Excuse me, friends, I must catch my jet
I'm off to join the Development Set;
My bags are packed, and I've had all my shots
I have traveller's checks and pills for the trots!
The Development Set is bright and noble
Our thoughts are deep and our vision global;
Although we move with the better classes
Our thoughts are always with the masses.
In
Sheraton Hotels in scattered nations
We damn multi-national corporations;
injustice seems easy to protest
In such seething hotbeds of social rest.
We discuss malnutrition over steaks
And plan hunger talks during coffee breaks.
Whether Asian floods or African drought,
We face each issue with open mouth.
We bring in consultants whose circumlocution
Raises difficulties for every solution --
Thus guaranteeing continued good eating
By showing the need for another meeting.
The language of the Development Set
Stretches the English alphabet;
We use swell words like "epigenetic"
"Micro", "macro", and "logarithmetic"
It pleasures us to be esoteric --
It's so intellectually atmospheric!
And although establishments may be unmoved,
Our vocabularies are much improved.
When the talk gets deep and you're feeling numb,
You can keep your shame to a minimum:
To show that you, too, are intelligent
Smugly ask, "Is it really development?"
Or say, "That's fine in practice, but don't you see:
It doesn't work out in theory!"
A few may find this incomprehensible,
But most will admire you as deep and sensible.
Development set homes are extremely chic,
Full of carvings, curios, and draped with batik.
Eye-level photographs subtly assure
That your host is at home with the great and the poor.
Enough of these verses - on with the mission!
Our task is as broad as the human condition!
Just pray god the biblical promise is true:
The poor ye shall always have with you.
- Ross Coggins
Monday, August 9, 2010
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
On Being Caught Lying
Allow me my harmless fictions,
my occasional ignorance of reality.
Allow me the storytellers joy,
of revealing untruth owned by me.
All is made of stories,
borrowed, embellished or birthed.
Even the straightest fact,
is at least two stories worth.
I don’t believe that words,
are meant only to speak of the weather.
Why would I speak in black and white,
when all can be pinker or redder?
my occasional ignorance of reality.
Allow me the storytellers joy,
of revealing untruth owned by me.
All is made of stories,
borrowed, embellished or birthed.
Even the straightest fact,
is at least two stories worth.
I don’t believe that words,
are meant only to speak of the weather.
Why would I speak in black and white,
when all can be pinker or redder?
Tuesday, June 8, 2010
Life, the Universe and Everything
Because most blogs seem to have a post or label called 'life' I decided to have one of my own (but i couldn't resist adding the rest of the phrase from Doug Adams).
Right. So about this life business- its pretty nice to have one I guess. There are of course some side effects to it- like the need for wages and much chance to commit several stupidities.
Lives tend to follow rather simillar patterns- preceded by 'birth' (about which no one blogs much because- thankfully- they dont remember their own) and followed by 'death' (also less popular than the topic 'life' on blogs since this particular condition renders one unable to blog). In the middle there are the common grand questions like 'who am I?', 'why am I here?', 'what is the purpose of my life' etc. (which lead to these blogs) and the even more common sense of uniquness of self.
Most lives contain ample time to do several inconsequential things several times over but not enough to do much else. Many books, articles, poems, blogs etc. are written to get rid of the feeling that the previous statement is true for the author's life.
On the question 'is life an end to itself' much ink has been expended. In our opinion (we use the term 'our' to absolve the individual in question of the inane comment that follows) there is 'life' and there is 'non life' all known data on the 'non-life' is based on conjecture and could not be verified by us. Therefore, in the absense of anything to compare 'life' with we declare it an end in itself. This leads us to lend our suppor to the 'eat, drink and be merry' school of thought.
Right. So about this life business- its pretty nice to have one I guess. There are of course some side effects to it- like the need for wages and much chance to commit several stupidities.
Lives tend to follow rather simillar patterns- preceded by 'birth' (about which no one blogs much because- thankfully- they dont remember their own) and followed by 'death' (also less popular than the topic 'life' on blogs since this particular condition renders one unable to blog). In the middle there are the common grand questions like 'who am I?', 'why am I here?', 'what is the purpose of my life' etc. (which lead to these blogs) and the even more common sense of uniquness of self.
Most lives contain ample time to do several inconsequential things several times over but not enough to do much else. Many books, articles, poems, blogs etc. are written to get rid of the feeling that the previous statement is true for the author's life.
On the question 'is life an end to itself' much ink has been expended. In our opinion (we use the term 'our' to absolve the individual in question of the inane comment that follows) there is 'life' and there is 'non life' all known data on the 'non-life' is based on conjecture and could not be verified by us. Therefore, in the absense of anything to compare 'life' with we declare it an end in itself. This leads us to lend our suppor to the 'eat, drink and be merry' school of thought.
Terry Pratchett- Words of Wisdom
In the begining there was nothing, and it exploded.
(on the big bang theory)
[In the beginning there was nothing. God said, "Let there be light!" And there was light. There was still nothing but you could see it a whole lot better]
Give a man a fire and he's warm for the day. But set fire to him and he's warm for the rest of his life.
(From Discworld )
An education was a bit like a communicable sexual disease. It made you unsuitable for a lot of jobs and then you had the urge to pass it on.
(From Hogfather)
The pen is mightier than the sword if the sword is very short, and the pen is very sharp.
Light thinks it travels faster than anything but it is wrong. No matter how fast light travels, it finds the darkness has always got there first, and is waiting for it.
(on the big bang theory)
[In the beginning there was nothing. God said, "Let there be light!" And there was light. There was still nothing but you could see it a whole lot better]
Give a man a fire and he's warm for the day. But set fire to him and he's warm for the rest of his life.
(From Discworld )
An education was a bit like a communicable sexual disease. It made you unsuitable for a lot of jobs and then you had the urge to pass it on.
(From Hogfather)
The pen is mightier than the sword if the sword is very short, and the pen is very sharp.
Light thinks it travels faster than anything but it is wrong. No matter how fast light travels, it finds the darkness has always got there first, and is waiting for it.
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