Is this thing on?

Image from fineartamerica.com by steven-digman

The effort of writing on a little seen blog when it seems the world is going to hell in a very large hand basket is often too much; this is obvious from my infrequent postings. What can be said about cops seeming to have a license to kill African-Americans, billionaires blatantly buying power, racist assholes provoking terrorist assholes to attack, or right wingers fantasizing a military takeover by Obama of Texas? You can't compete with such insane reality.

Nevertheless, I am still here, and I hope to start more frequent missives in this space. Maybe Bernie Sanders running for President has lifted my spirits (which it has), but the springtime weather also is bucking up my psyche. There is hope in this world, and to not see it is to surrender to the forces that would drag us down.

More to come.

This is water. . . .

I don't know about you, but I needed this today:

Thanks Henry

Henry Rollins delivers an inspirational talk. Who'da thunk it? Thanks, Henry.

Andy Borowitz hits the nail on the head;

I don't have anything to add to this:

NEW YORK (The Borowitz Report) -- If you'll pardon me for being serious for a moment, here's my idea of a heartwarming story:

A homeless man with no special talent gets our compassion anyway.

The Ted Williams story is, of course, riveting and hopeful. But the nation's fascination with it has nothing to do with our capacity for empathy and everything to do with our addiction to instant celebrity.

The coverage has also been shockingly patronizing. People have been amazed to learn that a homeless man might have an unusual ability, just as they were dumbfounded that an unattractive woman, Susan Boyle, did. There's also been widespread surprise that Mr. Williams had a successful career and a family (!).

I would love it if Mr. Williams' story led to an increase in compassion towards the homeless -- even the ones without viral YouTube videos. That would really be heartwarming

Coincidence?

As the end of a long, eight year nightmare comes tomorrow, the weather in this neck of the woods seems to be mirroring a brighter outlook.

You know the weather's good when sand coated shoes are parked outside the front door after a trip to the beach with our grand daughter.

Some impromptu garden art catching some rays.

Flowers are making a bit of an early appearance, as the temperatures edge into the 70s.

A corner of our yard, along the neighbor's fence, displays no sign of winter still being the operative season.

A trio of potential flowers, ready for the show.

Quote for the Day (Let's Be Hopeful Division)

A cynic is not merely one who reads bitter lessons from the past, he is one who is prematurely disappointed in the future. - Sidney J. Harris

Say hello to the new First Family:

This is incredible. I feel like the man who has stopped hitting himself in the head with a hammer: that feels good. I said to my wife I can vaguely recall the early days of hope and optimism of the JFK presidency. Could something of that nature be happening again? Is that naive? I sure hope not. And I certainly hope and pray that the ending of this chunk of history is not the same.

To see a beautiful black family take up residence in the White House, not as servants but as the First Family, is overwhelming. It is humbling and utterly wonderful to have seen this happen in my lifetime. We have a long way to go as a country, but we certainly have come a long way already.

Congratulations to all the Obamas. And thank God!!!!

Quote for the Day (Literary Mench Division)

I think it's realistic to have hope. One can be a perverse idealist and say the easiest thing: 'I despair. The world's no good.' That's a perverse idealist. It's practical to hope, because the hope is for us to survive as a human species. That's very realistic. - Studs Terkel 

R. I. P., Studs. You spoke truth to power, and that's a big fuckin' deal.

Free Hugs!!!

For some reason, this video really moved me. I hope it moves you too.
(Via Bob Harris)

Off the Wall-E; Pixar does it again!

We went and saw Wall-E tonight, and I'm gonna take a huge leap here and say it deserves to be a monster hit. It was hilarious, sentimental, incredibly beautiful visually, and wonderfully well written. Pixar is on a real roll, and with pictures like Finding Nemo, Cars, Ratatouille, and the Toy Story franchise, it seems to be unbeatable. Now comes this film, which blows them all away.

It is a fun and fascinating ride, but it also is one of the best cautionary sci-fi tales in a long time. It has already pissed off the wing nut blogosphere, and that makes it all the more wonderful in my estimation. It is a happily subversive tale. Wall-E has both brains and heart, and it really appeals to any age. The theater we were in this afternoon, during a matinee (filled with toddlers, teens, and adults), was utterly quiet for the most part, except for shouts of joy and laughter. For over a half an hour at the beginning there is no dialog, but the story is told with whimsical and detailed visuals that are perfectly suited to its theme. And even the smallest children in the audience were held rapt in this movie's charms.

This is a film which doesn't need my praise to succeed (as if the few folks who read this blog might follow my advice anyway), but I will say: GO SEE IT! It's the only movie I have ever seen that can make a cockroach into a sympathetic character, and where the robots teach the humans what it is like to be . . . well, human!

It is also a film that gives nods to its predecessors such as 2001 and Day the Earth Stood Still. And at its center is the title character, who loves Hello, Dolly! and yearns for companionship. How he finds it and the epic journey he makes to hold onto it is what Wall-E is all about. In the end, it is a story of hope, love, and redemption, and that is a story worth hearing right now.

Yes, I loved it. Check it out, and let me know when the DVD comes out!

It's the berries!

This time of year is a good time to check out the wild blackberries that proliferate all around us. Just taking a stroll around the backyard gives me hope for a great harvest this year:



MMMMM . . . . It makes my mouth water already. We will take small containers with us on our walks and fill them with plump, juicy berries. My wife has a great talent for making muffins, crisps, tarts, and all sorts of wonderful treats with them. And, of course, there's always just poppin' 'em in yer mouth . . . .

Turn out the old, bring in the new:

(Via Huffington Post) Arianna Huffington:

As luck, and poor scheduling, would have it, Barack Obama and John McCain gave their Super Tuesday victory speeches at roughly the same time last night, causing cable news directors across the dial to go split-screen, then finally jump from the tail end of McCain's speech to the first part of Obama's. (Hillary Clinton, her campaign a well-oiled machine, had given her speech earlier in the night, when she had the cameras all to herself.)

Watching Obama and McCain speaking side-by-side, I couldn't help but think to myself: if this is a preview of the general election, bring it on!

(SNIP)

The overlapping oratories could not have been more dramatically different. One soared; the other plodded. One caused goose bumps; the other caused eyelids to flutter shut. One felt newly minted; the other could have been given by Herbert Hoover (and maybe was).

For some reason, I kept picturing a singer like Perry Como standing in the wings during the old Ed Sullivan show, watching the Beatles hit the stage, and thinking: "What do I do now?" or "Oh. My. God." or "The world just changed, didn't it?" or "Toto, I've got a feeling we're not in Kansas anymore."

I'll leave it to you to decide which Super Tuesday speech was "I Want to Hold Your Hand" and which was pure Perry Como.

The Beatles vs Perry Como? I love it!

On my laptop

I'm on the road again, taking another class towards my career change. Today I'm actually at the dealer where I originally bought my car to get some of the regular service work done. It's always a little unnerving to see what the mechanic will say, whether it be "Everything's fine" or "We found something . . . ." Ah, the waiting times of life.

I'm also preparing to make a trip in the next few weeks to my place of origin; Maryland. An old friend there offered me some of the miles she had built up on one of her credit cards from her travels, and it's pretty hard to turn down a free ticket. I'll have a chance to see some of my old friends, many of whom I haven't seen in quite a few years. They say you can't go home again, but we'll see.

It's been quite an adventure in my life since I lost my job. I seem to be moving in the direction of being a student and self employed person, rather than just jumping back on the "grab any job I can get" treadmill. It's a new adventure for me, but I'm feeling like it's time for this change. Life opens doors of opportunity, and I'm going through this one. It's scary, exciting, and about time. I have to trust the process here, which is something I've struggled with in the past. All I can do is make the leap of faith, and see where I land.

Geronimo!!!

The end of 2007

Here is the last day of the year. What can be said about a year of such personal and societal upheaval? While the BushCo fascists shred the Constitution (if your safe, you don't need all those messy freedoms, right?) with the complicity of the Democratic so-called opposition (who fold more often than a road map), the Middle East goes further to hell (just as predicted when the Cheney-ites started this worthless and immoral war) and our media utterly loses interest in the real issues of our society (2007 was the deadliest year for American Soldiers in Iraq, though they seem to think no one cares) to focus on Paris, Brittany, and Brittany's little sister.

Meanwhile, I am ending the year unemployed and at loose ends. No telling what 2008 will hold, but I'm ready to open up a brand, spanking new year and look forward with hope and faith that things will get better. After all, this IS the year that G Dubya will be flushed down history's toilet, and that right there feels good. It's like hitting yourself in the head with a hammer for eight year; it feels so good when you stop.

Anyway, I wish everyone who may occasionally read this little blog a happy and IMPROVING new year. Wherever you are, whoever you may be, let's all look forward with humor and generosity, and give this sucker another chance, eh?

Long time no see!

Well, that has to be about the longest time I've been postless here at the birdhaus blog. As I said previously, my job position at the nonprofit where I work was abolished, so I am now looking for new employment. I'm not sure where I will land, but I do feel some relief, along with the requisite anxiety. It's odd. I feel compelled to really assess my direction here, and not just jump at the first possibility for employment that looms in my path. It seems important to me to look for the true path I NEED to be on, and not just grasp at straws. I am striving to see the opportunity in what at first feels very adverse.

And I did get a new computer. (What do you do when you lose your source of income? Buy something!) I purchased one of the new series of iMacs, and it is such a quantum leap forward for me from my five year old G4 iMac. The Intel processors definitely make a huge difference speed wise, though I haven't gotten any of the memory eaters like PhotoShop or Final Cut to really test its mettle yet. I am hoping this is a part of my new start in finding a way to make money with my talents, instead of just selling my time to some business entity which doesn't really give a rat's ass about me.

We'll see. For now, I'm looking to the future with hope, uncertainty, and faith. An odd combination, but one which is just a part of being in the midst of change. So it goes . . . .

At a crossroads

Well, the other shoe finally dropped. For some time now my job future has been uncertain, and I have heard "knives being sharpened" as the board of directors where I work looked for ways to economize. In the world of non-profits, that typically doesn't bode too well for the administrative staff, as administration is seldom given much value in NP culture.

I was told last Monday that my job was being abolished, and that I would no longer be working there as of December 31. I can bitch and moan about it, feeling it is "unfair" and "shortsighted", but I am choosing instead to see the opportunity I am being presented with. I had not been happy at this organization for some time, and though I'd done the best job I could do with the resources I had been given to do it, I felt unappreciated and unseen. Changes were made to the structure of the organization just recently that I saw as negative and morally suspect, putting one person basically in control of the whole organization. It is time to move on, and I am going to do my best now for myself. I am not sure what I will do, but I do know that I have faith in the journey I am on, and I will find something better.

If all that sounds airy-fairy to you, too bad. My experience has been that I am always given what I need at times like this to move in a positive and enriching direction, and that is bouying my spirits as I face the uncertainty of what will come after 12/31/07. All I can do is take the next right action, and I have been preparing for change for some time now. We shall see what's next.

Quote for the Day (Crazy Comedian Division)

Nothing is impossible. Some things are just less likely than others. - Jonathan Winters

She does love jelly

We did see the grand daughter this weekend. For anyone interested, here's the cutest grand daughter in the world:

An Attitude of Gratitude

Sometimes the only way to get out of the blues is to make a conscious effort to change your mood. At least, that's true for me. Here are some songs that help me get out of the dumps:

Yeah, things are fucked up. Now what?

So much has been going on lately---Coulter redefining "fag" (the Rev. Fred Phelps epitaph) as a harmless school yard taunt, Libby Libby Libby is guilty guilty guilty, Walter Reed in scandal, etc.---that it's hard to know where to begin or what to say. Perhaps the hardest thing is not to wind up on the sidelines bemoaning the state of the world while it burns to the ground. How not to get mired in criticism and negativity without balancing the picture with hope and positivity?

I am not sure. Sometimes it seems impossible not to become a dour curmudgeon, screaming "I told you so" to a crowd that gets increasing tired of that kind of attitude. But what is the alternative? At times focusing on the advances in one's own life seems to be the only way to keep from being sucked into the negative vortex. Making the best out of the little things; things which add up to my life, and that's pretty big.

I don't know that I have answers, but I do have a lot of questions. Wringing my hands over the way things have gone in this country is using up a lot of energy, and isn't there some other way to use that energy? I'm just thinking out loud here. any ideas?