Who are we ...?

[Jonas]

Something about this thread that is of great note to moi is the number of people that have fantastically multi-faceted backgrounds!

woodsmoke

Yes! Interesting to know people here

Steve - We have probably not met. I thought that it's funny that people we speak to almost daily on the net, I think I know - even though we haven't met IRL.

It's nice to hear from you all here

b.r

Jonas

[oshunluvr]

@QQMike: Plumbing is easy! A lot easier than a bi-polar woman...lol I mentioned I live in a 100 year old house but I also grew up in a house of a similar age. As a kid I used to follow my dad around (he's an architect and builder) and "help" him do plumbing, electric, construction, demolition, whatever.

My home is a 4 bed 3 bath and I have spent the last 7 years remodeling and upgrading everything in the place. We're talking wiring, piping, flooring, tile and stone work, windows, doors and the list goes on. All the major projects are complete and now I'm finishing up a few smaller details. We plan on living here at least two more years (just so I can enjoy the fruits of my labor!) before moving east.

[dibl]

I was born almost exactly in the middle of the 20th century, meaning I'm 61 for only a little while longer.

Ex-wives -- I only have one, and no crazy girlfriends -- hats off to Qqmike!

College degrees -- yep, got two of 'em.

Career, yeah, had one of those too, until I quasi-retired last year. But I didn't love it, I did what I had to do to support a family.

Kids -- raised three daughters, all now solid citizens.

Politics -- there's only one party, the Establishment. It has a left wing and a right wing that squabble a lot, but neither of them has the political courage to fix what's going wrong with this nation. Too bad. I can't support either one of them.

Religion -- reserved for marrying and burying occasions, plus my mother in-law makes me lead the Easter dinner prayer.

Hobby -- a 2,000-page genealogy web site, plus some gardening and computer putzing. And I do sweat a hell of a solder joint on half-inch copper pipe, if I do say so myself.

When Microsoft drove me into the arms of Gnu/Linux in 2006, Kubuntu was the first distribution that I installed and learned to work with. It is still near and dear to me as an OS. For several reasons, I subsequently found myself attracted to the "rolling" release of Debian unstable branch, then known as sidux, and I have been using that one and/or siduction since about 2009. But Kubuntu 12.04 is right here on a 64-bit VM, and I do keep it updated. That's about as much about me as needs to be told -- the full resume is just too boring.

[Qqmike]

Hi dibl, good hearing from you! Nice post you did there -- much better formatting than mine ;-)
You definitely might enjoy reading Bukowski's poetry for reasons that won't become clear until you read Bukowski. (It is nothing like the poetry you and I were forced to read in school growing up. His collections of short poems are better reading than his short stories for bang-for-the-buck and quick read.) Politics, pretty depressing. I just watched a PBS special--moderated by a Republican scientist mind you, and including the likes of former Shell Oil CEO in favor of greener energy development--which basically explained why the political gridlock in 10 years will place the USA in third-world status wrt developing an energy infrastructure (and especially so versus the rest of the world including notably China). I would think that if one had kids and g-kids, that includes many of our boomer generation, whether Republican or Democrat, that would be enough motivation to pressure Congress to regain control of America's destiny as a great nation. Rather depressing, isn't it? Unfortunately, the doctors are keeping us 60-something farts going--so they say--at least another 30 years; so I fear we will also witness the downfall and tragedy unless things change very quickly.

[dibl]

You definitely might enjoy reading Bukowski's poetry for reasons that won't become clear until you read Bukowski.

Yah I'm definitely getting that one, Mike -- your recommendation is good enough for me -- thanks.

[Qqmike]

The Last Night of the Earth Poems is a safe place to start, some of his later works (as he matured in the writing/thinking trade). Fair warning, this is straight, tough, raw stuff, putting "cynical" to shame. ;-)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Bukowski

[dibl]

Found "Last Night ..." at Amazon for $14, it's ordered. Thanks Mike.

[Qqmike]

Hard telling how many Bukowski libraries Amazon has helped people put together! ;-) Bukowski has a certain "cult" following of millions around the world. He was first most popular in Europe until finally the Americans caught on and broke from the formalist poets. Too bad he hit fame and fortune at such a late stage in life, his 50's or so, I think. Died at 74.

The movie-documentary on him, Born Into This, is excellent, along with the commentary (included on the DVD).
http://www.amazon.com/Bukowski-Born-...5631775&sr=8-1

[woodsmoke]

Hi,

Here are some comments on Bukowski, Zen, and other desiderata.

Bukowski, I did not know him, and only read his work, starting back in the seventies, "knew" something. I use the term with GREAT reservation, in that I think that he did not "known that he knew it" until "later" and... even then he seems to have been able to not let the money influence him. It is rather a "Zen" thing, and not THAT zen, but true Zen, that to which was hinted by Suzuki in his book Training of a Zen Buddist Monk and in the Zen of Motorcycle Maintainence.

Another analog was Hoffer.

Suzuki actually experienced Zen training and Hoffer lived the life of a dock worker. Both of them "lived". And both of them were able to "write" without seeming to be "influenced" by later in life fame and money.

Same for Kerouac. At first he really did "live". Later, he became a cartoon of his previous self; even "officially" changing the pronounciation of his name to "Kerowaay", as in Caroway seed.

I read Kerouac while in high school, in Bible Thumpin' Red Neck City, Bible Belt middle west, but another fellow and I really were as close to "beatnicks"(notice the small case "b" " ) as we could be not being able to listen to live jazz. We listened to unendless replays of "I Want to Live", Ken Nordine, The Hustler, etc. drinking green tea in bedrooms with no air conditioning and pinching zits on our girl friends backs! I read Ferlengetti in college, along with others, but had not heard of Bukowski until much later, probably the middle nineties.

But....Bukowski, to me, at least, "lived" and also "wrote" and his writing is .... "believable" and "powerful".

There have been many "also rans" and "me tos" ... but if one wants to read the REAL stuff.....then Ferlengetti, Kerouac in his EARLY writings, and Bukowski.

wood,actually TRIED ONCE, to wear a beret, smoke

[Qqmike]

First off, back to our friend Jonas here ...

Anybody else on the forum wish to post their bio for us to read? I notice only SteveRikey addressed food preferences. That is an interesting subject to. Steve, you are so lucky you aren't craving all sorts of food at this phase of life! Lot of folks I know, post 50's and my age, have a serious problem with food cravings (and cooking hobbies), and it quickly leads to a life of weight-and-waist-management work! (And, yes, I do see the other spelling of waist that applies here as well ... )

Back to a topic flowing through here, woodsmoke's last post:

Good, interesting points woodsmoke. Bukowski was the real McCoy, yes, as close as we humans come to being real about anything. He did start out with that certain "beat" crowd. And then, as you know, he took it far beyond, going hard and diametrically against the establishment academics and formalists of poetry. So, as for form, he was an innovator when it came to poetry. But he went way beyond form. He used his distinctive style to write about everyday things in a not-everyday way! It was his message--what he wrote about--that knocks people out. In fact, for that reason--the CONTENT of his writings-- one might NOT want to read his stuff. Not for sissies or the denial crowds of idealism. In a certain sense, one can really say that "Bukowski said it all" in his extensive writings of poetry and short stories.

As John Martin (his friend and publisher) has said (e.g., in the film documentary Born Into This), ya got three types of writers: innovators, masters (who master the innovator), and imitators. I'd say Bukowski has more imitators than any other writer in history, wouldn't you say so? And he has his masters--people who learned his style, developed their trade, and write well but are not innovators.

Ferlinghetti, btw, appears as a commentator in that film documentary and was a Bukowski friend, fan, supporter/advocate.
http://www.amazon.com/Bukowski-Born-...5631775&sr=8-1
I remember Ferlinghetti's popularity during the hippie era.

I hadn't heard of Jack Kerouac (mainly because I am not any sort of literary guy, was a math-science guy, and now wish I had taken more courses in literature and, for that matter, anatomy!). Looks like he also had a thing with booze (as did, of course, Bukowski) and died in 1969 from it at the young age of 47:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kerouac

I guess it's ok for me to quote Bukowski's poem on style ... Actually, it applies to everything in life, including being a Linux geek! Here it is:

Style is the answer to everything.
A fresh way to approach a dull or dangerous thing.
To do a dull thing with style is preferable to doing a dangerous thing without style.
To do a dangerous thing with style, is what I call art.
Bullfighting can be an art.
Boxing can be an art.
Loving can be an art.

Opening a can of sardines can be an art.
Not many have style.
Not many can keep style.
I have seen dogs with more style than men.
Although not many dogs have style.
Cats have it with abundance.

When Hemingway put his brains to the wall with a shotgun, that was style.
For sometimes people give you style.
Joan of Arc had style.
John the Baptist.
Jesus.
Socrates.
Caesar.
García Lorca.
I have met men in jail with style.
I have met more men in jail with style than men out of jail.
Style is a difference, a way of doing, a way of being done.
Six herons standing quietly in a pool of water, or you, walking
out of the bathroom without seeing me.

--Charles Bukowski


(I edited post to get straight waist vs waste! Too early in the morning here at post time.)

[whatthefunk]

Im 31 and originally from Colorado but havent lived in the states for 10 years. I studied Anthropology (and snowboarding) in university and surprisingly was unable to find a job with that degree. Hahaha... I started teaching English overseas and have been doing that and traveling around ever since. I was addicted to budget/adventure travel for a long while. Some of my favorite trips: hitchhiked the length of Japan; spent six months hopping ships from Manila to Honiara; camped through Africa for another six months; spent some time riding 4th class trains through Siberia and then a couple months hitching through Mongolia. Im pretty much over travel now though. I moved back to Japan about a year ago and have no plans to leave. I teach English to kids in a private after-school place. Its not what I thought Id be doing, but it turns out that Im pretty good at it and it can be a lot of fun.

In my free time, I like cycling, watching movies, studying Japanese, reading, drinking beer, and of course messing around with computers (more on that later). I like rock music, especially 90s rock. Food...Ill eat just about anything, but I especially like Mexican and Korean. Ive always been a big reader, but lately havent had much time for it. Ill give anything a go, but I especially like beat literature (glad to see so many others here like it as well), Asian poetry, and more recently African literature. Has anybody mentioned Gary Snyder yet? Amazing poet. And how is it possible to have a conversation about beat literature without discussing Burroughs? Some of his stuff I just dont get, especially when he started getting into his "cut up" method, but wow...he produced some amazing stuff.

Linux. Im pretty new to the world of Linux. Ive only been using it for a year and a half or so. Ive always been the type of person who liked to tinker with things and try to make them run better. When I was a kid, I used to take apart my parent's appliances to find out how they worked. Dad was not happy when I broke the coffee machine doing this... My parents clued in though and used to get me old stuff to mess around with. My dad and I took apart an old lawn mower, a TV and many other things. In college, I took apart an old VW Bug, but never got around to putting it back together. Ive also always liked fiddling with computers. I was pretty good at solving basic problems in a Windows system, but Windows systems always seemed to start to lag after a few months. My old laptop running XP was taking 15 minutes to boot and I didnt have Windows install CDs so decided to make the switch to Linux. Very glad I did!! I love trying to figure out all the minor problems that pop up from time to time and like being able to fully customize my pc.

[woodsmoke]

Spot on QQmike.

woodsmoke

[ScottyK]

About me:

Early 40's. Grew up in the Denver, Colorado area. Joined the Air Force in 1993, and spent six years touring Utah, South Korea, and Florida. Decided to get out in 1999 and go full time Air National Guard (ANG), which I really enjoy. All the benefits of being in the military, without moving around every 3 years. I've been in almost 19 years now, and seventeen of the nineteen years have been in the Munitions career field (2W0X1). Two years was in the communications flight, working in small computer repair.

Because of my moving around with the military, it only took me 18 years to earn my Bachelor's degree, but at least I did it. Someday I'd like to go for a Masters, but right now my priority is my family.

My time in the ANG has brought me to Alaska, Puerto Rico, France, Germany, and most of the United States (been 47 of the 50 states). I also missed witnessing a launch of the space shuttle by one week!

Home for the last 11 years has been here in Oklahoma City. Married with four kids, and our oldest is wrapping up her first year in college. We homeschool the other three (ages 9,7,& 6). We're active in our local Southern Baptist church, and try to get out at least twice a month to go Geocaching.

I vote conservative. I used to enjoy debating politics, but got mighty tired of being called a "racist, sexist, bigot, evil rich religious white guy", so I just avoid political discussions now and focus on my family (no pun intended).

My first computer was a Heathkit H89 that my dad built in his basement workshop in either 1979 or 1980. Advanced to a IBM XT clone in the early 1990's for college. First computer I purchased with my own $$$ was a Packard Bell 486 SX/25, and I still have that CPU somewhere!

I first got into linux when I took a three week UNIX class for the Air Force back in 1999. Before that all I knew was Windows, and that class introduced me to this wonderful world. Tried to play around with linux on hardware that I could scrounge, but the measly E-4 pay prevented me for getting into it!

Messed around with some distros via VM back in the early 2000, but Kubuntu 10.10 hooked me, and my first dual boot system had Kubuntu 10.10 on it. I'm a bit nostalgic towards it, now that it's officially not supported anymore.

I enjoy visiting this forum because of the sense of community. I can ask what others probably consider a dumb question and nobody laughs it off like some other forums!

[Snowhog]

I can ask what others probably consider a dumb question and nobody laughs it off like some other forums!

We do that 'privately' during the Christmas Parties.

[lcorken]

At age 65 I still don't know who I am. Name: Ken Neuschafer, (not afraid of google). On facebook and several other places. No higher education. Was drafted out of college in 1966. Worked as electronics technician, Bed and breakfast owner with my wife Cathy for a while. Tried sales for a while (cars, real estate). As it turns out I'm not a salesman, in fact quite introverted. Now retired/unemployed/bum? Live with my wife on the coast of Oregon, USA. We love hiking. Before I met her I climbed Mt. Whitney. She wants to do that some day too.

Mostly replumbed the BandB. So, I can do plumbing.
Learned to fly about 40 years age. Don't do that anymore.
Dabbled in music 50 years ago (organ) now I just plink with a little Yamaha keybrd. I like to play with software synthesizers in Kubuntu.
Occasional photo hobby.

Politics: No. The political system in the US is totally broken. As is the patent, copy rite, Health care, Legal and Religious systems. I believe in God but I think he is in heaven ether shaking his head in disgust or rolling on a cloud laughing.

Food? Glad you asked. I used to eat most anything, along with about 10 Tums (antacid) a day. Now mostly Paleo diet. For me the Paleo diet cured or at least greatly relieved joint pains, acid reflux, and pollen allergy. For Cathy it cured her headaches, depression, overweight, stomach ache, pre-diabetes, allergy. Disclosure: I have no medical training. Just read about this stuff.

What is a Paleo diet? We eat fruits, vegetables, meat, poultry, fish, nuts. What we do NOT eat is grains, legumes, and milk. The sugary, starchy foods cause obesity, and diabetes. Gluten causes more health issues in more people than any other food. We don't eat that stuff anymore. Yes, I have verified the gluten thing a number of times. Pain, no pain...

Ken. lcorken or pdxken on some forums and irc.