Rafael and the Paris Pin-Ball Museum

Feb 2, 2014. We wandered in a desolate and forgettable street near Porte de Clignancourt. There was no sign that a museum would be situated in such a street, even less so when we stand in front of a ugly, concrete residential building. But when Bruno opened the door, we stepped into a magic land. Hundreds and hundreds of pin-ball machines from the 1930’ to 1970s spread through a few rooms, all meticulously maintained and in good working condition. One can imagine that during these years, all America was indulging itself in the sound if “bing bing bing…” and the unique electro rhythms, together with Pizza, beer and a lot of winter nights to kill. The flash panels mostly have themes of football, baseball, girls in bikinis with heavy round tits and cowboys (saving girls in bikinis with heavy round tits). For sure that a lot of boys grew up dreaming to be one of these heros, with intensive masturbation. This is America pop culture at the Zenith. When Rafael stepped in, one thought seeing an alarming poisonous tropical insect. He wraps himself behind a green baseball cap, neon-lime colored round glasses and a bright orange jump suit. At 76, beaming of life, he threw a bomb to Robert: “Are you a Jew? A Jew from New York?” A bit awkward and for sure taken by surprise, Robert said yes. “I knew it! A Jew has an eye for another Jew!”. Then he turned to Robert’s wife:”Are you Japanese?”. Upon the yes answer, he pointed to a picture of a beautiful Asian woman “ This is my 5th wife, a mixture of Malay and Japanese. At 76, I have a child of 18!”. Continuing his trophy speech, “What do you think? With all my success and my taste, I would not pick an ugly one!”. Before we could react -if we knew how - “My wife is unique, one day she picked up a knife…, and “chu’!” – he slashed the invisible knife in his chest. We go “wow!!!”, he then waved his hand over his head and made another “chu!”, cutting the knife across his head. “My wife is unique!!! She wanted to kill me. But what can we do? We are in love”. We all nodded in shocking agreement. “And you? You are Chinese?”. “Yes.” “The Chinese are oriental Jews! We all like families, like money and like to show off!”. He then went on to tell a joke of a Tunisian Jew who bragged about his Porsche, his women and his five Rolexes on one arm. And while he was bragging, a thief came and cut his arm off. He ran after the thief, crying “He stole my Rolexes!”. Rafael was in the Casino business in Las Vegas, obviously he made a not so small fortune. One day he said to himself that he was tired of making money. He started to collect Pin-Ball machines and spent 3 million dollars on his collection. There is a young man in the museum cleaning the glasses of the machines “He is not Arab, he is Jewish”, Rafael explained “Although il y une tete Arabe”. He then said that actually the Arabs have no problems with the Jews. “I met so many princesses and high class Arabs, they are all very sophisticated, drinking afternoon and having English education!”. His hand picking up an invisible porcelain tea cup, his little finger pointing out, symbol of the English sophistication. It seems that someone is having a problem with the Jews, but we don’t know who. And Rafael did not explain. “Why did you create the museum?” We asked. He said: “My friend said to me: Why do you spend money on pin-ball machines? I told them that I’d better spend my money on these machines than on drugs. I have a friend who spent millions on drugs and each time I tell him to stop, he would say that one has many lives. Then he died. I only saw one life! Where are the other lives? I don’t want no advertising. Only interesting people came to my museum, the Americans, the foreigners, very few French! They are not interested and they are not interesting any way!”

Appreciation

God is an atheist. It is a conciousness that denies the conciousness as it does not need to exsit in any context or under any condition.
While walking down a corridor, the idea that I am a woman, a stranger, a foreigner, a loner, a colored person, jumping from country to country, from nationality to nationality, from job to job, from situation to situation, from role to role and constantly re-shape, change, transform or revolutionize, it is truely a sign of fortune of having so much opportunities to appreciate the world and humanity from so many angles and perspectives, both disadvantaged and advantaged, poor and comfortable, relaxed and stressed, to show me the relevance, the illusions and the ultimate truth.
I am lucky and I am thankful.

Stranger

From town to town
country to country
nobody knows and there is no need.

I pass by like a breeze
Observe like a leave in the tree.

Architect, poet, holy man,
teacher, musician, prostitute,
carpenter, politician and sans papier.

These are you. Who am I?
I am time's timer.

Divan of Shems of Tabriz - Rumi

When my bier is carried on the day of my death
Don't think my heart remains in this world.

Don't weep for me or cry, "Woe!Woe!"
Such sadness is the devil's snare.

When you see my hearse, don't cry, "He's gone, gone!"
Remember, union and encounter are mine in that hour.

When you commit me to the grave, don't say:"Good bye, good bye."
The grave is a curtain concealing the community of Paradise

After looking upon descent, consider resurrection;
To the sun and the moon, is setting a calamity?

To you death is setting; in truth it is rising.
Though the grave seems like a prision, it comes as the soul's release.

What seed buried in earth doesn't grow?
Why doubt the growth of the seed in man?

What bucket lowered doesn't come up brimming?
Why should the spririt's Joseph complain at the well?

Shut your mouth on this side of death, open it beyond.
Your song will be trumphant in nowhere's air.

Emotional Insecurity

A person who is emotionally insecure lacks confidence in their OWN value, and one or more of their capabilities, lacks trust in themselves or others, or has fears that a present positive state is temporary, and will let them down and cause them loss or distress by "going wrong" in the future.

Overall, a person who is insecure always needs "reference points" to confirm his confidence, without which he is not clear about his own state of mind.

A few signs:
"Need to have a setting of authority to feel power and confidence"
"When opposed, feel the urgency of fighting back and straigthening things up. Can not take a losing situation"
"Rarely let go, good or bad"
"Need to have money to feel rich and always feel that there is not enough"
"Say things like "This woman married a man 20 year her senior for his money, just for his money" - a sign of pessimism of self-value and natural charm"
" Feel proud sleeping with someone younger or beautiful or rich or famous"

 

Marriage Solution

Woman: "Let's get married!"
Man: "Why do you want to get married?"
Woman: "That would make me happy."
Man: "Are you not happy now?"

The woman thought a while and applied a customer centric approach: "I keep you well fucked; I let you financially and emotionally burden-free; I make you spiritually lifted."
Man: "Let's keep it this way then!"

God saw that they can not reach a conclusion and turned them both into gays. They went to the street to protest in order to get married.

 

May 8th - White Lotus Day in momory of Madame Blavatsky

History has not been kind to the controversial Helena Petrovna and her passion for spiritual truth. But then history may be too short a time to give us a real perspective on the Immortals. For such the stubborn genius Blavatsky most certainly was…and is.

The Golden Stairs as written by her.

A clean life, an open mind, a pure heart, an eager intellect, an unveiled spiritual perception, a brotherliness for one’s co-disciple, a readiness to give and receive advice and instruction, a loyal sense of duty to the Teacher, a willing obedience to the behests of TRUTH, once we have placed our confidence in and believe that Teacher to be in possession of it; a courageous endurance of personal injustice, a brave declaration of principles, a valiant defence of those who are unjustly attacked, and a constant eye to the ideal of human progression and perfection which the Secret Science depicts: these are the golden stairs up the steps of which the learner may climb to the Temple of Divine Wisdom.