Friday, January 30, 2009
Thursday, January 29, 2009
accountability, at long last?
Top Dems are serious about investigating Bush's criminal acts. Read it here now!
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
Saturday, January 24, 2009
Friday, January 23, 2009
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
"our power alone cannot protect us, nor does it entitle us to do as we please"
I, like many Americans, am still beside myself after listening to Obama's speech yesterday. As I watched with other SFers in front of City Hall yesterday morning, I was struck by our new president's ballsiness to criticize the former administration outright. Where some orators use euphemisms and allusions to policy and concepts that were corrupt and wrong, Obama chose to give his millions of supporters across the globe a confirmation on his promise for Change by blatantly describing where his administration would pave the way for a completely different (and long overdue) path, one that resonates with the integrity of what this country (and we as its citizens) is really about.
I felt like I was taking a shower in optimism and accountability and cleansing myself of those dirty words used by Bush to describe America's mission in the world that negatively tainted our image worldwide. I felt like I could own my nationality once again.
When I was at UCSD, majoring in History, my favorite professor, David Gutierrez, asked us to write a term paper about whether or not the 1960s era left any real significant legacy on our country. We had all become so cynical, after the Reagan administration and then that of George Bush, Sr., and how corporations had taken over the country and multinationals over the world. I remember that I began writing that term paper arguing that all was lost and our country had flushed idealism down the toilet and steered toward a comfortable apathy that stemmed from an unhealthy diet of over-consumption and greed. Then I threw the paper away and started over again because I wanted to believe that progress is possible, and the work of grassroots organizations and inspiring leaders have really made a difference in people's lives, their attitudes and mentalities, especially among the disenfranchised. Yesterday morning felt like confirmation of that notion that I had way back in 1991. (I got an "A" on my paper, by the way.)
I can't say much more, because I'm sure you heard what he said too. It was a phenomenal speech to mark the birth of a nation.
I felt like I was taking a shower in optimism and accountability and cleansing myself of those dirty words used by Bush to describe America's mission in the world that negatively tainted our image worldwide. I felt like I could own my nationality once again.
When I was at UCSD, majoring in History, my favorite professor, David Gutierrez, asked us to write a term paper about whether or not the 1960s era left any real significant legacy on our country. We had all become so cynical, after the Reagan administration and then that of George Bush, Sr., and how corporations had taken over the country and multinationals over the world. I remember that I began writing that term paper arguing that all was lost and our country had flushed idealism down the toilet and steered toward a comfortable apathy that stemmed from an unhealthy diet of over-consumption and greed. Then I threw the paper away and started over again because I wanted to believe that progress is possible, and the work of grassroots organizations and inspiring leaders have really made a difference in people's lives, their attitudes and mentalities, especially among the disenfranchised. Yesterday morning felt like confirmation of that notion that I had way back in 1991. (I got an "A" on my paper, by the way.)
I can't say much more, because I'm sure you heard what he said too. It was a phenomenal speech to mark the birth of a nation.
Thursday, January 08, 2009
embryonic cat
I believe that this is what Cloud must have looked like in the womb.
Only smaller and with less hair (but just as cute).
Wednesday, December 31, 2008
the beginning of the end or the end of the beginning
Why as a culture do we see things as having a beginning and an end?
The end of a year. The beginning of a new year. It’s only the Gregorian calendar that tells us that this is the end. We get a new number, but nothing has substantially changed. The weather is the same as yesterday, for instance. Remember that the Southern Hemisphere just celebrated summer solstice.
Into 2009, we might still have a lingering cold, the same crush or heartache, the same boring job. We might make new year's resolutions that we never seem to fulfill, dreams that never materialize and just roll over into the next year.
The beginning of the day, the end of the day. The beginning of the night, the end of the night. Where does one end and the other really begin? Last year on New Year's Eve I went to Ocean Beach to watch an incredible sunset. This year it looks like the horizon will be enshrouded in pea soup fog. Night will fall on us like a soft grey cloak over a woman's shoulders. We'll all go out and drink champagne, count down from ten, dance until we drop, and eventually go to sleep.
When we wake up, it will be One/One. 365 days will lay before us like a smorgasbord, or a blank canvas.
We begin and end relationships, and yet there are people that I feel like I’ve broken up with many times over who somehow keep returning, and whose role in my life takes a brand new direction. An end becomes a beginning. Or maybe our hearts never really let go in the first place. A relationship begins, yes, but when does it really end? We always learn something from it that we carry through life.
There are beginnings and ends to songs, even though you might keep on humming a tune for days, the lyrics spinning in your head like a ballerina.
Or what about your dreams? I've had dreams as a child that still haunt me today, even though they occurred only for a brief few minutes in the middle of a deep sleep decades ago.
A beginning and end of a trip you take, either one to a foreign land or one that you take in your mind… when it’s long been over, you still revisit the images you saw, the people you encountered, the surge of emotions you felt that made you feel alive.
Or the beginning of a life. The birth of a baby , or the death of a grandparent, or parent, or sibling. Who is to say that when this life ends another one doesn’t begin simultaneously?
The end of an era. The beginning of an era. We really can’t say what direction we’re headed politically, or if any historic life-changing events are about to occur that will continue to mark this dark period of history, or, hopefully, enlighten us.
The end of summer leads to the beginning of fall to the beginning of winter to the beginning of spring. Even in the dead of winter when the branches are mostly bare, we still witness the buds of cherry blossoms forming on trees.
If I could paint a picture with my words, I would leave you with the image of a circle. Or better yet, a million beginnings of new circles.
The end of a year. The beginning of a new year. It’s only the Gregorian calendar that tells us that this is the end. We get a new number, but nothing has substantially changed. The weather is the same as yesterday, for instance. Remember that the Southern Hemisphere just celebrated summer solstice.
Into 2009, we might still have a lingering cold, the same crush or heartache, the same boring job. We might make new year's resolutions that we never seem to fulfill, dreams that never materialize and just roll over into the next year.
The beginning of the day, the end of the day. The beginning of the night, the end of the night. Where does one end and the other really begin? Last year on New Year's Eve I went to Ocean Beach to watch an incredible sunset. This year it looks like the horizon will be enshrouded in pea soup fog. Night will fall on us like a soft grey cloak over a woman's shoulders. We'll all go out and drink champagne, count down from ten, dance until we drop, and eventually go to sleep.
When we wake up, it will be One/One. 365 days will lay before us like a smorgasbord, or a blank canvas.
We begin and end relationships, and yet there are people that I feel like I’ve broken up with many times over who somehow keep returning, and whose role in my life takes a brand new direction. An end becomes a beginning. Or maybe our hearts never really let go in the first place. A relationship begins, yes, but when does it really end? We always learn something from it that we carry through life.
There are beginnings and ends to songs, even though you might keep on humming a tune for days, the lyrics spinning in your head like a ballerina.
Or what about your dreams? I've had dreams as a child that still haunt me today, even though they occurred only for a brief few minutes in the middle of a deep sleep decades ago.
A beginning and end of a trip you take, either one to a foreign land or one that you take in your mind… when it’s long been over, you still revisit the images you saw, the people you encountered, the surge of emotions you felt that made you feel alive.
Or the beginning of a life. The birth of a baby , or the death of a grandparent, or parent, or sibling. Who is to say that when this life ends another one doesn’t begin simultaneously?
The end of an era. The beginning of an era. We really can’t say what direction we’re headed politically, or if any historic life-changing events are about to occur that will continue to mark this dark period of history, or, hopefully, enlighten us.
The end of summer leads to the beginning of fall to the beginning of winter to the beginning of spring. Even in the dead of winter when the branches are mostly bare, we still witness the buds of cherry blossoms forming on trees.
If I could paint a picture with my words, I would leave you with the image of a circle. Or better yet, a million beginnings of new circles.
Monday, December 29, 2008
Monday, December 22, 2008
why I call myself an ex-Catholic
Because I was baptized and confirmed a Catholic, some people still consider me one, but back in 1989, when I read a news similar to this, I decided I would renounce my religion and excommunicate myself. I've said I would never marry in the Catholic Church and I would never baptize or raise my children Catholic. Having broken up with my prior faith many years ago, I wonder now if I should officially divorce myself as an act of civil disobedience.
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
true...
This guy I met recently called me last night and said, "I'm lost! I don't know where I am! Can you come save me?"
I believe I've heard that line before. A few times.
I believe I've heard that line before. A few times.
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