Mindblown: a blog about philosophy.
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Of Helicopters and Humans (26B) Helo Underwater Escape (Part 2)
Politically Incorrect – but did it get your attention? Of Helicopters and Humans (26B) Helo Underwater Escape – Part 2 Some Thoughts on Monty Python, and the Drill Sergeant. And getting the passengers engaged. After my first Helicopter Dunking Experience, and my rather in-glorious Red-Hat Numpty performance, the years rolled on by. We tiny ants…
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Of Helicopters and Humans (26A) Helo Underwater Escape (Part 1)
Helo Underwater Escape Part 1: Playing Submarine It’s a touchy, sensitive subject. It happens a lot. Too often. People surviving the unscheduled helicopter arrival on a surface of water, perfectly well. Not a scratch. Not a bump. Then, the choppy rolls over, or sinks. And some of the poor guys drown. Some get out. How…
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Lin-hsia (to be in the woods)
Lin-hsia (to be in the woods) I wish for ancient, solemn pines And whispers of the days gone by As underneath the patient spines I watch the changing of the sky. The forest knows the heart of men And in that knowledge stands aside No judgment echoes through the glen Save that we carry deep…
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Caution – Small Man Rhyming
Caution – Small Man Rhyming Great Vanity of vanities How much Art and feeling In our world today Is warped and twisted Perverted and falsified Willingly For the poisonous pleasures Of Reward or Fame? I admire the man Who left only his zither and a donkey And the donkey ill at that But…
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My Dance in the Clouds
My Dance in the Clouds My Dance in the Clouds Spontaneous and colorful Like all things of men Will pass, one day. When the Music stops And the Bandmaster bows, I too From the waist Shall bow deeply. And to you two silent partners of The Way To my dreams and your thoughts To sun…
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Standing Alone
Humanity WHO?… oh, you mean that lot on Sigma Alpha 274 Delta Echo? Standing Alone Standing alone On a rocky, windswept ledge Just below the summit Of a minor, rocky mountain. I gaze At so-called civilization, Humanity by name Far below Insignificant And wrapped, blindly In a cocoon of madness. Only here, Where it is…
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The False Calm
The False Calm (watching in awe as the small man, Obama-Chamberlain, repeats Munich, 1939 style, and Ukraine is fractured) (who is next?) The False Calm of a stricken night Fading away Sleepless and tossed In the struggling light My second sight Seems to be lost Vying only in decay With shadow filled dreams and unrhymed…
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Learning to Fly Helicopters (3) “First Solo “
Learning to Fly Helicopters Part 3: “First Solo” (in a Helicopter) The irony for me of course was the fact that I had, myself, in previous life, sent many a fixed wing student pilot off on his or her first solo. And it was always I who, as the (h)airplane instructor, had watched (anxiously) as…
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Learning to Fly Helicopters (2) “Do I trust this thing? “
Learning to Fly Helicopters Part 2: “Do I trust this Thing?” The Robinson R-22… Long time ago. Early model days. Old fashioned twist grip, no governor, straight tail. I was suspicious, still, about the mechanical integrity of the beast. It looked so flimsy. Like a bunch of surplus tin cans beat roughly into shape. Now…
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The Old Eagle
The Old Eagle As an old Eagle, battle scarred and cynical, I still soar, high and alone, through the grey, damp soaked, wintery skies. Lightning flashes incessantly, and the dull kerr-whump of distant thunder rolls alternates with the sharp, explosive crackling detonation resonating all around me. It is cold. And I am weary. If I…
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