18 minutes ago
Monday, December 11, 2023
Sunday, December 10, 2023
“You wake up in Chicago, pull back the curtain, and you KNOW where you are. You could be nowhere else. You are in a big, brash, muscular, broad shouldered motherfuckin’ city. A metropolis, completely non-neurotic, ever-moving, big hearted but cold blooded machine with millions of moving parts — a beast that will, if disrespected or not taken seriously, roll over you without remorse. It is, also, as I like to point out frequently, one of America’s last great NO BULLSHIT zones. Pomposity, pretentiousness, putting on airs of any kind, douchery and lack of a sense of humor will not get you far in Chicago. It is a trait shared with Glasgow — another city I love with a similar working class ethos and history. Chicago is a town, a city that doesn’t ever have to measure itself against any other city. Other places have to measure themselves against it. It’s big, it’s outgoing, it’s tough, it’s opinionated, and everybody’s got a story."
~ Anthony Bourdain
Chicago
"CHICAGO" - The Windy City will blow you away.
1. Spray paint was invented in Chicago in 1949.
2. Chicago River is the only river in the world that flows backward.
3. Chicago is home to Lincoln Park Zoo, one of the world’s last free zoos.
4. The Art Institute of Chicago holds the largest collection of Impressionist paintings outside the Louvre in Paris.
5. The first blood bank in the United States was created in Chicago in 1937
6. Chicago’s Western Avenue is the world’s longest continuous street, at 23.5 miles.
7. Chicago is home to the world’s largest free outdoor food festival, the Taste of Chicago.
8. An average of 35 million visitors flock to Chicago each year.
9. The Chicago Public Library was created directly from the ashes of the great Chicago Fire in 1873.
10. Chicago was technically the birthplace of soap operas.
11. Shedd Aquarium is home to the oldest aquatic animal in a public aquarium in the world, an Australian lungfish named Granddad, who is at least 85 years old.
12. The first Playboy Mansion was in Chicago.
13. And Hugh Hefner started the publication of Playboy in Chicago in 1953.
14. The zipper was invented in Chicago in 1851.
15. The Ferris wheel was also invented in Chicago in 1893.
16. Ebony magazine began publication in Chicago in 1945.
17. The Twinkie was invented in Chicago in 1930.
18. Chicago resident Jane Addams, founder of the Hull House, was the first American woman to win the Nobel Peace Prize in 1931.
19. The movie I-Robot was filmed in Chicago.
20. And Gotham City from Batman was based largely off of Chicago.
21. In fact, Gotham City license plates were designed to look like Illinois plates so that they
would be consistent with other plates while filming car-chase scenes in the city.
22. The first all-color TV station made its debut in Chicago in 1956.
23. The vacuum cleaner was invented in Chicago in 1868.
24. Chicago invented the deep-dish pizza.
25. And Chicago is the home of the first black president of the United States, Barack Obama.
26. Four states are visible from the top of the Willis Tower (Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, and Wisconsin).
27. The first televised U.S. presidential debate was broadcast from Chicago’s CBS Studios on 9/26/60, between John F. Kennedy and Richard Nixon.
28. Chicago is home to 552 parks.
29. Chicago has 15 miles of bathing beaches.
30. Chicago is home to 11 Fortune 500 companies.
31. Historic Route 66 began in Chicago.
32. Walt Disney was born in Chicago.
33. In 1885, Chicago became home to the first skyscraper, the Home Insurance Building, which was
originally nine stories tall.
34. In 1779, Jean Baptiste Point du Sable, a Haitian immigrant, built the first permanent settlement in what would be Chicago near the present Michigan Avenue Bridge on the north bank.
35. The four stars on the Chicago flag represent Fort Dearborn, the Chicago fire, the World’s
Columbian Exposition, and the Century of Progress Exposition.
36. Nancy Green, the first spokesperson for Aunt Jemima syrup, was introduced to the public for
the first time in Chicago.
37. The first animal purchased for the Lincoln Park Zoo was a bear cub, bought for $10 in 1874.
38. Pabst Blue Ribbon beer (PBR) was first introduced during the 1893 Colombian Exposition, also known as the 1893 World’s Fair, which was held in Chicago.
39. Cracker Jacks were also introduced during the 1893 Chicago fair.
40. In 1895, the first automobile race ever seen in the United States was held in Chicago.
41. The first Rotary Club in America was founded in Chicago.
42. Chicago is known as the home of baton twirling. This is because the first baton-twirling contest was held as part of the Chicagoland Music Festival in 1935.
43. The Wrigley Building was the first air-conditioned office building.
44. The first McDonald’s franchise restaurant, owned by Ray Kroc, opened in the Chicago suburb of Des Plaines in 1955.
45. The longest MLB game to ever be played was in 1984 at Comiskey Park in Chicago. Chicago White Sox defeated the Milwaukee Brewers after 25 innings.
46. Chicago inventor Martin Cooper invented the first cell phone.
47. In 1924, the first gay rights group in the U.S. was created in Chicago.
48. The first form of softball was invented in Chicago.
49. In 1893, the first open heart surgery in the United States was performed in Chicago.
50. In 1960, the first Playboy Club to feature bunnies opened in Chicago.
51. Chicago's Wacker Drive is the only street with a north, south, east, west, upper and lower Drive.
WANDERLUST
In '75-'76 I traveled with a friend for 11 months. We arrived in Belgium in the fall and followed the weather. Bought an older diesel Mercedes in Germany and headed out. We visited Switzerland, Italy, Monaco, France , Spain, Andorra, Gibraltar, Morocco, Spanish Sahara, Luxembourg, Lichtenstein, Netherlands, England, Wales and Scotland. We spent less than $3,000/each and shipped the car back to the states.
Trip of a lifetime. Endless stories.
I'd love to recreate that trip in Mexico, Central and South America
Many of the wisest voices in our tradition, from Whitman to Thoreau, have talked about the virtue of loafing. The less you struggle with a problem, the more it’s likely to solve itself. The less time you spend frantically running around, the more productive you are likely to be. It is the pauses in a piece of music that gives the piece its beauty and its shape; always keep pushing forward at full speed, and you end up out of breath. Practice the Art of Doing Nothing.
Friday, January 18, 2019
Saturday, October 17, 2015
Wednesday, October 14, 2015
Tuesday, October 13, 2015
If you think your life is about DOINGNESS,
you do not understand what you are about.
Your soul doesn't care what you do for a living,
and when your life is over, neither will you.
Your soul cares only about what you're BEING while you're doing whatever you're doing.
It is a state of BEINGNESS the soul is after, not a state of doingness.
Monday, October 12, 2015
Friday, October 9, 2015
The Peace of Wild Things
When despair for the world grows in me
and I wake in the night at the least sound
in fear of what my life and the children's lives may be,
I go and lie down where the wood drake
rests in his beauty on the water, and the great heron feeds.
I come into the peace of wild things
who do not tax their lives with forethought
of grief. I come into the presence of still water.
And I feel above me the day-blind stars
waiting with their light. For a time
I rest in the grace of the world, and am free.
~ Wendell Berry
When despair for the world grows in me
and I wake in the night at the least sound
in fear of what my life and the children's lives may be,
I go and lie down where the wood drake
rests in his beauty on the water, and the great heron feeds.
I come into the peace of wild things
who do not tax their lives with forethought
of grief. I come into the presence of still water.
And I feel above me the day-blind stars
waiting with their light. For a time
I rest in the grace of the world, and am free.
~ Wendell Berry
Tuesday, May 8, 2012
Quiet Moments
All the ways that lead to somewhere
Echo with the hurrying feet
Of the struggling and the striving.
But the way I find so sweet
Bids me dream and bids me linger.
Joy and beauty are its goal.
In the path that leads to nowhere
I have sometimes found my soul.
~ Corinne Roosevelt Robinson
Thursday, April 19, 2012
Silence
Silence is the cornerstone of character.
It is the language of the spirit,
and is the sign of a perfect equilibrium.
The fruits of silence are self control, courage, endurance, patience, dignity and reverence.
Talk IF you can improve upon the silence.
It is the language of the spirit,
and is the sign of a perfect equilibrium.
The fruits of silence are self control, courage, endurance, patience, dignity and reverence.
Talk IF you can improve upon the silence.
Friday, March 30, 2012
Sunday, March 25, 2012
Night Directions For The Lost
Turn left when you pass the frog
barking under the pumphouse
and follow alongside the brown bats
dipping low above the pond.
Since all is near-invisible you can name everything.
We will let you give words to the dark.
Call back your memories,
the kasbah in Casablanca,
the fragrant alleys behind the main
where the hookers shot dreams into their arms.
The road that led to where it ended.
Call this a thistleseed, call that a fence.
Call it all the wheel of the world.
Call it the whispering pasture under your feet.
And that noise like a marble falling down stairs,
call it the owl celebrating the mouse it swallowed,
call your heart alive and pounding,
call yourself a human being who sings in the shadows.
Name the animals, name the plants, name yourself,
and keep on going until you can call it paradise.
~ Brian Brett
barking under the pumphouse
and follow alongside the brown bats
dipping low above the pond.
Since all is near-invisible you can name everything.
We will let you give words to the dark.
Call back your memories,
the kasbah in Casablanca,
the fragrant alleys behind the main
where the hookers shot dreams into their arms.
The road that led to where it ended.
Call this a thistleseed, call that a fence.
Call it all the wheel of the world.
Call it the whispering pasture under your feet.
And that noise like a marble falling down stairs,
call it the owl celebrating the mouse it swallowed,
call your heart alive and pounding,
call yourself a human being who sings in the shadows.
Name the animals, name the plants, name yourself,
and keep on going until you can call it paradise.
~ Brian Brett
Sunday, March 18, 2012
Thursday, March 8, 2012
2012 International Women's Day ~ A tribute
The Rock Cries Out to Us Today
A Rock, A River, A Tree
Hosts to species long since departed,
Mark the mastodon.
The dinosaur, who left dry tokens
Of their sojourn here
On our planet floor,
Any broad alarm of their of their hastening doom
Is lost in the gloom of dust and ages.
But today, the Rock cries out to us, clearly, forcefully,
Come, you may stand upon my
Back and face your distant destiny,
But seek no haven in my shadow.
I will give you no hiding place down here.
You, created only a little lower than
The angels, have crouched too long in
The bruising darkness,
Have lain too long
Face down in ignorance.
Your mouths spelling words
Armed for slaughter.
The rock cries out today, you may stand on me,
But do not hide your face.
Across the wall of the world,
A river sings a beautiful song,
Come rest here by my side.
Each of you a bordered country,
Delicate and strangely made proud,
Yet thrusting perpetually under siege.
Your armed struggles for profit
Have left collars of waste upon
My shore, currents of debris upon my breast.
Yet, today I call you to my riverside,
If you will study war no more.
Come, clad in peace and I will sing the songs
The Creator gave to me when I
And the tree and stone were one.
Before cynicism was a bloody sear across your brow
And when you yet knew you still knew nothing.
The river sings and sings on.
There is a true yearning to respond to
The singing river and the wise rock.
So say the Asian, the Hispanic, the Jew,
The African and Native American, the Sioux,
The Catholic, the Muslim, the French, the Greek,
The Irish, the Rabbi, the Priest, the Sheikh,
The Gay, the Straight, the Preacher,
The privileged, the homeless, the teacher.
They hear. They all hear
The speaking of the tree.
Today, the first and last of every tree
Speaks to humankind. Come to me, here beside the river.
Plant yourself beside me, here beside the river.
Each of you, descendant of some passed on
Traveller, has been paid for.
You, who gave me my first name,
You Pawnee, Apache and Seneca,
You Cherokee Nation, who rested with me,
Then forced on bloody feet,
Left me to the employment of other seekers--
Desperate for gain, starving for gold.
You, the Turk, the Swede, the German, the Scot...
You the Ashanti, the Yoruba, the Kru,
Bought, sold, stolen, arriving on a nightmare
Praying for a dream.
Here, root yourselves beside me.
I am the tree planted by the river,
Which will not be moved.
I, the rock, I the river, I the tree
I am yours--your passages have been paid.
Lift up your faces, you have a piercing need
For this bright morning dawning for you.
History, despite its wrenching pain,
Cannot be unlived, and if faced with courage,
Need not be lived again.
Lift up your eyes upon
The day breaking for you.
Give birth again
To the dream.
Women, children, men,
Take it into the palms of your hands.
Mold it into the shape of your most
Private need. Sculpt it into
The image of your most public self.
Lift up your hearts.
Each new hour holds new chances
For new beginnings.
Do not be wedded forever
To fear, yoked eternally
To brutishness.
The horizon leans forward,
Offering you space to place new steps of change.
Here, on the pulse of this fine day
You may have the courage
To look up and out upon me,
The rock, the river, the tree, your country.
No less to Midas than the mendicant.
No less to you now than the mastodon then.
Here on the pulse of this new day
You may have the grace to look up and out
And into your sister's eyes,
Into your brother's face, your country
And say simply
Very simply
With hope
Good morning.
Hosts to species long since departed,
Mark the mastodon.
The dinosaur, who left dry tokens
Of their sojourn here
On our planet floor,
Any broad alarm of their of their hastening doom
Is lost in the gloom of dust and ages.
But today, the Rock cries out to us, clearly, forcefully,
Come, you may stand upon my
Back and face your distant destiny,
But seek no haven in my shadow.
I will give you no hiding place down here.
You, created only a little lower than
The angels, have crouched too long in
The bruising darkness,
Have lain too long
Face down in ignorance.
Your mouths spelling words
Armed for slaughter.
The rock cries out today, you may stand on me,
But do not hide your face.
Across the wall of the world,
A river sings a beautiful song,
Come rest here by my side.
Each of you a bordered country,
Delicate and strangely made proud,
Yet thrusting perpetually under siege.
Your armed struggles for profit
Have left collars of waste upon
My shore, currents of debris upon my breast.
Yet, today I call you to my riverside,
If you will study war no more.
Come, clad in peace and I will sing the songs
The Creator gave to me when I
And the tree and stone were one.
Before cynicism was a bloody sear across your brow
And when you yet knew you still knew nothing.
The river sings and sings on.
There is a true yearning to respond to
The singing river and the wise rock.
So say the Asian, the Hispanic, the Jew,
The African and Native American, the Sioux,
The Catholic, the Muslim, the French, the Greek,
The Irish, the Rabbi, the Priest, the Sheikh,
The Gay, the Straight, the Preacher,
The privileged, the homeless, the teacher.
They hear. They all hear
The speaking of the tree.
Today, the first and last of every tree
Speaks to humankind. Come to me, here beside the river.
Plant yourself beside me, here beside the river.
Each of you, descendant of some passed on
Traveller, has been paid for.
You, who gave me my first name,
You Pawnee, Apache and Seneca,
You Cherokee Nation, who rested with me,
Then forced on bloody feet,
Left me to the employment of other seekers--
Desperate for gain, starving for gold.
You, the Turk, the Swede, the German, the Scot...
You the Ashanti, the Yoruba, the Kru,
Bought, sold, stolen, arriving on a nightmare
Praying for a dream.
Here, root yourselves beside me.
I am the tree planted by the river,
Which will not be moved.
I, the rock, I the river, I the tree
I am yours--your passages have been paid.
Lift up your faces, you have a piercing need
For this bright morning dawning for you.
History, despite its wrenching pain,
Cannot be unlived, and if faced with courage,
Need not be lived again.
Lift up your eyes upon
The day breaking for you.
Give birth again
To the dream.
Women, children, men,
Take it into the palms of your hands.
Mold it into the shape of your most
Private need. Sculpt it into
The image of your most public self.
Lift up your hearts.
Each new hour holds new chances
For new beginnings.
Do not be wedded forever
To fear, yoked eternally
To brutishness.
The horizon leans forward,
Offering you space to place new steps of change.
Here, on the pulse of this fine day
You may have the courage
To look up and out upon me,
The rock, the river, the tree, your country.
No less to Midas than the mendicant.
No less to you now than the mastodon then.
Here on the pulse of this new day
You may have the grace to look up and out
And into your sister's eyes,
Into your brother's face, your country
And say simply
Very simply
With hope
Good morning.
Saturday, January 28, 2012
Survivalists, The Optimistic Minority
I am a 21st century survivalist and by nature an optimist. I don't have one pessimistic bone in my body. If that sounds odd to you, then you do not understand the modern survivalist or me. It's been difficult for me to communicate the concept of the optimistic survivalist. Let me make some comparisons....
A fireman becomes a fireman not because he believes everything is going to burn. He doesn't start fires but believes property can be saved. A doctor becomes a doctor not to make disease. He doesn't believe in death but believes many lives can be saved. A survivalist doesn't make disaster or believe that everything must be destroyed and everyone must die but believes with preparation, lives and property can be saved.
Crime, disease, fire, war, flood, revolution, famine and periodic economic upheaval are the results of nature and the nature of man and, unfortunately, are not completely preventable. The sun will set leaving us in darkness and the summer sun will give way to the cold winds of winter. We know this will happen, that it is unpreventable and we prepare daily and seasonally for both. Does that make us pessimistic? Of course not! So why then is the survivalist who plans for events that are as much a part of history as the sun setting and the seasons changing called a pessimist?
A common misconception is that survivalists predict world disaster. Actually, we are the OPTIMISTIC MINORITY predicting world survival! I invite you to find an insurance actuary, an historian, economist,
political scientist, sociologist or military strategist that can give us even a 50/50 chance of avoiding a large scale catastrophe. Yet, survivalists dare to be optimistic about the future. I don't need to predict the probability of disaster any more than the sun setting. Refusing to look at the calendar doesn't prevent aging.
Another misconception is that survivalists will be disappointed if there isn't some world cataclysm. I have loved ones I would never want to see harmed or worse. I have a home I don't want to see destroyed. I'm not a fool that thinks because I am prepared that a disaster would be fun or that I would not experience danger, hunger, loss, injury, cold, despair or even death.
I have spent some time and some money to improve my/our chances for survival and recovery from disaster but I would welcome, with a great celebration, if someday someone could assure me that I had wasted my time! I will not be disappointed that there is no disaster to survive anymore than I will be disappointed that my house fails to burn down after buying my homeowners insurance policy.
I prefer the pleasant (but unlikely) surprise of being wrong to the (probable) deadly rude awakening that the non survivalist will face if he's wrong. I can't lose, really, because my preparations will be valuable regardless of what the future has in store.
I'm a resource, not a threat. Those without resources are actually a threat to me. I won't be emptying store shelves in an emergency but leaving more for others. I may even be able to help some. I see my survival preparation as a social obligation.
So, you see, I am an optimist. I see the imperative of preparing for the worse by being a self reliant asset.
A fireman becomes a fireman not because he believes everything is going to burn. He doesn't start fires but believes property can be saved. A doctor becomes a doctor not to make disease. He doesn't believe in death but believes many lives can be saved. A survivalist doesn't make disaster or believe that everything must be destroyed and everyone must die but believes with preparation, lives and property can be saved.
Crime, disease, fire, war, flood, revolution, famine and periodic economic upheaval are the results of nature and the nature of man and, unfortunately, are not completely preventable. The sun will set leaving us in darkness and the summer sun will give way to the cold winds of winter. We know this will happen, that it is unpreventable and we prepare daily and seasonally for both. Does that make us pessimistic? Of course not! So why then is the survivalist who plans for events that are as much a part of history as the sun setting and the seasons changing called a pessimist?
A common misconception is that survivalists predict world disaster. Actually, we are the OPTIMISTIC MINORITY predicting world survival! I invite you to find an insurance actuary, an historian, economist,
political scientist, sociologist or military strategist that can give us even a 50/50 chance of avoiding a large scale catastrophe. Yet, survivalists dare to be optimistic about the future. I don't need to predict the probability of disaster any more than the sun setting. Refusing to look at the calendar doesn't prevent aging.
Another misconception is that survivalists will be disappointed if there isn't some world cataclysm. I have loved ones I would never want to see harmed or worse. I have a home I don't want to see destroyed. I'm not a fool that thinks because I am prepared that a disaster would be fun or that I would not experience danger, hunger, loss, injury, cold, despair or even death.
I have spent some time and some money to improve my/our chances for survival and recovery from disaster but I would welcome, with a great celebration, if someday someone could assure me that I had wasted my time! I will not be disappointed that there is no disaster to survive anymore than I will be disappointed that my house fails to burn down after buying my homeowners insurance policy.
I prefer the pleasant (but unlikely) surprise of being wrong to the (probable) deadly rude awakening that the non survivalist will face if he's wrong. I can't lose, really, because my preparations will be valuable regardless of what the future has in store.
I'm a resource, not a threat. Those without resources are actually a threat to me. I won't be emptying store shelves in an emergency but leaving more for others. I may even be able to help some. I see my survival preparation as a social obligation.
So, you see, I am an optimist. I see the imperative of preparing for the worse by being a self reliant asset.
Friday, January 20, 2012
Comfort
Oh, the comfort,
the inexpressible comfort of feeling safe with a person;
having neither to weigh thoughts nor to measure words
but to pour them all out, just as it is, chaff and grain together,
certain that a faithful hand will take and sift them,
keeping what is worth keeping, and then,
with the breath of kindness, blow the rest away.
~ George Elliot
the inexpressible comfort of feeling safe with a person;
having neither to weigh thoughts nor to measure words
but to pour them all out, just as it is, chaff and grain together,
certain that a faithful hand will take and sift them,
keeping what is worth keeping, and then,
with the breath of kindness, blow the rest away.
~ George Elliot
Thursday, January 12, 2012
Tuesday, January 10, 2012
Creativity is paradoxical
To create, a person must have knowledge but be able to forget the knowledge, must see unexpected connections in things but not be disconnected from reality, must work hard but spend time doing nothing as information incubates, must create many ideas yet most of them are useless, must look at the same thing as everyone else, yet see something different, must desire success but embrace failure, must be persistent but not stubborn, and must listen to experts but know how to disregard those experts.......so get to it!!!
The artist is not a special person......each one of us is a special kind of artist.
The artist is not a special person......each one of us is a special kind of artist.
Saturday, January 7, 2012
Certainty is a good defense
Better to dwell in uncertainty.
Hold on to the paradoxes.
Live in the complexities.
Engage the contradictions.
Hold on to the paradoxes.
Live in the complexities.
Engage the contradictions.
Thursday, January 5, 2012
Perseverance
It is not necessary to hope in order to undertake,
nor to succeed in order to persevere.
~ Chas The Bold
tenacity, steadfastness, persistence, patience
nor to succeed in order to persevere.
~ Chas The Bold
tenacity, steadfastness, persistence, patience
Wednesday, January 4, 2012
The Opportunists
Dear Optimist, Pessimist and Realist ~
While you were arguing about whether the glass was half full or half empty or both.....
they drank it!!
Tuesday, January 3, 2012
Free Floaters
There are always people who dare to seek on the margin of society, who are not dependent on social acceptance, not dependent on social routine, and prefer a kind of free floating existence under a state of risk. ~ Thos. Merton, Catholic monk, writer, activist
Are you an optimist or a pessimist??
One position is really not preferable to the other.
They are each very dangerous.
Either one alone keeps you from fully investigating the complexity.
Friday, December 16, 2011
The Moment, Atwood
| The moment when, after many years of hard work and a long voyage you stand in the centre of your room, house, half-acre, square mile, island, country, knowing at last how you got there, and say, I own this, is the same moment when the trees unloose their soft arms from around you, the birds take back their language, the cliffs fissure and collapse, the air moves back from you like a wave and you can't breathe. No, they whisper. You own nothing. You were a visitor, time after time climbing the hill, planting the flag, proclaiming. We never belonged to you. You never found us. It was always the other way round. |
Friday, November 25, 2011
Pretending
For some, pretending is like gravity . . .
without it, they would fly right off the planet!
without it, they would fly right off the planet!
Monday, November 14, 2011
Friday, July 22, 2011
Merida
Escaping the current heat wave and heading to Merida, Yucatan for a few days of cultural absorption.
Cuisine, folk art, ancient ruins, coastlines filled with pink flamingos, colonial architecture........
Celebrating the second anniversary of meeting the love of my life ♡
Cuisine, folk art, ancient ruins, coastlines filled with pink flamingos, colonial architecture........
Celebrating the second anniversary of meeting the love of my life ♡
Monday, May 9, 2011
Tuesday, May 3, 2011
Monday, May 2, 2011
Thursday, March 31, 2011
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
housing facts
approx. 11% of all homes in america are standing empty.
the rate of home ownership has fallen to 1998 levels.
november represented an unprecedented consecutive fourth monthly decline in prices.
the number of homes actually repossessed reached the one million mark for the first time in history in 2010.
three million homes were repossessed by mortgage lenders from 1/07 to 8/10.
(most of this inventory has yet to be sold)
72% of most metro areas had more foreclosures in 2010 than in 2009.
at least 8 million people are one month behind on their mortgage.
5 million homeowners are at least two months behind on their mortgage.
(it is projected that one million families will be booted out of their homes this year alone!)
banks project that 48% of all mortgages could have negative equity by the end of 2011.
maybe to be expected, new orleans has 21.5 of all homes standing vacant. but alarmingly, dayton, ohio has 19% of all it's homes standing empty.
home prices have fallen farther than in the great depression.
without a jobs recovery, there will never be a housing recovery.
over the past two years, americans have withdrawn $311 billion dollars more from savings and investment accounts than they have put into them.
use your paper money wisely - it will never have as much value as it does today.
the rate of home ownership has fallen to 1998 levels.
november represented an unprecedented consecutive fourth monthly decline in prices.
the number of homes actually repossessed reached the one million mark for the first time in history in 2010.
three million homes were repossessed by mortgage lenders from 1/07 to 8/10.
(most of this inventory has yet to be sold)
72% of most metro areas had more foreclosures in 2010 than in 2009.
at least 8 million people are one month behind on their mortgage.
5 million homeowners are at least two months behind on their mortgage.
(it is projected that one million families will be booted out of their homes this year alone!)
banks project that 48% of all mortgages could have negative equity by the end of 2011.
maybe to be expected, new orleans has 21.5 of all homes standing vacant. but alarmingly, dayton, ohio has 19% of all it's homes standing empty.
home prices have fallen farther than in the great depression.
without a jobs recovery, there will never be a housing recovery.
over the past two years, americans have withdrawn $311 billion dollars more from savings and investment accounts than they have put into them.
use your paper money wisely - it will never have as much value as it does today.
Sunday, January 2, 2011
Wednesday, December 22, 2010
Tuesday, December 21, 2010
Ode to Chloe
There once was a little cocker named chloe
she came into my life at a critical time
she taught me patience and love unbounded
for more than thirteen years she never wavered
through loss and disaster and joy unsurpassed
she was my tail wagging shadow
she came into my life at a critical time
she taught me patience and love unbounded
for more than thirteen years she never wavered
through loss and disaster and joy unsurpassed
she was my tail wagging shadow
Thursday, November 25, 2010
the republic?
more than 700 military bases
in more than 130 countries
spending more on annual defense
than the next dozen countries combined
8% of the global population
consuming 25% of the world's resources
or the empire?
in more than 130 countries
spending more on annual defense
than the next dozen countries combined
8% of the global population
consuming 25% of the world's resources
or the empire?
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
no thanks
Thanksgiving is the day when the dominant white culture (and, sadly, most of the rest of the non-white but non-indigenous population) celebrates the beginning of a genocide that was, in fact, blessed by the men we hold up as our heroic founding fathers.
History can be one of the many ways we create and impose hierarchy, or it can be part of a process of liberation. The truth won't set us free, but the telling of truth at least opens the possibility of freedom.
As Americans sit down on Thanksgiving Day to gorge themselves on the bounty of empire, many will worry about the expansive effects of overeating on their waistlines. We would be better to think about the constricting effects of the day's mythology on our minds.
Robt. Jensen
History can be one of the many ways we create and impose hierarchy, or it can be part of a process of liberation. The truth won't set us free, but the telling of truth at least opens the possibility of freedom.
As Americans sit down on Thanksgiving Day to gorge themselves on the bounty of empire, many will worry about the expansive effects of overeating on their waistlines. We would be better to think about the constricting effects of the day's mythology on our minds.
Robt. Jensen
Wednesday, November 10, 2010
inclusion and diversity
I often hear talk of inclusion with a view of bringing different people into a given group. I argue that this view of inclusion can imply and perpetuate hierarchical power relationships supported by assumptions of assimilation and integration. I put forth that the group should not be seeking to include others but should be seeking to be included by them.
Wednesday, November 3, 2010
boner day for amerika (pun intended)
the republicants tell us to be afraid
the teabaggers tell us to be angry
the donkeys say it will get better, give us time
so, let's race for the bottom now
on the wings of fear and anger and lies
until someone has the balls to tell the truth
that it's not going to get better anytime soon
and it's not the fault of the muslim's or gay's
time to articulate limits
acknowledge possible failure
move forward with courage and commitment
find a new way
the teabaggers tell us to be angry
the donkeys say it will get better, give us time
so, let's race for the bottom now
on the wings of fear and anger and lies
until someone has the balls to tell the truth
that it's not going to get better anytime soon
and it's not the fault of the muslim's or gay's
time to articulate limits
acknowledge possible failure
move forward with courage and commitment
find a new way
Monday, October 4, 2010
relocation, location, location
wisconsin doomslut
has morphed
meet MODOOM
my new neighborhood includes
http://wellfedneighbor.ning.com/
http://www.springfieldfarmersmarket.com/
has morphed
meet MODOOM
my new neighborhood includes
http://wellfedneighbor.ning.com/
http://www.springfieldfarmersmarket.com/
Friday, September 24, 2010
Thursday, September 16, 2010
thinking
many people believe they are thinking
when they are really just rearranging their prejudices
when they are really just rearranging their prejudices
Monday, August 30, 2010
Monday, August 23, 2010
madness
love is a temporary madness
it erupts like an earthquake
then grows like a tree
with roots deep underground
entwined towards each other
whispering into the heart
and kissing the soul
it erupts like an earthquake
then grows like a tree
with roots deep underground
entwined towards each other
whispering into the heart
and kissing the soul
Thursday, August 19, 2010
hey pops!
today is your birthday
you would have been 79
and although we rarely spoke
i have a need to speak with you today....
you would have been 79
and although we rarely spoke
i have a need to speak with you today....
Friday, August 13, 2010
hopium & hypocritium
Robert Gibbs is almost as smart as Ari Fleischer.
The whorehouse spokeswhore
(apologies to my sex worker friends)
talked of drug tests for the critics of
the stubborn hopenosis of the Changer in Chief.
Although I am often out in front with criticism of Chez Obama,
the community organizer and man of the people,
and his fascist healthcare give away to the corporations
among other imperial fax pas, I am still more peaceful and sane
and I will take Mr Gibbs up on his offer and submit my pee for analysis.
But only when the supporters of the imperial first family,
smoking the hopium and taking their daily dose of hypocritium
submit theirs.
paraphrased from Cindy Sheehan's soapbox
The whorehouse spokeswhore
(apologies to my sex worker friends)
talked of drug tests for the critics of
the stubborn hopenosis of the Changer in Chief.
Although I am often out in front with criticism of Chez Obama,
the community organizer and man of the people,
and his fascist healthcare give away to the corporations
among other imperial fax pas, I am still more peaceful and sane
and I will take Mr Gibbs up on his offer and submit my pee for analysis.
But only when the supporters of the imperial first family,
smoking the hopium and taking their daily dose of hypocritium
submit theirs.
paraphrased from Cindy Sheehan's soapbox
Thursday, August 12, 2010
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
Monday, July 5, 2010
gulf of mexico debacle
forward thinking
and good planning
did not get us here,
I doubt it will be how we go forward......
and good planning
did not get us here,
I doubt it will be how we go forward......
Friday, July 2, 2010
snowballs and butterflies and dominoes
boiling frogs
slippery slopes
head in the sand
black swan
camel's nose
for want of a nail
creeping normalcy
slippery slopes
head in the sand
black swan
camel's nose
for want of a nail
creeping normalcy
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
Sunday, June 20, 2010
Saturday, June 19, 2010
vacant houses??
170,000 families sought shelter last year
that's 643,000 people in those families
that's one in 200 americans
60% were in shelters
37% in other places not meant for human habitation
more than half the children are under the age of 6
that's 643,000 people in those families
that's one in 200 americans
60% were in shelters
37% in other places not meant for human habitation
more than half the children are under the age of 6
Friday, June 18, 2010
what we don't want to know about real estate
total housing inventory is 131 million
occupied is 112 million
vacant is 19 million - this is the oversupply
4-5 million are second homes
another 4-5 million will never be lived in again
2/3 of all households own a house
that is a total of 75 million
51 million of those are mortgages
of which 99% are gov't. backed
24 million are owned free and clear - you want to be here
since '08 the default rate has been and is currently 20% YEARLY
that's 10 million per year
another 5 million are 60 days or more late
70,000 loan modifications were canceled in MARCH
vacant housing units equal 19 million
of which 10 million is foreclosed inventory
520 months or 45 years to clear inventory
at the current rate of sales!!
occupied is 112 million
vacant is 19 million - this is the oversupply
4-5 million are second homes
another 4-5 million will never be lived in again
2/3 of all households own a house
that is a total of 75 million
51 million of those are mortgages
of which 99% are gov't. backed
24 million are owned free and clear - you want to be here
since '08 the default rate has been and is currently 20% YEARLY
that's 10 million per year
another 5 million are 60 days or more late
70,000 loan modifications were canceled in MARCH
vacant housing units equal 19 million
of which 10 million is foreclosed inventory
520 months or 45 years to clear inventory
at the current rate of sales!!
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
Ode to my "Pops"
On May 27th, 2010 leukemia sucked the last living breath from his body.
I got the call of his passing from my sister Karen while traveling in France.
I cried...confused, relieved, but most of all saddened.
Sad that neither of us had ever really gotten to know each other the way that some fathers and daughters do. Even though he often referred to me as "daughter of daughters"....I wasn't "daddy's little girl" and he wasn't "#1dad".
My dad was a laborer - not a master of words - he created his own dictionary.
I often consider the impact of the relationship I shared with "Pops" as it relates to the woman I have become. He taught me about work - tackling any task - what tools to use. He taught me it was okay to fart and laugh about it. He taught me to gamble with my piggy bank pennies. He taught me the art of handball. He let me take sips of his beers. There was never a dull moment being around him. He was larger than life.
He lived a hard working life with little regard for his health. He never slowed down. He lived the life he wanted - the only way he knew how and I have a tremendous amount of respect for him for that.
He may not have been the greatest father or husband and could be a real s.o.b. but he left his mark on this world.
Often when I am doing some tedious chore I am reminded of how I know how to do it.
And when I am being silly and making up words and laughing and clapping and rubbing my hands together - I feel him all around me.
He gave me my contagious laugh and playful spirit and I am forever grateful.
Rest in Peace, Preston Irwin.......
I got the call of his passing from my sister Karen while traveling in France.
I cried...confused, relieved, but most of all saddened.
Sad that neither of us had ever really gotten to know each other the way that some fathers and daughters do. Even though he often referred to me as "daughter of daughters"....I wasn't "daddy's little girl" and he wasn't "#1dad".
My dad was a laborer - not a master of words - he created his own dictionary.
I often consider the impact of the relationship I shared with "Pops" as it relates to the woman I have become. He taught me about work - tackling any task - what tools to use. He taught me it was okay to fart and laugh about it. He taught me to gamble with my piggy bank pennies. He taught me the art of handball. He let me take sips of his beers. There was never a dull moment being around him. He was larger than life.
He lived a hard working life with little regard for his health. He never slowed down. He lived the life he wanted - the only way he knew how and I have a tremendous amount of respect for him for that.
He may not have been the greatest father or husband and could be a real s.o.b. but he left his mark on this world.
Often when I am doing some tedious chore I am reminded of how I know how to do it.
And when I am being silly and making up words and laughing and clapping and rubbing my hands together - I feel him all around me.
He gave me my contagious laugh and playful spirit and I am forever grateful.
Rest in Peace, Preston Irwin.......
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
ode to bea
we cannot change yesterday, that is clear
or begin tomorrow before it is here
so all that is left for you and for me
is to make today as sweet as can be
or begin tomorrow before it is here
so all that is left for you and for me
is to make today as sweet as can be
Sunday, May 9, 2010
Friday, May 7, 2010
real wealth
overfed and undernourished?
consume more and enjoy less?
more income and less happiness?
over consumption creates deficiencies
in health, social connections, security and discretionary time
we work, we watch, we wait
fewer things, less stuff
better quality
less debt, less doubt
social capital
networks
trust
spend less money
pay more attention
minimize consumption
maximize contentment
consume more and enjoy less?
more income and less happiness?
over consumption creates deficiencies
in health, social connections, security and discretionary time
we work, we watch, we wait
fewer things, less stuff
better quality
less debt, less doubt
social capital
networks
trust
spend less money
pay more attention
minimize consumption
maximize contentment
Thursday, May 6, 2010
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
second chances
no one can go back
and make a brand new start
but anyone can start from now
and make a brand new ending
and make a brand new start
but anyone can start from now
and make a brand new ending
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
that's the irish
Leprechauns, castles, good luck and laughter...
Lullabies, dreams and love ever after...
May you live to be a hundred years, with one extra year to repent.
St. Patrick's Day is an enchanted time --
a day to begin transforming winter's dreams into summer's magic.
Lullabies, dreams and love ever after...
May you live to be a hundred years, with one extra year to repent.
St. Patrick's Day is an enchanted time --
a day to begin transforming winter's dreams into summer's magic.
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
Saturday, March 13, 2010
3/13/31
my mother was a beautiful woman
i wish i knew her better
the angst of adolescence pushed us far apart
the 60's was a decade of division
i never knew how to cross the divide
my own sense of self - the bridge - was fragile
a facade that couldn't hold the weight
but i began to know her bit by bit
i used all my strength to face the demons of my youth
haunting me, keeping me from knowing myself
but the demons shrank
to take their place among all the seeds of potential
greed, envy, anger and hate were kept small in the wake of awareness
love, kindness, generosity
growing as a weeping willow spreads its branches
but in the course of my own development
my beautiful mother passed away
it was too late to share the joy
unbounded by a past of pain
to laugh without edge
to listen without a grimace
to love without agenda
i have some prized possessions
sprinkled throughout our home
little symbols of the massive love
she held beneath an exterior of conformity
i had a beautiful mother
i know her much better now
i love you, mom
i wish i knew her better
the angst of adolescence pushed us far apart
the 60's was a decade of division
i never knew how to cross the divide
my own sense of self - the bridge - was fragile
a facade that couldn't hold the weight
but i began to know her bit by bit
i used all my strength to face the demons of my youth
haunting me, keeping me from knowing myself
but the demons shrank
to take their place among all the seeds of potential
greed, envy, anger and hate were kept small in the wake of awareness
love, kindness, generosity
growing as a weeping willow spreads its branches
but in the course of my own development
my beautiful mother passed away
it was too late to share the joy
unbounded by a past of pain
to laugh without edge
to listen without a grimace
to love without agenda
i have some prized possessions
sprinkled throughout our home
little symbols of the massive love
she held beneath an exterior of conformity
i had a beautiful mother
i know her much better now
i love you, mom
Friday, February 26, 2010
for my dad
"A YOUNG COUPLE'S PATH OF LIFE"
The young couple set their foot on the path of life. "Is this the long way?" they asked their parents and their parents said, "Yes, and the way is hard. And you will be old before you reach the end of it. But the end will be better than the beginning."
But the young couple were happy, and they would not believe that anything could be better than these years. So, they had children, and gathered flowers for them along the way, and bathed them in the clear streams - and the sun shone on them, and the young mother cried, "Nothing will ever be lovelier than this!"
Then the night came, and the storm, and the path was dark and the children shook with fear and cold and the father drew them close and covered them with his coat, and the children said, "Father, we are not afraid, for you are near, and no harm can come."
And the morning came and there was a hill ahead, and the children climbed and grew weary, and the couple grew weary. But at all times they said to the children, "A little patience and we are there." So the children climbed, and when they reached the top they said, "We would not have done it without you."
And the father, when he lay down at night looked up at the stars and said, "This is a better day than the last, for my children have learned fortitude in the face of hardness. Yesterday we gave them courage. Today we have given them strength."
And the next day came strange clouds which darkened the earth, clouds of war and hate and evil and the children groped and stumbled and the mother said, "Look up! Lift your head high!" And the children looked up and held their heads high and that guided them beyond the darkness. And that night the mother said. "This is the best day of all, for I have shown my children their worth."
And the days went on and the weeks and the months and the years and suddenly the mother was taken. But her children were tall and strong and walked with courage. And when the way was rough, they turned to the father. And when, at last, he came to his final hill, he said, "I have reached the end of my journey and now I know the end is better than the beginning, for my children can walk alone, and their children after them."
And the children said, "You will both always walk with us, even when you have gone." And they stood and watched him as he went on alone, and they said, "We cannot see them but they are with us still, more than a memory, a living presence."
They are the whisper of the leaves as you walk down the street, the smell in your freshly laundered clothes, the cool hand on your brow when you are not well. They live inside your laughter and are crystallized in every teardrop. They are the place that you came from and the map you follow with every footstep and nothing on earth can separate you - not time - not space - not even death........
The young couple set their foot on the path of life. "Is this the long way?" they asked their parents and their parents said, "Yes, and the way is hard. And you will be old before you reach the end of it. But the end will be better than the beginning."
But the young couple were happy, and they would not believe that anything could be better than these years. So, they had children, and gathered flowers for them along the way, and bathed them in the clear streams - and the sun shone on them, and the young mother cried, "Nothing will ever be lovelier than this!"
Then the night came, and the storm, and the path was dark and the children shook with fear and cold and the father drew them close and covered them with his coat, and the children said, "Father, we are not afraid, for you are near, and no harm can come."
And the morning came and there was a hill ahead, and the children climbed and grew weary, and the couple grew weary. But at all times they said to the children, "A little patience and we are there." So the children climbed, and when they reached the top they said, "We would not have done it without you."
And the father, when he lay down at night looked up at the stars and said, "This is a better day than the last, for my children have learned fortitude in the face of hardness. Yesterday we gave them courage. Today we have given them strength."
And the next day came strange clouds which darkened the earth, clouds of war and hate and evil and the children groped and stumbled and the mother said, "Look up! Lift your head high!" And the children looked up and held their heads high and that guided them beyond the darkness. And that night the mother said. "This is the best day of all, for I have shown my children their worth."
And the days went on and the weeks and the months and the years and suddenly the mother was taken. But her children were tall and strong and walked with courage. And when the way was rough, they turned to the father. And when, at last, he came to his final hill, he said, "I have reached the end of my journey and now I know the end is better than the beginning, for my children can walk alone, and their children after them."
And the children said, "You will both always walk with us, even when you have gone." And they stood and watched him as he went on alone, and they said, "We cannot see them but they are with us still, more than a memory, a living presence."
They are the whisper of the leaves as you walk down the street, the smell in your freshly laundered clothes, the cool hand on your brow when you are not well. They live inside your laughter and are crystallized in every teardrop. They are the place that you came from and the map you follow with every footstep and nothing on earth can separate you - not time - not space - not even death........
Thursday, February 11, 2010
vice-versa
create it vs letting it happen
play to win vs playing not to lose
abundance vs scarcity
being vs wishing
opportunities vs obstacles
admiration vs resentment
gracious vs guilty
results vs effort
learn & grow vs i already know
play to win vs playing not to lose
abundance vs scarcity
being vs wishing
opportunities vs obstacles
admiration vs resentment
gracious vs guilty
results vs effort
learn & grow vs i already know
Monday, February 8, 2010
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
jefferson airplane
“I hope we shall... crush in its birth the aristocracy of our moneyed corporations which dare already to challenge our government in a trial of strength, and bid defiance to the laws of our country.”
— Thomas Jefferson, 1816
— Thomas Jefferson, 1816
Sunday, January 24, 2010
sound bytes, talking points and platitudes
just another dullard
demonstrating shockingly
low levels of intellectual depth
demonstrating shockingly
low levels of intellectual depth
Friday, January 22, 2010
the summer of my life
warming my days
with cloudless skies
sometimes blistering
often simmering
always sunny, salty
lazy, hazy, breezy
butterfly and dragonfly
time flies
the flowers, the pine tree
colors and smell
the sweet rain
lighted palms
balmy nights
with cloudless skies
sometimes blistering
often simmering
always sunny, salty
lazy, hazy, breezy
butterfly and dragonfly
time flies
the flowers, the pine tree
colors and smell
the sweet rain
lighted palms
balmy nights
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
Monday, January 18, 2010
MLK,Jr.
At the center of non-violence
stands the principle of love....
Human salvation lies in the hands
of the creatively maladjusted.....
stands the principle of love....
Human salvation lies in the hands
of the creatively maladjusted.....
Friday, January 15, 2010
Deer Hunting with Jesus
dispatches from America's class war.....
BASS BOATS AND QUEER MARRIAGE
the battle for the American soul is over and Jay Leno won!
see Joe Bageant in my blog list
BASS BOATS AND QUEER MARRIAGE
the battle for the American soul is over and Jay Leno won!
see Joe Bageant in my blog list
Monday, January 4, 2010
Monday, December 21, 2009
winter solstice
an auspicious moment
waiting for the sun
carrying the fire
darkness shall be the light
stillness the dancing
waiting for the sun
carrying the fire
darkness shall be the light
stillness the dancing
Monday, December 7, 2009
reality over myth
principle over prosperity
substance over celebrity
nuance over spectacle
connect with language
abandon consumerism
embrace the common good
cope with complexity
recognize illusion
substance over celebrity
nuance over spectacle
connect with language
abandon consumerism
embrace the common good
cope with complexity
recognize illusion
Thursday, November 26, 2009
gobble, gobble
may we always be thankful
to have our feet deeply planted in the past
our hearts keenly absorbed in the present
and our minds directed unafraid toward the future.
to have our feet deeply planted in the past
our hearts keenly absorbed in the present
and our minds directed unafraid toward the future.
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
this turkey eve
before i sit down with family and friends tomorrow
i wanted to let you know what i'll be thankful for
it's you
your generosity
your courage
your spirit
thank you for everything you do
happy thanksgiving
i wanted to let you know what i'll be thankful for
it's you
your generosity
your courage
your spirit
thank you for everything you do
happy thanksgiving
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
veteran's day 2009
WAR is a racket. It always has been.
It is possibly the oldest,
easily the most profitable,
surely the most vicious.
It is the only one international in scope.
It is the only one in which the profits are reckoned in dollars
and the losses in lives.
~General Smedley Butler, Retired USMC, 1933~
2266 VETERANS DIED IN 2008 BECAUSE THEY WERE UNINSURED --
On this Veterans Day we should not only honor the nearly 500 soldiers who have died this year in Iraq and Afghanistan, but also the more than 2,200 veterans who were killed by our broken health insurance system. That's six preventable deaths a day.
10 SUICIDES A MONTH AT FT. HOOD --
Tragically, Fort Hood has born much of the brunt from its heavy involvement in the occupations of Iraq and Afghanistan. Fort Hood soldiers have accounted for more suicides than any other army post since the US invasion of Iraq in 2003. In 2009, the base is averaging over 10 suicides each month - at least 75 have been recorded through July of this year alone.
131,000 HOMELESS VETS TONIGHT --
Although accurate numbers are impossible to come by -- no one keeps national records on homeless veterans -- the VA estimates that 131,000 veterans are homeless on any given night. And approximately twice that many experience homelessness over the course of a year. Conservatively, one out of every three homeless men who is sleeping in a doorway, alley or box in our cities and rural communities has put on a uniform and served this country.
It is possibly the oldest,
easily the most profitable,
surely the most vicious.
It is the only one international in scope.
It is the only one in which the profits are reckoned in dollars
and the losses in lives.
~General Smedley Butler, Retired USMC, 1933~
2266 VETERANS DIED IN 2008 BECAUSE THEY WERE UNINSURED --
On this Veterans Day we should not only honor the nearly 500 soldiers who have died this year in Iraq and Afghanistan, but also the more than 2,200 veterans who were killed by our broken health insurance system. That's six preventable deaths a day.
10 SUICIDES A MONTH AT FT. HOOD --
Tragically, Fort Hood has born much of the brunt from its heavy involvement in the occupations of Iraq and Afghanistan. Fort Hood soldiers have accounted for more suicides than any other army post since the US invasion of Iraq in 2003. In 2009, the base is averaging over 10 suicides each month - at least 75 have been recorded through July of this year alone.
131,000 HOMELESS VETS TONIGHT --
Although accurate numbers are impossible to come by -- no one keeps national records on homeless veterans -- the VA estimates that 131,000 veterans are homeless on any given night. And approximately twice that many experience homelessness over the course of a year. Conservatively, one out of every three homeless men who is sleeping in a doorway, alley or box in our cities and rural communities has put on a uniform and served this country.
Thursday, October 15, 2009
mingle in the moment
all things in one another's being mingle
the creek with the river
the river and the ocean
the mountains touch the sky
the sunlight clasps the earth
the moonbeams kiss the sea
the breeze caresses sweet emotions
of beings like you and me
the creek with the river
the river and the ocean
the mountains touch the sky
the sunlight clasps the earth
the moonbeams kiss the sea
the breeze caresses sweet emotions
of beings like you and me
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
pshaw!!
the power of accurate observation
is commonly called cynicism
by those who have not got it....
is commonly called cynicism
by those who have not got it....
Monday, October 12, 2009
building bridges
opinions build walls
stories build bridges....
for one who has perception
a mere sign is enough....
for one who does not heed
a thousand explantions are not enough.
stories build bridges....
for one who has perception
a mere sign is enough....
for one who does not heed
a thousand explantions are not enough.
Thursday, September 24, 2009
a dance, a smile
here i stand
two paths
another behind
the next faint
broad and widening
length unclear
full of choices
moments
a dance in near darkness
her smile lights the way
show me
two paths
another behind
the next faint
broad and widening
length unclear
full of choices
moments
a dance in near darkness
her smile lights the way
show me
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
more on moments
who told you this would be easy
eyes glittering like sea wet stones
a flush, gentle as rain, rose in her cheeks
nobody, nobody, the voice in her head clammered
i'm sorry, sorry, my love
it must be, i can never deny love
at that moment she met her eyes
and it occured to her
that we only live in moments
arranged as it happens
someday we shall live entirely in nothing
but a single kiss
eyes glittering like sea wet stones
a flush, gentle as rain, rose in her cheeks
nobody, nobody, the voice in her head clammered
i'm sorry, sorry, my love
it must be, i can never deny love
at that moment she met her eyes
and it occured to her
that we only live in moments
arranged as it happens
someday we shall live entirely in nothing
but a single kiss
Thursday, August 20, 2009
the wild good
my chair's a vibratin'
propelling me to stand
dance, drive
start something new
have a change of heart
dare to hope?
propelling me to stand
dance, drive
start something new
have a change of heart
dare to hope?
Sunday, August 16, 2009
in the moment
Will you seize it?
When we stand at the threshold of a new and larger world, it helps to
be bathed in the moment, to show that yes, the realm of the possible is
indeed far vaster than we know, and no, we are not crazy for leaving
normal behind.
The moment is something that is impossible from one's current
understanding of reality and truth, but that becomes possible
from a new understanding.
The moment is more than an event: it is an invitation. It says, "The
universe is bigger than you thought it was." It invites us to step
into a larger world, in which new things are possible. The moment can
blow apart our world if we accept it. Indeed, sometimes we do not
accept it; sometimes we relegate it to the category of "that was
weird," an exception to life, and we preserve normalcy and think and
live as we always have, as if nothing had happened. When faced with
an event that defies our usual explanations, we discard the event to
preserve the explanation.
When we stand at the threshold of a new and larger world, it helps to
be bathed in the moment, to show that yes, the realm of the possible is
indeed far vaster than we know, and no, we are not crazy for leaving
normal behind.
The moment is something that is impossible from one's current
understanding of reality and truth, but that becomes possible
from a new understanding.
The moment is more than an event: it is an invitation. It says, "The
universe is bigger than you thought it was." It invites us to step
into a larger world, in which new things are possible. The moment can
blow apart our world if we accept it. Indeed, sometimes we do not
accept it; sometimes we relegate it to the category of "that was
weird," an exception to life, and we preserve normalcy and think and
live as we always have, as if nothing had happened. When faced with
an event that defies our usual explanations, we discard the event to
preserve the explanation.
Saturday, August 15, 2009
Sunday, August 9, 2009
attachment & ego
gertrude and alice
sleeping beauty and the fairy godmother
patience and joy
compassion and wisdom
a new normal?
sleeping beauty and the fairy godmother
patience and joy
compassion and wisdom
a new normal?
Sunday, July 12, 2009
hope vs curiosity
i have no special talents
i am only passionately curious
and there is no cure
sail away from the safe harbor
for only the cat died nobly
i am only passionately curious
and there is no cure
sail away from the safe harbor
for only the cat died nobly
Monday, July 6, 2009
more on hope ~ by atwood
"As a species we're doomed by hope, then?"
"By hope? Well, yes.
Hope drives us to invent new fixes for old messes,
which in turn create even more dangerous messes.
Hope elects the politician with the biggest empty promise;
and as any stockbroker or lottery seller knows,
most of us will take a slim hope over prudent and predictable frugality.
Hope like greed, fuels the engine of capitalism."
~ Oryx and Crake
"By hope? Well, yes.
Hope drives us to invent new fixes for old messes,
which in turn create even more dangerous messes.
Hope elects the politician with the biggest empty promise;
and as any stockbroker or lottery seller knows,
most of us will take a slim hope over prudent and predictable frugality.
Hope like greed, fuels the engine of capitalism."
~ Oryx and Crake
Monday, June 29, 2009
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
happy bidet
I am spending my 59th
w/ friends that shared my 21st....
if old friends are a barometer of one's character
then we are quite the gaggle of characters!!
w/ friends that shared my 21st....
if old friends are a barometer of one's character
then we are quite the gaggle of characters!!
Monday, June 15, 2009
Monday, June 8, 2009
Monday, May 25, 2009
Sunday, May 24, 2009
a time to remember
friends and family
heroes and heroines
significant others
and special lovers
laughter and tears
certainty and fears
yesterday's child
heroes and heroines
significant others
and special lovers
laughter and tears
certainty and fears
yesterday's child
Friday, May 22, 2009
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Monday, April 27, 2009
Sunday, April 26, 2009
Friday, April 24, 2009
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
Sunday, April 19, 2009
being beyond hope
i don't have much hope.
but that is a good thing.
hope keeps us chained.
hope denotes a lack of confidence.
false hope that things will change...
technology will save us...
or the great mother
or beings from alpha centauri
or jesus christ
or santa claus.
false hope leads to inaction
and/or ineffectiveness.
false hope binds us to unlivable situations
and blinds us to real possibilities.
and hope itself......
our beacon in the dark,
the light at the end of the long dark tunnel,
protection from despair -
which you must avoid at all costs!
hope was well paired with plagues,
sorrow and mischief in pandora's box.
hope is a curse and a bane.
hope and fear chase each others tails.
hope allows you to be powerless to change.
when hope dies, action begins.
life is very good and very complex...
i feel rage, joy, sorrow, love, despair
and happiness all at the same time.
never fear despair...
it is not perpetual misery...
it is a call to action...
a call to give up on hope...
you never needed it.
the victim dies...
and that is a very good thing.
but that is a good thing.
hope keeps us chained.
hope denotes a lack of confidence.
false hope that things will change...
technology will save us...
or the great mother
or beings from alpha centauri
or jesus christ
or santa claus.
false hope leads to inaction
and/or ineffectiveness.
false hope binds us to unlivable situations
and blinds us to real possibilities.
and hope itself......
our beacon in the dark,
the light at the end of the long dark tunnel,
protection from despair -
which you must avoid at all costs!
hope was well paired with plagues,
sorrow and mischief in pandora's box.
hope is a curse and a bane.
hope and fear chase each others tails.
hope allows you to be powerless to change.
when hope dies, action begins.
life is very good and very complex...
i feel rage, joy, sorrow, love, despair
and happiness all at the same time.
never fear despair...
it is not perpetual misery...
it is a call to action...
a call to give up on hope...
you never needed it.
the victim dies...
and that is a very good thing.
Friday, April 3, 2009
Saturday, March 28, 2009
Friday, March 27, 2009
opinions
few are capable of expressing,
with composure,
opinions which differ from
the prejudices of their social environs.
most are even incapable of forming such opinions.
with composure,
opinions which differ from
the prejudices of their social environs.
most are even incapable of forming such opinions.
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
Friday, March 13, 2009
Thursday, March 12, 2009
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
Monday, March 2, 2009
it's been said
that it's easier to stand for something
than it is to live up to it...however,
if you don't stand for something
you'll fall for anything!!
than it is to live up to it...however,
if you don't stand for something
you'll fall for anything!!
Sunday, March 1, 2009
ponder osas
a birth certificate shows that we were born
a death certificate shows that we died
pictures show that we lived.
we don't have to change friends
if we understand friends change.
money is a lousy way of keeping score.
maturity has more to do with experience than birthdays.
credentials don't make you a decent human being.
control your attitude or it controls you.
i hope someday to be as good a person as my dog thinks i am!!
a death certificate shows that we died
pictures show that we lived.
we don't have to change friends
if we understand friends change.
money is a lousy way of keeping score.
maturity has more to do with experience than birthdays.
credentials don't make you a decent human being.
control your attitude or it controls you.
i hope someday to be as good a person as my dog thinks i am!!
Thursday, February 26, 2009
give me liberty
I'll know my country is back on track
when I do not have to remove my shoes
at the airport anymore!!!!!
when I do not have to remove my shoes
at the airport anymore!!!!!
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Saturday, February 14, 2009
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
what we need
experience to rule once more
reason, good will and sanity
humanistic communitarian socialism
alternatives
active defiance
dimensions of life excluded by dogma
reason, good will and sanity
humanistic communitarian socialism
alternatives
active defiance
dimensions of life excluded by dogma
what we have
a consumer culture
that worships cheap stuff.
a psychological, social,
and spiritual assault that
creates increasing material expectations
devalues human connectedness
obliterates self reliance
alienates normal human emotional reactions
and socializes self absorption.
that worships cheap stuff.
a psychological, social,
and spiritual assault that
creates increasing material expectations
devalues human connectedness
obliterates self reliance
alienates normal human emotional reactions
and socializes self absorption.
Sunday, February 8, 2009
Friday, January 30, 2009
survivor personalities
can keep their cool
and don't give up...
have a playful curiosity
and a sense of humor...
they make bad patients and
are poor rule followers...
and don't give up...
have a playful curiosity
and a sense of humor...
they make bad patients and
are poor rule followers...
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
accepting family
you shot your arrow at my heart
but it landed at my feet.
i choose not to bend over,
pick it up and
stab myself with it.
but it landed at my feet.
i choose not to bend over,
pick it up and
stab myself with it.
Sunday, January 18, 2009
rebirth
no almighty
no savior
no religion
no judgment day
no creator
no killing
no craving
no beginning
no end
just
self reliance
self discipline
individual striving
karma
enlightenment
liberation
rebirth
no savior
no religion
no judgment day
no creator
no killing
no craving
no beginning
no end
just
self reliance
self discipline
individual striving
karma
enlightenment
liberation
rebirth
Thursday, January 8, 2009
raw
mornings come raw full of emotions unable to stop pouring from every orifice unstemmed, steamy, infantile, all woman tears and laughter of pain and passion sweeping as a hurricane across my heart and then spent.....
Tuesday, January 6, 2009
Monday, January 5, 2009
Monday, December 29, 2008
a gift
Aging, I have decided, is a gift.
I am now, probably for the first time in my life,
the person I have always wanted to be.
Oh, not my body!!
I sometimes despair over my body.
And I am often taken aback by that older person that lives in my mirror
(and happens to look very much like my mother)....
But I don't despair for long.
I would never trade my amazing friends,
my wonderful life or my loving family
for less gray hair or a flatter belly.
As I have aged I have become kinder to myself.
and less critical of myself.
I've become my own friend.
I don't chide myself for eating the extra piece of cake,
or not making the bed or buying that silly palm tree.
I am entitled.
I have seen too many dear, dear friends and loving family members
leave this world too soon....before they understood
the great freedom that comes with aging.
Who's business is it if I choose to play on the computer 'til 4am
or dance with myself to the great guitar riff's of the '60's and '70's?
And if I want to sob over a lost love - I will.
I am lucky to have lived long enough
to have my youthful laughs
forever etched into deep grooves on my face.
As I age it is easier to be positive.
I care less about what other people think.
I don't question myself anymore.
I have earned the right to be wrong.
I like being older.
It has set me free.
I like the person I have become.
I will not waste time lamenting what could have been,
or worrying about what will be.
And I will eat dessert every single day (if I feel like it)!!
I am now, probably for the first time in my life,
the person I have always wanted to be.
Oh, not my body!!
I sometimes despair over my body.
And I am often taken aback by that older person that lives in my mirror
(and happens to look very much like my mother)....
But I don't despair for long.
I would never trade my amazing friends,
my wonderful life or my loving family
for less gray hair or a flatter belly.
As I have aged I have become kinder to myself.
and less critical of myself.
I've become my own friend.
I don't chide myself for eating the extra piece of cake,
or not making the bed or buying that silly palm tree.
I am entitled.
I have seen too many dear, dear friends and loving family members
leave this world too soon....before they understood
the great freedom that comes with aging.
Who's business is it if I choose to play on the computer 'til 4am
or dance with myself to the great guitar riff's of the '60's and '70's?
And if I want to sob over a lost love - I will.
I am lucky to have lived long enough
to have my youthful laughs
forever etched into deep grooves on my face.
As I age it is easier to be positive.
I care less about what other people think.
I don't question myself anymore.
I have earned the right to be wrong.
I like being older.
It has set me free.
I like the person I have become.
I will not waste time lamenting what could have been,
or worrying about what will be.
And I will eat dessert every single day (if I feel like it)!!
Friday, December 26, 2008
Thursday, December 18, 2008
new year
1) want more for others than i want for myself
2) think from the end
3) be an appreciator
4) realize negativity as resistance
5) visualize what i want to have and be
6) understand the art of allowing
7) practice radical humility
8) be constantly gracious
9) meditate
2) think from the end
3) be an appreciator
4) realize negativity as resistance
5) visualize what i want to have and be
6) understand the art of allowing
7) practice radical humility
8) be constantly gracious
9) meditate
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
self portrait
I lived between my heart and my head,
like a married couple who can't get along.
I lived between my left arm, which is swift
and sinister, and my right, which is righteous.
I lived between a laugh and a scowl,
and voted against myself, a two party system.
My left leg dawdled or danced along,
my right cleaved to the straight and narrow.
My left shoulder was like a stripper on vacation,
my right stood upright as a Roman soldier.
Let's just say that my left side was the organ donor
and leave my private parts alone,
but as for my eyes, which are two shades
of brown, well, Dionysus meet Apollo.
Look at Eve raising her left eyebrow
while Adam puts his right foot down.
No one expected it to survive,
but divorce seemed out of the question.
I suppose that my left hand and my right hand
will be clasped over my chest in the coffin
and I'll be reconciled at last,
I'll be whole again.
like a married couple who can't get along.
I lived between my left arm, which is swift
and sinister, and my right, which is righteous.
I lived between a laugh and a scowl,
and voted against myself, a two party system.
My left leg dawdled or danced along,
my right cleaved to the straight and narrow.
My left shoulder was like a stripper on vacation,
my right stood upright as a Roman soldier.
Let's just say that my left side was the organ donor
and leave my private parts alone,
but as for my eyes, which are two shades
of brown, well, Dionysus meet Apollo.
Look at Eve raising her left eyebrow
while Adam puts his right foot down.
No one expected it to survive,
but divorce seemed out of the question.
I suppose that my left hand and my right hand
will be clasped over my chest in the coffin
and I'll be reconciled at last,
I'll be whole again.
Tuesday, December 9, 2008
2008?/2009?
"we still talk in terms of conquest. we still haven't become mature enough to think of ourselves as only a tiny part of a vast and incredible universe. man's attitude towards nature is today critically important simply because we have now acquired a fateful power to alter and destroy nature. but man is a part of nature and his war against nature is inevitably a war against himself.....now i truly believe that we in this generation must come to terms with nature, and i think we're challenged as mankind has never been challenged before, to prove our maturity and our mastery, not of nature, but of ourselves."
Rachel Carson/April 1963
Rachel Carson/April 1963
Monday, December 8, 2008
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