Tuesday, September 29, 2015

Universe and in It the Insignificance of Earth and in It the Only Known Life and the Ultimate Danger to It: Mankind



Here is a transcript of the video, and a link:

209 Seconds That Will Make You Question Your Entire Existence

This is earth!
This is where you live.
And this is where you live in our solar system.
Here is the distance, to scale, between the Earth and the Moon.
Not that far, right?
Inside that distance you can fit every planet in our solar system.
With about 4,392 km or 2,729 miles to spare.
Jupiter is so large, this green smudge is North America.
And here's Earth (well, six Earths) compared with Saturn.
But that's nothing compared to our Sun.
Here's a photo of Earth from the Moon.
And here's that same Earth from Mars.
That insignificant little dot there, that's Earth.
From around 4 billion miles away.
Okay. So here's Earth compared to the sun.
Terrifying, right?
Well, there are stars out there much, much bigger than our wimpy sun.
Arcturus. Over 16,000 times larger in volume than our sun.
Alpha Scorpii A. About 690 million times larger in volume than our sun.
VY Canis Majoris. About 2.9 billion times larger in volume than our sun.
Our sun is barely even visible at this scale.
That's nuts, but it's nothing compared to the size of a galaxy.
So, the sun is just under 1,400,000 km wide. That's big, right?
Well, our Milky Way galaxy is approximately 100,000 LIGHT YEARS in diameter.
That's roughly 950,000,000,000,000,000 kilometers.
The Milky Way galaxy is huge.
Here is where you live inside there.
And in this yellow circle are the only stars you're able to see at night.
But even our galaxy is a little runt compared with some others.
This is IC1011, it is 6,000,000 LIGHT YEARS wide.
Just think about all that could be inside there.
But let's think bigger!
The Hubble Telescope took this picture.
It contains thousands of galaxies...
each galaxy containing billions of stars...
each star orbited by its own planets.
And all of that was seen in this small patch of sky.
So if you're ever feeling upset, just remember...
This is your home.
This is what happens when you zoom out.
and farther out to the Solar Interstellar Neighborhood...
and farther...
keep going...
just a little bit farther...
almost there...
Here it is. Everything in the observable universe. And here's your place in it.
Oh, man.

Sunday, September 27, 2015

Interred


Small leaves
blown by a cold wind
scutter over stone.

Linen cool under my hand,
and the door ajar
to ease his passing.

This is his new address,
where forever
he will be unreachable.

Traveller, if you pass this place,
be gentle,
he is resting here.

Saturday, September 19, 2015

Up the Downstairs


when I went up and down the stairs
I stopped midway
and looked into the letterbox
where I found only cobwebs

and I wondered why
my heart always sank

and then I thought that somewhere
there was another letterbox
with someone looking into it
and not finding my letter
and feeling as disappointed
as I did
and saddened
as I was

***

As I grew up 
I learned to give 
before I took 
except unhappiness 
sadness 
depression 
which were mine 
and mine alone 
not to be shared

but that could not be
cannot be

(written in 1956)





Thursday, September 17, 2015

Conversation


future past

-----------------
Hemantha Kumar Pamarthy wrote:

...Ye pal ujala hai baki andhera hai
Ye pal gavana na ye pal hi tera hai

Jeenevale soch le yahi waqt hai kar le puri aarzu
Aage bhi jane na tu pichhe bhi jane na tu
Jo bhi hai bas yahi ek pal hai... 

Sunday, September 13, 2015

Lurking


danger of terror 
merciless
indiscriminate death
of child, mother
teacher
household 
family
cities
nations
earth 

or 

wires
cables
cobbled together

to illuminate events
light homes

terror
or enlightenment

Thursday, September 03, 2015

Priest, Question

Belur, 1970

why doubt
and grudge me
the small price
I sell him at
in concocted parts

I am your connection
to god
and I represent you
to him
in return to pander his invidious
wrath and retribution
I distribute religion
and superstition

how does it matter
if both are the same
so long as they give you
fear from which to escape with hope
enshrined in a policy
redeemable conveniently 
after death
on a certain commission
ensuring my employment

why reason
against this mythology
and seek ostracism?

have faith in
the terror of disbelief
and believe
in surrender
to the detriment
of nothing
but the truth --

admit:
do not you and I
need god
more?

-----------------------------
Bhashwati wrote:

I suppose you must have chosen that dark spot for the priest in the midst of glaring sunlight all around and asked him to keep his left foot perched as if on a precipice into which he would have fallen if the pillar had not been holding on to him, to enable him to expound on the terrors of disbelief.