Fiat Lux

Lost Opportunities

2011-09-26T00:50:00.006-06:00

I'm feeling a little guilty tonight. I had an opportunity to maybe really help someone, and I blew it. I'm feeling especially bad because I feel that this is what I do, what I've always been meant to do, and yet I let the moment pass; because I was too concerned with myself.

A young Asian woman approached my car as I was ordering food at a drive-in, waving at me through the window and then walking over to the driver's side. I already knew what she was about. Dressed presentably, with the black strap and bag over the shoulder; I'd seen this before. A Moonie; a devotee of the notorious cult leader Rev. Sun Myung Moon. A waste of time. And she of course wants to waste my time, and solicit for money. Well, I'm a little busy. I showed her my debit card and told her that's all I had (which was the truth). Of course, they take credit cards. Well, there is no way I'm giving her a credit card number. She looks in my car and eyes a box of food on the seat. Is she hungry? She asks if I have even any change, and I say I do not (again, true). So she steps back, gives me a polite half-bow and thank you, and then is on her way.

I pull over, and try to organize myself, and began to think about how I know that she is being deceived, and that she does not even know it, soliciting donations for Rev. Moon at 9:15 in the evening on a Sunday night. I've talked to these people before, at the front door, and when you tell them that you know who they are, they admit to it, but cannot see that they are being used for a gigantic LIE, because they are so deeply enthralled by the message and indoctrination of Rev. Moon. My heart began to ache for the young woman. I should have talked to her. I should talk to her. So I drove down the street, looking for her.

After a while, I saw her again, entering one business, and then walking back out maybe one minute later. Then she entered another place, another Asian restaurant, and stayed in there for maybe five to seven minutes. Good. Maybe they are feeding her. Maybe she is having success at collecting donations. Then she eventually comes out, and moves on further down the street, to a large Asian shopping center, in which most of the business have closed for the night. I am hesitant about approaching her now, not wanting to cause her fear or think that I have bad intentions, and I am afraid now too. Does she know that I am following her in my car? I don't think so, but I am beginning to feel kind of creepy about it. I usually don't do this sort of thing. She moves from one place to yet another Asian restaurant I believe, across the lonely parking, and disappears. I look around a few more times, go up and down the street once or twice, and come to believe that, or really hope that, someone has taken compassion upon her, and is maybe feeding her and talking to her, perhaps even in her own language. I don't see her anymore, and I head for home.

I had planned to giver her a little money; find an ATM somewhere; and talk to her. Not a romantic interest, but more of just seeing someone who obviously is unknowingly lost, and trying to talk a little about it. Just planting a seed, maybe something said, or maybe just the act of caring. Days, weeks, months or even years later, just a small something that might be a little contribution toward ending the lot of someone who is in slavery, and who does not realize it, and then just maybe beginning the process of their freedom. We only have a finite time, here on this earth. To rearrange or re-start a life that has been diverted, or to reach out and help someone who has been placed in front of you for this very purpose. Do not be like me, and let the moment pass. Life is too short, and Grace only rarely makes an appearance within it.

Please Come To Boston

2011-05-22T00:42:00.004-06:00

Dave Loggins

Please come to Boston for the spring time
I'm stayin' here with some friends
And they've got lots of room
You can sell your paintings on the sidewalk
By a cafe where I hope to be workin' soon
Please come to Boston,
She said, "No"
"Would you come home to me?"

And she said, "Hey, ramblin' boy,
Now won't you settle down?
Boston ain't your kind of town
There ain't no gold and
There ain't nobody like me,
I'm the number one fan
Of the man from Tennessee."

Please come to Denver with the snow fall
We'll move up into the mountains so far
That we can't be found
And throw "I love you's" echo down the canyon
And then lie awake at night, until they come back around
Please come to Denver,
She said, "No"
"Boy, would you come home to me?"

And she said, "Hey, ramblin' boy,
Why don't you settle down?
Denver ain't your kind of town
There ain't no gold
And there ain't nobody like me,
'Cause I'm the number one fan
Of the man from Tennessee"

Now, this drifter's world goes 'round and 'round
And I doubt that it's ever gonna stop,
But of all the dreams I've lost or found
And all that I ain't got,
I still need to lean to
Somebody I can sing to

Please come to LA to live forever
California life alone is just too hard to build
I live in a house that looks out over the ocean
And there's some stars that fell from the sky
And livin' up on the hill,
Please come to LA
She just said, "No"
"Boy, won't you come home to me?"

And she said, "Hey, ramblin' boy,
"Why don't you settle down?
LA can't be your kind of town
There ain't no gold and
There ain't nobody like me,
No, no, I'm the number one fan
Of the man from Tennessee
I'm the number one fan
Of the man from Tennessee"

If I Were A Carpenter

2011-01-24T01:03:00.003-07:00

I remember hearing this as a little kid; and thinking how beautiful it was...you never hear it anymore....

If I Were A Carpenter
sung by Bobby Darin

If I were a carpenter
and you were a lady,
Would you marry me anyway?
Would you have my baby?

If a tinker were my trade
would you still find me,
carryin' the pots I made,
followin' behind me.

Save my love through loneliness,
Save my love for sorrow,
I've given you my onliness,
Come give me your tomorrow.

If I worked my hands in wood,
Would you still love me?
Answer me babe, "Yes I would,
I'll put you above me."

If I were a miller
at a mill wheel grinding,
would you miss your color box,
and your soft shoe shining?

If I were a carpenter
and you were a lady,
Would you marry me anyway?
Would you have my baby?
Would you marry anyway?
Would you have my baby?

Candied Ethics

2010-12-15T22:02:00.007-07:00

For some reason, I was thinking of this on the drive home today from work:

I must have been about twelve yrs. old or so. Maybe in the 7th grade? I had just barely begun junior high school, and was still adjusting to the overwhelming experience of that trauma, after leaving the safe cocoon of elementary school. We had had a canned food drive in one of my classes for some cause; probably to feed needy people I suppose, and on a certain day we were to bring in our cans. Well, I had my cans set out the night before, after asking my mother if it was ok if I took some food, and what all exactly I could take. She put two cans in a bag on the kitchen counter, so that I could just grab them on my way out of the door to school the next morning. Morning came, and I rushed off to school, without the cans of food. I don't know if I'd even realized this, until I was sitting in that class, and our temporary interim teacher asked us all to come up to his desk and drop off our cans. Needless to say, I just stayed in my seat, with no cans to contribute. Afterward, one-by-one, on the basis of the rows in which we were sitting, each kid was called up and allowed to dip into a bowl full of candy and take a few pieces back to their seat. When my turn came, I of course dutifully went to the front of the room and took a share of the candy. When you're 12, you don't want to stand out, or seem different from the rest of the group; so it was not so much that I even wanted any candy, but rather that I did not wish to stand out or be singled out, and so I walked to the front of the room and took what I considered to be my share. I did this without any sense of shame at all or any consciousness that I'd done anything wrong. This would all be straightened out tomorrow, when I brought in the cans of vegetables that I had left on the kitchen counter that morning. No big deal. Or, so I thought. I was one of the “good” kids, who always did his work, and always did well. Always compliant, always complicit. Even the bad kids though, even the worst of kids, brought in cans of food for the needy on that day. But I didn't. I noticed that, and someone else had noticed it to. After everyone had got a go at the candy and was settled into their seats, the teacher asked for our attention, as he had something very important to tell us. There was someone in this room who had enjoyed in the partaking of the candy. This someone however, had not brought in any canned food for the food drive. Here, a lesson was to be taught. There are some people who take, who in a sense take from others, when they have done nothing to earn such a privilege. What kind of a person does this? You've not only wronged yourself, you've wronged everyone in this classroom. Come up here, and admit your wrong doing, and we can then end this situation. This all went on for quite some time, it seemed. If you don't come up here and admit what you've done, well it's a shame, it's a bloody crime against humanity....and I just guess that you'll have to live with yourself and what you are, and what you've done.

Well, I was having none of this. This may have been the first time in my life that I ever resisted authority, or had refused to obey an order, or felt a compulsion to not allow such a thing to happen. And I was a good kid. I obeyed my teachers, my parents. I did the right thing, all the time. People, older people, knew that about me. This teacher, a shaggy-haired recovering hippie-type with round Lennon glasses, probably a real feely-sensitive know-it-all, turned hard-ass, was going to teach me, in this inner-city school, about what I didn't know, about ethics, and right and wrong. And he was going to be tough about it, because these kids are all tough and they don't know between right-and-wrong, and the enlightened have to teach people like these and those around them, just basic right and wrong, so that they can know it, and then not forget it. I wasn't scared of this guy, and I was no longer scared of the situation that I'd gotten myself into, by my mistake. In fact, he disgusted me. All of the sudden, it was no longer me sitting there in that seat being berated by some do-gooder turned hard-ass fool, it was some other kid, some poor kid that couldn't stand up for himself, who was being beaten down and taken apart in front of everyone, by someone with all of the control, with complete control. Me though, I just sat there, as if above it in a way, and watched it all happen, with heels dug deep into the ground. And I knew at that moment, that I would never, never in my life, be complicit with such an act, such an act of the bullying use of power against the weak. No matter what he had, no matter what he did, no matter what he said; there would be no acknowledgment from me, never, in any way, whatsoever. Only resistance.

The next day, I brought in my cans of food and explained to the teacher that I had forgotten them on the previous morning. I can't remember exactly what was said, but the gist of it was that basically I knew that what I had done was wrong, and yes they'd take the food if it was still at all possible, although it was a real hardship for everyone involved since it was a day late, and that essentially I was a real sorry sonofabitch for trying skirt my way out from under all of this in such a manner.

Yeah?, well fuck you too. That's the day I became free.

Fast Train

2010-12-10T14:56:00.007-07:00

Here's a song I recently discovered while watching the former HBO television series The Wire, performed by the great Solomon Burke

Fast Train

Well, you've been on a fast train, and it's going off the rails
And you can't come back, can't come back again
And you start breaking down
In the pouring rain
Well you've been on a fast train

When your lover has gone away, don't it make you feet so sad
And you go on a journey way into the land
And you start breaking down
'Cos you're under the strain
And you jump on a fast train

You had to go on the lam you, stepped into no-man's land
Ain't nobody here on your waveband
Ain't nobody gonna give you a helping hand
And you start breaking down
And you just go into the sound
When you hear that fast train

And you keep moving on, to the sound of the wheels
And deep inside your heart, you really know oh, just how it feels
And you start breaking down, and go into the pain
Keep on moving on a fast train

You're way over the line, next thing you're out of your mind
And you're out of your depth, in through the window she crept
Oh there's nowhere to go, in the sleet and the snow
Just keep on moving on a fast train

You had to go on the lam, stepping in no-man's land
Ain't nobody here on your waveband
Nobody even gonna lend you a helping hand
Oh and you're so alone, can you really make it on your own
Keep on moving on a fast train

Oh going nowhere, except on a fast train
Oh trying to get away from the past
Oh keep on moving keep on, moving on a fast train
Going nowhere across the desert sand through the barren waste
On a fast train going nowhere,
On a fast train going nowhere

UFO's Over NYC !!

2010-10-15T00:41:00.002-06:00

The New York Daily News reported on Thursday 14, as did many other news outlets, of a mysterious UFO sighting over Manhattan on October 13, 2010, the day before. The article also mentions that a former NORAD officer recently published a book stating that UFO's would visit major world cities on October 13 of this year. Very interesting. It's all being explained away as party "balloons" which escaped up into the air. I didn't see it, so I don't know. The Daily News story has several comments posted at the end of the article; one of which I found to be very thought-provoking:

"For several years now, I've had the haunting suspicion/feeling that something like this (and most likely, this) was going to happen but on a much larger scale -- more UFOs at lower altitudes, worldwide. They're not from other planets/dimensions but are the reappearance of Archetypes of old which the ancients wrongly thought to be "gods." Bizarre sightings such as this, archetypes, manifest when humanity is soon to undergo an evolutionary transformation of humanitys' collective psyche. This evolutionary transformation is in man's mentality and moral nature. Obviously, that means that stock-brokers and bankers will not be included. This is most likely the "new heaven and new earth." With the stupid mess we have this world in, lets hope it is."
Read more:

This idea of archetypes goes back to the work of Carl Jung, student of Sigmund Freud and founder of his own field in the area of psychology. More on his work can be found here:. I have always been a big fan of Jung, and his autobiography, "Memories, Dreams and Reflections", was one of the most influential works I've ever read in my life. Whatever UFO's ultimately turn out to be, I think that the archetypes, the underlying symbol world of the unconscious, is something that has guided us from the beginning, and is at work even still today.

Pepsi Refresh Project

2010-09-08T01:15:00.004-06:00

-We're looking for people, businesses, and non-profits with ideas that will have a positive impact. Look around your community and think about how you want to change it-

Check out the following link I came across the other day. I haven't had time yet to look too much into it, but maybe we could put some of our good ideas to work through this project! Pepsi Refresh Project

If

2010-09-08T00:42:00.000-06:00

If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you
...But make allowance for their doubting too,
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or being lied about, don't deal in lies,
Or being hated, don't give way to hating,
And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise:
If you can dream--and not make dreams your master,
If you can think--and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same;
If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,
And stoop and build 'em up with worn-out tools:

If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it all on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breath a word about your loss;
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: "Hold on!"

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with kings--nor lose the common touch,
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you;
If all men count with you, but none too much,
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds' worth of distance run,
Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,
And--which is more--you'll be a Man (or a woman!), my son (daughter)!

--Rudyard Kipling

More Info On James J. Lee

2010-09-02T21:43:00.004-06:00

Here's some more, hard to find, info on James J. Lee. Guess what? It seems like he was a human being at one time! (meaning: not the crazed eco-terrorist he was portrayed as in the news). I remember kids like this in school, picked upon, and I've always wondered what ever became of them. I also remember a few of the bullies too, and wonder too what became of them, but I always thought that with them, some were destined for the penal system, and some were probably dead of their own doings, not long after they had finished/left school. A more youthful James J. Lee. I'll see if I can find any other relevant life information on the man.

Me Write Book

2010-09-01T21:25:00.004-06:00

Well, me finally decided write book!

It my memoirs! Me think like it you will.

Who am I for heaven's sake, Yoda or Bigfoot?

No, not really! I didn't write a book, but I came across this one while web surfing, and it looks pretty good! Anyone who knows me knows that I've been looking for Bigfoot for a longtime now, so a work like this is a real treasure. I didn't know such a thing even existed. The book, that is, not Bigfoot. Bigfoot, Area 51, Loch Ness, China UFO's, oh, it's all real, baby! And now, one of these guys speaks his mind, for the first time, in print.

I thought this day would never come.

James Lee and The Discovery Channel

2010-09-01T17:10:00.002-06:00

Did you hear today about the hostage-taking at the Discovery Channel headquarters in Silver Springs, Maryland? Well, I guess that the police just shot and killed the hostage taker outside of the building, and apparently some of the explosives he had wired to his body went off in the process. I was trying to learn more on this guy, and no doubt more will come out soon, but his name was James J. Lee, Asian, 43 yrs. old, and as of recently he has been it seems a sort of do-it-yourself environmental activist. Here are some links with more info on/about him: Suspect's blog, Manifesto, Interview with Relative.

In looking through his manifesto or list of demands to the Discovery Channel, I found that I could in many ways identify with some of the "big picture" views of this guy; saving the environment, ending war, issues of population, and so on. However, if you read a little more closely into his writings, there are some odd references which lead me to believe (as if what he did wasn't enough) that the guy was perhaps a bit mentally unstable. The ideas are large and basic, but not really well-developed, in terms of real-life approaches to these issues that could have some or any real potential for success. Perhaps he was always this way, or maybe he changed over the course of his life, but his writings are indicative of someone who has taken generally positive (for the most part) beliefs, and had become obsessed by them to the point that he did what he did. There are other clues as well, such as the vague demands that "people" invent things and find immediate solutions to overpopulation and environmental pollution and degradation. These are issues that have been struggled with for many years, and his frustration may be understandable, but the complexity of these issues requires much more than simple demands for solutions. As well, there are a few just bizarre references in his manifesto, such as in the following: "Saving the environment and the remaning species diversity of the planet is now your mindset. Nothing is more important than saving them. The Lions, Tigers, Giraffes, Elephants, Froggies, Turtles, Apes, Raccoons, Beetles, Ants, Sharks, Bears, and, of course, the Squirrels".

First of all, what about meerkats or say, lemurs? Don't they count for anything?

And then we have, "...and, of course, the Squirrels". Well, of course, the Squirrels! Isn't that just evident all on its own?

It's some little things like this that lead me to believe that the guy was, maybe of good intentions, but probably someone with some serious issues needing help. It's just too bad that no one noticed beforehand, or noticed enough to the point that they stepped in so that in some way this man could get the help that he probably needed.

I Think The North Koreans Zapped Me!

2010-08-31T11:58:00.002-06:00

Well, the monitor on my IBM Thinkpad seems to have blanked out for some reason, although the computer is still running otherwise. I had recently found out that North Korea has a new Facebook page, and a new Twitter page, so I checked those out, and a day or so later my screen basically blacked out! I talked to a computer tech at a store by my work, and he seems to think some inverter or something probably just burned out with age. I myself am still suspicious of the North Koreans, although he's probably right (you never know!). Now, I'm in the process of finding a monitor somewhere to hook up to the Thinkpad (see, Willowtree, we really are the same person, just like I claimed before!). Fortunately, I have a nicer laptop my brother bought for me a few years ago, that I never use (because I like my Thinkpad so much!), but that's Wi-Fi compatible, and I was just using dial-up on the ol' Thinkpad; and I'm having a heck of a time downloading the dial-up software for the latest laptop (dial-up; which no one in America probably is using anymore besides me - so I really need to get with the times!). Hopefully, I'll have this thing resolved soon though, in some matter or fashion! Stay Tuned!

Can't Anybody Plug This Thing?

2010-06-14T23:05:00.003-06:00

I think about this every single day. And I know that every single day, the overall situation gets worse. I don't think we're being told the entire situation. I've been hearing and reading things on the radio and internet indicating that the situation may be much worse than is being portrayed now. Some sources are indicating that the seabed is leaking oil in places. If this is true, then it can be assumed that the seabed could crack wide open and perhaps collapse, releasing unfathomable amounts of oil. I've been wondering as to why we can't/don't obstruct the flow of oil from this well, slowing down the rate of flow to a point where it could then be contained in a large container of some sort, and then siphoned up to the surface. This all seems to be a relatively simple concept. Think of a garden hose with a flow of water, that you obstruct with a bunch of dried leaves, or mud, gravel or so on. The flow of water begins to slow, and then it becomes possible to develop ways to contain that slower flow of water by building little mud dams, siphoning it away into containers, or any number of ways of managing the flow of water so that a leak can then be managed in some way.

Now, I'm beginning to think that if both the original drill pipe as well as the seabed have become corrupted and/or cracked, then it would make sense as to why they are not following such a relatively simple solution as I (and many others) have laid out above. The reason being that attempting to seriously block the flow of oil in order to slow the rate of flow, would lead to a major increase of pressure in both the possibly corrupted drill pipe as well as a potentially leaking seabed. A major increase in pressure in such circumstances, could be (even more) catastrophic. I think that this may be what is going on. If this is the case, we are essentially watching Kabuki theater for now; so-called attempts and solutions that are mainly for PR purposes, not actual fixes for the problem.

Why is the world community not offering any potential solutions to this problem? Are their ideas not being allowed into the discussion? Or, is it that those in the know, see the problem as I've laid out, and know that the whole thing is so unstable that even the so-called August (and I've also heard Christmas) relief wells may not solve the problem as we have been told that they would, and could even in fact, potentially make things much, much worse?

This is what happens when we let the lunatics run the asylum. This is why "market-forces" don't correct catastrophes, and this is why criminals such as those executives at BP who are responsible for this disaster, must always be regulated by rules and legislation that are in the public interest, an interest that also includes the ecological stability of the planet.

The Cowboy (from the movie Mulholland Drive)

2010-05-17T19:46:00.007-06:00

Cowboy!

-Howdy!

- Howdy to you.
Beautiful evening.

Sure want to thank ya for coming
all the way up to see me...

from that nice hotel Downtown.

No problem.
What's on your mind?.

Well now, here's a man who wants to get
right down to it.

Kinda anxious to get to it are ya?

Whatever.

A man's attitude...

... a man's attitude
goes some ways

the way his life will be.

Is that somethin' you might agree with?

Sure.

Now... did you answer because you thought
that's what I wanted to hear...

or did you think about what I said...

and answer cause you
truly believe that to be right?

I agree with what you said... truly.

What did I say?

That a man's attitude determines to a
large extent how his life will be.

So since you agree...

you must be a person who does
not care about the good life.

How's that?

Well, stop for a little second and
think about it.

Can you do that for me?

Okay, I'm thinking.

No. You're not thinkin'

You're too busy being a
smart aleck to be thinkin'.

Now I want ya to think
and stop bein' a smart aleck.

Can you try that for me?

Look ... where's this going?
What do you want me to do?

There's sometimes a buggy.

How many drivers does a buggy have?

One.

So let's just say I'm drivin' this buggy...

and you if fix your attitude you can
ride along with me.

Okay.

I want you to go back to work tomorrow.

You were re-casting the lead
actress anyway...

audition many girls for
the part.

When you see the girl that was
shown to you earlier today, you will say:

"This is the girl".

The rest of the cast can stay.

That is up to you.

But that lead girl is not up to you.

Now, you will see me one more time...

if you do good.

You will see me two more times...

if you do bad.

Good night

This is one of my favorite scenes from one of my favorite movies, Mulholland Drive, from David Lynch. Known for his surrealist work, this movie shows that Hollywood is not all that it seems to be, and that there is a very bad side to all of the glitz and glamour, a side that many times leaves hopeful young women yearning for stardom as brutally broken, and ending up as walking the dirty streets of Hollywood for their living. The man in this dialogue is a film director who is used to using the vulnerable women who come to work for him as solely for his needs and pleasure, a real slimy dirtbag, if you will. In this scene, this slimy director is summoned to an old rodeo set somewhere in the Hollywood Hills, to meet with someone known as "The Cowboy". He is warned by a powerful friend that he really has no choice in the matter, so the director makes the meeting. "The Cowboy" appears as a flickering, celluloid, ghostly image of a 1940's style Hollywood (in its heyday?) cowboy (That's the type of film this is - surreal). There is a spiritual quality to the meeting. To me, the Cowboy symbolizes justice, an archetypal figure from the old westerns where the cowboy was always the hero and a force for good (and we know that wasn't always really so - but it makes for good mythology). Anyway, here the Cowboy represents a figure that says that someone or something , somewhere, is watching, and is noting wrongs being done. This guy has been noted, and has been tagged for a visit to say, essentially, that his deeds have not gone unnoticed.

The Cowboy states that: -"Now, you will see me one more time...

if you do good."

"You will see me two more times...

if you do bad."

Needless to say, the slimeball director learns his lesson, the hard way. He sees the Cowboy twice more, at a distance in the film, a result of sealing his own fate through his own actions.

Can't say he wasn't warned.

Riot-Dog !!!

2010-05-10T21:47:00.007-06:00

Have you seen the news about those riots going on in Athens, Greece recently? Well, I found a story about a particular dog, now known as "Riot-Dog", who seems to love riots, and who appears in many of the photos of the rioting going on over there. I find this both hilarious as well as fascinating. Apparently, gleaning from the little bit of information available, Riot-Dog is a stray who lives in the area of the where the riots are now occurring, and has been fed by the neighborhood people for years now. And it's funny, but in all of the pictures you find of him (her?), he seems to be on the side of the people, either relaxing or sitting with them, and in other photos he's in attack mode against various groups of Athens riot police. Apparently Riot-Dog has his own political views, and knows who's side he's on! They also say that he's been participating in riots for two years now! He always has the same blue collar on in the photos, and he kind of reminds me of Forrest Gump shaking hands with Kennedy, or being in all of those other famous places in that movie. He's everywhere! Riot-Dog even has his own Facebook page now, which is at this Facebook link. My theory is that Riot-Dog is an action junkie; he loves being in the midst of all the commotion, and being a stray who is fed by the locals, he knows right away who is his friend, and who is a foe, namely all of those weird people in the strange uniform clothes with helmets and clubs. May your riot all the days of your life, Riot-Dog!

Earth Day

2010-04-19T22:59:00.005-06:00

I just finished watching PBS's American Experience series, this one on Earth Day and the environment. It was a well produced documentary, very colorful, and it had sort of an IMAX quality to it in the variety of wide landscapes portrayed in the film. This Thursday, April 22, is Earth Day, and I think that this year, I will try to make note of it in someway, instead of just letting it pass by as usual. The natural environment is something we have all increasingly moved away from, both physically as well as mentally, but it really is critical to our ultimate survival. Just look at the power of the Iceland volcano, a natural occurrence, and then imagine the pollution that we pump into the air on a daily basis. Nature is both powerful as well as delicate, and the earth, as seen from outer space, really does seem to be a living entity, with its swirling clouds and blue oceans in which another whole universe of life exists. It's been given into our hands to protect such a world, as no other species has the capability of doing so, so we should all do whatever we can to protect our natural world. The miracle of life itself is all around us, everyday, and yet we usually pass over it without much thought. Yes, this year I think I will do something in commemoration of Earth Day, whether it be visiting a park or perhaps planting a tree. Or maybe, just hugging one.

If You Get There Before I Do

2010-03-10T21:35:00.004-07:00

Love, Me
Collin Raye

I read a note my grandma wrote, back in 1923
Grandpa kept it in his coat
and he showed it once to me
He said, boy, you might not understand
But a long, long time ago
Grandma's daddy didn't like me none
But I loved your grandma so

We had this crazy plan to meet,
And run away together
Get married in the first town we came to, and live forever
But nailed to the tree where we were supposed to meet instead,
I had found this letter
And this is what it said,

If you get there before I do,
Don't give up on me
I'll meet you when my chores are through,
I don't know how long I'll be
But I'm not gonna let you down,
Darlin' wait and see
And between now and then, ‘til I see you again
I'll be loving you,
love, me

I read those words just hours before
my grandma passed away,
In the door way of a church
Where me and grandpa stopped to pray
I know I'd never seen him cry, in all my 15 years
But as he said these words to her,
His eyes filled up with tears

If you get there before I do,
Don't give up on me
I'll meet you when my chores are through,
I don't know how long I'll be
But I'm not gonna let you down,
Darlin' wait and see
And between now and then ‘til I see you again
I'll be loving you, love me
Between now and then, ‘til I see you again
I'll be loving you,
love, me

What Remains Of Us

2010-01-24T23:23:00.004-07:00

What Remains Of Us is a documentary that was recently played here on our local documentary channel. I only caught a part of it, and am hoping to see a replay of it at some point (they usually do replays on this channel), but the part that I saw was terribly moving. A synopsis of the film is that a young female Tibetan refugee who had lived in south India due to the troubles in Tibet, and then later moved to Canada, returns to her Tibetan homeland, smuggling in a short video with some words of support and comfort for the Tibetan people. When she shows this video to varieties of different Tibetans, the sheer awe and reverence on the faces of these people as they witness their spiritual leader speaking to them, many of whom have never seen the Dalai Lama before, is just amazing to see. As soon as they see the Dalai Lama speak, they hold their hands together in a prayerful reverence for this beloved leader who has been exiled for so long from his homeland, and who now lives in India. I can't reiterate enough how their faces just beam when he begins to speak to them, and the respect they show him, even through the medium of a video player in which of course the Dalai Lama himself is only on film and not able to actually see these people, is jsut so moving. I guess this is a difficult DVD to get a hold of, for a number of reasons having to do with the security of those real persons who appear in the film, but if you can manage to see this, you will be inspired, awestruck and moved by it. This link (I still can't do links!) has more info, and pictures, from the film. Please take a look at it; the author of this blog does a much better job than I do in describing this film:

www.afterthelaundry.com/2009/09/what-remains-of-us.html

Tibet has been occupied by the Chinese, I believe since 1950, and the Dalai Lama, the Buddhist spiritual leader of the Tibetan people, has been exiled across the border in Dharamsala, India, for all of this time. In the meanwhile, the Chinese govt. has increasingly moved Chinese people into Tibet, to the point now that Tibetans are a minority in their own land, and are treated as second-class citizens. The ancient Tibetan culture is now in peril of being lost, as Tibetan youth are trained and educated in Chinese, and are taught to regard their traditional culture as one that is "backward" and primitive. The Chinese brutally repress any dissent in Tibet, and crush all manifestations of Tibetan culture. The Tibetan people though, are among the most spiritual people on this planet, and I believe that it is people such as these, that offer their prayers for all humankind and for all living things, in someway protect all of us from destruction. Please keep the Tibetan people, and the Haitian people, and those who wage war in the Congo and on the West Bank, and all peoples and all living things, in your prayers.

Haiti

2010-01-16T00:18:00.003-07:00

This is such an overwhelming story. I've just been stunned following the news accounts. They need so much help, and help is arriving, but not fast enough. It seems that bottlenecks are occurring because the airport has been shutdown for some reason, and that many aid organizations are sitting over there on top of their supplies, and are not moving out into the devastated areas (which is essentially Port-au Prince). Security seems to be a concern, but I think that they may be over concerned on this issue and really need to begin getting supplies to the people. This is what makes me angry about aid organizations in this sort of setting; they have this corporate type mentality about protocol and procedures, when thinking out of the box is what is essential at a time like this. People are literally dying by the minute, and bureaucracy and extreme concerns for self-safety cause things to grind to a halt. Most of the big agencies like the Red Cross don't seem to distributing any aid even yet because of these issues, and the only agency that I've seen on television that seems to be actively assisting people right now is World Vision (www.WorldVision.org/Haiti). I'm sure there are a few others as well, like maybe Doctors Without Borders, but I haven't seen much on any other groups that are actively working on the ground. They keep saying that so many materiels have been sent to Haiti, millions of dollars worth, but the people say that no one is helping them, and news reporters don't see much evidence of any assistance reaching the people. The Haitian people are seeing that search and rescue teams are concentrating first on searching out places like the posh hotels where foreigners were staying, while they are left largely to their own devices in pulling friends and family from the rubble, and they see supplies that are cordoned off from them, for God only knows what reasons. We apparently have a World Vision warehouse here in Denver that has already shipped supplies to Haiti on Thursday, and I'm going to see if I can volunteer over there this weekend in getting supplies ready for shipment.

Nothing Ever Hurt Like You

2010-01-12T21:57:00.002-07:00

This song sounds like a British Neo-Soul throwback sort of song (if there is such a thing), and I like the rough voice of the singer, James Morrison

Nothing Ever Hurt Like You
James Morrrison

1, 2, 3, 4
Ooh ohh ohh
Yeah yeah yeah
Hey

If loving you is easy,
Playing by the rules,
But you said love tastes so much better when it's cruel
To you everything was just a game,
Yeah you played me good,
But I want you, I want you, I want you,
So much more than I should,
Yes I do

I've got my hands up so take your aim,
Yeah I'm ready,
There's nothing that we can't go through,
Oh it hit me like a steal freight train,
When you left me,
And nothing ever hurt like you,
Nothing ever hurt like you

I was naive and wide eyed,
But you made me see,
That you don't get to taste the honey,
Without the sting of a bee,
No you don't

Yes you stung me good,
Oh yeah you dug in deep,
But I'll take, I'll take it, I'll take it
Till I'm down on my knees

I've got my hands up so take your aim,
Yeah I'm ready,
There's nothing that we can't go through,
Walk a thousand miles on broken glass,
It wont stop me,
From making my way back to you,
It's not real till you feel the pain,
And nothing ever hurt like you,
Nothing ever hurt like you

Oh everything was just a game,
Yeah you played me good,
But I want you, I want you, I want you,
I want you, I want you

I've got my hands up so take your aim,
Yeah I'm ready,
There's nothing that we can't go through,
Walk a thousand miles on broken glass,
It wont stop me,
From making my way back to you,
It's not real till you feel the pain,
And nothing ever hurt like you,
Nothing ever hurt like you

One More Day

2009-11-29T22:19:00.002-07:00

One more day of working on this thesis. That's good because I think I have about only one more day in me. On Monday I just have to make the appropriate number of copies, on the appropriate bond and plain paper, turn it in for binding, and that's it! Can you believe that I'm required to turn three copies in to the school (2 which are in bond paper, which was $25 for 500 sheets), and then pay to the school a binding fee of $15 per copy, or $45 total! And that's just for the school; if I want one or more bound copies for myself, it'll cost me an extra $15 per copy over and above what I must already provide to the school for posterity. This kind of reminds me of how executions work in China; if you are to be executed, you family must first purchase the bullets that are to do the job. It's probably too late to arrange a Chinese execution for myself now, so I'll most likely just have to pay the fees, and graduate.

I'm really looking forward to just having a job right now, and then not necessarily having to do anything after work, or on the weekends. I've really been neglecting my pursuit of Bigfoot, UFO Studies, Conspiracy Theories, and so on, and hope to catch up on some of these inane, nonsensical things, instead of having to be so serious all the time. Maybe just for a little while, at least.

Jesus Christ

2009-10-04T22:48:00.003-06:00

This is a song by the itinerant hobo singer of the 1930's Great Depression era, Woody Guthrie. It was played as the last song and the last act, of Michael Moore's new film, Capitalism: A Love Story (a must see!). I think Jesus Christ may have been a Socialist (!), as the film implies, with all that sharing and caring for the poor!

Jesus Christ
Woody Guthrie

Jesus Christ was a man, who traveled through the land,
A hard-working man and brave
He said to the rich, "Give your money to the poor,"
But they laid Jesus Christ in His grave

Jesus was a man, a carpenter by hand,
His followers true and brave
One dirty little coward called Judas Iscariot
Had laid Jesus Christ in His Grave

He went to the preacher, He went to the sheriff,
He told them all the same
"Sell all of your jewelry and give it to the poor,"
And they laid Jesus Christ in His grave

When Jesus come to town, all the working folks around,
Believed what he did say
But the bankers and the preachers, they nailed Him on the cross,
And they laid Jesus Christ in his grave

And the people held their breath when they heard about his death,
Everybody wondered why
It was the big landlord and the soldiers that they hired,
To nail Jesus Christ in the sky

This song was written in New York City,
Of rich man, preacher, and slave
If Jesus was to preach what He preached in Galilee,
They would lay poor Jesus in His grave

Home

2009-09-25T16:51:00.003-06:00

This song reminds me of when I was in college, and on a trip for several weeks to the Yucatan in Mexico. A stranger amongst different people, a different language, a different culture, I remember walking by myself up to an abandoned, vine covered, fenced-off building in Merida, Mexico, which turned out to be an old abandoned U.S. Consulate office, and gripping the fence, staring at the building and its signs, and just thinking about home....

Home
Michael Buble

Another summer day
has come and gone away
in Paris or Rome...
but I wanna go home
mmmm...home

I may be surrounded by
a million people I
still feel all alone
just wanna go home
I miss you, you know

And I've been keeping all the letters
that I wrote to you,
each one a line or two
I'm fine baby, how are you?
I would send them, but I know that it's just not enough
my words were cold and flat
And you deserve more than that

Another aeroplane, another sunny place,
I'm lucky I know
but I wanna go home
I got to go home

Let me go home

I'm just too far, from where you are
I wanna come home

And I feel just like I'm living
someone else's life
It's like I just stepped outside
when everything was going right,
And I know just why you could not come along with me,
this was not your dream
but you always believed in me...

Another winter day
has come and gone away
in either Paris or Rome
and I wanna go home
Let me go home

And I'm surrounded by
a million people I
still feel alone
Let me go home
I miss you, you know

Let me go home
I've had my run,
baby I'm done
I gotta go home

Let me go home
it'll all be alright,
I'll be home tonight
I'm coming back home

Love The Girl Who Holds The World In A Paper Cup

2009-08-23T00:51:00.003-06:00

Danny's Song
Loggins & Messina

People smile and tell me I'm the lucky one,
And we've just begun
Think I'm gonna have a son
He will be like she and me,
As free as a dove
Conceived in love,
Sun is gonna shine above

And even though we ain't got money,
I'm so in love with you honey
And everything will bring a chain of love
And in the morning when I rise
You bring a tear of joy to my eyes,
And tell me everything is gonna be alright

Seems as though a month ago I was Beta Chi,
Never got high,
Oh, I was a sorry guy
And now a smile, a face,
A girl that shares my name,
Now, I'm through with the game,
This boy will never be the same

And even though we ain't got money,
I'm so in love with you honey
And everything will bring a chain of love
And in the morning when I rise
You bring a tear of joy to my eyes,
And tell me everything is gonna be alright

Pisces, Virgo rising is a very good sign,
Strong and kind,
And the little boy is mine
And now I see a family where there once was none,
Now we've just begun,
Yeah, we're gonna fly to the sun

And even though we ain't got money,
I'm so in love with you honey
And everything will bring a chain of love
And in the morning when I rise
You bring a tear of joy to my eyes,
And tell me everything is gonna be alright

Love the girl who holds the world in a paper cup,
Drink it up,
Love her and she'll bring you luck
And if you find she helps your mind,
Better take her home,
Don't you live alone,
Try to earn what lover's own

And even though we ain't got money,
I'm so in love with you honey
And everything will bring a chain of love
And in the morning when I rise
You bring a tear of joy to my eyes
And tell me everything is gonna be alright

Quit, or Evicted ???

2009-08-16T22:41:00.005-06:00

While watching Big Brother this Sunday, (I semi-follow the show, and usually only pay half-attention when its on, as it's semi-interesting, yet usually not interesting enough to garner my complete attention), I learned that the moron bodybuilder Jesse was kicked off last week's show, which was kind of a surprise because it seemed like he was running things for awhile in earlier episodes. Well, on this Sunday's show, Chima and Natalie were nominated for eviction. Chima had been trying to get rid of MMA karate guy Russell for a few shows now, but some shifting alliances put her up on the block and kept Russell safe. Later Sunday evening, the Web news was saying that Chima had been "expelled" from the show. You could tell that she had become increasingly frustrated with several roommates, and then with being nominated for eviction, well, she was about to blow. Apparently, if I'm understanding this right, after the live show completed this Sunday, she did! It's uncertain at this point what actually happened, but some sources (Wikipedia) are indicating that she threw a microphone into a jacuzzi, and then refused to pay for it, after an outburst of some sort. Also, she was apparently upset because her recent win as Head of Household was rendered useless by some new device that producers threw into the game, making her apparently succeptible to being put on the nomination block when normally she wouldn't have been. If that's the case, I'd be pissed too! I'm also wondering if some comments she made about Russell (who is Lebanese) as being a "terrorist" a few shows ago (and he was 'terrorizing' several cast members, as she had said, although calling him a "terrorist"-she could perhaps have chosen another word -) had something to do with her eviction/decision to leave the show. Here's a supposed email from Chima, explaining things in her view, from the following site, posted Sunday, August 16:

www.realitytea.com/2009/08/16/chima-simone-speaks-out-i-quit-big-brother/

“Yes, I did in fact quit the show, although there are reports on EW from CBS to the contrary. Big Brother would like everyone to believe I was kicked off for not following the rules, but I went to the producers repeatedly over the past couple of days wanting to leave….wanting out of that house!

As crazy as that house is, the producers NEVER want the world to think or know that we houseguests DO LEAVE when it becomes futile to stay. I lost faith in the show & my ability to remain committed to this game. All of the remaining housemates know I wanted to leave and that is why any conversation concerning me is cut in the live feed because they don’t want America to hear the truth about my voluntary departure.

Do you really believe that I would be expelled for tossing my microphone when past houseguests have only been kicked off for violence & threats of violence? You know better, as do I.

It’s better that I left. I did what was best for me in this game and that was to leave. When I chose to play & play hard the power I did earn was completely usurped by a game piece never used before in this game and my HOH reign was rendered useless. I have no regrets. As cliche’ as it sounds, until the public is a part of a human pressure cooker, then the judgements should cease.

I find it interesting that my personal attacks on Russell have been highlighted, but his attacks on me pushed under a rug. Selective portrayals? I think so. Russell did terrorize the house, especially the women in the house. Why America constantly finds men attacking women okay, yet vilifies the woman defending herself, will always confound me. But what’s done is done, now BB fans can find a new woman to hate. I didn’t sign up for what I was exposed to & I left gladly. It was the principle of the matter, the $500,000 prize be damned. That’s all for now! Take Care…’

Well what do you think, and more importantly, do you care?
(It's interesting, but I don't really care that much. I really did want to see Russell out of there, though.)

Soon and Very Soon

2009-07-07T22:40:00.002-06:00

Of all the music performed at the memorial/tribute to Michael Jackson, on this day at least, this was my favorite one

Song and words by
Andrae Crouch

Soon and very soon
We are going to see the King
Soon and very soon
We are going to see the King
Soon and very soon
We are going to see the King
Allelujah!
Allelujah!
We are going to see the King

No more crying there
We are going to see the King
No more crying there
We are going to see the King
No more crying there
We are going to see the King
Allelujah!
Allelujah!
We're going to see the King

No more dying there
We are going to see the King
No more dying there
We are going to see the King
No more dying there
We are going to see the King
Allelujah!
Allelujah!
We're going to see the King

Soon and very soon
We are going to see the King
Soon and very soon
We are going to see the King
Soon and very soon
We are going to see the King
Allelujah!
Allelujah!
We are going to see the King

Three Cups of Tea

2009-07-05T21:41:00.006-06:00

I like to think of these three little girls on the cover as

the "three cups of tea"

"If you want to thrive in Baltistan, you must respect our ways," Haji Ali said, blowing on his bowl. "The first time you share tea with a Balti, you are a stranger. The second time you take tea, you are an honored guest. The third time you share a cup of tea, you become family, and for our family, we are prepared to do anything, even die."

That quote from village headman Haji Ali to climber-turned-schoolbuilder Greg Mortenson, still gets to me, each time I read it. Mortenson was receiving a lesson in slowing down, in learning that the Balti people had lived in the mountains of the high Karakorams of Pakistan for thousands of years, that they would be there for thousands more, and that they had the patience of the mountains in waiting for their school to be built. Mortenson learned that "American time" and the rush to build and complete projects, would not work in this ancient land, and therefore learned to accomodate Balti ways. What one really learns though, in this amazing book, is that the "primitive" peoples of Central Asia, famed for their hospitality, are absolutely true to their word when they say such things; it is ingrained within them. When Mortenson first encountered the Balti by accident, wandering almost dead into a Balti village from a failed climbing expedition in the Karakorams, he was stunned and moved beyond words, by how these tremendously poor people had received him. He noted that on his first night in the village, in the home of headman Haji Ali, when all were asleep, he had been covered in a blanket covered by sewn-on small mirrors, obviously the most prized possession of these villagers, while they had covered themselves in thin, worn hides and cloths. They soon slaughtered an ibex (a type of mountain goat) for him, something that was of a great material value to a community which very rarely could afford to eat meat, in celebration of an honored guest to the village. Mortenson was so taken by these people, that he vowed to return one day and build a school for its children, who had been studying outside in the elements, many times by just writing figures in the dirt, and usually without a teacher for guidance. Thus were the beginnings of the CAI, the Central Asian Institute, or one man's initial efforts in what became a program of building schools throughout the Karakoram-Himalayan highlands, as well as ultimately into Afghanistan. The beloved Dr. Greg, or Dr. Gri-ek, (who is actually a nurse by training, known forever forward as The Doctor as soon as he treated his first Balti patient) decided that instead of climbing mountains as a goal, building schools in this region, with a particular emphasis on the education of girls, was not only a worthwhile ambition, but could actually work to stem the rising tide of terrorism in the region by giving girls equal worth and opportunity with which to later shape their communities, while allowing for boys other options than the Saudi-funded madrassas which all-too-often preach a distorted Islam and a hatred of the West. I think that "Dr. Greg", stumbling into that Balti village sometime in the early 1990's, has found the key to the fight against terrorism and ignorance through the work that he has decided to undertake as his life's ambition. It's funny sometimes how the answers to such complex issues can be so simple. As simple as a Balti headman and his village community who can remind us what the word "civilization" in fact really means.

Never Can Say Goodbye

2009-06-26T22:31:00.002-06:00

Never can say goodbye
No, no, no, no... I,
Never can say goodbye,
Even tho' the pain and heartache seem to follow me wherever I go
Tho' I tried and tried to hide my feelings, then they'd always seem to show
Then you try to say you're leaving me and I always have to say no
Tell me why is it so?

But I never can say goodbye
No, no, no, no.. I,
Never can say goodbye
Ev'ry time I think I've had enough and start heading for the door
There's very strange vibrations, piercing me right to the core
It says turn around you fool you, know you love her more and more
Tell me why is it so?
Don't wanna let you go
I never can say goodbye girl
(never can say goodbye, girl)
Oohh, oohh, baby,
(don't wanna let you go, girl)
I never can say goodbye,
No, no, no, no, no, no

Oohh, I never can say goodbye girl
(never can say goodbye, girl)
Ohh, ohh, ohh,
(don't wanna let you go, baby)
I never can say goodbye,
No, no, no, no, no, no,
Oohh

Never can say goodbye
No, no, no, no
I never can say goodbye
I keep thinkin' that our problems soon are all gonna work out
But there's that same unhappy feelin', there's that anguish, there's that doubt
It's that same old dizzy hang-up, can't do with you or without
Tell me why is it so?
Don't wanna let you go
I never can say goodbye girl
(never can say goodbye, girl)
Oohh, oohh, baby,
(baby)
I never can say goodbye
No, no, no, no, no, no

Oohh, I never can say goodbye girl
(never can say goodbye, girl)
Oohh, oohh, oohh, (baby)
I never can say goodbye,
No, no, no, no, no, no,
Oohh

More Interesting Man

2009-06-24T23:16:00.007-06:00

Most Interesting Man, after a few too many ("Let me tell you sumpthin"...)

Most songs about love are written for him, about him, or by him.

He'd never initiate a conversation about the weather, even in a typhoon.

He's against cruelty to animals, but isn't afraid to issue a stern warning.

Whatever side of the tracks he's on is the right side. If he crossed them, he would still be the right side.

He once buried a time capsule full of things that haven't happened yet.

When it is raining, it is because he is sad.

His shirts never wrinkle.

He is left-handed. And right-handed.

He has never lost a sock.

If he disagrees with you, it is because you are wrong.

He has a fondness for collecting the weaponry of Austria-Hungary. If Austria-Hungary had never existed, he would still collect its weaponry.

He still is, the most interesting man in the world.

"I don't always drink beer, but when I do, I prefer Dos Equis.”

"Stay thirsty, my friends"

Like A Rock

2009-06-13T18:27:00.004-06:00

Like A Rock
Bob Seger & The Silver Bullet Band

Stood there boldly
Sweatin' in the sun
Felt like a million
Felt like number one
The height of summer
I'd never felt that strong,
Like a rock

I was eighteen
Didn't have a care,
Working for peanuts
Not a dime to spare
But I was lean and
Solid everywhere,
Like a rock

My hands were steady
My eyes were clear and bright,
My walk had purpose
My steps were quick and light,
And I held firm
To what I felt was right,
Like a rock

Like a rock,
I was strong as I could be
Like a rock,
Nothin' ever got to me
Like a rock,
I was something to see
Like a rock

And I stood arrow straight
Unencumbered by the weight
Of all these hustlers and their schemes,
I stood proud, I stood tall
High above it all
I still believed in my dreams

Twenty years now,
Where'd they go?
Twenty years
I don't know
I sit and I wonder sometimes,
Where they've gone

And sometimes late at night,
Oh, when I'm bathed in the firelight
The moon comes callin' a ghostly white
And I recall
I recall

Like a rock,
Standing arrow straight
Like a rock,
Chargin' from the gate
Like a rock,
Carrying the weight
Like a rock

Like a rock,
The sun upon my skin
Like a rock,
Hard against the wind
Like a rock,
I see myself again
Oh, like a rock

I Finally Reveal My True Identity

2009-06-07T00:05:00.005-06:00

His birth was prophesized by the Mayans.

Lime trees bear fruit on his command.

He once had an awkward moment, just to see what it feels like.

Lucha Libres remove their masks in his presence.

His beard has experienced more than a lesser man's entire body.

He handles sizzling fajita skillets bare-handed.

The sun comes up later on the 6th of May in case his Cinco parties run long.

Bulls flat out refuse to fight him.

He lives vicariously, through himself.

He once taught a German Shepherd to bark in Spanish.

His reputation is expanding faster than the universe.

He is, the most interesting man in the world.

"I don't always drink beer, but when I do, I prefer Dos Equis.”

"Stay thirsty, my friends"

Where Is My Mind?

2009-06-05T22:02:00.004-06:00

Where Is My Mind?
The Pixies

Oh-Stop

With your feet in the air and your head on the ground
Try this trick and spin it, yeah
Your head will collapse if there's nothing in it
And you'll ask yourself

Where is my mind?
Where is my mind?
Where is my mind?
Way out in the water, see it swimming

I was swimming in the Caribbean
Animals were hiding behind the rocks
Except the little fish when he told me east is west
I swear he was trying to talk to me, coy koi

Where is my mind?
Where is my mind?
Where is my mind?
Way out in the water, see it swimming

With your feet in the air and your head on the ground
Try this trick and spin it, yeah
Your head will collapse if there's nothing in it
And you'll ask yourself

Where is my mind?
Where is my mind?
Where is my mind?

Oh
With your feet in the air and your head on the ground
Oh
Try this trick and spin it, yeah
Oh
Oh

"That came from me snorkelling in the Caribbean and having this very small fish trying to chase me. I don't know why - I don't know too much about fish behaviour." Frank Black in SELECT, October 1997

Hey Jealousy

2009-05-03T23:39:00.002-06:00

This is a song from 1993, but it has a kind of '80's feel to it, I think. I like it and the energy of it, even though I'm not a big fan of '80's-sounding music!

Hey Jealousy
Gin Blossoms

Well tell me d'you think it'd be alright
If I could just crash here tonight
Y'can see I'm no shape for drivin'
N' anyway I got no place to go

Yet you know it might not be that bad
You were the best I'd ever had
If I hadn't blown the whole thing years ago
I might not be alone

Tomorrow we can drive around this town
And let the cops chase us around
The past is gone but something might be found
To take it's place
Hey jealousy
Hey jealousy
Hey jealousy
Hey jealousy

And you can trust me not to think
And not to sleep around
If you don't expect too much from me
You might not be let down

Cause all I really want is to be with you
Feeling like I matter too
If I hadn't blown the whole thing years ago
I might be here with you

Tomorrow we can drive around this town
And let the cops chase us around
The past is gone but something might be found
To take it's place
Hey jealousy

Tomorrow we can drive around this town
And let the cops chase us around
The past is gone but something might be found
To take it's place
Hey jealousy
Hey jealousy
Hey jealousy
Hey jealousy

Well tell me d'you think it'd be alright
If I could just crash here tonight
Y'can see I'm no shape for drivin'
N' anyway I got no place to go

Yet you know it might not be that bad
You were the best I'd ever had
If I hadn't blown the whole thing years ago
I might not be alone

Tomorrow we can drive around this town
And let the cops chase us around
The past is gone but something might be found
To take it's place
Hey jealousy

Hey jealousy
Listen to my heart
Well there's only one thing I can start

Swat Is Burning

2009-04-26T23:20:00.003-06:00

Swat Is Burning (www.swatvalley.org/swat/index.htm) is the name of a blog/website that I came across recently, which documents the fall of the Swat district of Pakistan into the hands of Taliban control. The advancement of the Taliban into areas of Pakistan has become quite alarming recently, due to how fast events seem to be occurring. They recently moved into another district called Buner, which is about 70 miles from the capital of Pakistan, Islamabad.

The border between Afghanistan and Pakistan, the infamous Durrand Line set up under British dominion slightly over a hundred years ago, is a line which essentially means nothing to the Pashtun peoples who live on both sides of the border, and they cross over back and forth freely and regularly. This is the area of the famous Khyber Pass, notable for infamous British last stands and final defeats, as was the case as well for the Russians in the 1980's, and where I fear we may become involved militarily at some point soon. This Pashtun belt is essentially the sanctuary for the Taliban, and is the area widely regarded as the place where Osama Bin Laden is hidden; kept safe by these people and their code of Pashtunwali, in which protection of the one who asks for it is the duty of all Pashtuns.

The Pashtuns have really never been defeated by anyone, and they essentially govern themselves in the north-west parts of Pakistan in which they predominate, as the Pakistani government has never been able to establish any sort of rule over them. The problem now is that this Afghan-Pakistan Pashtun belt, initially ruled by indigenous tribal systems of government, has increasingly been taken over by the Taliban, which were essentially religious students from the madrassahs or religious schools of north-west Pakistan who, in defeating the multiple warlords of Afghanistan and establishing a sort of welcome social order, brought with them an extremist version of Islam that is particularly extreme towards women (the traditional, moderate Islam of traditional Afghanistan was not like what the Taliban eventually brought along with them).

Now, this Taliban movement is expanding further into other areas of Pakistan from its north-west base of operations. It has taken over the Swat district (please refer to the Swat Is Burning blog), and is slowly encroaching upon the Pakistani capital of Islamabad. This is bad, not only for Pakistan, but for us as well, because Pakistan is a nuclear armed nation. We cannot and would not allow nuclear arms to fall into the hands of the Taliban, so the U.S. will continue to closely watch events in Pakistan. Some say that the situation is not so extreme as it might seem; that Pakistan itself would not allow encroachments from out of the Pashtun belt into non-Pashtun areas of the country (which is the major part of the country, made up of Punjabis, Sindhis, Balochis and other groups). It is alarming though, how the Pakistani army and police have essentially given up territory, and have in some cases fled from areas in which the Taliban were moving into.

The M.O. of the Taliban in Pakistan is essentially this: they move into a district, set up a radio station, establish Shariah law (or their version of it one might say), close all girls schools, read lists of names of those already found guilty of various "crimes", and in some instances take and behead some of these individuals from the lists. This establishes terror in a district, and this is how they gain control over the citizenry.

I used to be of the opinion that cultures are all different, and regardless of how "unusual" or even "bizarre" the cultural practices of others might be, that we should respect all cultures and how they organize themselves. After seeing the beating (on the legs) of the 17 yr. old girl on TV (not sure if it was in Pakistan or Afganistan) as her legs were held down, for being in the company of a similarly aged male, not her relative (this was her crime, and she was told that she was lucky she was not stoned), I no longer believe as I once did. The Taliban, while bringing order to a chaotic Afghanistan full of rape, pillaging and robbery, has established a system too repressive wherever it has went. This is not any form of traditional Afghan culture, Pakistani culture or Islamic culture, but an aberration of culture by an extremist group that now threatens the very existence of an established, nuclear state. We would do well to keep a very close eye on both Pakistan and the advancement there of a rising Taliban.

The Lion of the Panjshir

2009-04-18T22:23:00.003-06:00

The above are photos of a man named Ahmed Shah Masoud. Who is that? He looks like one of those "terrorists"! Why would you write about him on your blog?

Well, he was not a terrorist. He was a freedom fighter, or mujahideen, who fought against the Soviet Union when they invaded Afghanistan (he repelled nine separate advances of the Soviet armies into the Panjshir valley of Afghanistan, his homeland, and after that fought against the Taliban as that group worked to take rule in Afghanistan. An ethnic Tajik himself of Afghanistan, he allied with Uzbeks, Hazaras, Tajiks and some Pashtuns in what was called the Northern Alliance, to resist the advancement of the predominantly Pashtun Taliban forces. In the late 1990's, Masoud was allied with the United States in the fight against the Taliban in Afghanistan.

On September 9th, 2001, Masoud received a visit from two supposed Arab journalists, documenting his fight against the Taliban. These "journalists" turned out to be agents of Osama Bin Laden, a Taliban ally, and when they set up to interview Masoud, their "cameras" exploded in tremendous blasts, killing themselves, Masoud and several others present. Bin Laden had succeeded in taking out his sworn enemy, in paving the way for other plans that Ahmed Shah Masoud would surely have attempted to respond to had he lived. His assassination was critical as a removal of a vital enemy regarding events that would occur two days later, on September 11, 2001.

His military tactical skills and ability to lead men were and are legendary (his tactics are now studied in the Russian military academies by those he defeated), yet what I find so interesting about him was that he was a poet (as so many of the Tajik-Persian peoples are), trained in engineering and interested in architecture, and who lamented the fact that his newly built home in the Panjshir contained a large library with all of his books, which he wanted to go home and read in peace after 25 years of war against Russians, warlords and Taliban. And with some, special people, his charisma shows even through that amazing face; with his hawk-like nose and eyes that are certainly those of a poet, maybe a poet who had seen too much. I wish that I would have been able to meet Ahmed Shah Masoud, the Lion of the Panjshir.

You can read more about him at Wikipedia, and in the last two chapters of Sebastian Junger's book, "Fire".

Yellow Moon

2009-04-04T23:46:00.005-06:00

Yellow Moon
Neville Bros. (Live Album)

Oh, yellow moon, yellow moon
Why you keep peepin' in my window?
Do you know something,
Do you know something that I don't know?

Did you see my baby
Walkin' down the railroad tracks?
You can tell me, oh
If the girl's ever coming back

Is she hid out with another,
Or is she trying to get back home?
Is she wrappped up in some other's arms
Or is the girl somewhere all alone?

Can you see if she is missing me,
Or is she having a real good time?
Has she forgotten all about me,
Or is the girl still mine all mine?

With your eye so big an' shiny
You can see the whole damn land
Yellow moon, can you tell me,
If the girl's with another man, man?

Oh, yellow moon, yellow moon, yellow moon
Have you seen that Creole woman?
You can tell me,
Oh, now ain't you a friend of mine?

With your eye so big an' shiny
You can see the whole damn land
Yellow moon, can you tell me,
If the girl's with another man, man?

Oh, yellow moon, yellow moon, yellow moon
Have you seen that Creole woman?
You can tell me,
Oh, now ain't you a friend of mine?

Listen To Your Heart

2009-03-04T00:18:00.003-07:00

Listen To Your Heart
DHT - accoustic version

I know there's something in the wake of your smile
I get a notion from the look in your eyes, yea
You've built a love, but that love falls apart
Your little piece of heaven turns too dark

Listen to your heart
When he's calling for you
Listen to your heart
There's nothing else you can do
I don't know where you're going
And I don't know why,
But listen to your heart
Before you tell him goodbye

Sometimes you wonder if this fight is worthwhile
The precious moments are all lost in the tide, yea
They're swept away and nothing is what it seems,
The feeling of belonging to your dreams

Listen to your heart
When he's calling for you
Listen to your heart
There's nothing else you can do
I don't know where you're going
And I don't know why,
But listen to your heart
Before you tell him goodbye

And there are voices
That want to be heard
So much to mention
But you can't find the words
The scent of magic,
The beauty that's been
When love was wilder than the wind

Listen to your heart
When he's calling for you
Listen to your heart
There's nothing else you can do
I don't know where you're going
And I don't know why,
But listen to your heart
Before you tell him goodbye

Listen to your heart, mmm-mmmm

I don't know where you're going
And I don't know why,
But listen to your heart
Before you tell him goodbye

Crooklyn

2009-02-28T22:39:00.005-07:00

This is one of Spike Lee's lesser known films (from 1994), I believe, and I tried several years ago to watch it, but it seemed to start kind of slow, and I never got past the beginning. However, I checked it out again from the library and watched it straight through, and I'd have to say that it was quite a touching little film. Essentially, it is about a family coming of age (loosely based on Spike Lee's youth) in Brooklyn in the 1970's. It has a bittersweet, somewhat sad ending, but the family goes on with life in spite of the sadness. What I think I really liked about it was that it reminded me in some ways of my own growing up. Although I grew up in Denver and not Brooklyn, I remember the same time period as a kid, and that our family too was a struggling, working-class family, who materially did not have much, but we did have each other as in the film. Those memories of that time period are some of the best of my life, and we always talk of those times very fondly, although in those times things sometimes could be quite tense and serious. As in the beginning of Charles Dickens novel, "A Tale of Two Cities" (which I had to read in the 7th grade, in this time period, and which remains a favorite novel), that starts with, "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times", those long ago days, perhaps now idealized, contained much of what happens in all time periods, both the best and the worst.

The soundtrack to this film (except for #1 and #14) is a huge part of setting the tone of that period. The songs move from vignette to vignette in the film, and are derived from perhaps my favorite music period. It was a simpler time, both for a kid, and for the times themselves, as the film itself seems to relay.

1. Crooklyn - The Crooklyn Dodgers [4:32]
2. Respect Yourself - The Staple Singers [4:53]
3. Everyday People - Sly & The Family Stone [2:19]
4. Pusher Man - Curtis Mayfield [5:02]
5. Thin Line Between Love And Hate - Persuaders [3:24]
6. El Pito (I'll Never Go Back To Georgia) - Joe Cuba [5:32]
7. ABC - The Jackson 5 [2:57]
8. Oh Girl - The Chi-Lites [3:47]
9. Mighty Love - The Spinners [4:57]
10. Mr. Big Stuff - Jean Knight [2:46]
11. Ooh Child - The Five Stairsteps [3:17]
12. Pass The Peas - The JB's [3:11]
13. Time Has Come Today - The Chambers Brothers [4:54]
14. People Make The World Go Round - Marc Dorsey [5:05]

Vol. II

1. People Make The World Go Round - The Stylistics [6:22]
2. Signed, Sealed, Delivered I'm Yours - Stevie Wonder [2:38]
3. Bra - Cymande [5:02]
4. I'm Stone In Love With You - The Stylistics [3:17]
5. Everybody Is A Star - Sly & The Family Stone [3:00]
6. Never Can Say Goodbye - The Jackson 5 [2:56]
7. Soul Power - James Brown [4:23]
8. Soul Makossa - Manu Dibango [4:25]
9. La La (Means I Love You) - The Delfonics [3:19]
10. I'll Take You There - The Staple Singers [4:31]
11. Puerto Rico - Eddie Palmieri [6:57]
12. Theme From Shaft - Isaac Hayes [3:19]
13. Tears Of A Clown - Smokey Robinson/The Miracles [3:03]
14. I Can See Clearly Now - Johnny Nash [2:41]

Praise Song For The Day

2009-01-20T20:58:00.002-07:00

Elizabeth Alexander

Praise song for the day.

Each day we go about our business, walking past each other, catching each others' eyes or not, about to speak or speaking. All about us is noise. All about us is noise and bramble, thorn and din, each one of our ancestors on our tongues. Someone is stitching up a hem, darning a hole in a uniform, patching a tire, repairing the things in need of repair.

Someone is trying to make music somewhere with a pair of wooden spoons on an oil drum with cello, boom box, harmonica, voice.

A woman and her son wait for the bus.

A farmer considers the changing sky; A teacher says, "Take out your pencils. Begin."

We encounter each other in words, words spiny or smooth, whispered or declaimed; words to consider, reconsider.

We cross dirt roads and highways that mark the will of someone and then others who said, "I need to see what's on the other side; I know there's something better down the road."

We need to find a place where we are safe; We walk into that which we cannot yet see.

Say it plain, that many have died for this day. Sing the names of the dead who brought us here, who laid the train tracks, raised the bridges, picked the cotton and the lettuce, built brick by brick the glittering edifices they would then keep clean and work inside of.

Praise song for struggle; praise song for the day. Praise song for every hand-lettered sign; The figuring it out at kitchen tables.

Some live by "Love thy neighbor as thy self."

Others by first do no harm, or take no more than you need.

What if the mightiest word is love, love beyond marital, filial, national? Love that casts a widening pool of light. Love with no need to preempt grievance.

In today's sharp sparkle, this winter air, anything can be made, any sentence begun.

On the brink, on the brim, on the cusp -- praise song for walking forward in that light.

Midnight Rider

2009-01-13T21:15:00.007-07:00

The Allman Brothers Band

Well, I've got to run to keep from hidin',
And I'm bound, to keep on ridin'
I've got one more silver dollar,
But I'm not gonna let 'em catch me, no
Not gonna let 'em catch the midnight rider

And I don't own the clothes I'm wearing,
And the road, goes on forever
I've got one more silver dollar,
But I'm not gonna let 'em catch me, no
Not gonna let 'em catch the midnight rider

And I've gone by the point of caring,
Some old bed, I'll soon be sharing
I've got one more silver dollar,
But I'm not gonna let 'em catch me, no
Not gonna let 'em catch the midnight rider

No, I'm not gonna let 'em catch me, no
Not gonna let 'em catch the midnight rider

No, I'm not gonna let 'em catch me, no
Not gonna let 'em catch the midnight rider

No, I'm not gonna let 'em catch me, no
Not gonna let 'em catch the midnight rider

I Saw 3 Of These Bad Boys On Friday

2008-12-21T01:18:00.008-07:00

While driving after work through an upscale Denver suburb with large homes, each situated on acres of land, in a somewhat semi-rural environment within the city, I noticed something that looked to me like a wolf standing at a chained-driveway to suburban mega-church, just watching traffic go by. I pulled around the block to enter the parking lot and return to where I saw the "wolf", and when I got there and parked, I noticed that what was in fact a coyote had moved over to the other side of a small ravine behind the church. He stared at me, then started to walk away, when I then began to "howl", in order to keep his attention. His ears popped up, just as they had been at the chained-driveway, and he cocked his head as if to say, "why are you doing that?". As soon as I had howled, then 2 more coyotes appeared from the bottom of the ravine, and followed the first coyote over the crest of the ravine so that they could then be hidden from my view.

Coyotes are an increasing issue in Denver and other similar such cities. Only a month earlier, a coyote bit a 10 yr. old boy in a suburb just north of Denver, who had been playing in the snow with a friend in back of their house which was connected to a large field and open area. And, I've had dear friends whose collies were mauled to death by coyotes who came into the back yard, in the middle of the Denver metro area! I hope that somehow though, we can come to some sort of agreement with them. A lady in the area (which is across from a middle-school!) who had witnessed the coyotes with me, labeled them as 'majestic', with their heavy winter coats that make them appear to be more wolf-like than they would usually look. I experienced almost this feeling of "sadness" coming from that first coyote as I stared into its eyes, a conveyed feeling as if he were being hunted constantly in his efforts to avoid mankind in the middle of a major metro area. This is a rich area in which I spotted these coyotes, and rich people do not like having their pets killed, let alone having their small children potentially endangered on the way to school, and they have ways of getting things done as they would like. And these are not foxes; no these animals have been in fact known to go after small children in the right sort of situation. I don't know though, maybe a combination of population control and removal, as well as education, can allow us both to live in the same areas in relative peace. At least I would like to think so. Because they are indeed a majestic sight to behold.

Outliers

2008-12-01T22:21:00.003-07:00

This is a book by New York Times writer and author Malcom Gladwell (pictured), who has also authored the bestselling The Tipping Point, and Blink more recently. I have The Tipping Point here at home somewhere, and read part of it, but I heard someone talking about Outliers on the radio just a few days ago, so I ran out to the library to pick it up, and devoured its two hundred and some pages in just a few days, interrupting some other reading on the strict, masterful French culinary system to do so (The Perfectionist - which also turns out to be pretty good). The premise for Outliers is essentially that our notions of success are largely structured around traditional views of individualistic striving by very intelligent people, who end up where they are largely due to their own personal efforts. This turns out to be not exactly true. Individual effort, innate ability and so forth, are usually powerful factors for success, however it turns out that such successes (determined in this book it seems to be as at or near the top of one's field or chosen endeavor) are in fact more a matter of the seizing upon of such factors by persons who are already within a context or environment that is pre-favorable to success. This could mean anything from parents whom are able to bestow both cultural and social, as well as financial capital, upon their children, giving them early tools for later successful negotiation of their environments, to geographic positioning (being in the right place at the right time) as with Bill Gates in Seattle, in the early '70's, nearby to where the earliest public access to mainframe computers became available, to being born near to cut-off dates for acceptance to junior hockey leagues, making some boys physically almost 1 year older than their peers, even though they both can claim to be "16 years of age". Circumstances matter, it seems, and our notions of Horatio Alger-like successes are really few and far between, if at all. Success is in fact a combination of individual traits, connected with enabling environments and circumstances which are seized upon.

The most striking example in the book to me, is the story of Chris Langan, with an IQ near 200, perhaps the highest ever tested, who has worked largely at manual type work, including being a bouncer for twenty years. It's estimated that Albert Einstein had an IQ of around 150, and a comparison of the two is done to show that Langan's dysfunctional upbringing did not allow for anything like the success of Einstein, although he had the potential for it. It seems Langan lacked the ability to schmooze, and couldn't even get his professors to let him take a same class in the afternoon rather than his enrolled morning class, for transportation reasons, leading to his dropping out of college and typical of how things worked out for him as time went on. The ability to get what you want or need (schmooze is my word) is based upon being trained to do so, something that middle and upper class children are trained for by upbringing, while working-class children usually are not. Langan's potential remained largely untapped, a point that Gladwell makes in that society loses out on a large source of potential by failing to account for how success is in fact achieved in our society. Another great point made by Gladwell is that you don't have to be super smart, only smart enough, in most cases, and then your schmooze factor can (and in fact is necessary) take you the rest of the way.

I related a lot to this book, feeling much like an outsider in my academic experience, and the book explains a lot for me as to why things have been as they have within this experience. Too bad that the dullards who pass themselves off as learned within this realm will never read this or other such works. They're like lemmings to the sea, as the saying goes,and they'd never read it unless for some reason it got on to their particular (and largely irrelevant) playlists. I guess you can see already, I largely lack the schmooze factor. I did enjoy and would highly recommend the book though, as well as anything that Malcolm Gladwell writes; I always find him uniquely insightful, and someone who digs a little deeper.

Hope Defeats Fear

2008-11-04T23:00:00.002-07:00

The City of New Orleans

2008-10-18T18:41:00.005-06:00

The City of New Orleans
Steve Goodman
performed by Arlo Guthrie

Riding on the City of New Orleans,
Illinois Central, Monday morning rail,
Fifteen cars, and fifteen restless riders
Three conductors and twenty-five sacks of mail

All along the southbound odyssey
The train pulls out at Kankakee
Rolls along past houses, farms and fields,
Passin' trains that have no names,
Freight yards full of old black men
And the graveyards of the rusted automobiles

Good morning America, how are you?
Say don't you know me, I'm your native son,
I'm the train they call The City of New Orleans
I'll be gone five hundred miles when the day is done

Dealin' card games with the old men in the club car
Penny a point, ain't no one keepin' score
Pass the paper bag that holds the bottle
Feel the wheels rumblin' 'neath the floor

And the sons of pullman porters
And the sons of engineers
Ride their father's magic carpets made of steel,
Mothers with their babes asleep
Are rockin' to the gentle beat
And the rhythm of the rails is all they feel

Good morning America, how are you?
Say don't you know me, I'm your native son,
I'm the train they call The City of New Orleans
I'll be gone five hundred miles when the day is done

Nighttime on The City of New Orleans
Changing cars in Memphis Tennessee,
Half way home, we'll be there by morning
Through the Mississippi darkness
Rolling down to the sea

And all the towns and people seem
To fade into a bad dream
And the steel rails still ain't heard the news,
The conductor sings his song again
The passengers will please refrain
This train's got the disappearin' railroad blues

Good night, America, how are you?
Say don't you know me, I'm your native son,
I'm the train they call The City of New Orleans
I'll be gone five hundred miles when the day is done

Cutlery Corner.Net

2008-09-16T19:22:00.005-06:00

(Tom O'Dell demonstrating a massive broadsword, which you might be able to own for like only $25 !!!)

Have you ever had the feeling that, maybe you just don't have enough knives in your life? That's right,knives. Well, neither have I; until recently that is. Are you short on Delta Rangers? Need a Kitana sword? Or maybe a broad sword? I can tell you where to find them. On weekend mornings, Friday-Sunday, at 2am Mountain time (and apparently the show is broadcast live across the country), one can find on TV what is called, "The Knife Show". On The Knife Show, broadcast live, a couple of Southern guys will try to sell you all types of knives and knife sets, which whirl around on plexiglass tables similar to the displays on Home Shopping Network; except these are all knives (or swords sometimes). The show apparently has a cult following now, according to my Internet search for info on it. Todd Boone will sell to you a set of 200 various types of knives for like 80-$100 or so (that's less than a buck a knife in many cases!). Or later, Tom O'Dell, who now has his own cult following due to his twangy, somtimes bizarre speech and behavior, will come on, with his hyperactive sales pitching for bowies, tactical rangers, and all sorts of other knives. And the phone in the backround is ringing off the hook! I've never really seen anything like it!

Although I already have a couple of pocket knives that come in handy from time to time, I am beginning to wonder now if indeed I have enough knives; if indeed anyone ever really has enough knives. On a few occasions they have almost convinced me that I need a Kitana sword, or a Fireman's Special, or a hand-carved Bowie. Through an internet search, I found out that in one live episode, one of the assistants demonstrating the durability of a sword, broke it on a table with a piece of it stabbing him in the stomach! Now that is some live television! O'Dell, in shock, apparently said, "We may need to perform emergency surgery on the set"! These guys are chock-full of sayings and unique ways of describing the merchandise, and can be a riot to watch at times. I find myself now holding out until 2am many weekends, so I can catch a little of "The Knife Show"; truly wondering if I should get the 125 piece set at the slashed down UN-BEL-EEV-ABLE!! price of only $59.99. It seems like such a good deal at 2:30 in the morning.

The Real Olympic Spirit

2008-08-24T20:27:00.003-06:00

(I love stories like this. It's what it's all about, or should be)

By Charles Robinson,
Yahoo! Sports 8 hours, 29 minutes ago
http://sports.yahoo.com/olympics/beijing/
track_field/news?slug=cr-somalirunners082408

BEIJING – Samia Yusuf Omar headed back to Somalia Sunday, returning to the small two-room house in Mogadishu shared by seven family members. Her mother lives there, selling fruits and vegetables. Her father is buried there, the victim of a wayward artillery shell that hit their home and also killed Samia’s aunt and uncle.

This is the Olympic story we never heard.

It’s about a girl whose Beijing moment lasted a mere 32 seconds – the slowest 200-meter dash time out of the 46 women who competed in the event. Thirty-two seconds that almost nobody saw but that she carries home with her, swelled with joy and wonderment. Back to a decades-long civil war that has flattened much of her city. Back to an Olympic program with few Olympians and no facilities. Back to meals of flat bread, wheat porridge and tap water.

“I have my pride,” she said through a translator before leaving China. “This is the highest thing any athlete can hope for. It has been a very happy experience for me. I am proud to bring the Somali flag to fly with all of these countries, and to stand with the best athletes in the world.”

There are many life stories that collide in each Olympics – many intriguing tales of glory and tragedy. Beijing delivered the electricity of Usain Bolt and the determination of Michael Phelps. It left hearts heavy with the disappointment of Liu Xiang and the heartache of Hugh McCutcheon.

But it also gave us Samia Yusuf Omar – one small girl from one chaotic country – and a story that might have gone unnoticed if it hadn’t been for a roaring half-empty stadium.

***

It was Aug. 19, and the tiny girl had crossed over seven lanes to find her starting block in her 200-meter heat. She walked past Jamaica’s Veronica Campbell-Brown – the eventual gold medalist in the event. Samia had read about Campbell-Brown in track and field magazines and once watched her in wonderment on television. As a cameraman panned down the starting blocks, it settled on lane No. 2, on a 17-year old girl with the frame of a Kenyan distance runner. Samia’s biography in the Olympic media system contained almost no information, other than her 5-foot-4, 119-pound frame. There was no mention of her personal best times and nothing on previous track meets. Somalia, it was later explained, has a hard time organizing the records of its athletes.

She looked so odd and out of place among her competitors, with her white headband and a baggy, untucked T-shirt. The legs on her wiry frame were thin and spindly, and her arms poked out of her sleeves like the twigs of a sapling. She tugged at the bottom of her shirt and shot an occasional nervous glance at the other runners in her heat. Each had muscles bulging from beneath their skin-tight track suits. Many outweighed Samia by nearly 40 pounds.

After introductions, she knelt into her starting block.

***

The country of Somalia sent two athletes to the Beijing Games – Samia and distance runner Abdi Said Ibrahim, who competed in the men’s 5,000-meter event. Like Samia, Abdi finished last in his event, overmatched by competitors who were groomed for their Olympic moment. Somalia has only loose-knit programs supporting its Olympians, few coaches, and few facilities. With a civil war tearing the city apart since the Somali government’s collapse in 1991, Mogadishu Stadium has become one of the bloodiest pieces of real estate in the city – housing U.N. forces in the early 1990s and now a military compound for insurgents

That has left the country’s track athletes to train in Coni Stadium, an artillery-pocked structure built in 1958 which has no track, endless divots, and has been overtaken by weeds and plants.

“Sports are not a priority for Somalia,” said Duran Farah, vice president of the Somali Olympic Committee. “There is no money for facilities or training. The war, the security, the difficulties with food and everything – there are just many other internal difficulties to deal with.”

That leaves athletes such as Samia and 18-year old Abdi without the normal comforts and structure enjoyed by almost every other athlete in the Olympic Games. They don’t receive consistent coaching, don’t compete in meets on a regular basis and struggle to find safety in something as simple as going out for a daily run.

When Samia cannot make it to the stadium, she runs in the streets, where she runs into roadblocks of burning tires and refuse set out by insurgents. She is often bullied and threatened by militia or locals who believe that Muslim women should not take part in sports. In hopes of lessening the abuse, she runs in the oppressive heat wearing long sleeves, sweat pants and a head scarf. Even then, she is told her place should be in the home – not participating in sports.

“For some men, nothing is good enough,” Farah said.

Even Abdi faces constant difficulties, passing through military checkpoints where he is shaken down for money. And when he has competed in sanctioned track events, gun-toting insurgents have threatened his life for what they viewed as compliance with the interim government.

“Once, the insurgents were very unhappy,” he said. “When we went back home, my friends and I were rounded up and we were told if we did it again, we would get killed. Some of my friends stopped being in sports. I had many phone calls threatening me, that if I didn’t stop running, I would get killed. Lately, I do not have these problems. I think probably they realized we just wanted to be athletes and were not involved with the government.”

But the interim government has not been able to offer support, instead spending its cash and energy arming Ethiopian allies for the fight against insurgents. Other than organizing a meet to compete for Olympic selection – in which the Somali Olympic federation chose whom it believed to be its two best performers – there has been little lavished on athletes. While other countries pour millions into the training and perfecting of their Olympic stars, Somalia offers little guidance and no doctors, not even a stipend for food.

“The food is not something that is measured and given to us every day,” Samia said. “We eat whatever we can get.”

On the best days, that means getting protein from a small portion of fish, camel or goat meat, and carbohydrates from bananas or citrus fruits growing in local trees. On the worst days – and there are long stretches of those – it means surviving on water and Angera, a flat bread made from a mixture of wheat and barley.

“There is no grocery store,” Abdi said. “We can’t go shopping for whatever we want.”

He laughs at this thought, with a smile that is missing a front tooth.

***

When the gun went off in Samia’s 200-meter heat, seven women blasted from their starting blocks, registering as little as 16 one-hundredths of a second of reaction time. Samia’s start was slow enough that the computer didn’t read it, leaving her reaction time blank on the heat’s statistical printout.

Within seconds, seven competitors were thundering around the curve in Beijing’s Bird’s Nest, struggling to separate themselves from one another. Samia was just entering the curve when her opponents were nearing the finish line. A local television feed had lost her entirely by the time Veronica Campbell-Brown crossed the finish line in a trotting 23.04 seconds.

As the athletes came to a halt and knelt, stretching and sucking deep breaths, a camera moved to ground level. In the background of the picture, a white dot wearing a headband could be seen coming down the stretch.

***

Until this month, Samia had been to two countries outside of her own – Djibouti and Ethiopia. Asked how she will describe Beijing, her eyes get big and she snickers from under a blue and white Olympic baseball cap.

“The stadiums, I never thought something like this existed in the world,” she said. “The buildings in the city, it was all very surprising. It will probably take days to finish all the stories we have to tell.”

Asked about Beijing’s otherworldly Water Cube, she lets out a sigh: “Ahhhhhhh.”

Before she can answer, Abdi cuts her off.

“I didn’t know what it was when I saw it,” he said. “Is it plastic? Is it magic?”

Few buildings are beyond two or three stories tall in Mogadishu, and those still standing are mostly in tatters. Only pictures will be able to describe some of Beijing’s structures, from the ancient architecture of the Forbidden City to the modernity of the Water Cube and the Bird’s Nest.

“The Olympic fire in the stadium, everywhere I am, it is always up there,” Samia said. “It’s like the moon. I look up wherever I go, it is there.”

These are the stories they will relish when they return to Somalia, which they believe has, for one brief moment, united the country’s warring tribes. Farah said he had received calls from countrymen all over the world, asking how their two athletes were doing and what they had experienced in China. On the morning of Samia’s race, it was just after 5 a.m., and locals from her neighborhood were scrambling to find a television with a broadcast.

“People stayed awake to see it,” Farah said. “The good thing, sports is the one thing which unites all of Somalia.”

That is one of the common threads they share with every athlete at the Games. Just being an Olympian and carrying the country’s flag brings an immense sense of pride to families and neighborhoods which typically know only despair.

A pride that Samia will share with her mother, three brothers and three sisters. A pride that Abdi will carry home to his father, two brothers and two sisters. Like Samia’s father two years ago, Abdi’s mother was killed in the civil war, by a mortar shell that hit the family’s home in 1993.

“We are very proud,” Samia said. “Because of us, the Somali flag is raised among all the other nations’ flags. You can’t imagine how proud we were when we were marching in the Opening Ceremonies with the flag.

“Despite the difficulties and everything we’ve had with our country, we feel great pride in our accomplishment.”

***

As Samia came down the stretch in her 200-meter heat, she realized that the Somalian Olympic federation had chosen to place her in the wrong event. The 200 wasn’t nearly the best event for a middle distance runner. But the federation believed the dash would serve as a “good experience” for her. Now she was coming down the stretch alone, pumping her arms and tilting her head to the side with a look of despair.

Suddenly, the half-empty stadium realized there was still a runner on the track, still pushing to get across the finish line almost eight seconds behind the seven women who had already completed the race. In the last 50 meters, much of the stadium rose to its feet, flooding the track below with cheers of encouragement. A few competitors who had left Samia behind turned and watched it unfold.

As Samia crossed the line in 32.16 seconds, the crowd roared in applause. Bahamian runner Sheniqua Ferguson, the next smallest woman on the track at 5-foot-7 and 130 pounds, looked at the girl crossing the finish and thought to herself, “Wow, she’s tiny.”

“She must love running,” Ferguson said later.

***

Several days later, Samia waved off her Olympic moment as being inspirational. While she was still filled with joy over her chance to compete, and though she knew she had done all she could, part of her seemed embarrassed that the crowd had risen to its feet to help push her across the finish line.

“I was happy the people were cheering and encouraging me,” she said. “But I would have liked to be cheered because I won, not because I needed encouragement. It is something I will work on. I will try my best not to be the last person next time. It was very nice for people to give me that encouragement, but I would prefer the winning cheer.

She shrugged and smiled.

“I knew it was an uphill task.”

And there it was. While the Olympics are often promoted for the fastest and strongest and most agile champions, there is something to be said for the ones who finish out of the limelight. The ones who finish last and leave with their pride.

At their best, the Olympics still signify competition and purity, a love for sport. What represents that better than two athletes who carry their country’s flag into the Games despite their country’s inability to carry them before that moment? What better way to find the best of the Olympic spirit than by looking at those who endure so much that would break it?

“We know that we are different from the other athletes,” Samia said. “But we don’t want to show it. We try our best to look like all the rest. We understand we are not anywhere near the level of the other competitors here. We understand that very, very well. But more than anything else, we would like to show the dignity of ourselves and our country.”

She smiles when she says this, sitting a stone’s throw from a Somalian flag that she and her countryman Abdi brought to these Games. They came and went from Beijing largely unnoticed, but may have been the most dignified example these Olympics could offer.

!!! Jamaica Sweeps !!!

2008-08-17T23:00:00.005-06:00

"I was speechless yesterday for a while. Today I cried," Jamaica's minister of sport, Olivia Grange, said Sunday, after watching Fraser win. "Little Jamaica — our country is blessed with some of the best, if not the best, talent you can find."

Jamaica takes the short sprint titles, with Usain "Lightning" Bolt running a 9.69 100 meters (unbelievable!), and 20 yr. old Shelly-Ann Fraser taking the women's 100 meter dash, in a Jamaican sweep of gold, silver and bronze (actually, 2nd place was a dead heat for the silver) in that event. Fraser was somewhat of a surprise, with not a great deal expected from her, but it was clear by the ease in which she won her race that she will be around for awhile. "Lightning" Bolt is now the fastest man in the world (how much further down can that 9.69 be pushed, unbelievable!), and I'm kind of surprised that a sprinter of Usain's lanky build can run so very fast! He has more of the build of a 400 meter sprinter, but he clearly can run the short sprints.

The Americans, well, it hasn't been their year so far, at least in the short sprints. Tyson Gay did not even make it out of qualifying trials (a shocker!), and of course the Jamaican sweep in the women's 100 m means the Americans (Lauryn Williams) took 4th place. I think an American got bronze in the men's 100 m (checked on that, Walter Dix), and he seemed quite happy with that, being one of those of whom not much was really expected. Hey, bronze is respectable too, especially in that sort of situation.

Another shocker. China's Liu Xiang, China's premier athlete and defending champion, who has been touted as such all through these Olympics, had to pull out of the 110 meter hurdles, after a false start by someone else demonstrated that an injured Achilles tendon Liu had been favoring as he lined up for the race, would not support him in an all-out sprint. Liu pulled his number off of his shirt, and headed back down the stadium tunnels for treatment. This man's face is plastered all over China; he was kind of the Carl Lewis of China, and this happens. There was just stunned silence in the Bird's Nest (stadium), as Liu walked away.

I was a track sprinter in high school, so I like to follow track & field pretty closely, as I do the Olympics in general (and particularly Tae Kwon Do, Table Tennis and Fencing, all of which I have dabbled in, one might say - although I did actually earn a Black Belt in TKD). As a sprinter, I was kind of blah, mediocre, a sprinter who ran almost entirely on adrenalin and fear. But, it's amazing how fast one can run solely on adrenalin and fear! Not too fast, but fast enough, I guess one could say! ( I guess my early training came from that pack of dogs that would chase me to the school bus stop on many a cold morning!)

!USA-USA! HOO-HOO!!!

2008-08-11T22:56:00.002-06:00

100m backstroke,with can of Duff beer in belly button, in case of dehydration

So far, the Americans seem to be doing pretty good! While the Chinese, who are also doing well, are choking up a little at certain times. I think it's because of the tremendous pressure on them to do well as the host country, during China's "coming out party". The U.S., on the other hand, was expected to do well, but not spectacularly, overall, and therefore I think that the more limited pressure has allowed them to perform as well as they have been doing so far. Can't wait to see track and field and boxing (and Tae Kwon Do!). I want to see more of Cuba, in anything, because they are just a sports powerhouse left over from the Soviet Union and the Eastern Bloc, and I want to see the Caribbean track athletes as well break some new world records!

I've been busy traveling to Louisiana and New Orleans recently, and will try to blog a little more on that soon. For now though, it's USA! USA!- Hoo-Hoo-Hoo!

Oil Speculation Just the Beginning

2008-07-13T14:57:00.011-06:00

In the chart above, we can see that in January of 2006, the price of a barrel of oil was trading around $63. By January of 2007 it was about the same after a short rise beforehand, and by January of 2008 a barrel of oil was trading at around $94. As of July 11, 2008, a barrel of oil traded briefly at above $147, a new record (and off of this particular chart). The price of a barrel of oil has increased by over 50% just since January of this year! And from January of 2006 to July of 2008, the price has increased by over 125%!

Another interesting view is to look at that trend from about 2002 until the present, a period which coincides with preparations for the invasion of Iraq up until the present state of affairs in that region. This trend itself is interesting given that we were told that the invasion would bring stability to the region and the world, not only militarily but economically as well. The more recent time period is interesting as well in that there is a drastic and continued rise in oil prices from January of 2007 up until the present. Has there been a supply reduction somewhere in the world in this time period, that has caused the price to spike in such a way? Has there been an increased extreme demand for oil in the last year and a half, a far greater demand for oil than in the time period previous to this? Not so much that I'm aware of. Supply and demand are not the issues for the most part; what's happening is that speculators are raising the price of oil in trading by buying and holding futures contracts, creating an artificial scarcity in the trading of paper, not of the actual oil itself. This is really a crime, that of course is not being regulated by the oil barons of the Bush Administration, because they and their friends around the world profit off of the situation. It's an artificial situation, in which commodity prices such as oil, tend not to fall back to "true" levels once pumped up in this manner, but stay artificially high in the longer run. This has implications for all levels of society, because transportation costs affect the prices of everything that we use, as we all are increasingly coming to know. Yet, the national leadership, including the Congress, does nothing to address this obvious "scam" going on, even as other sectors of financial markets like investment banks and mortgage related financial firms continue to fail in a way never before seen in this country since the Great Depression. The lack of any movement to address really an emergency situation, to me can only be interpreted as what may be a planned collapse of the United States on the part of elite interests who have taken the nation on up to its present state. For what purpose? Look for the loss of democratic functions and institutions in this country that the United States has always been critically identified with. The coming attack by this nation upon Iran will parallel the beginnings of American financial collapse and the attempted creation of an American Fascism, in which patriotism and flag-waving will be accompanied by mass starvation and hunger in American cities for the first time ever. It's a massive restructuring of our way of life, in order to serve the elite few in perpetuity. Like all frauds though, this one will fail too, and the criminals behind what is now going on in this country, will be dealt justice. I believe it to the core of my being.

Dog and Butterfly

2008-07-03T20:13:00.006-06:00

Heart

There I was, with the old man
Stranded again, so off I'd ran

A young world crashing around me
No possibilities of getting what I need
He looked at me and smiled
Said "No, no, no, no, no, child"

See the dog and butterfly
Up in the air he'd like to fly,
Dog and butterfly
Below, she had to try
She roll back down
To the warm soft ground,
Laughing,
She don't know why
She don't know why
Dog and butterfly

Well, I stumbled upon your secret place
Safe in the trees, you had tears on your face
Wrestling with your desires,
Frozen strangers stealing your fires,
The message hit my mind,
Only words that I could find,
See the dog and butterfly
Up in the air he'd like to fly
Dog and butterfly
Below, she had to try
And she roll back down,
To the warm soft ground
Laughing,
To the sky,
Up to the sky
Dog and butterfly

We're getting older, the world's getting colder
For the life of me, I don't know the reason why
Maybe it's livin', making us give in
Hearts rolling in, taken back on the tide
We're balanced together, ocean upon the sky

Another night, in this strange town
Moonlight holding me light as down
Voice of confusion inside of me
Just begging to go back where I'm free
Feels like I'm through
Then the old man's words are true,
See the dog and butterfly
Up in the air he'd like to fly
Dog and butterfly,
Below, she had to try
She roll back down,
To the warm soft ground
With a little tear, in her eye
Yeah,
She had to try, she had to try
Dog and butterfly

Up in the air he'd like to fly
Dog and butterfly
Below, she had to try
And she roll back down,
To the warm soft ground
Laughing,
She don't know why
but she had to try,
she had to try
Dog and butterfly

Mullah Nasruddin's Donkey

2008-06-29T22:50:00.005-06:00

from Robert Anton Wilson's book, Cosmic Trigger I,

One day, the great and venerable Sufi sage, Mullah Nasruddin, was racing through the streets and alleyways of Baghdad, searching frantically for his lost donkey. The people became very excited, and went out to ask the great sage what he was looking for. Someone shouted out, "Mullah Nasruddin, what are you looking for?". The great sage responded, "I am searching for my lost donkey". Whereupon, the crowd replied back to the great sage, "Mullah Nasruddin, you are riding upon your donkey!".

Cosmic Trigger I, pg. 29,

We look for the Secret-the Philosopher's Stone, the Elixir of the Wise, Supreme Enlightenment, "God", or whatever the final answer might be-in all directions, north, east, south, and west, and all the time it is carrying us about.

Something to think about...

Great Goobledy-Goo !

2008-06-23T20:44:00.003-06:00

Sometimes when it's just too much; the school, the work, the misrepresentations, the maltreatment, the unfairness of it all, all a man can do finally, is just throw up his hands, and exclaim - "Great Goobledy-Goo!".

That was the catch phrase of Fred Sanford's good friend, Grady Wilson, on TV's "Sanford and Son" from the 1970's. It's still rerun on different cable channels apparently, and was really part of the golden age of television.

In the midst of less than fortunate news from school, frustrations at work, leading to feelings of malaise combined with stunned surprise, I found myself simply throwing my hands up at one point this past week, and just shouting out, "Great Goobledy-Goo!", just like Grady used to when Fred would spring on him some impossible, outrageous-sounding news. "Great Goobledy-Goo!" just seemed like the most appropriate response this week to the incredible, the bizarre, and the outrageous.

Grady (actually, the actor Whitman Mayo) was one of those great side characters who would just come in and steal the show, and I was always happy when he appeared on "Sanford and Son" because he was just so damn funny! He was a befuddled, confused older man, with a heart of gold, and an outrageous perception of the world around him. It seems that many of my generation still remember him (how funny!) for his show-stealing performances, and Wikipedia had this to say about the actor, Whitman Mayo:

In 1996, the show Late Night with Conan O'Brien wished to use him in a sketch, but were unable to locate him. The show then started a tongue-in-cheek search for Mayo called "Where's Grady?". After three weeks and over 50,000 calls to NBC from fans who claimed to have spotted him, Mayo finally appeared on Late Night with Conan O'Brien to a standing ovation from the audience, and the highest ratings Late Night with Conan O'Brien had seen in years. Mayo revealed that it was his mother who told him of the search after a repairman saw his picture in her house and told her she could be eligible for a reward.

Unfortunately, Whitman Mayo died in 2001, but Grady Wilson is still out there somewhere, exclaiming, "Great Goobledy-Goo!" to a new generation of TV viewers, at all of the infamous, nonsensical, bizarre news that people receive everyday. I say Great Goobledy-Goo to you too, Grady, wherever you are.

Ahora Entendi (Now I Understand)

2008-06-06T20:51:00.003-06:00

Ahora Entendi
Yuridia

(available on Itunes)

Nunca pense, quererte asi
(I never thought that I loved you like this)

Obsesionada te pedia para mi
(obsessed as I was that you asked for me)

No pregunte, solo te di
(I never asked, I only told you)

Lo que tenia fue asi
(how it had to be)

Que entendi
(How I understood)

Que no podia ser mas
(that it could never be more)

Que dejarte
(than for me to leave you)

He decidido empezar a olvidarte
(I have decided to begin to forget you)

Y te desesperada
(and with despair)

Hoy sigo buscando lentamente tu mirada
(I continue to search slowly for your glance)

Espera un segundo
(hoping for a second)

Y asi congelada
(and so it is frozen)

Me voy convenciendo que
(I am convinced that)

Entre ti y yo no habia nada
(between you and me there is nothing)

Y no encuentro el rumbo
(and I cannot find the path)

Y no encuentro el rumbo
(and I cannot find the path)

Aunque intente dejarte ir
(although I intended to leave you)

El universo te ponia frente a mi
(the universe put you in front of me)

Nunca pense
(I never thought)

Yo solo te di
(I only told you)

Lo que tenia fue asi
(how it had to be like this)

Que entendi
(That I understood)

Que no podia ser mas que dejarte
(that there was nothing more than to leave you)

He decidido empezar a olvidarte
(I had decided to begin to forget you)

Y desesperada
(and with despair)

Hoy sigo buscando lentamente tu mirada
(I continue searching slowly for your glance)

Y espera un segundo
(and hoping for a second)

Y asi congelada
(and so it is frozen)

Me voy convenciendo que
(I am convinced that)

Entre tu y yo no habia nada
(between you and me there is nothing)

Y no encuentro el rumbo
(and I cannot find the path)

Era un sueno verte entre mis brazos
(it was a dream to see you in my arms)

Y que tu amor llenara los espacios
(and your love filling the spaces)

Como hago para entender
(how it made me understand)

Donde guardo mi querer
(where I guard my love)

Y me olvido de tu piel
(and how I forgot your skin)

Y no encuentro el rumbo
(and I cannot find the path)

Nunca pense quererte asi
(I never though I would love you like this)

Ahora entendi que nunca fuiste para mi
(now I understood that you never felt that way for me)

What's She Up To?

2008-05-25T22:51:00.003-06:00

What is Hillary Clinton doing? Everyone is now saying that she has no shot whatsoever at the Democratic nomination, yet she still trudges on, claiming that she can still pull it out. Does she know something that we don't? (That's what kind of worries me). She's made several statements recently that she's "waiting for something to happen", presumably meaning, happen to Barack Obama and his campaign. Have they engineered something? To have that as your strategy, waiting for something to "happen" to the other guy, seems so blatantly obvious and disgusting, that it is just almost beyond words. I can't say I've ever seen anything like this, particularly in an intra-party contest between supposed team members. And the dirty tricks have all come from the Clinton campaign, whose candidate and staff just lies, lies, lies, all the livelong day! She was always against the war, she was always against NAFTA, she took sniper fire in Bosnia. The use of the race card - talking of the support of "hard-working white people", as if those other than white may not be so hard working, Geraldine Ferraro's "He's only come this far in the campaign because he's black", Hillary's "As far as I know, he's not a Muslim". When does it ever end? And now, after raising the spectre of assassination (which seems to be on a lot of people's minds lately - witness Mike Huckabee and his outrageous comments - are these people voicing some evil desire from deep within?) she's now trying to force her way onto the ticket, as the vice-presidential nominee, after all of that and so much more I haven't even mentioned?

Well, it's never going to happen for you, Hillary. In showing your true colors by the way you ran your vile campaign, there is no way that Barack Obama is going to place you next to him in the second slot. Hell, I'd fear for my well-being with someone like you even near me, and that man is just way to smart to place someone with absolutely no moral compass whatsoever only feet away from him. Your day and the Old Politics are over. The people have spoken, and it's time for you to go. Away. For a long, long time. Because only time will ever be able to rehabilitate the destruction you have done to your own reputation. Now, be gone!

Iris Chang 1968-2004

2008-05-11T23:41:00.005-06:00

I haven't written anything here for a while, and I don't know what to write about. I've really been just busy with work and school; and this week I've come to the determination that I will have to approach my workplace with the offer of working less, if I am ever to complete this thesis. Instead of letting time continue to drift by, I will have to make some changes this week, that's for sure. But, that's not too interesting, so I'll write a little about my trip to the San Francisco Bay area, 2 weeks ago. That was just a few days to rest and enjoy the sights, but as usual, it turned into an exhausting whirlwind of doing all things possible in three days. One of my objectives however, since I was in the area, was to visit the grave of someone whom I'd never met, but was much aware of. Her name was Iris Chang, and she was a journalist and historian, who killed herself in 2004. I remember looking at the news on the Internet in the fall of 2004, and being just so shocked to read of her death, and how it had happened. I had become aware of her a few years before, as a scholar who would appear on shows like C-Span and Booknotes, and I was much impressed by her fierceness and fearlessness in confronting her topics, which included her work, “The Rape of Nanking”, the pre-WWII atrocity committed on the city of that name by the Japanese army, and her determination to both bring such forgotten events of history to light, and to gain an apology for what had happened at Nanking to the Chinese people. She once confronted the Japanese ambassador to the U.S. on television, with a demand for an apology, and she was just so determined and driven in her work for such a young person. To read, as a graduate student, that someone I had looked up to as a role model, had taken her life on a lonely dirt road not far from her home, by shooting herself in the mouth, was such a shock, and I still remember to this day how I had turned to my advisor and told him of her story, and what she had now done to herself. She had seemed to have it all: family, good-looking, smart, a sky-rocketing career, and yet she had done this, directly out of the blue. It was unsettling, a shock, it made one question one's self in some ways. More recently, I had read a biography on her, and the prevailing thought now is that she was suffering from bipolar depression, which no one really had caught on to until the very end of her life. This may well have been true, but my personal opinion in reading about her life, is that she was an extreme perfectionist (which in some cases may be a symptom of bipolar depression), who could no longer go on, with the world knowing that she had been committed to a mental hospital for a short time in the weeks before her suicide, and that was also suffering from this condition of bipolar depression. She had always presented the image of perfection to the world in everything that she did, and yet she wasn't perfect. That I think, she could not live with, and that, I think, is probably the saddest thing of all. Her ultimately distorted image of herself was so much harsher than anything the world was putting or would have put on her, or at least I would hope, and so she killed herself, when it just didn't have to happen.

Now, Iris Chang rests in the Gate of Heaven Catholic cemetery in Los Altos, California, near San Jose, although she was neither Catholic not Christian, but rather an atheist, or at least an agnostic, never really the religious sort. She lies on a gently sloping hill, overlooking a beautiful crystal pool of water further down the slope, with trees growing about as if in an Arcadian paradise, and with the gentle rolling hills of California behind her, looking down upon her grave. Her gravestone reads, “Iris Chang, Beloved Wife and Mother, Author and Historian, Human Rights Activist, 3.28.1968-11.9.2004. Her grave, with a small photo portrait, is as simple as any of the others all around her. At least now she rests in peace, eternally gazing over that beautiful lake pool of water from the slope further above. After being able to visit with her for a very short time, her unsettling story and departure from this world still a mystery in some ways, I think that now I too may have gained just a little more peace perhaps, in this world.

Angels

2008-04-10T12:33:00.006-06:00

David Archuleta sang this song on American Idol this week (available on Itunes), and I really liked it, although it was a little difficult to understand some of the words. Well here are the words, from a song that apparently was originally sung by British pop superstar Robbie Williams.

I sit and wait
Does an angel contemplate my fate
And do they know
The places where we go
When we’re grey and old
‘cause I have been told
That salvation lets their wings unfold
So when I’m lying in my bed
Thoughts running through my head
And I feel that love is dead
I’m loving angels instead

And through it all she offers me protection
A lot of love and affection
Whether I’m right or wrong
And down the waterfall
Wherever it may take me
I know that life won’t break me
When I come to call she won’t forsake me
I’m loving angels instead

When I’m feeling weak
And my pain walks down a one way street
I look above
And I know I’ll always be blessed with love
And as the feeling grows
She breathes flesh to my bones
And when love is dead
I’m loving angels instead

And through it all
she offers me protection
A lot of love and affection
Whether I’m right or wrong
And down the waterfall
Wherever it may take me
I know that life won’t break me
When I come to call she won’t forsake me
I’m loving angels instead

And through it all
she offers me protection
A lot of love and affection
Whether I’m right or wrong
And down the waterfall
Wherever it may take me
I know that life won’t break me
When I come to call she won’t forsake me
I’m loving angels instead

Dominique

2008-04-01T00:05:00.011-06:00

This was one of my favorite songs as a kid. As a kid I thought it was about a little French girl. Turns out years later, I found out that it was about St. Dominic, traveling and preaching over the land, and converting the "heretics" (les Albigeois or Albigensians, a whole historical matter in itself). I found the original artist, the Singing Nun or Soeur Sourire (Sister Sourire), on Itunes, but the version there by Soeur Marie is actually closer to the arrangement I remember and still love (and is the better one to download). The English translation below is not exact (for rhyming reasons I suppose), but it is quite close.

Dominique, nique, nique s'en allait tout simplement
Routier pauvre et chantant
En tous chemins, en tous lieux
Il ne parle que du bon Dieu
Il ne parle que du bon Dieu

A l'e poque ou Jean-sans-Terre
De' Angleterre etait Roi
Dominique, notre Pere
Combattit les Albigeois

Dominique, nique, nique s'en allait tout simplement
Routier pauvre et chantant
En tous chemins, en tous lieux
Il ne parle que du bon Dieu
Il ne parle que du bon Dieu

Certains jours un heretique
Par des ronces le conduit
Mais notre pere Dominique
Par sa joie le convertit

Dominique, nique, nique s'en allait tout simplement
Routier pauvre et chantant
En tous chemins, en tous lieux
Il ne parle que du bon Dieu
Il ne parle que du bon Dieu

Ni chameau, ni diligence
Il parcout l'Europe a pied
Scandinavie ou Provence
Dans la sainte pauvrete

Dominique, nique, nique s'en allait tout simplement
Routier pauvre et chantant
En tous chemins, en tous lieux
Il ne parle que du bon Dieu
Il ne parle que du bon Dieu

Enflamma de toute ecole
Filles et garcons pleins d'ardeur
Et pour semer la Parole
Inventa les Freres-Precheurs

Dominique, nique, nique s'en allait tout simplement
Routier pauvre et chantant
En tous chemins, en tous lieux
Il ne parle que du bon Dieu
Il ne parle que du bon Dieu

Chez Dominique et ses freres
Le pain s'en vint a manquer
Et deux anges se presenterent
Portant de grands pains dores

Dominique, nique, nique s'en allait tout simplement
Routier pauvre et chantant
En tous chemins, en tous lieux
Il ne parle que du bon Dieu
Il ne parle que du bon Dieu

Dominique vit en reve
les precheurs du monde entier
Sous le manteau de la Vierge
en grand nombre rassembles
(Chorus)

Dominique mon bon Pere
garde-nous simples et gais
Pour annoncer a nos freres
la Vie et la Verite
(Chorus)

English -

Dominique, nique nique
o'er the land he plods along
and sings his little song
Never asking for reward
He just talks about the Lord
He just talks about the Lord

At a time when Johnny Lackland
over England was the King, Dominique
was in the backland,
fighting sin like anything

Dominique, nique nique
o'er the land he plods along
and sings his little song
Never asking for reward
He just talks about the Lord
He just talks about the Lord

Now a heretic, one day
Among the thorns forced him to crawl
Dominique with just one prayer,
Made him hear the good Lord's call
(To Chorus)

Without horse or fancy wagon,
He crossed Europe up and down
Poverty was his companion,
As he walked from town to town
(Chorus)

To bring back the straying liars
and the lost sheep to the fold
He brought forth the Preaching Friars,
Heaven's soldiers, brave and bold
(Chorus)

One day in the budding order,
There was nothing left to eat,
Suddenly two angels walked in
With a load of bread and meat
(Chorus)

Dominique once in his slumber
Saw the Virgin's coat unfurled
Over friars without number
Preaching all around the world
(Chorus)

Grant us now oh Dominique
The grace of love and simple mirth
That we all may help to quicken
Godly life and truth on earth
(Chorus)

Vatican Updates Its Thou-Shalt-Not List

2008-03-10T23:00:00.002-06:00

By FRANCES D'EMILIO, Associated Press Writer

VATICAN CITY - In olden days, the deadly sins included lust, gluttony and greed. Now, the Catholic Church says pollution, mind-damaging drugs and genetic experiments are on its updated thou-shalt-not list. Also receiving fresh attention by the Vatican was social injustice, along the lines of the age-old maxim: "The rich get richer while the poor get poorer."

In the Vatican's latest update on how God's law is being violated in today's world, Monsignor Gianfranco Girotti, the head of the Apostolic Penitentiary, was asked by the Vatican newspaper L'Osservatore Romano what, in his opinion, are the "new sins."

He cited "violations of the basic rights of human nature" through genetic manipulation, drugs that "weaken the mind and cloud intelligence," and the imbalance between the rich and the poor.

Apparently, Jesus faxed this in recently from General Headquarters to the junior branches here on Earth. He felt that the old deadly sins were, "so 20th century", according to one source. Glad to see that "being trendy, fashionable, and keepin' it real" has not been designated as a sin, at least not as of yet!

Krazy Aights

2008-03-02T23:16:00.002-07:00

8 Things I’m Passionate About:

1. The welfare of children (copied from Willowtree, but true for me too!)

2. Fairness

3. Accuracy in thought and scholarship (i.e., hearing that Barack Obama is a Muslim, and then just running with it, would be one counter-example of just stupidness. Also, assuming that being Muslim is a problem; it is not.)

4. Reading (Russian novelists like Dostoyevsky and Tolstoy on one end, crazy UFO stuff on the other end of the spectrum)

5. Buying bargain books for reading at the Tattered Cover

6. Travel and learning about others - More of this by more of us, would lead to less of #3

7. Lasagna

8. That there is only one race, which is the human race, and that we are all related and have a common origin. Anthropology teaches me this, scientifically, and the best of Buddhism and Christianity confirm it for me, philosophically.

8 Things I Want To Do Before I Die:

1. Go to France
2. Get out of graduate school, for good
3. Hike the Appalachian Trail
4. Road trip across America
5. Teach young minds to be the best that they can be
6. Complete a Ph.D., maybe
7. Realize that a Ph.D. may not be all that it's cracked up to be
8. Read all of the classic literature that I haven't got to yet

8 Things I Often Say:

1. Get out of the city! (from Balki Bartakomous)
2. Wuh?
3. Wha Happened? (from A Mighty Wind)
4. Huh?
5. Ya better check yourself, before ya wreck yourself!
6. That's so stupid!
7. Are you going to eat that?
8. See that stop sign, genius?

8 Books I’ve Recently Read (°Or Am Still Reading; *Or want to read really soon):

1. Against The Day -Thomas Pynchon

2. Anna Karennina - Leo Tolstoy

3. Crime and Punishment - Fyodor Dostoyevsky

4. Short Stories of Anton Chekov

5. Liberating the Gospels - John Shelby Spong (reading now)

6. Gang Leader For A Day - Subrir Venkatesh

7. Confrontation At Lepanto - TCF Hopkins

8. My Battle of Algiers - Ted Morgan

8 Songs I Could Listen To Over And Over:

1. Always and Forever - Heatwave
2. Arms of the Angel - Sara McLachlan
3. Don't Know Why - Norah Jones
4. Melissa - Allman Bros.
5. One More Silver Dollar - Allman Bros.
6. Don't Think Twice, It's Alright - Bob Dylan
7. Wichita Lineman - Glen Campbell
8. Mainstreet - Bob Seger

8 Things That Attract Me To My Best Friends:

1. Intelligence
2. Caring
3. Kind heartedness
4. Curiosity
5. Humour
6. Courage
7. Open-minded
8. Independent

Down At The Twist And Shout

2008-02-23T16:22:00.005-07:00

When I went to New Orleans last October, I listened almost exclusively to KLRZ 100.3 FM-"The Rajun Cajun" radio station (http://www.klrzfm.com). This song reminds of that, and of Louisiana.

Down At The Twist And Shout
Mary Chapin-Carpenter

See the video here:
http://www.singingfool.com/?publishedid=226354

Saturday night and the moon is out
I wanna head on over to the Twist and Shout
Find a two-step partner and a Cajun beat
When it lifts me up I'm gonna find my feet
Out in the middle of a big dance floor
When I hear that fiddle wanna beg for more
Wanna dance to a band from a-Lou'sian' tonight

Well I never have wandered down to New Orleans
Never have drifted down a bayou stream
But I heard that music on the radio
And I swore some day I was gonna go
Down Highway 10 past Lafayette
To Baton Rouge and I won't forget
To send you a card with my regrets
'Cause I'm never gonna come back home

Saturday night and the moon is out
I wanna head on over to the Twist and Shout
Find a two-step partner and a Cajun beat
When it lifts me up I'm gonna find my feet
Out in the middle of a big dance floor
When I hear that fiddle wanna beg for more
Wanna dance to a band from a-Lou'sian' tonight

They got a alligator stew and a crawfish pie
A Gulf storm blowin' into town tonight
Livin on the delta's quite a show
They got hurricane parties every time it blows
But here up north it's a cold cold rain
And there ain't no cure for my blues today
Except when the paper says: Beausoleil is coming into town
Baby let's go down

Saturday night and the moon is out
I wanna head on over to the Twist and Shout
Find a two-step partner and a Cajun beat
When it lifts me up I'm gonna find my feet
Out in the middle of a big dance floor
When I hear that fiddle wanna beg for more
Wanna dance to a band from a-Lou'sian' tonight

Bring your mama, bring your papa, bring your sister too
They got lots of music and lots of room
When they play you a waltz from 1910
You gonna feel a little bit young again
Well you learned to dance with your rock'n'roll
You learned to swing with a do-si-do
But you learn to love at the fais-do-do
When you hear a little Jolie Blon

Saturday night and the moon is out
I wanna head on over to the Twist and Shout
Find a two-step partner and a Cajun beat
When it lifts me up I'm gonna find my feet
Out in the middle of a big dance floor
When I hear that fiddle wanna beg for more
Wanna dance to a band from a-Lou'sian' tonight

Gentle On My Mind

2008-02-20T10:54:00.002-07:00

Gentle On My Mind
Glen Campbell

It's knowin' that your door is always open
And your path is free to walk
That makes me tend to leave my sleepin' bag
Rolled up and stashed behind your couch
And it's knowin' I'm not shackled
By forgotten words and bonds
And the ink stains that have dried upon some line
That keeps you in the back roads
By the rivers of my memory
That keeps you ever gentle on my mind

It's not clingin' to the rocks and ivy
Planted on their columns now that bind me
Or something that somebody said because
They thought we fit together walkin'
It's just knowing that the world
Will not be cursing or forgiving
When I walk along some railroad track and find
That you're movin' on the back roads
By the rivers of my memory
And for hours you're just gentle on my mind

Though the wheat fields and the clothes lines
And the junkyards and the highways come between us
And some other woman's cryin' to her mother
'cause she turned and I was gone
I still might run in silence
Tears of joy might stain my face
And the summer sun might burn me till I'm blind
But not to where I cannot see
You walkin' on the back roads
By the rivers flowin' gentle on my mind

I dip my cup of soup back from a gurglin' cracklin' cauldron
In some train yard
My beard a rustlin' coal pile
And a dirty hat pulled low across my face
Through cupped hands 'round a tin can
I pretend to hold you to my breast and find
That you're waitin' from the back roads
By the rivers of my memory
Ever smilin', ever gentle on my mind

"Amy"

2008-02-09T18:11:00.000-07:00

"Amy"
Pure Prairie League

I can see why you think you belong to me
I never tried to make you think, or let you see one thing for yourself
But now your off with someone else and I'm alone
You see I thought that I might keep you for my own

Amy, what you wanna do?
I think I could stay with you
For a while, maybe longer if I do

Don't you think the time is right for us to find
All the things we thought weren't proper could be right in time
And can you see
Which way we should turn together or alone
I can never see what's right or what is wrong
(will it take to long to see)

Amy, what you wanna do?
I think I could stay with you
For a while, maybe longer if I do

(Acoustic solo)

Well, now
Amy, what you wanna do?
I think I could stay with you
For a while, maybe longer if I do

Now it's come to what you want you've had your way
And all the things you thought before just faded into gray
And can you see
That I don't know if it's you or if it's me
If it's one of us I'm sure we'll both will see
Won't you look at me and tell me

Amy, what you wanna do?
I think I could stay with you
For a while, maybe longer
Longer, if I do

Yeah, now
Amy, what you wanna do?
I think I could stay with you
For a while, maybe longer if I do

Fallin' in and out of love with you
Fallin' in and out of love with you
Don't know what I'm gonna do, I keep
Fallin' in and out of love
With you

Barack Obama Wins Presidency of the United States!!!

2008-02-05T22:30:00.000-07:00

With the caucus polling in Colorado indicating that Barack Obama has defeated Hillary Clinton here by a more than a 2 to 1 margin, winning 65% to Hillary's 35% of the apportioned delegates here, I have projected that Barack Obama will ultimately win the presidency of the United States!! Yes, there's still some more states to go after Super Tuesday, and California may well go to Clinton tonight, but the momentum in the coming months is now with Obama, and it seems that the Obama team has raised a lot more money to date, than has team Hillary's side (and I sent him some money too!). As well, there's still a lot of big states left like Ohio, Florida, Texas, and so on. And meanwhile, it still seems that no one is caring what the Republicans are doing on the other end. One of the old guys seems to be winning; I think his name is McCain or something. I project that he will fall asleep during the upcoming debates with Obama, and that Obama will then ultimately appoint him as govt. liason to the AARP.

I'm very proud that my state delivered the Democratic victory to Barack Obama here by such a huge margin, and that I was able to play a small part in that victory here. As once again, Obama has been able to turn out unprecedented crowds to see him, caucus for him, or vote for him, I think that his ability to turn out new and newer participants in the election process will be the key to his ultimate victory in November. Change is on the way!

Martin and Bobby

2008-01-20T12:14:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow I will participate, for the first time, in the annual Martin Luther King, Jr. march in Denver, CO. I'm somewhat embarrassed to say, "for the first time", as it has always seemed that things such as work or other scheduling issues, have prevented my participation in the past. Well, not tomorrow. I have taken the morning off from work for the march and for the speeches at City Park and Civic Center Park. It is supposed to be about 16 degrees above zero tomorrow, so I will be "marching" rapidly, in order to build up the ol' body heat. Dr. King followed a tradition that goes back to Leo Tolstoy, and then Mahatma Gandhi, regarding the issue of nonviolence and opposition to violent actions such as war. He studied the works of both of these men, and incorporated them into his own thoughts and works on the issues of nonviolence and racial justice in this nation. In addition to his work on civil rights for all in this country (sorry, Hillary - but his work was in fact more important than LBJ's subsequent passing of civil rights legislation, as that never would have happened without MLK's being a prime catalyst for it), Dr. King was in great opposition to the Vietnam War, and was on the verge of leading an even wider movement in the nation that focused more upon class issues, planning a Poor People's March on Washington, when he was taken away from us. I've been reading Daniel Ellsberg's (the govt. analyst who leaked the Pentagon Papers to the NY Times, revealing the lies of the Vietnam War) memoir on his life and the war in Vietnam, "Secrets", and am struck by the parallels between that time and now, with regard to our involvement in yet another unjust, immoral action. Here are just a few statistics which usually don't come to light, concerning our involvement in the occupation of Iraq, courtesy of Iraq War Results & Statistics as of Jan 2, 2008

Iraqi Civilians Killed, Estimated - A UN issued report dated Sept 20, 2006 stating that Iraqi civilian casualities have been significantly under-reported. Casualties are reported at 50,000 to over 100,000, but may be much higher. Some informed estimates place Iraqi civilian casualities at over 600,000.

Troops in Iraq - Total 170,961, including 160,000 from the US, 4,500 from the UK, 2,000 from Georgia, 900 from Poland, 650 from South Korea and 2,911 from all other nations

US Troop Casualities - 3,905 US troops; 98% male. 90% non-officers; 80% active duty, 12% National Guard; 74% Caucasian, 10% African-American, 11% Latino. 18% killed by non-hostile causes. 51% of US casualties were under 25 years old. 70% were from the US Army

Non-US Troop Casualties - Total 307, with 174 from the UK

US Troops Wounded - 28,822, 20% of which are serious brain or spinal injuries (total excludes psychological injuries)

US Troops with Serious Mental Health Problems - 30% of US troops develop serious mental health problems within 3 to 4 months of returning home

Private Contractors in Iraq, Working in Support of US Army Troops - More than 180,000 in August 2007, per The Nation/LA Times.

Daily Insurgent Attacks, Feb 2004 - 14

Daily Insurgent Attacks, July 2005 - 70

Daily Insurgent Attacks, May 2007 - 163

Estimated Insurgency Strength, Nov 2003 - 15,000

Estimated Insurgency Strength, Oct 2006 - 20,000 - 30,000

Estimated Insurgency Strength, June 2007 - 70,000

QUALITY OF LIFE INDICATORS

Iraqis Displaced Inside Iraq, by Iraq War, as of May 2007 - 2,255,000

Iraqi Refugees in Syria & Jordan - 2.1 million to 2.25 million

Iraqi Unemployment Rate - 27 to 60%, where curfew not in effect

Consumer Price Inflation in 2006 - 50%

Iraqi Children Suffering from Chronic Malnutrition - 28% in June 2007 (Per CNN.com, July 30, 2007)

Percent of professionals who have left Iraq since 2003 - 40%

Iraqi Physicians Before 2003 Invasion - 34,000

Iraqi Physicians Who Have Left Iraq Since 2005 Invasion - 12,000

Iraqi Physicians Murdered Since 2003 Invasion - 2,000

Average Daily Hours Iraqi Homes Have Electricity - 1 to 2 hours, per Ryan Crocker, U.S. Ambassador to Iraq (Per Los Angeles Times, July 27, 2007)

Average Daily Hours Iraqi Homes Have Electricity - 10.9 in May 2007

Average Daily Hours Baghdad Homes Have Electricity - 5.6 in May 2007

Pre-War Daily Hours Baghdad Homes Have Electricity - 16 to 24

Number of Iraqi Homes Connected to Sewer Systems - 37%

Iraqis without access to adequate water supplies - 70% (Per CNN.com, July 30, 2007)

Water Treatment Plants Rehabilitated - 22%

Tomorrow will be a day to remember and honor Dr. King, as well as Robert F. Kennedy, to remember all of those who died in Vietnam and Iraq, and to begin the work for change so that such tragedies will not be allowed to happen again. 16 degrees, suddenly, doesn't seem so cold now.

It's Barack, Baby!!!

2008-01-03T23:26:00.000-07:00

Barack Obama has won the Iowa Caucuses tonight on the Democratic side, with John Edwards taking second and Hillary Clinton in the third position close behind. On the Republican side, Mike Huckabee wins in Iowa with Mitt Romney taking second, and no one really cares, because no one wants Republicans in the White House for a very long time. This is great news, because the more I think about it, the more that I feel that Hillary Clinton will not be electable against a Republican candidate due to how she is perceived by right and wacky far-right voters in this country. And, I've increasingly come to see her as the Democratic candidate of Big Money and the status quo, essentially as a corporatist that many Republicans could actually deal with, were she to be elected. Where as with Barack Obama and John Edwards, a vote for either of these men is certainly a vote for a new direction for this nation. Obama is such an impressive figure, despite his lack of political experience (which actually may be a plus), who is an intellectual giant (oh, how refreshing that would be!) and who brings back excitement for real change unseen since the days of John and Bobby Kennedy in the 1960's. And John Edwards has definitely burned all of his bridges with Big Money, vowing to take this country back from corporations which only seek to enrich themselves at the expense of democracy itself in this nation. I can't remember when I have heard a politician speak the truth about how corporate elites have taken the nation away from its roots, and down a road that comes dangerously close to fascism, a word Edwards has not used as far as I know, but who clearly expresses such ideas in his populist speeches. Both of these men would be fantastic choices for this nation, and can you just imagine an Obama/Edwards, Edwards/Obama ticket for the top two offices? Especially against say for instance, "old man" John McCain and "Grandpa" Fred Thompson? No, a new day is coming after these last seven years, and America (as well as the rest of the world, I'm sure) both deserves and is ready for it!

Diamonds and Rust

2007-12-17T18:05:00.001-07:00

GC pointed this song out to me, which now that I take a look at the lyrics, I would say is a companion song to "Like A Rolling Stone", in a way, done 10 yrs. later (1975). References to the "Madonna and the half-shell" and her sheltering of the "vagabond", are clearly references to the relationship between Joan Baez and Bob Dylan in the early/mid 60's. It's generally considered her best written work, and it just blew me away when I read these words today for the first time.

Diamonds and Rust
Joan Baez

Well I'll be damned
Here comes your ghost again
But that's not unusual
It's just that the moon is full
And you happened to call
And here I sit
Hand on the telephone
Hearing a voice I'd known
A couple of light years ago
Heading straight for a fall

As I remember your eyes
Were bluer than robin's eggs
My poetry was lousy you said
Where are you calling from?
A booth in the midwest
Ten years ago
I bought you some cufflinks
You brought me something
We both know what memories can bring
They bring diamonds and rust

Well you burst on the scene
Already a legend
The unwashed phenomenon
The original vagabond
You strayed into my arms
And there you stayed
Temporarily lost at sea
The Madonna was yours for free
Yes the girl on the half-shell
Would keep you unharmed

Now I see you standing
With brown leaves falling around
And snow in your hair
Now you're smiling out the window
Of that crummy hotel
Over Washington Square
Our breath comes out white clouds
Mingles and hangs in the air
Speaking strictly for me
We both could have died then and there

Now you're telling me
You're not nostalgic
Then give me another word for it
You who are so good with words
And at keeping things vague
Because I need some of that vagueness now
It's all come back too clearly
Yes I loved you dearly
And if you're offering me diamonds and rust
I've already paid

Like A Rolling Stone

2007-12-09T18:46:00.000-07:00

I'm really interested in things like turning point moments; those events that occur when everything changes. Well, this song is one of those turning point moments. Before this song went out on the airwaves in 1965, popular music was basically, "hey baby baby", or "you're so fine be mine", or "sha la la la", but when this came out, the doors were blown open. It was really the first time in popular music that someone had written and sang a personalized song, about personal things, and in such a way that others could then relate to it, though each in their own way. Their simply was not a song like this prior to its release, and many still feel that it is the greatest song in popular rock music. I say it's still much better than pretty much anything out there today; a lyrical and melodic complete package. Just listen to that organ, real musicians were playing on this song. The song was in fact chosen recently as the greatest rock song of all time. 1965 was the year that Dylan went electric, and said goodbye to the folk music, a great controversy at the time, and this was the song he went electric with. Many have speculated on the meaning, if any, of the song. Personally, I think he was talking to the person who really gave him his break and made him a name, folk singer Joan Baez (no one ever said that Dylan was the most compassionate or thoughtful person. "Thinking", but not thoughtful). He was so frustrated with how they wouldn't let him break away from the folk music, and his one-time partner Joan Baez symbolized all of that for him. He really didn't do her right, but I guess he's human, like the rest of us. If you ever wondered where today's modern popular music derived from as we now know it, then this is the song from which it all started.

Like A Rolling Stone
Bob Dylan

Once upon a time you dressed so fine
You threw the bums a dime in your prime, didn't you?
People'd call, say, "Beware doll, you're bound to fall"
You thought they were all kiddin' you
You used to laugh about
Everybody that was hangin' out
Now you don't talk so loud
Now you don't seem so proud
About having to be scrounging for your next meal

How does it feel?
How does it feel?
To be without a home
Like a complete unknown
Like a rolling stone

You've gone to the finest school all right, Miss Lonely
But you know you only used to get juiced in it
And nobody has ever taught you how to live on the street
And now you find out you're gonna have to get used to it
You said you'd never compromise
With the mystery tramp, but now you realize
He's not selling any alibis
As you stare into the vacuum of his eyes
And ask him do you want to make a deal?

How does it feel?
How does it feel?
To be on your own
With no direction home
Like a complete unknown
Like a rolling stone

You never turned around to see the frowns on the jugglers and the clowns
When they all come down and did tricks for you
You never understood that it ain't no good
You shouldn't let other people get your kicks for you
You used to ride on the chrome horse with your diplomat
Who carried on his shoulder a Siamese cat
Ain't it hard when you discover that
He really wasn't where it's at
After he took from you everything he could steal

How does it feel
How does it feel
To be on your own
With no direction home
Like a complete unknown
Like a rolling stone

Princess on the steeple and all the pretty people
They're drinkin', thinkin' that they got it made
Exchanging all kinds of precious gifts and things
But you'd better lift your diamond ring, you'd better pawn it babe
You used to be so amused
At Napoleon in rags and the language that he used
Go to him now, he calls you, you can't refuse
When you got nothing, you got nothing to lose
You're invisible now, you got no secrets to conceal

How does it feel?
How does it feel?
To be on your own
With no direction home
Like a complete unknown
Like a rolling stone

We Are Experiencing Technical Difficulties...

2007-11-24T15:23:00.001-07:00

As my laptop blew up weeks ago, again, (and in the middle of my exams!), I've had limited access to the Web as of late. I have yet another laptop at home which runs only on a Linux CD, and amazingly, allows me internet access via a wireless network. The thing though, is that I don't pay for a wireless network, and it seems that I am able to tap into one nearby, fairly often, but also with occasionally being unable to connect at times as well. Hopefully, all of that will soon be over, as I've ordered a used IBM Thinkpad from Ebay. All of the stats on this laptop seemed fairly good to me, at least for my limited purposes, with the exception of the RAM capability seeming a little low, but I figured everything else included made up for that issue. But, if anyone knows how to increase RAM on a laptop, please let me know! I don't think it will be an issue, my other laptops had fairly low RAM, and it wasn't a problem, but just in case . I've heard that computers take virtual memory from available hardisk space when additional RAM is needed, so that should be ok for this laptop, which will have a lot of HD space available. Wikipedia seemed to have pretty good things to say about Thinkpads in terms of durability and reliability, so hopefully this one will last a little while longer!

When I do get the laptop through the mail, I need to really begin working on my thesis project, which will have to do with New Orleans and Hurricane Katrina. One of my ideas was to interview Katrina evacuees whom have settled in the Denver area, as to their experiences before and after the devastation wrought by the hurricane (and more probably wrought by a woefully inadequate levee system in New Orleans - courtesy of the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers). This would be an ethnographic-type study of several of these families, with Critical Theory and a critique of the neoliberalist model ("free-market" solutions) as being inadequate for such diasasters as occurred during Katrina. The other possibility might have to do with actually living and working (on my thesis, that is) in New Orleans, as a part of a project my faculty advisor is currently attempting to get going. The thing on this though is that I don't know a lot of the details as of yet, as I have not seen the grant proposal he has written concerning the details. Apparently that is in the hands of a colleague still, so I don't know what it would entail. I've heard that it could include living in one of the "gutted" properties (as we wouldn't pay rent that way), and I don't know exactly what that would mean. At a minimum, I at least need water, for heaven's sake! I would love to spend a longer period of time though in New Orleans than I already have; I just have fear that anything that we do is probably not going to stop the eventual condemnation of a lot of private property, for the purposes of business and investment. We really need the right "juice" in order to get the attention and pull the proper levers, that will affect a "rebuilding" of the city, and not a "remaking". I am more and more interested in the campaign of John Edwards for President in this regard, as he seems to be the only candidate who has shown an interest in New Orleans, making several trips to the city, and has actually made the rebuilding of the city a plank in his proposed policy platforms. I more and more also like his continuous challenges to big-business (he's the Anti-Hillary, in this sense; taking no corporate/lobbyist donations); but can he take it all the way, or will he be forever labeled as the "Breck Girl" (because of his hair and looks) by the Repugnicans? It seems like the media has already anointed Hillary and Rudy Giuliani as the only possible real candidates for the presidential race, but that's only Big Business expressing its hegemonic opinion.I would certainly vote for a Breck Girl, if she would only rebuild New Orleans, that's for sure.

The City That Care Forgot

2007-10-08T00:13:00.000-06:00

I just got back from a four-day trip to New Orleans a few days ago. I've long wanted to go there, even before Hurricane Katrina, but more recently I've wanted to go there to see how things have changed, or not changed, in the past two years. One of the other nicknames for the city is The Big Easy, which seems somewhat fitting with its long and not so crystalline history, but The City That Care Forgot may perhaps be the most fitting of its many nicknames right now. I was prepared for some sense of devastation in at least parts of the city, from following accounts of the rebuilding process going on in the media. What I was not really prepared for however, was the scope and extent of the damage that still remains, even two years later. Even in the so-called more developed parts of the city, it seems that every time you turn a corner, or come upon the next block, you still see the remnants of Katrina. Roofs partially collapsing on apartment buildings. Walls on buildings and shopping centers, collapsed. Entire shopping centers, boarded up. Grocery stores boarded up. And the famous red X's, listing the numbers of bodies found in houses, are still found on houses and buildings throughout the city. Some of these, I believe, are left in place, almost as badges of honor, in effect saying, “Yeah, we survived Katrina. We are still here”. Some are still on buildings long ago abandoned now. This, is the “better” part of the city, or more specifically of Orleans Parrish proper. As you travel out to the Ninth Ward, the now famous Lower Ninth Ward, and adjacent St. Bernard Parrish, you see that the Ninth Ward has partially come back, (but seems still poverty stricken, with many abandoned homes, in a tightly packed and at times, dangerous area), while The Lower Ninth, which has now become infamous, but seems to have been at least at one time a decent working-class area with small homes and lawns (and less cramped than the Ninth Ward), is now 90% abandoned, with its former residents strung around across the country today. The Lower Ninth is probably the most impacted and affected area of New Orleans as a result of the devastation of Katrina, and it looks there as if the storm and flooding had went through mere months, and not years ago, now.

St.Bernard Parrish, adjacent to the Lower Ninth, is a predominantly white community, which although affected in much the same way as the Lower Ninth was, seems to be in a better state of recovery, even though many abandoned homes still exist in neighborhoods there as well. This is most likely because these people had things like insurance on their homes, whereas in the Lower Ninth (as I was told by a resident) many homeowners had passed down their property from generation to generation, which presumably has led in at least some cases to lack of paperwork on home ownership, which is needed in order to receive government as well as non-profit aid and assistance. Combine all of this with the infamous political and power structure of New Orleans and Louisiana, something that did not just arise, but has long been an intrinsic historical component of this area, and you have, big big problems. I asked a Lower Ninth Ward resident at a local market still running, what, in his opinion, could be done. He looked over his neighborhood, taking several seconds, to say, “I don't know, I don't know...”. In being there, I knew what he meant. The scope and extent of the destruction seems so large, so incomprehensible in many ways, that one is just struck dumb as to what can really even be done. My own suggestion was that what was needed was a massive, Federally-centered rebuilding project; something on a scale never seen before in out country. I truly believe that such a project could serve as an economic stimulus to the city and the region, and that the Federal government is the only entity large enough to undertake such a project. It would be on the level of how our national highway system was built, a large, centrally planned project aimed at rebuilding one of America's greatest cities. The Lower Ninth resident responded that this would be wonderful, but that it also in fact, was only a “a fairy tale”, something that is not going to happen. The political will is not there for what is really needed, and I'm afraid that the man was devastatingly right, in his assessment of the situation.

I bought some t-shirts in the French Quarter in New Orleans, on Bourbon Street. I was the only person in the gift shop at the time, except for the store clerk. I picked up a t-shirt that said, “Rebuild New Orleans” on it, inside of a fleur-de-lys symbol. As I held up the shirt to look at it, the female clerk behind me began to sob, and then cry quietly. It took me several seconds to be able to turn around myself, after this, and face her in order to pay for my items. It seems that emotions are running quite high, even still, in the city that care forgot.

Should the "Mad Man" be allowed to speak?

2007-09-23T19:09:00.000-06:00

Hoo Hoo! Ha Ha! ho ho ha ha! hee hee ho ho!....(ahem.)

Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is scheduled to address students at Columbia University in New York on Monday, September 24. There's a lot of controversy as to whether he should be allowed to speak at Columbia, and a desired visit to the site of the former World Trade Center has all but been ruled out already. Should Ahmadinejad be allowed to speak at Columbia? My initial reply to that question was, yes, of course he should. That's what we're supposed to be all about, right? Freedom of speech, even for those whose views we may find to be less than palatable? I have to admit though that I had to rethink this afterward, given known Iranian support for such groups as Hezbollah in Lebanon and its rocket attacks upon Israel. Even that support though, is itself controversial, as they say that one man's terrorist is another man's freedom fighter. Ultimately though, when I considered the illegal U.S. occupation of Iraq, and the tens of thousands of deaths that have occurred as a result of that unfortunate decision, not to mention a long history of U.S. illegal interference in the affairs of other nations, I came to the conclusion that this is a case of "the pot calling the kettle black", and that it would be the ultimate in hypocrisy to attempt to deny Ahmadinejad the privilege of speaking at an American university based upon supposed involvement in terrorist activities. If involvement in "terrorist activities" is a criterion regarding a right to speak freely in the United States, then the U.S. government had better arrest itself immediately, go straight to jail, and definitely not go past GO, and not collect $100. And maybe sell off Park Place, if we haven't already sold it off to the Saudis that is. In watching 60 Minutes on Sunday, it was kind of ridiculous in watching the American reporter lay at Ahmadinejad's feet a litany of charges of wrongdoing, particularly with regard to Iranian involvement in Iraq. Hello, we are like 7,000 miles away from Iraq, and we have 160,000 troops there!!! The faux outrage at the nerve of Ahmadinejad to be playing a role in the current conflict going on within Iraq, by a direct neighbor, is laughable! People will eat this stuff up though here in America. Hugo Chavez, Mahmoud Ahmedinejad, Fidel Castro, Evo Morales in Bolivia; they're all just some crazy brown people trying to take us over here in the United States, just like those crazy North Vietnamese Communists were trying to take us over in the 60's and 70's. We didn't win that illegal war, yet they didn't try to make us into Communists either, surprisingly enough! As Desi Arnaz used to say to Lucy (who here represents the U.S. govt.), "Lucy, you got some 'splainin' to do!"

Ahmadinejad has made some outrageous statements in the past, particularly with regard to Israel. The thing is though, Iran is like that kid that's always talking smack, about what he's gonna do, how bad he is, etc, etc. Israel, though, is that kid that can kick your ass, and everyone in the neighborhood knows it. At least for know, Israel can handle its own affairs in that neighborhood, and it doesn't need America to do its fighting for it; it's quite capable of doing its own. And, when Ahmadinejad is not engaged in the outrageous rhetoric (which we have a tendency of replaying over and over, statements from sometime back now, as if he just said them yesterday), I have found him to be quite lucid and direct in his communications to the West, as with his famous letter to Bush from last year. It's somewhat obvious that he's trying to stave off an attack from the truly mad Bush Administration within the next several months, by a direct appeal to the American people. I, for one, would like to hear what he has to say, and if I can't find a live feed of the Columbia event on Monday night, then I'm sure it will be up on YouTube fairly shortly thereafter.

El Laberinto Del Fauno (Pan's Labyrinth)

2007-09-16T12:08:00.000-06:00

What an amazing film. I finally got to see this after waiting weeks and weeks for my name to move down the long wait list at the local library. My friend Willowtree has an excellent review of this film that she wrote on June 6, 2007, something I could not improve upon, so I will describe more of my feelings about the film itself. In reading the Wikipedia entry on the film, a fellow director of Labyrinth's director, Guillermo del Toro, describes the film as "very Catholic" (although del Toro himself prefers "profane" - surely in the sense of earthly, and the here and now, as opposed to the "sacred" of the otherworldly). Coming from a Catholic backround, at least nominally, I can see such a description quite plainly throughout the storyline, and most certainly in the final scenes (which look much like a Catholic Mass altar, writ large). It is a story of innocence, courage, and redemption, so it is very much within the Catholic/Christian tradition. The pre-Catholic mythical aspects of the film though, with fauns and fairies, and other mythical creatures, hearkens back to a pre-Christian Europe, when the Old Religion still held sway, and when Pan the nature deity, ruled over forests full of the spirits and forces of the natural world. One of the many deeper allegories evoked by this film is how we have long become disconnected from the natural world, and therefore cannot relate with what folklorist and scholar Mircea Eliade called the "enchantment" of the world when such beliefs, including the very embodiment of spiritual existence as being at one with the natural realm, ruled supreme. Science and modern lifestyles have done away with much of that, leaving us only an existential, bleak landscape. Films such as this though, evoke that lost enchantment, and tell us that through things such as art and creation, the hope for such worlds can still go on. As well, the word "myth", according to folklorist Joseph Campbell, describes not a story which is untrue, but in fact refers to the story of those things that have the most deepest of meanings to human beings, and therefore serve for us in reality, as the highest of truths. When Ofelia creates a doorway with chalk, or sees her future in the book of blank pages, we can see that the world of myth and enchantment can have effects in the real world, and at times can even serve as a "necessity" for survival.

Another aspect I really liked about the film was how the fascist regime of Francisco Franco's Spain was paralled against the mythical world of the little girl, Ofelia. This to me was another allegory for a real world full of much pain and suffering, juxtaposed against a mythical world where hope still perhaps might be found. Ofelia was able to retreat from the oppression surrounding her into a world so real that it was able to carry her through, to her final, if unfortunate destiny. Even here though, the film provides hope, a hope that innocence can conquer evil, one day here on earth, as with the Resistance to Franco's evil regime, as well as beyond, through the love of Ofelia for her missing father, her love being her very "essence", as described in the film when she is tested by the faun to see if she has maintained such "essence"; and with whom she, in her last dying moments, is ultimately reunited with in the most glorious of ways. There was a line in the film by the faun, who says at one point something to the effect of,"by knowing of that which is missing or absent from us, we are in that way assured of its very real and true essence." I think that this may now be my most favorite film of all time.

Vote for Pedro

2007-09-13T22:20:00.000-06:00

Napoleon Dynamite - next time I'm voting for Pedro!

Looks like I have a troll (also called a lurker?) on this blog. Fascinated by me, and every word I write it seems. Too bad it's a dude. That's kind of weird, the dude part, I mean, huh? Being as this blog I'm sure is regularly filtered through Homeland Security and the National Security Agency, they probably already have his IP location locked up. Maybe he'll earn a nice trip to Romania; I hear it's just lovely out there this time of year!

Speaking of renditions, you may have noticed how I have let up on 'ol Bush & Co. as of late. I think I simply became worn out at saying the same old things, over and over. Maybe it has done some good though; now about 70% of Americans are against the occupation of Iraq, as opposed to about maybe 35% or so when I started this blog. Not that this reversal is entirely due to my blogging (did you think that it was, cheeky monkies? - Mike Myers used to say that!). I told a friend the other day that I now really did believe that we are under an early form of American fascism. The Democratic Congress has essentially caved in to all of Bush's illegal demands. The same Democratic Congress that we put into power in 2006 through all of our hard work. It's very disconcerting. No one, not the media, no one, is standing up in a prominent way and saying that the Emperor has no clothes, as in the children's tale. The lies have just continued on and on; Iraq was always meant to be a client state of the U.S., as West Germany was, or South Korea still is, with permanent, massive U.S. military bases now being built there for a long-term occupation. It was a lie that we went to liberate the Iraqis; in fact we went over to force them under the U.S. umbrella of occupation, in order to satisfy neocon fantasies. They're still lying, up unto this very day.

Bush has to be impeached before his term is out, or he will just hand off this disaster to the Democrats, and it will then become their war, their occupation; the war they enabled throughout the final term of the Bush Administration. This seems like it is not going to happen though, unless Bush & Co. slip up in a massive way (as if they haven't already yet?), or someone leaks a new set of Pentagon Papers which reveal all of the illegal secrets in great detail, as Daniel Ellsberg did during the Vietnam War. I've got a funny feeling though that something like that just might well happen, and fairly soon. You can't keep the lid on everyone, and we still have just too many patriots in this country. As I always say, stay tuned. Also, watch for the increasingly belligerent talk about Iran and the "madman", Ahmadinejad. More neocon fantasies of endless war. Maybe the ramping up for this new conflict will be the catalyst for impeachment? We can only hope.

Gone Gone Gonzo And A Tag

2007-08-28T19:49:00.000-06:00

...what a goofball...

By now, most everyone has heard yesterday's news of the resignation of the great man, Attorney General Alberto Gonzales. I heard early yesterday morning after getting online quickly before heading off to work. Boy, I had a smile on my face, and a little spring in my step all the live long day! I had just been telling someone recently that it was time to impeach someone, and that Gonzales would be the best candidate to go after. I had imagined him to a friend as a sort of four-legged weird bird, which over the last several weeks and months had three of his legs sequentially blown off, and was now was just sort of spinning about in a circle, kicking away on that one last leg. My suggestion was, let's impeach him, and blow that last leg right on off! Well, it seems Gonzo saw the writing on the wall; he knew that once Congress returned from its recess break that it was most likely to begin to take up initial discussions on his impeachment. So this bird decided to serve himself up; which is just fine,because his crimes will still follow him, and Sen. Patrick Leahy and the Congress will still pursue his many, many violations of the Constitution which he was sworn to uphold.

I wonder how he would hold up under some waterboarding, just to get him to tell the truth for once? He said it's not torture. He essentially approved it for others. I say let's ship him off to Romania to a secret CIA prison, and find out!

And now (like Monty Python said), for something completely different:

Accent – Standard U.S. American (as opposed to the other kinds of American, per Miss Teen Whatever, Caitlin Upton?). I do like using "Y'all" though, meaning all you guys over there. There is no "You" plural in standard English. There is in Spanish and other languages. There should be though, as any Southerner would tell y'all.

I don't drink – Alcohol. Never liked it or developed a taste for it. I subconsciously consider those who lean on it and use it as a crutch (friends and ex-friends included), "weak".

Chore I hate – I hate all chores. I wish I was on vacation 24 hrs. a day. I would take a pile of books, especially classics, to the beach, and just read them all. And there's a lot of them, too.

Pets – I have a Rottweiler/Sheperd/Husky mix named "Sammy". Actually he's my parent's dog, but I see him about once a week. He's a big, dominant dog, who plays with stuffed toys, called his "babies". When you ask him where his "baby" is, he goes searching for one of his little stuffed animals. He's not nice to his babies though. He slowly and eventually tears them apart. One time when he was knawing on a baby, I told him to, "be nice to your babies." He stopped his work to look up at me with a quizzical look on his face, like "Wha?"

Essential Electronics – Laptop for sure. Not too big on electronics I guess, other than the basics of TV, radio/stereo, etc.

Perfume – Are you kidding me? Although, my mother was admiring the smell of my underarms just the other day. I had bought a new deodorant, and it does smell pretty darn good.

Gold or silver - Like Willowtree, I much prefer silver or white gold to gold, in terms of how it looks.

Insomnia – I've always thought of myself as a nightowl, but all of this work and school leaves me so tired that I'm beginning to acquire a pretty conventional schedule. I miss the 2 a.m. reading, blogging, and listening to conspiracy radio programs in the middle of the night.

Job Title – Professional Student and Medical Supplies Delivery Specialist I (OK, I made up the "Specialist I" part)

Most Admired Trait – The trait I most admire would probably be a quiet certitude, based in someone who knows who they are and what they are about, and who reflects that in a confident yet humble way. I don't know if I have that; I work toward it. The trait I feel I like most about myself is an intensity about what I think and feel, that I don't see much in many others. It's taken me to, amongst other things, earning 2 college degrees, from a family in which no one had ever graduated from high school.

Kids – I love kids. Love 'em. I think that if angels exist, then children are God's angels, placed here upon earth so that we can learn from them.

Phobia – Public speaking, although I've gotten better at this with practice in graduate school. Also Clowns. I really don't fear much anymore, which is not a boast. I thought about that recently. I think it is from my study/practice of Buddhism, Taoism, and the teachings of Jesus.

Religion – Well, I could just start another blog post here, but I won't. I'm currently reading the "Tao Te-Ching", which I would say summarizes my beliefs concerning that which is greater than myself. I am also a Christian, who believes that the original teachings have been misconstrued and misused, up until this very day. I would not trust most Christians of today, unfortunately.

Siblings – One brother. If you count the dog, then 2 brothers. I count the dog.

Time I wake up – Around 6-6:30 am. Sometimes I don't really get moving though until 7:30-almost 8am!

Unusual talent/skill – I can literally be in a mansion early in the day, and in the projects in the afternoon, and I can get along with and relate well with whomever I meet throughout the day. Not that I like all of them. And, as a generality though, those with more can many times be more difficult to deal with.

Vegetable I refuse to eat – Beets. Beets are a favorite of "The Office's" Dwight Schrute, whose family grows them. A beet I will not eat.

Worst habit – "My worst habit is that I just care too much." I love that self-serving answer. It's like that apology - "I'm sorry that you were so dense that you miscontrued my completely noble intentions, you moron. I really am sorry about that (meaning you being so dense)." Always love the non-apology apology, also.

My worst habit is not directly answering the question or issue.

X-rays – Bring 'em on. Millions of them went through my body today, sent by the power of the Sun. I got nothing to hide.

My favorite meal – It'd probably have to be Italian food, and of that, probably lasagna, again like Willowtree. I don't have it that much, it being my favorite meal. That probably is as it should be, though. Its rarity in my life probably demonstrates its unique position at the top of my food pyramid

The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald

2007-08-21T18:48:00.000-06:00

The legend lives on
from the Chippewa on down
of the great lake they call gitchegumee
The lake it is said, never gives up her dead
when the skies of November turn gloomy
With a load of iron ore, twenty-six thousand tons more
than the Edmund Fitzgerald weighed empty
that good ship and crew was a bone to be chewed
when the gales of November came early

The ship was the pride of the American side
coming back from some mill in Wisconsin
As the big freighters go, it was bigger than most
with a crew and good captain well seasoned,
concluding some terms with a couple of steel firms
when they left fully loaded for Cleveland
And later that night, when the ship's bell rang
could it be the north wind they'd been feelin'?

The wind in the wires made a tattle-tale sound
and a wave broke over the railing
And ev'ry man knew, as the captain did too
'twas the witch of November come stealin'
The dawn came late and the breakfast had to wait
when the gales of November came slashing
When afternoon came, it was freezing rain
in the face of a hurricane west wind

When suppertime came, the old cook came on deck sayin'
'fellas, it's too rough t'feed ya'
At seven p.m. a main hatchway caved in
he said, 'fellas, it's been good t'know ya'
The captain wired in he had water comin' in
and the good ship and crew were in peril
And later that night, when it's lights went outta sight
came the wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald

Does any one know, where the love of God goes?
when the waves turn the minutes to hours
The searchers all say they'd have made Whitefish Bay
if they'd put fifteen more miles behind her
They might have split up, or they might have capsized
they may have broke deep and took water
And all that remains, is the faces and the names
of the wives and the sons and the daughters

Lake Huron rolls, and Superior sings
in the rooms of her ice-water mansion
Old Michigan steams, like a young man's dreams
the islands and bays are for sportsmen
And farther below, Lake Ontario
takes in what Lake Erie can send her
And the iron boats go, as the mariners all know
with the gales of November remembered

In a musty old hall, in Detroit they prayed
in the maritime sailors cathedral
The church bell chimed, 'til it rang twenty-nine times
for each man on the Edmund Fitzgerald

The legend lives on
from the Chippewa on down
of the great lake they call gitchegumee
Superior, it's said, never gives up her dead
when the gales of November come early

-Gordon Lightfoot-

Rushmore

2007-08-13T21:32:00.000-06:00

Ok, yet another movie review. This one, “Rushmore”, from 1998 I believe, stars Jason Schwartzman (son of Talia “Yo Adrian” Shire from the “Rocky” films) and Bill Murray in another one of his reserved, bored, tired (and hilarious) roles. Schwarzman's Max Fischer is a student at the Rushmore Academy, and is either president of or involved in the BeeKeeping Club, Fencing Club, Wrestling Team, Chess Club, Numismatic Club, Debate Team, Cheerleading, a playwright, and on and on and on. His life is completely absorbed by Rushmore and its extracurricular activities, but he is on the verge of flunking out due to his absolute disinterest in what might be termed the core curriculum of the school, things like geometry. In comes Murray as Herman Blume, who as a rich industrialist who has endowed the school, makes a moving speech to the students in which the poor students on scholarship, like Max, as well as old Herman himself was at one time at the school, are to always remember that heart and passion can never be bought, and are to always remind the rich kids of just that. The speech is the start of a bond between the admiring Max and the industrialist Herman. A young teacher, Miss Cross, who is somewhere around 30 yrs. old, becomes the love interest for both the 15 yr. old Max as well as the 50-something Herman Blume. What follows is an absurdist tit for tat struggle between Herman and Max for the attentions of Miss Cross, with Max ultimately losing out. Max finally comes to realize that he and Miss Cross can never be, reconciles with Herman, and arranges for an apparently multi-million dollar aquarium to be built for Miss Cross and her students, as a gift from himself and Blume. At the end of the film, after a performance of his latest play, a Vietnam War tribute to Herman Blume (Max writes the play after once asking Blume, "...so, were you over in the shit? Blume replies in the affirmative), Max finally goes for the girl that has been noticing him for the longest time, little Ms. Margaret Yang. This, as I said wonderfully absurdist cult film, comes from Wes Anderson, noted for other such quirky films as “The Life Aquatic” and many others, is a film which I've seen several times now, and will probably see several times again in the future, whenever I need to see the quirky guy pull it all off in the end. A great little film.

Another film I've seen Schwartzman in recently is “Shopgirl”, with Clare Danes and Steve Martin, as the straight man to Schwartzmann (Martin also wrote the book from which this film was made). An older now mid-20's Schwartzman plays another oddball in this one, with a little bit of a different angle, but he is also wonderfully quirky here as well, in addition to being a tiny bit frightening at first. Turns out he's just weird, not dangerous. Another well recommended film.

Wattstax

2007-08-06T09:30:00.000-06:00

Man, I have been seeing some really good DVD's lately! This one, called "Wattstax", I first came across late one night watching PBS, where I had come across the film in progress. It was a concert film from 1972, interspersed with Richard Pryor and his hilarious commentary on life experiences, as well as regular people of the Watts community of Los Angeles talking about life in the community after the rebellion of 1965. As I had come across it in progress, I began to watch it and was just stunned by the performances of artists such as the Staple Singers, Luther Ingraham, Issac Hayes, Rufus Thomas, The Emotions, Rance Allen, a film opener by the Dramatics (Watch See, Is Watcha Get) and many, many more, as well as the discussions by the people of Watts about all aspects of their life. I must have seen it in part more than a year ago, and I think that yet another PBS show on the history of Stax records made me remember this film again, so I ordered it from Half.com. It only became available in DVD format in 2005 I believe, so people who had seen it previously had either caught it on TV like I did, or some were actually there at the event. "Wattstax" is sometimes called the "Black Woodstock", and there is some parallels there certainly. The DVD commentary indicates that many at Wattstax knew that what happened that day was something very magical (which is captured in the film), while Woodstock has been noted by the artists themselves for less than stellar performances, bad weather, equipment problems, and so on. And, as in my previous film posting, the cinematography and editing provided for in this film is just marvelous; they must have had so much film, to have come up with the amazing number of fantastic scenes that were left in the film.

The best thing I think about this film is the people. Dresssed in the early '70's fashions, watching the performances, dancing and feeling the vibe of the day. The everyday Black people in this film are portrayed as a confident, positive, beautiful people and community, and that comes through so very strongly in this film. If you go to IMDB.com and read the commentaries, you'll read much the same; with African-American commentators remembering the film and the times, and expressing how proudly the people are portrayed, as themselves, and remembering the feeling of the times. I myself, while not African-American or Black, remember a little bit of these times, attending primarily African-American elementary and junior high schools, and so I remember the times ands the styles quite fondly, the playing of Soul and R&B records brought in by kids (yes, they were records!) in the school cafeteria at lunch time, and my own white suit and platform shoes for jr. high graduation! Colonialism had recently ended in Africa, and the Black Power movement in America identified strongly with these emergent African nations, as was reflected in ideology, style, and an American music scene with African roots which swept the world and united Black communities around the globe. If you have any connections to any of these experiences or just love Soul music, then this film is definitely a must see, but I really think that everyone should see this film, and I hope that the recent DVD release will provide for a much wider exposure of this classic to the entire world.

Ciudade de Deus

2007-07-29T19:46:00.000-06:00

Wow, this was a good film (or DVD actually)! I had kind of heard about it when it came out, and then a little after, but never got around to watching it until this Sunday. It brought to mind right away “Goodfellas”, because of the obvious similarities with criminality and gang or mob mentality. As well, there was narration throughout the film by the narrator/protagonist Buscape (Rocket), a decent kid just trying to make it out of the favela one day, in the same way that the main character in "Goodfellas" (or was it Casino?)narrated throughout the film. This sort of interactive narration by a main personality throughout a film also seems to be a characteristic found within much of French cinema, from the '50's all the way to today with "Amelie", so I'm sure that was also an influence upon this film. The cinematography, scenes, angles, settings, as well as the stop/go action, was really quite innovative and amazingingly presented. The film was set in the '60's in the beginning, but then moved into the '70's as the favela gang kids of the Ciudade de Deus (the "City of God", a Rio favela)in Rio de Janeiro moved into their teen-age years. I loved the nightclub scenes, where different groups of kids hung out together and danced in cliques called Soul (American music, James Brown and other soul artists), Salsa, and a clique called Groovy or the Groovies ( I think these were more rich kids and pop music), as well as some other cliques. I didn't know such a scene existed in Brazil in the '70's; I guess I just assumed that it was primarily samba and bossa nova (clueless American!). The movie just really demonstrated though the harsh and violent life of the favela, especially for the young people, and the very limited options that were available to them. The characters were essentially based upon real individuals, Lil' Ze, a mean, cruel fellow even as a little kid, Knockout Ned (or Mane Galinha), another fellow drawn into a life of violence really through no fault of his own, and of course Rocket (Buscape), a kid who has dreams of being a photographer, and eventually provides dramatic photos of favela violence to the Rio de Janeiro papers, by first starting out as a simple paperboy, and then landing himself into a job with the photography section of the paper (or, his photos get him the job opportunity, it might be better to say).

There was also a DVD extra documentary on favela life in Rio that was really quite an eye-opener for me. The documentary, which concentrated on gangs, police, favela dwellers, and a very pragmatic, real assessment of the favela youth and their options by a seemingly sympathetic police chief, really laid out what is going on even today in Brazil. Someone in the documentary made the comment that what was in fact really going on was class warfare; between those of the favela, who protect their own, and the middle and upper classes of Rio and presumably other cities, who employ law enforcement in order to contain the violence and the people of the favelas, to the favelas, and so as to maintain the status quo. That, was kind of an epiphany for me; it just rang so true in light of my studies of globalization and other issues. I had also just read an article in Discover magazine by William Gibson (author of “Neuromancer” - the first cyber-punk novel) in which Gibson said that a theme he was working on was how globalization is designed to eventually make all of us members of the Third World, with only an elite, super-rich class left running the show everywhere and anywhere (just as is the case in Brazil today).

I think that "Ciudade de Deus" may provide for us a vision of life in the future everywhere, if we allow unfettered free-market capitalism through globalization, to return us to a feudalism that many of us thought was done away with many centuries ago. People with no options, eventually will take the only options left open to them. Marie Antoinette and Louis XVI did not learn this lesson until it was much too late. If everyone is not safe and secure, then really no one is, not even a King and his wife, nor a wealthy industrialist and his wife in the nice suburbs of Rio; no matter how much money they have.

This Queen Don't Run! (Or Does She?)

2007-07-11T21:23:00.000-06:00

Queen Elizabeth II, a great American

Associated Press
Wed Jul 11, 5:15 PM ET

LONDON - Annie Leibovitz received an icy stare and a stern response when she asked Queen Elizabeth II to remove her crown for an official portrait.

Footage of the exchange is included in a British Broadcasting Corp. documentary that was filmed as Queen Elizabeth II prepared for her 80th birthday and during her recent visit to the United States.

Snippets of "A Year With the Queen," which captures the working life of the royal family, were released Wednesday.

Queen Elizabeth II is shown walking into a room in Buckingham Palace — which is cluttered with camera equipment — wearing her crown and her Order of the Garter robes.

Leibovitz tells her: "I think it will look better without the crown because the Garter robe is so ..."

Before she can finish saying "extraordinary," the queen gives her an icy stare and replies: "Less dressy. What do you think this is?" and points to what she is wearing.

Cameras follow the queen as she storms off, an official lifting the large train of her blue velvet cape off the floor, as she tells her lady-in-waiting: "I'm not changing anything. I've had enough dressing like this, thank you very much."

Then, the Queen came back into the room, crown in hand; jowls a-trembling, and red as a beet. "I oughta just take this crown and put it in your @#4%!&*!....

Next thing the royal staff knew, the Queen was all over Annie Leibovitz, who was like, 'o mygod, somebody please help me! She's killin' me! Then, the Queen climbed up to the top rope, whirling both arms like some crazy saw, and then came crashing down with a forearm smash to Leibovitz' forehead, crushing the camera as well in the process. "Take a picture of that!" she was heard to say, as she fled the scene. She was last spotted scaling the perimeter wall of Buckingham Palace.

Leibovitz claimed from a London hospital that she may not work with the Queen on any more future shoots. Police are on the lookout for a white woman of circa 1955 appearance, possibly carrying a clutch purse.

Under The Bridge

2007-07-09T19:11:00.000-06:00

from Wikipedia:

"Under the Bridge" is a song that was written and originally recorded by the rock group Red Hot Chili Peppers. More than two decades into the California band's career, it remains their most successful U.S. hit single, having reached #2 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1992.
"Under the Bridge" is an introspective reflection on vocalist Anthony Kiedis' drug addiction. The title comes from the lyric, "Under the bridge downtown / Is where I drew some blood," reportedly referring to an experience in which Kiedis used drugs under a bridge with a member of a Mexican gang, although Kiedis himself refuses to reveal the exact location. The song almost did not make the album, because the lyrics and nature of the song made Kiedis reluctant to show it to producer Rick Rubin and also to record it.

One of my favorite songs ever. Love the down and out realism of it.

Under The Bridge
Red Hot Chili Peppers

Sometimes I feel like I don't have a partner
sometimes I feel like my only friend
is the city I live in
the city of angels
lonely as I am, together we cry

I drive on her streets
'cause she's my companion
I walk through her hills
'cause she knows who I am
she sees my good deeds
and she kisses me windy
I never worry,
now that is a lie

I don't ever wanna feel, like I did that day
take me to the place I love, take me all the way
I don't ever wanna feel, like I did that day
take me to the place I love, take me all the way
yeah, yeah, yeah

It's hard to believe that
there's nobody out there
It's hard to believe
that I'm all alone
At least I have her love
the city she loves me
lonely as I am, together we cry

I don't ever wanna feel
like I did that day
take me to the place I love
take me all the way
I don't ever wanna feel
like I did that day
take me to the place I love
take me all the way

Under the bridge downtown
is where I drew some blood
under the bridge downtown
could not get enough
under the bridge downtown
forgot about my love
under the bridge downtown
I gave my life away

Michael Moore and "Sicko"

2007-06-24T22:15:00.000-06:00

The above is a photo of activist Michael Moore on the west steps of the Colorado state capitol, taken by myself with my new $10, match-box sized digital camera (-the bottom right is apparently dominated by a lady's hat. I never claimed I was a professional photographer-). For the Denver crowd, dark-haired news reporter Raj Chohan faces Moore and is asking a stupid question, and attorney/activist Michael Huttner appears at the bottom left, with hand on chin.

After Moore gave his speech to the gathered crowd of Coloradoans on the sorry state of health care in this country, which is the subject of his new movie, "Sicko" (opens Friday 29th), the press was invited up on to the steps in order to ask Moore some face to face questions. Being as I had a new $10 digital camera, as well as being the author of this blog, I felt that I had sufficient credentials to be regarded as "press", should anyone ask ("You've never heard of 'Fiat Lux'? Unhand me you knave, I'm with the alternative press! Have you never heard of bloggers?"). So I followed the herd up the steps, in order primarily to test the camera out. Seems like it works pretty well! You can fine tune settings and exposures for the best picture possible, which I'll have to learn about, but it took a pretty good picture, I'd say.

Moore seemed a little tired at first, and a little unsure about what to say, how to start out, but then he really got rolling, especially when including the war in Iraq along with the sorry state of American health care as just a further example of the nexus of plutocracy, incompetency, and and criminality that has now become entrenched as never before, thanks to Bush Incorporated. Moore is hoping this time, as opposed to when his film "Farenheit 9/11" opened in 2004, that the American people may have just learned a little something in these past few years, so that the propaganda efforts directed against that film will no longer work today with "Sicko"; as we now know (and some of us always did!) that "Farenheit 9/11" spoke the truth. I can't wait to see the film, and it is certainly time that America joins the rest of a civilised world which provides universal health care to its citizens as a human right, and not just as a commodity to be afforded only to a priviliged minority. Moore thinks that it is now only a matter of time until the country sees the light on this issue, and I think he's right. We may well see universal healthcare in our lifetimes, as it only makes sense, in so many ways.

Isis and Mary - Horus and Jesus

2007-06-18T21:31:00.000-06:00

When I went to California about a month ago, I made it a point to go to the A.M.O.R.C. Rosicrucian Center in San Jose. You see their ads in the back of magazines, or at least you used to. About the "Mysteries of Life" and some such things. Pretty intriguing. If you go to their center, the grounds are completely in an Egyptian motif, and they have an Egyptian museum on site with many original relics. The grounds are very impressive, and very beautiful, with all sorts of Egyptian artwork and statuary, as well as many roses, very large roses, growing everywhere. What does it all mean?How does it all fit together? The Rosicrucians are what's known as a "secret society", which explores the past and its hidden truths, in an effort toward self-development. For example, if you are Catholic, you might have wondered about where at least some of that rich Catholic imagery and symbolism derives from (if Protestant, then your wonder may be less personal, as Protestants did away with a lot of this imagery and symbolism when they broke away under Martin Luther). The Rosicrucians believe that there's more to the story than what is presented as conventional, orthodox, or as traditionally given.

The Catholic veneration of the Holy Family (Joseph, Mary and Jesus) has interesting, and earlier, much earlier parallels, with the Egyptian cult of Osiris, Isis and Horus. Osiris, god of the Dead, is brought back to life (resurrrected), by Isis, after being killed by his archrival, known as Set, god of discord and the desert (and from which may well derive our "Satan"). Horus is the son of Isis and Osiris, and also has many battles with that malignant ol' Set. Set knocks out one of Horus' eyes, while Horus removes a testicle from Set in battle (doesn't it say somewhere in the Bible that Satan would strike the Son of the Woman in the heel, while the Son would deliver, ultimately, a fatal blow, to the head?). Isis was also known by her many titles, such as "Queen of Heaven", "Protector of the Poor", "Stella Maris" (Latin for Star of the Sea, important to sailors in ancient times), as is the Virgin Mary, per Wikipedia. The rose was a symbol of Isis, as it is still for the Virgin Mary (does this sound familiar, Catholics?).

The Middle East in the time of Jesus was a very cosmopolitan place, where Greeks, Jews, Romans, Arabs, Africans all intermingled and mixed together in the marketplaces of Egypt, Israel, Syria, and so forth. As well did their ideas, their cultures, and their religious conceptions. It was very popular in those times, to mix and match religious concepts and ideas together to come up with new, syncretic forms of worship. Particularly the Greeks served as an intermediary of ideas between Egypt and Israel, and were quite fond of combining all of the neighborhood conceptions together into something new.

I wonder if all of this is buried in the archives of the Vatican somewhere? Probably not; as it's actually all out there in relatively plain sight, for those whom as Jesus himself said, have, "eyes to see, and ears to listen". And as it says in Luke 17:20 and 21, "...the kingdom of God does not come with your careful observation, nor will people say, 'Here it is,' or 'There it is', because the kingdom of God is within you." That verse, in a nutshell, represents I believe the philosophy of the Rosicrucians as well as the true essence of Christianity, and it is something that has always been, from time immemorial right on up to the present day. In other words, we've had many stories and legends handed down to us. The truth, however, if you look long and hard enough, really lies within you. And even Jesus himself said as much. Not that we are God, but that the kingdom of God, that hidden potential, lies within all of us.

I think I kinda like that.

Bittersweet Symphony

2007-05-21T22:42:00.000-06:00

(The video for this song is great; just a guy walking forward down a busy London street, barely missing bumping into people, and singing these lyrics into the camera...)

Bittersweet Symphony

The Verve

Cause it's a bitter sweet symphony this life...
Trying to make ends meet, you're a slave to the money then you die
I'll take you down the only road I've ever been down...
You know the one that takes you to the places where all the veins meet, yeah

No change, I can't change, I can't change, I can't change,
but I'm here in my mold, I am here in my mold
But I'm a million different people from one day to the next...
I can't change my mold, no,no,no,no,no,no,no

Well I've never prayed,
But tonight I'm on my knees, yeah
I need to hear some sounds that recognize the pain in me, yeah
I let the melody shine, let it cleanse my mind, I feel free now
But the airwaves are clean and there's nobody singing to me now

No change, I can't change, I can't change, I can't change,
but I'm here in my mold, I am here in my mold
And I'm a million different people from one day to the next
I can't change my mold, no,no,no,no,no

Have you ever been down?
I can't change, I can't change...

Cause it's a bittersweet symphony this life
Trying to make ends meet, trying to find somebody then you die
I'll take you down the only road I've ever been down...
You know the one that takes you to the places where all the veins meet, yeah

You know I can't change, I can't change, I can't change,
but I'm here in my mold, I am here in my mold
And I'm a million different people from one day to the next
///I can't change my mold, no,no,no,no,no///

(It's justs sex and violence melody and silence)
(It's justs sex and violence melody and silence)
(I'll take you down the only road I've ever been down)
(It justs sex and violence melody and silence)
(I'll take you down the only road I've ever been down)
(Been down)
(Ever been down)
(Ever been down)(Lalalalalalaaaaaaaa...)
(Ever been down)
(Ever been down)
(Have you ever been down?)
(Have you ever been down?)
(Have you ever been down?)

Fade Into You

2007-05-21T00:17:00.000-06:00

Fade Into You
Mazzy Star (Hope Sandoval)

I want to hold the hand inside you
I want to take a breath that's true
I look to you and I see nothing
I look to you to see the truth

You live your life
You go in shadows
You'll come apart and you'll go black
Some kind of night into your darkness
Colors your eyes with what's not there

Fade into you
Strange you never knew
Fade into you
I think its strange you never knew

A stranger's light comes on slowly
A stranger's heart without a home
You put your hands into your head
And then smiles cover your heart

Fade into you
Strange you never knew
Fade into you
I think its strange you never knew

Fade into you
Strange you never knew
Fade into you
I think it's strange you never knew
I think it's strange you never knew

There are more things than are dreamt of in your philosophy

2007-04-28T21:04:00.000-06:00

I think that title, incidentally, comes from Shakespeare somewhere. Anyhow, what I mean to say is that, "Everything is exactly as it's supposed to be, and it could not be any other way." This is kind of my personal philosophy. That thought came to me one day many years ago, and instantly it seemed to me to be absolutely true. Philosophy majors, and others I guess, think about such things, sometimes with great consternation, and I too had struggled with the great metaphysical ideas; who are we, why are we here, what is our purpose, do we have free-will, and so forth. Wittgenstein largely cured me of those non-question questions, though. This thought may have come from something I had read at one time, as surely I am not the first to have thought of such an idea, but as I remember it, the idea seemed to have more fallen upon me straight out of the blue sky one day. That's what seemed to lend credibility to it, a truth that I had not invented, but which made an unexpected appearance to my mind one day, for no particular reason. I've been reading some Kurt Vonnegut lately, and he expresses much the same idea; things happen as they do, because the moment was structured in such a way. It seems so fatalistic and deterministic to think in such a way, and philosophers as well as most others have recoiled from such an idea, with its implications of a mechanistic existence in which we all go through the pre-proscribed motions. It all seems to justify such things as evil, and terrible events, as just, inevitable.

I don't think so though. For every evil which exists, you have people in resistance to that evil. That also, is exactly how it's supposed to be, and it could not be any other way. Every tragedy has its response, good or bad, or indifferent, which when it occurs, could not have occurred any other way. Therefore, it's useless to fret over the past; if only I had done this instead of that, made this choice instead of that one. You made the only choice you could have, because the moment was structured that way, and anyhow, as Jesus himself said with regard to the future or tomorrow, it is pointless to worry about that, because the worries of the present moment are sufficient to the day thereof.

This probably isn't an, "everything happens for a reason" notion, though. Because I think that many things happen for no reason, they just happen. They happen because the moment was structured that way, which may have been without any reason to it. This also seems to indicate though, that we do have the power to shape the future, in the present. Some people will believe that, and follow through on it. Others will think that this is futile, and refuse to believe they can create the future. And all of it, is exactly how it's supposed to be, and it could not be any other way but so. Kurt Vonnegut summarizes these thoughts nicely on page 209 of "Slaughterhouse Five", in a well-known and time honored aphorism, which goes:

God grant me the serenity
To accept the things I cannot change
Courage to change the things I can
And Wisdom always
To tell the difference

And I wrote this, because it could not have been any other way. The moment was simply just structured that way.

Delusional

2007-04-28T14:37:00.000-06:00

Kurt Vonnegut, a human being...

I've been thinking lately about how this country has allowed itself to come to its present state, where we attack innocent nations, where we imprison innocent persons in secret jails around the world, and where we allow a president to contradict our traditional democratic system of checks and balances, and who in effect now rules by dictat, or signing statements, circumventing Congress and the will of the people time and time again. How has all of this come to pass, especially with regard to the past six years or so? I think I may have come up with the answer, and it is: Delusion. Look at the facts (delusional folks, create a new delusion here). Lied into an illegal war. No hard evidence ever offered for the "threat" put forth by Iraq, because no evidence existed, because Iraq was not a threat. "The Terrists", as the fearless one calls them; who are they, where are they? Are they everywhere, even under our beds? Are these guys anything like "the Comminists", who seemed also always on the verge of taking over, of invading us from Third World poverty outposts like Vietnam or Nicaragua? Yes, Americans love their delusions; we love to tell tall tales about ourselves (the good), and everyone else (i.e., the bad). And we love to live within our delusions; it's really the only way to explain how a verbally challenged, gentleman's C student, and the real powers behind him, could have ever gotten ahold of the levers of power in this country, and held onto them. He could not have done it all by himself. He needed the support of those who believed, delusionally, that he was a "good Christian", simply because he proclaimed himself one. That talking in a twangy voice some how gives one "homespun credibility". That a Christian would or could or ever be directly responsible for the deaths of over 100,000 persons (and yes, those Crusaders of old, were deluded too). Living within a delusion allows one to do terrible things, and claim that they're really quite wonderful things.

I've been reading a work by Kurt Vonnegut, who died recently. He was a POW in WW II. Of the Germans. Like my uncle. He experienced directly the power of a national delusion gone terribly insane. And thinking. About Christianity, about how the teachings of Jesus have been warped to serve power. About the delusional followers of this new (or not so new?), false brand of Christianity, and their role in our current state of affairs. And about the Buddha, whose teachings, so similar to those of Jesus before those were later warped and twisted very early on, is many times shown in the pose of the Lotus Position, seated cross-legged with one open hand in a teaching pose, and one hand layed over a knee with index finger touching the ground. This means that all of what he is about to teach, is grounded in the Earth, and of the Earth, and from the Earth, and not from the Sky or from some other otherworldly realm. The true, original teachings of both Christ and Buddha, were meant to clear away delusion, I believe, not to create them in the interests of power.

Sinclair Lewis, the author of "Babbitt", wrote that when Fascism came to America, it would come as a Cross, wrapped in a Flag. In other words, it would be a uniquely American brand, not German, and not Japanese. I would only add to that that it will finally come when the people have allowed themselves to become completely overtaken by their own delusions, delusions that are without the benefit of terra firma to hold them up. To put everything beyond the veil, even one's own sensibility, I think, is just asking for trouble.

Tragedy At Virgina Tech

2007-04-21T09:07:00.000-06:00

This past week I've been reading and following everything on the Virginia Tech shootings, and especially on the person responsible for the tragedy, Cho Seung-Hui. I've also noted in some of these news reports that many in the Korean community here as well as in Korea feel a sense of responsibility, because the shooter was Korean-American. I've known Koreans in my life due to my past study of Tae Kwon Do, and they are an interesting and remarkable people. Their ethnic sense of their "Korean-ness" is probably stronger than perhaps almost any other ethnic group's concept of self-identity, due to aspects of their history, geography, and culture, and therefore having that insight, I can see where many in the Korean community might instinctively feel a sense of collective shame over this terrible event. This is one instance though, where being an American allows me to offer a perspective that is quite the opposite of this. At least with regard to this particular event, I have heard no condemnation of Koreans because of what happened at Virginia Tech. It had become increasingly clear toward the end of this week that Cho Seung-Hui was suffering from probably a number of mental issues, some perhaps biological in nature, and having that compounded by contexts where it seems he was ridiculed or made to feel "set apart" because of these issues, which I believe most likely had a strongly genetic or deterministic component to them, was unable to contain his rage and pain any longer. That, is not the fault of an entire ethnic community, but rather the tragedy of the greater community at large, which apparently missed so many of his previous cries for help.

Many of these type of instances seem to be occurring not in America's inner cities, or other considered stereotypical centers of violence, but in the more well-to-do suburbs or now on prestigious campuses, which are fed from these communities. These suburbs and campuses are very homogeneous in nature, very well off, very white (with "honorary" status for some minorities, as long as they aren't "too" minority), and very much places where if one does not fit the "template" of these communities, there can be a price to be paid. A popular catch phrase from such communities is "Work Hard, Play Hard", and many from these advantaged places can in fact embody such self-agrandizing or superficial concepts. There, however, really does need to be some more self-examination as to why these tragedies seem to occur over and over in places of privilege, rather than "where you might expect them" to occur. Maybe some of these booze binging centers, such as our own flagship university, University of Colorado at Boulder, are not entirely the centers of the "best and the brightest", but perhaps as well the centers of advantaged and overprivileged children of greedy, ambitious parents? I know that's a controversial statement, especially right now, but then again I've seen and experienced such places, so I can offer an opinion from personal experience. Maybe when such institutions and communities as these finally truly make an effort to become more heterogeneous in nature, more inclusive of all people, and all types of people, they can then begin to educate themselves to the notion that diversity is in fact a strength of a community, and that those who are "different", for whatever reason, deserve the support of their given community rather than their ridicule or condemnation. Only a diverse community could have helped Cho Seung-Hui, and prevented this terrible tragedy, as someone from amongst that multitudinous diversity would have had the courage, capability and compassion to reach out in a significant way to such an obviously disturbed young man. But when everyone is the same, doing the same, being the same, all even living out the same catch phrases such as so-called "working hard and playing hard", struggling desperately to fit the template and be anything but "different", Cho Seung-Hui is probably the last guy you'd want to be hanging out with. Yes, he did a horrible, horrendous bad thing. I suspect however that people with mental illness exist in all levels of our society, and we really do finally need to begin to take a serious look at why these events seem to happen where they do, and don't seem to happen where we "might think they would".

The Office

2007-04-07T19:33:00.000-06:00

D.W.I.G.H.T.

"world's best boss"

Does anyone else love this show? I love "The Office"! This is the only TV show that I definitely make sure to set aside TV time for each week to tune in to. Anyone who has ever worked in an office environment (or almost any work environment for that matter) will immediately recognize many of the scenarios which play out at the Dunder-Mifflin Paper Co. (what a name!). My favorite character used to be Michael, the out of touch, clueless boss, the perfect combination of complete ignorance and supreme confidence all in one package. Recently, he burned his foot at home on his George Foreman grill (because of the necessity of having freshly cooked bacon grilling by his bedside immediately upon waking in the morning), which turned into an episode on disability and how he know knew what it was like to be a disabled American, which of course he tried to then educate the office about, complete with pictures of Franklin Roosevelt and Helen Keller hanging on the conference room wall during the said eduational session. I think though, that now my favorite character is Dwight K. Schrute, office sycophant/crazed fanatic. He reminds me of someone I once worked with, albeit only with a slight tinge of "Dwightness". Last week, he pepper-sprayed the warehouse worker/boyfriend of receptionist Pam, as the warehouse guy charged into the office to beat up Jim, another love interest of Pam's. It seems that Dwight had under his desk not only pepper spray, but Chinese throwing stars, numbchucks, and a variety of other potential lethal weapons, which as (self-appointed) office security monitor, he felt necessary to have in his possession. I believe that at one time Dwight held the title of "Admin. Assistant", however when Michael was not around, he would proclaim himself to be the Assistant Administrator, the difference being, I would guess, at least in the realm of around 20 to 30,000 dollars. Dwight was recently fired by Michael for a series of perceived disloyalties which turned out not to be true, and a new sycophant took his place who seemed to drive Michael just crazy. Michael eventually hunted down Dwight at his new environs, Staples (complete with his red Staples pullover shirt) and asked him to return back to the office. It seems, as Michael turns to the camera to explain in this mockumentary style televison show, that he preferred to have someone sucking up to him that really did love him, rather than just your run-of -the mill ladder climber, as his office suck-up. It was one of the few touching moments in a show chock-full of laughs.

They haven't revealed Dwight's political leanings, as of yet, but for some reason I am absolutely 100%positive, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that Dwight voted for George W. in the last election, and probably has a GWB sticker on the bumper of his restored 1987 Trans Am. It would just make perfect sense, given the combination of fanaticism, conservatism, and just plain'ol crazy-ism, that he embodies. Dwight, you are the man, but of course, you already knew that!

No Woman, No Cry - (For Willowtree)

2007-03-27T21:20:00.000-06:00

No Woman, No Cry
Bob Marley

No woman, no cry, No woman, no cry
No woman, no cry, No woman, no cry

Said I remember when we used to sit,
In the government yard in Trenchtown
Observing the hypocrites,
And they would mingle with the good people we'd meet,
Good friends we have, oh good friends we've lost
Along the way, yeah
In this great future, you can't forget your past
So dry your tears, I say

No woman, no cry, No woman, no cry
Here little darlin', don't shed no tears
No woman, no cry
Said I remember when we used to sit
In the government yard in Trenchtown,
And then Georgie would make the fire light
And it was, logwood burnin' through the night,
Then we would cook cornmeal porridge
Of which I'll share with you,
My feet is my only carriage
And so I've got to push on through
But while I'm gone,

Everything's gonna be all right! Everything's gonna be all right!
Everything's gonna be all right, Everything's gonna be all right!
Everything's gonna be all right-a! Everything's gonna be all right!
Everything's gonna be all right, yeah! Everything's gonna be all right!

So, woman no cry, No woman, no cry
O' my little sister, don't shed no tears
No woman, no cry

I remember when we used to sit,
In the government yard in Trenchtown
And then Georgie would make the fire light
And it was, logwood burnin' through the night,
Then we would cook cornmeal porridge
Of which I'll share with you
My feet is my only carriage
So I've got to push on through
But while I'm gone,

No woman, no cry, No woman, no cry
Oh my little darlin', say don't shed no tears
Little darlin', don't shed no tears
No woman, no cry
Little sister, don't shed no tears
No woman, no cry

Never My Love

2007-03-27T20:19:00.000-06:00

Never My Love
The Association

You ask me if there'll come a time
When I grow tired of you
Never my love, never my love
You wonder if this heart of mine
Will lose its desire for you
Never my love, never my love
What makes you think love will end
When you know that my whole life depends
On you

Never my love, never my love

You say you fear I'll change my mind
That I won't require you
Never my love, never my love
How can you think love will end
When I've asked you to spend your whole life with me?

Never my love, never my love
Never my love, never my love

Uh Oh, Alberto!

2007-03-23T22:28:00.000-06:00

What's he sayin', anything?

Very late on Friday (bad White House news is always released on late Friday afternoons in order to minimize the impact of it on the news cycle) it was reported that Abu Gonzalez, whose legal work was significant in what led to Abu Ghraib as well as the ongoing Guantanamo situation, approved the firing of the 8 Justice Department prosecutors who were either in the midst of investigating the nefarious deeds of the Bush Admin. and its allies, or in some cases would not play along with directives to go after Democrat targets as they were directed to. This seems big, because Alberto has already denied playing any direct role in this latest of the oh so many Bush Admin. fiascos. He has said, at least prior to now, that he would not resign, and Bush has already given him, "...my strongest backing - heh, heh. I like Alber-toe. He's a fine 'Merican, even if he is a Mexican - heh, heh", or something to that effect. I just can't see how he can weather this though, if the documents in question pertaining to the meeting in which the approvals occurred are thoroughly vetted. It seems almost incontrovertible, at this point.

It feels like the beginnings of Watergate all over again. Starting oh so slowly, but building, building... until no more amount of marketing tactics or propaganda can cover the naked truths now beginning to come to the light of day. Rumsfeld, Scooty, Alberto... it's all unraveling, isn't it?

Iran, I'd say you'd best be feelin' a little nervous, right about now.

It's Fitzmas In March !!!

2007-03-07T19:19:00.000-07:00

Ok, I'm a day or so late in this posting, but as Queen said, "Another one bites the dust"! Scooter went down for lying in the attempt to cover up and obstruct justice concerning a lawful investigation (and believe me, they've got a lot to cover up). I bet things are a little frazzled over there up in the 'ol White House. And Darth Cheney, boy there's a guy its all coming down on, right about now! Back to the batcave for awhile for the Darthster, hiding away from the press; but it may be too late; it's all unravelling, and paper shredders must be flying like crazy! This could open some more doors, if Scooty makes a deal with prosecutor Patrick "Elliot Ness" Fitzgerald in order to lessen his sentence, by turning the tables on the master conspirators (Shrub, the Darthster, and "Butterbean" Karl Rove).

What could take the spotlight off the Gang of Three, you say? Why a nice springtime bombing of Iran! Let's put 'em all under the spotlight of Justice, and then let that take its course, before they decide to begin, "Iraq; the Sequel". I mean, I do like Iranian cinema, but c'mon now!

Waiting For Godot - or Scooter Libby

2007-02-27T19:37:00.000-07:00

The Libby trial is now in deliberations, which have resumed after a juror was thrown off the case due to having seen some media items concerning the trial. Will the wait and the resultant verdict, be devoid of meaning, as in "Godot", i.e., symbolic perhaps of our existential condition?

God, I hope not!

If It's Libby On The Label

2007-02-08T19:18:00.000-07:00

"If it's Libby, Libby, Libby
on the label, label, label
you will like it, like it, like it
on your table, table, table
if it's Libby, Libby, Libby
on the label, label, label"

Remember that ol' TV commercial for Libby? I think they sold like canned peaches, and a bunch of other canned stuff. Well, now VP Cheney's former Chief of Staff, Irv "Scooter" Libby is on the table, and I'm liking it! Prosecutor Fitzgerald has made him the centerpiece of a legal prosecution which consists of lying under oath concerning attempts to smear a former ambassador critical of Iraq and the Administration, and the outing of his CIA undercover agent wife, with the tentacles of the conspiracy leading directly to Vice President Dick Cheney himself! MMMmmmm...Delicious!

There have been reports that "Scooter" has stated that he will not be the fall guy for a situation whose direction came from the top (read: V.P. Cheney). The case is a little convoluted, but basically "Scooter" is on trial for perjury; for essentially lying about how this smear attempt came about (it's always the coverup, not the crime, that gets them - as with Watergate). "Scooter's" alibi, Tim Russert of "Meet The Press", directly contradicted "Scooter's" testimony this week, saying that he was not the source of the ID revelation of the undercover CIA agent to "Scooter", as "Scooter" has already stated under oath that Russert was (can you tell yet that I love to keep saying "Scooter", in quotes?). Essentially, lies (under oath - perjury) and coverup is going on here, to protect misdeeds and mis-doers (Cheney), at the top of the heap. So, someone is definitely lying under oath here. And unfortunately for "Scooter", Prosecutor Fitzgerald has lined up a series of media persons who also contradict "Scooter's" story. And so the coverup and the lies, begin to unfold.

The prosecution is about wrapped up I believe, and now the defense comes next. Look for a lot of smoke and mirrors, a lot of "I can't recall"; and also they will try to wrap their defense in "graymail" from what I read, a new term I learned which means employing a legal defense wrapped up in things like "national security" issues, and therefore not allowable into the public domain or in a public court. I also read though that Prosecutor Fitzgerald is prepared for this, and has some tricks up his own sleeve in response (this guy is good - and "Fitzmas" may still be possibility - in February rather than December!).

We may yet get to the bottom of how we got into this crazy war, albeit in perhaps an indirect way, as the revelations from this trial continue to unfold and lead elsewhere. And in a legal sense, I'll take that deal!

Eres Tu

2007-01-27T17:32:00.000-07:00

Eres Tu
Artist: Mocedades

Como una promesa, eres tu, eres tu,
como una manana de verano,
como una sonrisa, eres tu, eres tu,
asi, asi, eres tu

Toda mi esperanza, eres tu, eres tu,
como lluvia fresca, en mis manos,
como fuerte brisan, eres tu, eres tu,
asi, asi, eres tu

Eres tu, como el agua de mi fuente,
eres tu, el fuego de mi hogar,
eres tu, como el agua de mi fuente,
eres tu, el fuego de mi hogar

Como un poema, eres tu, eres tu,
como una guitarra, en la noche,
como el horizonte, eres tu, eres tu,
asi, asi eres tu

Eres tu, como el agua de mi fuente,
eres tu, el fuego de mi hogar,
eres tu, como el agua de mi fuente,
eres tu, el fuego de mi hogar

[Translation:]
Like a promise, it is you, it is you
Just like a morning, in the summer
And just like a smile, it is you, it is you
Oh yes, oh yes, it is you

All of my dreams, it is you, it is you
Just like the fresh rain, in my hands
Just like strong breeze, it is you, it is you
Oh yes, oh yes, it is you

It is you, the water of my fountain
It is you, the fire of my home
It is you, the water of my fountain
It is you, the fire of my home

And just like a poem, it is you, it is you
Just like a guitar, in the evening
Like the great grand horizon, it is you, it is you
Oh yes, oh yes, it is you

Waiting On The World To Change

2007-01-26T22:18:00.000-07:00

As I ponder over my upcoming thesis project, I now work in a job in which I get to meet a lot of people and go into their homes. These homes range from modest to very high end, and I come across a wide range of people. I come across people with so much, so much material wealth and stability, and yet last night I watch a TV program in which a child entering kindergarten on his first day, does not know what the three meals of a typical day are called, because there are many times that he will not have eaten for more than a day, and three meals a day are just not a part of his daily reality. That bothers me, so much, and I've been thinking a lot about this sort of thing lately, of how some have so much, and others next to nothing. I come across people with the best of everything, the best health care, the best health insurance, very nice comfortable places to live in, while poor children in this country often go hungry for days on end, and teenagers in some areas live in places where there are literally no businessess in which to apply for a job, because businessess have all fled the inner city long ago. What's the alternative in that situation? How do do you make money for the younger siblings who need milk and something to eat? My city of Denver is not like this; there are at least places where one can go to look for work, but what about places like Camden, NJ, and other places, which employers fled from long ago?

When I see, among others, the fat lady at the grocery store, with the oxygen tubes up her nose, buying her 49 items in the fast lane, then waddling out with her treasures, ready to light up a smoke and jump into her comfortable, luxury middle-class vehicle, it makes me wonder, would she even know that kids go hungry in this country, and more importantly, if she did, would she even care? I think I already know the answer to that one, and I find it disturbing. These are unfortunately the same lard asses who supported Bush in this war, and whose support was absolutely essential for the killing of over 100,000 innocent Iraqis, and who think that poverty is some moral failing. And probably also attend a megachurch too, with hands raised up to Jesus in that feelgood sort of way. What Hannah Arendt called the banality of evil; a lumpen middle-class that goes about its fat and comfortable business, no matter how many die, no matter who goes hungry; as long as its not me, as long as I got mine.

Well, I'd say that you won't find Jesus up in the sky. He lives on the ground in Camden, NJ, and he is in kindergarten, and he is hungry. I think that when we finally realize that, then, and only then, is when the world will finally begin to change.

Is It A Good Idea?

2007-01-14T23:05:00.000-07:00

Is a troop surge a good, final gasp idea in terms of gaining control over the situation in Iraq, and particularly Baghdad? And if it is, why wasn't it done long ago? Actually, according to the two lead generals which Bush recently fired, we have already tried this on two prior occasions, without success. It sounds a little like squeezing the toothpaste out of the tube, or the mustard out of the mustard container; you squeeze one end and the stuff (or, the insurgents) just go somewhere else, and regroup. That's what happened in Fallujah and many other Iraqi cities already. It sounded like what Bush said this past week in his speech was that we were using the losing strategy, and now we're going to go with the winning one. Doink! (as I hit myself in the head). Why didn't we go with the winning strategy first? Sounds like a newer version of that ol' WMD story with repackaging; i.e., more made up junk! I think the guy pictured above, Muqtada Al-Sadr, a Shiite religious leader not so fond of the Americans, is going to end up in charge in Iraq sooner or later, and being the desired choice of the majority of Shiite Iraqis, who are the majority in Iraq, we are just going to have to deal with it! "Suddenly, Saddam doesn't seem quite so bad", I'll bet Bush is saying to himself, in his more private moments. I keep hearing rumours of a widening of this war, and of a desire to expand this thing into direct conflict with Iran. That, would be an even bigger mistake, than Bush's Iraq folly.

Will there even be a Presidential election in 2008? That may be up to the Decider, and if he decides to create an Iranian crisis which leads to the suspension of the election, and then of the constitution, and creates an Imperial Presidency. Keep your eye on forthcoming events; this could get terribly, terribly interesting.

Bye Bye, 2006 - You Won't Be Missed

2007-01-01T10:56:00.000-07:00

A New Year's reveler in action. As the Mafia might say, he now sleeps with the fishes.

Last night I laid on my couch at midnight, watching New Year's festivities on the TV (I was downtown earlier in the evening), just kind of laying there, slightly tense, and clutching up just a little; waiting for 12:15am or so to come around. The reason for this is: at 12am, the gunshots start to go off. Now I don't live in a real bad, rough area (although, nor do I necessarily live in Candyland either, I guess you could say - maybe somewhere in the middle), but with almost without exception, wherever I have lived, at least a person or two pops off a couple of shots at midnight in celebration of the New Year. This tradition seems to be everywhere across the U.S., and around the world also to some degree. I know that they fire the Kalishnikov's up in the air in the Middle East at weddings, at feasts, at the drop of a hat, or many times just plain at each other, but I've never understood why people in an urban setting would want to do this, during each and every New Year's celebration. These bullets have to come down somewhere! In the 1990's, one of those stray bullets came down here in Denver, and hit an old man sitting out on his porch at midnight; rocking away in his chair, all set to greet the New Year, and it killed him. This guy happened to be a relative of the Mayor of Denver during the time, and so it received a fair amount of coverage. Therefore, it can happen, and does happen, every so often.

So, I squirmed around a little. Is it better to be hit in the side, or maybe just head on? As 12:20am came around, I think I began to relax a little more, and began to start to drift off. My last thoughts I think were, "if they get me, they get me, I'm tired, wha?, ...zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.....

I made it!

Welcome, Welcome 2007, and so long 2006; you were a little rough on me I would have to say, yet I still made it through you - but don't come back here no more!

Grazin' In The Grass Is a Gas

2006-12-20T23:33:00.000-07:00

Here's a meme suggested to me by Willowtree, and borrowed from God's Child's blog. Firstly, I don't really listen to much current music at all. Someone's blog I was looking at recently said it best, it all pretty much sucks, with a very few exceptions.

1. If your life was made into a movie, what song would play to the opening credits?

Let It Be - The Beatles

Let's do kind of a Beatles theme. I like that one, so I'd probably try to fit it in here. It has a spiritual quality to it; a good guiding song to a life.

2. What was the last song you got stuck in your head? Who sings that one? Do you know all the lyrics or was it just a little part of the chorus?

Grazin' In The Grass - Friends of Distinction

I haven't had a lot of time to listen to much music lately, but I'm a big fan of '70's R&B/Soul music, and this was the last song I think I tried (unsuccessfully) to download. Grazin in the grass is a gas man, can you dig it?

Ooh, Child - The Five Stairsteps

I have to throw in this one too. If I hear it, it sticks in my head, even though I never completely know all of the lyrics.

3. Is there a song you hate? What is it and why?

Do You Really Want To Hurt Me? - Boy George

The answer is, yes.

4. What about instrumental (jazz) versions of popular songs—yay or nay?

I don't know much on this one, but I can say that I don't particularly like those Mannheim Steamroller versions of Christmas songs. Much prefer just the straight, traditional versions.

5. What song makes you just want to get up and dance even when you are feeling shy?

Apache - Grandmaster Flash/Sugar Hill Gang

An old school breakdance song, that makes me want to drop to the floor and spin around, ending up in a freeze pose, even though I never could do any of that stuff.

6. Do you remember the first popular song you were aware of as a child? Tell us. No eency weency spider—a real song by a real artist and not an artist that sang for kids either. I won’t haul out my Sesame Street vinyl if you don’t.

Raindrops Keep Fallin' On My Head - BJ Thomas

I'm not sure if this is it, but I remember singing this in the back seat of my parents car one time.

7. Again, if your life was made into a movie, what song would you want to play to the closing credits? Why?

There Are Places I Remember - The Beatles

I stole that from GC, because it's a good, fitting choice here, and I like that song.

Let Freedom Reign

2006-12-05T11:34:00.000-07:00

"Let freedom reign", to quote our verbally challenged President, who himself was misquoting from Martin Luther King's "Let Freedom Ring" speech, when Bush was attending a UN conference regarding the situation in Iraq a year or two ago. Anyhow, freedom is coming for me soon! After a week and a half of constant writing of research papers and proposals, I'll will have completed my last paper late on Friday night, to be submitted by email. Then, no more papers, and no more classes! At least no more papers to write, but I'll then have 70 papers of Intro to Ethnic Studies students to read and grade, as part of my T.A. duties. I don't know why, considering how involved this seemed when I did the same for their mid-term exams 5 weeks ago, but for some reason I see it as light at the end of the tunnel. At least I won't be writing those papers, maybe that's the reason. Saturday morning, will be the beginning of the process of my emancipation!

And next semester will just be preparation for comprehensives, and my thesis. This can be done basically at my own pace, so I look forward to being able to actually slow down a little - and maybe even have a little time to think about what I am reading, writing, doing and saying. In any event though, Freedom is on the march, George Bush is the Decider, and I am almost done for the semester. Now, how could it get much better than that?

I Can't Tell You Why

2006-11-21T20:19:00.000-07:00

I Can't Tell You Why
The Eagles
(Timothy B. Schmit)

Look at us baby, up all night
Tearing our love apart
Aren't we the same two people who lived
through years in the dark? Ah-ah
Every time I try to walk away
Somethin' makes me turn around and stay
And I can't tell you why

When we get crazy, it just ain't right
Girl, I get lonely too
You don't have to worry, just hold on tight
'Cause I love you

Nothin's wrong as far as I can see
We make it harder than it has to be
And I can't tell you why
-no,baby
I can't tell you why
I can't tell you why

Every time I try to walk away
Somethin' makes me turn around and stay
And I can't tell you why,
no, oh baby
I can't tell you why
I can't tell you why
I can't tell you why