I'm in a relative's house, disorienting. Visiting my sister, where I have not been for about five years, I am suffering instant withdrawal pangs from everything that I tried to put my hand on without thinking. Fortunately her house is equipped with an unsecured wireless connection...good for me but not good for her if the neighbors catch on to free Internet.
So I sit here with my VISTA laptop, which I detest and rarely use, as I wonder how others feel in my situation. Do they want to be in a place where every sound is unfamiliar? Do they want to spend an evening trying to have an adult conversation over the amazing degree of distraction an extremely bright 8 year old in the age appropriate phase of, "Look at me, everyone, all the time, look at me." exudes? Anyone who has had children or grandchildren will recall the phase. His mother was excellent with him but the interruptions to conversations were for her, thus all of us, unending.
It took no time at all to learn that there shall be no discussion of politics. Opinions are fixed (or broken, depending on who is defining. Actually, the verbal dance soon began to figure what was not offensive to her S.O. since I am not known for keeping my ideas and opinions to myself.
After a night's sleep (I hope) I'll know better when to have my mouth open or shut. One good thing abut visiting is that it is like a TV preview because nothing is watched in this house that has appeared on my screens.
Friday, November 14, 2008
THE ANIMAL, MAN, EXCRETES IN HIS OWN BED
If we are not poisoning the air one way,with chemicals and smoking chimneys of toxic air, we will do it in another. Chernobyl, 22 years after. Read about it. Yet, people still clamor for nuclear facilities despite the dangers.We not only pollute the earth, we pollute minds as well. The Jonestown Massacre was an example of religious pollution.Kristallnacht, in 1938 Jewish community in Germany was looted and property destroyed and dumped. 200 Synagogues were destroyed, 90 Jews killed and thousand of dollars of Jewish property destroyed. The dump site was recently discovered.
Lush land was turned into desert in many areas. Nature, not man was responsible for this one. But man is turning the oceans into dumps which will soon be as barren as the deserts if the trend is not stopped.
Dirty campaigns pollute minds with propaganda and lies. The pitting of parties and candidates, rather than concepts, ideas, and plans for the country are polluters as well. The smog they put up prevents clear thinking and cooperation among everyone towards the end goals of a nation. When the detritus of the Bush eight years is finally swept away, will we will able to regain the patriotism that made this country so great at one time? Will our citizens be able to pull together rather than fight so hard to divide? If we have any hope it lies with the people, not the pundits, not the Investor Daily or the Wall Street Journal, but in the little people, the local small town papers. The are the only ones these days that write simply without self-serving greed or hateful goals.
Do I see our country slowly returning to us over the horizon?
Thursday, November 13, 2008
THE FAT LADY HAS NOT SUNG YET
The election made some conclusive decisions but there are many still dangling. Feelings are rankling among the Republicans expressing them quite overtly. Already all the evils perpetrated on us by them are being blamed on Obama who hasn't even taken office yet. When one hears the arguments and ill humor with which the Republicans accepted the majority vote, even there seemed to be no voting fraud that would have changed the results.
Begich and Stevens in Alaska are still neck-a-neck as well as some still are in other states. In Minnesota, the Coleman-Franken recount will start on 11/19; tempers flare and the Rush Limbaughs of the airwaves keep the hatred, lies and bitterness in full tilt. One wonders when the battle will erupt full force again.
We, as citizens, are now going to be able to be heard by this administration (at least that is what I have been reading in large print). Everyone should make their suggestions for a better America know. People responded positively to getting out and voting. Now they need to let their thoughts be known. If two heads are better than one...the whole democratic party ought to be pretty good.
Begich and Stevens in Alaska are still neck-a-neck as well as some still are in other states. In Minnesota, the Coleman-Franken recount will start on 11/19; tempers flare and the Rush Limbaughs of the airwaves keep the hatred, lies and bitterness in full tilt. One wonders when the battle will erupt full force again.
We, as citizens, are now going to be able to be heard by this administration (at least that is what I have been reading in large print). Everyone should make their suggestions for a better America know. People responded positively to getting out and voting. Now they need to let their thoughts be known. If two heads are better than one...the whole democratic party ought to be pretty good.
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
JAZZ: MUSIC FOR WHICH TIME IS PASSING QUICKLY
Tonight I heard live jazz, almost extinct today in our area. The restaurant at which different groups play one night weekly The Wolverines (named after the 1923 short-lived group in which Bix Beiderbecke played), were there. Drums (Dave Didriksen), Tuba (Rick McWilliams), and Banjo (Jimmy Mazzy, doubled with vocals) provided the major rhythm, piano (Ross Petot) added, Trumpet (Jeff Hughes. doubled with flugelhorn),Trombone (Tom Oates), and baritone sax (Jon Clark, doubled on clarinet). What struck me, after a bit, was the pleasure the group gave that was missing on recordings and I began to wonder what made it so.
It took little time to realize that all my senses were being occupied. I felt the room's ambiance. People's bodies were responding to music, even those off the dance floor. The lyricism was gripping. The number in the audience of about 70 was matched by their ages. Noted was that there were acoustic instruments, though the size of the room required a couple of microphones and an amplifier for the banjo. There was a balance so that all instruments were heard at all times. When sung, words were recognizable. The beat resounded but never overpowered the other instruments. The musicians traded fours or played riffs, improvising as aria in an opera. The tuba laid down such a melodic and solid foundation of rhythm it was like building the strength of an ancient stone church.
The beauty of good jazz is that it is music in 3D as counterpointing and harmonizing melodies run around each other and entwine like vines in a jungle. Good musicians can make it not only exciting, but beautiful. The instruments overrode the rude and noisy audience that breaks out periodically to the annoyance of those who were there to listen to the musicians.
They took the sounds of poorly recorded music of the 20s and 30s and rearranged and recorded it to become an almost new genre, though the songs were written decades ago; songs like I Ain't Lazy, I'm Just Dreaming, Dardanella, Just Because, Shine, Riverboat Shuffle but for me the version of Blue Prelude played by Tom Oates on trombone was deeply affective. His tone is so rich, smooth and full it was as full of color as a human voice.
Lastly, what is missing in a CD is the camaraderie of wishing a regular patron a Happy Birthday with warmth and affection, and saying goodbye to one who died by playing My Gal Sal (his wife's name) and My Buddy. As i listened I realized that my appreciation was heightened by the fact that I grew up listening to these tunes and they were SO familiar. I made a mental note to try to be more patient with a younger generation who grew up with a totally different genre that is as unpleasant to my ears as mine is to theirs.
It took little time to realize that all my senses were being occupied. I felt the room's ambiance. People's bodies were responding to music, even those off the dance floor. The lyricism was gripping. The number in the audience of about 70 was matched by their ages. Noted was that there were acoustic instruments, though the size of the room required a couple of microphones and an amplifier for the banjo. There was a balance so that all instruments were heard at all times. When sung, words were recognizable. The beat resounded but never overpowered the other instruments. The musicians traded fours or played riffs, improvising as aria in an opera. The tuba laid down such a melodic and solid foundation of rhythm it was like building the strength of an ancient stone church.
The beauty of good jazz is that it is music in 3D as counterpointing and harmonizing melodies run around each other and entwine like vines in a jungle. Good musicians can make it not only exciting, but beautiful. The instruments overrode the rude and noisy audience that breaks out periodically to the annoyance of those who were there to listen to the musicians.
They took the sounds of poorly recorded music of the 20s and 30s and rearranged and recorded it to become an almost new genre, though the songs were written decades ago; songs like I Ain't Lazy, I'm Just Dreaming, Dardanella, Just Because, Shine, Riverboat Shuffle but for me the version of Blue Prelude played by Tom Oates on trombone was deeply affective. His tone is so rich, smooth and full it was as full of color as a human voice.
Lastly, what is missing in a CD is the camaraderie of wishing a regular patron a Happy Birthday with warmth and affection, and saying goodbye to one who died by playing My Gal Sal (his wife's name) and My Buddy. As i listened I realized that my appreciation was heightened by the fact that I grew up listening to these tunes and they were SO familiar. I made a mental note to try to be more patient with a younger generation who grew up with a totally different genre that is as unpleasant to my ears as mine is to theirs.
WHAT'S REALLY BEHIND PROP 8
Max Blumenthal of The Daily Beast wrote on 11/4/08 on Proposition 8 in California.
"Backers of the proposition to ban same-sex marriage in the state cast their campaign in apocalyptic terms. “This vote on whether we stop the gay-marriage juggernaut in California is Armageddon,” born-again Watergate felon and Prison Fellowship Ministries founder Chuck Colson told the New York Times. Tony Perkins, the president of the Christian right’s most powerful Beltway lobbying outfit, Family Research Council, echoed Colson’s language. “It’s more important than the presidential election,” Perkins said of Prop 8. “We will not survive [as a nation] if we lose the institution of marriage.”"
I fail to see how we would lose the institution of marriage if people will stop defining it as one man married to one woman without considering gay men married to one woman, or Lesbian women married to one man. The hypocrisy should not go unnoticed.
Blumenthan goes on to write: "While the Church of Latter Day Saints’ public role in Prop 8 has engendered a growing backlash from its more liberal members, and Broekhuizen’s involvement attracted some media attention, the extreme politics of Prop 8’s third largest private donor, Howard F. Ahmanson, reclusive heir to a banking fortune, have passed almost completely below the media’s radar."
Ahmanson, has donated $900,000 to the cause so far. Blumenthal continues with: Few Americans have heard of Ahmanson—and that's the way he likes it. He donates cash either out of his own pocket or through his unincorporated Fieldstead & Co. to avoid having to report the names of his grantees to the IRS. His Tourette's syndrome only adds to his mysterious persona, as his fear of speaking leads him to shun the media. While Ahmanson once resided in a mental institution in Kansas, he now occupies a position among the Christian right’s power pantheon as one of the movement’s most influential donors. During a 1985 interview with the Orange County Register, Ahmanson summarized his political agenda: “My goal is the total integration of biblical law into our lives.” ......"The campaign to teach “intelligent design” in public school classrooms, the Republican takeover of the California Assembly, and the rollback of affirmative action in California—Ahmanson has been behind them all."......."Ahmanson’s most controversial episode related to his funding of the religious empire of Rousas John Rushdoony, a radical evangelical theologian who advocated placing the United States under the control of a Christian theocracy that would mandate the stoning to death of homosexuals."
Our country was founded by people fleeing Their home and country to America, to find religious freedom. Are we to sit quietly by while the Mormon Church and wealthy people defile the concept of freedom of religious choice and inject religious beliefs into our Constitution? Why are we not focusing on halting the action of the religious terrorists within our midst? Read the entirety of Max Blumenthal's article. If the CIA would stop listening into porn phone calls and start investigating the overthrow of all our foundational beliefs, we might become a safer and more effective nation again.
"Backers of the proposition to ban same-sex marriage in the state cast their campaign in apocalyptic terms. “This vote on whether we stop the gay-marriage juggernaut in California is Armageddon,” born-again Watergate felon and Prison Fellowship Ministries founder Chuck Colson told the New York Times. Tony Perkins, the president of the Christian right’s most powerful Beltway lobbying outfit, Family Research Council, echoed Colson’s language. “It’s more important than the presidential election,” Perkins said of Prop 8. “We will not survive [as a nation] if we lose the institution of marriage.”"
I fail to see how we would lose the institution of marriage if people will stop defining it as one man married to one woman without considering gay men married to one woman, or Lesbian women married to one man. The hypocrisy should not go unnoticed.
Blumenthan goes on to write: "While the Church of Latter Day Saints’ public role in Prop 8 has engendered a growing backlash from its more liberal members, and Broekhuizen’s involvement attracted some media attention, the extreme politics of Prop 8’s third largest private donor, Howard F. Ahmanson, reclusive heir to a banking fortune, have passed almost completely below the media’s radar."
Ahmanson, has donated $900,000 to the cause so far. Blumenthal continues with: Few Americans have heard of Ahmanson—and that's the way he likes it. He donates cash either out of his own pocket or through his unincorporated Fieldstead & Co. to avoid having to report the names of his grantees to the IRS. His Tourette's syndrome only adds to his mysterious persona, as his fear of speaking leads him to shun the media. While Ahmanson once resided in a mental institution in Kansas, he now occupies a position among the Christian right’s power pantheon as one of the movement’s most influential donors. During a 1985 interview with the Orange County Register, Ahmanson summarized his political agenda: “My goal is the total integration of biblical law into our lives.” ......"The campaign to teach “intelligent design” in public school classrooms, the Republican takeover of the California Assembly, and the rollback of affirmative action in California—Ahmanson has been behind them all."......."Ahmanson’s most controversial episode related to his funding of the religious empire of Rousas John Rushdoony, a radical evangelical theologian who advocated placing the United States under the control of a Christian theocracy that would mandate the stoning to death of homosexuals."
Our country was founded by people fleeing Their home and country to America, to find religious freedom. Are we to sit quietly by while the Mormon Church and wealthy people defile the concept of freedom of religious choice and inject religious beliefs into our Constitution? Why are we not focusing on halting the action of the religious terrorists within our midst? Read the entirety of Max Blumenthal's article. If the CIA would stop listening into porn phone calls and start investigating the overthrow of all our foundational beliefs, we might become a safer and more effective nation again.
Monday, November 10, 2008
N.E. INDIAN SUMMER
Each year, Nature prepares us by throwing a frost or two...just enough to kill off most of the flowers and just enough to send us racing to batten down the winter hatches. Then Mother Nature teases us with Indian Summer, just as we are about to put on the winter longjohns.This picture shows the wonderful, sunny-yellow color of leaves before the world turns more or less colorless for the winter, when we imitate the black and white of the Ascot Race in My Fair Lady.
Are our recent milder winters foretelling the reality of global warming? Those of us who experience S.A.D. have had our light boxes in use for several weeks. Most people by now have had a flu shot and we await the first fall of snow. People are planning Thanksgiving, a time for many families to get together. Before we have digested that meal, the crush of preparing for Christmas will be upon us. The middle class will not be buying $100,000. diamond dog collars this year though there may be some out there who can afford to do that while so many children in the country are malnourished.
I'd like to think, since Obama was elected, of the new political climate of America as the Indian Summer of our government, warmer and more suggestive of what it can be like after the long economic winter we have barely survived.
Sunday, November 9, 2008
SADLY, REPUBLICAN DIVISIVENESS CONTINUES
The great plurality by which President-Elect Obama won should have taught the Republicans that their 'divide and conquer' mentality is not working well. For the first time in many years, the citizens of the United States want some peace and unison to work toward the goals to get America working well again. It is agreed that there are biases on both sides in the pundits who fill the TV 'News' channels. However, the biases are delivered differently. While the Democrats look to the future, the Republicans seem mired to remain in a negative, blaming, and ungracious past. That they cannot change course, despite the message from the voters, reflects only their inability to think of the country. It seems their religious goals and entitled view, that they can choose what is right for everyone else, continues to beam like a beacon in a lighthouse, ever going around and around.
The overall positive reaction by the rest of the world seems not to have touched the Republican party with any significant message. While there is both great talent and loyalty in the party, will some members allow themselves be utilized without sabotaging President-Elect Obama's attempt to achieve bi-partisanship? No Democrat should be under the illusion that all solutions rest with the Democrats. Colin Powell and other Republicans had the honesty to cross his party line with the personal opinion that Obama was the better candidate. There must be others in the party who can put their courage and beliefs ahead of 'blind faith' to the party as it is in religion context. If Washington were considered the modern day Garden of Eden, Cheney would be the snake and Bush, the apple.
Those of us who mistakenly hoped the nail-biting would stop with the results of the election had better grow new nails to bite for the near future as we watch the struggle for power in the era of new administration. May the best of motives for the country, not for the preservation of the job win.
The overall positive reaction by the rest of the world seems not to have touched the Republican party with any significant message. While there is both great talent and loyalty in the party, will some members allow themselves be utilized without sabotaging President-Elect Obama's attempt to achieve bi-partisanship? No Democrat should be under the illusion that all solutions rest with the Democrats. Colin Powell and other Republicans had the honesty to cross his party line with the personal opinion that Obama was the better candidate. There must be others in the party who can put their courage and beliefs ahead of 'blind faith' to the party as it is in religion context. If Washington were considered the modern day Garden of Eden, Cheney would be the snake and Bush, the apple.
Those of us who mistakenly hoped the nail-biting would stop with the results of the election had better grow new nails to bite for the near future as we watch the struggle for power in the era of new administration. May the best of motives for the country, not for the preservation of the job win.
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