Pizzaonia is a real beta-world place that has learned to live without wars and governments. Please keep in mind that any resemblance to actual events, locales or persons living or dead in your world is entirely coincidental.
02/22/2012
A FIBER CRISIS HITS PIZZAONIA – VEGETARIANISM GONE AWRY!
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
FROM: PIZZAONIAN NEWS NETWORK (PNN)
Contact: Publicio Relationio at the PNN office of Public Relations at PIZZAONIAN@YAHOO.COM
A FIBER CRISIS HITS PIZZAONIA
Breaking news as it happens …………….
For a country that exits without government or wars a new controversy has developed that threatens our existing culture.
We are a vegetarian culture, and we have been for longer than most Pizzaonians can remember. As a result, we eat many fruits, vegetables, and other delicious natural foods. You are asking – what could possibly be the problem?
The problem is dietary fiber! In a stunning and shocking report released yesterday, the Pizzaonian Water and Waste Management System announced it has reached its capacity for the processing of waste materials.
Feci Disolvi, manager for all Pizzaonian utilities said, “We are overwhelmed; our present system cannot process any more fiber without compromising our entire waste management structure!”
This surprise announcement has left Pizzaonians confused. Our beta-world country exists without bureaucracies of any kind, and this “fiber crisis” threatens the existence of one of our most cherished traditions.
A crisis resolution committee is being formed by international pizza conglomerate, Pizza digogo DiVinci. The committee will consist of Monastery and Pizzaonian dignitaries with a history of resolving unsolvable problems.
While the fiber crisis is being treated as a national emergency, the full story is still developing and Pizza digogo DiVinci said it would not issue a news release until the committee has met and decided on a strategy.
As soon as PNN gets it – you will read about it here. More as it develops...
02/21/2012
Nothing shouts the triumph of man over nature more than our celebrating of technology.
We seek the path of least resistance until we realize that path leads to oblivion.
So much of life is driven by the instinctive need for comfort. It is our human nature to seek safety and comfort. Unfortunately, we may find it necessary to leave our comfort to seek safety, and that is very hard to do since comfort always masks itself as safety.
Nothing shouts the triumph of man over nature more than our celebrating of technology. There was a time when we celebrated in awe, and often in terror, the natural wonders of nature. Now, when nature and technology share the same place, technology wears the crown.
In the days of sailing ships, we cooperated with nature to function. Now we celebrate the behemoths that sail the seas with their complete self-containment to survive on their own. Humans simply have to pull the right levers or hit the right switch. You can find similar examples everywhere you look.
Do not construe this as a tirade against technology - it is not. Technology is making the world a better place. The problem is our human need for excess. We cannot seem to help ourselves.
That is why we need reminders – a Mount St. Helena, a tidal wave that we cannot stop or control, or a river that runs wild. And the greatest irony of them all, and perhaps the most disastrous, a human being that can defeat technology by stupidity.
The question is, do we learn - probably not. We have been given everything except the ability to control our arrogance.
Brother Giovanni, musing from Pizzaonia on the passing American scene.
02/18/2012
On our arrogant suppositions regarding the stability of life and other thoughts....
We live in a time when the concept of faith has lost its luster. Faith by today’s rules is consigned often to the unsophisticated. As a result, when someone declares a belief or activity as “a matter of faith” it is immediately suspect.
This presents a major problem. If faith is suspect, than most of our assumptions must also be suspect since so much of what we believe is based on faith-like assumptions.
A major assumption we make everyday is the world, as we know it, will continue to exist. This is an assumption based on faith.
The odds may be with us, but nonetheless, we don’t know what’s going to happen in the next minute and must assume we will still be here.
This obvious assumption should give us pause. Our arrogant supposition regarding the stability of life keeps us from changing many things that need changing.
The notion there will be a tomorrow may give us hope, but how many important things never get done because this assumed hope is part of our belief system. This implicit hope is the “mother” of all procrastination.
Be careful – the next time you find faith suspect - make sure you are not living most of your life based on assumptions rooted in faith.
Submitted by Sister Veronica and Brother Franco for Pizzaonian News Network, PNN
02/15/2012
America watching becomes Pizzaonia's favorite entertainment - surpasses NFL football!
Musing from Pizzaonia
America watching is becoming the favorite pastime for Pizzaonians.
Why, where else is everything reduced to entertainment, including all aspects of life and death?
War, you find it everywhere - each network working its sound bites until they are bound to attract. Reporting is reduced to what is going to grab the most people immediately - life, destruction, death and its aftermath, all presented in such a way you can go right to your dinner or to bed when it's over without a passing thought.
Sports – nonstop, reported with such intensity and importance it equals issues of life and death.
Local news – always some corrupt activities to report or exaggerate, presented as if it is the first time it has happened.
Violence: Virtually non-stop, so ubiquitous you can be selective to the type of violence you enjoy watching. Add to this editorializing, that is now part of all news reporting, then include the personal touch of demagoguery – like adding more salt to bring out the flavor.
Politics and elections – is there a better reality show anywhere?
Moreover, all of this can be enjoyed vicariously from the comfort of your easy chair.
Ed Murrow, where are you when we need you?
Brother Giovanni, musing from Pizzaonia
02/14/2012
Today is musing day in Pizzaonia so here goes some musing…..
Commenting on the American passing diorama
I am often asked why I use “conjectures of a recovering dilettante” as a subtitle. It seemed to me that when I looked at the political, social and economic condition that the world is in, there must be an awful lot of dilettantes out there. It looks like I was right. It is a huge, untouched market.
Case in point: the Republican presidential debate.
Speaking of the Republican presidential debates, why is it every time I hear Ron Paul speak I feel like dressing up like a Minuteman?
Congratulations to the voters of Colorado, Minnesota and Missouri for the great voter turnout, (Less than 10%) I guess it does not help to inspire voter enthusiasm when your vote is symbolic and will not count. So much for American participatory democracy...
Brother Giovanni, from Pizzaonia
02/10/2012
Observation from Pizzaonia on the passing American diorama - the American people somehow always survive their politicians.
A sense of humor helps when considering American politics. I heard on a talk show this morning that government was out of control because of the generous use of food stamps. I wonder how many of us remember why food stamps came into existence.
There was a time when we had in place most of the ideas' unflinching conservatives are advocating. Just for the record, they created hardship and financial collapse. Just in case no one remembers, I thought I would refresh our memories.
It seems my native country is always on the edge of extremes with its passing ideologies. Common sense and any review of history tell us we are at our best when the best of the liberal and conservative philosophies are blended together in moderation.
The problem is you cannot win elections anymore with cooperation and common goals as your motivation. In the process, we lost the art of governing and replaced it with constant nonstop,combative campaigning and demagoguery.
The good news is we have always survived, at least so far. There is an amazing resilience in the American people that allow us to survive our politicians. To some extent, we create our politicians, and we tolerate them until they run amok. This applies to both sides of the spectrum.
The entertainment will continue until the election, and then we will see if we can get back to governing. Our survival depends on the “great American middle” coming back to life and getting us back on course.
Brother Giovanni, from Pizzaonia
"A citizen of America will cross the ocean to fight for democracy, but won't cross the street to vote in a national election." - Bill Vaughan
02/08/2012
American Presidential Primaries: entertainment or politics? Is the light of American democracy fading?
From the Pizzaonian perspective, what is happening with the American presidential elections is very strange. It is hard to understand how a country that has achieved the greatness and stature of the United States could be suffering through such a seemingly ludicrous and destructive election process.
This sounds harsh I am sure, but I hear this comment frequently here in Pizzaonia. Pizzaonians have always admired the United States and believe it is the most likely country to evolve toward the Pizzaonian model. However, in the current climate, that opinion is being strained.
It seems the current Republican nominees range from those who want to return to the gas light and steam engine to those candidates who espouse going to the moon as the way to future greatness. In between, you have candidates who have built their position on being against anything their opponents advocate.
While this makes for great entertainment, it is hardly the stuff the world’s greatness democracy should be engaging in during such perilous times.
The United States has always been ideological in concept, its leaders, however, refrained from pure ideology, no matter how bitter the rhetoric, and were guided by the practical reality of governing a democracy within the limits of the American constitution. This meant all points of view had to concede some power to their opponents, no matter how reluctantly.
I know this seems obvious to most, but to Pizzaonians this point of view now seems quaint, and belongs to the America of the past. What concerns Pizzaonians is what also seems to concern other democracies of the world as well.
America was their beacon - a way to continue the quest for a “more perfect union.” Now we wonder if that light is fading. In the end, only the American people will decide.
Brother Giovanni, from Pizzaonia
02/06/2012
Each day we choose --- gratitude or sorrow?
Each day we make a choice: to focus on the sorrow in this world or to focus on the fullness of life and respond with gratitude.
This choice not only makes a difference for us, but for everyone around us. We cannot change the world at large, but we can change the world we experience.
It is our choice and we make it every day, whether we are conscious of it or not.
Sister Veronica, Supreme Pizzaonian
02/03/2012
Conjectures of a recovering dilettante - a funny thing happened on the way to Utopia, my cell phone became my best friend!
''Technology... the knack of so arranging the world that we don't have to experience it." Max Frisch
I wanted to share some thoughts with you prior to my leaving the United States and portalizing back to Pizzaonia. You cannot help but notice how technology has affected how we live and how we react to each other. Here are some of my reflections on how everyday life has changed in the United States.
On the need for interaction with each other...
Today, I can function reasonably well on a day-to-day basis without interacting with other people. I still interact, but now I do it through the efficiency of the digital machine.
I am aware that I deal with service people everyday, but is that real interaction? In a service situation, we tell people what we want, and they do it for us. When they give us what we want competently, we are pleased, and we pay the going price for the service.
Social interaction occurs when you are part of a social unit with a common goal, and you have to resolve individual differences in order to succeed.
At one time, a family unit had to interact successfully to remain a family. In previous times larger family units living together had to interact on every level to make things work.
From sharing rooms to cooking and cleaning, all were shared activities that had to be managed with some civility for a family to function. This socialization process made it easier for all of us to relate to the larger world we engaged in everyday.
In the workplace, we had to engage other people to function; we had to find common ground to succeed and earn our paycheck. These goals are still important, but we no longer need the same social contact to function efficiently within our respective bubbles.
I wonder how many of us remember when families had to decide what they would have for dinner so everyone would be considered - or what TV shows would be watched so everyone had some say in the decision. Of course, then, we had one dinnertime and one TV set – not the case anymore.
Despite the wonders and good technology brings it also has its dark side. Demands on our time and easily available tech recourses isolate us in ways we now are beginning to understand. Today we can participate in a family and work environment and remain in isolated splendor.
No one has to divide and conquer anymore; it has already happened. Remember to give your computer/tablet, i/smart phone a hug today. Let them know you really care about them.
Brother Giovanni, thoughts from Pizzaonia
02/01/2012
Within the depths of each of our human egos, a voice was born, a voice that always screams, “make yourself first.”
“You must let the dough tell you when it is time to enter the oven. The good life is always a collaboration." Pizzaonian pizza maker
The creation of the human ego was an event that changed the world. Within the depths of each of our human egos, a voice was born, a voice that always screams, “make yourself first.” Thus, the human condition began.
How much easier life would be if, like our pizza maker, we understood that collaboration and community are the pathways to a good result and peaceful co-existence.
We all intellectually understand this. It is so obvious it gets little attention. However, emotionally, this basic truth escapes us and is the thorn that begets most of our troubles. Unfortunately, we cannot help ourselves.
Brother Giovanni, thoughts while meandering on a Pizzaonian afternoon….
