Berniegourley

LATEST ARTICLES ( 3743 )

• POEM: Cave Days

  Stars framed by the dropped rock chasm in the cave roof. A smoky man and smoky woman sit, staring up at that rhomboidal field of stars - a window to the... Read more

  Posted on 02 December 2019 SOCIETY, TRAVEL

• My Year of Discovering How Weird the Mind Gets, Pt. X [Chanting]

  

  Some people swear by the mind-altering properties [and other benefits] of chanting mantras. I've been reading a review copy of Kulreet Chaudhary's "Sound... Read more

  Posted on 27 November 2019 SOCIETY, TRAVEL

• BOOK REVIEW: A Stranger Truth by Ashok Alexander

  A Stranger Truth: Lessons in Love, Leadership and Courage from India's Sex Workers by Ashok Alexander My rating: 5 of 5 stars Amazon page In 2003, Ashok... Read more

  Posted on 26 November 2019 SOCIETY, TRAVEL

• BOOK REVIEW: Understanding Mental Illness by Carlin Barnes and Marketa Wills

  Understanding Mental Illness: A Comprehensive Guide to Mental Health Disorders for Family and Friends by Carlin Barnes My rating: 4 of 5 stars Amazon page This... Read more

  Posted on 26 November 2019 SOCIETY, TRAVEL

• BOOK REVIEW: Chinaman by Shehan Karunatilaka

  Chinaman: The legend of Pradeep Mathew by Shehan Karunatilaka My rating: 5 of 5 stars Amazon page "Chinaman" is the tale of an alcoholic Sri Lankan sportswriter... Read more

  Posted on 26 November 2019 SOCIETY, TRAVEL

• Springtime Haiku

  

  breezy days cool air weaves its way through the pines birds abound, passing through again, heading home the spring thaw muddy ground squishes... Read more

  Posted on 24 November 2019 SOCIETY, TRAVEL

• POEM: The Theater of Heaven & Hell

  Heaven and hell are filmed on a lot inside the skull. Not shot on location, nor before a live studio audience. Only one can be shot at a time - heaven, or... Read more

  Posted on 22 November 2019 SOCIETY, TRAVEL

• POEM: One Life at a Time

  The man on a metaphorical soapbox said, "Aren't you concerned about the afterlife?" I replied, "My hands are full with the duringlife." Of course, nobody... Read more

  Posted on 21 November 2019 SOCIETY, TRAVEL

• BOOK REVIEW: Sonnets by Sri Aurobindo

  Amazon page This booklet collects together the 88 sonnets written by Sri Aurobindo. Aurobindo was a guru who set up his ashram in Pondicherry because he was on... Read more

  Posted on 19 November 2019 SOCIETY, TRAVEL

• BOOK REVIEW: Tom Sawyer, Detective by Mark Twain

  Amazon page The adventures of Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn continue in this novella as the duo travels to visit Aunt Sally and Uncle Silas in Arkansas. On the... Read more

  Posted on 19 November 2019 SOCIETY, TRAVEL

• BOOK REVIEW: My Heroes Have Always Been Junkies by Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips

  My Heroes Have Always Been Junkies by Ed Brubaker My rating: 5 of 5 stars Amazon page As the title suggests, this story's lead romanticizes drug abuse, to the... Read more

  Posted on 18 November 2019 SOCIETY, TRAVEL

• Five Haiku

  

  frost on grass early morning chill felt through eyes wave wall warps, becoming tubular surf crashes mountains turn to smooth, round boulders, then to... Read more

  Posted on 16 November 2019 SOCIETY, TRAVEL

• POEM: Divining Meaning

  

  Imagine standing on the train platform, listening to the distant approaching train, and you hear a voice say - unprovoked - "Don't worry, I'm not going to... Read more

  Posted on 14 November 2019 SOCIETY, TRAVEL

• POEM: Tokyo Noir

  

  Neon animates a puddle long after trains have quit. It seems quiet and abandoned, excepting those who flit between afterhours rendezvous where sake cups go... Read more

  Posted on 13 November 2019 SOCIETY, TRAVEL

• BOOK REVIEW: The Collected Schizophrenias by Esmé Weijun Wang

  The Collected Schizophrenias: Essays by Esmé Weijun Wang My rating: 5 of 5 stars Amazon page Schizophrenia is ill-understood, and that's just by psychiatrists... Read more

  Posted on 12 November 2019 SOCIETY, TRAVEL

• BOOK REVIEW: Escape from Kathmandu by Kim Stanley Robinson

  Escape From Kathmandu by Kim Stanley Robinson My rating: 5 of 5 stars Amazon page This is an oldy-but-a-goody. It was originally published in 1989, though I rea... Read more

  Posted on 12 November 2019 SOCIETY, TRAVEL

• POEM: Huck’s Typology

  Huck Finn said he runs to pie, [While Tom runs to mystery.] That is the respective nature of each. I, too, run to mystery, but sometimes I stop for pie on the... Read more

  Posted on 10 November 2019 SOCIETY, TRAVEL

• POEM: Eye

  A girl pressed her palms against her eye sockets. Was she trying to keep her eyeballs from popping out? Or was she trying to make sure something didn't get... Read more

  Posted on 08 November 2019 SOCIETY, TRAVEL

• POEM: Screams & Toast

  Every scream is special. There's no such thing as -a mundane scream -a work-a-day scream -a milquetoast scream. Some things are like that. Other things must... Read more

  Posted on 06 November 2019 SOCIETY, TRAVEL

• BOOK REVIEW: The Science of Meditation [also Sold as Altered Traits] by Daniel...

  The Science of Meditation: How to Change Your Brain, Mind and Body by Daniel Goleman My rating: 5 of 5 stars Amazon page This book has been sold under the... Read more

  Posted on 05 November 2019 SOCIETY, TRAVEL