If you have like 5 or 10 minutes and you want to laugh, check this out.
It is the real-life, very recent story of Darren Sherman. It is complete with not only narrative, but actual audio clips of voice mails he left for Joanne - a girl who did not take him up on a second date. If you have time, listen to all of it.
Thanks again to Liz for this. Hah!
Thursday, September 28, 2006
Tuesday, September 26, 2006
Play an ipod game with me
Well here's a fun distraction...
Step 1: Put your MP3 player on random.
Step 2: Post the first one or two lines from the first 20 songs that play, no matter how embarrassing the song.
Step 3: Post and let everyone you know guess what song and artist the lines come from.
Step 4: Strike out the songs when someone guesses correctly.
1. While we're young and beautiful, kiss me like you mean it...
2. A woman who in childhood was physically abused by her father may find that her pain body becomes easily activated in any close relationship with a man. (this is spoken word, not music :)
3. I should tell you, I should tell you... Benny wasn't anyth... shhhh... I know...
4. I will come to you, you don't mind this mess, cause I have brushed up my act but I'm still an orphan in rags tryin' to look her best
5. I hear the ticking of the clock - I'm lying here, the room's pitch dark... (Heart, "Alone," guessed by Cornett Snack)
6. When I am (?)... then I am all alone, burdened by my sin and shame, there's one place I can go
7. I want you to meditate on your body's ability to heal itself... (spoken word again)
8. I came home tonight, I came home so I could hide out, the shadows have become my sun and I feel like I'm the only one who's shady. (Aaron Espe, "The Reduse," guessed by Cornett Snack)
9. This means that your happiness and your unhappiness are in fact one; only the illusion of time separates them. (spoken word)
10. I liked the way my hand looked on your head in the presence of my knuckles, but the beauty of this vision alone just like yesterday's sunset has been perverted by the sentimental and mistaken for love. (Live, "Iris," guessed by Philip)
11. So much for never making the same mistake - I can't believe I'm here again...
12. Break our hearts, oh God, break our hearts...
13. In the glory of your presence I find peace, I find rest for my soul.
14. In a little cafe just the other side of the border, she was a-sitting there giving me looks that made my mouth water... (Jay and the Americans, "Come a Little Bit Closer," guessed by Philip)
15. More shine today, let's just say the admiration's been unfit for who I am
16. You have led me to the sadness, I have carried this pain on a back bruised and nearly broken, I'm crying out to you
17. There's a kind of emptiness that can fill you, there's a kind of hunger that can eat you up.
18. You sit and stare out at the sky and think of ways to fake a smile, but life is never what it seems - sometimes it only takes awhile...
19. 24 oceans, 24 skies, 24 failures, and 24 tries... 24 finds me in in 24th place
20. I was sleeping by the wasteside of tomorrow but it's better than sleeping by the wasteside of today
Step 1: Put your MP3 player on random.
Step 2: Post the first one or two lines from the first 20 songs that play, no matter how embarrassing the song.
Step 3: Post and let everyone you know guess what song and artist the lines come from.
Step 4: Strike out the songs when someone guesses correctly.
1. While we're young and beautiful, kiss me like you mean it...
2. A woman who in childhood was physically abused by her father may find that her pain body becomes easily activated in any close relationship with a man. (this is spoken word, not music :)
3. I should tell you, I should tell you... Benny wasn't anyth... shhhh... I know...
4. I will come to you, you don't mind this mess, cause I have brushed up my act but I'm still an orphan in rags tryin' to look her best
5. I hear the ticking of the clock - I'm lying here, the room's pitch dark... (Heart, "Alone," guessed by Cornett Snack)
6. When I am (?)... then I am all alone, burdened by my sin and shame, there's one place I can go
7. I want you to meditate on your body's ability to heal itself... (spoken word again)
8. I came home tonight, I came home so I could hide out, the shadows have become my sun and I feel like I'm the only one who's shady. (Aaron Espe, "The Reduse," guessed by Cornett Snack)
9. This means that your happiness and your unhappiness are in fact one; only the illusion of time separates them. (spoken word)
10. I liked the way my hand looked on your head in the presence of my knuckles, but the beauty of this vision alone just like yesterday's sunset has been perverted by the sentimental and mistaken for love. (Live, "Iris," guessed by Philip)
11. So much for never making the same mistake - I can't believe I'm here again...
12. Break our hearts, oh God, break our hearts...
13. In the glory of your presence I find peace, I find rest for my soul.
14. In a little cafe just the other side of the border, she was a-sitting there giving me looks that made my mouth water... (Jay and the Americans, "Come a Little Bit Closer," guessed by Philip)
15. More shine today, let's just say the admiration's been unfit for who I am
16. You have led me to the sadness, I have carried this pain on a back bruised and nearly broken, I'm crying out to you
17. There's a kind of emptiness that can fill you, there's a kind of hunger that can eat you up.
18. You sit and stare out at the sky and think of ways to fake a smile, but life is never what it seems - sometimes it only takes awhile...
19. 24 oceans, 24 skies, 24 failures, and 24 tries... 24 finds me in in 24th place
20. I was sleeping by the wasteside of tomorrow but it's better than sleeping by the wasteside of today
Singleness... good for now
In some ways, I like being single now more than I ever have before. I am more independent and more introverted than I ever have been. I think becoming a freelancer and living alone have helped me come into my own... not that it's helped me grow as a person, but it has helped me become comfortable with who I already am. I even feel this special connection with God when I am alone. It is amazing to me that the same God who was present when I was a baby at birth, is the same God who is with me right now, and will be with me when I take my last breath and die in old age (hopefully that's the time). There's something so amazingly familiar and intimate and SECRET about the way this God knows me! I usually HATE the word 'secret' when applied to the Lord, but there really is something secret and hidden about my relationship with Him. I can be "bad" about conversing with this Lord or not doing what I "should" be doing or whatever... that can even go on for months... but the moment I whisper His name, He is there. (Even before.) He is sooooooo close. So we've established that I like singleness. It is a gift. This is, I believe, the first time I've concluded this.
At the same time, I really want to be in a relationship. I am taking a break from internet dating due to recent FREAKY circumstances, but... I would just like to say, I think I am a great catch. haha. And someday someone will find that out, and I will LOVE giving him everything I am (and expect no less from him). I didn't used to think I was a great catch but now I do. Jason, what you said about some guy somewhere sorting through all this "trash" to get to me... the same way I've been dealing with a lot of "trash" in the form of dishonest guys... that is really cool. That really inspires me. :) Thanks.
Anyway. My point is that I think all of this is unfolding in its own timing. I'm really thankful (in some ways) for singleness right now. I am encountering a loving God in it. He knows what he is doing.
You know what, let me just add one more thing in that regard. I came to Raleigh not to have a great commercial writing career, but to be a part of a community... a church. It was one of the easiest decisions of my entire life because all my life circumstances came together to make it a clear and easy choice. It was really beautiful. Well I was at a conference a week or two ago, and the speaker was going on about how friendly Raleigh is to entrepreneurs... how there is a fresh entrepreneurial spirit here. I was sort of jotting down notes from the speaker and I think I wrote down - wow, Lord... you have a plan don't you? You really know what you are doing with me. I almost cried with how loved and cared for I felt at that moment. He is making everything come together in the right timing.
He knows what he is doing with each of us... he knows us.
At the same time, I really want to be in a relationship. I am taking a break from internet dating due to recent FREAKY circumstances, but... I would just like to say, I think I am a great catch. haha. And someday someone will find that out, and I will LOVE giving him everything I am (and expect no less from him). I didn't used to think I was a great catch but now I do. Jason, what you said about some guy somewhere sorting through all this "trash" to get to me... the same way I've been dealing with a lot of "trash" in the form of dishonest guys... that is really cool. That really inspires me. :) Thanks.
Anyway. My point is that I think all of this is unfolding in its own timing. I'm really thankful (in some ways) for singleness right now. I am encountering a loving God in it. He knows what he is doing.
You know what, let me just add one more thing in that regard. I came to Raleigh not to have a great commercial writing career, but to be a part of a community... a church. It was one of the easiest decisions of my entire life because all my life circumstances came together to make it a clear and easy choice. It was really beautiful. Well I was at a conference a week or two ago, and the speaker was going on about how friendly Raleigh is to entrepreneurs... how there is a fresh entrepreneurial spirit here. I was sort of jotting down notes from the speaker and I think I wrote down - wow, Lord... you have a plan don't you? You really know what you are doing with me. I almost cried with how loved and cared for I felt at that moment. He is making everything come together in the right timing.
He knows what he is doing with each of us... he knows us.
Sunday, September 24, 2006
Inspiration
I'm working on writing website copy for a 16 year old kid. I haven't met him, but the marketing company I work with is doing this project. You'll think he's notable for this reason: two years ago, he lost his left arm in a boating accident. He's more notable for this reason: he not only overcame that with an amazingly positive attitude, but he is excelling and winning competitions in wakeboarding, lacrosse, and golf, and he plays about 10 more sports.
Honestly, from a head level, I thought the story was great and all, and I enjoyed reading through all the clips about him - local news stories, People Magazine, the Today Show, etc.
But what did it for me was playing the 5 minute video reel with photos from his life growing up all the way through to today. Photos of him picking up his sisters and holding them on his shoulders, casting a fishing rod into the lake with his Dad... eventually it goes to the hospital pictures.
The song playing is... I'm 15 for a moment, caught in between 10 and 20 and I'm just dreaming... 15 there's still time for you, time to buy and time to lose, 15 there's never a wish better than this, when you only got 100 years to live.
Man... I am like truly, truly, TRULY inspired to the point of tears!
After tons of people have said how much he inspired them, he is dedicating his life (well at least for now :) to motivational speaking. He's already spoken at schools, churches, and to over 600 mortgage brokers! The idea is just going beyond your own expecations for yourself... believing in yourself to be who you want to be and do what you want to do.
Really puts things in perspective doesn't it? Well it probably doesn't for you... because it didn't for me. It took the photos and music for it to hit me. But it's an amazing story.
Honestly, from a head level, I thought the story was great and all, and I enjoyed reading through all the clips about him - local news stories, People Magazine, the Today Show, etc.
But what did it for me was playing the 5 minute video reel with photos from his life growing up all the way through to today. Photos of him picking up his sisters and holding them on his shoulders, casting a fishing rod into the lake with his Dad... eventually it goes to the hospital pictures.
The song playing is... I'm 15 for a moment, caught in between 10 and 20 and I'm just dreaming... 15 there's still time for you, time to buy and time to lose, 15 there's never a wish better than this, when you only got 100 years to live.
Man... I am like truly, truly, TRULY inspired to the point of tears!
After tons of people have said how much he inspired them, he is dedicating his life (well at least for now :) to motivational speaking. He's already spoken at schools, churches, and to over 600 mortgage brokers! The idea is just going beyond your own expecations for yourself... believing in yourself to be who you want to be and do what you want to do.
Really puts things in perspective doesn't it? Well it probably doesn't for you... because it didn't for me. It took the photos and music for it to hit me. But it's an amazing story.
Alone, I lie to myself
Just in case, I will leave my things packed so I can run away
I cannot trust these voices
I don't have a line of prospects that can give some kind of peace
There is nothing left to cling to that can bring me sweet release
I have no fear of drowning, it's the breathing that's taking all this work
Do you know what I mean when I say, 'I don't want to be alone.'
What I mean when I say, 'I don't want to be alone.'
Empty spaces, shadows hit by street lights
Warning signs and weight of tired conversations
In the absence of a shoulder, in the abscess of a thief
On the brink of this destruction, on the eve of bittersweet
Now all the demons look like prophets
And I'm living out every word they speak, every word they speak
Do you know what I mean when I say, 'I don't want to be alone,'
What I mean when I say, 'I don't want to be alone'
I have no fear of drowning.
It's the breathing that's taking all this work.
("Work," Jars of Clay, Good Monsters)
I cannot trust these voices
I don't have a line of prospects that can give some kind of peace
There is nothing left to cling to that can bring me sweet release
I have no fear of drowning, it's the breathing that's taking all this work
Do you know what I mean when I say, 'I don't want to be alone.'
What I mean when I say, 'I don't want to be alone.'
Empty spaces, shadows hit by street lights
Warning signs and weight of tired conversations
In the absence of a shoulder, in the abscess of a thief
On the brink of this destruction, on the eve of bittersweet
Now all the demons look like prophets
And I'm living out every word they speak, every word they speak
Do you know what I mean when I say, 'I don't want to be alone,'
What I mean when I say, 'I don't want to be alone'
I have no fear of drowning.
It's the breathing that's taking all this work.
("Work," Jars of Clay, Good Monsters)
Friday, September 22, 2006
Ch-ch-ch-Cheney
I never knew this white boy had rhythm. I think it gets especially good at the ch-ch-cheney part.
Thursday, September 21, 2006
Carbonite is amazing
I think I found the answer to all my problems: Carbonite.
Download this. Use it. It will automatically back-up all your computer files, constantly, unlimitedly (uh.. yeah), for just $5 a month.
Yes, my sanity is worth $5 a month. My time backing up stuff on CDs and flash drives is worth $5 a month. Thank you, Carbonite.
Download this. Use it. It will automatically back-up all your computer files, constantly, unlimitedly (uh.. yeah), for just $5 a month.
Yes, my sanity is worth $5 a month. My time backing up stuff on CDs and flash drives is worth $5 a month. Thank you, Carbonite.
Tuesday, September 19, 2006
Sent to be tortured
The United States "very likely" sent a Canadian software engineer to Syria, where he was tortured, based on the false accusation by Canadian authorities that he was suspected of links to al-Qaida, according to a new government report.
This AP article talks about the United States' practice of extraordinary rendition. It is illegal. The CIA does not get to make the laws. Come on.
What I really don't understand is this:
U.S. and Syrian officials refused to cooperate with the Canadian inquiry.
How does our country get to refuse to cooperate?
This AP article talks about the United States' practice of extraordinary rendition. It is illegal. The CIA does not get to make the laws. Come on.
What I really don't understand is this:
U.S. and Syrian officials refused to cooperate with the Canadian inquiry.
How does our country get to refuse to cooperate?
Monday, September 18, 2006
You're what I need
Drew gave me a few worship CDs to borrow. They have a great version of this song... and by great I mean totally normal and downplayed and beautiful.
You are the fountain of my life
And in your light I find my reason
Cause your love reaches to the stars, even the great deep
And your love reaches to this heart, and makes me sing
Your love reaches me
It's what I need, it's what I need
Your love reaches me
It's what I need, it's what I need.
Oh Lord, how priceless is your unending love!
Both high and low find refuge in your shadow!
You are the fountain of my life
And in your light I find my reason
Cause your love reaches to the stars, even the great deep
And your love reaches to this heart, and makes me sing
Your love reaches me
It's what I need, it's what I need
Your love reaches me
It's what I need, it's what I need.
Oh Lord, how priceless is your unending love!
Both high and low find refuge in your shadow!
Wednesday, September 13, 2006
Why I do what I do
Top reasons why my blog is not famous:
- I don't stick to one topic.
- I mostly write about myself. Hah. AND I LIKE IT.
- I alienate everyone on one issue or another. Either I am too liberal, too Jesusy, or generally way too opinionated.
- I don't try to publicize it.
- I try to leave out proper nouns so my business contacts don't find my crazy mental meanderings on the world wide web.
- I am vague so I can mock, parody, criticize, or otherwise question people or things that I encounter.
According to Micah, a blog is nothing less than masturbation. Yes, I just said that. But hey this is the era of global corporations. If they are going to dominate the world through unbridled capitalism and sheer greed, I am going to have my little corner of the universe and say things that make me happy.
Drew had a good point the other day. He said that everything in our world is designed to make us feel empty. Companies do this through their marketing to make us think we need and want what they have to offer. Incidentally, the result is we feed the emptiness with more emptiness when we consume what will not and cannot satisfy.
Anyway let's go back to analyzing this blog. Top reasons I like it ANYWAY!!
- I can change the font and colors and stuff as much as I want. Aesthetics are everything - admit it.
- Publishing is just plain fun. It's like sending a memo to your investors. It's like putting a hot wax seal on a handwritten letter to your lover. It's like planning a party or having a drug intervention. Think about it...*
- (I need to interrupt this blog broadcast by saying I am at Stone Wolf Coffee, and they just played Rhinestone Cowboy followed by the theme song for Three's Company. I was loving this place till 5 minutes ago. lol)
- Writing for me is a way of working things out. I can't think clearly about something until I start to write about it.
- (Let me interrupt again to say some guy just came in and is sitting right where I need to plug in this contraption! But he's cute. So I will forgive him.)
- I blog for the same reason people talk to themselves, or laugh at their own jokes. That's it.
* When I say "Think about it" what I really mean is, "Don't think about it."
Tuesday, September 12, 2006
Great timing
The other day, my Mom asked my Dad how he was doing. He sighed and said happily, "I am having a Jenny day." lol This is true.
I had to ask... Well, according to my Dad, a Jenny day is when all your projects come together and/or something very serendipitous happens. If this is the definition, most of MY days are not Jenny days, but I have definitely had about 10 of them since becoming a freelancer.
The most recent one was Friday, and I feel compelled to blog about this because it was so cool and so strange. I visited this local business networking group over 3 months ago... wait, I will find the date in my inbox... June 12, 2006... oh my gosh, 3 months ago to the DAY! This is getting freaky. (I was just guessing 3 months.) Anyway, even though it was my first time and I was only visiting, this guy gave me a referral. He wrote on a slip of paper the name and number of someone who might be interested in my writing services. My plan was to call soon, but I didn't call that week, or the next week, or even the next month.
Yes, I procrastinated 3 months away!! Well I wasn't just totally slacking - it was project overload that caused me to be slow - but even when the projects eased up I didn't call.
Finally, on Friday, I decided to call because I am joining this networking group and I didn't want to face them again without having followed up on the referral they gave me! So call I did.
The guy I spoke with returned my phone call within a couple hours and said something very strange: I'm glad you called - this is great timing!
Whaaaaa?! 3 months later is great timing? It turns out they have 3 regular people (the rest are all independent contractors) and as of the end of this week, their WRITER is moving to San Francisco. So they needed someone who they could trust to do good work... everything from business proposals to technical writing to marketing collateral.
I just came from my face-to-face meeting with this guy, and it went great! They're going to start me off with something small so they can see how I work, and I can see how they work (well more for the first reason :). I'm excited and thankful.
I had to ask... Well, according to my Dad, a Jenny day is when all your projects come together and/or something very serendipitous happens. If this is the definition, most of MY days are not Jenny days, but I have definitely had about 10 of them since becoming a freelancer.
The most recent one was Friday, and I feel compelled to blog about this because it was so cool and so strange. I visited this local business networking group over 3 months ago... wait, I will find the date in my inbox... June 12, 2006... oh my gosh, 3 months ago to the DAY! This is getting freaky. (I was just guessing 3 months.) Anyway, even though it was my first time and I was only visiting, this guy gave me a referral. He wrote on a slip of paper the name and number of someone who might be interested in my writing services. My plan was to call soon, but I didn't call that week, or the next week, or even the next month.
Yes, I procrastinated 3 months away!! Well I wasn't just totally slacking - it was project overload that caused me to be slow - but even when the projects eased up I didn't call.
Finally, on Friday, I decided to call because I am joining this networking group and I didn't want to face them again without having followed up on the referral they gave me! So call I did.
The guy I spoke with returned my phone call within a couple hours and said something very strange: I'm glad you called - this is great timing!
Whaaaaa?! 3 months later is great timing? It turns out they have 3 regular people (the rest are all independent contractors) and as of the end of this week, their WRITER is moving to San Francisco. So they needed someone who they could trust to do good work... everything from business proposals to technical writing to marketing collateral.
I just came from my face-to-face meeting with this guy, and it went great! They're going to start me off with something small so they can see how I work, and I can see how they work (well more for the first reason :). I'm excited and thankful.
Monday, September 11, 2006
The end of books
I'm currently very disillusioned with books because I have realized that anyone can publish one, and that the things you might read in one book are, almost definitely, contradicted in 100s of others. The daily responsibility of filtering truth from myself is overwhelming enough - add to it an information flow attacking me through innocent BOOKS and I may very well drown. :)
Of course it's not just books - ideas and information come in many ways. But the fact that I can find a book to reinforce any worldview or opinion of mine is a little disconcerting. What is truth!? And who can we believe to point us toward it?
Here is a tremendously fascinating Washington Post article about Blue Media and Red Media. In a nutshell, Republicans like FOX and Democrats divide their attention between CNN and NPR. Haha. Not super surprising. But hopefully you DO find it super disconcerting. Choosing news sources that reinforce your current views seems strange and unhelpful for the person with an open mind. On the other hand, we select our sources on a constant basis - who we spend time with, what places we visit, which companies we buy from, etc.
In a world where we choose the news source that is most compatible with our status quo beliefs, do we have more freedom or less? Does that bring us closer to truth or further away?
Personally, I am finding that the subjectivity is where it's at. I'm having more and more of a sense of awe at our intuition. Now don't get freaked out - I'm not necessarily saying all the answers are within me or within you. But in a way, they are. All I have is my own mind and my own conscience to tell me what's good and right and true. In a way, I also have a very loving community to help me with this, but honestly, they don't agree on most matters of contention.
I guess that, for deciding what's true, the other thing I rely on is getting out into "the real world" and gathering empirical evidence - what do I see? But even then, my choice of going into the ghetto to see the real world may be opposed to your idea of going into New York's financial district where, in your perspective, "real life" happens. So even then, even if we could agree on a common circumstance that portrays reality, we have to use our minds, feelings, intution, conscience, etc. to gather and sort information about reality. We will still come to different conclusions. Even if we could get so far as to agree about truth and reality, the way we emphasize different things - by how much we love certain things, how much time and concern we devote to them - this will also show that what we believe to be TRUE, or most true, differs greatly.
Sigh. Life in the year 2006. You asked for it; you got it - Americaaaaaaaa. lol
Of course it's not just books - ideas and information come in many ways. But the fact that I can find a book to reinforce any worldview or opinion of mine is a little disconcerting. What is truth!? And who can we believe to point us toward it?
Here is a tremendously fascinating Washington Post article about Blue Media and Red Media. In a nutshell, Republicans like FOX and Democrats divide their attention between CNN and NPR. Haha. Not super surprising. But hopefully you DO find it super disconcerting. Choosing news sources that reinforce your current views seems strange and unhelpful for the person with an open mind. On the other hand, we select our sources on a constant basis - who we spend time with, what places we visit, which companies we buy from, etc.
In a world where we choose the news source that is most compatible with our status quo beliefs, do we have more freedom or less? Does that bring us closer to truth or further away?
Personally, I am finding that the subjectivity is where it's at. I'm having more and more of a sense of awe at our intuition. Now don't get freaked out - I'm not necessarily saying all the answers are within me or within you. But in a way, they are. All I have is my own mind and my own conscience to tell me what's good and right and true. In a way, I also have a very loving community to help me with this, but honestly, they don't agree on most matters of contention.
I guess that, for deciding what's true, the other thing I rely on is getting out into "the real world" and gathering empirical evidence - what do I see? But even then, my choice of going into the ghetto to see the real world may be opposed to your idea of going into New York's financial district where, in your perspective, "real life" happens. So even then, even if we could agree on a common circumstance that portrays reality, we have to use our minds, feelings, intution, conscience, etc. to gather and sort information about reality. We will still come to different conclusions. Even if we could get so far as to agree about truth and reality, the way we emphasize different things - by how much we love certain things, how much time and concern we devote to them - this will also show that what we believe to be TRUE, or most true, differs greatly.
Sigh. Life in the year 2006. You asked for it; you got it - Americaaaaaaaa. lol
Sunday, September 10, 2006
Beauty tips
This is a poem Audrey Hepburn wrote when asked to share her "beauty tips." It was read at her funeral years later.
For attractive lips, speak words of kindness
For lovely eyes, seek out the good in people
For a slim figure, share your food with the hungry.
For beautiful hair, let a child run his/her fingers through it once a day.
For poise, walk with the knowledge that you never walk alone.
People, even more than things, have to be restored, renewed, revived, reclaimed, and redeemed; never throw out anyone.
Remember, if you ever need a helping hand, you will find one at the end of each of your arms.
As you grow older, you will discover that you have two hands; one for helping yourself, and the other for helping others.
For attractive lips, speak words of kindness
For lovely eyes, seek out the good in people
For a slim figure, share your food with the hungry.
For beautiful hair, let a child run his/her fingers through it once a day.
For poise, walk with the knowledge that you never walk alone.
People, even more than things, have to be restored, renewed, revived, reclaimed, and redeemed; never throw out anyone.
Remember, if you ever need a helping hand, you will find one at the end of each of your arms.
As you grow older, you will discover that you have two hands; one for helping yourself, and the other for helping others.
Friday, September 08, 2006
I will make you hurt
This music video is amazing. God invented music videos just for this, I think.
Hurt
I hurt myself today to see if I still feel
I focus on the pain, the only thing that's real
The needle tears a hole, the old familiar sting
Try to kill it all away, but I remember everything
What have I become? my sweetest friend
Everyone I know goes away in the end
And you could have it all - my empire of dirt
I will let you down
I will make you hurt
I wear this crown of thorns upon my liar's chair
Full of broken thoughts I cannot repair
Beneath the stains of time, the feelings disappear
You are someone else, I am still right here
What have I become? my sweetest friend
Everyone I knowgoes away in the end
And you could have it all - my empire of dirt
I will let you down
I will make you hurt
If I could start again a million miles away
I would keep myself
I would find a way
(Johnny Cash, "Hurt")
Hurt
I hurt myself today to see if I still feel
I focus on the pain, the only thing that's real
The needle tears a hole, the old familiar sting
Try to kill it all away, but I remember everything
What have I become? my sweetest friend
Everyone I know goes away in the end
And you could have it all - my empire of dirt
I will let you down
I will make you hurt
I wear this crown of thorns upon my liar's chair
Full of broken thoughts I cannot repair
Beneath the stains of time, the feelings disappear
You are someone else, I am still right here
What have I become? my sweetest friend
Everyone I knowgoes away in the end
And you could have it all - my empire of dirt
I will let you down
I will make you hurt
If I could start again a million miles away
I would keep myself
I would find a way
(Johnny Cash, "Hurt")
Lacking and Slacking
Here is an interesting BBC article explaining the international despair over Darfur. The most telling, paragraph, comes near the end:
Darfur has found itself a crisis that neither the UN nor the relatively new African Union can solve. The UN has lacked the will to intervene and the African Union has lacked the means.
How is it that we go into Iraq, but not Sudan? If preemption could possibly apply to a crisis like this, then sign me up for that ideology. We need to quit sitting on our hands. We need to quit letting a few pain-in-the-a Sudanese power-hungry leaders keep millions of people in unthinkably horrible circumstances.
Darfur has found itself a crisis that neither the UN nor the relatively new African Union can solve. The UN has lacked the will to intervene and the African Union has lacked the means.
How is it that we go into Iraq, but not Sudan? If preemption could possibly apply to a crisis like this, then sign me up for that ideology. We need to quit sitting on our hands. We need to quit letting a few pain-in-the-a Sudanese power-hungry leaders keep millions of people in unthinkably horrible circumstances.
Thursday, September 07, 2006
Do you like Target or Walmart?
Target as Bad as Walmart? You Decide
by Kari Lyderson
Interesting article... it's hard to make any certain conclusions from it, but really - why do we view Target with so much more respect than Walmart? Is it all image, or are they really doing some things better? The final paragraphs about other retail stores paying a living wage is interesting.
In some ways, I am almost glad that they don't pay a CRAZY-good hourly rate, because it would make them less competitive and eventually, the only choice we would have is Walmart. Does that make sense? The biggest problem with doing business ethically and in a socially responsible way is that it will cripple competitiveness, and eventually your company won't even be around to offer that slightly better alternative! It's a true dilemma.
by Kari Lyderson
Interesting article... it's hard to make any certain conclusions from it, but really - why do we view Target with so much more respect than Walmart? Is it all image, or are they really doing some things better? The final paragraphs about other retail stores paying a living wage is interesting.
In some ways, I am almost glad that they don't pay a CRAZY-good hourly rate, because it would make them less competitive and eventually, the only choice we would have is Walmart. Does that make sense? The biggest problem with doing business ethically and in a socially responsible way is that it will cripple competitiveness, and eventually your company won't even be around to offer that slightly better alternative! It's a true dilemma.
Secret CIA prisons suck
If you haven't had a chance to read the news lately, let me bring you up to speed: President Bush announced that all the 9/11 terror suspects are being moved from secret CIA prisons in foreign countries to Guanantamo Bay where they will be brought to justice.
YAY! Right? Not so much.
Read between the lines...
To me, terrorists are still humans. And if we want to operate in a undemocratic, inhumane, illegal, militant way... well that is just the kind of world we will create.
YAY! Right? Not so much.
Read between the lines...
- Why do secret CIA prisons exist?
- What occurs at these secret CIA prisons? If you think the Geneva Conventions are upheld, you are in lala land. In fact, if you think there is any oversight whatsoever, you are deluding yourself. Nobody even knew (until yesterday) who was in these prisons. We still don't really know.
- Why are they being transferred to Guantanomo Bay... a hellhole of injustice and despair? Over the last 5 years, 770 prisoners have been held there. Up until July of this year, the Administration has been adamant and very vocal in saying they don't think the Geneva Conventions apply to these people. There have been at least 44 suicide attemps - at least 3 successful. (Amazing, considering the circumstances.) Up to 200 prisoners at a time have gone on hunger strikes, and were then force-fed through tubes. No one held at Guantanamo has been charged.
- The court system that President Bush wants to use is, at this point, illegal. ILLEGAL. The Supreme Court struck down their idea a couple months ago, and said Congress had to authorize it first.
- The court system President Bush wants to use would allow for secret evidence. Evidence that the accused person would not know about, and maybe not even the accused person's lawyer. Is that American?
- The court system President Bush wants to use would allow for testimony gathered through coercion. Not torture, granted... but coercion. Do you see what a fine line this is? Do you see how problematic it is to accepted testimony that was extracted under coercive circumstances? Especially when these prisoners were interrogated in secret prisons. Who exactly is certifying that it was coercion and not torture?
In conclusion, let me just say, WHAT THE FREAK.
Let me put a little patriotic disclaimer here. Why do I care about terrorists' rights? What about the rights of the people who died on 9/11? And so on.To me, terrorists are still humans. And if we want to operate in a undemocratic, inhumane, illegal, militant way... well that is just the kind of world we will create.
Friday, September 01, 2006
Prevent another Abu Ghraib
The White House is reportedly planning to ask Congress to approve legislation that would permit abusive interrogations. If they succeed, we will go down in history as the first nation to retreat from the hallowed Geneva Conventions, which prohibit cruel and degrading treatment.
Stop this misguided effort in its tracks. Write the President today and demand that he drop his bid to retain the right to abuse detainees.
You are...
Possibly one of the most beautiful and truthful songs ever written.
EVERY SEASON
Every evening sky - an invitation to trace the patterned stars
And early in July, a celebration for freedom that is ours
And i notice You in children's games
In those who watch them from the shade
Every drop of sun is full of fun and wonder
YOU are summer...
And even when the trees have just surrendered
To the harvest time
Forfeiting their leaves in late September
And sending us inside
Still i notice You when change begins
And i embrace for colder winds
i will offer thanks for what has been and what's to come
YOU are autumn...
And everything in time and under heaven
Finally falls asleep
Wrapped in blankets white
All creation shivers underneath
And still i notice You when branches crack
And in my breath on frosted glass
Even now in death You open doors for life to enter
YOU are winter...
And everything that's new has bravely surfaced
Teaching us to breathe
What was frozen through is newly purposed
Turning all things green
So it is with You, and how You make me new
with every season's change
And so it will be, as You are recreating me
summer... autumn... winter... spring.
(Nichole Nordeman)
EVERY SEASON
Every evening sky - an invitation to trace the patterned stars
And early in July, a celebration for freedom that is ours
And i notice You in children's games
In those who watch them from the shade
Every drop of sun is full of fun and wonder
YOU are summer...
And even when the trees have just surrendered
To the harvest time
Forfeiting their leaves in late September
And sending us inside
Still i notice You when change begins
And i embrace for colder winds
i will offer thanks for what has been and what's to come
YOU are autumn...
And everything in time and under heaven
Finally falls asleep
Wrapped in blankets white
All creation shivers underneath
And still i notice You when branches crack
And in my breath on frosted glass
Even now in death You open doors for life to enter
YOU are winter...
And everything that's new has bravely surfaced
Teaching us to breathe
What was frozen through is newly purposed
Turning all things green
So it is with You, and how You make me new
with every season's change
And so it will be, as You are recreating me
summer... autumn... winter... spring.
(Nichole Nordeman)
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