Robyn – Page 139 – DocuDharma

Mar 22 2009

Café Discovery: Flowers and Weeds

By Robyn in Art, Teaching

I have not many of my own words today.

Perhaps I am tired. Perhaps I am simply lazy.

Perhaps it is simply that it is Spring.

So I have few words of my own. But I do have a few graphics. Clicking them will open larger versions.

I added just enough words, from Etymology Online and Wikipedia, to allow arrangement of the graphics…and perhaps allow a little bit of learning.

Mar 20 2009

Friday Philosophy: Greed, Cynicism and Hope

By Robyn in Philosophy

On Tuesday I attended our annual Cyrus H. Holley Lecture on applied ethics. The speaker was a retired colleague, Professor Emeritus of History Steve Golin, a well-known labor historian (see The Fragile Bridge: Paterson Silk Strike, 1913 and The Newark Teacher Strikes: Hopes on the Line), who lectured on History, Cynicism and Hope.

Therein lie the roots of this riff.

And hereafter will lie a little history (or something simulating history), a little cynicism, and…with any luck…some hope. And maybe I need something to tie them loosely together.

Greed.

Mar 20 2009

Muse in the Morning

By Robyn in Art, Community, Poetry

Muse in the Morning

Dream Catcher #8

Hardscrabble Progress

Structure

begets structure

hope gives birth

to greater hopes

dreams are dreamt

even by beings

existing only

between the breaths

of a dreamer

The present

condenses

out of untold

alternate futures

and drags the past

forward

like a ball and chain

Life is endurable

if only one can find

the beauty

amidst the ugliness

–Robyn Elaine Serven

–March 19, 2009

Mar 19 2009

Muse in the Morning

By Robyn in Art, Community, Poetry

Muse in the Morning

Dream Catcher #7

Geometric Dreams

Dreams

within hopes

within dreams

solidifying

essence

of absolute void

formulating

the building blocks

of possible futures

while sowing

the seeds

which grow

if tended carefully

into what should be

our better natures

–Robyn Elaine Serven

–March 18, 2009

Mar 18 2009

Muse in the Morning

By Robyn in Art, Community, Poetry

Muse in the Morning

Dream Catcher #6

Effervescence

Collapsing

folding

tumbling

through time

and space

the fractured

connections

melt and reform

bubbles seeking

minimalism

clasping securely

as much form

as can be

remembered

while embellishing

with renewed hopes

and refreshed dreams

–Robyn Elaine Serven

–March 17, 2009

Mar 17 2009

Muse in the Morning

By Robyn in Art, Community, Poetry

Muse in the Morning

Dream Catcher #5

Fractured Hope

Designs expand

replicating

inexactly

stretching

the fabric

of existence

until it shatters

Shards compress

in an optimistic

but perhaps

unattainable

quest

for a stable

future

–Robyn Elaine Serven

–March 15, 2009

Mar 16 2009

Muse in the Morning

By Robyn in Art, Community, Poetry

Muse in the Morning

Dream Catcher #4

Living Wings

Wings spread

designs of life

unfolding

between the filaments

as the tapestry

is woven

out of sparkling threads

against the background

of the void

–Robyn Elaine Serven

–March 15, 2009

Mar 13 2009

Friday Philosophy: gender identity and you

By Robyn in Philosophy

News out of West Virginia is that the State Senate passed a bill adding protection for sexual orientation (and age) to its anti-discrimination law. While I applaud that, I also understand that it is not sufficient to protect the people most likely to be discriminated against. And I don’t just mean transfolk. I mean gays and lesbians…and even straight people…who do not perform their gender role to the liking of those who would discriminate.

A lot of folks just don’t get that. A lot of people believe that transpeople are just out to get what they can for themselves and do not comprehend that in working for protections based on gender identity, we are concerned about you…and you…and you, too.

What people seem not to be able to accept is that we all have gender identities…every single one of us.

Mar 13 2009

Muse in the Morning

By Robyn in Art, Community, Poetry

Muse in the Morning

Dream Catcher #3

Blooming Bliss

Bliss created

from stardust

memories

seeds coalesce

from strands

of time

and shed

their husks

creating space

to weave

the threads

in the tapestry

of existence

–Robyn Elaine Serven

–March 12, 2009

Mar 12 2009

Muse in the Morning

By Robyn in Art, Community, Poetry

Muse in the Morning

Dream Catcher #2

Snagging Wisps

Strands of stardust

woven spacetime

arranged to collect

better days

true emotions

radiant ideas

clasping truth

in the clutches

of abstraction

to be spilled

when bleeding

is necessary

–Robyn Elaine Serven

–March 11, 2009

Mar 11 2009

The people on the other side of the screen

By Robyn in Community, Meta

I ran into someone a few days ago who prefers the name-calling style of communication. As these things frequently unfold, the name-calling escalated when it could have just as easily have been derailed by a simple apology…or even just by leaving the conversation…rather than an obstinate and seemingly never-ending defense of the behavior.

Eventually, the person wrote the following, which is the inspiration for this essay.

I don’t [think] you should be getting so bent out of shape because of words typed up by some random people you don’t know. I think you should take a step back and get some perspective if you really have such a hard time dealing with the ramblings of anonymous goobers on the internet.

I do not consider the people I meet on the Internet to be “random people I don’t know.” I call them my friends. That’s probably why behavior on the Internet means more to me than him.

17 comments

Mar 11 2009

Muse in the Morning

By Robyn in Art, Community, Poetry

Muse in the Morning

Dream Catcher #1

Aspiration

Hopes and dreams

of a better future

might be captured

in designs which

simultaneously

register

the disappointment

of a second-rate

present

and the struggle

to escape

the entanglements

of a past

constructed

out of ignorance

–Robyn Elaine Serven

–March 10, 2009

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