zenpundit.com

[ by Charles Cameron — until we understand suffering as devotion, where are we? ]
.

The running of the bulls in Pamplona, Spain, celebrates the martyrdom of San Fermin:

Ernest Hemingway on the San Fermin fiesta:

The fiesta was really started. It kept up day and night for seven days. The dancing kept up, the drinking kept up, the noise went on. The things that happened could only have happened during a fiesta. Everything became quite unreal finally and it seemed as though nothing could have any consequences. It seemed out of place to think of consequences during the fiesta. All during the fiesta you had the feeling even when it was quiet, that you had to shout any remark to make it heard. It was the same feeling about any action. It was a fiesta and it went on for seven days.

[ .. ]

The fiesta and its requisite state of constant drunkenness is a time of “unreal” events and chaos—a time in which our characters let go of any sober sense of right and wrong they might still possess.

**

India: Watch men get TRAMPLED by herd of cows for Diwali:

Dozens of men in the central Indian village of Ujjain Taluk allowed themselves to be trampled by stampeding cows Friday as part of Govardhan Puja, the fourth day of Diwali.

Locals pray for their wishes to be granted by ‘Lord of Animals’ Lord Pashupatinath and in return perform the cow-trampling ritual as a mark of gratitude.

Despite the ritual having being performed for hundreds of years, allegedly not one man has been seriously injured as of yet.

**

in the running of the bulls, the idea is to avoid being gored: in the running of the cows, the idea is to be trampled.

Religion.

[ by Charles Cameron — for Ali Minai and Mike Sellers, my complexity maven friends ]
.

Complexity at intersections and overlaps.

My intuition catches this from memories of Carmel and Big Sur, and my general snese of waves crashing on waves –and with a little searching, I find my instinct beautifully expressed in this detail from Henrique Pinto‘s gorgeous Rocks & waves @ Big Sur #4, CA:

The approach from science-side delivers this:

The authors said their paper, published in the journal Science, highlights how overstressed and overlapping natural systems are combining to throw up a growing number of unwelcome surprises.

Unwelcome surprises, unanticipated consequences, unknown unknowns, what’s the odds?

From the article page:

Cascading effects of regime shifts

The potential for regime shifts and critical transitions in ecological and Earth systems, particularly in a changing climate, has received considerable attention. However, the possibility of interactions between such shifts is poorly understood. Rocha et al. used network analysis to explore whether critical transitions in ecosystems can be coupled with each other, even when far apart (see the Perspective by Scheffer and van Nes). They report different types of potential cascading effects, including domino effects and hidden feedbacks, that can be prevalent in different systems. Such cascading effects can couple the dynamics of regime shifts in distant places, which suggests that the interactions between transitions should be borne in mind in future forecasts.

I’ve been saying this, notably here, and thinking it for quite a while longer: in particular, I’d imagine a lot of waves of climate migration will founder on the rocks of nationalism and religion..

[ by Charles Cameron — stunned — gun, whiskey, rattler — and a personal uranium stash? ]
.

And the prize for best catch of the week goes to the Guthrie, Oklahoma PD cops who made a traffic stop for expired tags, found the vehicle was stolen, and discovered within it: a firearm, an open bottle of Kentucky Deluxe whiskey, a rattlesnake, and some powdered uranium.

Stephen Jennings was arrested for allegedly driving a stolen vehicle with rattlesnake and uranium inside.

It makes us wonder:

Jennings, of Logan County, told officers that he had the uranium because he recently purchased a Geiger counter to test metals, and the chemical element came with the purchase. He joked with officers that he was trying to create a “super snake,” Gibbs added. [ .. ]

The uranium did not result in charges because Jennings was in possession of a legal amount.

Stunning.

[ by Charles Cameron — following on from Cats as 16th century weapons, foxes as Old Testament precursors ]
.

And here you go again — bringing us up to date with an associative memory leap..

The cat as 16th century offensive weapon, the dog as contemporary defense — alert at all times, and
vociferous when detecting suspicious activity!

Thanks to @EMluvsPibbles