Saturday, December 02, 2006

~*...enlightenment...*~

randnorm saturday event in black rock city 2006

Irrational Games Society

Tuesday – Saturday
Looking for a shady way to pass the lazy morning and sweltering afternoons? Drop by the Irrational Geographic Society field office anytime and get yourself in on a game of Euchre or Chess. Hosted by: Irrational Geographic Society @ Esplanade and 2:30


photo by pixie

randnorm mind grenade
to enjoy good health, to bring true happiness to one's family, to bring peace to all, one must first discipline and control one's own mind. if a man can control his mind he can find the way to Enlightenment, and all wisdom and virtue will naturally come to him. - buddha

randnorm pikcha

photo by james porto

randnorm video


laughin yoga. *bwahahahahah*

normdate 2.12.6

last night was my first night teaching cads at canada olympic park. i made it to my last onhill training on thursday night late because of work, and was pleased to find out that i was assigned to the deaf group. i am passionate about language, and have always wanted to learn sign language. though we didn't do much on hill training thursday night, i was able to learn how to sign the alphabet, as well as say "hi my name is norm" and "i'm happy to meet you."



the deaf group laughs a lot too. i was pleased to be a part of that group, however things were about to change.

kristin's step mom, linda, was the reason why i joined cads in the first place. kristin's brother's, liam and mikhail, are both autistic and have been a part of cads for the past three years. linda not only encouraged me to volunteer, she paid for my cads membership as well. last weekend after our onhill training we were asked to list the top three disciplines that we would want to teach in. i requested to teach liam, only to find out that liam was on the waiting list (for whatever reason). cads in calgary is the largest disabled skiing program in the country, so the spots fill up fast and they are always in need of instructors.

somehow, my registration also didn't go through. so despite having done all of the on hill training, i wasn't on the list. so when instructors were being paired up with students, i didn't get one cause technically i didn't exist.

linda wasn't happy to hear that liam was on the waiting list, and she made every effort to remedy that situation. trust me, this is one woman you do not want to mess with...i wouldn't be surprised if god was scared of her wrath. unfortunately, her masterful skillz at gettin what she wanted did not fix this situation. it didn't matter though, she was still going to bring liam, mikhail, and antonia to the hill anyways...with me teaching liam.

here's where things got sticky. because i am not officially registered with cads, for whatever reason, i do not get a complimentary lift ticket, no instructor's name tag, and no support from cads while on the hill. that kind of felt shitty. if my registration goes through eventually, i'll be allowed to show up on thursday nights for the weekly onhill training, but i'll have to buy my own lift ticket cause i'm not assigned to a student in cads.


liam and i on halloween

liam at least has a familiar instructor, me, even if he is not in cads. that is a good thing, perhaps the most important thing. i couldn't help but feel not part of the group any more though, somehow separate from everyone on the hill that i had gone through the training with. linda had driven us all to the hill, and we left at 9pm...so i missed out on the social aspect of being a part of the cads instruction group after the first night of teaching. it would've been good to have a beer with everyone after. maybe next week i'll just drive myself to the hill and go out with them after for a pint. as for thursday night, i'll just ask linda to pay for my lift ticket and still be there for onhill training (and riding). that will at least give me the opportunity to practice my sign language with the deaf group.

as for teaching liam, we had a lot of fun. its a challenge dealing with an autistic child on the hill, and he did have a few meltdowns which involved screaming, crying, and shaking. thank god linda was also there on the hill with us to help me out.

liam is pretty good at snowboarding too. he can sideslip down the hill just fine on his heel edge, though he's not comfortable sideslipping on his toe edge...actually, he refuses to do it. i guess he doesn't like going down the hill with his back facing the bottom of the run. in the end, we both had fun, and i was able to make a few hits in the mini terrain park beside the bunny hill. hopefully things work out with this cads registration fiasco.

that being said, i have never seen c.o.p. so busy with people, and never seen kids so excited to be on the hill. these cads students have been waiting all year for this, and you could see it in their faces. it was inspiring. that's my payoff, the real reason why i'm on the hill in the first place...to have fun with kids on the hill and enjoy being outside. seing how stoked these kids were to be on the hill made it all worthwhile.

i had my camera with me, but being the stoner i am i left the memory card at home *smacks head* so no pikchaz :( next week i won't be such a stoner. ha, who am i kidding?

on a different note, there was a thread posted on tribe yesterday by a noob named desicon. the thread was entitled The problem with being enlightened.



desicon wrote:

The problem with being enlightened.......welcome to my world.

Imagine that everyday you wake up and you understand the world so completely and can't understand why no one else understands because it is so obvious. First one has to awaken from the dream we call life, then we become aware of the webs that influence and move us.

I see the truth for what it truly is and my natural instinct and desire is to free others and awaken them to the truth, but doing so is futile for they cannot see past the illusions and will usually mock or attack the truth bearer.

No this is not the Matrix, this is real life!

Human reasoning over blind faith or obedience

Dare to know

Desicon




his post, and the subsequent responses by sellycat and deep, started an online pissing contest of high school proportions that spanned over 17 pages. its shitty that a forum like tribe that i loved for its intelligent mature discussions and witty banter has degraded into online fights, ego, and pissing contests. read through the thread and decide for yourself. anyways, that thread encouraged me to ask myself what it means to be enlightened. it also encouraged me to seek out some pretty awesome pieces of art online from a left coast artist named roman and photographer james porto of wired magazine fame. i've scattered some of their work here in my blog entry. i also wanted to share my response to desicon's post about the problems with enlightenment here in my blog.



desicon also wrote:

I am not here to judge, I am just a man...no better then then the homeless person on the street. Because of my enlightenment I've become distant from those in my surroundings. It becomes difficult to reveal anywhere the things which I easily sees because most people are being controlled by the Karma inside themselves and they are unwilling to stay near an Enlightened Being.

Almost everything I said in my original post has come to pass through these 9 pages of verbal diarrhea.

Your destiny is created by what is within you.

I can't give up my work in despair and discouragement. So I have been explaining about my Enlightenment because I wanted to help others and the things about to happen in this world. There is too big a gap between your viewpoint and mine. Thought exists in your words but truth exists in my words. That's why I look a total stranger to human eyes.

Knowing truth is to bless oneself.
Revealing truth is to bless this world.

Anywho, in case any of you interested in helping change the world by attending a party

view flyer here

Desicon




mo desicon responses:

Some of you are really witty and intelligent, but not all. lol I enjoyed reading all the responses, especially all the shots. I will try once more to explain and give ya'll some more 'material' to take out to the shooting range. Let's see who hits a home run this time!!

Basically, I can see anything as one, and in one I see anything. I know, understand, and imagine anything that is or could be. This is only the result of accelerating my awareness as much as possible, especially of who I am & what I am. Imagine living a life where you become ego-less, have no jealousy or envy. Have nothing but love & compassion for those who dislike you. People attempt to argue/fight, I smile & laugh.....It really is quite wonderful.

I know that most who read this will never believe me and there is nothing I could say to change your mind. However, take solace in the fact that you too could one day gain the enlightenment I now possess. For those of you who understand, there is no need to say anything further.

Desicon




here's my response:

Originally Posted by Desicon
I am not here to judge, I am just a man...no better then then the homeless person on the street. Because of my enlightenment I've become distant from those in my surroundings.

we judge every day, the question is do we judge wisely, and do we punish others because of those judgements.

Originally Posted by Desicon
Imagine that everyday you wake up and you understand the world so completely and can't understand why no one else understands because it is so obvious.

how does being enlightened allow you to become more distant from your surroundings? if we are all one, should enlightenment not bring us closer together? what does it mean to be enlightened anyways? a definition from you would be awesome, then we'd have a high water mark to compare ourselves to.

the omniscient wiki defines enlightenment in the broadest terms as:
"the acquisition of new wisdom or understanding"

so if i acquire new wisdom or understanding, i am enlightened? that would mean that everyone who learns anything new is enlightened. awesome!!!

Originally Posted by Desicon
Imagine that everyday you wake up and you understand the world so completely and can't understand why no one else understands because it is so obvious.

would you mind explaining the obvious to me please? why is your version of the truth more real, more tangible, more true than mine or someone else's version?

Originally Posted by Desicon
I see the truth for what it truly is and my natural instinct and desire is to free others and awaken them to my version of the truth, but doing so is futile for they cannot see past the illusions and will usually mock or attack the truth bearer.

there, i corrected it for you. being enlightened, you are aware that what is true for one person is not necessarily true for another. trying to get everyone to agree on one version of the truth is the illusion...there will always be radically different perspektives. if you actually believe that it is possible to get everyone aligned to one version of the truth, yet alone your version of the truth, it is you who has to awaken from the dream.

that's like saying your version of love is the only way to love, or that my god can beat up your god. there are an infinite number of ways to love, an infinite number of ways to right now. it doesn't make one way better or worse than the other, its just another way. it is what is.

we are all connekted, and we are all different. every leaf is unique, but still connected to the same earth, perhaps on a different tree or in a different forest.

every man do his ting a likkle way different

Originally Posted by Desicon
So I have been explaining about my Enlightenment because I wanted to help others and the things about to happen in this world.

i anxiously await your explanation of what enlightenment is, in addition to the kinds of things you want to see happen in this world...and when you do explain, can you please refrain from using the words synchrolization, spectralize, manifestation, and co-collective creation? meta-poetics aren't easily understood outside of a dream state.

as well, you might want to try posting on the tribalharmonix forum if you are interested in a community that might be more receptive to your views on enlightenment. a lot of jedis, mayans, hippies, faieries, and elves with internet connektionz like to gather there.

Say not, 'I have found the truth,' but rather, 'I have found a truth.'- Kahlil Gibran (1883 - 1931)



Knowing others is wisdom, knowing yourself is Enlightenment. - Lao Tzu



imho, claiming that your truth is the only truth is the ultimate height of arrogance. in the words of the conscious and realized musician ben harper:

my choice is what i choose to do
and if i'm causin no harm it shouldn't bother you
your choice is who you choose to be
and if you're causin no harm then you're alright with me



perspektive is everything.



temet nosce.



~*...normaste...*~

Monday, November 27, 2006

~*...novembrrrr love...*~

randnorm monday event in black rock city 2006

big band and swing day!

toss on your top hat and spats! it's big band & swing day at iron rose. duke ellington, the dorsey brothers, count basie...swing on over! all big ban swing, all day...unless we decide to play something else for a while. hosted by: iron rose @ anxious and 4:30


photo of the conexus cathedral by bill kositzky

randnorm mind grenade
love all, trust a few. do wrong to none. - william shakespeare

randnorm pikcha



randnorm video


david benedek from the best snowboarding dvd evar...lame by robot food.

normdate 27.11.6

i woke up this morning in my snowpants and bootliners. i was so exhausted when i arrived home yesterday after snowboarding, i made myself something to eat and then passed out. that was at 5pm yesterday. needless to say, it has been a pretty exhausting weekend...and so worth it!


preppin to ride with some cads peeps

on friday night, we had our first on hill training for cads (canadian association for disabled skiing) and c.o.p. (canada olympic park). the weather was around -20 degrees before the windchill. holy fuck this city is cold.



despite the cold, i was stoked to be out riding. friday was the first time i buckled into my board to make turns since may when anke and i hiked up whitewater. it took no time at all for the floodgates of anticipation and excitement to open up as i lost myself in the serenity and joys of making turns on my snowboard. it is zen for me, yoga at 50km/h! you are tuned into every muscle in your body, including the ones you didn't know existed, in order to maintain balance.



everything is about balance, and when your balance is constantly questioned (like when you're riding), you are forced to be aware and in tune with your body, or else you eat it...and eating it at high speeds is painful.

other than a short lesson on teaching snowboarding from one of the c.o.p. instructors, friday night was pretty much an evening of open ended riding. the lesson was just a refresh of my casi 1 instructors course that i took at whitewater last season. not everyone who has volunteered for cads has taken an instructor's course, so the lesson was new for most.

canada olympic park reminded me of ontario...night riding, man made snow, hard packed groomed runs, and spots of ice. there were only three runs open, each of which were longer than 90% of all the runs in ontario...but only by a little bit.

the cold might have been intense, but nothing zero exposed skin and some layers couldn't fix. overall, it was awesome to make turns this early in the season.



i was at the hill bright and early saturday morning. the weather was a brisk -24 before the windchill *brrrr*



we were separated into groups of 10, and began our cads training for each discipline. i was part of group 1 (we're number 1!), and our training for the day would include 3-track, 4-track, and blind.

3-track skiing is the name for skiiers that are missing a single limb. they use outriggers attached to each of their arms, and a single ski, creating three tracks on the snow...3-track.



3-track snowboarding is a bit more challenging though. you need the balance of both limbs to snowboard. we tried keeping only one foot buckled in, using the outriggers for balance, but it was very difficult to control the board with only one foot. we tried buckling in one of the outriggers into the back binding, which was an improvement, but it still was too difficult to link turns with only one limb.



the most difficult thing about 3-track snowboarding is getting up. its already difficult to get up off the snow when you've got both limbs, but trying to do it when you only have the use of one limb and two outriggers is next to impossible. there's a reason its called 3-track skiing not 3-track snowboarding.



the next discipline we were taught was 4-track. 4-track skiiers have both limbs, however they do not have the ability to use those limbs 100% as perhaps and you and i can. people with cerebral palsy and multiple sclerosis make up the lion's share of 4-trackers.



it was definitely a lot easier to use the outriggers with a snowboard when both feet buckled into the board. what impressed me the most was one of our instructors, andy, who had cerebral palsy. walking across the cafeteria was an exhausting ordeal for andy due to his disability, but slap a pair of skiis on him and a pair of outriggers and he was blasting past even the best of us on the hill. watching him rip it on the hill was inspiring. i understood what they meant by differently abled instead of disabled. andy may not be able to do some of the things people with full use of their limbs might be able to do, but he is able to do other things...and he skiis very well.

there aren't any snowboarding students in 3-track or 4-track, so us riders just experimented with what ifs using outriggers.



its fun riding next to the ski jumps that were used for the 1988 winter olympics at canada olympic park. there is a wonderful energy here at c.o.p. it was a place where the world came together, peacefully, to compete and freeze their asses off together.




1988 was also the year that jamaican bobsled team made its debut in the winter olympics.



since the jamaicans led the way in 1988, other tropical countries, such as mexico, trinidad and tobago, netherlands antilles and brazil have also formed their own bobsled teams.

the 1993 disney movie cool runnings was also filmed here at c.o.p. looking up at the jamaican flag, i felt an overwhelming sense of pride to be canadian with jamaican roots freezing my ass off in this ridonculously cold ass country. if its this cold in november, i can only imagine what january and february are going to be like.



quite a contrast to the temperature of the islands this calgary place is.



our final discipline for the day was the blind group, or as they prefer to be called the visually impaired. most of the visually impaired do have some sight. to give us a better understanding of what its like to be blind, we were asked to put on goggles with the lenses covered in duct tape and then led around by a partner.

it really is such a different and often scary experience to not have use of the one sense that we normally rely on to give shape the world around us. seeing is not believing.

our instructor shared with us one of the largest challenges when teaching the blind...confidence in your voice. a visually impaired person relies on all of the other senses to give shape to the world around them, and if you are nervous or scared, your student will hear it in your voice and that energy will transfer to them.

we did some more excercises outdoors withe blind goggles on, including buckling into our boards with the help of a seeing partner. you may be asking why the blind would even want to leanr how to ski or snowboard. when i heard the answer, it made sense to me. they do it to feel the wind against their face. in this city, one doesn't really have to be on the ski hill to experience that ;)

i spent the rest of the afternoon riding the hard packed snow of c.o.p. there was a small terrain park at the bottom of the hill with a few jumps, a fun box, and a rainbow. i was glad that i could ride a run and then dash into the terrain park at the end for a single jump.

after an awesome and cold day of learning and riding at c.o.p., i braved the treacherous frozen roads of calgary back to the northwest in kristin's little toyota echo hatchback. this thing is small, slides easily, but is great on gas. thank you kristin for letting me use your micromachine to cruise around the city. i appreciate it, and you.



kristin and i had dinner at daemond's newly renovated apartment in downtown calgary. of course the topic of conversation revolved mostly around burning man. i quoted my friend dawn...

it seems like all burners do is talk about burning man.

ha! its so true. the burn becomes the high water mark for everything creative and fascinating that burners see anywhere for the rest of our lives.

the burn exists beyond your imagination, or perhaps within the limits of your imagination that you didn't think was possible until you set foot on the playa.


photo by scott london

kristin and daemond...or their playa names kale and dazed


i decided to try out a white line of makeup across my eyes instead of my usual red. the result was very super hero like.





fukkin rights!


kevin, kristin, dae


lookin good girl


with our bellies full (thanks for dinner dae), we once again braved the intense deep freeze of calgary on our way to the royal canadian legion to hear one of my favourite djs, lorin bassnectar.



novembrrrrr



my boys tyson and ari from music first were the ones responsible for puttin on this incredible event...and bringing into town one of the west's most loved djs, lorin bassnectar.

there is something about lorin, at least here in the west, that brings people out from under rocks, out of hibernation, and onto the dancefloor losing their shit. i witnessed it first hand in june at the warehouse here in calgary (another solid music first event), and at shambhala. lorin is more than loved over here, he is worshipped...and rightfully so. this guy kicks fukkin ass! i'm upset that i missed him play at the burn, but i was about to make up for it here in calgary.


bassnectar promo video 2003

the venue was the old legion in downtown calgary. waiting outside to get in was a bit fukkin cold. holy shit this town is freezing. inside, the twp level space was large and well decorated. maad props to tyson and ari for organizing such a tight and solid event. your attention to detail is rekognized and appreciated.



our friend phat pat of broken english was playing when we arrived, droppin some ill drum and bass and hard bangin' jungle.

nice shirt, dorktron ;)

it didn't take long for the venue to fill up with bassnectarheads anxiously awaiting lorin to arrive and throw down. dj mama michie took the decks after phat pat and primed the crowd with some bumpy funky breakbeatz.

i met quite a few calgary shambhalites from the shambhala messageboard. it was good to put names to faces. big ups to frankydubs, winditup, synthetics, tricky nicky, and eagleye153.





it was good to run into some other familiar calgary faces too...




even the unfamiliar faces were easy on the eyes. there are some good lookin peeps in this town.



i ran into a friend who told me that lorin had something for me and was looking for me. finding him wasn't hard...just look for the swarms of peeps followin' him around.



my friend dani had seen lorin play in toronto the night before. she gave lorin a present to give to me in calgary. the gift was a ring that said 'love' on it. it made my night. i got love sent to me from the east delivered by lorin bassnectar. thank you so much dani. i love you and miss you girl. thanks for reminding me that i am loved and missed. you fukkin rool! thank for bein the messenger lorin.



a week ago, dani and my toronto burner family (i fukkin miss you guys something fierce) hosted the toronto deplayafied party (the unnoficial burning man decomp). it was held at the center of gravity. dani created a playa bike art installation. you get on the bikes, and ride through the playa projected on a sceen in front of you complete with sounds. she had asked me to record my thoughts on the burn, and playa bikes, and send them to her so she could incorporate my voice in with the playa bike experience. i asked her if she used the sound clips and she responded:

babe! you were totally in the video.. I used all clips, and loved when people looked at me all wide-eyed, asking "IS THAT NORM!?" - you were totally there Babe, I'm glad you were a part of our decomp.

more pix of the unofficial decomp by alex d

by the time lorin took the decks, the place was packed and ready to explode. lorin brought it hard, slammin some raw and dirty psychodelectro breakbeatz sprinkled with hip hop and a healthy dash of fuck you! the floor was bumpin' with people losing their shit, myself included.



lorin assaulted my senses with sick, dark, raw, and gritty low frequency beatz.



the energy of the crowd was nutz! it reminded me of the czech head movement of the mid nineties rave scene. czech was the only dj playing breaks and trip hop, so those of us who loved breaks followed czech wherever he played. we were czech heads, and we were a breakbeat family. we would lose our shit to the sweet sound of breakz served up by the vancouver hip hop, breakz, and scratch guru known as czech.


czech and kenny glasgow in the bassment of 602 waterloo, london, 1997


czech at connekted, toronto, april 2k5

lorin dropped bomb after bomb, and the crowd exploded in a frenzy of ass shakin', loud screams, and hands in the air.



i was right up in front of the stage dancin' my ass off and takin pix. its inspiring to see a dj get right into it, and require space behind the decks for him to dance too! at one point, lorin grabbed my camera and took a pik of the crowd from his point of view.



he also made sure to grab the mic and show love for the hundreds of nectarheadz who braved the sub zero calgary temperatures to come out and support him.



if i didn't have to use the bathroom, i would've stayed at the front of the stage dancing for lorin's entire set. i can't remember the last time a dj took complete control of my senses and body with his beats causing me to dance without abandon for their entire set, especially without the aid of any drugs (i was dd).




that was one of the best sets i had heard lorin spin. he is up there as one of my fav djs who has yet to disappoint me. big ups to tyson and ari at music first for constantly putting together first class events. thanks for the link ups tyson. maad props to pk for the dope ass sound system. bless ups to lorin for killin it! much love to you dani for the ring...and finally, huge respect to calgary for comin' out and makin this night so magical.

this town knows how to get down...just add bassnectar.



more pix here in my pikcha archive

the party ended at regular bar hours, which was good for me seeing as i had to be up and on the hill snowboarding by 9am. after a friday night of riding, a full saturday on the hill, and an evening of non stop ass shakin', i was pretty fukkin tired. i was in bed by 4:20am, and was awake less than four hours later.

have i mentioned how fukkin kold this city is? the temperature at canada olympic park sunday morning was -29 degress before the windchill, -41 degrees with the windchill. it was so cold that they closed the lifts because it was too cold and dangerous to be out there riding. so we did our final cads training indoors while we waited for the lifts to open.



the first discipline we learned about was the developmentally delayed, or dd for short. this is the largest group in cads and consists of many autistic children, including kristin's younger brother's liam and mikhail. the lesson was less about technique and more about dealing with the disability. this province is the best place in the country to raise your autistic child thanks to all of the programs available for families with autistic children. i made a request for liam to be my student, but he was on a waiting list (registration fills up fast). hopefully that will change by the time i get assigned my student on thursday.



despite the lifts not being open yet, during our 30 minute break i hiked up the small terrain park and made a few hits. i don't need no stinkin chair lift ;)

the next discipline we learned about was sit ski. sit ski allows those who have no use of their lower limbs the ability to enjoy skiing.






once again, i was reminded that the disabled are just differently abled. just because a person can't walk doesn't mean that they cannot ski.



the final discipline we learned was the proper use of equipment. from straps, poles, walk-skis, and ski bras, there is a rainbow of different pieces of equipment used to help the disabled shred the mountain.




by the time our final lesson was completed, one of the chair lifts had opened. with zero exposed skin showing, i buckled into my board and headed to the top of c.o.p. for some very cold runs.




three runs were the max you could do in this nutz cold before being forced to head inside and warm up. cads had a little area in the lounge reserved for us with some small finger foods and cofee/hot chocolate. that definitely warmed me up, and put a bit of food in my belly.



fun in the mini terrain park


we have one more on hill training session this thursday when we also find out the name of the student we willb e paired up with. our first class is on friday. i'm so excited.



after a few more very cold runs, my body was too exhausted to go any more, so i called it a day...more like called it a weekend.



i made myself something quick to eat before passing out in my snowsuit and boot liners. what an awesome weekend. i got to ride three days in a row and got to boogy down to lorin with some lively calgarians. this town is a whole lot of alright.

love and blessings

~*...normaste...*~