stuffed

good stuff...
after I finished my second helping of Chocolate Decadent Delight (a brownie, layer of cream cheese, layer of chocolate pudding/coolwhip, melted chocolate chips, smothered with whipped cream), I sat down to read Language Hat. I hadn't read the Hat for awhile, just gotten out of the habit, I guess, to my loss. towards the bottom of the page, after I had read several interesting entries, including one about the Great Vowel Shift, I ran across a link to Bob Harris' blog. I don't know anything about him, but this entry really struck me:

Something I love about Los Angeles...and America

here's a little quote:

Think about that for a moment. It wasn't so long ago that something like that was a great, impossible project dreamed of in the abstract by idealists -- a world in which people of vastly different cultures really can get along, respecting and listening to and learning from each other. And man, that happens every damn day in my neighborhood, at least a little, and often quite a lot.

just really good stuff. good people, doing good things, getting along. happens everyday, all over the world. can't figure out why it doesn't spread like some chaotic bifurcation... where's the hundredth monkey? where's that piece of straw?
have a great weekend, and enjoy your place.

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such singing...

a poem...
last night, before Counterpoint began recording our show on VPR, Sam Sanders, the sound engineer, read this amazing poem by Mary Oliver. I love her writing, but know only a couple of poems that are found in the UU hymnal. this one was new to me, and brought me to tears. enjoy, and have a wonderful day of thanks...

Such Singing in the Wild Branches

It was spring
and finally I heard him
among the first leaves -
then I saw him clutching the limb

in an island of shade
with his red-brown feathers
all trim and neat for the new year.
First, I stood still

and thought of nothing.
Then I began to listen.
Then I was filled with gladness -
and that's when it happened,

when I seemed to float,
to be, myself, a wing or a tree -
and I began to understand
what the bird was saying,

and the sands in the glass
stopped
for a pure white moment
while gravity sprinkled upward

like rain, rising,
and in fact
it became difficult to tell just what it was that was singing -
it was the thrush for sure, but it seemed

not a single thrush, but himself, and all his brothers,
and also the trees around them,
as well as the gliding, long-tailed clouds
in the perfectly blue sky - all, all of them

were singing.
And, of course, yes, so it seemed,
so was I.
Such soft and solemn and perfect music doesn't last

for more than a few moments.
It's one of those magical places wise people
like to talk about.
One of the things they say about it, that is true,

is that, once you've been there,
you're there forever.
Listen, everyone has a chance.
Is it spring, is it morning?

Are there trees near you,
and does your own soul need comforting?
Quick, then - open the door and fly on your heavy feet; the song may already be drifting away.

~ Mary Oliver ~

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sensible

we need more...
via Philocrites:

Katherine Paterson

Katherine Paterson is a well-known children's author who lives in Barre. this is a good interview with her from the Boston Globe. here's a sample:

What bothers me is how narrowly we define what is religious. We've been talking about the moral values of the past election. They were gay marriage and anti-abortion -- "I'm [against] these two things, and therefore I'm a moral person." I just think that's tragic.

her books are wonderful, and she and her husband, John, are wonderful people.
sleeting here, but it's supposed to clear up by morning. hope so, I'd rather not drive to Rutland in lousy weather. it's been a good weekend, though. and I'm looking forward to the extra couple days off this week.
I hope you have a good one.

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great pictures

plan on bookmarking it, or spending some time...
my sister(thanks, Carol!) sent me a link on this site, to some great aurora pictures, but check out the whole site:

Extreme Instability

the storm chasing pictures are quite amazing. we don't get storms like that here in Vermont. thankfully. though I do miss that big weather. hope your week is going well.

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oh wow

drop in, stay a while...
via an online friend(thanks, Faldage!), a most interesting site:

Principia Cybernetica Project

here's a quote to get you going:

Why is the world the way it is?
The specific state of the universe or the world in which we live is partially a historical accident, since evolution is an indeterministic process, partially the result of a lawful process of self-organization, which leads predictably to higher levels of organization through the mechanism of metasystem transition.

got it?
a busy week ahead, with two school concerts, a Counterpoint rehearsal + two performances, and a VSO rehearsal. see you next week...

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good stuff

buy some...
I wonder if I can wear some of this to school?...

1st Amendment Shoppe

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beyond blue and red

might have already seen this...
this is mostly interesting (for me) because of all the demographic ideas behind it.

Tote that barge, lift that bale...

find your area and see what you're all about. via Daily Kos
of course, it doesn't take into account all the voting "irregularities"...

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Sunday

procrastinating...
just thought I would say hello. I'm trying to find other things to do besides the things I ought to be doing... why do today what you can put off until tomorrow? or the next day? or the next...
anyway, I hope that the sun is shining where you are. pretty gray here.
I'm not sure how much I'll get to blog this week, as it's a crazy one. so I hope you have a great week.

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a Saturday

uneventful...
not much to say. been quiet around here. I had a VSO rehearsal this afternoon, and that went well. we spent the early evening watching Shrek 2, which was a lot of fun. all of the nods to other movies and stories kept us laughing. then I tweaked the church site a bit, and thought perhaps I should say hello here. I've been surfing the last couple of evenings, and found lots to read, but nothing grabbed me enough to blog. oh well. I guess you'll have to discover those places on your own. I did play around with GarageBand last night. it's a fun music program from Apple. when I get some more time it could definitely fill it. click the link to find to more about it.
okay, guess that's it. have a great tomorrow.

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while you're at it

read this, too...
from Leonard Pitts, Jr in the Baltimore Sun, via CommonDreams:

Is This the Beginning of the End for America?

My favorite part:

That disconnect is not about liberalism vs. conservatism. Agree with them or disagree, there is a certain pragmatism to traditional conservatives. You know where they're coming from: small government, personal responsibility, fiscal restraint. And their arguments are usually grounded in something recognizable as logic.
But social conservatism is another thing entirely, a mutant strain unhindered by critical thought. These are the nominal Christians whose Bibles are so long on judgment yet so short on compassion, the soldiers of the new American theocracy who want to force "creation science" on the schools and deportation on the Muslims.
They are the super patriots who regard criticism as treason, the pious moralizers who believe single mothers should be barred from teaching in public schools. They are blind guides who see tens of thousands dying in Iraq and think the defining issue of the election is what gay men do in bed. They give God a bad name.

Amen.

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evolution

talkin' 'bout some...
my Dad sent me a link to an article in the Nation:

The Rise of Open-Source Politics

it's full of great stuff to think about, but it was this paragraph that struck me. it just found that place where things resonate and seem to fall into place. it's on page 5:

Open-source politics is still a long way off. The term "open source" specifically refers to allowing any software developer to see the underlying source code of a program, so that anyone can analyze it and improve it; better code trumps bad code, and programmers who have proven their smarts have greater credibility and status. (emphasis added) Applied to political organizing, open source would mean opening up participation in planning and implementation to the community, letting competing actors evaluate the value of your plans and actions, being able to shift resources away from bad plans and bad planners and toward better ones, and expecting more of participants in return. It would mean moving away from egocentric organizations and toward network-centric organizing.

EVOLUTION... isn't this the basic format of life? what Sifry is talking about is a broad, creative force being applied to problems. applied in a way never tried before on this scale. well, other than life itself. the article elaborates on the way that blogging, and the sharing of creative mental resources will change the way politics is done. but why limit it to politics? how about religion? education?
I suppose one might think that this method would decay into creativity by committee; where nothing gets accomplished because too many cooks spoil the broth. it's worth thinking that through a bit, but the life-archtypal concept of this makes me think it won't be a big issue.
anyway, there's a lot more to be thought about here, which I probably won't do, because the next thing will come along, and move me in another direction, but, the influence of this particular thought(and the depth with which it resonated) will have shaped my thinking. it will emerge again, transformed by some further bend in the road.

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hacked

@#$%^&*!!!
I spend around $100 a year running this website, and some stupid online banking spammers hacked my website today. I hope that I've gotten everything back up and running, but I'll have to see what can be done to prevent it from happening again.
that's it for now, I've got to go to a meeting. other than finding this when I got home today, it was a good day...

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writing

the next great symphony...
no, not me, when would I do that?, but I was reading this article by Greg Sandow, over at artsjournal:

Analogy

here's a quote:

And then it hit me. Classical concerts -- classy, in their way, but safe, familiar, and comforting -- are like 1940s movies. Orchestras and opera companies (and chamber music groups) are like theaters that show Casablanca, over and over and over again, with a little Almodovar thrown in. Or, maybe more precisely, and at the biggest orchestras, a little Bergman, since new music programming (to the extent that it circles around dissonant music) often seems mired in the past in its own way.
And if Casablanca won't attract an audience…

so, The Incredibles did $70million+ this weekend...

have a great week.

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this isn't over

we need to fight for it...
from my friend Melissa, and then again through DailyKos, I got this article:

The Ultimate Felony Against Democracy

this is going to go on for awhile, and you know the Rethuglicans aren't going to want to listen, but as one of the comments at DailyKos said,

"I think everyone needs to ask themselves: What would I do if the current regime reinstituted actual slavery, and human beings were once again being bought and sold in the public marketplace? What would be the intensity of my opposition? How far would I be willing to go in terms of active resistance and civil disobedience?"

ok, dinner time, but more later...

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right here

and why this is all so weird...
damn. where'd I get this link. I think DailyKos. anyway, this is some very interesting commentary about how we got where we are, and where we'll be headed.

Frame Wars

here's a quote:

In Moral Politics, Lakoff applied a theory of language and mind to political beliefs, and the result is a useful pocket guide to conservative and liberal worldviews. Conservatives, he argues, believe in a family led by a strict father who protects moral dependents, punishes moral inferiors, and aims to raise independent children to fend for themselves in a dangerous world. Liberals believe in the family led by a nurturing parent who encourages children’s inherent goodness so they will treat others with fairness and equality. All policies and positions shake out from these models and help predict what each side will do, according to Lakoff.

I might need to read Lakoff's book. I'm going to need to read this article a couple of more times, just to get it, but it is helping me put a little perspective on these last few days...
that and the snow we got today... Marnie gets her snow tires on tomorrow, mine are on order... hope it's nice where you are.
Bob told me I don't need to be at the VSO rehearsal tomorrow, so that's a nice present. have a great day.

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how I feel

this and very afraid...
thanks, Keith, for the link:

Wallow in Chaos

I'm trying not to throw up, and be afraid for my family. we are entering the dark ages again. in my lifetime. unbelieveable.

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watching

the polls...
just sitting here watching the polls online:

C-Span and
CNN

not good for my blood pressure, however... it's going to be hard to go to bed early...
keep the faith.

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get out

and vote...
today. my grandchildren can't afford four more years...
actually, I'm very optimistic about the election. Kerry is going to win. say goodbye, George.

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