Molly Magdalain

for what it's worth . . . .

2011-11-27T12:44:00.001-06:00

There's something happening here
What it is ain't exactly clear
There's a man with a gun over there
Telling me I got to beware
I think it's time we stop, children, what's that sound
Everybody look what's going down

There's battle lines being drawn
Nobody's right if everybody's wrong
Young people speaking their minds
Getting so much resistance from behind
I think it's time we stop, hey, what's that sound
Everybody look what's going down

What a field-day for the heat
A thousand people in the street
Singing songs and carrying signs
Mostly say, hooray for our side
It's time we stop, hey, what's that sound
Everybody look what's going down

Paranoia strikes deep
Into your life it will creep
It starts when you're always afraid
You step out of line, the man come and take you away
We better stop, hey, what's that sound
Everybody look what's going down
Stop, hey, what's that sound
Everybody look what's going down

Stop, now, what's that sound
Everybody look what's going down
Stop, children, what's that sound
Everybody look what's going down

getting down to the real work . . . .

2011-11-20T10:07:00.004-06:00

I recently read this article about Stephen Hawking and his opinions about our survival on earth - check it out if you get a chance. And then I read something about Occupy Wall St. and how it needs to move from being a ‘disrupter to a builder’ - interesting article, link below. El-Erian is saying that the movement doesn’t really have a leader yet and hasn’t developed a clear sense of it’s core principles. Thinking about the end of our planet and the energy stirred up by OWS inspired me to put down a list of what I think we really need to do to ‘save the world.’ I don’t know about you . . . but I’m not interested in moving to outer space any time soon.

Stephen Hawking: Space Exploration Crucial to Human Survival

OWS: From Building Awareness to Building Momentum

* confluence of environmental awareness and economic benefit - smart business = economical/environmental/innovative technology. instead of working harder we will work smarter and make the most efficient and generally beneficial use out of all raw materials as we fashion them for specific purposes. instead of fighting about which government programs to cut or keep or add - why don’t we work on what we have and make it better.

* continual development of systems - invest in and develop technology based on actual human work flow trends - how to automate mundane tasks and make them safer - how to improve quality of life. when thinking of investing money in the economy - the best way to invest is in changes that create real and actual growth. we need to develop ways to measure this born out of a new respect for the complexity of the human experience. In general, the effectiveness of these systems will be measured in short-term feedback thereby allowing us to tweak them and ensure our possibilities for success in reaching goals.

* pro-active community engagement - we love our country and we’re proud of it and that’s why so many people are so upset about the current conditions. find ways to actively engage community members in improving quality of life - communicating about political decisions - and implementing effective systems. we, the people, are what makes this country great and we are the people who will continue to make it great. this is a call to action to think, communicate, and ultimately engage in creating our collective future. This might include things such as sharing our skills via time banks, organizing events and intiatives, or sharing useful information, ideas, etc. if we, as ‘americans’, want to remain world leaders we have to continue on with the spirit that started this country and actively exhibit that we remain committed to those ideals.

starstrings . . . .

2011-10-08T22:42:00.000-06:00

wyoming . . . . .

2011-09-18T12:53:00.000-06:00

The stark gray branches piled thick
like pick-up sticks.
Do dead trees feel the wind?

The river talks incessantly
and never takes a breath.
I wonder how it sleeps.

The breeze cools one side of my neck
and the sun beams down on my back
warming my thick black sweater.

A green and white nylon tie around one trunk
flapping like a feather,
marking it for some purpose.

The soft gaze of a deer in the distance,
brown and unmoving.
watching me from afar.

Dropping Keys by Hafiz

2011-09-10T11:59:00.001-06:00

The small man
Builds cages for everyone
He
Knows.
While the sage,
Who has to duck his head
When the moon is low,
Keeps dropping keys all night long
For the
Beautiful
Rowdy
Prisoners.

how to love . . . .

2011-08-31T09:10:00.000-06:00

You had a lot of crooks tryna steal your heart
Never really had luck, couldn’t ever figure out
How to love
How to love

You had a lot of moments that didn’t last forever
Now you in this corner tryna put it together
How to love
How to love

For a second you were here
Now you over there
Its hard not to stare, the way you moving your body
Like you never had a love
Never had a love

the currency of music

2011-08-13T23:50:00.004-06:00

I'm feeling increasingly concerned about the 'currency of music.' the direction is unclear - how can artists really protect themselves beyond the 360 deals? I think we need a new format and a new system - people - and believe me, i'm just as fucking sick of the 'bullshit' as you are. but beyond all that, let's make something good happen . . . . are you with me?

Sorry to see you go . . . .

2011-07-24T09:59:00.001-06:00

The death of amy winehouse is very sad . . . I wish I had the chance to see her perform live. I’ll never forget the way I felt when I first heard ‘back to black’ . . . . ‘love is a losing game’ has always been my favorite. It seems like that song and that sound almost came out of another time and place . . . and it gave me hope for the future of ‘pop’ music. It’s not easy to be anyone but if you’re haunted and tortured by internal shit (as many of us are on some level), you have to try and deal with it – and get the help you need to face it. You really can’t compare peoples’ lives . . . their pain . . . or their success. amy winehouse made an indelible mark on the face of music and that is a hell of a hard thing to do. She has helped us restore a sense of depth and meaning to the popular music being created today and we will carry on the torch of her inspiration, every day moving forward.

It’s difficult to watch someone spiral out of control without being able to do anything to help but that’s just the cost of doing business in the world today . . . it seems. The music industry is not an easy business and the glory of fame is not always so great. My hope is that we can all decide to commit ourselves to becoming empowered individuals – take responsibility for our own needs and believe in our own unique abilities. Some people inspire us and open up new roads for us . . . . some people build those roads with their bare hands . . . everyone is part of the process. We have to work to make the world a better place so these gifts can be shared more openly and freely – so that we are less needy of ‘celebrity culture’ and more content with the daily entertainment of our own lives.

To be honest, there are not many songs and/or records that I can listen to on a regular basis . . . . sometimes I’ll listen to a song because the lyrics bring me some sort of emotional connection . . . . sometimes it’s just the sound – but there are a few tracks and songs and bands that will always last – that I will always listen to – no matter what sort of mood I’m in. amy winehouse is on that list . . . and I’m sorry to see her go.

chi-town . . . .

2011-07-12T21:26:00.000-06:00

Learning to Resist the Energizer Bunny . . .

2011-05-23T16:57:00.003-06:00

One reason that I stopped focusing on my jewelry so much (beyond the fact that I need to do my music career) is that I could never quite keep up with or feel right about the merry-go-round I call the fashion industry. I love it because it always changes and truly is a mirror – a reflection of what people everywhere are thinking, feeling and needing - but I used to feel this constant pressure to create a new collection with each season.

Lately, I’ve been finding a new perspective which leads me to believe that maybe it’s more interesting – organic – and real if fashion designers create collections as they are feeling inspired to create them . . . . instead of always needing a new thing every 6 months. Maybe you do more than that . . . maybe you do less – but it’s a lot like making music/records . . . very hard to measure.

We all want priceless objects that last – connections that help us represent who we really are – and that can’t be delivered on a direct timeline like a piece of fast food. This is art we are talking about – universal communication on a subconscious level. The shapes and forms that speak to us . . . . the patterns we need to create . . . . the nature of inspired creation . . . . these are the wild beasts we both love and fear.

I’m getting ready to release some new jewelry soon and I’m really excited about it because it comes out of a respect for this new organic model . . . all of my creations have stories . . . feelings and emotions . . . . good reasons for their existence . . . . somehow they feel new and relevant.

patty griffin song . . . .

2011-05-02T17:53:00.002-06:00

We are swimming with the snakes
At the bottom of the well
So silent and peaceful in the darkness where we fell
But we are not snakes and what's more
We never will be
And if we stay swimming here forever we will
Never be free

I heard them ringing the bells
In heaven and hell
They got a secret
They're getting ready to tell
It's falling from the sky
Calling from the graves
Open your eyes, boy, I think we are saved
Open your eyes, boy, I think we are saved
Let's take a walk on the bridge
Right over this mess
Don't need to tell me a thing, baby
We've already confessed
And I raised my voice to the air
And we were blessed
It’s hard to give, it’s hard to get but
Everybody needs a little forgiveness
Everybody needs a little forgiveness

We are calling for him tonight on a
Thin phone line
As usual we're having ourselves one
hell of a time
And the planes keep flying right over our heads
No matter how loud we shout
"Hey, hey, hey !"
And we keep waving and waving
Our arms in the air
But we're all tired out

I heard somebody say
Today's the day
A big old hurricane
She’s blowing our way
Knocking over the buildings
Killing all the light
Open your eyes, boy, we made it through the night, oh,
Open your eyes, boy, we made it through the night
Let's take a walk on the bridge
Right over this mess
Don't need to tell me a thing, baby
We're already confessed
And I raised my voice to the air
And we were blessed
It’s hard to give, it’s hard to get
It’s hard to live, baby, but I still think it’s the best yet, hey yeah,
Hard to give and I’m never gonna forget but
Everybody needs a little forgiveness
Everybody needs a little forgiveness

poem by mary oliver

2011-02-18T20:35:00.000-06:00

You do not have to be good.
You do not have to walk on your knees
For a hundred miles through the desert, repenting.
You only have to let the soft animal of your body
love what it loves.
Tell me about your despair, yours, and I will tell you mine.
Meanwhile the world goes on.
Meanwhile the sun and the clear pebbles of the rain
are moving across the landscapes,
over the prairies and the deep trees,
the mountains and the rivers.
Meanwhile the wild geese, high in the clean blue air,
are heading home again.
Whoever you are, no matter how lonely,
the world offers itself to your imagination,
calls to you like the wild geese, harsh and exciting --
over and over announcing your place
in the family of things.

Dear Republicans

2010-11-20T00:42:00.006-06:00

Dear Republicans,

Here’s the deal as I see it.

Yes, it’s kind of cool that you recently gained some ground with the house and/or senate. And while I have never considered myself part of your so-called ranks, I realize that my true interest in politics is things that really work – which in other words would mean pulling our country out of the fucking shithouse which we currently find ourselves in. These sort of ideas will and must go way beyond party alliances. I’m not the kind of person to rely upon party alliances because, in my opinion, things like that change way too fast and oftentimes become corrupted and/or distorted.

It seems to me that Republicans, in general, are on a fast track to present Sarah Palin for President of the United States . . . and I feel like this is a completely asanine and ridiculous idea. The true power – dare I say – THE NEW POWER – in the United States of America is the voice of the Independent citizen. These are the individuals who have moved beyond the affinity of parties or particular issues – these are the people who are truly interested in seeing our country from a wider and hopefully more sensible view-point and the last thing they want to see is a complete amateur leading our country. Haven’t we already paved that path with Barack Obama?

I know many of you will bristle, but the truth is that he is a total puppet – and she would be even worse. The real problem is the in-fighting and the bullshit and the earmarks and the waste . . . . Yes, I agree – I don’t want you to over-tax rich people as a form of writing off your blatant incompetence and/or greed. The real question is – where is this country really going? What is the next real step?

an ode to character . . . keep it alive my friends . . . .

2010-11-02T23:04:00.011-06:00

So who knows what’s going on in politics tonight . . . fuck it all is really all that I can say (and you know I like to fit the world ‘fuck’ somehow into every post . . . . though it happens unwittingly). I was recently hanging out with some good friends in San Francisco/Berkeley and it was quite a good time to be there considering the prominence of Halloween house-parties – not to mention the fact of their winning the World Series in just a few quick games. Damn, those pitchers are good - talk about focus!

Anyways, we were hanging out one night in what is called the ‘mission area’ which is apparently similar to ‘williamsburg’ where I live in new york (Brooklyn, that is). It was very cool with this fun energy of lots of people out – enjoying good food and conversation – and I was looking at this place we were in and I had this sudden realization about the world, or at least the united states. It seems like it’s okay in either the true city or the middle of nowhere to do shit that’s weird and totally random – odd decorating, edging on ugly, etc. Whereas the suburbs have become so homogenous - safe/clean/sterilized that it’s almost as if you could be anywhere – and yet no-where at the same time.

It's really interesting and I think it all comes back to this idea of character . . . are you willing to show it and/or share it? That really is the question in the end. While I do enjoy giant chains and their products at times, of course, I also think there’s something really cool happening here in the cities and out there in the middle of bumble-fuck and how there's possibly some sort of weird connection between these two things.

Here's a big fat cheers to the puppeteers and their friends . . . .

2010-10-23T15:43:00.012-06:00

Politics are not something I can really deal with lately. Am I right or left? I think I’d rather drive a chain-saw through my head than decide that fact. Is there any difference is perhaps the more important question. I am most expectedly tired of puppets and bullshit . . . bailouts and spending money ‘we’ no longer possess. Do I want China to drive a giant rail up my ass, No!!!

Do I think the president has been effective, even though I voted for him? No, because I think he’s spent more time pandering to people – whether they are external or internal to these so-called government systems (and by this I mean lobbyists/campaign fundraisers) than thinking for himself. Am I open to some sort of last-minute, haul it out of the shit-pile option? No, I think I’d rather say that you can go fuck yourself on cable tv where everyone can watch.

Do I have the answers? Not necessarily, but I have my opinion which I have obviously expressed. Am I grateful for automatic spelling correction – of course. Who will deliver this country into the winged arms of its original implications? I have no idea, but I hope they or he or she or whoever the fucking hell it is will show up soon.

dancing the dance . . .

2010-08-31T19:29:00.010-06:00

I see that Barack Obama - our so-called President - is doing everything he can to waltz his way into our elections this november . . . . don't get me wrong, i absolutely love a good dancer . . . :)

but not in politics. the amount of bullshit present here is really out of control, if you want my way-laid opinion . . . . this whole scene is truly pathetic. I'm not saying that the 'right' truly has anything better to offer . . . but should we just actively 'whore ourselves' out to China? (when you consider the weight of our out-of-control and still growing national debt) this country (our country!) is actively fucked as I see it . . . . democrats have really not been any better than republicans . . . . just slaves to self-interest . . . is there nothing 'higher' than that?

obviously . . . what's why I've become a centrist . . . . it's the only way to avoid the bullshit . . . actively . . . .

beautiful songs . . .

2010-08-20T16:20:00.009-06:00

I'm always thinking about songs and some of them just speak to me from time to time . . . . nothing compares 2 u . . . . thank you prince, you rock – you know I love you.

Nothing Compares 2 U by Prince

It's been seven hours and fifteen days
since you took your love away
I go out every night and sleep all day
since you took your love away
Since you been gone I can do what-ever I want
I can see whomever I choose
I can eat my dinner in a fancy restaurant
but nothing, I said nothing can take away these blues
'cos nothing compares
nothing compares 2 U.
It's been so lonely without U here
like a bird without a song
nothing can stop these lonely tears from falling
tell me baby where did I go wrong?
I could put my arms around every boy I see
but they only remind me of U.
I went to the doctor and guess what he told me guess what he told me
he said: "girl U better try to have fun no matter what U do"
but he's a fool
'cos nothing compares
nothing compares 2U.
All the flowers that U planted mama
in the back yard
all died when U went away
I know that living with U baby was sometimes hard
but I'm willing 2 give U another try
'cos nothing compares
nothing compares 2U.

Creep . . . . the sheer magnetic presence of radiohead is just hard to describe . . . . they use such simple, carefully chosen words that somehow end up becoming deep, wrenching shit with hardly any effort it seems . . . . moving us all forward . . . .

Creep by Radiohead

When you were here before
Couldn't look you in the eyes
You look like an angel
Your skin makes me cry
You float like a feather
In a beautiful world
I wish I was special
You're so fucking special
But I'm a creep
I'm a wierdo
What the hell am I doin' here
I don't belong here
I don't care if it hurts
I wanna have control
I wanna perfect body
I want a perfect soul
I want you to notice
When I'm not around
You're so fuckin' special
I wish I was special....
Whatever makes you happy
Whatever you want
You're so fucking special
Wish I was special...

we are getting screwed by this war . . . .

2010-07-30T14:23:00.009-06:00

My most honest observation is that this war in Afghanistan is, at best, a mis-directed cluster-fuck . . . . or, even worse, perhaps it’s a carefully orchestrated implosion which some group of assholes . . . . somewhere and somehow has managed to benefit from. This war has gone on longer than any war we have ever been remotely ‘proud’ of and to what end . . . . the things that come to mind are opium fields . . . . and money laundering. And by the way, I’m willing to bet it has nothing to do with 9-11 . . . . something more like oil and natural gas . . . our greatest friends and worst enemies . . . all at the same time.

Now the government says they’ve misplaced approx 9 billion or so in the Iraq war to due shoddy accounting practices . . . . people should be in jail for that kind of shit. for the record I'm all mother-fucking 'bailed-out'. this country is heading to hell on an express train hand-basket. The national debt is atrocious and NO I do not think we can spend our way out of it.

This has nothing to do with being a democrat or a republican . . . this is about being a country – which was once a great thing that we and our ancestors built together. Decency, fairness, accountability, responsibility, opportunity . . . these are our values – do not let them be bastardized.

If anything is going to save this country it is the people – that’s how it all started and that is how it will not end. We are not stupid – we are not malicious or mis-aligned – we are great – we do the right thing and that is why the rest of the world respects us. If we lose touch with that, we will cease to exist in a truthful sense.

I think the election of Barack Obama has cleansed our political palate . . . . we’ve had the right and then the left and now it’s becoming more obvious that the only place we can really be is in the middle. There are negative forces on both sides and we have to form a new kind of alliance – an alliance based on truth and virtue – not war, derision and/or indecent behavior.

america versus everything else . . . .

2010-07-11T17:11:00.004-06:00

believe me . . . mr. president . . . you could adjust. . . . . the question is - do you want to deal with reality or not?

at this point, everything else is over-cooked - over-done . . . . just a steaming rendition of what used to be our country . . . .

I"m starting to doubt . . .

2010-07-09T13:29:00.009-06:00

Barack Obama. wow . . . what can I say. I feel as if I've been tricked - and yet so cunningly - with your so-called 'transparency.' as a foresight - you can just get out your pen and write 'conspiracy theorist' about me . . . . b/c all of this will seem insane - yet sometimes normal is much crazier than fiction and you just have to adjust. For myself, I can't live in a world like that . . . I'm not stupid enough . . . sorry.

I'm starting to seriously doubt Mr. President - Barack Obama - both his present and his past . . . . which seem somehow fabricated from some untold far-off place. some part of me feels like this oil spill was really not an accident - what an incredibly horrible thing to say.

http://www.realitysandwich.com/spill_not_accident

http://www.realitysandwich.com/gulf_oil_spill_unfolding_prophecy

Why have you allowed BP - those motherfucking bastards that they are - to dispense untold amounts of Corexit into the gulf? Are you fucking crazy, Mr. President? I assure you - this is the end of my dis-belief. From now on I will assume the worst in regards to your ability to make good decisions for our country. puppet after puppet - here's the next generation - it's actually old even though it looks new . . . systematically running our country into the ground.

wow . . . . so what can I say . ..

2010-06-22T17:55:00.005-06:00

Nice job, James Cameron. everyone has been talking about Avatar and then I finally saw it . . . . on dvd . . . on my old-school-home-style stereo system. and I have to admit, it is influential . . . . I like the fact that you wrote it.

here are my rulings . . . .

2010-06-05T13:12:00.001-06:00

I hate to say this . . . but many of the girls on tv/movies look like emaciated freaks. I just saw ‘Sex and the City 2’ @ the theater . . . . and it was refreshing on certain levels, yet truly depressing on others . . . . why did you girls lose so much weight!!! It felt like vegas ‘in a movie’ . . . not really what I was looking for. The fashion was far from practical – it was dramatically ‘over-stated’ . . . and yes I get that . . . but why not just be a little more realistic. In general, I’ve never been into the ‘rich-bitch’ stuff b/c that really never gets you anywhere. The friendships somehow seemed more fake . . . . or ‘constituted’ . . . I guess, I’m not a fan of the screenplay but maybe it’s just this whole trend to be so ‘current’ . . . . ‘no matter what.’ . . . . jack bauer go fuck yourself . . . over and out.

here's to defining moments . . . .

2010-05-27T11:53:00.008-06:00

look I'm sorry Mr. President . . . . but you fucked up with this oil spill. You have painstakingly demonstrated that you don't really have your hand on the button. You are not really 'present' . . . . and let me tell you what a reality that is in my life . . . . In general. as much as I tend to love people, I can't honestly include them in my day to day operations unless they are in touch with 'reality' . . . please don't fall into that category.

life is complex . . . I get that . . . but you have to learn to deal with this shit. what is your administration really all about? If anything, I hope it is results. you provide results . . . . I smile in return. if not, then I know that you got screwed by someone who had more wherewithal and determination than you. this is a defining moment . . . mr. president. do not fuck it up.

letter to the president - this is worse than katrina

2010-05-04T01:05:00.003-06:00

Dear Mr. President,

While I actively campaigned for you and fully supported and believed in your election, I have to say that I have not been at all pleased with the actions of your current administration. As far as I can tell, you have done very little beyond shove your projected policy down the collective throats of the American people since you’ve been in office. You are not listening to what we want and/or need and it appears that you are instead serving the specific interests of the corporations and entities who funded your campaign.

What am I talking about specifically? I’m talking about this crisis with the oil spill which threatens the livelihood of not just Americans, but every single species on earth. I honestly can’t believe how long it has taken you to respond in an effective manner . . . or should I say ‘not respond.’ Seriously, this is worse than Katrina and it is still in the making. I speak politely, dear sir, when I say you need to deal with this situation – head-on. From what I’ve heard, that means sending a nuclear bomb to the well-site because that is probably the only thing that is going to stop our oceans from being completely decimated. All of this talk about BP and how they’re going to pay the price – it is meaningless bullshit at this point because we are just watching the so-called ‘price’ exponentiate before our very eyes.

After all of your actions, it is clear that you are a defiantly partisan politician and this I cannot change but I did not realize that you are a truly reckless individual. Do you not care about the environment at all? Do you not think ahead? Do you not effectively wield the power we have so lovingly placed in your seemingly capable hands? If you continue to do nothing and lack both urgency and effectiveness, you are truly the one to blame.

And I of all people do not focus on blame. I care about solving problems and doing what works. I know that many others who once called themselves ‘democrats’ in New York share my unfortunate sentiments but all political differences aside, but please step up to the plate and help the world – you need to fix this situation before it’s too late.

Sincerely,
Molly Magdalain

(this letter was sent to the President on 5/4/10 - see the link below for more details)
http://pesn.com/2010/05/02/9501643_Mother_of_all_gushers_could_kill_Earths_oceans/

M.O.

2010-04-15T22:50:00.001-06:00

The work that I do is oftentimes “un-recorded” . . . . I just want to make things better . . . . that’s the name of the game that I play. I would rather be a hero than a savior – an example than a model . . . . who knows what this shit really means in the end . . . . I mean nobody really . . . . but you can make things better . . . . that much I do believe. You can tweak – and twist – and become cantankerous until you figure out what you’re trying to say . . . . clearly . . . . it’s not an easy thing, I realize that. so I’m just giving it up to everyone who has ever figured it out . . . . I guess I’m ready for the real thing . . . . the thing that makes me sing . . . .

re-ah-XTION

2010-03-23T18:06:00.003-06:00

HATE ME FOR IT, if you want – but I don’t think what obama did was health-care ‘reform’ . .. . . and unfortunately – I’m a bitch, but that’s what you get. as opposed to a huge-pork laden sandwich. My retribution will be retro-active but for the record – I care about real people – that’s the point. Exponential politics –not my cup of tea . . . .

what's beyond the binary . . . .

2010-02-12T21:04:00.013-06:00

(this article was originally published on reality sandwich in response to Daniel Pinchbeck's article)
www.realitysandwich.com

It’s an important step to say ‘I don’t know’ because it suggests that, on a certain level, you have let go of your attachments to a solid and limited sense of self. I liken it to that moment you get ‘unplugged’ from the matrix because it’s accompanied by an underlying relief despite all of the confusion. It’s almost like feeling alive for the first time because perhaps the one honest thing you can say is you don’t know anything. I think our fundamental problem right now is a crisis of identity. Cultural and individual identities are always reflections of each another and it’s pretty obvious that we're not entirely empowered as individuals. If we could each take responsibility for our lives and move from the viewpoint of being who we are versus being scared – I think it would greatly strengthen our ability to make choices and organize our lives according to a sense of satisfaction and validation - integrated individuation.

Instead of being challenged by ‘other-ness’ or the need to juggle the complexities of opposites, we'll feel secure in our abilities and truly enriched by the experience of ‘other’ because it will no longer threaten our being - it will add to our knowledge and experience of the world. When we are conscious of ourselves, we can truly be conscious of others. We will no longer get lost in a sense of race or class or gender, nationalities or political parties - instead we will value dynamic knowledge – the power of choice and the uniqueness of moments as they unfold.

If we're moving from primary to binary . . . .what comes next . . . tertiary? For some reason, I'm always coming back to the Hegelian dialectic. You have to actually get lost in ‘other-ness’ in order to come out on the other side that’s marked ‘conscious-ness’ . . . . at least that’s the way I understand it. Yet, I really doubt it’s an entirely rational process (i.e., you can’t print people a map) because it’s an integrated experience. It has to happen to you – organically – but it is happening.

Changes like this are hard to quantify because it’s such a continuum, it takes time, but every step you take it gets better. I do believe that. Why is this happening to us, right now? I don’t know – that’s beyond my capacity for imagination – but I could just as easily say, ‘Why not?’ What else is there to do except revel in the fact that you can be as alive as you really, truly want?

The Hopi elders once said something about three . . . how it’s the first symbol that can build a structure (which kind of makes me think of the self). I wish I could remember exactly what they said. Sometimes I wonder if my view of the world is ‘self-ish’ because I tend to focus on what people can do within themselves versus how they interact with others but I compare it to the mind and the breath. Everyone wants to control the mind but you can’t. You can control your breath and your breath controls your mind . . . it still works even though it's indirect. In the same way, I feel like people have fundamental problems with themselves and this is what motivates them to do shitty things that make them limited. I think it starts on the inside and that's of course where it ends – this is about spirit. The outside is the part we can enjoy together – this is the matter. Spirit manifests itself in the world in order to understand itself – to eventually become 'conscious-ness' which is conscious of itself. Whether that is enlightenment or death, I’m not really sure yet but I think your perspective has a huge impact on how you experience the world. At the same time, I also agree with the people who say just focus on what's good.

“Because what happens in just a small fragment of the holographic energy interference pattern affects the entire structure simultaneously, there is a tremendous connectivity relationship between all parts of the holographic universe”

Vibrational Medicine by Richard Gerber

and so it goes . . . by billy joel

2009-12-06T13:08:00.003-06:00

this song was in my head the other day . . . I like the mood of it . . .

In every heart there is a room
A sanctuary safe and strong
To heal the wounds from lovers past
Until a new one comes along

I spoke to you in cautious tones
You answered me with no pretense
And still I feel I said too much
My silence is my self defense

And every time I've held a rose
It seems I only felt the thorns
And so it goes, and so it goes
And so will you soon I suppose

But if my silence made you leave
Then that would be my worst mistake
So I will share this room with you
And you can have this heart to break

And this is why my eyes are closed
It's just as well for all I've seen
And so it goes, and so it goes
And you're the only one who knows

So I would choose to be with you
That's if the choice were mine to make
But you can make decisions too
And you can have this heart to break

And so it goes, and so it goes
And you're the only one who knows.

America Fails to Represent Itself

2009-11-07T23:38:00.013-06:00

What can I say about what happened tonight except that I think it’s unfortunate. Medicaid is already going broke – now you suggest cutting $600 billion or so from that. Barack Obama says that this health care bill will strengthen the financial health of Medicare – and obviously this is completely incorrect. He says that this bill is fully paid for – what ass do you pull that from? This bill will add over a trillion dollars to a year where we’ve already spent/lost what must be a record – 1.4 trillion - and you say this will reduce our long-term federal deficit??? Well let me tell you this is all a projection and who knows by whom . . . and if it turns out that you're totally wrong . . . well it'll just be a mistake.

There’s something about this health care bill that is just fundamentally wrong and I truly pray and will actively campaign to make sure that the Senate rejects it. It allows the government to TAKE OVER 1/6 of our economy . . . on top of everything else they’ve taken on (and I might mention failed to handle in an effective manner). It opens the door for big business – insurance companies, etc. to run wild. Now the government will be able to fine you for up to $250,000 dollars if you don’t have health insurance or put you in jail for five years. They will be mandating all kinds of things about our ‘health’ including the fact that any restaurant with over 20 locations must have calorie content included on the menu. How’s that going to work at Ruth’s Chris?

If my last post was about the movie ‘outrage’ . . . then this post is about the Actual Outrage that I am experiencing about this situation. If I ever called myself a ‘democrat’ then I have to admit I am sorely mistaken. Nancy Pelosi wears red like a big red witch . . . and believe me, I actually like witches . . . good ones that is but not ones that seek to destroy us and our fundamental values. She is a ‘tool’ in the finest sense of the word. ‘Oh what a night,’ she says, as if she didn’t just squeak by with one bitch republican and barely enough to pass this giant piece of bullshit. Again - pulling out every stop plus a few more . . . like a bunch of gangsters. And they all boast about her ‘Tremendous Leadership’ . . . but let me tell you leadership is a different thing than true intelligence. There’s a marked difference between a bully and a genius.

And if you want to talk to me about Bart Stupak then you really should give up because it’s ABSOLUTELY PATHETIC to me that all of these so-called “democratic” people would give up their ideals, in almost every way, just to win. Screw women’s rights to their own bodies – we just need to push this mother-fucker through. And that speech you gave tonight, Bart, that was kind of embarrassing to be honest.

Yes, I will admit, health care brings up more emotion in anyone than it was ever intended to do. I agree with James Clyburn when he says that there is nothing more important than health care and that is probably why we get so heated emotionally . . . but it also denotes that health care is not something that we want to just be controlled by. Forced vaccinations for children . . . . if you think I actually WANT a Swine Flu vaccine then you’re crazy. If you force me or any kids I might one day have to get one then you’ll really see the definition of nuts because I’d like to think that I understand that the necrotic aspects of big government and big business pervade almost every corner of the universe and unfortunately their motives are often far from ‘crystal clear.’

You call it a bi-partisan vote . . . what happened tonight - what a fucking joke! This is nothing near a bi-partisan vote . . . this is a desperate hatchet-job at the least or a huge money-laundering scheme at its best. The only people that will benefit from this bill en masse – if it actually does get passed by the Senate - are in government or big business. How can you rely upon and gain strength from a government that does not operate in a fiscally responsible manner?

You say – ‘never again will Americans be without health insurance’ . . . but I ask – will American’s still have a country to protect them? Will Americans still have a country that they recognize or will big brother – our new health practitioner/administrator have taken over? As you say, Louise Slaughter . . . “what we have done is astonishing” . . . yes, that’s true. Astonishingly frightful and again fiscally irresponsible. Nancy Pelosi is not an idol of mine . . . I hope at least that is exceedingly clear.

As Dingell says, ‘An honest choice and a transparent opportunity’ . . . how does this industry suddenly become honest? Because the taxpayers are paying for it . . . I think not. The national deficit will be added to and the overall quality of American healthcare will be eroded if this bill passes, I have no doubt about it. Are there other solutions that don’t cost trillions of dollars? Of course, I know this to be true.

If this were really about health . . . it would be different . . . but this is just another bailout as I see it . . . a way to spend a shit-load of money without really accounting for it . . . you just write a couple thousand pages of jargon and hopefully nobody will have the energy to truly scrutinize it. Of course the AMA and AARP support it . . . that has nothing to do with their members . . . these big institutions are in bed with big business . . . surely everybody knows that.

And furthermore, I’m sick of your fucking catch-phrases – ‘being a woman is no longer a pre-existing condition’ – the donut hole theory is pretty much outdone by your cuts to Medicaid – and no one’s here to represent the way you’re going to raise taxes and challenge small businesses, let alone inviduals . . . that’s all just a drop in the bucket to you b/c it’s after the fact.

It’s right now I feel like we have all been screwed . . . that’s really all I have to say. I used to think that I had a political party . . . now I realize that independence is the only power and reality is the only reality . . . it really can’t be about agenda because you have to deal with the present – no matter what . . . and I feel like this administration has truly failed to stay in the moment and remain accountable to its citizens.

If my feedback is worth anything after watching hours of C-Span, I felt like the Democrats were pandering to emotionally vague issues and could not control themselves – aka, they had a strong tendency to scream and yell – while the Republicans elucidated clear and relevant facts which actually showed some understanding of the actual problems at hand. Yes, you can win elections by pandering to ‘people’ . . . but you will not earn the respect of people who have the ability to see the bigger picture . . . and you will not effectively guide the policies of this country. Isn’t that, after all, what really matters?

the scariest thing about Halloween . . . is our government

2009-10-31T10:12:00.015-06:00

I hate saying that because I campaigned for Obama and I have generally considered myself to be a Democrat but lately I’m becoming more of a ‘Centrist’ as I realize that these problems go way beyond party issues. When Barack Obama was elected, I seem to remember these words about how he will represent ‘all Americans.’ It sounded good at the time but in retrospect, I think it would have been more accurate to say ‘all Americans that agree with me.’ I wasn’t alive during Nixon’s presidency but I recently heard a news channel call this administration slightly ‘Nixonian.’ And it does feel like this old Chicago politics approach to things – like they’re saying, we’re going to kick your ass ‘right away’ if you don’t agree with us. We’re going to get in there and tell you what we think and believe me, I have personally experienced it.

The truth is that it just turns me off even more . . . to quote a scene from the Michael Clayton movie – I’m not the guy you kill, I’m the guy you pay off . . . and if you do that I’ll most likely find a way to ‘out’ the truth in the end . . . I guess I hope I'm the guy who makes you better . . . some sort of weird therapist in disguise.

This administration will not admit when its wrong . . . and that does not seem like the President we elected. For me, it started with the ‘flyover’ bullshit in New York City. I was extremely pissed off about that move which sent thousands of people running out of the financial district on foot . . . panic attacks galore, etc . . . and yet our President did not have the balls to apologize for it immediately and comprehensively. It was pushed under the rug . . . but none of us here forgot it. And then this ugly stuff in Massachusetts where you prove that you are desperate and willing to pull out every single stop plus a few extra ones just to win this health care debate. And then you tell us that you don’t like our Governor in New York . . . and you don’t like Bloomberg . . . etc, and I’m like get your nose out of my freakin’ ass.

I recently saw the documentary ‘Out Rage’ on hbo . . . it really is worth seeing. It speaks to a fundamental issue that I’m having right now with politics. Intuitively, I just feel that there’s something a little too slippery and unhealthy about it all. This documentary attempts to show the fact that gay people that have to be ‘in the closet’ oftentimes end up making bad choices and allow themselves to be manipulated by the system to the point that they are actively hating people like themselves just to prove that they are different. As Bill Maher so eloquently put it, ‘hating yourself is the greatest love of all.’ Unfortunately, if America really had a motto right now . . . it might be that. We are good people but we aren’t necessarily ‘true to ourselves’ . . . . whether that means finding the right career . . . or diet . . . or sexual preference. Some part of me just has to believe that these horribly expensive wars over oil and water and the reckless destruction of our environment are a direct result of our personal imbalances.

As Michael Rodgers said, they feel like they’re putting on a broadway show . . . over there in Washington. Well let me tell you . . . I’m not buying any tickets yet. Your story line is weak and most of you don’t have the talent to pull off your role . . . or perhaps you have a terrible director, it’s hard to tell. I did not sign up for Chicago politics. I purposefully elected an intelligent and supposedly self-reliant Senator from Chicago which has turned into an administration that goes after every and any comment made ‘against’ them with a big stick . . .

Seriously, they do not accept any form of disagreement. I’m disappointed by this and of course by the fact that government spending has risen by at least 29% this year – the DEFICIT is OUT OF CONTROL and only getting worse because now you want to pass the biggest, most outrageous form of pork laden bullshit in history (and by that I mean the Health Care Bill). This thing has nothing to do with racism or classism or even Democrats or Republicans. This is about our country maintaining itself in a practical and realistic fashion.

Trick or treat? It’s hard to tell. I think the ‘cash for oldsters’ was a treat . . . what was it $250, give me a fucking break. And on that note, I might mention an article I read the other day about how stage-hands at Carnegie Hall make an AVERAGE of almost $500,000/year. Many of them are making more than the performers and it’s because the unions have taken everyone to the bank and will continue to do so. Barack Obama is so obligated to the unions it’s not even funny . . . so between all of these issues, I hope you will concur – it’s a pretty scary time here – it’s a real Halloween.

http://www.opinionjournal.com/la/?id=110005902

http://www.outragethemovie.com/

A Psalm of Life by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

2009-10-24T23:38:00.005-06:00

Tell me not in mournful numbers,
"Life is but an empty dream!"
For the soul is dead that slumbers,
And things are not what they seem.

Life is real! Life is earnest!
And the grave is not its goal;
"Dust thou art, to dust returnest,"
Was not spoken of the soul.

Not enjoyment, and not sorrow,
Is our destined end or way;
But to act, that each to-morrow
Find us further than to-day.

Art is long, and Time is fleeting,
And our hearts, though stout and brave,
Still, like muffled drums, are beating
Funeral marches to the grave.

In the world's broad field of battle,
In the bivouac of Life,
Be not like dumb, driven cattle!
Be a hero in the strife!

Trust no Future, howe'er pleasant!
Let the dead Past bury its dead!
Act -- act in the living Present!
Heart within, and God o'erhead!

Lives of great men all remind us
We can make our lives sublime,
And, departing, leave behind us
Footprints on the sands of time;

Footprints, that perhaps another,
Sailing o'er life's solemn main,
A forlorn and shipwrecked brother,
Seeing, shall take heart again.

Let us, then, be up and doing,
With a heart for any fate;
Still achieving, still pursuing,
Learn to labour and to wait.

WHAT CAN I REALLY SAY ABOUT THE NEW HEALTH CARE PLAN?

2009-10-12T17:16:00.003-06:00

I wish that I agreed with it and yet I just do not. For the record, I have never been a party person so I hope you concur – this is not just a ‘party issue’. I agree with health care REFORM – not the exponentiation of a system that already does not work all that well yet at times it is truly resourceful and innovative. Why not ‘make this system better’ before you expand it? I urge you to answer that, Mr. President?

Why not open the insurance market up so that companies can compete across state lines . . . why not put in city 'parks' - meaning gyms and recreation centers in cities all over the country like they have here in nyc. why not Prevent problems instead of just pay for them. Beyond the fact that this kind of move will wreck our country financially - as if China didn't already have our ass in its hand - even if we could afford this right now - I still don't think it's the right move.

It kind of reminds me of the bailouts and yes maybe those got us through a certain tough time but do you really think ALL of that money was well spent? I don't believe that it was all well spent in the same way that I don't believe this move will 'fix' our country's health care problems. If anything it will strap us - the people - to an even bigger sinking ship for the rest of our lives. This move is unprecedented and should not be based solely upon the bickering of parties or the ego of a young new president. unlike the freakin' election, this is really not a soccer match anymore . . . this is like one of those fights you see in the roman coliseum . . . america vs. itself.

why not be more prudent, Mr President and make some moves that are less drastic and learn more about what is actually going to work. that is, after all, the point . . . right. I'm sure you believe that but I urge you to think of our nation as a whole. Spending more money at uncontrollable rates right now might really not be the answer. Sometimes having less resources leads to creativity . . . I urge you to remember the point and not let yourself be the 'bitch' of big government and big business.

The Sky Above the Roof

2009-09-29T22:14:00.009-06:00

So I recently started taking classes at Juilliard and it has been excellent. This is a new song I'm working on - it's lovely.

The Sky Above the Roof by Ralph Vaughan Williams

The sky above the roof is calm and sweet;
A tree above the roof
Bends in the heat.

A bell from out the blue
Drowsily rings;
A bird from out the blue
Plaintively sings.
Ah God! A life is here,
Simple and fair,
Murmurs of strife are here
Lost in the air.

Why dost thou weep,
O heart,
Poured out in tears?
What has thou done,
O heart, with thy spent years?

2009-07-18T21:55:00.002-06:00

mj . . . .

2009-07-07T22:04:00.003-06:00

The death of Michael Jackson makes me sad on many levels and yet I’m glad that he did what he did for whatever it was worth . . . as I always say, 'it's not easy to be anyone' . . . yet we are all reminded that life is the greatest gift.

namaste ~! molly magdalain

“in your death we feel your loneliness which is really sad because you made us all so happy” . . . . random person . . .

someone somewhere tonight . . . .

2009-05-13T09:59:00.004-06:00

This is a song written by a songwriter I met while I lived in Nashville several years ago. I loved it there in nashville . . . . you would go out any night of the week and hear real music . . . . stripped down to its soul in the form of a song and a guitar or a piano. Of course, some of the songs were not good but it was the fact that people were trying that was so contagious – disturbing – and necessary.

The first time I met Walt Wilkins was at 3rd and Lindsley probably around 2003 . . . . I’m fond of this club for many important memories in my life. I heard him play this song in a songwriter round and it was like time completely stopped – we were all there in the crystal clear presence of a moment of truth. It’s hard to explain really, but every time I’ve heard him play it live I get chills.

I used to think this would be a really ‘successful’ song and maybe it will be someday but it doesn’t really matter. It’s just beautiful and universal and of course I guess it was also the way he sang it . . . . as if it were sacred. To be honest, the one form of music I honestly hate most is Christian music. Shit, I’m sorry, I guess that’s mean but I just can’t do it . . . . it’s kind of a joke among good friends. But if I did still go to church on Sunday (instead of every day of the week) this is what I would want to hear.

Funny, I just looked it up on itunes and it looks like pam tillis and Kenny Rodgers have since recorded it. Good for you Walt – that’s fucking great! I knew it years ago and I still like your version the best.

Someone somewhere tonight
Is taking their first steps
Letting go of the hands that held them
And trusting themselves
And somewhere somewhere tonight
Is hearing their last rites
And praying with all their might
That there's something else.

So, babe, lie down here beside me
Let's lie real still
And tell me you love me
And you always will.

Someone somewhere tonight
Is tasting their first kiss
Whispering softly this wish
For this night to go on
While someone somewhere tonight
Is holding on to a bottle
Pouring one more and hoping that God will
Get them through till the dawn.

So, babe, lie down here beside me
And let's lie real still
And tell me you love me
And you always will.

Someone somewhere tonight
Is stuck in a prison
Breathing but just barely living
Behind walls of their own
While someone somewhere tonight
Just found their own wings
found some beauty, some truth, found some meaning
in spite of it all.

So, babe, lie down here beside me
And let's lie real still
And tell me you love me
And you always will.

And you always will...

slowing down . . . .

2009-05-04T17:40:00.002-06:00

(the following is an excerpt from Osho Zen Tarot - p. 77)

Meditation is a kind of medicine – its use is only for the time being. Once you have learned the quality, then you need not do any particular meditation, then the meditation has to spread all over your life.

Walking is zen, sitting is zen.

Then what will be the quality? Watchfully, alert, joyously, unmotivated, centered, loving, flowing, one walks. And the walking is sauntering. Loving, alert, watchful, one sits, unmotivated – not sitting for anything in particular, just enjoying how beautiful just sitting doing nothing is, how relaxing, how restful . . . .

After a long walk, you sit under a tree and the breeze comes and cools you. Each moment one has to be at ease with oneself – not trying to improve, not cultivating anything, not practicing anything.

Walking is zen, sitting is zen.
Talking or silent, moving, unmoving.
The essence is at ease.

The essence is at ease: that is the keyword. The essence is at ease: that is the key statement. Do whatsoever you are doing, but at the deepest core remain at ease, cool, calm, centered.

A new kind of Energy

2009-04-25T22:22:00.008-06:00

Energy is a pretty loose term that can mean a lot of different things ranging from your sense of spirituality to those things you plug into the wall but the actual experience of these things is drastically different. The use of your appliances and the payment of your electric bill is far from spiritual . . . it’s pretty much something you have to do in a very specific way. There’s nothing warm and fuzzy about Con Edison. I mean, seriously, I’ve actually wondered whether the people they have working for them are real. They all have this weird digitalized/robotic tone in their voice – I can’t imagine how they could get so many different people to sound so completely dull and lifeless . . . as if all of the energy has been sucked out of them.

This is one of the biggest businesses in the world . . . . so why is it such a monopoly? I think there is a fundamental, underlying problem with big business which is that wherever there is power there is always the potential for the abuse of it. Sadly, I think the most effective ‘mis-use’ of power in this country comes from shitty systems that never get updated. Things like the school system . . . the energy systems, etc. It’s always been possible for car manufacturers to make more fuel efficient cars . . . . . but they never wanted to because all of the fuel was making someone else money (and they’re probably all part of the same conglomerate, etc.). See the movie ‘Who Killed the Electric Car’ if you really want to know what I’m talking about.

It’s like the difference between people who believe in intelligent design – innovation – efficiency – and perfection vs. the people who will take whatever they can get at any cost. It’s the conscious vs. the unconscious . . . . the future vs. the past and I think this is a dividing line that is becoming increasingly obvious and relevant in our society. It’s the difference between Wal-Mart and Target. I was in Kansas City on Easter and struck by this great idea for shoe design so I went out to try and buy some stuff to make prototypes. Not very much was open because it was Easter but I did notice that Target was closed and Wal-Mart was open. I would really have to be desperate to buy from Wal-Mart but I did because I really wanted the stuff. Walking through the aisles, it just had a weird vibe. It’s very plastic – tired – and organized but not fully there, if you know what I mean. The next day I went to Target and I bought a huge yellow purse for $30 . . . I love it.

We need to start taking a closer look at companies and products in order to really understand what we’re getting ourselves into. Buying things is like having a relationship . . . you let a certain energy into your life. Why did the FDA approve neutrasweet when they know it’s a neuro-toxin? Probably because it’s a billion dollar industry and those health problems create more billion dollar industries. It’s really kind of sick, when you think about the fact that many people see the world this way.

Instead of seeing these people as our ‘enemy’ and waging some ‘war’ against them, I think it’s easier to look at them and see how barbaric and childish it really is . . . . to think that you are here to conquer the world and hoard everything in sight. This sort of behavior implies an underlying lack of self-confidence and lack of trust in the meaning of life. While I do admit that ‘things’ have energy . . . .what kind of person would actually want to be defined by their ‘things’ whether they are sunglasses or cars or clothes or whatever. You are the essence of your soul – you are your values – your ideas and your inherent nature. We’re not all striving to be some cookie cutter rock star/movie star. We’re striving to be ourselves – for real – and that truly is good work. That’s the kind of work you should be doing so don’t let your sense of a ‘day job’ rule your life. As Sharon Gannon says, “Give up the love of power for the power of love.”

It’s pretty obvious to me that the people running the energy industry are not enlightened individuals. One of the major points made during a talk I attended the other night is the fact that our use of energy is not efficient. For example, the hardware is structured to be able to store power but this function has not been utilized. We could reduce overall power requirements by around 30% if we addressed the issue of finding a way to store power. Another point that was made is that a lot of heat is lost during the generation of power and that heat should be captured and re-used to make the systems more efficient. Pretty basic stuff you know . . . so why isn’t this happening?

Ryan Wartena, PhD, is Vice President of Research, Engineering and Development of Nano Sol Systems, Inc., and has recently been named to the Advisory Board of Watts Up America, www.wattsupamerica.com. One of his current projects is to train and employ California low-income residents in PV production and installation of solar energy systems. His talk focused mainly on the fact that people need to first become aware of how much energy they use and secondly figure out how to generate enough energy to cover their personal needs. This is an idea that could change the world.

One of the most exciting things Ryan discussed was the idea of people putting energy back into the grid. Apparently, the current infrastructure already supports this so it wouldn’t be hard to implement on a grand scale. If people can find ways to generate their own energy, they can reduce their electrical bills or possibly even make money off of extra energy – as well as share it with their community. All of the sudden, it feels like energy might not be such a distant and unapproachable topic. I’ve had all kinds of thoughts about harvesting the energy from health club machines . . . . creating buses where people pedal (a health club on wheels or just getting from point a to b) . . . . why not put solar panels on the rooftops of cars . . . . I mean, who knows, anything is possible.

I’ve been going to more of these events lately and I think it’s great to get together to talk about it but I also feel that we need to just start doing things. It doesn’t have to be official or officially funded by anyone or approved or whatever . . . . we just need to make shit happen. And we know we can do that . . . so let’s start a trend and get this going in cities all over the U.S. I think the only way we can control our destiny is to learn how to do things ourselves . . . better . . . faster . . . cheaper . . . now. Knowledge is power and we are capable people. I keep reading books about the Industrial Revolution because I know that it’s not over, we need to make more things happen, together.

You talk about thinking outside of the box . . . .let’s throw the fucking box against the wall. Let’s turn the box into a garden and take the necessary steps to sustain our culture. Some part of me always thinks that the only limitation is mental. For all of those people who are still chasing after world domination . . . . I suggest a yoga class – better yet a yoga retreat. Meditation, counseling, writing a book about your life or falling in love for real. You either decide to make things better in the world or you get out of the road because we are in the process of re-paving it.

gratitude

2009-04-24T14:26:00.000-06:00

When we constantly choose to be grateful, we notice that every breath is a miracle and each smile becomes a gift. We begin to understand that difficulties are also invaluable lessons. The sun is always shining for us when we are grateful, even if it is hidden behind clouds on a rainy day. A simple sandwich becomes a feast, and a trinket is transformed into a treasure. Living in a state of gratitude allows us to spread our abundance because that is the energy that we emanate from our beings. Because the world reflects back to us what we embody, the additional blessings that inevitably flow our way give us even more to be grateful for. The universe wants to shower us with blessings. The more we appreciate life, the more life appreciates and bestows us with more goodness.

(excerpt from the Daily Om - )

hip hop = consciousness

2009-04-17T17:56:00.004-06:00

Beyond the hype and the shows - the magazines and the ticket sales, in the world of music there truly is a place that is grounded and real and this is exactly what we were talking about in our panel last night where we spent four hours discussing the consciousness of hip hop. It was pretty cool to think about the development of musical styles in conjunction with social movements such as the correlation between gangster rap and the downfall to crack in the cities.

Everyone agreed that hip hop is the most universal form of music because it has affected every part of the globe. It is the most universal musical language and that’s a powerful thing. However, it’s probably too powerful because it inevitably (and perhaps inexplicably, ha ha) got watered down over the years with violence and bullshit, now to manifest in the crystal clear precision of pop artists who make records about things that don’t really matter . . . . because I guess that’s the point.

Hip hop is the language of the streets, it’s the beat of our hearts and it has the potential to put the ‘unity’ back in the ‘community’ if we are willing to let it survive under the radar. It’s a weird time to be living in where everything is mixing. Everyone was saying last night that we have to get back to our roots and that is true . .. but we also have to sow new seeds for the future and I think this means building people up and empowering them to utilize their unique gifts and potential.

One of the major points that was made last night is that hip hop is not just a form of music – it’s a style, a fashion, a way of being, a way of talking and a way of existing in the world. And it is certainly not about being like everyone else - it’s about being yourself. For the most part, unfortunately, that’s not really happening out there in the world too much right now. We’re looking at a homogenous group of dis-empowered individuals who focus mainly on exactly what they don’t have whether it’s internal or external.

Power-less-ness is not a condition, it’s a choice. Change starts with analyzing that choice because you are always the one that will have to make it. You need to decide whether the world happens to you – whether you are a victim of the world – or you decide that you create your own world and actively start doing it. Life is unknown but it is not ill-intentioned, this much I do believe. Life is a perspective and you have to grasp that if you want to set yourself free. Reach for the stars, search for yourself, be who you are.

defying gravity

2009-04-01T06:48:00.000-06:00

The people you fall in love with . . . well, what can I say except that they can show up in any form or format. I am grateful for all relationships that are true and meaningful . . . . in the end, surely, you know who you are and yet it is not always easy to take the time to express what is true, what is here, what is now. . . . no-where and now-here.

I live in Brooklyn. I make jewelry and music and politics and pretty much anything else that comes to mind here in the land of opportunity. Great things have already happened. The key is to remember, to learn, to grow, innovate and create the future that we all desire to experience together.

“the moment I jumped off of it, was the moment I touched down.”

Alanis Morrisette

WOW . . . .

2008-11-05T17:49:00.009-06:00

No matter who you voted for, I think we can all agree that this has been a historic election. One of the most exciting aspects is all of the new voters and the fact that people are getting informed about issues – crossing party lines – and making their right to vote count. I think Barack Obama is a person with integrity and intelligence – a person that I will be very proud to call President.

The streets of NYC are amazing right now! People are talking to each other and celebrating about the election openly. I went to lunch and had a conversation with ten strangers who were black, jewish, asian and christian and we were all excited about the results. They have literally run out of copies of the new york times and pretty much all newspapers – the only paper I can buy now is in another language.

I think the election of Barack Obama is a powerful sign of hope and change towards the betterment of our nation. I think it’s also important that we all keep working together to move in the right direction but this election was historic not only because of the candidates but mostly because of the citizens.

We are experiencing a rise in personal consciousness and this is a good and necessary thing. I hope we can continue to talk about political issues and educate ourselves collectively because in truth we vote every day with the money we spend – the speeches we make – and our ability to believe in ourselves.

One thing I always say about my generation is that we are not going to be ‘one career’ people. We need to multi-task because we are probably very smart and very bored with our lives, on a certain level. So this means, follow your dreams – get out there and work for a political campaign or write a novel - do the things that you truly believe in. There are some kinds of work that you do for yourself and whether or not you literally get paid is oftentimes beside the point. We are a different generation but we are strong in new and important ways.

Sometimes I get very frustrated that certain issues belong to one party and remain ‘out of bounds’ when thinking in a partisan nature. I’d love to see more republicans who care about the environment and the rights that people have to their own bodies or the right to be gay! I’d love to see parties move forward with their own internal changes – it’s time for the republicans to re-invent themselves (cough . . . stop being the bitch of the fundamentalist christians).

The one thing I know for sure is that we all want government that Works. I think Barack Obama shares that vision. I just heard rumors about him potentially incorporating the power of the grassroots civilian core into the government. We need programs that work – education that could be called excellent – and energy policies that make sense.

So, I watched the cafferty file on cnn recently and he asks the question which I answered with a comment on his blog . . . but the comment is marked ‘waiting for moderation’ when none of the others say that . . . did I cross some invisible line when I said ‘money-laundering’??? surely you’ve got a sense of humor boys. All I can say is, “CHEERS!!!!!!”

“What will you miss most about President Bush?”

“I will miss the great comedy which has been generated in the past few years at his expense. Times have been so bad that I think people either have to laugh or cry — I’d rather laugh. But more than that I”d rather have a country I can believe in and I feel like it might become a reality with Barack Obama as President. Granted, it’s not an easy job but Bush was never cut out to be President — he should have been an actor or a gambler or a money-launderer (which is what I truly think he is best at.)”

VOTE FOR OBAMA

2008-11-02T11:22:00.002-06:00

NYC unites behind Barack Obama

Meercats

2008-10-14T10:16:00.008-06:00

Meercats at the Kansas City Zoo (photograph by Ellyn Claire Butler)

Joe Six Pack anyone???

2008-10-06T19:09:00.013-06:00

I caught a good portion of the Biden/Palin debate on youtube and it seems to me that the Republican party is trying to run defensive schemes which are designed to confuse the other team (aka the entire nation). Palin has created her own “fargo-like’ rhetoric which regularly includes references to “JOE SIX PACK” . . . . (by the way, who the fuck is he and how has he ((and how have you, Sarah!!!)) generated so much national importance ?????)

In addition to weird subliminal mating rituals such as ‘winking and smirking’ . . . . combined with a strong preference not to answer and/or acknowledge direct questions – issues – and/or clearly state any real facts, her offensive plan is deeply rooted in the idea of beating us over the head with the stories about “Wright and Ayers” in addition to expounding upon the irrelevant day to day activities of American ‘Families.’ Hell of a plan if you ask me. You lost me at ‘creationist’ to be honest.

Governor Palin seems to be incredibly capable of eluding important issues – another hallmark of all politicians that I detest. When responding to the financial crisis, she really gets her claws out and says those predatory lenders ‘better be punished’ – as if her words alone are harsh enough to do the job. This is only to be upstaged by her big kicker which is undoubtedly the ‘pals around with terrorists’ card. How’s that for fact checking!!!

You betcha better go fuck someone else.

All in all, I think the thing that pisses me off most about Sarah Palin is the fact that she’s ‘not really there’. She does not and possibly cannot respond to live questions because she is not prepared to handle them. Watching her speak, I sense this weird connection to a wax figurine or puppet. Shit, I realize that I’m being mean here but I think this is honestly why she doesn’t actively participate in conversations. They’ve put a certain amount of answers in her head and if you don’t hit that button – we need to move on to the next one (or the previous one). We’ve got a jukebox here people!

In stark contrast, Senator Joe Biden was stately and comprehensive. He made clear points and genuinely participated in the dialogue. He talked about a variety of issues and ‘did not repeat himself repetitively’’as his opponent was more prone to do. My favorite remark of the evening was when Senator Biden called the McCain-Palin health care plan 'the ultimate bridge to nowhere’. (Is Palin somehow insinuating that 'Joe' drinks a lot of six-packs or is that just a funny coincidence??? 'Can I call you Joe?')

There’s no way to get around the fact that Sarah Palin is a beginner – she has no experience whatsoever and she will be ‘flying by the seat of her pants’ for quite a while if she ends up in office. She will be randomly making decisions about our future without understanding the bigger picture. Or even worse, she will be so malleable and helpless that countless others will try to mold and control her for their benefit.

‘I am an energy expert and I have no idea what I’m talking about.’ Cover of newsweek . . . that’s a flash in the pan because the Republicans have royally fucked up. They have absolutely proven how absolutely ludicrously ignorant they really are (at the moment). Oh shit, I’m going to take some heat for this one . . . . I have some very close republican friends, probably even family members. But the truth is that the only ideal we can really stand on – as a nation – is the fact that we are able to discern fact from fiction and dignity from pride, which can often turn into reckless greed.

George Bush has pretty much set the white house on fire on his way out. Should he be rewarded for that? Should He be mother-fucking bailed out??? I don’t think so.

I hope no one reads my blogs so therefore no one will care about the fact that I’m saying this shit. However, it does feel good to say it because the truth is that I am done with it! This is the end of the American dis-ease. We have a virus people and we need to fucking get rid of it.

Let’s Help Karl Rove and his infectious posse get into another business. You guys don’t give a shit about government – you only care about power. Go start a tv show about how to manipulate the American people – that’s a great idea – then you’ll Really be Popular.

Equilibrium

2008-09-11T22:41:00.006-06:00

Equilibrium

photograph by Molly Magdalain

You can sing . . . .

2008-07-17T18:14:00.004-06:00

Fat tires and cigarettes, romeo’s and juliet’s
Another night of crazy bets that everyone survives
With no scars and no regrets, you wait it out like a season but
Letting go can look like that before you realize
You can sing, can believe, you can be anything you want
All the time, day or night, you can be anything you want

Tank full of gasoline, long gone although serene

Strapped in like a diamond ring with many miles to go
You used to be a summer rain, not too hard and not too vain
Not too long before you learned the game that now you’re stuck inside
You can sing, can believe, you can be anything you want
All the time, day or night, you can be anything you want

Over the line, over the line
Far, far too driven, we’re losing our minds
It’s a beautiful night, beautiful sunrise
Did we ever notice or were we too blind

From fat tires and cigarettes, romeo’s and juliet’s
Stinging losses, deep regrets that everybody hides
In coffee shops and magazines, choir lofts and college flings
Did everybody lose their dreams on the playground
You can sing, can believe, you can be anything you want
All the time, day or night, you can be anything you want

(you can sing by lori chaffer from the album 1beginning)

the ever-changing library

2008-07-08T17:23:00.006-06:00

Harvard Commencement Speech by JK Rowling

2008-06-09T16:28:00.006-06:00

Text as prepared follows.Copyright of JK Rowling, June 2008

President Faust, members of the Harvard Corporation and the Board of Overseers, members of the faculty, proud parents, and, above all, graduates.

The first thing I would like to say is ‘thank you.’ Not only has Harvard given me an extraordinary honour, but the weeks of fear and nausea I’ve experienced at the thought of giving this commencement address have made me lose weight. A win-win situation! Now all I have to do is take deep breaths, squint at the red banners and fool myself into believing I am at the world’s best-educated Harry Potter convention.

Delivering a commencement address is a great responsibility; or so I thought until I cast my mind back to my own graduation. The commencement speaker that day was the distinguished British philosopher Baroness Mary Warnock. Reflecting on her speech has helped me enormously in writing this one, because it turns out that I can’t remember a single word she said. This liberating discovery enables me to proceed without any fear that I might inadvertently influence you to abandon promising careers in business, law or politics for the giddy delights of becoming a gay wizard.

You see? If all you remember in years to come is the ‘gay wizard’ joke, I’ve still come out ahead of Baroness Mary Warnock. Achievable goals: the first step towards personal improvement.

Actually, I have wracked my mind and heart for what I ought to say to you today. I have asked myself what I wish I had known at my own graduation, and what important lessons I have learned in the 21 years that has expired between that day and this.

I have come up with two answers. On this wonderful day when we are gathered together to celebrate your academic success, I have decided to talk to you about the benefits of failure. And as you stand on the threshold of what is sometimes called ‘real life’, I want to extol the crucial importance of imagination.

These might seem quixotic or paradoxical choices, but please bear with me.

Looking back at the 21-year-old that I was at graduation, is a slightly uncomfortable experience for the 42-year-old that she has become. Half my lifetime ago, I was striking an uneasy balance between the ambition I had for myself, and what those closest to me expected of me.

I was convinced that the only thing I wanted to do, ever, was to write novels. However, my parents, both of whom came from impoverished backgrounds and neither of whom had been to college, took the view that my overactive imagination was an amusing personal quirk that could never pay a mortgage, or secure a pension.

They had hoped that I would take a vocational degree; I wanted to study English Literature. A compromise was reached that in retrospect satisfied nobody, and I went up to study Modern Languages. Hardly had my parents’ car rounded the corner at the end of the road than I ditched German and scuttled off down the Classics corridor.

I cannot remember telling my parents that I was studying Classics; they might well have found out for the first time on graduation day. Of all subjects on this planet, I think they would have been hard put to name one less useful than Greek mythology when it came to securing the keys to an executive bathroom.

I would like to make it clear, in parenthesis, that I do not blame my parents for their point of view. There is an expiry date on blaming your parents for steering you in the wrong direction; the moment you are old enough to take the wheel, responsibility lies with you. What is more, I cannot criticise my parents for hoping that I would never experience poverty. They had been poor themselves, and I have since been poor, and I quite agree with them that it is not an ennobling experience. Poverty entails fear, and stress, and sometimes depression; it means a thousand petty humiliations and hardships. Climbing out of poverty by your own efforts, that is indeed something on which to pride yourself, but poverty itself is romanticised only by fools.

What I feared most for myself at your age was not poverty, but failure.

At your age, in spite of a distinct lack of motivation at university, where I had spent far too long in the coffee bar writing stories, and far too little time at lectures, I had a knack for passing examinations, and that, for years, had been the measure of success in my life and that of my peers.

I am not dull enough to suppose that because you are young, gifted and well-educated, you have never known hardship or heartbreak. Talent and intelligence never yet inoculated anyone against the caprice of the Fates, and I do not for a moment suppose that everyone here has enjoyed an existence of unruffled privilege and contentment.

However, the fact that you are graduating from Harvard suggests that you are not very well-acquainted with failure. You might be driven by a fear of failure quite as much as a desire for success. Indeed, your conception of failure might not be too far from the average person’s idea of success, so high have you already flown academically.

Ultimately, we all have to decide for ourselves what constitutes failure, but the world is quite eager to give you a set of criteria if you let it. So I think it fair to say that by any conventional measure, a mere seven years after my graduation day, I had failed on an epic scale. An exceptionally short-lived marriage had imploded, and I was jobless, a lone parent, and as poor as it is possible to be in modern Britain, without being homeless. The fears my parents had had for me, and that I had had for myself, had both come to pass, and by every usual standard, I was the biggest failure I knew.

Now, I am not going to stand here and tell you that failure is fun. That period of my life was a dark one, and I had no idea that there was going to be what the press has since represented as a kind of fairy tale resolution. I had no idea how far the tunnel extended, and for a long time, any light at the end of it was a hope rather than a reality.

So why do I talk about the benefits of failure? Simply because failure meant a stripping away of the inessential. I stopped pretending to myself that I was anything other than what I was, and began to direct all my energy into finishing the only work that mattered to me. Had I really succeeded at anything else, I might never have found the determination to succeed in the one arena I believed I truly belonged. I was set free, because my greatest fear had already been realised, and I was still alive, and I still had a daughter whom I adored, and I had an old typewriter and a big idea. And so rock bottom became the solid foundation on which I rebuilt my life.

You might never fail on the scale I did, but some failure in life is inevitable. It is impossible to live without failing at something, unless you live so cautiously that you might as well not have lived at all - in which case, you fail by default.

Failure gave me an inner security that I had never attained by passing examinations. Failure taught me things about myself that I could have learned no other way. I discovered that I had a strong will, and more discipline than I had suspected; I also found out that I had friends whose value was truly above rubies.

The knowledge that you have emerged wiser and stronger from setbacks means that you are, ever after, secure in your ability to survive. You will never truly know yourself, or the strength of your relationships, until both have been tested by adversity. Such knowledge is a true gift, for all that it is painfully won, and it has been worth more to me than any qualification I ever earned.

Given a time machine or a Time Turner, I would tell my 21-year-old self that personal happiness lies in knowing that life is not a check-list of acquisition or achievement. Your qualifications, your CV, are not your life, though you will meet many people of my age and older who confuse the two. Life is difficult, and complicated, and beyond anyone’s total control, and the humility to know that will enable you to survive its vicissitudes.

You might think that I chose my second theme, the importance of imagination, because of the part it played in rebuilding my life, but that is not wholly so. Though I will defend the value of bedtime stories to my last gasp, I have learned to value imagination in a much broader sense. Imagination is not only the uniquely human capacity to envision that which is not, and therefore the fount of all invention and innovation. In its arguably most transformative and revelatory capacity, it is the power that enables us to empathise with humans whose experiences we have never shared.

One of the greatest formative experiences of my life preceded Harry Potter, though it informed much of what I subsequently wrote in those books. This revelation came in the form of one of my earliest day jobs. Though I was sloping off to write stories during my lunch hours, I paid the rent in my early 20s by working in the research department at Amnesty International’s headquarters in London.

There in my little office I read hastily scribbled letters smuggled out of totalitarian regimes by men and women who were risking imprisonment to inform the outside world of what was happening to them. I saw photographs of those who had disappeared without trace, sent to Amnesty by their desperate families and friends. I read the testimony of torture victims and saw pictures of their injuries. I opened handwritten, eye-witness accounts of summary trials and executions, of kidnappings and rapes.

Many of my co-workers were ex-political prisoners, people who had been displaced from their homes, or fled into exile, because they had the temerity to think independently of their government. Visitors to our office included those who had come to give information, or to try and find out what had happened to those they had been forced to leave behind.

I shall never forget the African torture victim, a young man no older than I was at the time, who had become mentally ill after all he had endured in his homeland. He trembled uncontrollably as he spoke into a video camera about the brutality inflicted upon him. He was a foot taller than I was, and seemed as fragile as a child. I was given the job of escorting him to the Underground Station afterwards, and this man whose life had been shattered by cruelty took my hand with exquisite courtesy, and wished me future happiness.

And as long as I live I shall remember walking along an empty corridor and suddenly hearing, from behind a closed door, a scream of pain and horror such as I have never heard since. The door opened, and the researcher poked out her head and told me to run and make a hot drink for the young man sitting with her. She had just given him the news that in retaliation for his own outspokenness against his country’s regime, his mother had been seized and executed.

Every day of my working week in my early 20s I was reminded how incredibly fortunate I was, to live in a country with a democratically elected government, where legal representation and a public trial were the rights of everyone.

Every day, I saw more evidence about the evils humankind will inflict on their fellow humans, to gain or maintain power. I began to have nightmares, literal nightmares, about some of the things I saw, heard and read.

And yet I also learned more about human goodness at Amnesty International than I had ever known before.

Amnesty mobilises thousands of people who have never been tortured or imprisoned for their beliefs to act on behalf of those who have. The power of human empathy, leading to collective action, saves lives, and frees prisoners. Ordinary people, whose personal well-being and security are assured, join together in huge numbers to save people they do not know, and will never meet. My small participation in that process was one of the most humbling and inspiring experiences of my life.

Unlike any other creature on this planet, humans can learn and understand, without having experienced. They can think themselves into other people’s minds, imagine themselves into other people’s places.

Of course, this is a power, like my brand of fictional magic, that is morally neutral. One might use such an ability to manipulate, or control, just as much as to understand or sympathise.

And many prefer not to exercise their imaginations at all. They choose to remain comfortably within the bounds of their own experience, never troubling to wonder how it would feel to have been born other than they are. They can refuse to hear screams or to peer inside cages; they can close their minds and hearts to any suffering that does not touch them personally; they can refuse to know.

I might be tempted to envy people who can live that way, except that I do not think they have any fewer nightmares than I do. Choosing to live in narrow spaces can lead to a form of mental agoraphobia, and that brings its own terrors. I think the wilfully unimaginative see more monsters. They are often more afraid.

What is more, those who choose not to empathise may enable real monsters. For without ever committing an act of outright evil ourselves, we collude with it, through our own apathy.

One of the many things I learned at the end of that Classics corridor down which I ventured at the age of 18, in search of something I could not then define, was this, written by the Greek author Plutarch: What we achieve inwardly will change outer reality.

That is an astonishing statement and yet proven a thousand times every day of our lives. It expresses, in part, our inescapable connection with the outside world, the fact that we touch other people’s lives simply by existing.

But how much more are you, Harvard graduates of 2008, likely to touch other people’s lives? Your intelligence, your capacity for hard work, the education you have earned and received, give you unique status, and unique responsibilities. Even your nationality sets you apart. The great majority of you belong to the world’s only remaining superpower. The way you vote, the way you live, the way you protest, the pressure you bring to bear on your government, has an impact way beyond your borders. That is your privilege, and your burden.

If you choose to use your status and influence to raise your voice on behalf of those who have no voice; if you choose to identify not only with the powerful, but with the powerless; if you retain the ability to imagine yourself into the lives of those who do not have your advantages, then it will not only be your proud families who celebrate your existence, but thousands and millions of people whose reality you have helped transform for the better. We do not need magic to change the world, we carry all the power we need inside ourselves already: we have the power to imagine better.

I am nearly finished. I have one last hope for you, which is something that I already had at 21. The friends with whom I sat on graduation day have been my friends for life. They are my children’s godparents, the people to whom I’ve been able to turn in times of trouble, friends who have been kind enough not to sue me when I’ve used their names for Death Eaters. At our graduation we were bound by enormous affection, by our shared experience of a time that could never come again, and, of course, by the knowledge that we held certain photographic evidence that would be exceptionally valuable if any of us ran for Prime Minister.

So today, I can wish you nothing better than similar friendships. And tomorrow, I hope that even if you remember not a single word of mine, you remember those of Seneca, another of those old Romans I met when I fled down the Classics corridor, in retreat from career ladders, in search of ancient wisdom:As is a tale, so is life: not how long it is, but how good it is, is what matters.I wish you all very good lives. Thank you very much.

click here for more details - http://harvardmagazine.com/go/jkrowling.html

the internet

2008-05-12T16:34:00.004-06:00

this is an article written by a friend of mine years ago that has had a great impact on our culture . . .

A Declaration of the Independence of Cyberspace
by John Perry Barlow barlow@eff.org

Governments of the Industrial World, you weary giants of flesh and steel, I come from Cyberspace, the new home of Mind. On behalf of the future, I ask you of the past to leave us alone. You are not welcome among us. You have no sovereignty where we gather.

We have no elected government, nor are we likely to have one, so I address you with no greater authority than that with which liberty itself always speaks. I declare the global social space we are building to be naturally independent of the tyrannies you seek to impose on us. You have no moral right to rule us nor do you possess any methods of enforcement we have true reason to fear.

Governments derive their just powers from the consent of the governed. You have neither solicited nor received ours. We did not invite you. You do not know us, nor do you know our world. Cyberspace does not lie within your borders. Do not think that you can build it, as though it were a public construction project. You cannot. It is an act of nature and it grows itself through our collective actions.

You have not engaged in our great and gathering conversation, nor did you create the wealth of our marketplaces. You do not know our culture, our ethics, or the unwritten codes that already provide our society more order than could be obtained by any of your impositions.

You claim there are problems among us that you need to solve. You use this claim as an excuse to invade our precincts. Many of these problems don't exist. Where there are real conflicts, where there are wrongs, we will identify them and address them by our means. We are forming our own Social Contract . This governance will arise according to the conditions of our world, not yours. Our world is different.

Cyberspace consists of transactions, relationships, and thought itself, arrayed like a standing wave in the web of our communications. Ours is a world that is both everywhere and nowhere, but it is not where bodies live.

We are creating a world that all may enter without privilege or prejudice accorded by race, economic power, military force, or station of birth.

We are creating a world where anyone, anywhere may express his or her beliefs, no matter how singular, without fear of being coerced into silence or conformity.

Your legal concepts of property, expression, identity, movement, and context do not apply to us. They are all based on matter, and there is no matter here.

Our identities have no bodies, so, unlike you, we cannot obtain order by physical coercion. We believe that from ethics, enlightened self-interest, and the commonweal, our governance will emerge . Our identities may be distributed across many of your jurisdictions. The only law that all our constituent cultures would generally recognize is the Golden Rule. We hope we will be able to build our particular solutions on that basis. But we cannot accept the solutions you are attempting to impose.

In the United States, you have today created a law, the Telecommunications Reform Act, which repudiates your own Constitution and insults the dreams of Jefferson, Washington, Mill, Madison, DeToqueville, and Brandeis. These dreams must now be born anew in us.
You are terrified of your own children, since they are natives in a world where you will always be immigrants. Because you fear them, you entrust your bureaucracies with the parental responsibilities you are too cowardly to confront yourselves. In our world, all the sentiments and expressions of humanity, from the debasing to the angelic, are parts of a seamless whole, the global conversation of bits. We cannot separate the air that chokes from the air upon which wings beat.

In China, Germany, France, Russia, Singapore, Italy and the United States, you are trying to ward off the virus of liberty by erecting guard posts at the frontiers of Cyberspace. These may keep out the contagion for a small time, but they will not work in a world that will soon be blanketed in bit-bearing media.

Your increasingly obsolete information industries would perpetuate themselves by proposing laws, in America and elsewhere, that claim to own speech itself throughout the world. These laws would declare ideas to be another industrial product, no more noble than pig iron. In our world, whatever the human mind may create can be reproduced and distributed infinitely at no cost. The global conveyance of thought no longer requires your factories to accomplish.

These increasingly hostile and colonial measures place us in the same position as those previous lovers of freedom and self-determination who had to reject the authorities of distant, uninformed powers. We must declare our virtual selves immune to your sovereignty, even as we continue to consent to your rule over our bodies. We will spread ourselves across the Planet so that no one can arrest our thoughts.

We will create a civilization of the Mind in Cyberspace. May it be more humane and fair than the world your governments have made before.

Davos, Switzerland
February 8, 1996

Broken Telephone

2007-12-10T23:15:00.000-06:00

I'll be the wind in your leaves
The warmth of the sun
I'm always drawing your colours
I'm always tracing your footsteps

It's a hard world
it's a cold world
I could never say what I mean
I went looking in all the wrong places
There's nothing wrong with you

Broken telephone
The lines are down
The wires no longer reaching
Connection's gone

Higher and higher
I am taken by what you've given to me
Higher and higher
I am taken by what you've given to me
What you've given to me

(be good tanyas)

FOOD IS NOT JUNK . . .

2007-08-12T17:31:00.000-06:00

I have a Dream . . . that someday . . fast food and junk food as we know it will be completely extinct. I have a dream that those homogenous shacks built of chicken-shit debris will someday no longer be so lame. I have a dream . . . . I have a fucking dream that jack in the box and arbys and mcfuckmeagain 'cause 'i'm lovin' it' but 'i'm dying from it' . . . . . but 'i don't have anything else to say' . . . . and wendys and white castle and whatever else i'm leaving off this disgusting list will just burn up in a nice big warm, REEAD, flaaaAAAAME. . . . .!!!!!!!

Food is not junk and Americans are not Pigs and bullshit is not an Answer. Read the book or see the movie 'fast food nation' and you will understand more. We have bastardized agriculture in every way - and we are eating food every day that would taste worse than the styrofoam you dump out of mail packages . . . if it weren't for a dazzling array of man-made chemicals that Could make it taste like bathroom cleaner or roses or deodorant (they also make those chemicals). Yeah, I'm harsh but stop eating that shit . . . . stop supporting McDonalds in ripping down the rainforest for their bullshit 'beef' and stop associating yourself with kentucky fried genetic abominations . . . . these things aren't cheap . . . . you just pay later in a myriad of ways . . . . instead go out and buy your own sack of potatoes . . . . stop having such an impersonal and robotic experience . . . .

I mean, no wonder most Americans can't THINK clearly - they're eating total crap! I'm sorry, but most people - if they can help it - in New York City do not eat fast food. Why would you when you have delis and markets and other vendors everywhere. Why would you eat a pissed on piece of styrofoam that costs $.59 and makes you sick. . . . . I used to think that I didn't have enough time for certain things but I"m tired of that perspective. We all need to spend the time it takes to find and enjoy decent food.

The United States of Exxon Mobil . . . .

2007-07-03T16:16:00.000-06:00

I recently was inspired by Michael Moore’s new documentary, Sicko, which exposes some of the ugly problems within the U.S. health care system. Many people are quick to criticize Moore (including some of my own family/friends) yet they won’t take the time to go see the movie. . . . hmmm . . to me that smells like fear that you might change your mind - you might actually believe what you see. The good and bad news is that the facts are raw enough to catch the attention of anyone with an education past the 5th grade level . . . for ex - the United States spends more money (or more of its peoples' money) on health care than any other nation, yet the World Health Organization lists our overall health ranking at #37, just above Slovenia. Moore points out the fact that basic procedures and drugs cost Americans thousands of times what they would cost in other countries. Don’t cut your finger off anytime soon because it might cost you $60,000 to get it sewed back on. Maybe we should send our health care officials over to run the Iraq war . . . they really seem to know how to make a profit!

The saddest part, however, is that we are the ones who lose when multi-national corporations prey on our debt and dis-ease. Other factors that may contribute to the shitty health of Americans include our terrible food supply which has been bastardized by genetically modified ingredients. As far as I can tell, these choices were all made in the name of profit and have nothing to do with health. I think any un-biased free-thinking individual who analyzed our political system would say it is nothing but a vehicle for corporate lobbyists. Because of these corporations, we choose to screw people out of their rights and their income - we choose to ruin the earth and treat animals in completely un-human ways. Hillary Clinton, who once seemed to care about health care, is now the 2nd highest recipient of campaign donations from health care lobbyists, second only to former GOP Senator Rick Santorum. She accepted almost a million dollars last year from these people . . . . I wonder what that actually pays for?

At one point, I thought I might vote for a Democrat in 2008 - possibly Hillary - but I’ve now realized that I can no longer support the two-party system. Watch the movie ‘An Unreasonable Man’ - a documentary about Ralph Nader for more details. It seems logical to say that we need to get a ‘Democrat’ in the White House . . . . but is there really any difference between Democrats and Republicans anymore? Democrats need to be accountable for their actions or lack thereof - most especially to their own voters - and the only way to create this kind of demand is to prove to them that we don’t need to vote for them. In some funny way (and I Never thought I'd say it), I think it’s best to have a total jackass in the White House (done!) because at least it’s an honest reflection of our current state of affairs and all of the work that needs to done. With corporations controlling the Democrats . . . I just don’t think anything is really going to change.

Therefore, I will vote for Ralph Nader and I will actively campaign for the Green Party. I don’t care how many votes we get - I just care that those votes count and those people know what they are voting for. It’s like the difference between putting out a Hilary Duff record vs Imogen Heap or Regina Spektor . . . . one thing is real and the other thing is just fluff. (I feel bad because she has bought my jewelry . . . the point is we can all learn to dig deep but it takes work and balls and sometimes you have to take a risk and be yourself!) I think we’ve all had enough of pop-tart politics . . . . it’s time to take things into our own hands and start using a little bit more of our brains.

Molly Magdalain

I can't resist putting this link out, it's just a terrible story from exxon mobil about why they will never go 'green' . . .

http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/fortune_archive/2007/04/30/8405398/index.htm

Make your Own Organic Cleaning Products . . .

2007-07-01T12:45:00.000-06:00

I love to make things and recently I've been thinking about the cleaning products I buy. I'm happy that I can get organic products but they're expensive and honestly . . . I just don't like buying things! I would rather make them anyday so I looked it up online and came across this info which seems pretty simple and logical. I suggest buying some good essential oils such as rose, lavender, frankincense, sage, etc. and adding those to the products you make - this is a good way to make aromatherapy a part of your house and daily stress relief.

HOW TO MAKE YOUR OWN NON-TOXIC CLEANING KIT
By Annie B. Bond, author of “Clean & Green,” (Ceres Press, 1990). view site here - http://www.care2.com/greenliving/make-your-own-non-toxic-cleaning-kit.html

Most modern synthetic cleaning products are based on age-old formulas using natural ingredients that were passed down through the generations because the chemistry was right. Going back to the original naturally-derived ingredients is a way to make cleaning products that work, don’t pollute, and save you money. Most are found in your kitchen cupboards. Mix and match with well-chosen and environmentally-friendly green cleaning products found in health food stores, and you can easily and simply transform your home into a nontoxic and healthy haven.

Nontoxic cleaning can give you a deep feeling of gratification in knowing that your family's health is protected, and that your home is a place for your bodies to rest and recuperate rather than promote harm.

SIMPLE SOLUTION: Making your own non-toxic cleaning kit will take you no time at all with these simple, straightforward directions, and with this kit you will be supplied with enough cleaning product for months of cleaning.

As an added bonus, ounce for ounce homemade cleaning formulas cost about one-tenth the price of their commercial counterparts -- and that includes costly, but worthwhile essential oils and concentrated, all-purpose detergents for homemade recipes.

SUPPLIES

baking soda

washing soda

white distilled vinegar

a good liquid soap or detergent

tea tree oil

6 clean spray bottles

2 glass jars

MAKE YOUR OWN PRODUCTS

Note: Make sure to label all your homemade cleaning products, and keep them away from pets and children.

CREAMY SOFT SCRUBBER

Simply pour about 1/2 cup of baking soda into a bowl, and add enough liquid detergent to make a texture like frosting. Scoop the mixture onto a sponge, and wash the surface. This is the perfect recipe for cleaning the bathtub because it rinses easily and doesn’t leave grit.

Note: Add 1 teaspoon of vegetable glycerin to the mixture and store in a sealed glass jar, to keep the product moist. Otherwise just make as much as you need at a time.

WINDOW CLEANER

1/4 - 1/2 teaspoon liquid detergent,3 tablespoons vinegar,2 cups water, spray bottle
Put all the ingredients into a spray bottle, shake it up a bit, and use as you would a commercial brand. The soap in this recipe is important. It cuts the wax residue from the commercial brands you might have used in the past.

OVEN CLEANER

1 cup or more baking soda, water, a squirt or two of liquid detergent
Sprinkle water generously over the bottom of the oven, then cover the grime with enough baking soda that the surface it totally white. Sprinkle some more water over the top. Let the mixture set overnight. You can easily wipe up the grease the next morning because the grime will have loosened. When you have cleaned up the worst of the mess, dab a bit of liquid detergent or soap on a sponge, and wash the remaining residue from the oven. If this recipe doesn’t work for you it is probably because you didn’t use enough baking soda and/or water.

ALL-PURPOSE SPRAY CLEANER

1/2 tsp. washing soda, a dab of liquid soap, 2 cups hot tap water. Combine the ingredients in a spray bottle and shake until the washing soda has dissolved. Apply and wipe off with a sponge or rag.

FURNITURE POLISH

1/2 teaspoon oil, such as olive (or jojoba, a liquid wax)1/4 cup vinegar or fresh lemon juice. Mix the ingredients in a glass jar. Dab a soft rag into the solution and wipe onto wood surfaces. Cover the glass jar and store indefinitely.

VINEGAR DEODORIZER

Keep a clean spray bottle filled with straight 5 percent vinegar in your kitchen near your cutting board, and in your bathroom, and use them for cleaning. I often spray the vinegar on our cutting board before going to bed at night, and don't even rinse, but let it set overnight. The smell of vinegar dissipates within a few hours. Straight vinegar is also great for cleaning the toilet rim. Just spray it on and wipe off.

MOLD KILLERS

Tea Tree Treaure Nothing natural works for mold and mildew as well as this spray. I've used it successfully on a moldy ceiling from a leaking roof, on a musty bureau, a musty rug, and a moldy shower curtain. Tea tree oil is expensive, but a little goes a very long way. Note that the smell of tea tree oil is very strong, but it will dissipate in a few days. 2 teaspoons tea tree oil 2 cups water Combine in a spray bottle, shake to blend, and spray on problem areas. Do not rinse. Makes 2 cups. reparation Time: Under a minute Shelf Life: Indefinite Storage: Leave in the spray bottle

* Vinegar Spray

Straight vinegar reportedly kills 82 percent of mold. Pour some white distilled vinegar straight into a spray bottle, spray on the moldy area, and let set without rinsing if you can put up with the smell. It will dissipate in a few hours.

Are Americans addicted to self-destruction?

2007-06-02T18:50:00.000-06:00

It is amazing to me how quickly we - as Americans - will change in certain ways but not in others. I am currently on a rampage about the state of our earth. Most of my good friends know that I like having something to do - some goal I can believe in and can work towards. But this one is, most definitely, the biggest problem I have ever encountered. To summarize what's most wrong about our country is pretty difficult. There are a long list of issues from the health care industry to the climate change crisis. But not even our current woes with failed foreign policy can outshine the importance of our national food crisis and the future of genetic engineering.

I'm normally thinking about a lot of things at once - focusing on different campaigns but my attention was captured the other day by a client who told me that we probably have only 4 years of oxygen left on planet earth due to the fact that bees are dying. Colony Collapse Disorder was first discovered in November 2006 and has since been recognized as an international crisis. Most of the nation's bee-keepers report losses of 50-90% of their colonies due to this disease which is being caused by one or many factors including GMOs, climate change and the excessive use of toxic pesticides. Bees are required to pollinate plants and approx 1 out of 3 bites of food eaten by Americans is a result of the existence of bees.

If you really think about it - we have twisted the hell out of agriculture and our environment. I feel confident saying that we have the worst food supply in the world because it is un-natural and created solely for the purpose of making profits with no inherent respect for the laws of nature. The FDA does not allow genetically modified products to be labeled - so I could go to the grocery store and buy tomatoes with genes from a human. Fast food may seem cheap but the price of it is actually incredible. Cheap hamburgers equal the decimation of the Central America's rainforest. KFC is breeding chickens without heads so they won't kill each other when being caged in a factory farm with 100 million other animals. These people don't care about life or the earth or anything except money. We are stuck with this shit and I'm sick of it.

So many people are now turning the corner - changing quickly to the stance of saying that "we're just screwed . . . there's nothing we can do." The truth is that they're wrong and we must fight for what is right because I don't want to live a post-apocalyptic hell. We all eat food . . . we all need it and we all make choices about it every day. We need to get together and do something. Make phone calls - ask restaurants and stores if they use GMO's in their food. If they can't tell you (which is what you will most likely get as an answer) then call the FDA and ask them why you're not entitled to know what's in your food. They have information experts available Monday through Friday - http://www.fda.gov/comments.html - 888-463-6332.

And as far as the future of bio-engineering I would say that's pretty scary and something we really need to consider. I'm reading a book called 'The Garden of Unearthly Delights' where Robin Mather describes animals which have been 'manufactured' that are reminiscent of Frankenstein. They've made a salmon that's 37 times it's normal size . . . and a pig that's 12 ft long and 10 ft tall. Some of these animals are severely diseased and unhealthy because they were not intended to be created and they're not being created in a conscious way - this is just unacceptable! However, I understand that this is currently how we treat every aspect of the 'earth' here in the United States. I see in the NY Times yesterday that President Bush is considering some plans for addressing climate change within 50 years. We're going to pay for our mistakes in a painful way or we're going to change and we sure don't have 50 years left to figure it out.

Molly Magdalain

John McCain is an embarrassment

2007-05-02T14:40:00.000-06:00

I'm sorry but any U.S. Senator who wants to make a joke out of bombing nations when it's not really a joke . . . . how did you even get past kindergarten, let alone elected to a national office? I'm obviously referring to John McCain singing 'bomb bomb iran' . . . . and then he says we need to lighten up. Guess what, John, I'll lighten up when we get out of the 2 assanine wars that we're fighting . .. . when we stop spending trillions of dollars that we don't have and in effect continue to run our country into the ground. Now you think it's funny to start a third one . . . yeah I bet halliburton is laughing their ass off.

If you think you're cute or funny or cool . . . you're just wrong. I hope someone out there agrees - we don't need to be entertained - we need government that makes sense and this is NOT IT.

please visit this site to give John a piece of your own mind - http://mccain.senate.gov/contact/index.cfm?ID=64

funny facts about me and horses . . .

2007-03-06T17:12:00.003-06:00

If you want to know more about my past . . . perhaps you should know that i've ridden horses for most of my life and I've won many world-championships in the paint horse world as a youth. I broke a record for one of the most popular classes and i'm currently still ranked 4th on the honor roll listing - here's a link to an article about that class/event and why it's such a big deal in the paint horse industry -
Molly Coughlin -
http://72.14.203.104/search?q=cache:dMAJluYOuFkJ:www.mikehollowaypaints.com/Resources/MightyFancy.pdf+%2Bmolly+coughlin+%2Bhorse&hl=en&amp;ct=clnk&cd=5&gl=us

for the record, I guess I'm proud of the fact that I did things by the rules in the horse world . . . I didn't abuse animals or fuck judges or pay them off . . . I didn't even have a trainer. I just had talent and I worked hard - that was real . . . very, very real. a wise person once said it's not whether you win but how you play the game and I must say i'm very satisfied with how i've played the game . . . cheers to continuing that!

oh yes, and as far as competition between competitors . . . I feel like the only real competition is with yourself and life - that is the sport - those are the challenges if you choose to take them on.

if you want to get healthy . . . .

2007-01-22T14:43:00.000-06:00

get rid of your diet products (they're a scam) . . . get rid of cable tv (rent dvds or tivo or get away from commercials) . . . take the stairs instead of the elevator . . . love your life . . . love your choices . . . . love your work . . . . eat food that grows from the ground.

get in touch with how things make you Feel and start acting according to that . . . . do some yoga . . . talk to a stranger . . . . write a story . . . draw a picture . . . . follow your intuition . . . listen to silence. Do something random that is totally unplanned . . . avoid the norm . . . avoid the news.

say things that are true . . . resist the temptation to lie . . . see your world as if it is new . . . forget what you think . . . think about how other people feel . . . give thanks for what you have . . . give thanks for who you are.

Clear your mind . . . focus your mind on what the world can be . . . resist limitations . . . create your own way. re-invent your history . . . let go of your pain. give into the mystery and be yourself again and again and again . . . be sincere with yourself and others . . . believe in your power. be here now . . . . be now-here.

do we have to be such lemmings?

2006-11-17T18:15:00.000-06:00

The weather has been really strange in new york . . . . way beyond strange if you ask me - like 70 degrees in mid-november and 88% humidity. I wonder what it's going to be like next summer or next winter . . . . and then I wonder when it's going to be too late to do something about this problem . . . . and then I wonder if we're actually smart enough to realize that our choices are creating this problem.

i'm frustrated because I love the earth and I hate to see us validating our own methods of self-destruction and I just hope we can change before it's too late. I think a lot of corporations make a lot of $ and pollute the hell out of the earth and they just pay some corporate fine which allows them to destroy our future . . . . and then for some crazy fucking reason we STILL buy their shitty un-conscious products and the cycle continues.

Molly Magdalain

An Inconvenient Truth

2006-07-05T12:13:00.000-06:00

I saw this film last night and I wanted to comment on it. i think it's a real shame if anyone gets caught up in political overtones because that is exactly why we have such a problem. I've been raving about this problem for a long time - but I'm so happy that I saw the film because it made me realize again just how serious this is. This is new territory - there is really nothing more important than this problem. I DO NOT think these facts are blown out of proportion - i think they’re just so Mind-Blowing that no one wants to accept them.

If what we need is a unifying factor in the world then this is it - this is a new kind of war - a war that we’re fighting against ourselves and each other. In my opinion, anyone who cannot accept this reality might as well dig their head in the sand and hope they survive. The polar ice caps are melting - the sun is getting hotter - the storms are getting stronger - the droughts are more extreme - 2005 was the hottest year in recorded history. the 10 hottest years in history have occurred within the last 14 years. Ocean temperatures are rising, wind patterns are changing, animals are migrating. new york was warm in january, cold in may, and nothing but rain in June - Minneapolis has no winter - the list goes on and on - and I’m sure you have your own stories about it. We are having an Effect - there are consequences to our actions - we are Better than this.

What is now a shame will soon be a crime - because there is no time left. our carbon dioxide levels are off the charts (from millions of years of history) - we are literally going to cause another ice age. If we think we are smart or powerful or even capable of taking care of ourselves - it’s time to wake up to the fact that we are on a collision course. Dealing with this problem is our job. It’s time to grow up and become responsible for our own actions. I will do everything I can so please feel free to contact me about this subject ~ Molly

AN INCONVENIENT TRUTH - see it, buy it, distribute it to friends, don’t even Talk about politics because this is Bigger Than That

http://www.climatecrisis.net/

i love jack

2006-06-05T14:55:00.000-06:00

I have to say that Jack Johnson truly is a great person. my story about Jack is that I knew about him before he was 'big' (aka signed to a major label) - my cousin Else lives in Berkeley Ca and she said this guy is awesome - he's a surfer and he doesn't care about signing a deal and he's amazing. I loved his homemade 4 track cd - enough to say that it changed my life and influenced my music.

So today I went to Tower Records and bought the guitar tab for 'on and on' - the first page is a photo of a hand-written note:

"We recorded 'on and on' in hawaii during august 2002. my brother Trent and I built the studio with a little help from our firends. Trent did most of the work (he calls me the sissy musician). We spent about three weeks recording and one week mixing. We played a lot of ping pong and sometimes it was difficult getting everyone into the studio when the waves were good or the weather was nice, but eventually we finished.

Adam, Merlo, and I wanted the record to have a laid back feel to it. Mario and Robert seemed to understand what we were going for and the whole experience was smooth.

I feel very fortunate to get to share my music with people and I'm flattered that someone would want to learn how to play my songs. I learned guitar chords from a friend named Peff and after that I would bug my mom to buy me music books (mostly Hendrix and Marley). It blows my mind that this book is full of my songs. I hope you enjoy"

aloha, Jack

the splendour of self-awareness

2006-02-25T19:31:00.000-06:00

Self-awareness alone leads to self-knowledge or wisdom which is, knowing oneself from moment to moment. Without understanding ourselves, our thoughts and activities will bring only greater mischief and misery. That is why it is very important to know oneself, the way of one's thinking, one's moods, motives, and reactions from moment to moment. In choiceless self-awareness alone the duality created by the mind: subject and object, thinker and thought, good and bad, can be transcended. In choiceless self-awareness there is no one who is aware, but there is only awareness without being aware of anything. Similarly, self-awareness is pure consciousness in which there is only consciousness without being conscious of anything.

Awareness is pure and lucid perception of what IS which is ever new from moment to moment. Awareness is turning the searchlight inward to see clearly and know ourselves as we are. Awareness is to keep open the windows of the mind and heart and let in the fresh air of peace and happiness. The heaviest burden being the burden of the self, whenever we feel disgusted, disturbed and tyrannised by our own thughts, it is then that we should be fully aware to understand the beauty of self-awareness. Then we shall be able to feel an instant transformation taking place in us. It is like a heavy load suddenly lifted from the head; it is like letting sunshine and fresh air into a dark and ill-ventilated room. It is like coming to the cool shade of a tree in the scorching heat of the sun. When we are fully aware of our own greed, hate or anger, that very awareness sets us free from it. When we are aware of our jealousy, it is at once erased from the mind. In constant choiceless awareness, we shall be able to walk in life with open arms, with a care-free mind and loving heart. Awareness is to let the light of life shine in us with all its lustre and radiance.

(8-9) A Garland of Forest Flowers by Swami Nirmalananda

wake up to the weather problems

2006-02-01T10:15:00.000-06:00

"the world is warming up and we are floating away! the world is warming up and we are sinking, into the sea . . . "

The main concern for new yorkers this 'winter' has been deciding which coat to wear while walking around. Most people are used to wearing their fuzzy winter coats but now people are complaining about the fact that they're sweating all day in the coats. . . . we've all felt it. No one wants to be too cold but then what can you expect when the seasons no longer make much sense. I'm wondering - how warm is it going to be next year in new york? There were days this january with a low above 40 degrees F - most days have been in the 50's - I can't remember the last day when the temperature was below freezing. I think it's time for people to take action on a personal level - there is no time left to rely on the biased opinions of our 'leaders'.

Workshop by Billy Collins

2006-01-03T09:56:00.000-06:00

here's an excerpt . . . .
I might as well begin by saying how much I like the title.It gets me right away because I’m in a workshop now, so immediately the poem has my attention, like the ancient mariner grabbing me by the sleeve.
And I like the first couple of stanzas,the way they establish this mode of self-pointing that runs through the whole poem and tells us that words are food thrown down on the ground for other words to eat.

I can almost taste the tail of the snakein its own mouth, if you know what I mean.
But what I’m not sure about is the voice which sounds in places very casual, very blue jeans, but other times seems standoffish, professorial in the worst sense of the word like the poem is blowing pipe smoke in my face. But maybe that’s just what it wants to do.

What I did find engaging were the middle stanzas, especially the fourth one. I like the image of clouds flying like lozenges which gives me a very clear picture. And I really like how this drawbridge operator just appears out of the blue with his feet up on the iron railing and his fishing pole jigging “I like jigging”a hook in the slow industrial canal below. I love slow industrial canal below. All those I’s.

Maybe it’s just me, but the next stanza is where I start to have a problem. I mean how can the evening bump into the stars?And what’s an obbligato of snow?Also, I roam the decaffeinated streets. At that point I’m lost. I need help.

The other thing that throws me off, and maybe this is just me, is the way the scene keeps shifting around. First, we’re in this big aerodrome and the speaker is inspecting a row of dirigibles,which makes me think this could be a dream.Then he takes us into his garden,the part with the dahlias and the coiling hose, though that’s nice, the coiling hose, but then I’m not sure where we’re supposed to be. The rain and the mint green light, that makes it feel outdoors, but what about this wallpaper? Or is it a kind of indoor cemetery? There’s something about death going on here.

In fact, I start to wonder if what we have here is really two poems, or three, or four, or possibly none . . .

Time is Speeding Up

2005-12-13T21:04:00.000-06:00

“The resonance of Earth (Schumann Resonance) has been 7.8Hz for thousands of years. Since 1980 it has risen to over 12Hz. This means that 16 hours now equate to a 24 hour day. Time is speeding up!”
Gregg Braden

what does it really mean? maybe it means that it's time to stop living in an unsustainable culture. maybe it means we are realizing how powerful we really are. maybe it means we are growing.

Puppetee

2005-12-10T21:12:00.000-06:00

I will never forget my cat . . . puppetee. he was perfect.

the power of love

2005-12-03T23:52:00.000-06:00

"Give up the love of power for the power of love. Peace will come when we have given up hateful thoughts, cruel words and violent actions in our daily lives. Don't wait for a better world. Start now to create a world of harmony and peace. It is up to you. It always has been. "

Sharon Gannon - Tripura Sundari

Jivamukti Yoga

Go Gratitude

2005-12-01T10:59:00.000-06:00

This is definitely a site that could change your life -- http://www.GiveMeTheMasterKey.com – you can sign-up for a free 42 day program where they send you emails about gratitude and how to cultivate it in your life. I recently discovered the GoGratitude movement which is inspired by the work of Dr. Masaru Emoto. Emoto has demonstrated that elements are linked to emotions and that hydrogen is linked to gratitude, oxygen to love. If you have a water molecule – h20 – you naturally have twice as much gratitude as love in every molecule. We are pretty much made of water so this is an interesting insight into the human experience.

As a culture, we are virtually obsessed with the idea of cultivating ‘love’ but we don’t talk as much about the value of ‘gratitude’. I think when you literally define it – gratitude is the ability to process love. This is definitely an important thing – perhaps the key to happiness.

Molly Magdalain

goodwill among nations

2005-10-19T10:35:00.000-06:00

http://news.bbc.co.uk/
India has restored telephone links between Indian and Pakistani-controlled Kashmir to enable people to speak to their relatives after the earthquake. The service was cut 15 years ago after militants took up arms against India.

India has set up four centres in Jammu, Srinagar, Tangdar and Uri and telephone calls are being offered free of charge. The 24-hour line will run for a fortnight. People can also dial Muzaffarabad from their homes through an operator facility by dialling 186. The move has been widely welcomed by Kashmiris.

donate for earthquake relief

2005-10-17T10:58:00.000-06:00

10-17-05 Associated Press
"Confirmation of a final toll will be difficult because many bodies are buried beneath rubble. U.N. officials said that, so far, they were adhering to the Pakistani government's confirmed casualty toll, which was 39,422.

The United Nations has estimated that 2 million are homeless."

click here to donate to the earthquake relief fund - http://www.mercycorps.org/

earthquake in pakistan

2005-10-13T18:51:00.000-06:00

These are the letters that I've sent regarding our response to the earthquake in Pakistan -

http://www.npr.org/contact/
Dear NPR,
I just want to say “THANK YOU SO MUCH” for actually covering the situation in Pakistan. Many other networks have not chosen to do so.

Sincerely Yours,
Molly Magdalain

email - letters@nytimes.com
Dear NY Times –
I just wanted to say ‘thank you’ for mentioning the earthquake in Pakistan on at least the main page of your website. I am honestly concerned that most major news networks are not covering the story – it seems to be some sort of political and/or racial bias. I hope you won’t share the sentiment. Surely the fact that 4 million people are close to freezing to death constitutes a news-worthy story. It seems to me that they need our support and energy – please publish news about the earthquake.

Sincerely Yours,
Molly Magdalain

http://abcnews.go.com/ - go to 'contact abc news'
Dear ABC News,
I just have to say that I am SHOCKED AND HORRIFIED that you don’t even mention the earthquake in Pakistan on the main section of your news website. Are you telling me that the flooding in the northeast (I live in nyc so I’m actually affected by it) is more important than 4 million people who are on the verge of freezing to death? In international news you list ‘Iraquis Increase Security for Historic Vote’ above the earthquake – ARE YOU CRAZY???? I’m writing this letter because I am embarrassed to be an American citizen for so many reasons but this is really beyond my belief. Do you really think we are this Stupid? I really hope I can show you that we are Not. Please report information on the earthquake.

Sincerely Yours,
Molly Magdalain

http://www.cbsnews.com/sections/home/main100.shtml - scroll to 'contact us' and submit a comment
Dear CBS,
I am glad to see that you, unlike Many other major news networks, have actually listed the earthquake in Pakistan as a headline story. Nonetheless, it seems strange that you still downplay the fact that 4 million people are freezing to death!! You seem to claim that Bush talking to the troops in Iraq and the bird flu are definitely more important stories – is this some sort of unwritten agreement between news networks? Does this have something to do with race? I honestly don’t understand because these people need a lot of our help – if nothing else our support and energy - and I don’t see why you would fall short of expressing that to the world. Is there some reason that I don’t understand – please help inform me if you can since that is supposed to be your job and you are supposed to be un-biased but, then again, you are American. Who knows what the hell that really means.

Sincerely Yours,
Molly Magdalain

http://asp.usatoday.com/marketing/feedback/feedback-online.aspx?type=18 - submit a letter to the editor
Dear USA Today,
I am extremely saddened that you fail to list the earthquake in Pakistan as a ‘headline story.’ You obviously consider corporate lawsuits, mortgage rates and president bush rallying his troops in Iraq much more important than 4 million people who are freezing to death. Have you ever considered that your support of this situation might help a human being – does that person’s race effect your consideration of the situation? I’m just wondering because it seems odd to me in a really strange way – it makes me wonder what it is that you report !!??

Sincerely Yours,
Molly Magdalain

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3032608/ - submit a letter to 'meet the press'
Dear MSN News,
As I look at your site today – I see that the “top” stories are about celebrities, the war in iraq, rebels in russia, the rain in the northeast – even whether or not angelina jolie could president (as if anyone gives a shit!) – yet there is NO information about, NO respect for, and NO concern about the earthquake in Pakistan which has uprooted 4 million people. Obviously you must think this is not American news – this is not entertaining – this is not what you deem important. I think this is DISGUSTING and I think it is a real testament to the impotence and the pointlessness of the American media. If you can write me a letter explaining why this story is not important then I would love to hear it – I would love to know what your reasoning is; however, I really doubt that you have much capacity to reason considering the on-going “quality” of your work.

Sincerely Yours,
Molly Magdalain

http://www.cnn.com/feedback/dotcom/ - send a letter in for feedback

Dear CNN,
I have to say that I am thoroughly DISGUSTED by your lack of attention to the earthquake in Pakistan. 4 million people have lost their homes (and are dying right now due to LACK OF SUPPORT) and you are still filling your website with stories about approval ratings - the war in iraq – celebrities - and pretty much NOTHING about one of the biggest disasters of our decade. While I already expect other news networks to be cheesy and class-less – I had hoped that you would show a little more respect. I was hoping you would have a little dignity for our world. Obviously I was wrong !! I am embarrassed and saddened by your behavior.

Sincerely Yours,
Molly Magdalain

Comments@foxnews.com - email them
Dear Fox News,
I have to say that I am thoroughly disgusted by your lack of attention to the earthquake in Pakistan. 4 million people have lost their homes and you are still filling your website with stories about approval ratings - the war in iraq - and anything else that has nothing to do with NEWS. I realize that you really aren't in the business of reporting news - you are in the business of controlling us with what you call 'Entertainment.' For the record - I am not entertained and I am not even slightly informed about the real state of affairs in the world. Obviously you don't know - you don't want to know - and you don't care about what's really going on. Someday American citizens will be more discerning - more conscious - and they will no longer have a need for your Bullshit !!!!

Sincerely Yours,
Molly Magdalain

here are the rules

2005-09-20T20:47:00.000-06:00

DO NOT POST ads on my blog for any reason. Don't talk to me about software robots – Don’t try to sell me things. If you're going to say something - say something real - otherwise you're waisting everyone's precious time and energy.

many thanks and namaste,

weather getting weirder

2005-09-20T19:22:00.000-06:00

9/15/05 – USA Today - Experts say global warming is causing stronger hurricanes
By Randolph E. Schmid, AP Science Writer

WASHINGTON — The number of hurricanes in the most powerful categories — like Katrina and Andrew — has increased sharply over the past few decades, according to a new analysis sure to stir debate over whether global warming is worsening these deadly storms. While studies have not found an overall increase in tropical systems worldwide, the number of storms reaching categories 4 and 5 grew from about 11 per year in the 1970s to 18 per year since 1990, according to a report in Friday's issue of the journal Science.

Peter J. Webster of the Georgia Institute of Technology said it's the warm water vapor from the oceans that drives tropical storms, and as the water gets warmer the amount of evaporation increases, providing more fuel for the tempests. Between 1970 and 2004 the average sea surface temperature in the tropics rose nearly 1°F.

Co-author Greg Holland of the National Center for Atmospheric Research said the researchers can't say rising sea-surface temperatures caused Hurricane Katrina. But their study shows the potential for more Katrina-like events to occur, he said.

Katrina was a category 5 storm at sea and was category 4 when it made landfall. The increase in storms they found is for category 4 and 5. Category 4 storms have wind speeds of 131 mph to 155 mph and Category 5 is for storms with sustained winds of 156 mph and over. (Related graphic: Saffir-Simpson scale of hurricane intensity.)

Co-author Judith Curry of Georgia Tech said the team is confident that the measured increase in sea surface temperatures is associated with global warming, adding that the increase in category 4 and 5 storms "certainly has an element that global warming is contributing to."
There is a natural variability of the climate and some would interpret the changing number of storms to be part of that variability, Holland said. But the variability in the past has been over 10-year periods, and this is sustained over 30 years. Webster added that sea surface temperatures "are rising everywhere in the tropics and that is not connected to any natural variability we know."

In their analysis of hurricanes — known as typhoons or cyclones in other parts of the world — the researchers counted 16 category 4 and 5 storms in the Atlantic-Caribbean-Gulf of Mexico in 1975-1989. This increased to 25 in the 1990-2004 period. In the eastern Pacific the increase was from 36 to 49 storms and it went from 85 to 116 in the western Pacific. In the southwest Pacific the increase was from 10 to 22 powerful storms, while the total went from one to seven in the north Indian Ocean and from 23 to 50 in the south Indian Ocean.

Webster's research was funded by the National Science Foundation and the National Center for Atmospheric Research.

re-awakening appreciation

2005-09-17T11:12:00.000-06:00

I love rodin, klimt, matisse, degas, miro, dali, dine & tanning.
Augustiner, meals in paris, medieval castles, large cats & the stars in crestone colorado.
randomness, retreats, discovery & creation.
Nietzsche, Hegel, Gilligan, Roth, Kerouac, Irving & Beethoven.
stimulation, divination, re-awakening appreciation.

Life inside a Circus

2005-09-15T18:13:00.000-06:00

What can I really say? Life is becoming very complex - full of good things - yet threatening to overwhelm the buddhist monk inside of me. I've been told that my email doesn't work most of the time :( that's great - sorry if I've been a jerk to any unsuspecting person. I feel a little bit like I'm perpetually behind - and yet I am happy and clearly fumbling, like Sarah McLachlan, towards my ecstasy.

It is cool living in the city - however - some things are sort of strange. For ex - right now there's this giant carnival that takes over Mulberry St. for 2 weeks of every year. My apartment is right next to a game booth where this guy is laughing maniacally and talking about balls or something that I can't quite understand. It sounds kind of cool - but I'm thinking it will start to run me down after a few days of it.

All in all, I am juggling many things - I am somewhat professionally obscene and exuberantly insane. I think this will be a big month for me . . . (I just had to share this with someone . . . )

a message to the 'president'

2005-09-02T11:20:00.000-06:00

The following is a message sent to 'president' bush by one of my sisters:

To: 'George Bush (mailto:president@whitehouse.gov)

Subject: Administration policy and performance

Could you, or someone in your administration, explain to me why your administration pains me in almost every humanely possible way. You cannot even take the tax dollars I earn from the job I do every day (one that benefits people and the world every day, by the way) and use them to get on the stick to provide some food, water and law enforcement to help people in desperate need in the state of Louisiana.

I work hard in my job every day to do things well and make progress for my company, my industry, and my family. For the past 2 years, I have at times had to turn OFF the news (NPR is my sole news source, I don't have TV) so I won't become completely demoralized due to all the ridiculous decisions and garbage running our country. NOW, I see plainly that you and your administration cannot even help us in a homeland disaster situation.

Tonight I struggled to not shed tears near my 3 & 4 year old over the extremely dire straits of the situation. The most horrible outrage is that we should be able to prevent what's going on. Citizens, adult and child, being raped, dying, suffering horrible situations; those in there helping are taking horrible risks due to the lack of security. ALL OF THIS IS HAPPENING RIGHT HERE, RIGHT NOW. Of course, some of this is a very sad outcome for humanity either way, but I demand that our country do better. WHAT ELSE have I been paying your salary for, if not THIS.

I've wanted to write you before, but tonight was finally the last straw. I am thoroughly disgusted with your performance, or, should I say, lack thereof.

tracy thomas

the war on gasoline

2005-08-25T18:07:00.000-06:00

Gas Prices - PLEASE READ THIS COULD WORK ! ! !
I hear we are going to hit close to $3.00 a gallon by the summer. Want gasoline prices to come down? We need to take some intelligent, united action. Phillip Hollsworth, offered this good idea:
This makes MUCH MORE SENSE than the "don't buy gas on a certain day" campaign that was going around last April or May! The oil companies just laughed at that because they knew we wouldn't continue to "hurt" ourselves by refusing to buy gas. It was more of an inconvenience to us than it was a problem for them. BUT, whoever thought of this idea, has come up with a plan that can really work.

Please read it and join with us! By now you're probably thinking gasoline priced at about $1.50 is super cheap. Me too! It is currently $2.75 for regular unleaded in my town. Now that the oil companies and the OPEC nations have conditioned us to think that the cost of a gallon of gas is CHEAP at $1.50-$1.75, we need to take aggressive action to teach them that BUYERS control the marketplace.... not sellers.

With the price of gasoline going up more each day, we consumers need to take action. The only way we are going to see the price of gas come down is if we hit someone in the pocketbook by not purchasing their gas! And we can do that WITHOUT hurting ourselves. How? Since we all rely on our cars, we can't just stop buying gas. But we CAN have an impact on gas prices if we all act together to force a price war. Here's the idea:

For the rest of this year, DON'T purchase ANY gasoline from the two biggest companies (which now are one), EXXON and MOBIL. If they are not selling any gas, they will be inclined to reduce their prices. If they reduce their prices, the other companies will have to follow suit.

visit http://www.mollymagdalain.com/noframes.asp?t=content&f=journal.asp for more details

tsunami survivors

2005-08-12T13:34:00.000-06:00

Tsunami SurvivorNAIROBI (AFP) - A baby hippopotamus that survived the tsunami waves on the Kenyan coast has formed a strong bond with a giant male century-old tortoise, in an animal facility in the port city of Mombassa, officials said.

The hippopotamus, nicknamed Owen and weighing about 300 kilograms (650 pounds), was swept down Sabaki River into the Indian Ocean, then forced back to shore when tsunami waves struck the Kenyan coast on December 26, before wildlife rangers rescued him."It is incredible A-less-than-a-year-old hippo has adopted a male tortoise, about a century old, and the tortoise seems to be very happy with being a 'mother'," ecologist Paula Kahumbu, who is in charge of Lafarge Park, told AFP."

After it was swept and lost its mother, the hippo was traumatized. It had to look for something to be a surrogate mother. Fortunately, it landed on the tortoise and established a strong bond. They swim, eat and sleep together," the ecologist added."The hippo follows the tortoise exactly the way it follows its mother. If somebody approaches the tortoise, the hippo becomes aggressive, as if protecting its biological mother," Kahumbu added."The hippo is a young baby, he was left at a very tender age and by nature, hippos are social animals that like to stay with their mothers for four years," he explained.

Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away.

adjectives

2005-08-03T18:57:00.000-06:00

adj: applying to methods of enforcement and rules of procedure

priestess of the self,
spirit
soul
consciousness
evolution
art
edge
eagle
fuck all of this bullshit
water
earth
crystal
complex vs simple
tiger
deeper
zen
natural
other-worldly
mary
religion
foolish
freak.

molly magdalain

2005-08-02T22:00:00.000-06:00

http://www.mollymagdalain.com/

gravity

2005-08-01T23:23:00.000-06:00

is just the way that I was born and every day since has worn me down, a little wiser.
I came here just to be myself but there’s no time left to spend pretending. if there is an end then there is a beginning and again, everything is always changing. are you ready to burn for yourself? are you ready to shine? are you finally ready to see how bad it is and how brightly you hide behind the lines - how wildly the world is turning?

happiness is a funny thing to spend when beauty is a feeling in the end. craziness is grace caged in a semi-cultural rage which feeds on its own destruction. excuse me for saying it, but I think we are more than that. I think we are more than scarecrows for photos or breeding profit pigs.

I think we were totally unaware of who we are and what we are capable of - how we will become fulfilled until today. It is all changing and we will be re-defined again and again – with every breath, with every holy season. We are our minds and our minds are our days. We are what we make – we are connected in every way.

Molly Magdalain