The · Pumpkin · Patch

So I'm back, but perhaps not for the long term. I've seen this commercial lately for Levi's, featuring a poem by Uncle Walt. Instead of just allowing them to use the shit out of this poem, one of the best and most inspirational ever written, I figured I'd use this venue to bring the full version out for true appreciation, and not just commercialization;

O! Pioneers!
By Walt Whitman

1
COME, my tan-faced children,
Follow well in order, get your weapons ready;
Have you your pistols? have you your sharp edged axes? Pioneers! O pioneers!

2
For we cannot tarry here,
We must march my darlings, we must bear the brunt of danger,
We, the youthful sinewy races, all the rest on us depend, Pioneers! O pioneers!

3
O you youths, western youths,
So impatient, full of action, full of manly pride and friendship,
Plain I see you, western youths, see you tramping with the foremost, Pioneers! O
pioneers!

4
Have the elder races halted?
Do they droop and end their lesson, wearied, over there beyond the seas?
We take up the task eternal, and the burden, and the lesson, Pioneers! O pioneers!

5
All the past we leave behind;
We debouch upon a newer, mightier world, varied world,
Fresh and strong the world we seize, world of labor and the march, Pioneers! O pioneers!

6
We detachments steady throwing,
Down the edges, through the passes, up the mountains steep,
Conquering, holding, daring, venturing, as we go, the unknown ways, Pioneers! O pioneers!

7
We primeval forests felling,
We the rivers stemming, vexing we, and piercing deep the mines within;
We the surface broad surveying, we the virgin soil upheaving, Pioneers! O pioneers!

8
Colorado men are we,
From the peaks gigantic, from the great sierras and the high plateaus,
From the mine and from the gully, from the hunting trail we come, Pioneers! O pioneers!

9
From Nebraska, from Arkansas,
Central inland race are we, from Missouri, with the continental blood intervein’d;
All the hands of comrades clasping, all the Southern, all the Northern, Pioneers! O
pioneers!

10
O resistless, restless race!
O beloved race in all! O my breast aches with tender love for all!
O I mourn and yet exult—I am rapt with love for all, Pioneers! O pioneers!

11
Raise the mighty mother mistress,
Waving high the delicate mistress, over all the starry mistress, (bend your heads all,)
Raise the fang’d and warlike mistress, stern, impassive, weapon’d mistress, Pioneers! O
pioneers!

12
See, my children, resolute children,
By those swarms upon our rear, we must never yield or falter,
Ages back in ghostly millions, frowning there behind us urging, Pioneers! O pioneers!

13
On and on, the compact ranks,
With accessions ever waiting, with the places of the dead quickly fill’d,
Through the battle, through defeat, moving yet and never stopping, Pioneers! O pioneers!

14
O to die advancing on!
Are there some of us to droop and die? has the hour come?
Then upon the march we fittest die, soon and sure the gap is fill’d, Pioneers! O
pioneers!

15
All the pulses of the world,
Falling in, they beat for us, with the western movement beat;
Holding single or together, steady moving, to the front, all for us, Pioneers! O
pioneers!

16
Life’s involv’d and varied pageants,
All the forms and shows, all the workmen at their work,
All the seamen and the landsmen, all the masters with their slaves, Pioneers! O pioneers!

17
All the hapless silent lovers,
All the prisoners in the prisons, all the righteous and the wicked,
All the joyous, all the sorrowing, all the living, all the dying, Pioneers! O pioneers!

18
I too with my soul and body,
We, a curious trio, picking, wandering on our way,
Through these shores, amid the shadows, with the apparitions pressing, Pioneers! O
pioneers!

19

Lo! the darting bowling orb!
Lo! the brother orbs around! all the clustering suns and planets,
All the dazzling days, all the mystic nights with dreams, Pioneers! O pioneers!

20
These are of us, they are with us,
All for primal needed work, while the followers there in embryo wait behind,
We to-day’s procession heading, we the route for travel clearing, Pioneers! O pioneers!

21
O you daughters of the west!
O you young and elder daughters! O you mothers and you wives!
Never must you be divided, in our ranks you move united, Pioneers! O pioneers!

22
Minstrels latent on the prairies!
(Shrouded bards of other lands! you may sleep—you have done your work;)
Soon I hear you coming warbling, soon you rise and tramp amid us, Pioneers! O pioneers!

23
Not for delectations sweet;
Not the cushion and the slipper, not the peaceful and the studious;
Not the riches safe and palling, not for us the tame enjoyment, Pioneers! O pioneers!

24
Do the feasters gluttonous feast?
Do the corpulent sleepers sleep? have they lock’d and bolted doors?
Still be ours the diet hard, and the blanket on the ground, Pioneers! O pioneers!

25
Has the night descended?
Was the road of late so toilsome? did we stop discouraged, nodding on our way?
Yet a passing hour I yield you, in your tracks to pause oblivious, Pioneers! O pioneers!

26
Till with sound of trumpet,
Far, far off the day-break call—hark! how loud and clear I hear it wind;
Swift! to the head of the army!—swift! spring to your places, Pioneers! O pioneers.

A small bat that was spotted blasting off with the space shuttle Sunday and clinging to the back side of Discovery's external fuel tank apparently held on throughout the launch.

NASA hoped the bat would fly away before the spacecraft's Sunday evening liftoff, but photos from the launch now show the bat holding on for dear life throughout the fiery ride.

"He did change the direction he was pointing from time to time throughout countdown but ultimately never flew away," states a NASA memo obtained by SPACE.com. "Infrared imagery shows he was alive and not frozen like many would think ... Liftoff imagery analysis confirmed that he held on until at least the vehicle cleared [the] tower before we lost sight of him."

Officials at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla., where Discovery launched from a seaside pad, said the bat's outlook after launch appears grim.

"Based on images and video, a wildlife expert who provides support to the center said the small creature was a free tail bat that likely had a broken left wing and some problem with its right shoulder or wrist," NASA officials said Tuesday. "The animal likely perished quickly during Discovery's climb into orbit."

Because the Kennedy Space Center is also home to Florida's Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge, NASA's launch pads are equipped with several countermeasures, including warning sirens, to ward off birds and other wildlife. NASA also relies on radar to make sure large flocks of birds won't be struck by the shuttle during liftoff.

But the bat on Discovery's tank did not budge, even after engine ignition.

The bat was perched between one quarter and one third of the way up on the north side of the fuel tank, which is the side that faces away from the orbiter. NASA estimated the surface temperature of the tank at that location was between 58 and 70 degrees Fahrenheit, even though the canister was filled with super-cold liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen.

In the hours before Discovery's liftoff, NASA's Final Inspection Team (called the "ICE team") investigated whether the creature would pose a risk to the shuttle if its body impacted the orbiter's sensitive heat shield tiling. Ultimately, NASA officials signed a waiver confirming that the bat was safe to fly with.

"The bat eventually became 'Interim Problem Report 119V-0080' after the ICE team finished their walkdown," the memo said. "Systems Engineering and Integration performed a debris analysis on him and ultimately a Launch Commit Criteria waiver to ICE-01 was written to accept the stowaway."

This isn't the first time a bat has attempted to travel into space. Another bat was seen clinging to the side of the external tank attached to the shuttle Endeavour on its STS-72 flight in 1996. That one maybe have been a bit more cautious, though: It flew away to safety right before launch.

Coincidentally, an astronaut aboard that flight, Koichi Wakata of Japan, also flew on Discovery this week, making him the first spaceflyer to share two rides with bats. Discovery's STS-119 mission is headed to the International Space Station to drop off the final segment of the lab's backbone truss and set of solar array panels.

NASA officials said a bat also set down on the external tank for the shuttle Columbia during its STS-90 mission in 1998. That bat also flitted away to safety during liftoff, they added.

SPACE.com is providing continuous coverage of STS-119 with reporter Clara Moskowitz and senior editor Tariq Malik in New York. Click here for mission updates and SPACE.com's live NASA TV video feed.

Imagine being that bat, dude. Holy. Fucking. Shit your mind would be blown.

a.) don't let faith get in the way of reason:

if you believe in god, then it would make sense to think that god gave you reason for a purpose. use it, and stop listening to the people who preach "the word of god" in order to attain and maintain power.

b.) the bible is NOT the word of god:

god didn't write the bible. greedy, power-hungry men wrote it. luther said you don't need to go through a priest to get in touch with god. why, then, would you need a book?

c.) community comes first:

this is what jesus believed, and he IS sort of the cornerstone for the CHRISTIAN religions. it's more important to take care of the ones that can't care for themselves than it is to worry about who is worth caring for.

d.) judge not:

we all do stupid shit sometimes. we've all made mistakes, we all have regrets (even if you say you don't.) it's unfair to others to cast stones when you've probably deserved to have a few rocks chucked your way.

e.) focus on the positive:

we all have flaws and we all have things about us that make us great. instead of dwelling on the things you don't like about yourself, emphasize the good. you'll be a lot happier, trust me.

f.) you are your own temple:

trust me, you don't HAVE to go to church. find your own path to mokshah, as all paths eventually lead there anyway.

g.) remain peaceful:

for far too long, religions have sought dominance over other religions, first with swords and arrows, then with guns and bombs. killing others will not bring you closer to divinity, but rather further away from it.

h.) remain at peace:

don't fight with yourself. that isn't to say be impulsive, rather use your reason to come to the best path and follow it, and don't doubt yourself.

i.) keep an open mind:

there's a lot of information out there, and while a lot of it is bullshit, don't immediately dismiss it. explore new opportunities and ideas, but remember to remain yourself throughout.

j.) don't be afraid to say "i don't know."

to say you know the true nature of any sort of cosmic creator fully is arrogant. there is absolutely no hard evidence to prove ANY theory. that isn't to say you shouldn't search, but don't let such a mystery frighten you into refusing to think about it, and instead taking someone else's word for it.

i assure you that, if everyone on earth followed these rules, we'd live in a pretty fucking sweet world. at least it works for me.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080801/us_nm/walmart_democrats_dc

read that. i can tell you right now that when they say that telling their employee how to vote is NOT what they're doing, that's only half true. like when i was ridiculed in front of most of my department by my manager when i told him i was voting for Kerry. Also, unionizing will NOT force a cut in jobs. a union would be in place to PROTECT jobs and the people who work them. Because Wal-Mart builds its practice on lies and the backs of hard working people who work too hard to not get overtime, or to not receive enough health insurance for how much money they put in every month, i'm boycotting Wal-Mart till they unionize. Hell, i might even help. It's ok, you can trust me. I worked there for a pretty long time. Don't buy from Wal-Mart. It's the right thing to do.

i've officially converted to bikeriding. it's much more satisfying to get someplace based on your own efforts rather than filling the pockets of oil execs. plus, it's good exercise. i feel, after a few months of strictly riding my bike, i'll be back in some good-ass shape. looking sexier, even, than i already do. just as long as it doesn't rain too much anymore, i'll be fine.

penny has sharp teeth and i have thick blood. fights friday night. come see attractions such as a triple threat elimination match featuring myself, aaron and paul. my money's on paul, because i'm pretty sure he's just going to chill out for the first half of the match while aaron and i expend all of our energy on one another. seems like that would be paul's angle...

so as it turns out, i've grown allergic to my cat, penny. she's about 4 1/2 years old, i think she's a tabby but i'm not too clear on the different variations of cat. she's an incredibly friendly indoor cat, and she'd make a good addition to your menagerie or a good solo pet.

stipulations:

penny still has her claws, but they're not THAT sharp.

if you want penny, you're going to have to come get her (unless you live really close, in which case i can bring her to you.
)

i need to get rid of penny immediately, because i'm tired of sneezing every twenty seconds. the humane society told me they don't have any room for cats right now, so my only hope is to give her away, because i don't just want to set her free. she probably wouldn't survive long. reply to this bulletin if you or someone you know is interested. i'll give further details to respondents.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/13/world/asia/13fat.html?no_interstitial

they should definitely do this in America.

playing a lot of hacky sack, cutting down on soda and fast food, push ups, whatever sterling can teach me on drums (yes, playing drums would technically be exercise considering how much energy it takes.) and riding my bike when i get my tire fixed. also need to find a job sometime soon. updates as things come up.

take it from me, cinephile extrordinaire. any fun sort of intrigue that might have been in the film vanishes after the beginning of the second act. i would write a full review for you guys, but i actually don't think it would be worth it. the film just plain sucks.

turns out i'm not graduating this semester like i thought i was. i'm short a few classes, that i'll have to take in the fall. as a result, i won't be able to move to tampa like originally planned. i apologize to everyone who was looking forward to having me down there, but mostly i apologize to nicole and derek, whose apartment i was to live in. i reallly wish i could have graduated this summer, but it's just not in the cards. hopefully, you guys won't be too infuriated with me and that you can understand my position. that is all.

the other week, ellen tried to convince me that quirk was going to be the defining characteristic for this decade, but i wasn't so sure. after watching feist on the colbert report, i'm thinking she might be right. thoughts?

i'm pretty sure i'm not graduating this summer. i haven't told my grandfather or my parents yet, but i'm ok with it.

don't know what this is going to mean as far as moving to tampa is concerned. might not happen now, if i have to stay here and finish my degree.

the problem lies in finding a place to live, since i've given notice to this place that i'm leaving on may 28th.

i was offered a room in a house. that's my plan b if it turns out i have to stay on another semester here.

i'm going to beatles night at underground bluz tonight. anyone who wants to see talented musicians play nothing but beatles tunes all night, you should go, also.

fin