Quieting the mind is one of the most difficult things there is.  One of the most ironic things about a calm mind is that it is not at all challenging until one decides to try it.  For everyone who is living in the world, achieving a quiet mind is something that is sought after at one time or another, and for those who devote more time to it than others, it has spiritual benefits that unfold in unimaginable ways.  For writers, those who are engaged in the life-long task of putting their lives on paper, or on a computer screen, the need for a quiet mind is perhaps entirely apparent.  It is as necessary to make the words flow, like having the right cheap wheels for a particular journey.

However, when a writer is in the middle of a creative spell, the mind is anything but quiet.  For writers like Sam Shepard, the connections between silence and words are hard to draw, because so much of the material comes from a place that is entirely furious, and the opposite of quiet.  It is no coincidence that his first artistic practice was as a drummer, and it is also no coincidence that half the noise of drumming is the silence.  Silence and sound do need each other, and they certainly feed each other.  Rhythm depends on it, and rhythm is the root of poetry, music, dance, and theatre.

Like many writers of what some call “American Realism,” there are tendencies in his work toward excess in action and emotion, acts of violence, and enormous personal and cultural upheaval.  Many writers of the generation before his were obsessed with the same tendencies, and it’s no error that they continue through generations; there is something singularly fascinating about people at extreme variance.  At the same time, it does seem that the lifestyles of the writers of previous generations is harder to maintain.  So it becomes fascinating to see writers getting older these days.  Shepard’s relentless driving might be part of a culture of necessity, like getting new truck tires at www.performanceplustire.com, finding clothes at outdoor markets, and boots from the right dealer.  It could also very well be its own form of meditation, where long hours doing a singular action has the same result, no matter what the action is.  At some point, the mind has to become quiet, so that the silence can play against the noise, in acts of sheer poetry.

Stalking the Quiet Drive is a post from: Silence Aloud

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Men seem to have a phobia about shopping, unless it is something to do with their car, motorcycle, or other vehicle. They are willing to spend hours upon hours hunting all over town for the perfect custom wheels for their car. It can seem, at times, that they care much more about how their car looks than how their wife dresses.

For the most part, men do seem to put more thought, energy, and money into their car. When they go shopping for tires, they aren’t just looking for the best price and the most reliable tires. They will be carefully examining performance ratings and calculating how a given tire will improve the maneuverability and handling of their car. They want to get as close to race car performance as their budget — or their wife — will allow them to get.

Looks is the other important consideration for most men when they are buying wheels and tires . Whether they are going for the elegant sports car look or want their car to look like a street racer, they spend as much time searching for the perfect set of tires as their wives and girlfriends spend shopping for shoes — and more time than they spend shopping for their own clothes.

Men Choose Tires for Performance or Style is a post from: Silence Aloud

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1. Stalking the Quiet Drive

Law in Arizona has a comparatively short history to the rest of the country, the first bar was established here in 1933. It makes up for its lack of time in exchange for a complexity of events. To be sure, there are many colorful characters that have dotted Arizona’s past and present, and some of these figures are ones that most people would prefer not to remember, so great was their impact on the public impression of the state.

But for every public figure who tries to use their charisma and connections to make a name for themselves here, there are dozens more who work with their own charisma and charms, but have good character to back it up. They tend to leave the spotlight for others, making positive changes with an eye for the generations that may follow them. They might be found teaching at a university, or perhaps working at a local law office . Here, one can find people like Hayzel B. Daniels , whose life was characterized by many battles to be won and lost, and many struggles. He was also an enormously magnetic figure, and was able to make solid legal arguments, and also maintain a vibrant life. When he passed in 1992, he was very beloved to most, and even hated by some, which might suggest that he was doing his job.

He founded the Arizona Black Lawyers Association in 1971, which changed its name to the Hayzel B. Daniels Bar Association in 1993, and is now known as the Arizona Black Bar . In keeping with his legacy of struggling for equality of all kinds, the organization has, as part of its mission, the charge to enhance the public’s perception of Arizona lawyers who are African-American. His own life work demonstrates a very deep participation in the causes of equality, and in fighting segregations. He was also part of a case that became a precedent for the landmark Brown vs. the Board of Education. He was also the first African-American to finish a law degree at the University of Arizona.

Haze Legacy in Arizona is a post from: Silence Aloud

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Zurich is the largest city in Switzerland, and there’s a remarkable cultural scene to visit here. It has some of the most innovative musicians and artists anywhere in Europe, and was the home for the beginning of one of the most influential art movements in modernity. Dadaism had a very short life with a very long reach. Tristan Tzara, who would deny inventing Dadaism, invented Dadaism while in Zurich, as a response to World War One. The irrationality of the war needed an artistic response that was appropriate to the moment, and the artistic moment suggested and demanded an irrational approach.

There may be evidence of Dadaism in the art practices today, in the music, performance, and visual arts in Zurich, but none are so powerful as a moment that precedes Dada by far, appropriately. The Burning of the Booeg is possibly the most remarkable spectacle in town, and certainly is the highlight of the festival for the Guilds, Sechselaeuten. This comes around every year in April, usually, and marks the end of the long winter and the beginning of a new season.

The particularities of the festival have their origins in the 19th century, but chances are fairly good that it comes from something much, much older. Zurich has been continually inhabited for 7,000 years, after all, and some of the old traditions stick. Those who are fortunate enough to have booked Zurich hotels during this time will be treated to an event that brings people out by the thousands.

Although the image of men marching and wearing traditional clothes is a pretty striking one, it’s hard to compete with the public burning of a snowman, culminating in the blowing up of his head. For many people, the Booeg is another version of the scapegoat, the object that takes on all the dark thoughts of the population so they can expel their demons publicly. For others, it’s a simple moment that marks the changing of the seasons, and the faster the snowman burns, the better the summer will be. Tristan Tzara surely found something inspiring in this.

Burning Booegs in Zurich is a post from: Silence Aloud

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There are many things that you can troubleshoot at home when it comes to diagnosing car problems.  When my car was leaking fluids, I had no idea from which part of the engine they were coming from so I looked in my Ford Expedition repair manual.  I not only figured out what was wrong at that time, but I learned much more than I was expecting.  Now, should a leak arise I will have more to consider, and more to work with as well.  I knew what an oil leak looked like as I had spent years driving an older Volkswagen bus, known to leak oil almost on a constant basis.  This time I could not even figure out the color of the fluid so I followed the advice of an old friend.  I drove my car for a bit, came home parked it in the driveway, and put a large piece of white cardboard under my car and waited.  The white cardboard is important as it allows the color of the liquid that is leaking to be determined.

This will give you a good idea where the leak is originating from.  Your radiator is most likely leaking if the color is a vibrant green.  Vibrant blue is an indication that your fluid from your windshield wipers are leaking, which in colder temperatures can cause quite a problem.  The wiper fluid is very helpful when cleaning snow and ice from the windshield.  Sometimes in the winter, the wiper fluid will be either yellow, pink or orange.  The troublesome leaks will involve oil, the transmission fluid or the brake fluid, for when your engine runs out of these fluids the damage can be quite extensive, and in the case of the brake fluid, could be quite dangerous as well.  The brake fluid as well, should be changed every two years, as through time it absorbs water.  When I bought my new car, I made sure that the manufacturer’s Ford Ranger repair manual was in the glove compartment, for not only was it great to have diagnosed the previous problems, I had a sense of well being knowing that I could refer back to the manual, and gaining the knowledge to begin to do at least the small fixes on my new SUV.

Diagnosing Engine Leaks with the Proper Repair Manual is a post from: Silence Aloud

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