Seals & Crofts ~ Hummingbird

I was in the optomestrist's office on Wednesday as I broke my glasses, and I heard this song come over the muzak. I hadn't thought about it for years. What a great song. Necessary to this blog. Enjoy.

Vatican forgives John Lennon for Jesus remark

11/22/2008 3:00 PM, Reuters

VATICAN CITY (Reuters) – The Vatican's newspaper has finally forgiven John Lennon for declaring that the Beatles were more famous than Jesus Christ, calling the remark a "boast" by a young man grappling with sudden fame.

The comment by Lennon to a London newspaper in 1966 infuriated Christians, particularly in the United States, some of whom burned Beatles' albums in huge pyres.

Good morning, on July 7
Though still in bed, my thoughts go out to you, my Immortal Beloved, now and then joyfully, then sadly, waiting to learn whether or not fate will hear us - I can live only wholly with you or not at all - Yes, I am resolved to wander so long away from you until I can fly to your arms and say that I am really at home with you, and can send my soul enwrapped in you into the land of spirits - Yes, unhappily it must be so - You will be the more contained since you know my fidelity to you. No one else can ever possess my heart - never - never - Oh God, why must one be parted from one whom one so loves. And yet my life in V is now a wretched life - Your love makes me at once the happiest and the unhappiest of men - At my age I need a steady, quiet life - can that be so in our connection? My angel, I have just been told that the mailcoach goes every day - therefore I must close at once so that you may receive the letter at once - Be calm, only by a calm consideration of our existence can we achieve our purpose to live together - Be calm - love me - today - yesterday - what tearful longings for you - you - you - my life - my all - farewell. Oh continue to love me - never misjudge the most faithful heart of your beloved.
ever thine
ever mine
ever ours

Ludwig Van Beethoven 1827

Double-Dose for Friday

Ok, I couldn't resist posting these two videos that caught my attention this week. The first is a pathetic and sad example of how f***'d up SP remains. I mean, ok, those of us barbarians who still eat turkey, know where it comes from and all that, it's not pretty, I am not proud, but for her to give an interview with that slaughter going on in the background and for her to be ok with that, to me, shows poor judgment and a profound lack of any presence of mind. As a celebrity-politician, she has not one inkling of projecting a favourable image of herself. I am going to go out on a limb here and say that if she and McCain had won the election I think I would be in line for volunteering to have what is being done to those poor turkeys done to me.



The second video is a sad and pathetic example of how low President Bush has fallen in terms of respectability among the leaders of the free world. No one would shake his hand? WTF? Cooties? It seems somewhat surreal to me. What a complete embarrassment he has made of himself and by association all of us.




It just makes me VERY THANKFUL to be looking forward to our new leader in President Barack Obama come 20 January 2009. I just don't know how much more of this I can take.

Wordless Wednesday

Because I've been feeling poorly for the past few days, I needed something to get my red blood cells functioning again, and so I thought of James Brown's Sex Machine - Get On Up. I still can't for the life of me figure out why Viagra's marketing division hasn't jumped on this one yet.

Enjoy.

Harvest for the World

A New Day

Election Night

Alice Walker Open Letter to Barack Obama

An Open Letter to Barack Obama
Alice Walker on expectations, responsibilities and a new reality that is almost more than the heart can bear.
TheRoot.com
Updated: 10:55 PM ET Nov 4, 2008

Nov. 5, 2008

Dear Brother Obama,

You have no idea, really, of how profound this moment is for us. Us being the black people of the Southern United States. You think you know, because you are thoughtful, and you have studied our history. But seeing you deliver the torch so many others before you carried, year after year, decade after decade, century after century, only to be struck down before igniting the flame of justice and of law, is almost more than the heart can bear. And yet, this observation is not intended to burden you, for you are of a different time, and, indeed, because of all the relay runners before you, North America is a different place. It is really only to say: Well done. We knew, through all the generations, that you were with us, in us, the best of the spirit of Africa and of the Americas. Knowing this, that you would actually appear, someday, was part of our strength. Seeing you take your rightful place, based solely on your wisdom, stamina and character, is a balm for the weary warriors of hope, previously only sung about.

I would advise you to remember that you did not create the disaster that the world is experiencing, and you alone are not responsible for bringing the world back to balance. A primary responsibility that you do have, however, is to cultivate happiness in your own life. To make a schedule that permits sufficient time of rest and play with your gorgeous wife and lovely daughters. And so on. One gathers that your family is large. We are used to seeing men in the White House soon become juiceless and as white-haired as the building; we notice their wives and children looking strained and stressed. They soon have smiles so lacking in joy that they remind us of scissors. This is no way to lead. Nor does your family deserve this fate. One way of thinking about all this is: It is so bad now that there is no excuse not to relax. From your happy, relaxed state, you can model real success, which is all that so many people in the world really want. They may buy endless cars and houses and furs and gobble up all the attention and space they can manage, or barely manage, but this is because it is not yet clear to them that success is truly an inside job. That it is within the reach of almost everyone.

I would further advise you not to take on other people's enemies. Most damage that others do to us is out of fear, humiliation and pain. Those feelings occur in all of us, not just in those of us who profess a certain religious or racial devotion. We must learn actually not to have enemies, but only confused adversaries who are ourselves in disguise. It is understood by all that you are commander in chief of the United States and are sworn to protect our beloved country; this we understand, completely. However, as my mother used to say, quoting a Bible with which I often fought, "hate the sin, but love the sinner." There must be no more crushing of whole communities, no more torture, no more dehumanizing as a means of ruling a people's spirit. This has already happened to people of color, poor people, women, children. We see where this leads, where it has led.

A good model of how to "work with the enemy" internally is presented by the Dalai Lama, in his endless caretaking of his soul as he confronts the Chinese government that invaded Tibet. Because, finally, it is the soul that must be preserved, if one is to remain a credible leader. All else might be lost; but when the soul dies, the connection to earth, to peoples, to animals, to rivers, to mountain ranges, purple and majestic, also dies. And your smile, with which we watch you do gracious battle with unjust characterizations, distortions and lies, is that expression of healthy self-worth, spirit and soul, that, kept happy and free and relaxed, can find an answering smile in all of us, lighting our way, and brightening the world.

We are the ones we have been waiting for.

In Peace and Joy,
Alice Walker

© 2008, Alice Walker

A Non-Violent Revolution

Here's a link to the site.

Still I Rise ~ Maya Angelou

You may write me down in history
With your bitter, twisted lies,
You may trod me in the very dirt
But still, like dust, I'll rise.

Out of the huts of history's shame
I rise

Up from a past rooted in pain
I rise

A black ocean, leaping and wide,
Welling and swelling, bearing in the tide.
Leaving behind nights of terror and fear
I rise

Into a daybreak miraculously clear
I rise

Bringing the hopes that my ancestors gave,
I am the hope and the dream of the slave.

Hope

“Hope” is the thing with feathers—
That perches in the soul—
And sings the tune without the words—
And never stops—at all—

And sweetest—in the Gale—is heard—
And sore must be the storm—
That could abash the little Bird—
That kept so many warm—

I’ve heard it in the chillest land—
And on the strangest Sea—
Yet, never, in Extremity,
It asked a crumb—of Me.

- Emily Dickinson

Hometown Front Page

This is the Day that the Lord hath made

"This is the day which the LORD has made; Let us rejoice and be glad in it."
~ Psalm 118:24

I knew I would get emotional last night and I finally did. When I finally realised it wasn't a dream. It was a dream coming true. Still, maybe I expected more from myself emotionally. I saw plenty of other people crying. I was teary-eyed throughout Obama's acceptance speech in Chicago. It wasn't until this morning that I forgave myself for my less-than-over-the-top reaction. For I realised that I've been believing this shit all along. I was completely in the tank from the first time I ever heard him speak. For the past four years I've watched him, listened to him, believed in him. I have also learned from him. I've watched him exude a dauntless spirit in the face of adversity. And at times when things would look the blackest (no pun intended), when I was exposing, with the help of the FactChecker and Snopes, the lies upon lies sent with the viral vileness with which they were intended from many of those most dear to me. When Barack Obama said "I can take four more weeks of this but the American people can't take four more years of Bush policies." I was breathed fresh life giving air. I was uplifted. I know I gained strength from him. I hope he gained strength from us.

Frankly, after the Democratic Convention I was completely fired up. And when McCain chose then unknown Palin, I thought he'd conceded right then and there and yet I thought I sounded arrogant to say that out loud. But really, what was he thinking? That was a very careless and dangerous decision. And she may have brought out the worst in his supporters. I thought McCain was gracious in his concession speech last night. I still believe many of his supporters are cretins. And they are probably proud of the fact that I do. The death rattle of an ugly beast can be a terrible thing to witness.

I have believed in this possibility for all of my life. From the time I was six years old and my mother, my little brother and I had to be escorted by police out of our home in the middle of the night when the riots from DC in '68 spilled into my neighborhood in Alexandria. My mother was naturally afraid being a white woman home alone with two children. I was more afraid of having to leave our dog Freckles behind. I grew up keenly aware of the racial divides all around me. But I always believed we could rise above it. And last night I believe I watched that happen. So I felt more of a sigh of relief than anything else. Believe me the tears have been shed for many years. Last night I saw my brothers and sisters come together. Young, old, black, white, brown. Rich and poor and middle class. Men and women. All coming together for a common purpose to become a voice for CHANGE. Now.

Today I feel quietly grateful. I will revel but I will not gloat. For there is much work to be done still. But what a glorious day it is.


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Early on when I started this blog I said it would not be a political rant because there already were plenty of those. But ever since Barack Obama announced his candidacy, I have been exercising my right to free speech about it. Because if there is anything that this blog is it is a record of my passions. And I became passionate about this candidate, this election, this country. I was not a Hillary convert and I was never undecided. I was one of a million when I made my first donation as one of the first million to do so. Today I am one of millions. Tomorrow I will (probably) go back to music and poetry posts and the like. Or not. What's more capricious than a hummingbird?

Open Letter to the World...

You're Welcome!

I Voted

Today I voted for hope and against fear.
Today I voted for change and against the status quo.
Today I voted for peace and against aggression.
Today I voted for the middle class and against socialism for the wealthy.
Today I voted for health care for all.
Today I voted for my children's future.
Today I voted my Christian family values.

May God bless Barack Obama.
May God bless America.

You Decide

You Got to Believe 100%