are not poor in their own country. Or else, how do you come up with the initial $2,000? College students, professional types, etc. I'm sure I came to Yellowstone originally poorer than most of the foreign workers.
But, the class distinctions and hardships relative to society are the same; one of the points I think I was making in some of these essays was that it's even ironic that people who are relatively privileged get thrust into the lower rungs of the class system as it exists in Yellowstone. It must be doubly so for a foreign worker from a college or professional background suddenly thrust into a position in the United States where so many are xenophobic, so many have stereotypes of immigrant workers, and where these people have been lied to by their employers and put into the unenviable place of having to work extra jobs just to make it back or to earn the money for their own studies or their families.
Anyhow, it's very nice to see someone thinking about these things in terms of her own experience. And, having done the grad school thing, taught classes, dealt with the various family and societal issues faced by students, it was all the more refreshing to read things from experience I can relate with.
If there was something I didn't feel entirely comfortable with in your essay was your words hedging a bit on your support of unions. I definitely agree that the big unions are largely corrupt or out of touch with their workers, but the union concept is essential to resistance against classism in society. I guess I take a wobbly approach - where workers themselves are the direct participants in their union leadership - but that's the exception unfortunately rather than the norm.
Take care and thanks again. Be sure to pop me an email if there's something you'd like me to read.
Posted by Jim Macdonald to Jim's Eclectic World at 8/4/08 2:25 PM __________________________________________________
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[Jim's Eclectic World] New comment on Yellowstone and class.
American Puzzle has left a new comment on your post "Yellowstone and class":
Jim - Thank you for finding me and commenting. This piece is compelling as well, and thoughtful. Although, I have stayed in Old Faithful Inn - once - for a few days. :) You also clearly have much more experience than I with working in the park, and you have detailed the class issue very well. One thing, I read the comment by Kurt and your response - the foreign students I worked with in 2005 were just as "entitled" as their American college student brethren - saw it time and again in their attitudes about work. So I don't know that I can fully agree with that assessment...however, I love your writing. I'm adding your blog as a link under my Education and Community tag and look forward to reading more! ;)
Posted by American Puzzle to Jim's Eclectic World at 8/4/08 9:09 AM __________________________________________________
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Jim - Thank you for finding me and commenting. This piece is compelling as well, and thoughtful. Although, I have stayed in Old Faithful Inn - once - for a few days. :) You also clearly have much more experience than I with working in the park, and you have detailed the class issue very well. One thing, I read the comment by Kurt and your response - the foreign students I worked with in 2005 were just as "entitled" as their American college student brethren - saw it time and again in their attitudes about work. So I don't know that I can fully agree with that assessment...however, I love your writing. I'm adding your blog as a link under my Education and Community tag and look forward to reading more! ;)
Posted by American Puzzle to Jim's Eclectic World at 8/4/08 9:09 AM __________________________________________________
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