Somewhere in the middle of my morning, the universe gathered itself beautifully and came to me, the threshold of my breath.
I dropped Violet off at the soup kitchen downtown, so that she could volunteer there, at the behest of her friend.
We walked into the church, a room where I used to attend AA meetings, and into the kitchen. I was overcome when I looked at the industrial-size baking pan filled with fresh-scrubbed new potatoes, tiny red gems still wet from washing.
I teared up right away at those potatoes. Sometimes I am weak in the face of abundance and unbound hearts.
On the way out, I read a plaque on the wall about MLK, who was described as a “drum major for justice.” When I got into my car, I heard the new Jay Farrar song New Multitudes (the title track from a new collaboration album in the same vein as MermaidAvenue, Vol I and II by Wilco and Billy Bragg), words by Woody Guthrie, to my great surprise, delight, and awe.
Sometimes I believe there is enough for all, that the world is good.
(I hope you didn’t have to suffer through 5 seconds of a Ron Paul campaign ad before the video. Oh the irony!)
Much could be said about this song and video, but I’m not gonna go on about that. I do find it interesting that the amazing drum troupe, Olodum, featured in the song, champions of race and human rights, seem not to have any females in their group. Perhaps they are “allowed” to dance, but I don’t see any females drumming. Please educate me and tell me I’m wrong, or tell me the whys and wherefores. I can’t learn everything of importance on wiki….
Look, it’s not that I’m against all-male drum troupes or all-female drum troupes. But based on Olodum’s mission, as I understand it, it does bother me and strikes me as ironic that there are no chicks drumming. Again, help me. Tell me I’m wrong and why. All bloggers, including moi, are simply dying to have their ignorance exposed.
I’m not a fan of Michael Jackson, but I do recognize that he was a soul brother in spite of his creepiness. Was he a child molester? Was he smart (methinks, NO)? Was he mentally ill? Was he abused as a child? Was it just the drugs? One is still responsible for one’s actions and Michael Jackson was CREEPY and STRANGE and NOT RIGHT. Still, I’m glad he shared his talents with the world in spite of it.
I am sorry he’s still crotch-grabbing in the video. It’s unseemly, stupid, immature, and unnecessary. Do you think he insisted? Habit hard to break?
Anyway, here’s the whole slogan:
Just because you have one, doesn’t mean you have to act like one
But you knew that, right?
I’ve seen those words on a bumper sticker and I’ve thought, do I approve? do I agree? do I find this offensive?
I’ve never come to any final conclusion about the phrase except I think about it on occasion.
After taking my car for a repair on Saturday and after my ordeal with Dr. Old School Offensive Insensitive Reprehensible, I am a Male God Ruler of the Vagina and Uterus in the ER 2 weeks ago, it will not be too soon if a man is never a dick to me again in my life. I’m 48 and I’ve been treated unacceptably by men [for being female] on more occasions than you can count on ten fingers and ten toes and than anyone can count anywhere, anyways, and in any case (I’m guessing most of the women you would poll would come up with similar numbers). The worst offenders are certainly men who work in car repair, then male OB/GYNS, and finally, perhaps, home repairmen.
Brookfield Farm carrots–the best carrots I’ve ever eaten in my life.
Maybe that doesn’t seem like a big deal, but as a child, carrots were the only vegetable I’d eat (okay, potatoes, too). It’s also the only vegetable one of my daughters eats on a regular basis, so knowing that the carrots we get in our CSA are out-of-this-world good-tasting and organic to boot is a deep satisfaction. Farmer Dan said the carrots got too much water in late summer so they would be small, but this week, I assure you, they were completely normal-sized, if not even larger, than a couple of weeks ago. The flavor is earthy and robust when they are at their best. I want you to know I just held back from making any length-in-inches carrot jokes, too. Like seven of them.
Corkscrew Carrot
Toothpaste tubes, lotion: I can squeeze toothpaste from a toothpaste tube for up to 3 weeks after all of the other members of my family are ready to discard it. I LOVE this. It makes for more counter-top clutter in our shared bathroom because the rest of my family has moved on to their shiny new toothpaste tubes, but the knowledge that I am using the very last bits of a product makes me very happy.
I also cut near-empty lotion tubes in half and use those for a couple of extra days. Good stuff! This model of using up the very last drop can be applied to all manner of consumer products in your household. Unless you go rogue and make your own toothpaste, hand cream, laundry detergent, dish soap….
All righty, then….It’s time for a rare mention of something political on twinklysparkles:
OCCUPY WALL STREET people!!!
Is this the jammin’est thing going in our country today?
This morning, the first headline that caught my eye was an urging of the OWS movement to get THE PEOPLE, as in WE, to move our money to small, local banks and/or credit unions. While this can be complicated and may not work for some businesses with international banking needs, it also can be quite simple and if the free market works, open up more options for all of us, including businesses with international banking needs.
You think the oligarchs are scared? You bet your sweet bippies! Read on, my friends.
Concrete change, change in which an individual can make a choice with what matters most to the political world, may be simpler than we’ve all thought. What matters most? I think this says it rather well:
In a related vein–if I haven’t been completely clear about it before, you should also know that I love Sharon Jones. When I found this this morning, I loved her even more.
If you are PETA or a particularly sensitive vegetarian, you may want to forward through the first 38 seconds or so of the video. But people, you must listen after that. Woody Guthrie turned R and B and interpreted so there’s no doubt about its message. Can I get a witness?
twinklysparkles 