If, like me, you're always ready to share/recommend books and cool journals with all and sundry, here's a neat idea: The Literary Secret Santa. Don your red suit, round up those merry little elves and direct the dog-drawn sleigh to your nearest Indie bookstore for a treat of anonymous giving.
Of course, working in a bookstore gives me some advantage in the pushing-books-on-strangers process, but it's easy to pick up. Trust me, you'll enjoy it.
Oh, yeah, check the link attached to my title for all the details.
Friday, November 28, 2008
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
Etruscan Dysfunction
Lately, I've had a plugged-up ear that's been driving me crazy; it came with a spate of dizzy-spells, a touch of queasiness and a pervasive, all-around crankiness. When I finally got around to seeing a doc, she prescribed heavy-duty antihistamines for my Etruscan Tube Dysfunction.
Wasn't sure I'd heard it quite right but it did explain my sudden interest in root vegetables and seared meat. I also had an inclination to lounge on the settee during dinner, secretly hoping my sweetie would feed me small bites and grapes while toga-clad musicians strummed lyres and tootled double-barreled flutes in the background. Roasted wild boar for Thanksgiving, why not? If it was good enough for the Etruscans, should be good enough for us.
But then, what about this "tube" business? Had I just narrowly missed switching my wardrobe to include tube-tops and tube-socks (not a sight for the faint of heart on either account), signing up for tube-a-thons down the raging Russian River, shifting to a diet of sausage, carrots, bread sticks? Penne pasta would count, yes, but what about burritos? I could only hope.
I mentioned my concerns to the doc, who at first looked quizzical, then perplexed and finally laughed outright.
"No, no," she said, "Eustachian Tube Dysfunction, the tube that runs from your ears down into the back of your throat."
So. Great. Now I'm Etruscan and I'm going deaf.
Wasn't sure I'd heard it quite right but it did explain my sudden interest in root vegetables and seared meat. I also had an inclination to lounge on the settee during dinner, secretly hoping my sweetie would feed me small bites and grapes while toga-clad musicians strummed lyres and tootled double-barreled flutes in the background. Roasted wild boar for Thanksgiving, why not? If it was good enough for the Etruscans, should be good enough for us.
But then, what about this "tube" business? Had I just narrowly missed switching my wardrobe to include tube-tops and tube-socks (not a sight for the faint of heart on either account), signing up for tube-a-thons down the raging Russian River, shifting to a diet of sausage, carrots, bread sticks? Penne pasta would count, yes, but what about burritos? I could only hope.
I mentioned my concerns to the doc, who at first looked quizzical, then perplexed and finally laughed outright.
"No, no," she said, "Eustachian Tube Dysfunction, the tube that runs from your ears down into the back of your throat."
So. Great. Now I'm Etruscan and I'm going deaf.
Monday, November 17, 2008
Night Songs
Once long ago, on a dark, crisp night near the end of summer, when the snap in the air presaged fall and the stars blinked on before we were sent to our cots for sleep, we kids lounged against the pines, trying to squeeze every last moment out of the day. Glancing up, I gasped: the aurora borealis, those glowing neon curtains, wavered over the lake. Sheer, celestial beauty; a singing of light. Even now, my insides get fluttery with the memory. I wanted to stay up all night, every night to see them. But they did not always show themselves, even as far north as we were. And so some nights, many nights, I’d be put to bed disappointed. Sometimes I cried, an inconsolable 8 year old, the bitterness of not seeing them overshadowing the times I did.
I was young then. And though decades have passed, I’m not really so much older. I still seek beauty during my day, dream of it at night. I’m still hurt, sometimes devastated, when I can not find it.
This does not mean that beauty, those electric celestial curtains, the muscled fabric that stretches through time and contains all space, isn’t there. Just that I have not sat still enough to touch it.
I was young then. And though decades have passed, I’m not really so much older. I still seek beauty during my day, dream of it at night. I’m still hurt, sometimes devastated, when I can not find it.
This does not mean that beauty, those electric celestial curtains, the muscled fabric that stretches through time and contains all space, isn’t there. Just that I have not sat still enough to touch it.
Monday, November 10, 2008
A Resident for this President
This morning I realized that for the first time in 8 years I could stand to read the paper. I know the news is not all that pretty, but finally we have a real president, someone who can handle the situation, rather than make it worse. Someone who gets the big picture. I mean, doesn't Obama look presidential? sound presidential? act presidential?
I won't have to move to Canada, after all.
I won't have to move to Canada, after all.
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
Yipppee kiy YAAAAAYYY
Okay, we can all breathe again.
I've been mulling over this Obama-phenomenon for a few weeks(an eternity in the blogosphere, sorry), thinking about why I, my kids, my co-workers, shop-keepers, grandparents, professors, maintenance workers, voters of all stripes and inclinations are drawn to Obama -- President-elect Obama!
There is the historic aspect. That can't be denied, esp. for us older folks, who suffered through those terrible years when humans acted like animals, beating on their own kind; we who witnessed the horror, the bombings, the dogs, the malevolence, even if we didn't experience it directed at us first hand. The pain still resides, but maybe it no longer abides.
But for younger voters, race was really not the issue. Obama speaks to them directly about their desire for a more honorable country, for a country they can beleive in. He understands the way technology is embedded in their world, the economies they live under. He knows the power of many minds linked in a common cause; he understands that with the internet, a true grass-roots organization can function. Not only understands, but uses effectively, brilliantly.
Obama, in his run for the Presidency, brought honor and dignity to the campaign and to our nation. He knew that we are tired of the name-calling, fear-mongering, excluding world view of the old-style politics and the older minds. Obama understands we are a pluralisitc society and we are proud of it. He gets that young people often didn't vote because there hadn't been anyone to vote for. He operates with an attitude of respect for all, even his opponents, rather than hatred towards some, and I think this is his true nature. In that respect he's more of a Christian than the current, sitting (lame-duck) president and others of that ilk.
Obama has a vision for this country that honors the principles and ideals that created it. To me, he ran not so much because he wanted to be President (although I'm sure that desire is there, too, otherwise...how could one put up with the ordeal?), but because that was the way to re-instill these values, to re-set the nation on our course,to return hope to our country. He wants to revive that combination of acceptance and opportunity that makes this country great, fabulous and unique. He means it when he says that in no other country is his story possible and we all know that to be gospel.
McCain wanted to be president, period. In the end, he sold out, resorted to doing anything to accomplish that. That's when he lost the nation's respect. He used smear tactics, he fed into the hatreds of immature, unsophisticated voters, he pandered to the right-wing evangelicals. (I can't call them Christians when they hate others so much.) And who won? Perhaps now, the Republican Party will understand that the rightwing evangelicals are a splinter group. That they don't represent America or American ideals in the slightest. That there are few young Republicans for a reason.
Only in this country is his story possible. Only this country can redeem itself so spectacularly.
I've been mulling over this Obama-phenomenon for a few weeks(an eternity in the blogosphere, sorry), thinking about why I, my kids, my co-workers, shop-keepers, grandparents, professors, maintenance workers, voters of all stripes and inclinations are drawn to Obama -- President-elect Obama!
There is the historic aspect. That can't be denied, esp. for us older folks, who suffered through those terrible years when humans acted like animals, beating on their own kind; we who witnessed the horror, the bombings, the dogs, the malevolence, even if we didn't experience it directed at us first hand. The pain still resides, but maybe it no longer abides.
But for younger voters, race was really not the issue. Obama speaks to them directly about their desire for a more honorable country, for a country they can beleive in. He understands the way technology is embedded in their world, the economies they live under. He knows the power of many minds linked in a common cause; he understands that with the internet, a true grass-roots organization can function. Not only understands, but uses effectively, brilliantly.
Obama, in his run for the Presidency, brought honor and dignity to the campaign and to our nation. He knew that we are tired of the name-calling, fear-mongering, excluding world view of the old-style politics and the older minds. Obama understands we are a pluralisitc society and we are proud of it. He gets that young people often didn't vote because there hadn't been anyone to vote for. He operates with an attitude of respect for all, even his opponents, rather than hatred towards some, and I think this is his true nature. In that respect he's more of a Christian than the current, sitting (lame-duck) president and others of that ilk.
Obama has a vision for this country that honors the principles and ideals that created it. To me, he ran not so much because he wanted to be President (although I'm sure that desire is there, too, otherwise...how could one put up with the ordeal?), but because that was the way to re-instill these values, to re-set the nation on our course,to return hope to our country. He wants to revive that combination of acceptance and opportunity that makes this country great, fabulous and unique. He means it when he says that in no other country is his story possible and we all know that to be gospel.
McCain wanted to be president, period. In the end, he sold out, resorted to doing anything to accomplish that. That's when he lost the nation's respect. He used smear tactics, he fed into the hatreds of immature, unsophisticated voters, he pandered to the right-wing evangelicals. (I can't call them Christians when they hate others so much.) And who won? Perhaps now, the Republican Party will understand that the rightwing evangelicals are a splinter group. That they don't represent America or American ideals in the slightest. That there are few young Republicans for a reason.
Only in this country is his story possible. Only this country can redeem itself so spectacularly.
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
Here we go...
I just can't take it anymore and I know you all are going bezerko-nutz, so here's a link to a sweet news story from Dixville Notch, New Hampshire: First Voters. I think they have the right idea.
One down, several hundred thousand to go.
Enjoy!
One down, several hundred thousand to go.
Enjoy!
Monday, November 3, 2008
Election Eve
It's been a day of spitting rain, soggy coats and a sudden rainbow at 4 o'clock. As we drove home from work, the sun slid behind an enormous bank of foaming clouds boiling over the horizon, obscuring the hills. Perhaps it was fog rising to meet the dissipating rain. Perhaps it was a whole new storm moving in to consume the hills, wash out the creeks and rivers, push debris to the ocean.
But there was no wind. The calm before the storm, perhaps, this election eve. For we, as a nation, are taking a collective breath, holding it, awaiting the results of tomorrow, all of us eager for a change in the political weather.
But there was no wind. The calm before the storm, perhaps, this election eve. For we, as a nation, are taking a collective breath, holding it, awaiting the results of tomorrow, all of us eager for a change in the political weather.
Thursday, October 30, 2008
We Stand for Change
The other evening, armed with my cell-phone, I went halfway across town to join about a dozen complete (though quite friendly) strangers to do some phone-banking. I can hear you now: "You did what? I can't even get you to go to the movies." Well, I did. These are desperate times. Faced with the specter of another Republican president, even us de-motivated, low-energy, depressed peoples are restless and unable to sit still . We've learned the hard way what can happen when we assume no one could possibly vote twice for the same idiot a village in Texas has been looking for. The village can't believe it either.
The house, tucked down a side-court off a minor cross road, was easily identified by the row of cars in front all sporting Obama/Biden spots, linked to corresponding signs on the lawn and in the windows. I was welcomed at the front door; the greeter took me to a table in the den for a 10-minute briefing. All around me, on the sofa, in every corner, in the two bedrooms and scattered about the back yard, women and men sat with phones to ears and a few pages in front of them. I found a recently vacated patio love seat, the cushions still warm from the previous phone-banker, and set to work in the quickly chilling air. We were contacting supporters, so I shouldn't have been so surprised when most of the people I talked to said they'd already voted, or contributed last week and/or were ready to join us for another round of calling this weekend. Still, I was charmed,encouraged and thrilled.
So where is this going? to this music video that I received today from one of the crew. Check it out. We Stand For Change .
If you think you hear some David Grisman influence, you would be right. Snoop around the Cast and Crew links on the video.
The house, tucked down a side-court off a minor cross road, was easily identified by the row of cars in front all sporting Obama/Biden spots, linked to corresponding signs on the lawn and in the windows. I was welcomed at the front door; the greeter took me to a table in the den for a 10-minute briefing. All around me, on the sofa, in every corner, in the two bedrooms and scattered about the back yard, women and men sat with phones to ears and a few pages in front of them. I found a recently vacated patio love seat, the cushions still warm from the previous phone-banker, and set to work in the quickly chilling air. We were contacting supporters, so I shouldn't have been so surprised when most of the people I talked to said they'd already voted, or contributed last week and/or were ready to join us for another round of calling this weekend. Still, I was charmed,encouraged and thrilled.
So where is this going? to this music video that I received today from one of the crew. Check it out. We Stand For Change .
If you think you hear some David Grisman influence, you would be right. Snoop around the Cast and Crew links on the video.
Another Limerick!
John McCain said " I've Picked Palin;
"We love Micheal" we said "We're all in"
But it's not Micheal, but Sarah,
and if that doesn,t scare ya,
it's a whole different kind of a Laugh In.
October 30, 2008 7:35 PM
submitted by Anonymous
"We love Micheal" we said "We're all in"
But it's not Micheal, but Sarah,
and if that doesn,t scare ya,
it's a whole different kind of a Laugh In.
October 30, 2008 7:35 PM
submitted by Anonymous
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
Limericks!
A submission
Senator stodgy explosive McMean
picked Palin to be his new queen
150 grand to play dress up
weak interviews, troopergate misconduct
poll numbers heading down the latrine
by Anonymous...
Senator stodgy explosive McMean
picked Palin to be his new queen
150 grand to play dress up
weak interviews, troopergate misconduct
poll numbers heading down the latrine
by Anonymous...
Sunday, October 26, 2008
Foaming Pipe Snake
You think I made that up, don't you? I'd love to take credit for such a fortuitous choice of words and images, but no. It's a real ad, for drains. from Liquid Plumr. Their spelling, not mine. Though,personally, I think some SNL writers are on the loose, creating chaos, having too much fun...think we can get away with it, in the "real" world?? I talking about the OG SNL writers, the ones who brought us Swill, the bottled essence of Lake Erie, Puppy Uppers, Jamitol, Bassomatic.
Maybe they're acting on a dare, maybe they want to see if we're paying attention, maybe they just want to give us some comic interludes.
Candygram, ma'am.
Landshark.
Maybe they're acting on a dare, maybe they want to see if we're paying attention, maybe they just want to give us some comic interludes.
Candygram, ma'am.
Landshark.
Three Limericks starring Palin and McCain
In Wasilla there once was a Mayor
whose knowledge of geography was, errr, fair.
On her porch with a friend, she said, "yeeup that's Russia
but enough on foreign stuff, so hush'ya --
Say what? running for Veep? Good lord, I have nothing to wear!
yeah, this is harder than I thought.
There once was a Mayor of Wasilla
who said to a moose, I'm gonna kill'ya
But with her new togs and a bun
ten winks and a gun,
she sure as hell looked mighty silly-ah.
okay.... next?
There once was a Governor of Alaska
to whom John McCain said " I'll ask ya
to run as my Veep
though you know less than my sheep
about history, foreign affairs and math-yeah!
that took all weekend. Aaarrrrgh!
whose knowledge of geography was, errr, fair.
On her porch with a friend, she said, "yeeup that's Russia
but enough on foreign stuff, so hush'ya --
Say what? running for Veep? Good lord, I have nothing to wear!
yeah, this is harder than I thought.
There once was a Mayor of Wasilla
who said to a moose, I'm gonna kill'ya
But with her new togs and a bun
ten winks and a gun,
she sure as hell looked mighty silly-ah.
okay.... next?
There once was a Governor of Alaska
to whom John McCain said " I'll ask ya
to run as my Veep
though you know less than my sheep
about history, foreign affairs and math-yeah!
that took all weekend. Aaarrrrgh!
Thursday, October 23, 2008
Caution, Gnomes at Work
not a limerick...but the gal has her heart in the right spot. Hit the title above to find the Tax & Spend Gnomes
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
McPalin Limericks
yessss! a take-off on the Sarah Palin Haiku Hysteria sponsored by People For The American Way. Check the link out:
McPalin Haiku Hysteria...and vote for your favorite. Then, just for ducks, come back and send me a limerick starring McPalin (or components) via Comments and I'll post it. Unless it is just too vicious or way past bawdy, of course. No name calling! This is serious literature!
Here's one to get the ball rolling;
For a Veep, he picked quite a dear
though why, is not immediately clear
while she can handle Wasilia
a dead moose and Alaska --
what'll happen when Putin draws near?
I didn't say they had to be good
McPalin Haiku Hysteria...and vote for your favorite. Then, just for ducks, come back and send me a limerick starring McPalin (or components) via Comments and I'll post it. Unless it is just too vicious or way past bawdy, of course. No name calling! This is serious literature!
Here's one to get the ball rolling;
For a Veep, he picked quite a dear
though why, is not immediately clear
while she can handle Wasilia
a dead moose and Alaska --
what'll happen when Putin draws near?
I didn't say they had to be good
Monday, October 20, 2008
Joe Hearts Joe
So the word is out. Joe Six Pack and Joe the Plumber are getting married at San Francisco's City Hall. McCain of course, dropped his support and wants his "incentives" back. So much for reasoned arguments and researched positions.
Someone scooped me, too, getting a look at the wedding announcements already and posting it in his or her column. As soon as I find the original post that this came from, I'll post the link.
Someone scooped me, too, getting a look at the wedding announcements already and posting it in his or her column. As soon as I find the original post that this came from, I'll post the link.
Andy Goldsworthy in San Francisco
Hit the title or link below for the complete story, but the upshot is that Andy Goldsworthy is building a sculpture/installation this month in the Presidio. I was alerted to this via Zyzzyva and Howard Junker's blog, in which he stumbles by the installation site on one of his walks. Only in SF. (Junker also announced his immanent resignation as editor of the Journal. that's an era )
http://www.presidio.gov/experiences/spire.htm
Goldsworthy's work is inspirational; I am entranced by his imaginative use of natural materials. To me, he personifies the drive we have in us to create something, anything, whether it's useful or not. It's a drive that can sometimes be seen in animals, too, though we usually see their more useful creations: nests, burrows, dens. It's the sort of thing that children often do, just making things out of what's around them. But Goldsworthy takes it all one mega-step further. Not just in size but in concept and stunning beauty. But it's not something so easily described, so if you aren't familiar with him, here are some links.
http://images.google.com/images?hl=en&q=andy+goldsworthy&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=X&oi=image_result_group&resnum=1&ct=title
www.morning-earth.org/ARTISTNATURALISTS/AN_Goldsworthy.html>
and...any of you Bay Area folks up for a field trip to the Presidio?
http://www.presidio.gov/experiences/spire.htm
Goldsworthy's work is inspirational; I am entranced by his imaginative use of natural materials. To me, he personifies the drive we have in us to create something, anything, whether it's useful or not. It's a drive that can sometimes be seen in animals, too, though we usually see their more useful creations: nests, burrows, dens. It's the sort of thing that children often do, just making things out of what's around them. But Goldsworthy takes it all one mega-step further. Not just in size but in concept and stunning beauty. But it's not something so easily described, so if you aren't familiar with him, here are some links.
http://images.google.com/images?hl=en&q=andy+goldsworthy&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=X&oi=image_result_group&resnum=1&ct=title
www.morning-earth.org/ARTISTNATURALISTS/AN_Goldsworthy.html>
and...any of you Bay Area folks up for a field trip to the Presidio?
Sunday, October 19, 2008
Joe Six-Pack.
Who the heck is this fella? That guy down at 7-Eleven with a six-pack of beer in each hand? Bud or Coors, usually. Always wears a baseball cap. That guy? Why is anyone pandering to his vote? If he's putting a six-pack away each night, he probably doesn't have much brain-function left and will probably won't get around to voting, if he even remembers. Because, you know, Tuesday is the day after Monday, which is a lost day, and Tuesday he's gotta work doubletime to get caught up, so he's too tired to do anything after work. Maybe if the Election was on a Weds.
But, jeeez. Is this the fella whose opinion counts so much? Oh, wait, maybe they mean the fellas with the six-pack abs. Riiiiight. They're really paying attention to trade agreements, balance of power and the finer points of de-regulation. After all, they seem to think that drilling offshore will bring in enough oil to amount to a hill of beans.
But, jeeez. Is this the fella whose opinion counts so much? Oh, wait, maybe they mean the fellas with the six-pack abs. Riiiiight. They're really paying attention to trade agreements, balance of power and the finer points of de-regulation. After all, they seem to think that drilling offshore will bring in enough oil to amount to a hill of beans.
Saturday, October 18, 2008
Barak Hussein Obama
As most of us know, sharing a notorious name does not mean one shares those notorious qualities, despite what some Republicans currently running for office try to say. If it did, then all Timothys or McVeighs should be rounded up and put away because, of course, one day they’re bound to blow up a few government buildings.
Nevertheless, some continue to make a big fuss about Barak Obama’s middle name, Hussein, trying to make a link to extremists that simply doesn't exist. Obama deals with the issue so elegantly and honorably, refusing to be baited with this most ridiculous of arguments, directing the discussion instead back to the more important issues facing the country: the economy, energy and education.
Hussein is an extremely popular name in the Arabic world; it comes from "hasan," meaning good, handsome or beautiful. (Wikipedia:Hussein) It’s the name of one of Muhammad's two grandsons, who became the revered leader of the Shia sect of the Muslim faith. Giving the name Hussein to a child is the same as giving the name Jesus or Mary or Linda; we want to infect him or her with the wisdom, heroism or beauty carried in the name. That some people with such a name cannot live up to it does not poison the name for everyone else.
McCain’s attempts to use such shoddy tactics to frighten voters dries up any respect I have for him. It reveals his hypocrisy, for honorable men, men of principle, true mavericks, wouldn't stoop so low ... just to win.
Nevertheless, some continue to make a big fuss about Barak Obama’s middle name, Hussein, trying to make a link to extremists that simply doesn't exist. Obama deals with the issue so elegantly and honorably, refusing to be baited with this most ridiculous of arguments, directing the discussion instead back to the more important issues facing the country: the economy, energy and education.
Hussein is an extremely popular name in the Arabic world; it comes from "hasan," meaning good, handsome or beautiful. (Wikipedia:Hussein) It’s the name of one of Muhammad's two grandsons, who became the revered leader of the Shia sect of the Muslim faith. Giving the name Hussein to a child is the same as giving the name Jesus or Mary or Linda; we want to infect him or her with the wisdom, heroism or beauty carried in the name. That some people with such a name cannot live up to it does not poison the name for everyone else.
McCain’s attempts to use such shoddy tactics to frighten voters dries up any respect I have for him. It reveals his hypocrisy, for honorable men, men of principle, true mavericks, wouldn't stoop so low ... just to win.
Friday, October 17, 2008
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