Oosmos

Oogah Oosmos OOO G Ahhhhhh. Just as each letter of the alphabet has it's own sound and meaning, so each individual has an opinion, set of memories and habits and degree of clarity or confusion. Every act of communication or interaction involves the one and the many. The word Oogah contains many letters. Each individual is an expression of Oogah. Each letter in the word Oogah involves the nature of the alphabet and also meaning, connected with numerous concepts. In previous posts and in Club Morono zines, Lohbado wrote extensively about the alphabet and the word Oogah.

Since we just emerged from a long and trying winter, Lohbado recommends a simple approach to the word of Oogah. With OOO, ingest positive, life-enhancing forces. G is you, the god-like nature of humanity, where you are hooked in the human condition. Ah is the sense of space and relaxation that happens when one lets go of trying to be somebody, or trying to do something. OOO is open, relaxed and cheerful: Oogah!

still winter

Cote des Neiges

Av de Kent

It's still winter...

Oogah Spring

Oogah raised his arms to release hot spicy streams of air to melt the snow, thus putting an end to winter and welcoming in spring.

more snow

snow up to Lohbado's door step

foot print

Here's proof that Oogah wasn't lying when he said spring is suspended until further notice. It's a test. All winter, one was tickled with promises of warm weather, only to have one's hopes disappointed as the temperatures plunged again. These pictures were taken on March 28, 2014.

oogah weather forecast

weather forecast

book of Oogah

The Chief Nomroh consulted the Book of Oogah at the Club Morono Tabernacle. Oogah told the Chief Nomroh that this extended winter is a test of humanity's patience. If humans can stay cool until mid-april, Oogah will lift his arms to release hot weather from his armpits.

Floating Baron: A Review of the David Lynch film Dune

a woman spices things up at the beginning

As Lohbado watched the final uprising of the dune people and the worms attacking the emperor’s space ship where the floating fat man floated with his pizza face all dressed, he thought of the Yee Haw controversy subsequent fierce and bloody battles in the desert that were described in The Book of Oogah.

whip into shape rope things down

whip

Whip into shape, rope things down, put it in a net bag. Most rope is made out of nylon or plastic. Lohbado remembered the days when rope was made out of hemp. Whip up a storm, whip up some eggs, whip cream. Make sure to properly secure it with a rope. Put onions in the mesh bag.

endless combinations

Do the numbers add up to anything? What do they represent? The letters are a little more clear. Maybe DFO is department of fisheries, although the O is not where it should be. LOB suggests the first letters of Lohbado's name and lobster. The lobster trap bands lay next to pieces of lobster trap, which Lohbado found several years ago during a trip to the ocean.

Put on Lohbado did. Lohbado put on his celebration cap, which hung on a peg on the door. Under the celebration cap hung the thinking cap on a peg on the back of the door. He sometimes wore both caps, the thinking cap and the celebration cap. He had a red cap, black cap, a green cap, a white cap and one in beige.

    He wore the caps as he sat down to examine pieces of wood and plastic, to contemplate the inner-verse, the cosmos within. The constellations of memory, or thought associations, continuously created new stories, ideas and emotions, a candy swirl, or a blood pudding, gravy hash, gristle and fat. Thought and food, food for thought, thought about food, Lohbado examined endless combinations

the proper place to make such an attempt

outdoor bulb

bulb and prayer wall

Lohbado opened the door and peered out at the winter wonderland. Heavy wet snow came down in Montreal. Lohbado gazed at the light bulb above the door and prayed that spring would come soon.

Lohbado woke up groggy the next morning. The temperature dropped. The thought of putting on the winter parka again made him tired. He stood in the doorway and breathed in a little cold air. Eventually his body would come to life and he would walk around the block.

Be stoic, don't think about spring. Don 't think too much. Lohbado learned to take things slow. That's what happens as one reaches the threshold of sixty. One slows down. One could look back at futile attempts to achieve something and chuckle about how it didn't work out according to plan. Foolish plans, vanity... as a young man, Lohbado thought he could find a career, win a companion and live a regular kind of life. Oogah had other plans for Lohbado. Oogah laughed at Lohbado's hopes and fears. Oogah gave Lohbado what he secretly wanted... a life devoted to waking up from suffering and confusion. Not that he got very far, but at least, he put himself in the proper place to make such an attempt.

to clear up confusion

plastic from Lohbado's collection

Morono Man, an unusual man living an unusual life, there are many people who didn’t quite succeed. A percentage of the population ran into trouble. Morono Man was never employed for long and had long stretches, years at a time, of not working at all. He lived in shame and sorrow, until he realized there’s no blame.

    Don’t listen to those who never tire of reminding you that you’re a failure, that you’re no good. The ultimate goal is to get through life without harming oneself or harming anyone else. It would be nice if one could practice kindness, intelligence and compassion. However,  just to refrain from causing harm is a big step. Far too many attempts to be kind are done in muddled, self-centered fashion, without properly understanding the situation. This results in harm. In such cases, it’s better to do nothing. That’s why I say, to refrain from harm is a huge step in the right direction.

    After one learns to not cause harm, one could learn to deal with one’s mind, to stop casting blame, stop wallowing in misery. To actually sit down, pay attention and look at what’s going on in one’s mind could clear up a lot of confusion.

Expert on what went wrong

There’s always a certain amount of tension when one sets up for another picture making session. After over fifty years of this, Lohbado knew the standard critiques by heart. He could hear the critical and discouraging voices of rigid people who lack imagination, telling him he was doing it all wrong, that what he's doing is not art. It's a waste of time. There’s always somebody who doesn’t approve of what you’re doing. Experts who love to point out where you went wrong are in plentiful supply.

Lohbado noticed thoughts gathering momentum. There are thoughts as thoughts. Then there's the content of thought. Let the thoughts come and go. Don't take them so serious. Don't get sucked into the usual squabbling.

Lohbado decided to slow down and take stock of his collection, take inventory of the things that piled up in his cupboards, then toss the things in the trash, or add them to handmade books.

Don't think so much. Set things up. Get to work. Don't worry about what others think. The world is waiting to be explored and enjoyed. There's no reason to be uptight.

Max

Who is Max? What did he want? He pushed such questions to the max. What is the nature or essence of Max?

What exactly constitutes Max, other than a body and collection of memories, a set of habits and credentials, a bunch of opinions and strong emotions?

The underlying substance of Max involves a mix of OOO and CHA. Max in fact is an attribute of Oogah and his personality a mode, or modification of Oogah substance.

apartment blocks viewed through a window

viewed through a window

The last agonizing days of winter, things appear under a grey, dreary filter. Remove the filter and things are quite beautiful, plenty of line, pattern texture. The depression forces one to find ways to cope. It's either sink or swim, cheer up or be unhappy. One of Lohbado's many techniques is to embrace the blah feeling. Don't push it away. Don't hope for a better feeling. Eat the feeling. Digest it in one's body and mind. Feel the drowsiness, the heavy, negative state of mind. Ok, Club Morono doesn't offer false promises. This is all a story. After welcoming the misery, the bubble popped. Lohbado smiled. At one point, the desolation is so intense, it becomes picturesque.

beauty salon

Here's a beautiful sign, an art object, not far from Lohbado's dwelling.

heavenly tower

picture taken about four years ago

Many beautiful old church towers decorate the Montreal skyline. The other day, when Lohbado felt tired and dull, he gazed at this tower, coral green, sea green, blue sky. His mind relaxed as he contemplated the tower against the vast space of the sky. Then as he continued on his way, Lohbado enjoyed the interesting variety of signs and windows along the street.

cat-turkey

This cat likes turkey and sardines in tomato sauce. This cat spend a life time trying to open the can of sardines and trying to get at the turkey. Imagine if the cat succeeded in having it all!

4 noble truths

Somebody asked Lohbado, what's the point in meditating? What do you get out of it?

Buddhist meditation is a non-goal orientated activity. This sounds like a paradox, since one has a purpose for meditating. The paradox is part of the meditation process. Lohbado thought maybe an easy way to talk about why he meditated would be to refer to the four noble truths. They provide a basic overview of the process.

city dream

Lohbado recorded pictures of the city reflected in his mind. While speeding down a freeway, buildings appeared to sway back and forth and to twist and bulge. There are many ways of looking. A thing occurs in conjunction with thoughts related to the thing. As one contemplates the situation, one could choose from among numerous ways of communicating the experience. The only limitations are the limits of imagination, or what one will allow oneself to consider.

old cat

The old cat survived a few winters. This friendly cat walked with a limp, was nearly blind, hard of hearing and had a fang sticking out.

a good book to dispel drowsiness

Oogah Book

ink on paper

Lohbado couldn't sleep, even though he felt drowsy. He stayed up most of the night, working on Oogah books. He worked at the kitchen counter. Before long, a heap of material filled the kitchen. There's a tension between accumulating a heap of things and then organizing and digesting it. The nutrients or good ideas are absorbed. The rest is digested into compact form for the trash or recycling bin. Lohbado's art was ecological. He managed to transform most of the doss into gold.

sardines

Lohbado had sardines and spaghetti for lunch yesterday, to celebrate the time change. He put a little olive oil on the noodles, some cheddar cheese and half a can of sardines. He ate the rest of the sardines, fried on onions, garlic and ginger, with rice for supper.

early morning

Set the clock ahead an hour. Get up an hour earlier. Go for a walk. Lohbado took some photos on Van Horne as he walked towards Victoria, in Cote des Neiges. Krazy Kris sells excellent rye bread, Moscow recipe. I also love the selection of dill pickles.

don't be so serioius

this guy looks serious

shadow and light on the wall

Be patient. Good days, bad days. Relax and pay attention to what may or may not be happening.

A serious expression happened in the drawing, because Lohbado drew with a soft pencil, which smudged at the edge of the mouth. It gave the character a kind of pained expression. Maybe Lohbado had a headache when he did the drawing. In any case, moods change and so does the weather.

problems

Lohbado arguing with himself. Sometimes the restless mind gets carried away. It's good to have a look at one's mind, to relax and let go of the thoughts. It's amazing how easy it is to stir up conflict, to create problems where there were none and then to find elaborate, inconvenient solutions to the problems you created.

Lohbado's Memoir update

Sometimes two pictures are worth two million words. Ultimately, the stories are all empty and yet the stories are still stories. While trying to write, Lohbado ended up drawing.