Month: February 2016

“Blurtso goes green” (IV)

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It sure is warm in here, said Harlan. It sure is, said Blurtso. That’s because a greenhouse, said Alex, turns solar energy into thermal energy, which in turn creates a convection process. What? said Blurtso. Solar energy, said Alex, passes through the glass and gets absorbed by the ground and plants. The plants convert the sun’s short wave infrared rays into long wave infrared rays—into heat energy—which can’t escape the glass. Because the air is trapped, the warm air near the ground rises and the cool air near the ceiling falls, turning the greenhouse into a convection oven which forces the air to become warmer and warmer with each rise and fall. A convection oven? Said Blurtso. Exactly, said Alex. Does that work on a small scale? said Blurtso. Of course it does, said Alex. So I could bake a pumpkin pie, said Blurtso, in a miniature greenhouse?

“Blurtso goes green” (III)

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Your greenhouse was all we talked about today in class, said Harlan. Really? said Blurtso. Yes, said Harlan, the professor gave us an article to read about Degrowth Theory. Degrowth theory? said Alex, isn’t that an oxymoron? An oxymoron? said Blurtso. Yes, said Alex, a concept that is made up of contradictory or incongruous elements; growth implies increase, “de” implies the opposite, so you might as well say decrease. The professor explained that, said Harlan, he said the word implies the increase of communities choosing to decrease their consumption, a world where more people choose to live a simpler lifestyle. What does that have to do with my greenhouse? said Blurtso. Your greenhouse, said Harlan, is a local, self-sustaining environment, you could live forever in this greenhouse if you chose to. Except, said Blurtso, for pumpkin pies. You could grow pumpkins, said Harlan. How would I cook them? You’d have to plant some fast-growing trees, said Harlan, and use the wood for fire. Or use solar energy, said Alex. Isn’t it hard to grow solar panels? said Blurtso. It’s impossible, said Harlan, but you could trade with others in the community who had what you need, and eventually reduce the size of your environmental hoofprint. My environmental hoofprint? said Blurtso, I don’t think my hoofs are too big.

“Blurtso goes green” (I)

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Hmm, thought Blurtso, the grass in Pablo’s greenhouse is getting out of control… I’d better do some serious grazing.

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This is going to take longer than I thought…

“Graham Cracker Crumbs” (XVI)

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“Before you go”

Before you go,
I will tell you what was here.

First, and endless love.

Second, silent
and spoken communication.

Third, any possession worth working for.

Fourth, imagination and a song.

Now you can choose to stay,
or you can go.

“Graham Cracker Crumbs” (XV)

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“It is early”

Of course, it is early.
You will hear other voices
sing other songs.

You will choose one.

You will come to know
the depth of the shadows
in the grasses.
You will see friends
grow and wither,
and dreams and sorrows
slip away.

Will you forget these songs?
Will they vanish in the beauty
with which they cannot compete,
the white mountain, the red rose,
the resolute eyes of a lover?

Or will they remain,
and remind you of the glow
your eyes had once,
and the magic they inspired
in the heart of another?

“Blurtso looks at the snow” (XXIII)

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I can understand why people don’t think they’re part of nature, when the wind, rain, sun and snow seem to do what they do without trying, while humans struggle to do what they do. On the other hand, humans don’t struggle to struggle, they struggle without trying.

“Blurtso looks for a sign”

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Hey, said Blurtso, is that spring I smell? They say that on the first day of spring a donkey can see his tail if he pokes his head out the barn… or maybe it’s when he can see the shadow of his nose… or when his left ear starts twitching…. I’m bound to find a sign if I go for a walk…

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Oh…

“Roman éClair” (VI)

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“He didn’t notice when she came in because he wasn’t there, but when he was he clearly noticed, but pretended not to notice, that she was clearly there. He pretended not notice, so that no one else would notice, that he had clearly noticed that she was clearly there. But she had clearly noticed that he had clearly noticed, and she was clearly there.”

“Blurtso listens to James Taylor on a foggy day”

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“Here comes another grey morning,
a not-so-good morning after all…
She says, ‘Well what am I to do today,
with too much time and so much sorrow…’

The clouds with their heads on the ground,
she’s gonna have to come down…
She said, ‘Move me, move me, I’m locked up inside,’
but I didn’t understand her, though God knows I tried…

She said, ‘Make me angry, or just make me cry,
but no more grey morning, I think I’d rather die.’”