... I Shall Drink it and Always Be Full

Once upon a midnight drearie
I woke with something in my head
I couldn't escape the memory
Of a phone call and of what you said
Like a game show contestant with a parting gift
I could not believe my eyes
When I saw through the voice of a trusted friend
Who needs to humour me and tell me lies
Yeah humour me and tell me lies
And I'll lie too and say I don't mind
And as we seek so shall we find
And when you're feeling open I'll still be here
But not without a certain degree of fear
Of what will be with you and me
I still can see things hopefully

[refrain]
But you
Why you wanna give me a run-around
Is it a sure-fire way to speed things up
When all it does is slow me down

And shake me and my confidence
About a great many things
But I've been there I can see it cower
Like a nervous magician waiting in the wings
Of a bad play where the heroes are right
And nobody thinks or expects too much
And Hollywood's calling for the movie rights
Singing hey babe let's keep in touch
Hey baby let's keep in touch
But I want more than a touch I want you to reach me
And show me all the things no one else can see
So what you feel becomes mine as well
And soon if we're lucky we'd be unable to tell
What's yours and mine the fishing's fine
And it doesn't have to rhyme so don't you feed me a line

[refrain]

Tra la la la la bomba dear this is the pilot speaking
And I've got some news for you
It seems my ship still stands no matter what you drop
And there ain't a whole lot that you can do
Oh sure the banner may be torn and the wind's gotten colder
Perhaps I've grown a little cynical
But I know no matter what the waitress brings
I shall drink in and always be full
My cup shall always be full

Oh I like coffee
And I like tea
I'd like to be able to enter a final plea
I still got this dream that you just can't shake
I love you to the point you can no longer take
Well all right okay
So be that way
I hope and pray
That there's something left to say

[refrain] x 2

~ Blues Traveller

Break-up Songs - Get Angry, Not Soppy!

.. a PLINKY post ...

This post answers the PLINKY prompt that asks bloggers, 'Name three songs to help you get over a break-up.' The prompt also asks what makes these good post-break-up songs.
Haven't heard of PLINKY? It's fun, and maybe helpful if you have blogger's block.

1. I Hate Myself for Loving You by Joan Jett & the Blackhearts

2.You're So Vain by Carly Simon
3. Delia's Gone by Johnny Cash

The song titles explain themselves, don't they? I remember listening to the first song on the back seat of my friend's mustang, on a ghetto blaster, coming home from the bar on a Saturday night. Oh, the crazy things we do we we're twenty-something! The second song's a classic break-up song, ain't it? The third song is one for the boys - :^)

And ... I can think of another song ~ Wrapped Around My Finger, by The Police. I have always loved the esoteric, almost arrogant tone of the lyrics.

the One?

In the wake of Obama's presidential victory I find myself thinking of my old friend Neo and The Matrix. Neo lives in the illusory world of the Matrix. Ahhh, The Matrix ~ a construct of reality developed by the machines which have come to earth to enslave humanity and harvest humans as a source of bio-electric energy. A few humans in this dark world have awareness of their status quo. They exist unplugged from the illusory world upon which many others rely for survival. Legend has it that a human ~ known as 'The One' ~ will end the enslavement of humanity, thus delivering his people to freedom. Neo discovers his identity as this messianic figure. And ... well, the story unfolds.



Now, let's talk about reality. Segregation ... the American South ... the persecution of black people. Forty years ago we mourned the loss of a great man, an inspiring leader. That great man had a dream ~ a dream he believed America would realize ... he had such faith ~ he saw the promised land. Alas, like Moses, MLK did not live to witness that historic moment when his people received their deliverance. It deeply moved me to see Jesse Jackson in the crowd, awaiting Obama's arrival and speech. Why? Because that man, one of many who witnessed Obama became president-elect, also witnessed MLK's assassination. And this, for me, epitomizes the greatness of this achievement.

Has Jesse Jackson come full circle? Have we come full circle? Has Obama delivered his people to their promised land? We have made Obama our Neo ~ a messianic figure that will save us all. Let's remember tho ~ he's no Wizard ... he is but one simple human. And we have placed the burden of our hopes and despairs on his slender shoulders. Can one human carry this heavy cross? And ... I wonder ... can we?. Are we really unplugged enough from the system to really work toward changing it?

about a dream ...

I found this image the most powerful image of the whole evening.
Why? For me, it epitomizes the profound shift
which fueled a most historic and breath-taking moment.
Recall, if you will, that the man in the image stood beside MLK
when James Earl Ray fired that fateful shot.
How far have you come, America?

the onion sombrero???

hi y'all.

yes, boney i will do the meme ~ post 10 pics of myself ~ i just have to find some pics to post (currently not at my 'puter ... grrrr, i HATE non-mac technology!)

in the meantime ~ to entertain yourselves, just play this commercial over and over again. do it, or else i'll make you wear the onion sombrero.

hahahahahahahahahahahahah. [evil, mad cackle].

yes ~ i've officially gone around the bend.

4664

Nelson Mandela celebrates 90 years of age!

Many Happy Returns of the Day, Mr. Mandela.
You fight so hard for freedom
because you suffered its removal for so many years.
We have no idea. We think we do, but we don't.
You inspire us to learn, grow, and know.

Are You Kidding Me?

NOTE: forgive me, my dear American friends
but this issue really gets me.

|Supreme Court Affirms America's Right to Bear Arms|

Q: Why does any individual NEED a handgun?
A: To kill another individual.

Q: Is a handgun REALLY the best conflict resolution tool?
A: America seems to think so.

Q: How's that working for them Americans?
A: Not too well.

Dear Readers, need I say more?

Remember this bit of wisdom? "He who lives by the sword, dies by the sword." (replace "sword" with the weapon of your choice.) When will we, as humanity, ever learn that violence only begets violence? America, you are a violent nation!

my favourite publicity

Laughter - The Best Medicine

Ever heard of Ron James?
He is one fucking funny Canadian.
While your head is hurtin'
this morning or whatever ...
have a listen.
You will laff your ass off.
Seriously.

Ron James on Guns - click to listen
Ron James on Airport Security - click to listen


Now watch Ron rant about computers

Now he's ranting about smoking/jogging

Ron James

"I don't fear death."

Ahh, but, m'lady, we ~ who remain to mourn your death ~ do very much fear YOUR death. We fear that the pressure cooker you spoke of ~ 'Pakistan under a dictatorship' ~ will likely explode, spewing the violence of carnage and terror to all sides of a most unstable region of the world. And what of Pakistan's nuclear warheads? And what of India? And what of Kashmir? And what of Afghanistan? And what of the people of Pakistan? The world continues to disintegrate. And you have been finally laid to rest, but far too soon.

rose petals for Benazir Bhutto

It is only a tiny rosebud,
A flower of nature's design;
But I cannot unfold the petals
With these clumsy hands of mine.

The secret of unfolding flowers
Is not known to such as I.
Mother nature opens this flower so sweetly,
When in my hands they fade and die ...

the cup of death
~ a cup from which we will ALL eventually drink~

death has two faces?

two sides of the same coin
Originally uploaded by robbroccoli

ahhh. i cannot take credit for this brilliant image. but, it amused me so, that i felt compelled to share it. and thus, move on from the woe-is-me post below. think of this as an early hallowe'en.

i'm feeling socially militant these days.
expand the post for some links to some sites designed to inform us all.

iraq body count
Amnesty International
create change
empire of debt
muslim refusenik
faith without fear

get your fucking head outta the sand!

yeah, that's right. get with the program and take part in keeping this planet alive. for fuck's sake, this earth has suffered enormously because of the ignorance, egocentrism and brutality of humanity. its suffered because we're complacent, lazy, and addicted to consumption. its suffering because some misguided religious types have told us for centuries that the animals and plants of the earth exist for the use of humanity. BULLSHIT! its time we stopped thinking that absolute crap.

so ... GET YOUR FUCKING HEADS OUTTA THE SAND!
cut the pre-operational crap. look around you.
can you step outside the box, for once?
who knows, you may find the expanded view quite interesting.
enlightening, even.

be part of the problem, not the solution.



yes, this post is harsh. its my planet, too. i've lived in places sensitive to climate change ~ the north and the coastal rain forest. i have lived climate change in my short life time. its alarming. we need to turn the global environmental terror alert up to red. or we'll all end up on some apocalyptic planet, like the one described in Margaret Atwood's Oryx and Crake. frankly, i'm sick and tired of hearing ignorant bullshit from the likes of individuals who turn a blind eye to the carnage of humanity upon the environment and then cling to 11 inaccuracies as their justification for inertia and inaction. here's a challenge for you ~ put the keys to that gas guzzling, pollution-emitting earth-raping machine of yours away, and take transit. ooops! i almost forgot, you're likely all too good for that, aren't you? how many excuses can all of you come up with to justify why you need that car, truck or suv?

its all a question of priorities, isn't it?

the kindness of bigotry

i'd finally had it. i could tolerate it no longer. does that make me weaker thann the rest, or stronger? i called someone a bigot. i figured, if it looks like a duck, walks like a duck, quacks like a duck ... then its definitely NOT a swan ... its a duck and i should call it that. and i should stop expecting this duck to display the grand elegance and poise of a swan ... for a duck is not a swan. a duck is a duck. and so i called it like i saw it.

and now i wonder if i'm supposed to feel bad for calling it like i saw it. because i don't. i feel bad for witnessing the behaviour that made me speak out. i feel bad for remaining silent for so long. i feel bad for the reality that many around me continue to remain silent. and the cycle of hatred continues. and, i find myself wondering ... what is kindness? is it just whitewashing everything? is it truth? compassion? when is compassion appropriate? all the time? is compassion necessarily niceness? is truth?



how does one show kindness to a bigot? by ignoring the bigotry? by whitewashing it? by pretending we don't see it? is that kindness ... to refrain from expressing our true visceral reactions, for fear we may cause waves? is this kindness ... doctoring the truth based on some notion we have of the perceptions of others? i have a problem with that ... isn't that lying? to refrain from speaking the truth? when there's an elephant pouncing on my chest ... do i just tell everyone i feel okay because that's the answer they want to receive? that seems FUCKED UP to me.

this is eating me up. i want to think that truth is always in order ... even when its ugly. but so many around me seem to execute their existence based on the notion that truth is only in order when its pretty. and no one wants to weigh in on this issue. so ... i am left wondering. and ... well, i suppose that's just another thing that scalds and scorches my frail, brittle and breaking heart.

Western Jahiliyyah

Don't know what that word means?
Educate yourself and look it up.
Do we, in the West, really believe ourselves superior?
If so, we need to pull our heads out of our fucking asses.



expand the post to read an excerpt from Karen Armstrong's book Muhammad, A Prophet for our Time

We have a long history of Islamophobia in Western Culture that dates back to the time of the Crusades. In the twelfth century, Christiam monks in Europe insisted that Islam was a violent religion of the sword, and that Muhammad was a charlatan who imposed his religion on a reluctant world by force of arms; they called him a lecher and a sexual pervert. This distorted version of the Prophet's life became one of the received ideas of the West, and Western people have always found it difficult to see Muhammad in a more objective light. Since the destruction of the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001, members of the Christian Right and the United States and some sectors of the Western media have continued this tradition of hostility, claiming that Muhammad was irredeemably addicted to war. Some have gone so far as to claim that he was a terrorist and a pedophile.

We can no longer afford to indulge in this type of bigotry, because it is a gift to extremists who can use such statements to "prove" that the Western world is indeed engaged on a new crusade against the Islamic world. Muhammad was not a man of violence. We must approach his life in a balanced way, in order to appreciate his considerable achievements. To cultivate an inaccurate prejudice damages the tolerance, liberality and compassion that are supposed to characterize Western culture.

~ Karen Armstrong

I have spoken out recently. In disagreement. I have tried to understand, but its impossible to dialogue with someone who makes little effort to understand you, isn't it? Frankly, I'm sick and tired of the lies perpetuated by small-minded bigotry which takes historical events out of context for pure ideological hubris. And I have as much as said so, choosing against doing what everyone else does: tip toe around the shit pile, or pretend not to smell it. If this has made me unpopular, then ... oh well. Too fucking bad. Your loss ... I rather like being unpopular ... its what I've always been, and its quite freeing, actually.

EDIT: a great description of the Bush Administration by Stephen Lewis ~ "... they have not a moment of remorse [for the situation in Iraq]... they're military predators!" ... HOW BRILLIANT!

suffer!! what have we become?!

here's a reality check for all those who purport to have fears about school shootings, and mass shootings in general. it seems to me the USA no longer lays claim to the monniker 'land of the free' ~ what's free about it, if you can get your fucking head blown off, just for going to school? NUTHIN', that's what! IMHO, of course. read on, if you'd rather stick your head in the sand about all that.

I'd just published a post on time and the universe seeking balance through its expansion. And then, I had a change of heart. This public ad ~ its not new ~ changed my heart (squeezed it, too). I've seen it numerous times in the past. Each time, I feel instantly inclined to change the channel ... and each time I deny myself that indulgence ... that self-centred, petty indulgence. So many of us do actually change the channel, clinging to the pre-operational notion which tempts us each to think, if we shut something from our vision, it does not exist as a problem for us.

So ~ watch this video. Its short ~ 2 minutes. It should give you a mammoth heart ache. It should make you feel abject shame at your membership in the human race. It may make you cry. Its designed to garner a reaction ~ to open our eyes to selfishness and cruelty, as humans. This video serves as a humble reminder, on this fair Sunday afternoon, the we, humanity, truly are the scourge of the earth.




Expand the post to read the poem, Treat Me Kindly

Treat Me Kindly

Treat me kindly, my beloved friend,
For no heart in all the world is more
rateful for kindness than the loving
heart of me.

Do not break my spirit with a stick,
For though I should lick your hand
between blows, your patience and
understanding will more quickly
teach me the things you would
have me learn.

Speak to me often, For your voice is
the world's sweetest music, as you must
know by the fierce wagging of my tail
when your footsteps fall upon my ears.

Please take me inside when it is cold
and wet, For I am a domesticated
animal, no longer accustomed to the
bitter elements. I ask no greater glory
than the privilege of sitting at your
feet beside the hearth.

Keep my pan filled with water, for I
cannot tell you when I suffer thirst.
Feed me clean food that I may stay well,
to romp and play and do your bidding,
to walk by your side, and stand ready,
willing and able to protect you with
my life, should your life be in danger.

And, my friend, when I am very old, and
I no longer enjoy good health, hearing
and good sight, do not make heroic
efforts to keep me going.

I am not having fun. Please see that my
trusting life is taken gently. I shall
leave this earth knowing with the last
breath I drew, that my fate was always
safest in your hand.

~ By Beth Norman Harris 1968 ~

how'd they do that?

how'd they get the computer in there?

meet the newest member of the mac family ~ the imac. that's it ~ a space-aged thingy that looks like a tv screen or a pc monitor, a mouse and an aluminum keyboard! holy fuck! where'd they put everything? how'd they get all the nerdy components in there? i lurv mac!

interview with a mantissa, act two

this question, for obvious reasons, deserves its own post.
so ... without further ado, i present to you
question number 3 of the cruel virgin's interview.
~ i'm still working on the final question ~

3. As a Canadian, what is your view of America?

Over half a century ago Simone Weil wrote that " ... uprootedness is the great plague of the twentieth century ..." In one of her books, The Need for Roots. I have found myself, for the past several months (since 'discovering' her) very drawn to her words and concepts of existence and spirituality. She considered America " ... a nation consisting of uprooted people bent upon uprooting the rest of the world." Indeed. I agree. In fact, in poking through some of my past, and more philosophical posts I came across this, which I wrote, about myself :

she sees the world thru her markedly mosaic lense. she realized how it colours her vision of humanity. it raises her expectations of humanity. for the beauty of a mosaic lies in its contrast of differences. she believes in the principle of equality. and so, she cannot accept that differences must all be melted into some sort of sluggish paste. that view, she sees as intolerant. equality for all means respect of each and every individual. she believes that this view makes her quintessentially canadian. the poetic beauty of the mosaic embodies, symbolically, the canadian identity.
~ me

Thus begins my answer to this question.

I grew up in the Canadian Prairies, just two hours from the 49th parallel. We visited the neighbouring state from time to time. From the people that make up the American nation, I have only received exuberance of spirit, a larger-than-life attitude toward living, the greatest (i.e. retail) service and big hearts that open up with a willingness to help when need arises. Here's a story to illustrate. Once, when I was about 8 years old, my family (4 of us - my parents and my sister, and I) went camping in a trailer my uncle let us use for a week or two. What makes this trip stand out is how complete strangers in that campsite - an American man and his family - helped us out when we desperately needed it ... when something went terribly wrong with the sewage hook-up of the trailer. We did not have a car to move the trailer (my uncle had moved it to the campsite prior to our trip) and this nice man did not even think twice ... he grabbed his truck ... hitched us up and moved us to a new spot in the campground. That's how i see the average American person.

As for the nation that calls itself America ... I sadly, and sometimes with fire, say that I see it as largely misguided ... by its lust to uproot the world at large ... by its lust for glamour, power and domination in all realms of existence ... by its lust for retribution, revenge ... and the single-minded egocentrism with which it approaches all world negotiations ... by its schadenfreude-ness ... by its exaltation of violence and destruction (the right to bear arms, WWE Raw, film/TV) ... by its refusal to reside in the world as an entirely SECULAR state ... by its spiritual egocentrism ... by its hypocrisy and sheer STUPIDITY in villifying addicts and addiction, misunderstanding addiction and in declaring a moronic war on drugs ... by its 21st century 'smoke-em-out' western-style colonialist attitude ... by its refusal, as a collective of individuals, to realize the beauty in that which looks so different as to appear alien.

I will stop now. I'm sorry to all who read this ~ i know the vast majority of you reading this answer are American ... well ... it's likely an answer you'd rather avoid reading, perhaps. But ... I have only merely answered a question asked of me; and ... many of you know of what I write intrinsically ... deep down ... whether you care to admit it ... since its your nation of which I speak, here. Please ... I hope no one flames me for this answer. I'm Just being honest.

If you wanted to swallow blue pill, I'm afraid, dear reader, that you've come to the wrong spot! ;^]

i love this old beer commercial ...

feeling a little mischievious today ...

tell me ... why does it seem as though every roxi or roxanne in music/song is a hooker?

in this bad-girl song, roxi passes you the keys you drop on the floor of the movie theatre ... what's she doing on the floor of the movie theatre during a movie? haha. being a bad girl ... that's what! listen .... yeah, i know, its another amcient tune!

oh, but i like it.

and i promise soon, you'll see another post about something intelligent ~ a post about the parents of a murdered teen and how they embraced their daughter's killer. i know ~ i pick the tough ones. but ... if parents can forgive the killer of their daughter ... why can't the rest of us forgive .... just about anything else?

FUCK MICROSOFT

/grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr ...... and .... GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR ....ok. what's your first clue that i am PISSED OFF?
fucking microsoft ~ godddamned BIG BROTHER of the digital world.

I HATE MICROSOFT! HATE HATE HATE HATE HATE HATE HATE HATE HATE HATE HATE HATE HATE HATE IT!!!!!!

how fucking DARE THEY? how dare they STRIP AN ATTACHMENT from my email, sent to myself? what's up with that bullshit? so, now i cannot send some fucking benign c-sharp code to myself in a .txt file, attached to my hotmail email account? what gives?

FUCKING CRAP!!

i will say it again. MICROSOFT SUCKS.

fuck you, microsoft and everything that's not a mac. FUCK, do i ever hate the non-mac world today! and check the side bar for the linux penguin, doing what i dearly would LOVE to do right this minute - beating that fucking microsoft butterfly! go tuxie, go! swat that pesky vermin!

... grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr ...
[that's tuxie growling] didja know that penguins GROWL? yeah, they do.

:) well, on the bright side, at least i have a mac (actually, 2). HA HA.