Here 'tis

Given just minutes away from one of my jobs, where I got the opportunity to direct some proud and patriotic tea-party-ers towards their festivities this past Saturday evening.
The Communist Speech.

There was this artist called Remedios Varo

Stars of the Night Commute cover.

One reason to celebrate the 70s/80s

It's my day off and I don't think I'm going to this film festival thing I wanted to see in DC. Oh well. I got to ride a bike in beautiful weather today. Plus I have library books! Like Shelf Discovery, which is full of many book covers I can remember! I showed it to a friend, and we both agreed it's a shame we will miss Judy Blume at the book festival this upcoming weekend. I was looking at some of the versions of her books that are out now, compared to the ones I read. In the cover art on this older Yearling edition of Otherwise Known As Sheila The Great, those girls look like they actually have real personalities! I also found a teeny weeny version of the Yearling cover for It's Not The End Of The World on this site. That's the version of the book that I read. I loved her pose and used to stare at the cover, thinking I wouldn't have minded looking like her. I feel sorry for the kids nowadays, who have to get books with such incredibly boring cover art on them. Bleah. Maybe that will change. Hope so.

Tuesday evening in the park

Was the young man looking up at the great tree, who then knelt down and touched his head to the ground several times, an exuberant nature lover? Was he not the same as the one I'd just seen pacing around monkishly with a thick open book in his hands, its tasseled book-mark trailing out of it's center? Who reminded me of Vincent in Heaven Lake? And when he turned around and gave me a piercing look after I said "that's too bad" into my cell phone, what was he thinking? When I thought of his short hair, athletic build, and youth, I wondered if he came back from a war and began cultivating a passion to know more about Islam. Could be he will marry someone like one of the girls from Baghdad I knew, who became interpreters for the army. Or perhaps he hasn't been to war at all. Maybe he is a conscientiously pagan tree worshipper. (Tho somehow, I rather doubt it.) He pedalled away on a bicycle. In the car I listened to Datura. Spring Haze.

Glo friends

Maybe someday, I'll have a creative writing candlelit wine and cheese party with glo friends! I don't own any at the moment. My sister and I did have some once, including the turtle.

Labor Day this year

A gargantuan feature of my day off was watching shows on the MTV channel (I think) about pregnant 16 year olds and girls giving up their kids for adoption.

da da da da

I saw this girl today who reminded me of a certain girl who used to be the class artist who is now a writer. NOT how she looked in the grown up profile photo. More like a grown version of how I remembered her as a kid. Slightly Annie Lennox-ish. I found a very cute, charmingly misspelled letter (in cursive!) from her and the rest of my 3rd grade class in a brown manila envelope. Sometimes I wonder if these things aren't coincidences. Could be. Now, I can't be going to any upcoming book festivals on Saturdays. I requested off from one job. The other job stepped in to prevent me from going. Maybe I'll try to attend some of this film festival though. Before our yardsale, one of my friends lent me this book to read: I Was Told There'd Be Cake. Most in my mind is the story about being inveigled into being a bridesmaid. I knew a girl in grad school who always was one; she asked me how I escaped it. I don't know. I am the sort of person who is never asked to be a bridesmaid maybe? We had a conversation in a bookstore in upstate NY. I can't remember why. She asked me to touch her hand or sweater and tell me what I thought. I said "mother and love." She said "that's funny, because my mother gave me this sweater." Hmmm. Was that what it was? It's hard to recall. Tonight me and my new roommate ate cold crabs and drank wine in night time drizzle at some picnic tables. Thanks, early bird picnic neighbors. (For the crabs.) Yo quiero comer un cupcake.

eerie moments of the evening

The evening was a vast improvement over a severely and nauseatingly painful morning. Lonely Elevator Girl story. Wow, the 50s. Jack Kerouac. Much later on, in an art museum, the elevator girl stared and stared and recognized herself. I reminds me of the reaction I had when I stared and stared at a picture of Irene MacDonald by C.L. Dodgson (Lewis Carroll) in my high school photography book. "It Won't Come Smooth." This evening, I liked what I listened to on this radio show, "Voices With Vision," but alas, no playlist. I drove and listened and wanted to go to a diner, but I came home instead and then I was in the perfect state of mind to appreciate the elevator girl story. Before I sleep, I'm going to read The Magician's Book.

Finland

Land of superior health care. And maternity leave.
Conan Hates my Homeland.
Also they manufacture xylitol!
Which might be better for PCOSers than BREAD.
But not APPLES.

Hmmm

Is it good to reform health care? Is it imperative to reform health care? Is it American to care about poor people who can't afford health care? People who provide the more fortunate Americans with services...like waiting on them in restaurants, cleaning up after them when they get drunk at happy hour or on weekends, chopping up their salads in the kitchen...

The operatic moment came back

It wasn't "Summertime," nor "Ain't Necessarily So." It was (I just found it) "My Man's Gone Now." Perhaps it was even more enjoyable because I couldn't make out almost any of the words in the car. Two guys on the side of the road turned to stare as the opera...well it probably wafted more than blasted out the window, but still I was surprised that they turned to look. I remembered the young southern black woman, a student at a school of the arts, singing opera to me on my birthday a few years ago. I thought about the South. I was hungry. I had just got off work. I rolled down the window to spit out the shells of sunflower seeds.

Life while moving

Crumble frozen onions and cilantro into soup. Burn up some incense and candles. Pack, sort, clean and listen to either iWine radio or InTuneWithSpirit radio channel. Or, ditch the cleaning and packing and lie on the air mattress in the soon-to-be-vacated room. Read some books from the library such as The Complete Peanuts 1971-1972.
Or The Hand-Sculpted House.

Political oratory of moments (passed)

Red House. Also, Galloway, Sultan. By way of rural potter who commented on Working poor stand..., viewed after Food prices...
AHEM. Sunflower seeds and rice cakes!

Sociological Images

Women's Attitudes Towards Domestic Violence By Country
I have been sent a new blog: Sociological Images.
Women couldn't wear pants on the Senate floor until the 90s?
Starburst Commercial.
Now I MUST clean and pack.
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LATER--I went back to that site. I think this is a very interesting critique. (As are the comments.) I was accidentally driving by Pittsburgh when the story of the shooting first came on the radio.

Last roadtrip down south

Got to see the beach, and those glorious beach skies!
Ate well at Daily Dose (where they were going to be hosting some type of musical entertainment called "Jim Crow") and Poe's.
On the way down, saw a pretty calico cat on cabin porch with rocking chairs at a rest stop near Sumter, SC. On the way up, at a different rest stop I saw a kitty cat with sick eyes by some tupperware dishes of water and catfood and a pile of shredded fried chicken (a mercy or guilt gift if I ever saw one.) Pobrecita. I'm going to be moving into a place with a cat.
Maybe when I have time, after everything else I have to do, I'll check out this new book: South of Broad.

Started and finished

My friend's 12 year old paperback Flaming Iguanas in less than 24 hours.
And I enjoyed it. But now I feel fairly tired. The sun is going down. I want to gaze peacefully on a large field in the country and eat cooked parsnips.

I had to read some letters backward

If Sarcasm Ruled The World.
Gee. Even though the lyrics are all like, about a girl (I guess) taking off for a better life, the Destination Unknown video has nothing about her telling her boss to shove it and then joining a motorcycle gang to cross the Badlands. Why not? I think this version is a little better, tho. It's more showgirlsy.

Packing on Saturday night

Danny Becher - Root to Heart Chakra - Healing, Crystal and Tibetan Bowls. Looking at an old manila envelope with a Pearl Buck stamp and a customs sticker. It contains a picture of a missile launch inside - "Pandora's Box." On the wall, the Sage Woman Calender painting is "Pele" by Hrana Janto.

Unresistant to the effects of time

First look. Second look.

Kids

Some girls were on a bullhorn today, shouting at the buildings.
"Come on, have a heart people, it's our first lemonade stand!"
How children embody some types of soulmates:
I know you are but what am I?
I am rubber, you are glue. Whatever you say bounces off me and sticks to you!

A few roadtrip remnants

Roadtrip up + radio = Redneck cupcakes. Wedding hotel on Mackinac Island + late night PBS "Motown Memories" = Ain't no mountain high enough. Road trip back + motel = newfound interest in biker culture. Leading to websites that say female bikers are "submissive," leading to looking for alternatives, like oldbagsonbikes.com. Residual earache from trip = home remedies lookup.

In my ear today

As I was cleaning, some files on my laptop (it had previous owners) which I had previously ignored. This is not exactly it, but it's the same guy. (Eckhart Tolle.)

Aches of lower limbs

It happens after an evening on one's feet. Anyways, changing the topic, gardens are places of the deepest creativity and plants can talk to those who listen. Although feelings are more significant than words, trying to utilize words to express them can be interesting. Also, there are places in this world where great creative processes have taken place and no one even knows about it. Why so much emphasis only on the end product? One creative process might produce work of art, and one might be a friendship. The latter, which is bigger, may not be celebrated, and the former, which is smaller, might be lauded. How much we miss!!! This is ponderous. Chips. Nuts. Nuts. Thanksgiving.

Photographs

I always knew it was going to be weird when I got older and a lot of "old" photographs would still be in color, as opposed to black and white. Yet, I feel like if you put any group of people in the woods, and then take their picture, you can imagine that the picture was only taken yesterday, even if it was over 100 years ago. (This after accidentally viewing Hunters Garden--never been there, have no idea what it is--after searching for "hunter gatherer," after eating a small cup of beans and rice, and thinking about ways of eating.) I think the illusion is also a bit more believable if none of the persons in the photograph are wearing corsets or hoopskirts.

Really really really really really

woods woods woods woods woods woods woods

Wish I was better at it myself

The absence of negativity: in my experience, a person who can continuously exist in that mind-state is quite a rare find.

Click and drag

Sea Hag Virtual Tour. Scan the cross-beamed ceiling with its eyelight(s). Find the cat! I did that while listening to more of this talk.

What do you think about these?

Sea Hag Soaps.
Elizabeth Gilbert on Ruth Stone's Genius.
~~~~~~~~
Now I'm going to maybe watch--or, since it is getting later, plan to watch: Dr. Horrible.

A thought

Once upon a time, a lot more weird stuff was going on. And a lot of people had more money, too. Now is the lull. Blessed lull. It's a bit of alright.

End of night

Wouldn't you know, I found another photo album to dissect.
After listening to that destressing music, I found myself looking at other things this evening. Like a channel of a young filmmaker.
But then I returned to the song by Robbie Robertson.

Task almost completed!

The Heartbeat Drum song accompanies the task. The last photos of the album are about to be put in a box. Proof that apparently I was two years old once. Today it was difficult to finish this task for some reason. Ow. You'd think I'd had to run ten miles or something.

Bullion?

I thought it was a soup starter.
But the internet is here to teach me things.

Perhaps sometimes this is what is true

The only way to be truly happy is to let the ego die, die, die.
When I went to the park the other day, two monks with shaved heads in orange robes were taking pictures of all the plants. Then they got into the backseat of the car of their hosts or relatives in regular clothing.

Old photographs from May '97

Two slender, smiling human rights workers, a man and a woman, in an office in Lima. (Not pictured: downstairs, in the lobby, we saw some of the parents of the teenagers who were responsible for, and died during the Japanese hostage crisis. I did not know that until after we left. One of our group was Japanese. She had a friend in Peru. At the end of our trip, she went off and had lunch with her friend and ended up meeting with some of the president's family. We also did not know this would happen until after it had occurred. "Very nice people," she said.)
In Cusco: A girl in a pink dress, flanked by white flowers and holding a baton with a globe on top, is also wearing a white sash and a sparkling white pointed crown. She is nearly swallowed up by the dark cave of the caterpillar bulldozer shovel in which she sits. That must've been in a parade. And a blurry shot of two tiny girls in native costume, posing in front of a vehicle with the words "Policia Nacional," imprinted on it, surrounded by alternately smiling or intense policia. And the balconies above them, looking centuries old and Spanish.
(Little sidenote--ha ha. Reading the back of a photo. Various names of girls and professors. Noted that a girl who left because of an attack of endometriosis was not shown and then scribbled "also rotten girl named Em who left b/c she hated Peru." That girl was a disappointment. She dressed cute and carried around a little journal, but she liked to talk badly about others, and about her modeling, and was severely traumatized by poverty and the smell of urine. She wanted to know why a girl in the street couldn't clean her dog and put perfume on it. She thought Peru should be like a resort in Santa Fe. Her parents flew her home so she could go to the beach with her mom.)
Oh my gosh. That's enough. Enough memory lane for today. Off I go.

"Whoa Yeah"

I watched a song done in the manner of a certain type of music. Think of kids skipping school and amusing themselves in various ways, hitch hiking around, getting rides from some older hippies. You're only young once! In this body, anyway. I had a teacher in Jr. High who hated a certain deceased musician because she'd known--and taught--his girlfriend. "Her Daddy was my principal." Also whoever played him in the movie wasn't nearly as good-looking as he was, and that he looked like a god, and she used to see him wait for her afterschool. Anyway, the song is Craigslist.
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Got a bit fascinated by Mr. Deleted, Ex-Amish guy.
I found what I was looking for: Devil's Playground documentary.

Recents--music and fiction

Last video link I sent to anyone was Sister Twisted.
Last work of fiction I read was on a website.
The Low End of the High Life by Tina Castle.
As I give away (or perhaps sell) many, I have to return to other books. Soon. Pronto.

Change is good, again.

My luxury today is a temporary rental car with XM radio.
Also I am getting much better at becoming the queen of consolidation.
Adios to many books, clothes, and knickknacks. And some photos.
Some very beautiful Peru pictures are going into a box.
A younger, more flaca self. Very pretty country.
En las casas en la selva, muchos mosquiteros!
Rows of girls in shiny white dresses. Or in school uniforms.
Vespas, hammocks, palm trees, chickens...
An old newspaper photo spread. My younger self has pictures of herself on a blind date with a kid in my math class, in Seattle. I didn't know it was him. My Salvadorian friend said "You're so lucky!" He was half Peruvian, half Chinese American. We had the same birthday. He was Mr. Student Government. We talked about Peru and how he did an internship in DC. That was fun.

"Boy" things on the internet

Besides good ol' The Boy's Guide to Becoming A Man, there's also Mac and Cheese (I'd like to see a video for that) and Coin Operated Boy.

Onward...

Releasing old things might not be a painless process. Specially when you get to some kind of midway point and then just get stuck. Unlike the ignition. Which got unstuck. And then the key slid out while the car was still running. That means some kind of action needs to be taken. And suppose those strange past-something related dreams come back. Some of which are having to do with illness or living conditions. WHAT is the reason, why, which, and wherefore? Sometimes you don't know. Thinking about it is not getting anywhere, so perhaps a shift in focus is in order.
Videos most recently sent to me: Brrrlak. Whoever You Are.
And I just looked at a watermelon radish here.

Something about those books...

These are five just off the top of my head at this moment:
Novels: Heaven Lake and Captives of Time (young adult book).
Memoirs: The memoir of the female chef from India (okay I'll find her name), Meatless Days (the only one I own), The Wishing Year.
I have a sudden craving for chicken in wine.

Books

I love them, but at this point in my life I'm not the kind of person who should own a lot of them. If I get more settled later, I might cultivate a large collection. In the meantime, LET THE WEEDING BEGIN.
(Hooray! cries one part of me. *Gulp* says another.)
Maybe this is why cats are good to have in used bookstores.
Meanwhile, I finished PrairyErth. Next up: Caramba!
Sorry, upside-down exclamation point.

Those conversational topics

Phone Call A) To move oneself or to stay put?
Phone Call B) Catching up on life. Mission Trip to Haiti. Mental illness. Suicides. Rehab. Abrupt ending; need to shop before 9.
Phone Call C) What it feels like to be the last person sitting in the row of cubicles, and then finding out that the company declared bankruptcy. The hail storm hit one part of the state and knocked out the electricity, while in another part, the caller ate Tom Yum cashews (too much cheap, bland food lately) while leaning up against the car and admiring the amazing sky. Mmmm, flavor. You want to just jump into it, 5,000 times more bewitching than a Bob Ross painting.
Phone Call D) 30-Something Girl Z hears about how one girl peddles after another girl around a lake. 30-Something Girl X (shouting): I talked to a hairy guy from Argentina on the internet. He has the biggest dick I've ever seen. Have you ever seen an *uncircumscribed* penis? 30-Something Girl Y (peddling faster, thinking): I'm not going to shout about my sexual life while we're riding our bikes in a park!
100% off-peak minutes.
Let's listen to this again. I'm addicted!

I've started watching this in painful slo-mo

Because maybe it doesn't get along with my Mac?
The Boys Guide to Becoming a Man.
I got it from a link at awfullibrarybooks.wordpress.com.
Also, thanks to a link to that site: Twisted Sister's book for Teens.
It's great. :-)
I had to rewatch We're Not Gonna Take It for the first time in decades.

I have a reaction of approval

to the way the humans are acting in this Limoncello video.
I wonder if they are in the mountains. I was quite excited when my sister told me she found an ancestor who lived in a more mountainous part of Italy (Saluzzo?) in the 1200s. Her name was Alisona!

Good time of night

Driving home from work, barely any traffic, looking at night sky and tree branches. Autrefois. Thinking of...stars! Thinking of...Tibet! Listening to a trumpet and remembering the TV in my blond, blue eyed friend's house, and an actor playing that instrument in Mo Better Blues...U Plavu Zoru.

Sea salt brings out sweetness

I have discovered that recently. And here is a quote:
"...his comrades were not particularly drawn to the poets who dwelled on life's suffering. Au contraire! They were drawn to the bon vivants, to the ones who expressed their joie de vivre..." pg 211. The Wishing Year.

Yesterday

I thought that those most likely to be affected by new fees and reduced hours would be people like a guy and his kid who I saw yesterday at the counter, i.e. those who use the library so much and do not have a good command of English. It caught my eye that I turned in books that had yet to be checked in according to the computer. It's a hard day when you have cynical thoughts about the library. And instead of "the good people of the world are washing their cars on their lunch breaks" (lyrics from a song) I thought "the good people of the world are at the bus stop scrounging their pockets for a dollar on the way to their part time jobs with no benefits." Hooooooooo. Breath out.

Danke! Bitte! Schmeckt gut!

Really happy to note that a book like this exists:
Ani's Raw Food Desserts.
I was so off on my German spelling.
Here is a German food quiz. (I scored 5 out of 10 on it.)

I found it.

Finally found the title of the book I'd been wondering about for many years! Captives of Time. I was sad to read the review by a parent who wouldn't let his daughter read it. Maybe she read it anyway, in secret. Now I want to reread it, and look for others by the author, Malcolm Bosse.
I found another article about him here.

Interesting

A Letter to the World set to Saltwater video

Aw, old TV

I did enjoy the show "Blossom." I was practically that girl's age. Even though it was another show that made me despair of ever being thin enough! Oh well. I just watched "Blossom Blossoms." Cute. That's just the first portion but I watched the whole thing. Before that I watched an old Pepsi commercial. One of my friends introduced me to the literal video of Total Eclipse of the Heart. Once again, I have stayed up way too late watching this sort of thing. I wonder how I would've gotten any papers graded in grad school if youtube had existed. (I'm noticing my word choice there. "Papers" and "graded" as opposed to "research" and "researched.")

Tunes of tonight

R. Carlos Nakai...I Will Fight No More
Joan Henry...Utah Round Dance
Marina Rouge(? can't read my own handwriting)...Vision Quest
Lisa Gerrard...Swans
Autumn's Child...Spheres
Stephen Standing Owl...Reflection
Chris Mitchell...Night Chant

To do

Sift select filter...listen!
I'm still finding myself listening to "Ever since you've been leaving me..." and "Sitting on a pebble..." almost every night. What else is that like? Being in a small child's body on a sunny day at the PX? Crossing a long parking lot. Looking at a grocery cart. The first grocery store I remember going to regularly as a kid had a violent image: a picture of a coin with a woman's head on it and an ax going through it. Price-Chopper! And, the day after tomorrow there will be firecrackers. I no longer get stomachaches at the sound of them. I no longer envision giant flaming square Saltine crackers rolling down hills when I hear that word.

A bright spot

I just found out that the President came to my neighborhood (Annandale, Virginia) today to give a town hall on healthcare! Awesome! I'm sure he is very interested in making this a better system not only for today but for people who are his daughters' age, and possible future grandchildren. Too bad I was working on the wrong campus and missed it! My roommate, who has worked for years in medical offices and is currently looking for a job, watched it on television. What timing, it's been on my mind because of some family members and also I just had a doctor (well, actually nurse practitioner) appointment yesterday. That's very cool.

Lioness picture (someone else's)

I didn't mean to keep it open for several days on my laptop but I did!
I just friended the first girl I knew who was ever "out" in my high school. Cool. The best thing I did the last 48 hours was go to my last Pilates class and experience the beautiful end-of-class meditation. "The heart is an organ that is good of taking care of itself before it takes care of others. Not in a selfish way. In a good way." I have to do something w/ Thoreau and Emerson and Christine de Pizan and others one of these days...soon. I like this rediscovery of the young Julian Lennon's songs to his father. What if he came back...as a woman...and a woman who was particularly interested in women? I have to go back to my movie-watching, make time for that. There is a film about Edith Piaf. It would be interesting to see one about Gertrude Stein.

Thought

Some illnesses are exacerbated by stress. Anger turned inward.
Thich Nhat Hanh on loosening the knots of anger.

What I was told...

When I was younger I was told: "Beloved, recognize that many of the minds of mankind are very small...have not grown....they are yet children. And with these, remember patience and compassion. These are two of your learnings to remember. It is also part of your freedom."

Kind of eso si que es

It seems to me that if I had stayed in school and studied art and theory and worked diligently at being an intellectual and somehow had this emotional distance (or whatever) from certain other things going on around me, that certain types of people in society would "respect" that more. I do like art, a lot, and when I was in school I had some good experiences but where I was at did not feel like a good place to me. It was better for others. But I know that now this doesn't either because I don't have enough financial stability and I have health issues to address. Time to move on...move on...further than I did before. I think that healing is important in the arts, too.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This song by Julian Lennon is so eighties. Why is this so eighties. Oh good grief. It's like, walking through the mall in a little blue Jordache sweater. But this one is more like walking in a park (back then) on a sunny day, for some reason. Hmmm. I remember this interview...and this one!

Added to the donation....

Herbal Healing Secrets for Women (except mine was a paperback),
The Body Sacred, and either The Book of the City of Ladies or the Treasure of the City of Ladies. (Thought it was the latter but not too sure...) I do kind of miss them. I like the covers on the Christine de Pizan books. But it seemed like they were good ones to donate. A song, Dance Circle, by David Blonski is playing on InTuneWithSpirit. I think it's been too long since I attended a circle dance. I want to get back into that.

Poemsy poemsy

It's the end of the month. Always a very special time. Time to DONATE (books? to the library? to Africa? to your friends?) in the spirit of giving, instead of fearing collapsing into poverty! (Right before rent and a lot of the bills are due.) A poem from one of the books (which is an English Literature reader and I think it is headed for the library):

Coke by Philip Dacey (Fun bio pic!{ture}!)

I was proud of the Coca-Cola stitched in red / on the pocket of my dad's shirt, / just above his heart. / Coca-Cola was America / and my dad drove its truck.

I loved the way the letters curved, / like handwriting, something personal, / a friendly offer of a drink / to a man in need. Bring me your poor, / your thirsty.

And on every road I went, faces / under the sign of Coke smiled down / out of billboards at me. We were all / brothers and sisters in the family / of man, our bottles to our lips, / tipping our heads back to the sun.

My dad lifted me up when he came home, / his arms strong from stacking / case after case of Coke all day. A couple of / cold ones always waited for us in the kitchen.

I believed our President and my dad / were partners. My dad said someday Coke / would be sold in every country of the world, / and when that happened there would be / no more wars. "Who can imagine," he asked, / "two people fighting while they swig their Cokes?" / I couldn't. And each night before sleep, / I thanked God for my favorite drink.

When I did, I imagined him tilting the bottle / up to his heavenly lips, a little Coke / dribbling down his great white beard.

And sometimes I even thought of his / son on the cross, getting vinegar / but wanting Coke. I knew that if I / had been there, I would have handed a Coke / up to him, who would have figured out / how to take it, even though his hands / were nailed down good, because he was God. / And I would have said when he took it, / "That's from America, Jesus. I hope you / like it." And then I'd have watched, / amidst the thunder and lightening / on that terrible hill, Jesus' Adam's apple / bob up and down as he drained the bottle / in one long divine swallow / like a sweaty player at a sandlot game / between innings, the crucial ninth / coming up next.

And then the dark, sweet flood / of American sleep / sticky and full of tiny bubbles, / would pour over me.

In tune with spirit

intunewithspirit.com
Xavier Quijas Yxayotl "Xipe Totec" (To Spring and New Life)
4 Medicines "Sage"
Lorain Fox "Kaio Kaio"
Robert Mirabel "Grandpa"
Estun Bah "Violet"

Beatles therapy

Hey Jude

Healthcare & Birthdays

Needs to get better!!!!
Cumpleanos feliz...

All you need is love, love is all you need

The song to get in your head if you're sick and keep when you get well.

Newsish stuff

Since I never did put up those bunny ears on the T.V. (unlike when I lived in Chicagoland, and all I ever watched was 2 PBS stations) there's always Auto-Tune the News. Here and here.
Tabbouleh song was in my head today.
It's weird to play those at the same time.

It was in the stars

Multitask Breakfast: Consumed ground flaxseed, cinnamon, ricemilk, berries, and watched this and this!

This should be good

Interview w/ friend of mine about a sacred festival.

More (humor like nachos?)

Hey There K, 5 Facts About R, RP #10.
I'm being extremely good about what I've been eating.
Berries in snow: 1 package frozen berries, half thawed. 1 vat of plain, non-fat European style yogurt. Divvy up into sensible portions on a saucer.

That woods poem

Miles to go before I sleep

Ha ha.

Arlington: The Rap & others.
(Viewed via facebook after a skirmish between some Asian girls over a photo of "Harajuku girls"--such mean girls, such a cute photo! I wish it was on flickr!--but before this potentially childhood destroying video.)

Sounds interesting...

Letters from Rapunzel. I found that on my teacher's site.
And maybe also the recommended Drita My Homegirl.
Wonder whose job it is to pair those two?

Yoga is good

The nice thing about the internet is how it can provide a wealth of resourceful information. Like this article I found today about asanas.
Something I found when I typed "happy, joyous, and free" was this. (Sigh.)
At least that Ladies of the World video got made.
And "Jenny" is too funny!

Let's act like a "first world country"

At least in this case: just one little story of many...
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Hmmm. I bought some of this stuff the other day. It was in a part of the pharmacy that stocks Spanish / Latin American products.
But it's not for drinking! I bought it to make a "pack."

Ponderable

It is a life full of opportunities. What ones were missed, which were (good grief, I can't find a word choice for what I want to say..."seized?" oh well, I guess it will do.) And which served the soul most aptly. And which ones does the little optimist within still think are going to reappear someday?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I think I know what I might have liked about Thomas Merton. So many people seem need to cover, cover, cover themselves. And I don't feel like that is what he does. He tries to do the opposite, to reveal himself. Even with the religion and censoring of his early years. Even with those things, it is still as if he doesn't cover. Or maybe it is just that it seemed as though he did it in a way I understood. Also, I really felt like he was alive when I read his stuff. I felt like he did not die years ago. It was like he was outdoors and I could see him. He could just be in the other room.

Le Dichotomy

Anxiety about health or car repairs is b-l-e-a-h.
But...relaxation and breathing techniques and stretching is g-o-o-d !!!!
Huh. This is what I found when I typed "le dichotomy."

ABC
Viewed after a more recent ABC episode.

Good ol' White Peony

How did I miss it before? Who knows? Always nice to make a new discovery. Pretty lil' site: www.whitepeony.com

A book I've had...for a while

It's got stories; it's interesting; you can put it on a shelf; some of it is really not for the faint-hearted...
Heart of the Christos
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I read Father Louie and the Little Sister after looking for images and clicking on the one that accompanies the article.

Gentle portion of day

Relaxation at end of Pilates class to Peaceful Paradise.

Song...and book...

Godless
I've gotten sucked into Thomas Merton's The Seven Storey Mountain.

Wonder...

I have a memory of discussing radio with my mother's boyfriend when I was quite young. When we were all still in upstate NY. I feel like there was a show that had a narrator who intoned stories I didn't quite understand in a deep, spooky voice and it always ended with a dramatic laugh. I had heard it and sometimes he liked to listen to it. I feel like it was called "Midnight." But, not sure. Used to listen to "War of the Worlds" on a cassette in the car. Maybe while driving up to Mt. Rainier. First CDs listened to, in a large brown chair with a retractable footrest, with ginger ale, while sick at home from school: Carole King's Tapestry, Bob Dylan's Greatest Hits, the album with Pat Benatar's "Hit Me With Your Best Shot." Actually, maybe that last one was the just unpacking, not yet sick and staying home from school song. That was in the spooky-ish old woman's house. Later, when we moved to the island, I started to enjoy some classical music: The Planets.

STILL funny

"Bret, you got it going on" from "Bowie."
"Ladies of the World" on rollerskates and stars!
y mucho mas. etcetra.

What a great weekend

Lady slippers. Hotdogs. Parathas. Long drives. Hot sun. Aching feet. Vino. Lava Cakes. Bellisimo amigo me visito! Amigo came bearing a gift.
Another's post about Notaviva Vineyards.
I must acquire a digital camera soon.
I like the icy imagery in this video set to "Veronique."

Sifting

Much less enticing and looking sort of fake (to me) at the moment, unfortunately. Sigh. Heard about this Animal Investigators book; it sounded interesting. Watched Peruvian girl here, and looked at this and watched some Zee Avi.
Still a fan of this organization's calendar!

How withersome thou art, O ennui

Good food. Health. Prosperity. ANGELS. JESUS. CAT TAROT! Take that.

Talking about more recent reads

In lieu of weeping (internally dry-eyed or externally wet-eyed) about things passed / past...
I really think the last book I read is quite the book!
The Nightingales of Troy
And I'm going to get other people to read it.
Others I checked out/finished somewhat recently:
The Botany of Desire
The Daily Coyote (that's a website but there is also a book.)

Hi, song that used to play off a cassette

a lot, about 10 years ago. One of many!
Como Te Voy Olvidar.
I remember that there was a popular one that, in part, went "matare el maricon" but it seems to not be floating around much these days. In the rainforest, I was told that there was a fruit (I can't remember which fruit) that men couldn't partake too much of, because it would make them behave like a "maricon." But it didn't work that way for women.
Well. This is sad. I looked up someone very prominent in my life back then. A person with a combination of faults and stellar qualities. I found their name, and the name of the one who sent me the long ago apenas de entender tus palabras pero me parecen enojadas message, and also I find these words: Diaro, Edicto, y Violencia Familiar. So, it reminds me that it is good to pray for those who do not have such happy lives. And it is good to appreciate people you have known who had a very gentle nature. It might help others to cultivate their own.

Something you can do with your life

You can look at pictures of Food City and listen to Top Secret.

Ingredient for a vegan tea?

Something interesting just happened. I consumed some of my soymilk in a clump. I've done this before, by accident, and was not very pleased. But this time, something about the consistency and texture of it was quite agreeable in my mouth, kind of like a soy version of creme fraiche or clotted cream. The beverage was TJ's Soy Essential. It might be nice on a scone. For a vegan tea? Well, maybe not if it's strawberry.

A mi me gusta

una buenisima radio station!
(KCRW, available on iTunes radio for my East Coast self.)
Leaving California

Heart shaped balloons

I typed in that phrase and I found some pictures.
Here, here, here, here, here...

Sometimes, lately, I've got All Night by Sam Phillips in my head.

Quite a bit of news regarding health issues of others has come to my attention lately. Some of it is pretty daunting. I have to evolve because of stuff like this. I know. People do evolve, according to the circumstances they find themselves in.

Today's magical fantastical moment: I was in the right place at the right time and discovered a heart-shaped balloon floating over some treetops in the early evening. It almost was like a mirage or person parachuting. Then it came down to rest in the treetops and reality returned. It made me think about a time in upstate N.Y. when a kid in my friend's class set off helium balloons on his birthday. A few weeks later, he got a letter from a little girl his age in England, saying that "mummy" had found it under a tree. The local newspaper wrote a story about it. And oh yes, also (I found it online) the first poem from this book: Palladium.

Naps and gardens

Flickr is still pretty great, I can see.
I think I will acquire a digital camera one of these days.
Some things have given me cause to ponder the 2 following questions:
1) If the words won't come, then what is the reason.
2) Where is the heart when the words won't come.
Well, the world was not long ago given this story, this one and this photo.
Happier Ending!
I feel grateful to the Kitty City Gazette.

More light reading

obamacat-to-cheezburgercat-yes-you-can.html
sheesh way to get a posse of angry cats after you
but this one has a happy ending
Maybe I should go listen to more lectures about John Milton.

Click click click

After I got off of work, I got sucked into a crazy cat person's blog. Was I annoyed with the writing style. Whatever, I still read back to November of last year. Like whoa. Another one has many adorable photographs.
Geez, life!

Cat blog!

Haven't looked at one in a while. This is one.
Wednesday, March 28, 2001 is quite the poem.
He sounds like a cousin of a cat I saw outside today.
I rarely see an outdoor cat around here.

Plan on visiting soon...

(With at least one friend) this restaurant, to benefit Courtney's House.
I think it would be interesting to meet these people.

Snow World

At my highschool graduation party, I had the opportunity to try this "new thing" that had just come out, "Virtual Reality." It involved something to do with combat. I didn't enjoy it. I remember thinking that they should use it for something less destructive. So, it's nice to see that now they have come up with more therapeutic ways to utilize technology.

Nice sandwich...

Last thing I ate: a 4 ingredient sandwich. (Toasted Ezekial bread, avocado, heirloom lettuce, and sushi ginger.) Watching (well listening to really) this, about "the dead white male poet par excellence." It seems like a good thing to have on in the background when I'm about to fold laundry.

Futuristic-ish

Urban skyscraper farming.
Various.

!@$%*&!

!!!parkingfees@$$$perhour@$$$insurance%%%food***feet&&&thiscountry!!!
It was one of those nights where I seriously hoped people in the future will look back on us and think, wow, it must've been like living in Dante's Inferno to think that was the role model of...xyz. (Freedom, success, etc.)
Points to ponder: Collective freedom. Collective success. Enlightenment. Persons with expanded viewpoints.