dat bzz

bees bzz, ok. they bzz when they are busy, they bzz when they find pretty flowers. but when you annoy them, they have an unmistakable bzz that even a silly human can tell means ‘go away, or my sisters and i are going to fuck you up srs.’ its usually accompanied by divebombing close to the face, flying orbits around the head, that kind of thing. i suspect this behavior is encouraged by scent: if ive been stung already, perhaps without noticing, then ive got ‘kamakaze bee hormone’ wafting from somewhere on my clothes. this makes area bees mad. she can keep it up for quite a while (minutes) without stinging if you act suitably cowed, but one wrong move and youll find out that pistol is loaded. i usually get it on the ear at this point, or by accident when they get confused by my hair or beard.

bee bump

this is not a threatening behavior, but it *is* territorial. if you are standing around a hive, enjoying the calming noise of bees at work, one of the girls mite bump into you. im pretty sure its deliberate. shes telling you, ‘there are bees here; do you have other business in the area? because if youre here to hassle us, you dont even have the element of surprise, mister.’ its fairly friendly tho. one reason she does it is to revel in her power to make big mammals try to assume the fetal position while running– at which point they will start dat bzz to keep the game going. but if you arent afraid, and you dont mess with their brood, they can bump you all day and never step it up.

vibrating alert

if you pinch or trap a bee, but not hard enuf to hurt her, instead of stinging she will give you a little jolt. i dont know if they do it with the wing muscles or what, but it feels like a mild electric shock or a mobile phone. i swear ive felt it thru a metal truck bed when i set a box on top of a bee cleaning up some wax there. the purpose is pretty simple: ‘hey, im workin here!’ bees arent shy; you wudnt be shy either if you had 10000 friends.

天之道，其猶張弓與。 高者抑之，下者舉之。 有餘者損之，不足者補之。 天之道，損有餘而補不足。

人之道，則不然，損不足以奉有餘。 孰能有餘以奉天下，唯有道者。 是以聖人為而不恃，功成而不處，其不欲見賢邪！

the celestial way– is it not like drawing a bow?  the hi end descends, the low end rises.  the powerful shall be restrained, the meek shall be exalted; surplus shall be destroyed, deficiency shall be aided.  thus the way of nature– always surplus and destruction, deficiency and aid.

 
mortals do not act the same way– we pillage the downtrodden in order to worship the wealthy.  but those who share their profits with the whole world are in accord with nature.  wise men do not seek power thru titles, nor awards for their accomplishments, and have no wish to be seen as virtuous.

on february 26th, say hi to a stranger. introduce yourself! shake hands! hug! share a tender moment or a profound revelation!

then say hi to another stranger– because they are not strangers, they are human beings. isnt saying ‘hi!’ with a big smile easier than holding back? doesnt it break your heart to stare at your feet instead of spreading love?

we celebrate the fact that we all have something in common: humanity. humanity means that we can see ourselves reflected in other people. we celebrate this every time we look someone in the eye, smile at someone elses smile when we meet on the street, or exchange names with a new friend.

regardless of language, we all know what it feels like to communicate with another person and realize that their head is full of thots and emotions, just like our own.

this divine power is available to us all. share it on february 26th, and forever!

namaste! (the divine in me recognizes the divine in you)

nindinawemaganidok! (all my relations– everything in the universe is related)

assalamu alaikum! (may you be free from suffering)

dao an! (divine harmony)

it does not sum up my experience as a whole, and it is not even based on a true story, but it is based on very real fears i developed while picking parasitic arthropods out of my bed and crushing them with my thumbnail. without further ado, the verse:

i got a tick on my prick
and my balls dropped off, sick.

thank you. now i have heard claims that it is difficult to make your fortune as a poet, but despite this blog being the first publication of the poem, i am already in negotiations with the fox network to expand it into an episode of house, guest-starring seann william scott.

知 者 不 言 ， 言 者 不 知 。

塞 其 兌 ， 閉 其 門 ，

挫 其 銳 ， 解 其 紛 ，

和 其 光 ， 同 其 塵 ，

是 謂 玄 同 。

故 不 可 得 而 親 ，

不 可 得 而 疏 ﹔

不 可 得 而 利 ，

不 可 得 而 害 ﹔

不 可 得 而 貴 ，

不 可 得 而 賤 。

故 為 天 下 貴 。

those who know it speak not, those who speak of it know it not.

blocked is its flow, closed is its gate,

blunt is its acuity, separated is its tangle,

moderate is its brightness, condensed is its splatter,

to show the hidden interconnection.

it is not obliged by kinship

or threatened by indifference;

it is not manipulated by cunning

or disabled by misfortune;

it is not lured by accolades

or tempted by vulgarity.

it is respected by the whole world.

上 士 聞 道 ， 勤 而 行 之 ﹔

中 士 聞 道 ， 若 存 若 亡 ﹔

下 士 聞 道 ， 大 笑 之 。

不 笑 不 足 以 為 道 。

故 建 言 有 之 ：

明 道 若 昧 ﹔

進 道 若 退 ﹔

夷 道 若 纇 ﹔

上 德 若 谷 ﹔

廣 德 若 不 足 ﹔

建 德 若 偷 ﹔

質 真 若 渝 ﹔

大 白 若 辱 ﹔

大 方 無 隅 ﹔

大 器 晚 成 ﹔

大 音 希 聲 ﹔

大 象 無 形 ﹔

道 隱 無 名 。

夫 唯 道 ， 善 貸 且 成 。

the elevated mind senses the way, and diligently follows it;

the ordinary mind senses the way, and wavers in and out;

the base mind senses the way, and has a good laugh.

not laughing is not sufficient belief in the way.

these adages sum it up:

the way to clarity is hidden;

the way forward is backward;

the way to simplicity is complicated;

virtue is elevated when it is diminished;

virtue is amplest when it is deficient;

virtue is securest when it is criminal;

the essence of truth is its adaptability;

purity points out corruption;

a large room lacks comfortable nooks;

great outcomes are finished late;

loud sounds strain the ears;

great images cant be composed;

the way is concealed yet never recognized.

one who follows this way will be well taken care of.

視 之 不 見 ， 名 曰 夷 ﹔

聽 之 不 聞 ， 名 曰 希 ﹔

搏 之 不 得 ， 名 曰 微 。

此 三 者 不 可 致 詰 ， 故 混 而 為 一 。

其 上 不 皦 ， 其 下 不 昧 。

繩 繩 兮 不 可 名 ， 復 歸 於 無 物 。

是 謂 無 狀 之 狀 ， 無 物 之 象 ， 是 謂 惚 恍 。

迎 之 不 見 其 首 ， 隨 之 不 見 其 後 。

執 古 之 道 ， 以 御 今 之 有 。

能 知 古 始 ， 是 謂 道 紀 。

what is looked for but not seen is disregarded as alien;

what is listened for but not heard is disregarded as peculiar;

what is analyzed but not understood is disregarded as irrelevant.

these three paradoxes are meaningless unless they are seen to refer to one mystery.

it rises and nothing is illuminated, it sets and nothing is benighted.

it is a thread that cannot be described, for it always leads back to formlessness.

its essence is a state of non-being, a symbol with no reference, it is insight without thought.

you greet it without identifying it, you follow it without going along behind it.

it is the ancient way that still rules the world today.

to know its beginning is to know its entire history.

谷 神 不 死 ， 是 謂 玄 牝 。

玄 牝 之 門 ， 是 謂 天 地 根 。

绵 绵 若 存 ， 用 之 不 勤 。

the divinity of the crevasse never dies– this is the mysterious power of the womb.

the gate of the dark womb is known as the source of everything in the universe.

its gentleness seems infinite, you dont need to work hard to benefit from it.

善 建 者 不 拔 ，

善 抱 者 不 脫 ，

子 孫 以 祭 祀 不 輟 。

修 之 於 身 ， 其 德 乃 真 ﹔

修 之 於 家 ， 其 德 乃 餘 ﹔

修 之 於 鄉 ， 其 德 乃 長 ﹔

修 之 於 邦 ， 其 德 乃 丰 ﹔

修 之 於 天 下 ， 其 德 乃 普 。

故 以 身 觀 身 ，

以 家 觀 家 ，

以 鄉 觀 鄉 ，

以 邦 觀 邦 ，

以 天 下 觀 天 下 。

吾 何 以 知 天 下 然 哉 。 以 此 。

that which is properly established will not be uprooted,

that which is properly cherished will not be stripped away,

families that honour their ancestors will not die out.

develop virtue in your self, and you will know truth;

develop virtue in your family, and you will have more than you need;

develop virtue in your city, and it will grow and endure;

develop virtue in your country, and it will provide abundance;

develop virtue in the world, and it will become universal.

therefore the self takes care of the self,

as the family takes care of the family,

as the city takes care of the city,

as the country takes care of the country,

as the world takes care of the world.

how do i know the ways of the world? by means of this.

絕 聖 棄 智 ， 民 利 百 倍 ﹔

絕 仁 棄 義 ， 民 復 孝 慈 ﹔

絕 巧 棄 利 ， 盜 賊 無 有 。

此 三 者 以 為 文 ， 不 足 。

故 令 有 所 屬 ：

見 素 抱 朴 ，

少 私 寡 欲 ，

絕 學 無 憂 。

when those in authority abandon dogma, the masses will benefit 100-fold;

when the benevolent cease to rely upon contracts, the masses will rediscover filial love;

when the powerful no longer seek profit, crime will disappear.

these three cultural principles are not the whole story.

they are examples of their common cause:

pure thinkers cherish simple things,

reducing selfishness divorces you from desire,

ceasing to speculate eliminates anxiety.