"Now since the doctors of Persia have no administrative capacity, they thought that violence and interference would cause extinction and silence and lead to suppression and oblivion; whereas interference in matters of conscience causes stability and firmness and attracts the attention of men’s sight and souls; which fact has received experimental proof many times and often. So this punishment caused notoriety, and most men fell to making inquiry." 

--'Abdu'l-Bahá, A Traveler's Narrative

Thru the Bible

HOW FIRM A FOUNDATION

How firm a foundation, ye saints of the Lord,

Is laid for your faith in his excellent Word!

What more can he say than to you he has said

To you who for refuge to Jesus have fled?

Fear not, I am with you. Oh, be not dismayed,

For I am your God and will still give you aid;

I'll strengthen thee, help ye, and cause you to stand,

Upheld by my gracious, omnipotent hand.

When through fiery trials thy pathways shall lie

My grace all sufficient shall be thy supply

The flame shall not hurt thee; I only design

Thy dross to consume and thy gold to refine

The soul that on Jesus hath leaned for repose

I will not, I will not desert to His foes

That soul, though all hell should endeavor to shake

I’ll never, no never, no never forsake

WHAT A FOOL BELIEVES

Song by The Doobie Brothers

 

He came from somewhere back in her long ago

The sentimental fool don't see tryin' hard to recreate

What had yet to be created once in her life

She musters a smile for his nostalgic tale

Never comin' near what he wanted to say

Only to realize it never really was

She had a place in his life

He never made her think twice

As he rises to her apology

Anybody else would surely know

He's watchin' her go

What a fool believes he sees

No wise man has the power to reason away

What seems to be

Is always better than nothing

And nothing at all

Keeps sending him somewhere back in her long ago

Where he can still believe there's a place in her life

Someday, somewhere, she will return

She had a place in his life

He never made her think twice

As he rises to her apology

Anybody else would surely know

He's watchin' her go

What a fool believes he sees

No wise man has the power to reason away

What seems to be (If love can come an' love can go)

(Why can't love be?)

Is always better than nothing

And nothing at all (Oh my)

What a fool believes he sees

(He believes he's never gone away)

No wise man has the power to reason away

(To reason) To reason away

(Oh if love can come an' love can go) What seems to be

(Oh my love) Is always better than nothing

(Better than nothing)

Nothing at all (Oh my love)

 

 

I asked GROK (AI): 

Didn't Sisyphus spend half of eternity walking down the hill, admiring the view?

GROK answered:

Haha, that's a delightfully optimistic spin on one of mythology's most brutal punishments. In the classic Greek tale (Homer, Hesiod, and later Camus loved this one), Sisyphus—the clever, deceitful king of Corinth who cheated death twice—was condemned by Zeus (or Hades) to Tartarus. His eternal task: push a massive boulder up a steep hill. Every time he nears the top, it rolls back down, and he starts over. Forever. No breaks, no progress, pure futility. Your version—spending half of eternity strolling back down, admiring the view—is a brilliant reframing. It's the kind of silver-lining thinking that turns torment into a scenic commute. Pushing up: sweat, strain, existential dread. 

Walking down: light steps, cool breeze off the underworld rivers, maybe a moment to appreciate the "scenery" (fiery pits, wailing shades, the occasional celebrity sinner).

Albert Camus, in The Myth of Sisyphus, called him an absurd hero who must imagine himself happy in his struggle. You'd have him actually enjoying the descent. That's an upgrade—Sisyphean mindfulness.If we're being precise, the myth doesn't dwell on the walk back down (he just retrieves the stone and repeats). But poetically? Absolutely. Half his eternity could be a pleasant downhill saunter. Perspective is everything.

 

 

 

 

I'm not surprised that decades after my visit to Washington DC , remedial work to beautify an unkempt and shabby Capitol Mall would be poisoned with partisan finger-pointing.

I swear, politics and cilantro ruin everything. 

A Gift from Annessah

 

This booklet was given to me by a classmate of my son after his unexpected death all those years ago. It is one of my most treasured possessions.

 The Mansion at Bahji

At first, the decree of the iniquitous sovereign was most harsh, placing Bahá’u’lláh in such strict captivity that even I would be denied access to His holy Presence. Nay more, the Ancient Beauty was to be confined alone and forsaken, and to remain under vigilant watch day and night. However, the conduct of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá was such that the pavilion of the Blessed Beauty was finally pitched with utmost dominion and majesty upon Mount Carmel, and His blessed Being came to reside outside the citadel of ‘Akká, living with the utmost might and honour in the only mansion of that region, utterly detached from all others.

'Abdu'l-Bahá, Light of the World.

Flag of Bangladesh

Symbolism:

Green field: Represents the lush vegetation, fertile landscapes, rivers, and natural beauty of Bangladesh (including its famous mangroves and rice fields). It also symbolizes hope, vitality, youth, and progress.

Red disk: Symbolizes the blood shed by Bengalis during the 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War (and earlier struggles). It also evokes the rising sun over a new nation, signifying hope, revolution, and a bright future.

 

1967 Marlboro commercial with hilarious comments.

 

 

"A tempest, unprecedented in its violence, unpredictable in its course, catastrophic in its immediate effects, unimaginably glorious in its ultimate consequences, is at present sweeping the face of the earth. Its driving power is remorselessly gaining in range and momentum. Its cleansing force, however much undetected, is increasing with every passing day. Humanity, gripped in the clutches of its devastating power, is smitten by the evidences of its resistless fury. It can neither perceive its origin, nor probe its significance, nor discern its outcome. Bewildered, agonized and helpless, it watches this great and mighty wind of God invading the remotest and fairest regions of the earth, rocking its foundations, deranging its equilibrium, sundering its nations, disrupting the homes of its peoples, wasting its cities, driving into exile its kings, pulling down its bulwarks, uprooting its institutions, dimming its light, and harrowing up the souls of its inhabitants."

~Shoghi Effendi, The Promised Day is Come

 

 

Dandini

Dandini Dandini Dastana

Dandini dandini dastana

Cows are coming to the field

Chase them away, farmer

Let them not eat the greens

Dandini dandini danadan

A moon is born from a mother

I won't forget my creator

God protect us from the evil eye

Dandini dandini danayl

We'll cover our hearts

The bride of the house

If death comes, let it be in the palace

Dandini dandini danayl

My death is approved

If it’s not ten, then let it be

Let it be for the beautiful ones

Dandini Dandini Dastana

Dandini dandini dastana

Cows are coming to the field

Chase them away, farmer

Let them not eat the greens

The song "Dandini Dastana" is a traditional Turkish lullaby that conveys deep cultural and emotional significance. The lyrics, which include phrases like "Dandini Dandini Dastana," create a calming effect, symbolizing protection and the hope for a safe future for the child. The song emphasizes the parent's role in safeguarding their child from potential dangers, as illustrated by the lines "Kov bostanc danay, Yemesin lahanay," which mean "Chase the calves away, don't let them eat the cabbage." Additionally, the song invokes divine protection, with the line "Mevla korusun nazardan," which translates to "May God protect from the evil eye." Overall, the lyrics reflect a blend of love, protection, and wishes for a prosperous life for the child.

"Instead of admitting it and saying 'Yes, there was such a dark page in Canadian's history [and] we condemn it', Ottawa declares the truth to be simultaneously a state secret and a threat."

Truth is where you find it. 

 

“Shadow of Car Driving Through Desert, Arizona”, 1971

 Ikkō Narahara, 1931–2020

 

Panem et circenses

 

1961 Ford Econoline

 

 A scene from "A MAN FOR ALL SEASONS"

Sir Thomas More: "Have I your word that what I say here is between us two?"

The Duke of Norfolk: "Oh, very well."

Sir Thomas More: "And if the king should command you to repeat what I said here?"

The Duke of Norfolk: "I should keep my word to you."

Sir Thomas More: "Then what has become of your oath of obedience to the king?"

The Duke of Norfolk: "You lay traps for me!"

Sir Thomas More: "No, I show you the times."

 

I asked Grok (AI) "What is the fate of the Whore of Babylon?"

The "Whore of Babylon" (also called "Babylon the Great" or "the Great Harlot") is a symbolic figure in the Book of Revelation (primarily chapters 17–18) in the New Testament. Her fate is described in detail and is uniformly one of total, violent, and divinely ordained destruction. 

Key elements of her fate (Revelation 17–18, 19): 

1. Sudden betrayal and destruction by her former allies (Rev 17:16–17)  

• The ten horns (kings) and the beast (Antichrist figure) that once supported and empowered her will turn on her.  
• They will “hate the prostitute,” strip her naked, eat her flesh, and burn her with fire.  
• This is explicitly said to fulfill God’s purpose (“God has put it into their hearts to accomplish his purpose”).

2. Complete desolation and ruin (Rev 18:2–8, 21–24)  She is declared “fallen” twice (“Fallen, fallen is         Babylon the Great!”).  

• Her city becomes a haunt for demons and unclean spirits; no one will ever inhabit it again.  
• In a single hour her plagues come: death, mourning, famine, and she is burned with fire.  
• All international commerce that made her wealthy ceases instantly—ships’ captains and merchants stand afar off, weeping over the smoke of her burning.

3. Divine judgment for specific sins  

• Drunkenness with the blood of the saints and martyrs (17:6,18:24).  
• Seduction and fornication with the kings of the earth (political corruption).  
• Luxury, arrogance, and self-glorification (“I sit as queen…I will never mourn” – 18:7).

4. Heaven and the saints rejoice over her destruction (Rev 19:1–8)

• A great multitude in heaven shouts “Hallelujah!” because God has judged the great prostitute who corrupted the earth with her immorality and has avenged the blood of His servants.

• Her smoke “rises up forever and ever,” indicating permanent, irreversible judgment.

 

Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished. --Lao Tzu

Sandstone

Point Lobos

 

 

 

 

A country run by banks 

will always be in debt

Healthcare run by Big Pharma

will never cure disease

A state run by war 

will never know peace

A nation run by media 

will never know the truth

-Tony Seruga

 

The irony is strong with this one.

 

      Tender-heartedness to a wolf is tyranny to a sheep.

 

 

I’m a-wonderin’ if she remembers me at all

Many times I’ve often prayed

In the darkness of my night

In the brightness of my day

 

The Destiny of the United States

 

Excerpt from "The Priceless Pearl" (1969), Ruhiyyih Rabbani's biography of Shoghi Effendi:

"The American nation...stands, indeed, from whichever angle one observes its immediate fortunes, in grave peril. The woes and tribulations which threaten it are partly avoidable, but mostly inevitable and God-sent..." He went on to point out the changes which these unavoidable afflictions must bring about in the "obsolescent doctrine of absolute sovereignty" to which its government and people still clung and which was so "manifestly at variance with the needs of a world already contracted into a neighbourhood and crying out for unity" and through which this nation will find itself purged of its anachronistic conceptions and prepared to play the great role 'Abdu'l-Bahá foretold for it in the establishment of the Lesser Peace. The "fiery tribulations" to come would not only "weld the American Nation to its sister nations in both hemispheres" but would cleanse it of "the accumulated dross which ingrained racial prejudice, rampant materialism widespread ungodliness and moral laxity have combined, in the course of successive generations, to produce, and which have prevented her thus far from assuming the role of world spiritual leadership forecast by 'Abdu'l-Bahá's unerring pen - a role which she is bound to fulfill through travail and sorrow."

 

Janet Hougham

R.I.P.

 

“The great enemy of clear language is insincerity. When there is a gap between one’s real and one’s declared aims, one turns as it were instinctively to long words and exhausted idioms, like a cuttlefish spurting out ink.”

― George Orwell, Politics