I will rejoice when this series ends...
Army Sgt. Rickey E. Jones, 21, of Kokomo, Ind.; assigned to the 1st Battalion, 327th Infantry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division, Fort Campbell, Ky.; killed Feb. 22 when an improvised explosive device detonated near his Humvee during patrol operations in Hawijah, Iraq. Also killed were Staff Sgt. Gregson G. Gourley, Pfc. Christopher L. Marion and Pfc. Allan A. Morr.
"Vandals Hit Home of Fallen Soldier"
KOKOMO, Ind. -- Police posted an around-the-clock security watch at the home of an Indiana soldier killed last week in Iraq after it was vandalized and his family received disturbing phone calls.
The home of Sgt. Rickey Jones was egged Saturday, three days after Jones' family learned the 21-year-old and three other soldiers had been killed by a roadside bomb north of Baghdad. His family also received phone calls in which the caller said: "I'm glad your son is dead."
Now, Jones' relatives and police are bracing for the possibility that a Topeka, Kan.-based group will protest at his funeral Monday.
Members of the Westboro Baptist Church have protested at military funerals across the nation, including shouting insults at soldiers' surviving relatives and holding signs that read "God Made IEDs" -- a reference to roadside bombs.
The group claims American soldiers are dying in Iraq due to divine intervention because the United States harbors homosexuals.
The Westboro protesters, however, could face new restrictions at Jones' funeral if Gov. Mitch Daniels signs a bill this week that would make disorderly conduct at a funeral a felony and keep protesters at least 500 feet from a gravesite.
That bill, which won final approval Tuesday from the Indiana House, would take effect immediately after being signed by Daniels. The governor's press secretary, Jane Jankowski, said Daniels would sign the bill as soon as it arrives on his desk.
"We're trying to get this family some closure, and not have to deal with these stupid signs," state Rep. John Smith, R-Kokomo, said Tuesday.
State Sen. Brent Steele, who authored the legislation, said the bill doesn't go as far as some states' attempts to hold back protests by the Westboro group.
"I went as far as I thought I could and still have a constitutional bill," said Steele, R-Bedford.
Mark Potok, a spokesman for the Southern Poverty Law Center, said it's still an open question whether some of the new laws restricting picketing are entirely constitutional.
He said his civil rights organization has listed the Westboro Baptist Church as a hate group for years. The minister who leads the group advocates making homosexuality a capital offense.
Wednesday, March 01, 2006
What I'm Reading Lately
Reading is a bit of a stretch, as this simple volume is mostly the chronicle of the final days of the Taliban Regime in Afghanistan. Collected and assembled by Photographer Thomas Dworzak, this ironic collection of portraits comes from clandestine photographers living in Kandahar.
To quote Jeff McMahon from his review of the book in the January-February 2004 'The Gay & Lesbian Review', "The photographs [Dworzak] collected were commissioned by Taliban warriors wishing to commemorate their heroism, bravery, and (perhaps less consciously) youthful beauty during the American invasion in the fall of 2001. The soldiers on the brink of defeat wanted to record who they were....[now] abandoned photos whose subjects....were mostly now dead."
It's an odd and very affecting collection in many ways. The Taliban, you will recall forbade any depiction of the human image, right down to spray-painting off the circle heads of stick figures on public safety signs identifying crosswalks! And these, the glorious warriors and adherents, in their hour of dire need, found the desire to be remembered more essential.
Many of the young men wear make-up (eye-liner, and in watercolor touched up photos what comes to look like lipstick). In a culture that maintained strick separation of the sexes, fascinating that any expression of feminization of the male image should seem so non-chalant.
And ultimately, you have to realize that for whatever evil these men participated in and represented to the west, they themselves could no more have attact the World Trade Center than I Hagia Sophia!--And my chances would still be miles ahead of theirs. I have no sympathy for the Taliban in terms of ideology, but as a Christian I do know enough about my faith to know that I can recognize their personhood and feel compassion toward even these, my enemies.
To quote Jeff McMahon from his review of the book in the January-February 2004 'The Gay & Lesbian Review', "The photographs [Dworzak] collected were commissioned by Taliban warriors wishing to commemorate their heroism, bravery, and (perhaps less consciously) youthful beauty during the American invasion in the fall of 2001. The soldiers on the brink of defeat wanted to record who they were....[now] abandoned photos whose subjects....were mostly now dead."
It's an odd and very affecting collection in many ways. The Taliban, you will recall forbade any depiction of the human image, right down to spray-painting off the circle heads of stick figures on public safety signs identifying crosswalks! And these, the glorious warriors and adherents, in their hour of dire need, found the desire to be remembered more essential.
Many of the young men wear make-up (eye-liner, and in watercolor touched up photos what comes to look like lipstick). In a culture that maintained strick separation of the sexes, fascinating that any expression of feminization of the male image should seem so non-chalant.
And ultimately, you have to realize that for whatever evil these men participated in and represented to the west, they themselves could no more have attact the World Trade Center than I Hagia Sophia!--And my chances would still be miles ahead of theirs. I have no sympathy for the Taliban in terms of ideology, but as a Christian I do know enough about my faith to know that I can recognize their personhood and feel compassion toward even these, my enemies.
Monday, February 27, 2006
Random Quote #42
"You have made God in your own image when God hates the same people you hate."
~ Fr. John Weston, 1963 -
~ Fr. John Weston, 1963 -
Saturday, February 25, 2006
Random Quote #41
". . . I was at a party feeling very shy because there were a lot of celebrities around, and I was sitting in a corner alone and a very beautiful young man came up to me and offered me some salted peanuts and he said, 'I wish they were emeralds' as he handed me the peanuts and that was the end of my heart. I never got it back."
~ Helen Hayes, 1900 - 1993
~ Helen Hayes, 1900 - 1993
Friday, February 24, 2006
Senate Races 2006 Analysis #1
"Hawaii Is a Democrat Thing...So Far"
(As previously promised, my politiphile, progressive analysis of races for the US Senate in 2006)
In 2006 the race in Hawaii seems a very safe seat for the Democrats in the Senate. The present incumbent, Daniel Akaka, is one of the most parochial members of the Senate. He has managed to represent the state for nearly 20 years. The state's governor on the occasion of the then Senator Spark Matsunaga's untimely death first appointed him to the office in April 1990. 2006 will be his forth attempt to win his seat in the US Senate.
Senator Akaka will actually turn 82 on the day of the election. While this doesn't best former Senator Strom Thurmond--R, (SC) or present incumbent Senator Robert Byrd--D, (WV), it does place him in the upper echelons of Senators vis-à-vis age. Yet, wisdom comes with age, and he's not displayed any of the troublesome signs of dementia that other Senators like Jim Bunning--R, (KY) and Patrick Leahy--I, (VT) have been accused of.
Senator Akaka holds the distinct honor of being the first person of native-Hawaiian ancestry to be elected to the US Senate. A fact alone that gives him tremendous support in his state. Along with colleague, Daniel Inouye (D-HI), he is one of two Asian/Pacific Islanders in the Senate, which is a higher percentage than the House can boast.
To date, no republicans have risen to challenge him. His only opponent appears to be another Democrat. Second district House representative, Ed Case, has thrown his hat into the ring. Representative Case was first elected to replace representative Patsy Takemoto Mink after her untimely death in early 2003. After which he won re-election to the seat in 2004.
Representative Case is a native Hawaiian of European-American Ancestry. His roots are fresher, more tender in the political soil, even as his experience in the process extends all the way back to Senator Spark Matsunaga, under whom he served. He also seems to be building a resume on a fast track that extends beyond the little islands of our picturesque 50th state. So this move against Akaka is frought with potential ramafications.
So how do I see this portion of the race settle down? Tradition vs. Modernity. Asian-American vs. Euro-American. Parochial concerns vs. national aspirations. I have no idea. Without an opponent from the Republican Party, I am not sending any money to either of them before the primary.... It will be very interesting to see how Hawaiians decide between these two candidates. And it seem like the senate seat in Hawaii will remain BLUE.
There are 33 seats up for grabs. And at this point I calle Dems 1, Reps 0; net change: Status Quo.
(As previously promised, my politiphile, progressive analysis of races for the US Senate in 2006)
In 2006 the race in Hawaii seems a very safe seat for the Democrats in the Senate. The present incumbent, Daniel Akaka, is one of the most parochial members of the Senate. He has managed to represent the state for nearly 20 years. The state's governor on the occasion of the then Senator Spark Matsunaga's untimely death first appointed him to the office in April 1990. 2006 will be his forth attempt to win his seat in the US Senate.
Senator Akaka will actually turn 82 on the day of the election. While this doesn't best former Senator Strom Thurmond--R, (SC) or present incumbent Senator Robert Byrd--D, (WV), it does place him in the upper echelons of Senators vis-à-vis age. Yet, wisdom comes with age, and he's not displayed any of the troublesome signs of dementia that other Senators like Jim Bunning--R, (KY) and Patrick Leahy--I, (VT) have been accused of.
Senator Akaka holds the distinct honor of being the first person of native-Hawaiian ancestry to be elected to the US Senate. A fact alone that gives him tremendous support in his state. Along with colleague, Daniel Inouye (D-HI), he is one of two Asian/Pacific Islanders in the Senate, which is a higher percentage than the House can boast.
To date, no republicans have risen to challenge him. His only opponent appears to be another Democrat. Second district House representative, Ed Case, has thrown his hat into the ring. Representative Case was first elected to replace representative Patsy Takemoto Mink after her untimely death in early 2003. After which he won re-election to the seat in 2004.
Representative Case is a native Hawaiian of European-American Ancestry. His roots are fresher, more tender in the political soil, even as his experience in the process extends all the way back to Senator Spark Matsunaga, under whom he served. He also seems to be building a resume on a fast track that extends beyond the little islands of our picturesque 50th state. So this move against Akaka is frought with potential ramafications.
So how do I see this portion of the race settle down? Tradition vs. Modernity. Asian-American vs. Euro-American. Parochial concerns vs. national aspirations. I have no idea. Without an opponent from the Republican Party, I am not sending any money to either of them before the primary.... It will be very interesting to see how Hawaiians decide between these two candidates. And it seem like the senate seat in Hawaii will remain BLUE.
There are 33 seats up for grabs. And at this point I calle Dems 1, Reps 0; net change: Status Quo.
Our Latest American Hero #5
These posts in this new series are only a sampling of the thousands of heroes who have given their lives for you and me.
Marine 2nd Lt. Almar L. Fitzgerald, 23, of Lexington, S.C.; assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force, Twentynine Palms, Calif.; attached to the 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force (Forward); died Feb. 21 at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center, Germany, of wounds sustained Feb. 18 when an improvised explosive device detonated during combat operations against enemy forces in Ramadi, Iraq.
“Marine Who Appeared in Documentary Dies”
COLUMBIA, S.C. — Marine 2nd Lt. Almar Fitzgerald, a Lexington native, has died from injuries sustained in a weekend roadside bomb attack in Iraq, the Marine Corps confirmed Thursday.
Fitzgerald, a 2004 graduate of The Citadel, died Tuesday in a military hospital in Germany where he was being treated. He had been in Iraq about six months and was scheduled to return home next month.
The Citadel says Fitzgerald is the 11th graduate to die in the war in Afghanistan and Iraq. He is the 35th service member from South Carolina to be killed, according to a count by The Associated Press.
“He felt like it was something he had always wanted to do,” said Maj. Ken Boes, a tactical officer on The Citadel staff who helped Fitzgerald get in Officer Candidate School. “He wanted to serve his country ... and he wanted to challenge himself.”
During his senior year, Fitzgerald served as executive officer of Company M, 3rd Battalion and worked as a supervisor for a cadet-run phone bank soliciting donations for the state’s military college.
“He had such a contagious personality,” said Rachel Meuser, the college’s assistant director of annual giving. “He genuinely cared about people.”
Fitzgerald appeared in a documentary produced by Marine Corps Times called “Making of a Marine Officer” and spoke about the realities of military life. He told an interviewer about a table at Officer Candidate School covered with photographs of Marines killed in battle.
“The purpose of that is to be basically a reality check,” he said in the interview. “This could be you in the next couple of months — just a picture.”
Marine 2nd Lt. Almar L. Fitzgerald, 23, of Lexington, S.C.; assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force, Twentynine Palms, Calif.; attached to the 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force (Forward); died Feb. 21 at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center, Germany, of wounds sustained Feb. 18 when an improvised explosive device detonated during combat operations against enemy forces in Ramadi, Iraq.
“Marine Who Appeared in Documentary Dies”
COLUMBIA, S.C. — Marine 2nd Lt. Almar Fitzgerald, a Lexington native, has died from injuries sustained in a weekend roadside bomb attack in Iraq, the Marine Corps confirmed Thursday.
Fitzgerald, a 2004 graduate of The Citadel, died Tuesday in a military hospital in Germany where he was being treated. He had been in Iraq about six months and was scheduled to return home next month.
The Citadel says Fitzgerald is the 11th graduate to die in the war in Afghanistan and Iraq. He is the 35th service member from South Carolina to be killed, according to a count by The Associated Press.
“He felt like it was something he had always wanted to do,” said Maj. Ken Boes, a tactical officer on The Citadel staff who helped Fitzgerald get in Officer Candidate School. “He wanted to serve his country ... and he wanted to challenge himself.”
During his senior year, Fitzgerald served as executive officer of Company M, 3rd Battalion and worked as a supervisor for a cadet-run phone bank soliciting donations for the state’s military college.
“He had such a contagious personality,” said Rachel Meuser, the college’s assistant director of annual giving. “He genuinely cared about people.”
Fitzgerald appeared in a documentary produced by Marine Corps Times called “Making of a Marine Officer” and spoke about the realities of military life. He told an interviewer about a table at Officer Candidate School covered with photographs of Marines killed in battle.
“The purpose of that is to be basically a reality check,” he said in the interview. “This could be you in the next couple of months — just a picture.”
Thursday, February 23, 2006
Rent, PS
A final couple of thoughts...I love these lyrics. They should have gone with the alternate ending. I'm so glad that they included it in the DVD 2-disc package....
From the alternate finale:
"There is no future....there is no past --
Thank God this moment's not the last!
There's only us,
There's only this,
Forget regret, or
Life is yours to miss.
No other road, no other way,
No day but today!
Will I loose my dignity?
Will someone care?
Will I awake tomorrow,
from this nightmare?
There's only now,
There's only here,
Give into love, or
Live in fear.
No other road, no other way,
No day but today!
(I die without you...)
repreat
No day but today!
From the alternate finale:
"There is no future....there is no past --
Thank God this moment's not the last!
There's only us,
There's only this,
Forget regret, or
Life is yours to miss.
No other road, no other way,
No day but today!
Will I loose my dignity?
Will someone care?
Will I awake tomorrow,
from this nightmare?
There's only now,
There's only here,
Give into love, or
Live in fear.
No other road, no other way,
No day but today!
(I die without you...)
repreat
No day but today!
"And Now, Jose?: a Blog with Cultural Bulimia"
A final thought tonight: check out my friend's blog: http://brzinnyc.blogspot.com/ And it may be a stretch to call Jose a "friend," but this amazing chronicle of culture, art, perspective, and life will quickly leave you feeling like a friend, too. And for anyone who loves Brazil, it's a must book site.
Caio!
Caio!
"Our Shame" OR "Repent Now"
I am so full of ideas tonight. So many things I want to share. I hope the gravity of this post will not be deflected by the previous one.
The president says that he's mad because the truth has come out yet again regarding the torture at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq. The president says he's a Christian. But when was the last time he went to church? When was the last time that he read the Bible? Has he EVER read it?
Permit me to help him out, if but a little:
"Blessed are the Peacemakers! They will be ranked children of God."
~ Matthew 5:9
"I tell you, my hearers, love your enemies, do good to those who hate you: bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you. If a man strikes you on the one cheek, offer him the other as well; give to anyone who asks you, and never ask your goods back from anyone who has taken them. As you would like others to do to you, so do to them."
~ Luke 6:27-31
"Never think, "I will treat him as he treated me. I will pay back the man for what he did."
~ Proverbs 24:29
"When the Eternal bends from his sacred height, and looks from heaven to earth, to hear the prisoner's groan, and to release the doomed; let this be set down for future generations, that people yet unborn may praise the Eternal, rehearsing his fame in Zion and praising him at Jerusalem, when realms and nations gather there to worship the Eternal."
~ Psalm 102:19-22
"Jesus said, 'Father, forgive them, they do not know what they are doing.'
~ Luke 23:34a
"Treat one another with the same spirit as you experience in Christ Jesus."
~ Philippians 2:5
Now you've been to church.
I know that proof texting arguments with the Bible are so distasteful. It's mostly abused by those who seek to justify their own hearts desires and opinions -- an utterly wicked discipline. And I know that the Bible says enough stuff that most ideas can be justified AND condemned with equal vigor.
SO my litmus test falls on one question: What's easy to do? The easy thing is the thing that my human nature desires...and in this instance, the easy thing is "revenge;" therefore, the right thing is "forgiveness." Period.
The president says that he's mad because the truth has come out yet again regarding the torture at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq. The president says he's a Christian. But when was the last time he went to church? When was the last time that he read the Bible? Has he EVER read it?
Permit me to help him out, if but a little:
"Blessed are the Peacemakers! They will be ranked children of God."
~ Matthew 5:9
"I tell you, my hearers, love your enemies, do good to those who hate you: bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you. If a man strikes you on the one cheek, offer him the other as well; give to anyone who asks you, and never ask your goods back from anyone who has taken them. As you would like others to do to you, so do to them."
~ Luke 6:27-31
"Never think, "I will treat him as he treated me. I will pay back the man for what he did."
~ Proverbs 24:29
"When the Eternal bends from his sacred height, and looks from heaven to earth, to hear the prisoner's groan, and to release the doomed; let this be set down for future generations, that people yet unborn may praise the Eternal, rehearsing his fame in Zion and praising him at Jerusalem, when realms and nations gather there to worship the Eternal."
~ Psalm 102:19-22
"Jesus said, 'Father, forgive them, they do not know what they are doing.'
~ Luke 23:34a
"Treat one another with the same spirit as you experience in Christ Jesus."
~ Philippians 2:5
Now you've been to church.
I know that proof texting arguments with the Bible are so distasteful. It's mostly abused by those who seek to justify their own hearts desires and opinions -- an utterly wicked discipline. And I know that the Bible says enough stuff that most ideas can be justified AND condemned with equal vigor.
SO my litmus test falls on one question: What's easy to do? The easy thing is the thing that my human nature desires...and in this instance, the easy thing is "revenge;" therefore, the right thing is "forgiveness." Period.
Icon Exerpt
This from an interview by Charles Purdy posted on PlanetOut.com. Peter Berlin is probably the quintessential gay glamor boy icon from the 1970's. He's like a slightly softer and more exotic Jeff Stryker or Ryan Idol (I date myself here, I'm sure!) I thought what he had to say about the penis very interesting....
CP: When did you first realize how beautiful you were -- the power of your beauty? And what was that realization like?
PB: I don't know how old I was. But I was looking in the mirror, and I just liked what I saw. That was sort of when puberty set in, and I was so surprised by that, and so scared -- for five seconds. And then I said, "OK, nobody has to know about it but me." But it was sort of . . . I saw something that I liked. It's not that I ever thought of myself as so beautiful -- but . . . in the pictures, I do the best with what I have to work with. Once I looked at a [self-portrait] I'd done, and I said, "Oh, I would like to look like that."
CP: The look you developed was very different from what had come before in many ways, and very uniquely sexy in a gay way. What inspired you to create that persona and that look?
PB: I had a very definite idea of how a young man, should present himself, and one key element was that the man has . . . a dick.
.... man is running around without a dick since, I don't know when. In the Middle Ages I think they were doing better. But it is just unbelievable how the man castrated himself -- certainly in my lifetime, but I think that goes back a long time. So that's one thing I think I made part of it....
CP: When did you first realize how beautiful you were -- the power of your beauty? And what was that realization like?
PB: I don't know how old I was. But I was looking in the mirror, and I just liked what I saw. That was sort of when puberty set in, and I was so surprised by that, and so scared -- for five seconds. And then I said, "OK, nobody has to know about it but me." But it was sort of . . . I saw something that I liked. It's not that I ever thought of myself as so beautiful -- but . . . in the pictures, I do the best with what I have to work with. Once I looked at a [self-portrait] I'd done, and I said, "Oh, I would like to look like that."
CP: The look you developed was very different from what had come before in many ways, and very uniquely sexy in a gay way. What inspired you to create that persona and that look?
PB: I had a very definite idea of how a young man, should present himself, and one key element was that the man has . . . a dick.
.... man is running around without a dick since, I don't know when. In the Middle Ages I think they were doing better. But it is just unbelievable how the man castrated himself -- certainly in my lifetime, but I think that goes back a long time. So that's one thing I think I made part of it....
Our Latest American Hero #4
Army Capt. Anthony R. Garcia, 48, of Fort Worth, Texas; assigned to the 1st Battalion, 101st Aviation Regiment, 101st Aviation Brigade, 101st Airborne Division, Fort Campbell, Ky.; killed Feb. 17 by a gun shot in Tikrit, Iraq.
"Fort Worth Officer Killed in Iraq"
FORT CAMPBELL, Ky. — An Army officer from Fort Worth, Texas, died from a gunshot wound in Iraq, the Department of Defense said Monday.
Capt. Anthony R. Garcia, 48, died in Tikrit on Feb. 17. The shooting is under investigation because it happened on a military base, said Cathy Gramling, a spokeswoman for Fort Campbell, where Garcia was assigned. No further details were released.
"He loved his kids and doing stuff together," Garcia's wife, Doris, told The Leaf-Chronicle of Clarksville, Tenn. "We'll just miss him so much."
Garcia was a physician assistant assigned to Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 1st Battalion, 101st Aviation Regiment, 101st Aviation Brigade. He joined the Army in August 1989 and was assigned to Fort Campbell in June 2001.
Besides his wife, Garcia is survived by a daughter, Kelly, and a son, Garrick, of Clarksville; and his parents, Monico and Josephine Garcia, of Hudson Oaks, Texas.
Monico Garcia described his son as a "happy person."
"He liked to kid people a lot and do fun things," Garcia told The Leaf-Chronicle from his home in Texas.
Garcia is at least the sixth Texan to die in Iraq this year and at least the 197th since the war began in March 2003.
"Fort Worth Officer Killed in Iraq"
FORT CAMPBELL, Ky. — An Army officer from Fort Worth, Texas, died from a gunshot wound in Iraq, the Department of Defense said Monday.
Capt. Anthony R. Garcia, 48, died in Tikrit on Feb. 17. The shooting is under investigation because it happened on a military base, said Cathy Gramling, a spokeswoman for Fort Campbell, where Garcia was assigned. No further details were released.
"He loved his kids and doing stuff together," Garcia's wife, Doris, told The Leaf-Chronicle of Clarksville, Tenn. "We'll just miss him so much."
Garcia was a physician assistant assigned to Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 1st Battalion, 101st Aviation Regiment, 101st Aviation Brigade. He joined the Army in August 1989 and was assigned to Fort Campbell in June 2001.
Besides his wife, Garcia is survived by a daughter, Kelly, and a son, Garrick, of Clarksville; and his parents, Monico and Josephine Garcia, of Hudson Oaks, Texas.
Monico Garcia described his son as a "happy person."
"He liked to kid people a lot and do fun things," Garcia told The Leaf-Chronicle from his home in Texas.
Garcia is at least the sixth Texan to die in Iraq this year and at least the 197th since the war began in March 2003.
Wednesday, February 22, 2006
"Rent" Redux
I work for a school that attempts to review it's every move with input that is either a "+" or a "Delta". Pluses are obviously praise centered and Deltas aim to highlight areas for improvement. So let me plus/delta rent:
PLUSES
~ The settings are well crafted. The lighting enhances this and you have a wonderful reminder throughout that you are experiencing something as much theatrical as cinematic.
~ Wilson Jermaine Heredia & Anthony Rapp in particular. Both the characters of Angel and Mark were stand out performances.
~ Broadway cast in general: the fact that so many actors who had begun the process where retained to create this unltimate expression of the work. (I am still pissed over Bebe Newirth's slight in "Chicago"! A great film adaptation made lesser by this decision.)
~ Kudus for the guts to experiment with settings and choreography. Most notably in the numbers, "The Tango Maurine" and "Santa Fe."
~ And the simple dignity given to the moments like "Life Support" and "Will I Loose My Dignity." Both of which left me a blubbering fool...
DELTAS
~ Computer generated breath frost! YUK! It was SO FAKE that it was quickly annoying. Not the feather from "Forest Gump."
~ Missing musical number: What happened to "It's Over?" Too hot? Too Racy? Made me thank God that HBO got dibs on "Angels in America!"
~ Recitative: hated the redrafting of dialogue that lost the music and the rhyme....
Overall, 4 stars, wish it had been 5.
PLUSES
~ The settings are well crafted. The lighting enhances this and you have a wonderful reminder throughout that you are experiencing something as much theatrical as cinematic.
~ Wilson Jermaine Heredia & Anthony Rapp in particular. Both the characters of Angel and Mark were stand out performances.
~ Broadway cast in general: the fact that so many actors who had begun the process where retained to create this unltimate expression of the work. (I am still pissed over Bebe Newirth's slight in "Chicago"! A great film adaptation made lesser by this decision.)
~ Kudus for the guts to experiment with settings and choreography. Most notably in the numbers, "The Tango Maurine" and "Santa Fe."
~ And the simple dignity given to the moments like "Life Support" and "Will I Loose My Dignity." Both of which left me a blubbering fool...
DELTAS
~ Computer generated breath frost! YUK! It was SO FAKE that it was quickly annoying. Not the feather from "Forest Gump."
~ Missing musical number: What happened to "It's Over?" Too hot? Too Racy? Made me thank God that HBO got dibs on "Angels in America!"
~ Recitative: hated the redrafting of dialogue that lost the music and the rhyme....
Overall, 4 stars, wish it had been 5.
Tuesday, February 21, 2006
What I'm Watching #8
Hot off its video release. And a movie that I so longed to see, but whch now I understand why I waited to see on video: The Cry Factor!
More later, perhaps.....
More later, perhaps.....
Sunday, February 19, 2006
Our Latest American Hero #3
I realize that this title is misleading...as of today, the number of Operations Iraq Freedom and Enduring Freedom casualties as confirmed by U.S. Central Command has reached, 2519!
Here's the image of one of the latest and a bit of his story....
Army Cpl. Andrew J. Kemple, 23, of Cambridge, Minn.; assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 187th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division, Fort Campbell, Ky.; killed Feb. 12 when his Humvee came under small-arms fire during combat operations in Tikrit, Iraq.
"Minnesota Soldier Killed in Iraq Believe in His Mission"
FOREST LAKE, Minn. — Cpl. Andrew Kemple, the Minnesota soldier killed last weekend in Iraq, believed in his mission there, his family said Thursday.
Kemple, 23, of Cambridge, died Sunday when his Humvee was attacked in the city of Tikrit. His mother, Deirdre Ostlund, said Kemple was a gunner on the vehicle and was shot in the neck.
“He believed he was bringing help and freedom and protection to other people, and so he did not die in vain,” Ostlund said at a family home here with Kemple’s sister, Andrea Kemple, at her side. “His death meant something, and he is a hero.” Kemple, who was assigned to the 101st Airborne Division out of Fort Campbell, Ky., is the 35th person with strong Minnesota ties to have died in connection with the war in Iraq.
Here's the image of one of the latest and a bit of his story....
Army Cpl. Andrew J. Kemple, 23, of Cambridge, Minn.; assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 187th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division, Fort Campbell, Ky.; killed Feb. 12 when his Humvee came under small-arms fire during combat operations in Tikrit, Iraq.
"Minnesota Soldier Killed in Iraq Believe in His Mission"
FOREST LAKE, Minn. — Cpl. Andrew Kemple, the Minnesota soldier killed last weekend in Iraq, believed in his mission there, his family said Thursday.
Kemple, 23, of Cambridge, died Sunday when his Humvee was attacked in the city of Tikrit. His mother, Deirdre Ostlund, said Kemple was a gunner on the vehicle and was shot in the neck.
“He believed he was bringing help and freedom and protection to other people, and so he did not die in vain,” Ostlund said at a family home here with Kemple’s sister, Andrea Kemple, at her side. “His death meant something, and he is a hero.” Kemple, who was assigned to the 101st Airborne Division out of Fort Campbell, Ky., is the 35th person with strong Minnesota ties to have died in connection with the war in Iraq.
Is That A Rocket In Your Pocket?
It's always the sweetest children who manage to surprise you the most.
Another moment of levity/honesty from my classroom! These images are from a mini-book written by S.
The project grew organically out of the reading to my class aloud of "Lunch Money" by Andrew Clements.
As an aside, Mr. Clements IS my read aloud author of the year, and to date we have devoured, "The Report Card," "The Landry News" (which spawned competing classroom newspapers), "School Story," "The Last Holiday Concert," and, of course, the progenitor of them all, "Frindle." We are currently reading "A Week in the Woods." Every novel is a story of conflict between adults and children, realistic drama. And every novel ends with children who have made tough choices and left adults wiser and more compassionate as a result. I confess, there are many places in each story where I fight back tears. That's how well written they are! And the endings? -- I fain allergy attacks, dust in my eyes, choking fits....you name it, but I think the kids understand. I'm a lousy actor! Mr. Clements has found a powerful formula for empowering children and humbling grown-ups. Can you tell that I love his work? But I digress....
So here is my little S.'s offering. A tale called, "Space Ball." Like the hag/damoiselle illustration in my previous post, what do you see?
I'm often asked if I (as a gay man) can tell the orientation of my students. And frankly, I can't. I don't believe that feminine characteristics or masculine ones determine anything. (One of the greatest "Sissies" I have ever know is a happily married man with 7 children!) I do know that I knew (even if I could not have articulated it to save my life at the time) when I was in kindergarten that I was different...and then that I was gay. And so I do know that children have sexual lives. Even if they are confusing, incomplete, and unarticulatable. I also belive that most children grow up thinking that this part of themselves is shameful, and therefore they begin to repress it early on. Our society/culture does little to shed any healthy light on this.
But like placing an old garbage can lid on "Old Faithful," such efforts are futile. I hope S. saves a copy of this little tome, someday his therapist may appreciate it -- no matter which way his door ends up swinging!
Another moment of levity/honesty from my classroom! These images are from a mini-book written by S.
The project grew organically out of the reading to my class aloud of "Lunch Money" by Andrew Clements.
As an aside, Mr. Clements IS my read aloud author of the year, and to date we have devoured, "The Report Card," "The Landry News" (which spawned competing classroom newspapers), "School Story," "The Last Holiday Concert," and, of course, the progenitor of them all, "Frindle." We are currently reading "A Week in the Woods." Every novel is a story of conflict between adults and children, realistic drama. And every novel ends with children who have made tough choices and left adults wiser and more compassionate as a result. I confess, there are many places in each story where I fight back tears. That's how well written they are! And the endings? -- I fain allergy attacks, dust in my eyes, choking fits....you name it, but I think the kids understand. I'm a lousy actor! Mr. Clements has found a powerful formula for empowering children and humbling grown-ups. Can you tell that I love his work? But I digress....
So here is my little S.'s offering. A tale called, "Space Ball." Like the hag/damoiselle illustration in my previous post, what do you see?
I'm often asked if I (as a gay man) can tell the orientation of my students. And frankly, I can't. I don't believe that feminine characteristics or masculine ones determine anything. (One of the greatest "Sissies" I have ever know is a happily married man with 7 children!) I do know that I knew (even if I could not have articulated it to save my life at the time) when I was in kindergarten that I was different...and then that I was gay. And so I do know that children have sexual lives. Even if they are confusing, incomplete, and unarticulatable. I also belive that most children grow up thinking that this part of themselves is shameful, and therefore they begin to repress it early on. Our society/culture does little to shed any healthy light on this.
But like placing an old garbage can lid on "Old Faithful," such efforts are futile. I hope S. saves a copy of this little tome, someday his therapist may appreciate it -- no matter which way his door ends up swinging!
Friday, February 17, 2006
School Tales #1
Amidst all the learning there are moments of levity, and sometimes they are personal and penitrating!
An initiative I have in my classroom to promote reading is "Strive for 25" in which every student who reads 25 chapter books by the end of the year will celebrate with a pizza party. To prove their completion of each book, students fill out a form and then color a "block" with the book's title and images to be placed upon an evolving bar graph.
C., one of my MOST conscientious and sweet little girls turned this block into me. Like the optical illusion of the Victorian woman and the old Hag--what do you see? Look again.
Oh, yes..... The Pen is a mighty instrument, too.....
An initiative I have in my classroom to promote reading is "Strive for 25" in which every student who reads 25 chapter books by the end of the year will celebrate with a pizza party. To prove their completion of each book, students fill out a form and then color a "block" with the book's title and images to be placed upon an evolving bar graph.
C., one of my MOST conscientious and sweet little girls turned this block into me. Like the optical illusion of the Victorian woman and the old Hag--what do you see? Look again.
Oh, yes..... The Pen is a mighty instrument, too.....
Thursday, February 16, 2006
Celebrate Good Times! ~ Come On!!!
Blessings to my friends Mr. H and Mr. W-L who have just held their Civil Commitment Ceremony in London! They are wonderful men, who's public expression of love and fidelity could not possibly threaten anyone else's marriage.... The fact that they have to call it something else only testifies to society's limitations and prejudices, while that fact that they can do this much at all speaks volumes to the United Kingdom's desire to embrace the reality of modernity.
In the pic presented are Mr. W-L and Mr. H on the bottom row; Ms. K (public witness #1), Mr. C (public witness #2) & his partner, Mr. R.
In the pic presented are Mr. W-L and Mr. H on the bottom row; Ms. K (public witness #1), Mr. C (public witness #2) & his partner, Mr. R.
Tuesday, February 14, 2006
Another Winter Photo.....
Ice cycles off of my roof as seen from my bathroom window with the moon through the trees. And I am reminded of this poem...but we both know that the end of this little experiment will be both an utter surprise and probably our doing!
FIRE AND ICE
Some say the world will end in fire,
Some say in ice.
From what I’ve tasted of desire
I hold with those who favor fire.
But if it had to perish twice,
I think I know enough of hate
To know that for destruction ice
Is also great
And would suffice.
~ Robert Frost, 1874 - 1963
FIRE AND ICE
Some say the world will end in fire,
Some say in ice.
From what I’ve tasted of desire
I hold with those who favor fire.
But if it had to perish twice,
I think I know enough of hate
To know that for destruction ice
Is also great
And would suffice.
~ Robert Frost, 1874 - 1963
Sunday, February 12, 2006
Winter Wonderland
An image from this morning. Snow as thick as foliage adorned the trees of my suburban DC neighorhood. It was so lovely.
Saturday, February 11, 2006
Art I'm Seeing #2
It's Cezanne in Province: A focus show at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC, of the artist in the geographical venue of his world. Lot's of Mont Saint-Victoire. Lot's of Jas du Bouffan.
My viceral impressions. I like Cezanne more now. I know him better. I never understood how lonely he was until now. I also love trees.
My viceral impressions. I like Cezanne more now. I know him better. I never understood how lonely he was until now. I also love trees.
Friday, February 10, 2006
Our Last Best Hope #00
Forgive me for plagiarizing someone with this title, but it's honestly how I am feeling these days. The map depicts the states where senatorial elections are occurring in November of this year. The Senate IS THE LAST possible check on the power of our current president. In the hands of the members of his political party, it has become a rubber stamp for his (the party's) agenda. Even when someone realizes that things are not kosher and speaks up, they are quickly subdued and then tow the line.
For this reason, America MUST re-establish a bi-partisan political system.
And this can best be done in the Senate, so I am now inaugurating a new series that will look at the members of congress up for re-election in the Senate. This post will include a complete list of the current class I senator (those with seats to be re-elected this year) and then one by one I will offer my thoughts on each.
SENATORS (and senatorial seats) UP FOR RE-ELECTION:
1) Akaka, Daniel K.- (D - HI) Class I
141 HART SENATE OFFICE BUILDING WASHINGTON DC 20510
(202) 224-6361
E-mail: senator@akaka.senate.gov
2) Allen, George- (R - VA) Class I
204 RUSSELL SENATE OFFICE BUILDING WASHINGTON DC 20510
(202) 224-4024
Web Form: allen.senate.gov/index.cfm?c=email
3) Bingaman, Jeff- (D - NM) Class I
703 HART SENATE OFFICE BUILDING WASHINGTON DC 20510
(202) 224-5521
E-mail: senator_bingaman@bingaman.senate.gov
4) Burns, Conrad- (R - MT) Class I
187 DIRKSEN SENATE OFFICE BUILDING WASHINGTON DC 20510
(202) 224-2644
Web Form: burns.senate.gov/index.cfm?FuseAction=Home.Contact
5) Byrd, Robert C.- (D - WV) Class I
311 HART SENATE OFFICE BUILDING WASHINGTON DC 20510
(202) 224-3954
Web Form: byrd.senate.gov/byrd_email.html
6) Cantwell, Maria- (D - WA) Class I
717 HART SENATE OFFICE BUILDING WASHINGTON DC 20510
(202) 224-3441
Web Form: cantwell.senate.gov/contact/index.html
7) Carper, Thomas R.- (D - DE) Class I
513 HART SENATE OFFICE BUILDING WASHINGTON DC 20510
(202) 224-2441
Web Form: carper.senate.gov/aemail.htm
8) Chafee, Lincoln- (R - RI) Class I
141A RUSSELL SENATE OFFICE BUILDING WASHINGTON DC 20510
(202) 224-2921
Web Form: chafee.senate.gov/webform.htm
9) Clinton, Hillary Rodham- (D - NY) Class I
476 RUSSELL SENATE OFFICE BUILDING WASHINGTON DC
20510
(202) 224-4451
Web Form: clinton.senate.gov/contact
10) Conrad, Kent- (D - ND) Class I
530 HART SENATE OFFICE BUILDING WASHINGTON DC 20510
(202) 224-2043
Web Form: conrad.senate.gov/webform.html
11) Dayton, Mark- (D - MN) Class I
123 RUSSELL SENATE OFFICE BUILDING WASHINGTON DC 20510
(202) 224-3244
Web Form: dayton.senate.gov/contact/email.cfm
12) DeWine, Mike- (R - OH) Class I
140 RUSSELL SENATE OFFICE BUILDING WASHINGTON DC 20510
(202) 224-2315
Web Form: dewine.senate.gov
13) Ensign, John- (R - NV) Class I
356 RUSSELL SENATE OFFICE BUILDING WASHINGTON DC 20510
(202) 224-6244
Web Form: ensign.senate.gov/forms/email_form.cfm
14) Feinstein, Dianne- (D - CA) Class I
331 HART SENATE OFFICE BUILDING WASHINGTON DC 20510
(202) 224-3841
Web Form: feinstein.senate.gov/email.html
15) Frist, William H.- (R - TN) Class I
509 HART SENATE OFFICE BUILDING WASHINGTON DC 20510
(202) 224-3344
Web Form: frist.senate.gov/index.cfm?FuseAction=AboutSenatorFrist.C...
16) Hatch, Orrin G.- (R - UT) Class I
104 HART SENATE OFFICE BUILDING WASHINGTON DC 20510
(202) 224-5251
Web Form: hatch.senate.gov/index.cfm?Fuseaction=Offices.Contact
17) Hutchison, Kay Bailey- (R - TX) Class I
284 RUSSELL SENATE OFFICE BUILDING WASHINGTON DC 20510
(202) 224-5922
Web Form: hutchison.senate.gov/e-mail.htm
18) Jeffords, James M.- (I - VT) Class I
413 DIRKSEN SENATE OFFICE BUILDING WASHINGTON DC 20510
(202) 224-5141
Web Form: jeffords.senate.gov/contact.html
19) Kennedy, Edward M.- (D - MA) Class I
317 RUSSELL SENATE OFFICE BUILDING WASHINGTON DC 20510
(202) 224-4543
Web Form: kennedy.senate.gov/contact.html
20) Kohl, Herb- (D - WI) Class I
330 HART SENATE OFFICE BUILDING WASHINGTON DC 20510
(202) 224-5653
Web Form: kohl.senate.gov/gen_contact.html
21) Kyl, Jon- (R - AZ) Class I
730 HART SENATE OFFICE BUILDING WASHINGTON DC 20510
(202) 224-4521
Web Form: kyl.senate.gov/contact.cfm
22) Lieberman, Joseph I.- (D - CT) Class I
706 HART SENATE OFFICE BUILDING WASHINGTON DC 20510
(202) 224-4041
Web Form: lieberman.senate.gov/contact/index.cfm?regarding=issue
23) Lott, Trent- (R - MS) Class I
487 RUSSELL SENATE OFFICE BUILDING WASHINGTON DC 20510
(202) 224-6253
Web Form: lott.senate.gov/index.cfm?FuseAction=Contact.Email
24) Lugar, Richard G.- (R - IN) Class I
306 HART SENATE OFFICE BUILDING WASHINGTON DC 20510
(202) 224-4814
E-mail: senator_lugar@lugar.senate.gov
25) Menendez, Robert- (D - NJ) Class I
502 HART SENATE OFFICE BUILDING WASHINGTON DC 20510
(202) 224-4744
26) Nelson, Bill- (D - FL) Class I
716 HART SENATE OFFICE BUILDING WASHINGTON DC 20510
(202) 224-5274
Web Form: billnelson.senate.gov/contact/index.cfm#email
27) Nelson, E. Benjamin- (D - NE) Class I
720 HART SENATE OFFICE BUILDING WASHINGTON DC 20510
(202) 224-6551
Web Form: bennelson.senate.gov/contact/email.cfm
28) Santorum, Rick- (R - PA) Class I
511 DIRKSEN SENATE OFFICE BUILDING WASHINGTON DC 20510
(202) 224-6324
Web Form: santorum.senate.gov/contactform.cfm
29) Sarbanes, Paul S.- (D - MD) Class I
309 HART SENATE OFFICE BUILDING WASHINGTON DC 20510
(202) 224-4524
Web Form: sarbanes.senate.gov/pages/email.html
30) Snowe, Olympia J.- (R - ME) Class I
154 RUSSELL SENATE OFFICE BUILDING WASHINGTON DC 20510
(202) 224-5344
Web Form: snowe.senate.gov/contact.htm
31) Stabenow, Debbie- (D - MI) Class I
133 HART SENATE OFFICE BUILDING WASHINGTON DC 20510
(202) 224-4822
Web Form: stabenow.senate.gov/email.htm
32) Talent, James M.- (R - MO) Class I
493 RUSSELL SENATE OFFICE BUILDING WASHINGTON DC 20510
(202) 224-6154
Web Form: talent.senate.gov/Contact/default.cfm?pagemode=1
33) Thomas, Craig- (R - WY) Class I
307 DIRKSEN SENATE OFFICE BUILDING WASHINGTON DC 20510
(202) 224-6441
Web Form: thomas.senate.gov/index.cfm?FuseAction=Contact.Home
For this reason, America MUST re-establish a bi-partisan political system.
And this can best be done in the Senate, so I am now inaugurating a new series that will look at the members of congress up for re-election in the Senate. This post will include a complete list of the current class I senator (those with seats to be re-elected this year) and then one by one I will offer my thoughts on each.
SENATORS (and senatorial seats) UP FOR RE-ELECTION:
1) Akaka, Daniel K.- (D - HI) Class I
141 HART SENATE OFFICE BUILDING WASHINGTON DC 20510
(202) 224-6361
E-mail: senator@akaka.senate.gov
2) Allen, George- (R - VA) Class I
204 RUSSELL SENATE OFFICE BUILDING WASHINGTON DC 20510
(202) 224-4024
Web Form: allen.senate.gov/index.cfm?c=email
3) Bingaman, Jeff- (D - NM) Class I
703 HART SENATE OFFICE BUILDING WASHINGTON DC 20510
(202) 224-5521
E-mail: senator_bingaman@bingaman.senate.gov
4) Burns, Conrad- (R - MT) Class I
187 DIRKSEN SENATE OFFICE BUILDING WASHINGTON DC 20510
(202) 224-2644
Web Form: burns.senate.gov/index.cfm?FuseAction=Home.Contact
5) Byrd, Robert C.- (D - WV) Class I
311 HART SENATE OFFICE BUILDING WASHINGTON DC 20510
(202) 224-3954
Web Form: byrd.senate.gov/byrd_email.html
6) Cantwell, Maria- (D - WA) Class I
717 HART SENATE OFFICE BUILDING WASHINGTON DC 20510
(202) 224-3441
Web Form: cantwell.senate.gov/contact/index.html
7) Carper, Thomas R.- (D - DE) Class I
513 HART SENATE OFFICE BUILDING WASHINGTON DC 20510
(202) 224-2441
Web Form: carper.senate.gov/aemail.htm
8) Chafee, Lincoln- (R - RI) Class I
141A RUSSELL SENATE OFFICE BUILDING WASHINGTON DC 20510
(202) 224-2921
Web Form: chafee.senate.gov/webform.htm
9) Clinton, Hillary Rodham- (D - NY) Class I
476 RUSSELL SENATE OFFICE BUILDING WASHINGTON DC
20510
(202) 224-4451
Web Form: clinton.senate.gov/contact
10) Conrad, Kent- (D - ND) Class I
530 HART SENATE OFFICE BUILDING WASHINGTON DC 20510
(202) 224-2043
Web Form: conrad.senate.gov/webform.html
11) Dayton, Mark- (D - MN) Class I
123 RUSSELL SENATE OFFICE BUILDING WASHINGTON DC 20510
(202) 224-3244
Web Form: dayton.senate.gov/contact/email.cfm
12) DeWine, Mike- (R - OH) Class I
140 RUSSELL SENATE OFFICE BUILDING WASHINGTON DC 20510
(202) 224-2315
Web Form: dewine.senate.gov
13) Ensign, John- (R - NV) Class I
356 RUSSELL SENATE OFFICE BUILDING WASHINGTON DC 20510
(202) 224-6244
Web Form: ensign.senate.gov/forms/email_form.cfm
14) Feinstein, Dianne- (D - CA) Class I
331 HART SENATE OFFICE BUILDING WASHINGTON DC 20510
(202) 224-3841
Web Form: feinstein.senate.gov/email.html
15) Frist, William H.- (R - TN) Class I
509 HART SENATE OFFICE BUILDING WASHINGTON DC 20510
(202) 224-3344
Web Form: frist.senate.gov/index.cfm?FuseAction=AboutSenatorFrist.C...
16) Hatch, Orrin G.- (R - UT) Class I
104 HART SENATE OFFICE BUILDING WASHINGTON DC 20510
(202) 224-5251
Web Form: hatch.senate.gov/index.cfm?Fuseaction=Offices.Contact
17) Hutchison, Kay Bailey- (R - TX) Class I
284 RUSSELL SENATE OFFICE BUILDING WASHINGTON DC 20510
(202) 224-5922
Web Form: hutchison.senate.gov/e-mail.htm
18) Jeffords, James M.- (I - VT) Class I
413 DIRKSEN SENATE OFFICE BUILDING WASHINGTON DC 20510
(202) 224-5141
Web Form: jeffords.senate.gov/contact.html
19) Kennedy, Edward M.- (D - MA) Class I
317 RUSSELL SENATE OFFICE BUILDING WASHINGTON DC 20510
(202) 224-4543
Web Form: kennedy.senate.gov/contact.html
20) Kohl, Herb- (D - WI) Class I
330 HART SENATE OFFICE BUILDING WASHINGTON DC 20510
(202) 224-5653
Web Form: kohl.senate.gov/gen_contact.html
21) Kyl, Jon- (R - AZ) Class I
730 HART SENATE OFFICE BUILDING WASHINGTON DC 20510
(202) 224-4521
Web Form: kyl.senate.gov/contact.cfm
22) Lieberman, Joseph I.- (D - CT) Class I
706 HART SENATE OFFICE BUILDING WASHINGTON DC 20510
(202) 224-4041
Web Form: lieberman.senate.gov/contact/index.cfm?regarding=issue
23) Lott, Trent- (R - MS) Class I
487 RUSSELL SENATE OFFICE BUILDING WASHINGTON DC 20510
(202) 224-6253
Web Form: lott.senate.gov/index.cfm?FuseAction=Contact.Email
24) Lugar, Richard G.- (R - IN) Class I
306 HART SENATE OFFICE BUILDING WASHINGTON DC 20510
(202) 224-4814
E-mail: senator_lugar@lugar.senate.gov
25) Menendez, Robert- (D - NJ) Class I
502 HART SENATE OFFICE BUILDING WASHINGTON DC 20510
(202) 224-4744
26) Nelson, Bill- (D - FL) Class I
716 HART SENATE OFFICE BUILDING WASHINGTON DC 20510
(202) 224-5274
Web Form: billnelson.senate.gov/contact/index.cfm#email
27) Nelson, E. Benjamin- (D - NE) Class I
720 HART SENATE OFFICE BUILDING WASHINGTON DC 20510
(202) 224-6551
Web Form: bennelson.senate.gov/contact/email.cfm
28) Santorum, Rick- (R - PA) Class I
511 DIRKSEN SENATE OFFICE BUILDING WASHINGTON DC 20510
(202) 224-6324
Web Form: santorum.senate.gov/contactform.cfm
29) Sarbanes, Paul S.- (D - MD) Class I
309 HART SENATE OFFICE BUILDING WASHINGTON DC 20510
(202) 224-4524
Web Form: sarbanes.senate.gov/pages/email.html
30) Snowe, Olympia J.- (R - ME) Class I
154 RUSSELL SENATE OFFICE BUILDING WASHINGTON DC 20510
(202) 224-5344
Web Form: snowe.senate.gov/contact.htm
31) Stabenow, Debbie- (D - MI) Class I
133 HART SENATE OFFICE BUILDING WASHINGTON DC 20510
(202) 224-4822
Web Form: stabenow.senate.gov/email.htm
32) Talent, James M.- (R - MO) Class I
493 RUSSELL SENATE OFFICE BUILDING WASHINGTON DC 20510
(202) 224-6154
Web Form: talent.senate.gov/Contact/default.cfm?pagemode=1
33) Thomas, Craig- (R - WY) Class I
307 DIRKSEN SENATE OFFICE BUILDING WASHINGTON DC 20510
(202) 224-6441
Web Form: thomas.senate.gov/index.cfm?FuseAction=Contact.Home
Thursday, February 09, 2006
Our Latest American Hero #2
Keeping with this new theme....
Army Pfc. Scott A. Messer
26, of Ashland, Ky.; assigned to the 1st Squadron, 32nd Cavalry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division, Fort Campbell, Ky.; died Feb. 2 when his Humvee accidentally rolled over during convoy operations in Ashraf, Iraq.
Slain soldier joined military for a better life
FROM the Associated Press
FORT CAMPBELL, Ky. — A soldier from eastern Kentucky who died in Iraq joined the military to give his family a better life, his wife said Saturday.
Pfc. Scott A. Messer, 26, of Ashland, was killed in Ashraf, Iraq, on Thursday, when the Humvee he was riding in accidentally rolled over during convoy operations, the Pentagon said Friday.
He was one of five members of the Fort Campbell-based 101st Airborne Division killed in Iraq since Wednesday in three separate incidents, the Pentagon said.
Messer was assigned to 1st Squadron, 32nd Cavalry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division.
His wife, Jennifer, said Messer was “a little nervous” about leaving her and their two daughters — 4-year-old Hailee and 1-year-old Natalie — to deploy to Iraq.
“He didn’t want to leave us, but he was pretty strong about it,” she said.
Messer’s mother, Joyce Johnson, told The Independent of Ashland that her son was at home for 15 days recently after spending six months in Iraq. She said he had been back in Iraq for about two weeks when he was killed.
“When he was at home, he talked about how much he liked being a soldier,” she said. “He said he wanted to re-enlist at the end of his time and go back in the medical field to help the wounded.”
Three other soldiers were killed Wednesday when a roadside bomb exploded near their Humvee, the Pentagon said. A fourth soldier, a member of the same combat team, died in an insurgent attack, also on Wednesday.
The three soldiers, First Lt. Garrison C. Avery, 23, of Lincoln, Neb.; Spc. Marlon A. Bustamante, 25, of Corona, N.Y.; and Pfc. Caesar S. Viglienzone, 21, of Santa Rosa, Calif., were assigned to the 1st Battalion, 502nd Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division.
Spc. Anthony C. Owens, 21, of Conway, S.C., was also killed on Wednesday when his unit was attacked by insurgents using grenades and small arms fire.
Messer joined the Army in September 2004 and arrived at Fort Campbell in February 2005. He also is survived his parents, Victor Messer of Bellefonte and Joyce Johnson of Westwood.
Avery joined the Army in May 2004 and arrived at Fort Campbell in June 2005. He is survived by his wife, Kayla, of Clarksville, Tenn.; and parents, Gary and Susan Avery of Lincoln, Neb.
Bustamante joined the Army in April 2003 and arrived at Fort Campbell in August 2003. He is survived by his wife, Danielle; twin boys, Gabriel and Xavier; and a daughter, Annalyse of Fort Campbell.
Viglienzone joined the Army in October 2004 and arrived at Fort Campbell in January 2005. He is survived by his parents, Dennis and Norma Viglienzone, of Santa Rosa, Calif.
Owens is survived by his parents, Ronnie and Carrie Owens. His sister, Veronica Owens, lives in Conway, S.C.
There have been 117 soldiers from Fort Campbell killed in the Iraq war.
Army Pfc. Scott A. Messer
26, of Ashland, Ky.; assigned to the 1st Squadron, 32nd Cavalry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division, Fort Campbell, Ky.; died Feb. 2 when his Humvee accidentally rolled over during convoy operations in Ashraf, Iraq.
Slain soldier joined military for a better life
FROM the Associated Press
FORT CAMPBELL, Ky. — A soldier from eastern Kentucky who died in Iraq joined the military to give his family a better life, his wife said Saturday.
Pfc. Scott A. Messer, 26, of Ashland, was killed in Ashraf, Iraq, on Thursday, when the Humvee he was riding in accidentally rolled over during convoy operations, the Pentagon said Friday.
He was one of five members of the Fort Campbell-based 101st Airborne Division killed in Iraq since Wednesday in three separate incidents, the Pentagon said.
Messer was assigned to 1st Squadron, 32nd Cavalry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division.
His wife, Jennifer, said Messer was “a little nervous” about leaving her and their two daughters — 4-year-old Hailee and 1-year-old Natalie — to deploy to Iraq.
“He didn’t want to leave us, but he was pretty strong about it,” she said.
Messer’s mother, Joyce Johnson, told The Independent of Ashland that her son was at home for 15 days recently after spending six months in Iraq. She said he had been back in Iraq for about two weeks when he was killed.
“When he was at home, he talked about how much he liked being a soldier,” she said. “He said he wanted to re-enlist at the end of his time and go back in the medical field to help the wounded.”
Three other soldiers were killed Wednesday when a roadside bomb exploded near their Humvee, the Pentagon said. A fourth soldier, a member of the same combat team, died in an insurgent attack, also on Wednesday.
The three soldiers, First Lt. Garrison C. Avery, 23, of Lincoln, Neb.; Spc. Marlon A. Bustamante, 25, of Corona, N.Y.; and Pfc. Caesar S. Viglienzone, 21, of Santa Rosa, Calif., were assigned to the 1st Battalion, 502nd Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division.
Spc. Anthony C. Owens, 21, of Conway, S.C., was also killed on Wednesday when his unit was attacked by insurgents using grenades and small arms fire.
Messer joined the Army in September 2004 and arrived at Fort Campbell in February 2005. He also is survived his parents, Victor Messer of Bellefonte and Joyce Johnson of Westwood.
Avery joined the Army in May 2004 and arrived at Fort Campbell in June 2005. He is survived by his wife, Kayla, of Clarksville, Tenn.; and parents, Gary and Susan Avery of Lincoln, Neb.
Bustamante joined the Army in April 2003 and arrived at Fort Campbell in August 2003. He is survived by his wife, Danielle; twin boys, Gabriel and Xavier; and a daughter, Annalyse of Fort Campbell.
Viglienzone joined the Army in October 2004 and arrived at Fort Campbell in January 2005. He is survived by his parents, Dennis and Norma Viglienzone, of Santa Rosa, Calif.
Owens is survived by his parents, Ronnie and Carrie Owens. His sister, Veronica Owens, lives in Conway, S.C.
There have been 117 soldiers from Fort Campbell killed in the Iraq war.
Hope Springs Eternal OR "A Fool and His Money Are Soon Parted"
Yup, I bought a ticket. Only $5.00 bucks, but if you never hear from me again, you'll know it was money well spent!
Wednesday, February 08, 2006
What I'm Watching #7
Like a blast from the past this movie enters my life again...an old friend. Amazing at the time, and kudus to Kate, Harry, and Michael, who all put their chips on the table for this one. Today, we might think it quaint, but in 1982 it was nothing short of radical!
Hear me little ones, for I speak the truth! I remember feeling like I needed to "sneak" into the Kentuckian Theater in Lexington, Kentucky for fear of being seen and outed...the first time I dared to watch this film.
Again I say, Broke Back Mountain?...been there, done that! Ever ready to renounce my past and burn my closet!
Dear "Friends of Dorothy" who've never heard that phrase before, check this piece of Gay historical "personhood" out and laud these courageous actors.
Hear me little ones, for I speak the truth! I remember feeling like I needed to "sneak" into the Kentuckian Theater in Lexington, Kentucky for fear of being seen and outed...the first time I dared to watch this film.
Again I say, Broke Back Mountain?...been there, done that! Ever ready to renounce my past and burn my closet!
Dear "Friends of Dorothy" who've never heard that phrase before, check this piece of Gay historical "personhood" out and laud these courageous actors.
Monday, February 06, 2006
Our Latest American Hero #1
For some time now I have faithfully followed the lives and stories of the men and women who have died in our behalf and in service to our nation in the war against terrorism. I am now presenting some of their images and stories from local newspapers.
ALBUQUERQUE — Paula Gonzalez had only one question when Army officials showed up at her Las Cruces home: Which of her two sons was killed in Iraq?
“When you have two over there, it’s like hurry up, say which one,” she said by telephone from her home Sunday as the family looked at pictures of the slain soldier, Cpl. Jesse Zamora, 22, her youngest son.
On Friday, Zamora was killed when a roadside bomb blew up near his Humvee in Beiji, Iraq. A piece of shrapnel flew up and hit him, she said.
As he slipped away, Zamora asked one of his friends to hug him, Gonzalez said.
“It’s just incredible how close these guys are. They love each other so much,” she said.
ALBUQUERQUE — Paula Gonzalez had only one question when Army officials showed up at her Las Cruces home: Which of her two sons was killed in Iraq?
“When you have two over there, it’s like hurry up, say which one,” she said by telephone from her home Sunday as the family looked at pictures of the slain soldier, Cpl. Jesse Zamora, 22, her youngest son.
On Friday, Zamora was killed when a roadside bomb blew up near his Humvee in Beiji, Iraq. A piece of shrapnel flew up and hit him, she said.
As he slipped away, Zamora asked one of his friends to hug him, Gonzalez said.
“It’s just incredible how close these guys are. They love each other so much,” she said.
Sunday, February 05, 2006
What I'm Watching #6
OMG--I haven't cried so much over a movie with "Billy" in the title since "Billy Elliot"!
Borkeback Mountain?--pish posh! Here's a much more authentic tale of self-inflicted homophobia overcome.
Enjoy! 5 stars!
Borkeback Mountain?--pish posh! Here's a much more authentic tale of self-inflicted homophobia overcome.
Enjoy! 5 stars!
Friday, February 03, 2006
Never A Dull Moment OR Bomb Squad Determines Suspicious Package A Hoax
GAITHERSBURG, Md. - Bomb technicians have determined that a suspicious device in Gaithersburg has turned out to be a hoax.
Montgomery County Fire and Rescue spokesman Pete Piringer said the device had all the markings of an explosive device. But there were no explosives.
Earlier Friday, Piringer said the device appeared different from more routine reports of suspicious packages and said police believed the package was an improvised explosive device.
Students from Rachel Carson Elementary School were evacuated Friday afternoon and taken to nearby Quince Orchard High School.
The suspicious package was found in a park in the middle of Kent Island Circle and the bomb squad was called to the scene around 12:30 p.m., Piringer said. Technicians used a robot to investigate the device.
Thus ends the official report.
The incident began for me when I was attempting to leave the building to get some lunch and was told that the police would not allow me to leave. The reason being that we were about to enter into a Code Red. Instinctually, I went to the cafeteria where the final lunch of the day was about to commence, I knew some children where already in the lunch line and/or sitting down at their tables, while others were on their way. I also knew that my colleagues who had dropped off their children were already somewhere else in the building, and that upon a Code Red being called EVERYONE locks down where they are.
I had no sooner entered the cafeteria than it was called on the intercom and so myself and three other staff members (Ms. M. Special Ed teacher, and Mrs. K and Mrs. V. instructional support staff) began to coax the children in the room onto the stage that rises above one side of the cafeteria. Mrs. G., a Special Ed. IA, and Mrs. S. our Counselor soon joined us. Within 60 seconds we had secured the cafeteria, arranged approximately 110 students in a silent and seated position on the stage behind closed curtains, where we were prepared for what we did not then know. After only a minute, a member of the building services personal entered the cafeteria and said, "Where are they? Where did they go?" To wit, we made no response and the door closed then upon a silent and empty cafeteria. It was a picture perfect disappearance on our part!
This phase of the incident lasted a little over 30 minutes, until an announcement from our assistant principal down graded the situation to a code blue. We emerged from our hiding place and began the process of feeding the children. The 110 who had arrived earlier where joined by the remaining 100 of our 4th and 5th graders, and they had their lunch. And the delayed lunch proceeded relatively normally.
But by the time lunch was over the decision was made to move children from the front of the building with windows facing the “bomb,” as the apparent IED seemed more menacing upon closer examination by the police, to rooms further away from any possible harm. And moments later, we got the word to evacuate the building. Mind you, Rachel Carson Elementary has over 700 students, and appx. 100 staff. We successfully had every one out of harm's way in about 10 minutes. Getting everyone over to Quince Orchard High School was a little trickier as we had to walk the .75 miles and cross a few busy intersections. But throughout the children remained basically calm and everything transpired in an orderly fashion.
On a personal note, I was feeling a little vaclempt regarding my friend, Kimeo; whom I'd only recently gotten on board as a substitute teacher at my school. But he took the whole event in stride and contributed very positively to the successful conclusion of moving students and reuniting them with their often-anxious parents.
I now know how much a cab ride from work to my home costs! $44.40! When we finally had all of the students safely accounted for, it was 5:00 PM, and the security force told us that it was not possible to retrieve our vehicles from the parking lot before the morning. So my principal, Mr. C., very generously turned to me and offered to cover my cab ride home; which enabled Kimeo and a new student teacher, Mr. L, to get home, too. Little things are not so little in times of disruption -- "Thanks!" Mr. C.
Montgomery County Fire and Rescue spokesman Pete Piringer said the device had all the markings of an explosive device. But there were no explosives.
Earlier Friday, Piringer said the device appeared different from more routine reports of suspicious packages and said police believed the package was an improvised explosive device.
Students from Rachel Carson Elementary School were evacuated Friday afternoon and taken to nearby Quince Orchard High School.
The suspicious package was found in a park in the middle of Kent Island Circle and the bomb squad was called to the scene around 12:30 p.m., Piringer said. Technicians used a robot to investigate the device.
Thus ends the official report.
The incident began for me when I was attempting to leave the building to get some lunch and was told that the police would not allow me to leave. The reason being that we were about to enter into a Code Red. Instinctually, I went to the cafeteria where the final lunch of the day was about to commence, I knew some children where already in the lunch line and/or sitting down at their tables, while others were on their way. I also knew that my colleagues who had dropped off their children were already somewhere else in the building, and that upon a Code Red being called EVERYONE locks down where they are.
I had no sooner entered the cafeteria than it was called on the intercom and so myself and three other staff members (Ms. M. Special Ed teacher, and Mrs. K and Mrs. V. instructional support staff) began to coax the children in the room onto the stage that rises above one side of the cafeteria. Mrs. G., a Special Ed. IA, and Mrs. S. our Counselor soon joined us. Within 60 seconds we had secured the cafeteria, arranged approximately 110 students in a silent and seated position on the stage behind closed curtains, where we were prepared for what we did not then know. After only a minute, a member of the building services personal entered the cafeteria and said, "Where are they? Where did they go?" To wit, we made no response and the door closed then upon a silent and empty cafeteria. It was a picture perfect disappearance on our part!
This phase of the incident lasted a little over 30 minutes, until an announcement from our assistant principal down graded the situation to a code blue. We emerged from our hiding place and began the process of feeding the children. The 110 who had arrived earlier where joined by the remaining 100 of our 4th and 5th graders, and they had their lunch. And the delayed lunch proceeded relatively normally.
But by the time lunch was over the decision was made to move children from the front of the building with windows facing the “bomb,” as the apparent IED seemed more menacing upon closer examination by the police, to rooms further away from any possible harm. And moments later, we got the word to evacuate the building. Mind you, Rachel Carson Elementary has over 700 students, and appx. 100 staff. We successfully had every one out of harm's way in about 10 minutes. Getting everyone over to Quince Orchard High School was a little trickier as we had to walk the .75 miles and cross a few busy intersections. But throughout the children remained basically calm and everything transpired in an orderly fashion.
On a personal note, I was feeling a little vaclempt regarding my friend, Kimeo; whom I'd only recently gotten on board as a substitute teacher at my school. But he took the whole event in stride and contributed very positively to the successful conclusion of moving students and reuniting them with their often-anxious parents.
I now know how much a cab ride from work to my home costs! $44.40! When we finally had all of the students safely accounted for, it was 5:00 PM, and the security force told us that it was not possible to retrieve our vehicles from the parking lot before the morning. So my principal, Mr. C., very generously turned to me and offered to cover my cab ride home; which enabled Kimeo and a new student teacher, Mr. L, to get home, too. Little things are not so little in times of disruption -- "Thanks!" Mr. C.
Wednesday, February 01, 2006
Pack Rat Me!
Why does it surprise me that I am a Chinese zodiac rat? the son of a packrat, I am equally predisposed to hoard!
The only difference is that I do not hoard things of plastic and ceramic, but things of paper that tell a tale. Tickets, vouchers, bills, receipts....
This collage of them tells many tales:
Movies, plays. art museums that I have visited...and so much more.
The only difference is that I do not hoard things of plastic and ceramic, but things of paper that tell a tale. Tickets, vouchers, bills, receipts....
This collage of them tells many tales:
Movies, plays. art museums that I have visited...and so much more.
Saturday, January 28, 2006
And the Award for the Most uses of the word FUCK in a song goes to......
Steve Earl! My hero. These are the lyrics from one of his songs on his latest album "The Revolution Starts Now." It's the most salient and powerful musical response to our current political crisis that I've heard thus far.
Steve, I'd kiss you full on the lips if I could, just to say thanks! Viva la Revolution! Long live FREEDOM of SPEECH!
Steve, I'd kiss you full on the lips if I could, just to say thanks! Viva la Revolution! Long live FREEDOM of SPEECH!
What I'm Listening to #10
Kudus Bruce! You are like a wine of rare vintage, every year you get finer and finer.
This is an amazing album which should forever and always end any debate reguarding Springsteen's pre-eminent place as America's foremost troubadour.
You won't be disappointed by this one.
This is an amazing album which should forever and always end any debate reguarding Springsteen's pre-eminent place as America's foremost troubadour.
You won't be disappointed by this one.
Only in the "Mira"! -- Surprised with a Chocolate!
What more can you say? Um...Ricky, did it melt in your mouth?
Cheers!
Cheers!
Thursday, January 26, 2006
Random Quote #40
"When people see things as beautiful,
ugliness is created.
When people see things as good,
evil is created."
~ Tao Te Ching
ugliness is created.
When people see things as good,
evil is created."
~ Tao Te Ching
Monday, January 23, 2006
Something Way Cool
Check out my friend's son's animation. On view all month at:
http://www.animationblock.com/
And hopefully archived afterwards. It's titled,"She She She's a Bombshell." Funny and very well done, reminiscent of "Dr. Katz" -- a long missed and much appreciated foray into avant garde comedic cartooning.
Congrats Ben!
http://www.animationblock.com/
And hopefully archived afterwards. It's titled,"She She She's a Bombshell." Funny and very well done, reminiscent of "Dr. Katz" -- a long missed and much appreciated foray into avant garde comedic cartooning.
Congrats Ben!
What I'm Listening To #9
Bravo Brazil!
This is a two disc set of contemporary Brazilian music, mostly dance oriented and occasionally a little eccentric (Club Des Belugas' "Hip Hip Chin Chin" with the sound sampling of Frank Sinatra's lecture on rhythm!)....BUT still thoroughly Brazilian. The samba is ever present, as are the drums that Paul Simon made so famous in the north in his Brazilian fushion album "The Rhythm of the Saints."
And always the Portuguese. One of my favorite languages. So sensual and lush.
This is a two disc set of contemporary Brazilian music, mostly dance oriented and occasionally a little eccentric (Club Des Belugas' "Hip Hip Chin Chin" with the sound sampling of Frank Sinatra's lecture on rhythm!)....BUT still thoroughly Brazilian. The samba is ever present, as are the drums that Paul Simon made so famous in the north in his Brazilian fushion album "The Rhythm of the Saints."
And always the Portuguese. One of my favorite languages. So sensual and lush.
Sunday, January 22, 2006
What I'm Looking Forward to Listening To!
I gave myself a little birthday present tonight (complete 45 years of life on the 29th).
So I went to amazone.com and bought an album for every 9 years that I've been around this place. 3 are by Steve Earl, liberal wonder-boy and host of the radio talk show, "The Revolution Starts NOW," the 4th is the latest work from Bruce Springsteen. When my ex- left me (on that very day), a mutual friend from our church arrived within minutes of his departure and gave me a copy of Springsteen's tribute to 9/11. While the disasters of my little life, don't even compare to that event, this gift was a profound one. And the 5th is an alnum by Daddy Yankees who are a favorite Reggeaton group of mine, very popular in Nicaragua, and just damn fun to listen to.
SO.... life should be about our beliefs (and we MUST put our money where are mouths and hearts are): My 45th birthday will about my beliefs, my present activism, my past angst and my future hope.
So I went to amazone.com and bought an album for every 9 years that I've been around this place. 3 are by Steve Earl, liberal wonder-boy and host of the radio talk show, "The Revolution Starts NOW," the 4th is the latest work from Bruce Springsteen. When my ex- left me (on that very day), a mutual friend from our church arrived within minutes of his departure and gave me a copy of Springsteen's tribute to 9/11. While the disasters of my little life, don't even compare to that event, this gift was a profound one. And the 5th is an alnum by Daddy Yankees who are a favorite Reggeaton group of mine, very popular in Nicaragua, and just damn fun to listen to.
SO.... life should be about our beliefs (and we MUST put our money where are mouths and hearts are): My 45th birthday will about my beliefs, my present activism, my past angst and my future hope.
Art I'm Seeing #1
Today, after a colleague asked me last week what was new on the Mall, I spent the afternoon researching the answer. First stop, my beloved National Gallery of Art where they are in eager preparation for their next opening: "Cezanne in Province" on Sunday, January 29th. Presently there is a Homer show that I'd seen months ago and so skipped, a collection of the bird prints of John James Audubon (which was alive with children and parents and bird houses and laughter and shouts of excited discovery -- very UN-NGA, and very delightful!), and a small show of the prints of the French artist Félix Buhot. The images presented here are his from that show. The bottom image actually being a painting, but very sweet and captivating. I spent the bulk of my time here, and kept thinking how limited my college education in printmaking was! My instructor Mrs. N. G.-W. was just not up to the task.... But neither was I, I guess, since it's only taken me 23 years to figure this out!
Afterwards, I walked over to the Hirshhorn which is also in the birth throws of launching a new exhibition of the works of Hiroshi Sugimoto, but continues with a retrospective of objects from its permanent collection. Objects that they are augmenting from time to time. This visit's standout was an amazing little bas-relief by Isamu Noguchi. Approximately 2 feet wide by 3 feet tall, it was a gently formed "landscape" in white that had angled openings (some oblong, some round) through which half a dozen muted shades of light emitted. The mounds were topped with hooks through which twine stretched, and threaded upon which a few cork balls hung and kept taught via the force of gravity. This addition cast shadows across the surface and helped to highlight and isolate the color created by the light. It was so simple and I could tell that most of the people in the gallery thought it inane at best. Why is beauty so hard to see?
To this I would add a painting by Louis Morris called "Point of Tranquility" which I swear could be his 'masterwork'. I will scan and set its image in a post just before this one.
Afterwards, I walked over to the Hirshhorn which is also in the birth throws of launching a new exhibition of the works of Hiroshi Sugimoto, but continues with a retrospective of objects from its permanent collection. Objects that they are augmenting from time to time. This visit's standout was an amazing little bas-relief by Isamu Noguchi. Approximately 2 feet wide by 3 feet tall, it was a gently formed "landscape" in white that had angled openings (some oblong, some round) through which half a dozen muted shades of light emitted. The mounds were topped with hooks through which twine stretched, and threaded upon which a few cork balls hung and kept taught via the force of gravity. This addition cast shadows across the surface and helped to highlight and isolate the color created by the light. It was so simple and I could tell that most of the people in the gallery thought it inane at best. Why is beauty so hard to see?
To this I would add a painting by Louis Morris called "Point of Tranquility" which I swear could be his 'masterwork'. I will scan and set its image in a post just before this one.
Friday, January 20, 2006
Random Quote #39
"I always said that when I'm old, I want to be sitting there regretting the things that I did and not the things that I didn't do – and now I'm old, and I don't regret anything! I had fun."
~ Michael Caine, 1935 -
~ Michael Caine, 1935 -
Tuesday, January 17, 2006
What I'm Listening To #8
.....An old friend tonight. And one of the BEST albums ever recorded. I love the poignancy of Adam Duritz's voice. He writes songs that touch the heart with a sense of tender observation.
The album always enters my soul like the presence of dear friend. "When I think of heaven, it's definitely a black winged bird....."
The album always enters my soul like the presence of dear friend. "When I think of heaven, it's definitely a black winged bird....."
Saturday, January 14, 2006
Greater Corn Island Memoir #1
When I visit Nicaragua, I try to plan a side trip. Last year I went to San Juan del Sur on the Pacific Ocean and climbed Volcan Masaya. This year I went to Greater Corn Island in the Caribbean with my friends Guillermo and Jeffery. It's an amazingly beautiful place, and the following snapshots are taken from our stay there.
Greater Corn Island Memoir #2
This is the view of Caribbean from the portico of the Hotel Cesar on Greater Corn Island. The portico was also the Hotel's restaurant seating, so we started each day with this view.
Greater Corn Island Memoir #3
This is view of the beach on Greater Corn Island from the Hotel Cesar in the morning. Our pattern was to claim a palm frond roof cabana and then spend our time between swimming in the surf and relaxing under the cabana. Cabana time also meant consuming the most amazing cerviche I have ever eaten.
Greater Corn Island Memoire #4
While guests at the Hotel Cesar, we took full advantage of it's kitchen. I honestly ate fresh lobster for every meal. Here was a lunch of lobster brochette. The food was wonderful. Guillermo loved the seafood, too; and Jeffrey only ate chicken. Both nights and all meals and beach side apetizers and beers came to $261.00 for the three of us!
Greater Corn Island Memoir #5
On the last morning there, I awoke early and went beach combing. At some point much further down the beach, I turned and shot this photo of the fishing pier and peninsula. it was such a beautiful morning.
Friday, January 13, 2006
Random Quote #38
"It is better to conquer yourself
Than to win a thousand battles,
Because the victory is yours."
from the Dhammapada
Than to win a thousand battles,
Because the victory is yours."
from the Dhammapada
Tuesday, January 10, 2006
Sunday, January 08, 2006
Nicaragua Memoir #4
Of all the wonderful people I have met in Nicaragua -- and believe me, there are tons of wonderful people in Nicaragua! -- Guillermo Bolaños is on the top of my list. Here he is with his beloved daughter, Rosa Guadeloupe. After taking the picture, I showed it to them via my camera's viewer, and she leaned forward gently touching the screen and declaring, "Papicito, Papicito!" Their love is a mutual affair.
Guillermo accompanied me last year on my visit's side journeys. We spent two days at the resort community of San Juan del Sur; we toured the archipelago of luxury homes on islands in Lake Nicaragua off of the shore of the colonial city of Granada, and we climbed to the rim of the active Volcano Masaya. This year he and I spent 3 days on Greater Corn Island (along with Jeffrey) in the Caribbean Sea. More on this to come.
Guillermo accompanied me last year on my visit's side journeys. We spent two days at the resort community of San Juan del Sur; we toured the archipelago of luxury homes on islands in Lake Nicaragua off of the shore of the colonial city of Granada, and we climbed to the rim of the active Volcano Masaya. This year he and I spent 3 days on Greater Corn Island (along with Jeffrey) in the Caribbean Sea. More on this to come.
Nicaragua Memoir #3
Here are (L-R) Jeffrey, Lucie, and Marco. Jeffrey is a teacher of English at Casa Ave Maria, and Lucie and Marco are two of his students.
During my recent visit they practically adopted me! Lucie offered her home on the Monday and Tuesday of my stay for lunch, which she prepared and was absolutely fabulous! Marco became our chauffeur, transporting us from CAM to Lucie's and other locations around Managua. I find that there are people with who I can hold a decent conversation in Spanish and those who utter baffle me. Marco was someone with who I was able to hold a conversation for an extended period. And totally typical of Nicaraguans, they were all generous and gracious beyond anything that I deserve.
During my recent visit they practically adopted me! Lucie offered her home on the Monday and Tuesday of my stay for lunch, which she prepared and was absolutely fabulous! Marco became our chauffeur, transporting us from CAM to Lucie's and other locations around Managua. I find that there are people with who I can hold a decent conversation in Spanish and those who utter baffle me. Marco was someone with who I was able to hold a conversation for an extended period. And totally typical of Nicaraguans, they were all generous and gracious beyond anything that I deserve.
Nicaragua Memoir #2
The place I stay in Nicaragua the Casa Ave Maria in the barrio Monseñor Lezcano. It's an amazing place. A place of respite. A place of art and ideas. A simple place by western standards, but a place where tender hearts will clearly be enchanted. It's proprietor is my friend, Father Grant Gallup, or familiarly (affectionately) known as Padre Mauricio.
Besides rooms to let for visitors or groups, the casa also offers classes in various topics from computers to English. On Sunday mornings the little chapel hosts Holy Eucharist. Carlos in the picture is one of the faithful instrumentalists who provide music. And in the afternoon on Sundays the only Gay and Lesbian gathering of Christians meet to worship in the same chapel. The Casa Ave Marie is a place of respite for all.
Besides rooms to let for visitors or groups, the casa also offers classes in various topics from computers to English. On Sunday mornings the little chapel hosts Holy Eucharist. Carlos in the picture is one of the faithful instrumentalists who provide music. And in the afternoon on Sundays the only Gay and Lesbian gathering of Christians meet to worship in the same chapel. The Casa Ave Marie is a place of respite for all.
Saturday, January 07, 2006
Nicaragua Memoir #1
A joy to add this to my growing list of international memoirs: Costa Rica, Taiwan, Zimbabwe, etc. I have enjoyed the beautiful people and places of this amazing little country for the past two Christmas holidays. And I am in the process of imaging my future there. As a public school teacher in Maryland (the state with the 50th ranked retirement system) it's clear that the "good days" are the ones where I'm working! Once it's my turn to rest out the golden years, to do so here would be simply impossible. But doing it in a "third world country" would at least be plausible. And I can't think of a more placid and congenial place than Nicaragua. More to come soon.
Thursday, January 05, 2006
My Latest Poem
Yes, I write poetry....mostly bad poetry! But you be the judge. My latest composition.
PERFECTION
~ Great Corn Island, December 2005
There is this moment.
Three rusting fishing boats float silently
moored to a pier.
The first rays of dawn have yet to strike
this side of the island,
and when they do arrive,
the meager remnants of white paint
on the hulls
will animate the boats with a glow
like hybiscus blossoms.
In the present grayness, they sleep.
No thought for the journeys that await;
No concern for those past.
Only the moment:
the gentle, nearly imperceptible,
roll of the tide,
clear as crystal.
~ R--- W--- A---, 1961 -
0601.01
PERFECTION
~ Great Corn Island, December 2005
There is this moment.
Three rusting fishing boats float silently
moored to a pier.
The first rays of dawn have yet to strike
this side of the island,
and when they do arrive,
the meager remnants of white paint
on the hulls
will animate the boats with a glow
like hybiscus blossoms.
In the present grayness, they sleep.
No thought for the journeys that await;
No concern for those past.
Only the moment:
the gentle, nearly imperceptible,
roll of the tide,
clear as crystal.
~ R--- W--- A---, 1961 -
0601.01
Tuesday, January 03, 2006
My Nicaraguan Vacation
For the second year in a row, I have spent the Christmas holidays in Nicaragua...an amazing place. This photo is of Brigs Bay, Great Corn Island in the Caribbean. A remote piece of Nicaragua. More to come.
Monday, January 02, 2006
Random Quote #36
"A saint is a theater where the qualities of God can be seem."
~ Rumi, Jalal-a-Din, 1207 - 1273
~ Rumi, Jalal-a-Din, 1207 - 1273
Thursday, December 22, 2005
In Praise of My Children and Other Stuff
Read that as "students" since I don't have any children of my own! Knowing that I was going to Nicaragua for Christmas, the kids chipped in together and got me $200.00 in American Express gift cards to use on my visit! And many got me other things besides....like $150.00 in Barnes & Noble gift cards (which I will use to buy books for the classroom.)
It is a tradition to buy teacher's gifts; and frankly, I don't NEED anything. But my kids are generous and just can't help themselves. Each will receive a post card from Managua; and I will try to find other items to use in the classroom while I'm there. But frankly, I might also pay for a fresh lobster dinner for myself at some point, too!
On another score, Delta has changed my flights and on the trip down made it IMPOSSIBLE to make my connection. Arriving into Atlanta at 9:33 AM and departing for Managua at 10:10 AM? Are they smoking crack? IF the plane arrived on time, sitting in seat 32D, I'd be lucky to emerge from the gangway by 9:45!--and Atlanta with it's four terminals accessible by light rail is no place to only have 25 minutes to navigate. Don't they have a computer program that can flag asinine combinations like this? They ought to! You know, back in the 80's, Delta was the premiere airline in America. What happened to them? And why is there no institutional memory there that holds those responsible for its downfall accountable? Why must bankruptcy be the answer?
So cutting to the chase, I was able to change my first flight, and I now have to be at the airport by 4:15 AM; which means leaving my home by 3:40 AM. How do YOU spell "saint"? I spell it L-A-U-R-A, as my most faithful friend Laura will do me the honors of taking me to Thurgood Marshall/BWI.
Again, I hope everyone who reads this has a wonderful HOLIDAY season! And that the war mongering Fascist-Christians who huff and puff about their victim status while bullying everyone else into kissing their (mostly) lily WHITE asses, stumble upon the Golden Rule: Do unto others as you would have them do unto you! May it be so.
It is a tradition to buy teacher's gifts; and frankly, I don't NEED anything. But my kids are generous and just can't help themselves. Each will receive a post card from Managua; and I will try to find other items to use in the classroom while I'm there. But frankly, I might also pay for a fresh lobster dinner for myself at some point, too!
On another score, Delta has changed my flights and on the trip down made it IMPOSSIBLE to make my connection. Arriving into Atlanta at 9:33 AM and departing for Managua at 10:10 AM? Are they smoking crack? IF the plane arrived on time, sitting in seat 32D, I'd be lucky to emerge from the gangway by 9:45!--and Atlanta with it's four terminals accessible by light rail is no place to only have 25 minutes to navigate. Don't they have a computer program that can flag asinine combinations like this? They ought to! You know, back in the 80's, Delta was the premiere airline in America. What happened to them? And why is there no institutional memory there that holds those responsible for its downfall accountable? Why must bankruptcy be the answer?
So cutting to the chase, I was able to change my first flight, and I now have to be at the airport by 4:15 AM; which means leaving my home by 3:40 AM. How do YOU spell "saint"? I spell it L-A-U-R-A, as my most faithful friend Laura will do me the honors of taking me to Thurgood Marshall/BWI.
Again, I hope everyone who reads this has a wonderful HOLIDAY season! And that the war mongering Fascist-Christians who huff and puff about their victim status while bullying everyone else into kissing their (mostly) lily WHITE asses, stumble upon the Golden Rule: Do unto others as you would have them do unto you! May it be so.
Tuesday, December 20, 2005
Happy Holidays
I hope that I've told you at some point in the past that I am a teacher. I have, in fact, been teaching since 1984!--21 years, and I'm no where near burnt out by it. Every day just seems to jazz me more and more.
And some days provide wonderful surprises. Like yesterday: standing in the hallway, greeting my students as they arrived....and a little boy approached me and thrust a bulging envelope into my hand. I recognized that he is the younger brother of a former student. I taught A. back in 2003/04. I opened the envelope only to discover a holiday gift and well wishes. It was a gift card to Barnes & Nobles for $25.00. Very generous by any standards, but unheard of from a former student two years removed!
A. is an amazing young man. Very well versed and profoundly analytical in his mental capacities. While conducting an experiment with meal worms, a classmate of his inquired of me whether her specimen was a "boy" or "girl" mealworm for the purposes of naming them accurately. I explained to her that the animal was in a phase of their life cycle where they did not have a gender.
A. responded to the conversation by asking, "So they're hermaphrodites?" And I responded that they weren't because they possessed no gender, while hermaphrodites were born with aspects of both. He persued the conversation, and I suggested that he take it up with his parents, to which he replied, "Oh, I've asked my dad, but he's a doctor, and he doesn't know anything!"
Later, his dad and I discussed this interchange with great humor and sympathy.
The family is Iranian; and I have taught children whose parents come from every corner of the planet, but none are as wonderful as Iranians. So tender and supportive of their children, and SO supportive of us teachers. Guess I shouldn't have been surprised by A.'s gift.....
May something gracious surprise you this holiday season! Merry Christmas.
And some days provide wonderful surprises. Like yesterday: standing in the hallway, greeting my students as they arrived....and a little boy approached me and thrust a bulging envelope into my hand. I recognized that he is the younger brother of a former student. I taught A. back in 2003/04. I opened the envelope only to discover a holiday gift and well wishes. It was a gift card to Barnes & Nobles for $25.00. Very generous by any standards, but unheard of from a former student two years removed!
A. is an amazing young man. Very well versed and profoundly analytical in his mental capacities. While conducting an experiment with meal worms, a classmate of his inquired of me whether her specimen was a "boy" or "girl" mealworm for the purposes of naming them accurately. I explained to her that the animal was in a phase of their life cycle where they did not have a gender.
A. responded to the conversation by asking, "So they're hermaphrodites?" And I responded that they weren't because they possessed no gender, while hermaphrodites were born with aspects of both. He persued the conversation, and I suggested that he take it up with his parents, to which he replied, "Oh, I've asked my dad, but he's a doctor, and he doesn't know anything!"
Later, his dad and I discussed this interchange with great humor and sympathy.
The family is Iranian; and I have taught children whose parents come from every corner of the planet, but none are as wonderful as Iranians. So tender and supportive of their children, and SO supportive of us teachers. Guess I shouldn't have been surprised by A.'s gift.....
May something gracious surprise you this holiday season! Merry Christmas.
Friday, December 16, 2005
One State's Stats
I am really personally intuned to the War in Iraq. Not simply as someone who opposes it. Not only as someone who recognizes the lies and obfiscations that drew us into it. And not only as someone who desperately would love to see those who perpetrated this evil brought to justice.
But I am someone who completely and totally honors those who have served our nation in this cause. I acclaim all who have and are in the threatre of this conflict. And I deeply revere and pray for the souls of those who have been sacrificed in the prosecution of this conflict. The cowards at the top may go free for now....but eternally they will face justice. And if they don't, then there is NO JUSTICE.
Imagine, with me, that for every one of these soldiers, there are 10 times as many Iraqi's who have been martyred. And WAY TOO MANY of them are women and children.....
Who is going to STOP this MADNESS? Who is going to come clean and declare that enough is enough?
But I am someone who completely and totally honors those who have served our nation in this cause. I acclaim all who have and are in the threatre of this conflict. And I deeply revere and pray for the souls of those who have been sacrificed in the prosecution of this conflict. The cowards at the top may go free for now....but eternally they will face justice. And if they don't, then there is NO JUSTICE.
Imagine, with me, that for every one of these soldiers, there are 10 times as many Iraqi's who have been martyred. And WAY TOO MANY of them are women and children.....
Who is going to STOP this MADNESS? Who is going to come clean and declare that enough is enough?
Tuesday, December 13, 2005
Light Perpetual
Once again, we are confronted with the stark reality that we as a nation practice the barbarous act of capital punishment. The death of Stanley Tookie Williams only highlights a practice that goes on week after week all across our nation -- even, here in my beloved Maryland. My faith deeply informs my thoughts about this. I did not always believe that it was wrong, but my heart turns more profoundly toward the image of unconditional love with each moment that life is my gift.
Why do we do this? Some claim it is a deterant. But it's not. The states with the highest per capital murder rates, have the death penalty: Texas, Louisiana, Florida.... citizens of these states are NO STRANGERS to the execution of murderers. But it doesn't stop people from killing....
As a Christian, I must tell you that faith is not for the arrogant -- no matter how many so-called Christians stomp around shouting and guilting others toward submission. It's not for the faint of heart, or the small of spirit. It's not for the weak of conscience. It pains me that the most vociferous of proponents of the death penalty too often hide behind their "Christian" faith....which is, of course, ridiculous.
They are not acting in faith, the nature that drives their passion is completely human. And as such, I totally understand it. But it's NOT Christian. Jesus was clear when he told us that life is precious; that redemption is our mission, that forgiveness is the key that opens that door; and judgment is not as powerful as mercy. Mercy enlightens and unburdens our souls, while judgment only promises us the same in equal measure.
Now I know the details of S. T. Williams' crimes and they UTTERLY HAENEOUS -- words cannot describe the evil; nor can they hope to comfort the survivors. But and eye for eye honors nothing. Here's a thought: "Unless a seed fall to the ground and is buried, it bears no fruit." We are all bound for death, we should all live our lives with this reality in our hearts, and no matter the circumstances; pray that our lives mean something to others...change the world for the better. That's redemption.
Now here's a hard and heartfelt statement: should my life end violently and unfairly at the hands of a cruel and ignorant person. No thing would make my soul rest more peacefully than to know that by planting my seed, others lives florished.... Let us not play God. Let us not ignore evil, but in our desire to accomplish justice, we must not forget the power of grace to accomplish redemption, that everyone is called to lives of forgiveness and mercy. That vengeance is easy and shrinks our spirits, while mercy in the midst of great sorrow demands divine unction, and expands our souls toward a hallowed, transformative love.
Why do we do this? Some claim it is a deterant. But it's not. The states with the highest per capital murder rates, have the death penalty: Texas, Louisiana, Florida.... citizens of these states are NO STRANGERS to the execution of murderers. But it doesn't stop people from killing....
As a Christian, I must tell you that faith is not for the arrogant -- no matter how many so-called Christians stomp around shouting and guilting others toward submission. It's not for the faint of heart, or the small of spirit. It's not for the weak of conscience. It pains me that the most vociferous of proponents of the death penalty too often hide behind their "Christian" faith....which is, of course, ridiculous.
They are not acting in faith, the nature that drives their passion is completely human. And as such, I totally understand it. But it's NOT Christian. Jesus was clear when he told us that life is precious; that redemption is our mission, that forgiveness is the key that opens that door; and judgment is not as powerful as mercy. Mercy enlightens and unburdens our souls, while judgment only promises us the same in equal measure.
Now I know the details of S. T. Williams' crimes and they UTTERLY HAENEOUS -- words cannot describe the evil; nor can they hope to comfort the survivors. But and eye for eye honors nothing. Here's a thought: "Unless a seed fall to the ground and is buried, it bears no fruit." We are all bound for death, we should all live our lives with this reality in our hearts, and no matter the circumstances; pray that our lives mean something to others...change the world for the better. That's redemption.
Now here's a hard and heartfelt statement: should my life end violently and unfairly at the hands of a cruel and ignorant person. No thing would make my soul rest more peacefully than to know that by planting my seed, others lives florished.... Let us not play God. Let us not ignore evil, but in our desire to accomplish justice, we must not forget the power of grace to accomplish redemption, that everyone is called to lives of forgiveness and mercy. That vengeance is easy and shrinks our spirits, while mercy in the midst of great sorrow demands divine unction, and expands our souls toward a hallowed, transformative love.
Friday, December 09, 2005
Snow Day! -- Great Day
With the unplanned freedom to spend today as I pleased, thanks to this early season snow storm, I chose to finally get to the National Museum of Women in the Arts to see the Alice Neel show. Called "Alice Neel: Women," the exhibition presented portraits from the beginning of her career to the end. Many of the images were also included in her 2000-2001 retrospective, which I experienced at the PMA in Philadelphia.
The museum was typically sparse in visitors, and so unlike the PMA experience, the galleries were quiet and the opportunity to experience the images was very hallow. And yet, the psychological intensity and intimacy of the works ellicited a verbal response from me more than once.
In portraiture, there are two concepts: technical accuracy versus phsychological intimacy. Tech masters include Gilbert Stuart, Inges, and Close; and psych artists would enlist, Van Gogh, Picasso, and Neel. And having said that, each blurrs the lines! No one is either/or. And with Neel, you discover an artist whose technique continually refines itself, while her sense of psychological understanding is consistantly acute.
The show is open until January 15th. Make the time, you won't be sorry.
The museum was typically sparse in visitors, and so unlike the PMA experience, the galleries were quiet and the opportunity to experience the images was very hallow. And yet, the psychological intensity and intimacy of the works ellicited a verbal response from me more than once.
In portraiture, there are two concepts: technical accuracy versus phsychological intimacy. Tech masters include Gilbert Stuart, Inges, and Close; and psych artists would enlist, Van Gogh, Picasso, and Neel. And having said that, each blurrs the lines! No one is either/or. And with Neel, you discover an artist whose technique continually refines itself, while her sense of psychological understanding is consistantly acute.
The show is open until January 15th. Make the time, you won't be sorry.
Wednesday, December 07, 2005
What I'm Listening to #7
The soundtrack to "Brokeback Mountain."
No surprise, eh?
And I love most of all Rufus Wainwright's rendition of "King of the Road."
No surprise, eh?
And I love most of all Rufus Wainwright's rendition of "King of the Road."
Tuesday, December 06, 2005
Random Quote #35
"Christmas, as we know it, is a symbol, a recognition, a flower on the altar, a bow in passing. It says a tiny yes to the dream, it sings a little song.... "
~ Harriet Monroe, 1907 - 1995
~ Harriet Monroe, 1907 - 1995
Happy Holidays
Amidst the current flap over the difference between "Christmas" trees and "Holiday" trees, there runs a tradition that harkens me back to my youth every year. The TV animated specials are Christmas for me! It wouldn't be a Holiday season without them.
There are 4 that stand head and shoulders above the rest: "Rudolph, the Red Nosed Reindeer," "The Grinch that Stole Christmas," "Frosty the Snowman," and (first among equals) "A Charlie Brown Christmas." I own the VHS. I can watch it any time that I like. But it seems nearly blasphemous to shun the national ritual of watching it on TV as it is broadcast to everyone, versus creating a random and private viewing.
And when Linus speaks of the true meaning of Christmas...the noses of magical reindeer glow, the hearts of crumudgeonly creatures grow, and Snowmen resist the urge to melt.... It's pure Christmas magic.
Like the the virgin birth, and unconditional love: it instills in us a sense of the possible, even if the present argues against it.
Happy/Merry Holidays/Christmas!!
There are 4 that stand head and shoulders above the rest: "Rudolph, the Red Nosed Reindeer," "The Grinch that Stole Christmas," "Frosty the Snowman," and (first among equals) "A Charlie Brown Christmas." I own the VHS. I can watch it any time that I like. But it seems nearly blasphemous to shun the national ritual of watching it on TV as it is broadcast to everyone, versus creating a random and private viewing.
And when Linus speaks of the true meaning of Christmas...the noses of magical reindeer glow, the hearts of crumudgeonly creatures grow, and Snowmen resist the urge to melt.... It's pure Christmas magic.
Like the the virgin birth, and unconditional love: it instills in us a sense of the possible, even if the present argues against it.
Happy/Merry Holidays/Christmas!!
Random Quote #34
"God gave men both a penis and a brain, but unfortunately not enough blood supply to run both at the same time."
~ Robin Williams, 1952
~ Robin Williams, 1952
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
