Dreams and Demons

Where Have All The Flowers Gone

2007-01-03T18:14:00.000-08:00

Where have all the flowers gone, long time passing?

Where have all the flowers gone, long time ago?

Where have all the flowers gone?

Gone to young girls, every one!

When will they ever learn, when will they ever learn?

Where have all the young girls gone, long time passing?

Where have all the young girls gone, long time ago?

Where have all the young girls gone?

Gone to young men, every one!

When will they ever learn, when will they ever learn?

Where have all the young men gone, long time passing?

Where have all the young men gone, long time ago?

Where have all the young men gone?

Gone to soldiers, every one!

When will they ever learn, when will they ever learn?

And where have all the soldiers gone, long time passing?

Where have all the soldiers gone, a long time ago?

Where have all the soldiers gone?

Gone to graveyards, every one!

When will they ever learn, when will they ever learn?

And where have all the graveyards gone, long time passing?

Where have all the graveyards gone, long time ago?

Where have all the graveyards gone?

Gone to flowers, every one!

When will they ever learn, oh when will they ever learn?

The song was inspired by a passage
from Mikhail Sholokhov's novel
"And Quie Flows the Don" with additional
verses by Joe Hickerson.

Source:

Music & Lyrics from www.duchessathome.com

Reflections

2006-12-24T07:08:00.000-08:00

So today I had the opportunity to read this blog http://elderravenfiresthoughts.blogspot.com

It truly upset and frightened me. I seriously want people to know that 99.99% of pagans are NOT like that.

This man is truly out there. He realy believes his party line of hatred and paranoia. And you know what? If he keeps up like this, he will have people after him. There will be people who will move to stop his ranting, because he is a danger, to Christians and Pagans alike.

You cannot spew forth that kind of viscious verbage and not have consequences.

I cannot imagine what it is like to have that much hatred and lies control ones life, I really cannot. I cannot see how it is helpful to anyone to believe that crap. But apparently there are some out there.

I don't know, I really just do not know.

Movement

2006-12-12T10:44:00.000-08:00

For as long as I can remember we moved, a lot.

I hated it, I moved out of my mother's house when I was 14 f

I was tired of watching her boyfriend beat her up, and her let him.

She wanted to move, again, and I wanted to finish high school in the same place.

Her boyfriend beat me to a pulp, he cracked 3 ribs, broke one, smashed my face in with his fist, in fact, to this day I still have the scar from that beating.

Three days later she dropped the charges against him.

{I need to note here, the cops KNEW he beat the crap out of me, that is why they arrested him, but not one of them came to talk to me and let me know that I could put the bastard in prison}

So I left. I became emmancipated at age 14, an adult, when most girls are still playing with Barbie and having slumber parties.

As an adult, I moved around a lot, at first it was because I was an alcoholic. My mother taught me well.

Later, I realized I liked being in new places. But, it got harder and harder to move. I had two kids. It was tougher on them.

When we came home to Colorado, I promised them that they would stay here, in the same schools with the same friends, until they graduated from high school.

My daughter is graduating next May.

And I can feel the restlessness moving inside me. It's alive, it is.

I want to see:
Paris
Greece....Athens especially
Quebec
Vancouver
London
Kiev
Egypt...the Library at Alexandra

I want to go to Italy and Tuscany

I want to sit on a boat and float down the Nile and the Amazon rivers

I want to watch tribal dances on the Congo

And watch the sunrise on an African savannah

I want MOVEMENT

Time

2006-12-09T16:27:00.000-08:00

Time

I never seem to have enough time

Time to kiss my daughter

Time to read that book

Time to just sit and dream

Instead I rush through life always counting Time

I think it is time

Yes, Time to stop counting

And start living

UN creates new human rights body

2006-03-15T14:10:00.000-08:00

"The UN General Assembly has voted overwhelmingly to create a new human rights organisation for the world body, despite United States criticism.

The 47-nation UN Human Rights Council will replace the current 53-country UN Human Rights Commission.

The existing body has been heavily criticised for having countries with poor human rights records as members.

The US voted against the plan, saying the reforms did not go far enough, but pledged to work with the new council."

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/4810538.stm

I call BULLSHIT!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The US voted no because one of the provisions of the new declarations is to work towards returning stolen lands and material wealth to indigenous peoples. Of course the US voted NO, they can't afford to vote yes, Gods forbid the world actually find out

JUST HOW MUCH THEY STOLE FROM AMERICAN INDIANS!!!!

On the bright side, China, Guatamala among others all stand to lose BIG because of their crappy human rights records, oh yeah!!!!!

Dreams and Demons

2006-03-05T17:32:00.000-08:00

Dreams and Demons

How might your life have been different,
if through the years,
there had been a place where you could go?....
a place of women who knew the cycles of life,
the ebb and flow of nature,
who knew of times of work and times of quiet.......
who understood your tiredness and need for rest.

A place of women who could help you to accept your fatigue
and trust your limitations,
and to know,
in the dark of winter,
that your energy would return,
as surely as the spring.

Women who could help you light a candle and to wait.....

How might your life be different?

"Circle of Stones: Woman's Journey to Herself"
by Judith Duerk
pp 103

So I read the above, and it just hit home. It really resonated.

Secession

2005-12-25T11:39:00.000-08:00

Now this is interesting

For a long time I've argued that the Civil War was NOT about freeing the slaves, but about keeping the power. It seems as if others agree with me. In Vermont you'll find a group who wants to seperate themselves from the USA. They have some good arguements, mind you I don't think it will happen any time soon, but maybe it should.

From

Free Vermont

Green Mountain boys ponder secession.

By Bill Kauffman

The Second Vermont Republic has a clear, if not simple, mission: “Our primary objective is to extricate Vermont peacefully from the United States as soon as possible.” The SVR people are not doing this to “make a point” or to stretch the boundaries of debate. They really want out.

To read the whole article
http://www.amconmag.com/2005/2005_12_19/article.html

I remember

2005-12-25T11:10:00.000-08:00

I remember growing up in a small town in Southern California, I was lucky my family didn't believe in racism or discrimination.

When I was 12 my Mom moved us to Ohio.....and ran smack dab into ugly racist rhetoric.

It was the longest and ugliest 6 months of my life, I was never so glad to move home.

Now we have a new race war on our horizon, but of course those in power don't give a damn as long as there is someone to clean their house, flip their burgers and turn down their sheets.

End of the Rainbow

South Central Los Angeles ushers in a new era of racial tension—this time between blacks and Hispanics.

by Roger D. McGrath

Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca, whose deputies patrol Compton, attributes the spike in murders to drugs, gangs, and racial tension. Drugs and gangs, however, were very much a part of Compton during the ’70s, ’80s, and ’90s, leaving racial conflict between blacks and Latinos as the new factor—the elephant in the living room that few want to discuss publicly. Baca was right about drugs and gangs, though, except instead of black gang members killing each other as in the past in Compton, it is now more likely black-on-brown or brown-on-black.

There is a war at the moment between the Latino Compton Tortilla Flats gang and the black Fruit Town Pirus. Their combined efforts just might make this a record year for murder in Compton.

It’s clear that the Rainbow Coalition’s colors are running, and they’re running blood red.

To read the whole article, which I highly suggest go here
http://www.amconmag.com/2005/2005_12_19/cover.html

If your not scared, you should be, history demands we repeat our mistakes if we don't learn from them, and its pretty clear that we haven't.

Pissed right the fuck off!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2005-12-14T17:48:00.000-08:00

So, am sitting here, trying really really hard to not be pissed off, and you know what? It isn't working.

I had finally reached a point of being 'okay' not good, not bad, not pissed or frustrated or anything, just okay. I was working my way through it, and was learning to accept where I fucked up and where I didn't and how I could make sure it didn't happen again.

So today I'm greeted with an email, blaming me for something I didn't fucking do, from someone who always wants to fucking blame someone else.

On top of it, the thing I'm being blamed for, the cheap shit thinks I SHOULD FUCKING BE RESPONSIBLE FOR HIS GODDAMMED CAR INSURANCE!!!!!!!!!!!

Now that just pisses me off more then anything....
The ONLY reason my daughter is getting ANYTHING for Christmas is because my roommate was NICE enough to loan me the money to buy her a few things.

So lets reiterate, my daughter gets a pair of jeans, a sweater, a pear necklace I got on clearance plus my employee discount, and a Symphonic, (read generic) TV to replace her ancient one.

We've been eating off of roughly 40-50 dollars a week, making it work, we're almost caught up on our bills, which is nice as rent is due in 22 days, and this jerk thinks we should pay his insurance!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I've kept my mouth shut, don't talk to anyone, becuase someone has repeated what I've said when I was pissed, yeah that is right, I am NOT FUCKING ALLOWED TO VENT TO MY FIRENDS!!!!!!!!!!!! Oh nooooooooo, fucking spare me.

I'm done, I don't want to talk to anyone, I don't want to have anything to do with anyone, I will never in my life trust people who are supposed to be my friends.....

Yeah, Merry Fucking Christmas............

All I want for Yule

2005-12-13T14:47:00.000-08:00

So, the other day a friends asks; "What do you want for xmas??? (insert Yule for us pagans).

I started think, what would I really like for Yule, and I realized that I really don't need anything, there are few toys, like one of those cool Axiom handlhelds that I like to drool over, but at the end of the day that is something that I can wait for. .

So, things I'd Like to have, but don't really need.

Barnes and Noble gift cards, yeah, I always love new books.

Kohls gift card, I love Kohls, they have the loveliest women's dept.

My car detailed, it still smells of coolant from when the heater went.

That awesome jacket I saw at earth star creations, but its probably gone...

An Ipod or equivilent would be cool.

Ugg winter boots, these are SWEET!!!!

Yeah, that's about it. Wow, its interesting, what do you say, when someone asks you; what do you want for yule?????

Next time, I think I'll be a smart ass and say "winning lottery numbers please"

rofl........NOW THAT IS SOMETHING I'D LIKE TO HAVE

What I really want, is my friends to come visit, watch some movies, have dinner, play some games.
Yeah, that would be the best gift.

Tuesday

2005-10-04T08:08:00.000-07:00

It may be Tuesday but it feels like a Monday!!!!!!!!!!!!

So, I'm reading about Harriet Miers, and there is NOTHING!!!!!!!!!!

Ok, interviews with the press where she props up Bush, and talks a good game, but would someone please tell me,
HOW IN THE FUCK THIS QUALIFIES HER FOR THE SUPREME COURT!?!?!?!?!?!?

The Times says he picked her because he doesn't want a fight, WTF?? How does that get him out of a fight?? And why can't he just darn well pick someone that knows what they are doing???

I give up, we're embroiled in a war, no wait it isnt' a war anymore, its, what do you call it?? Oh yeah I remember, a police action, that isn't it?? Ya sure??? We've moved from war, to "stabilizing agents for democracy" Say that ten times fast without sarcasm dripping from your vocal cords.

Okay, test in physical anthropolgy, the class I love to Hate.....BAH

WTF ever happened to personal responsibility???

2005-09-11T10:09:00.000-07:00

Everything is interconnected, I live in Colorado, and for the last 100+ years the Rockies have been under a fire suppression ban.

The people who live up there like their views, and I can understand that, heck I like the view as well. But the trees get huge, and the grasses and plants below start to die because of lack of sunlight and moisture, those dead plants become "trash" (okay there ia technical term for it, but I can't remember it.)

A fire cleans all of that up, it clears out the dead plants, the dying or diseased trees, and makes room for grass, flowers, other plants and non-evergreen trees (another word I can't remember).

The point is fire is natural, (lightening is usually the cause here). It restores balance to the forest. Currently the fire dept's have won a temporary battle against homeowners and some 'natural' fires are being allowed, watched yes, but allowed in order to restore the balance to our forests.

A tidal wave in one part of the world will still impact places on the other side of the globe, it changes weather paterns, it changes slightly the currents, all of these tiny changes impact the weather in other places.

What happend in New Orleans is tragic for the people living there. But we need to seperate the natural disaster with the political disaster and personal responsibility because they are two very different things. I am getting really tired of all these people ranting on and on about how the pres just hates poor black people. At the end of the day does he hold ultimate culpability? sure, that is his job. But along the way there are quite a few other people to look at first.

Current economic status, most of the people that were still in the affected areas could not afford to leave when told the hurricane was going to hit. My question, after watching several folk who were still in their homes, and could have left, if these people had a car and gas would they have abandoned their homes????

Current politics mean that most of our National Guard were not available to help quickly. And before everyone jumps up and says its the Pres. fault, I'd like to remind people that the Gov. of Louisiana just like other states KNEW he didn't have enough National Guard to call on, LONG before the hurricane hit.

So the real question, is why didn't local, county, state and federal govt's do something about an emergancy plan long before this? They live below sea level in an area historically devastated by hurricanes and floods for crying out loud!!!!!!!

Why didn't people say, hey we're in a war, I need to think about how I am going to handle a hurricane/tornado/flood/earthquake AND NOT DEPEND ON THE GOVERNMENT TO HELP ME.

I'm sorry, and this is only my opinion, but anyone with a modicum of common sense has seen the news, read a newspaper, its common knowledge that a vast majority of our national guardsmen are in Iraq and Afganistan,

WTF??? And everyone was "taken by surprise" by this hurricane?????

You live in an area which is regulary slammed by Mother Nature at her finest, you damn well know the Fed. gov has denied monies to replace the levees you need to keep you all safe, and you don't have a freaking plan to get out of pissed of Mother Nature's way???????

Do I feel when I see a mother and her children homeless?? Hell yeah I do, I am a mother, and I've been homeless. These people have lost everything and its absolutely devastating.

But news flash to the general population: They chose to live in a disaster prone area.

They don't get to blame the Govt. till they take a long look in the mirrror and say
"Hey, living below sea level with NO fucking planning, was fucking stupid!!!!"

Then you can turn around and ask WTF happend to rescue crews etc etc etc.

Since when is it okay for me to blame the gov't for my shitty life???? Because I am here to tell you I could, does that mean the rest of the country is responsible to make my life better??? No it doesn't, and all through this disaster I've seen folk repeatedly blame everyone else, most especially the gov't.

Whatever happened to personal responsibility???

Okay done ranting now, and in case your worried, I am not a cold hearted bitch, I am collectng items to take to an organization in Boulder which will then be trucked to evacuees in Texas. I am just tired of the lets blame the gov't then I don't have to take responsibility for my shitty choices.

Okay now this kind of pisses me off and...

2005-09-09T08:19:00.000-07:00

reminds me of why I have hope and faith at the same time....

Ganked from Jaz

Hurricane Katrina-Our Experiences

Larry Bradshaw, Lorrie Beth Slonsky

Two days after Hurricane Katrina struck New Orleans, the Walgreen's store at the corner of Royal and Iberville streets remained locked. The dairy display case was clearly visible through the widows. It was now 48 hours without electricity, running water, plumbing. The milk, yogurt, and cheeses were beginning to spoil in the 90-degree heat. The owners and managers had locked up the food, water, pampers, and prescriptions and fled the City. Outside Walgreen's windows, residents and tourists grew increasingly thirsty and hungry.

The much-promised federal, state and local aid never materialized and the windows at Walgreen's gave way to the looters. There was an alternative. The cops could have broken one small window and distributed the nuts, fruit juices, and bottle water in an organized and systematic manner. But they did not. Instead they spent hours playing cat and mouse, temporarily chasing away the looters.

We were finally airlifted out of New Orleans two days ago and arrived home yesterday (Saturday). We have yet to see any of the TV coverage or look at a newspaper. We are willing to guess that there were no video images or front-page pictures of European or affluent white tourists looting the Walgreen's in the French Quarter.

We also suspect the media will have been inundated with "hero" images of the National Guard, the troops and the police struggling to help the "victims" of the Hurricane. What you will not see, but what we witnessed,were the real heroes and sheroes of the hurricane relief effort: the working class of New Orleans. The maintenance workers who used a fork lift to carry the sick and disabled. The engineers, who rigged, nurtured and kept the generators running. The electricians who improvised thick extension cords stretching over blocks to share the little electricity we had in order to free cars stuck on rooftop parking lots. Nurses who took over for mechanical ventilators and spent many hours on end manually forcing air into the lungs of unconscious patients to keep them alive. Doormen who rescued folks stuck in elevators. Refinery workers who broke into boat yards, "stealing" boats to rescue their neighbors clinging to their roofs in flood waters. Mechanics who helped hot-wire any car that could be found to ferry people out of the City. And the food service workers who scoured the commercial kitchens improvising communal meals for hundreds of those stranded.

Most of these workers had lost their homes, and had not heard from members of their families, yet they stayed and provided the only infrastructure for the 20% of New Orleans that was not under water.

On Day 2, there were approximately 500 of us left in the hotels in the French Quarter. We were a mix of foreign tourists, conference attendees like ourselves, and locals who had checked into hotels for safety and shelter from Katrina. Some of us had cell phone contact with family and friends outside of New Orleans. We were repeatedly told that all sorts of resources including the National Guard and scores of buses were pouring in to the City. The buses and the other resources must have been invisible because none of us had seen them.

We decided we had to save ourselves. So we pooled our money and came up with $25,000 to have ten buses come and take us out of the City. Those who did not have the requisite $45.00 for a ticket were subsidized by those who did have extra money. We waited for 48 hours for the buses, spending the last 12 hours standing outside, sharing the limited water, food, and clothes we had. We created a priority boarding area for the sick, elderly and new born babies. We waited late into the night for the "imminent" arrival of the buses. The buses never arrived. We later learned that the minute the arrived to the City limits, they were commandeered by the military.

By day 4 our hotels had run out of fuel and water. Sanitation was dangerously abysmal. As the desperation and despair increased, street crime as well as water levels began to rise. The hotels turned us out and locked their doors, telling us that the "officials" told us to report to the convention center to wait for more buses. As we entered the center of the City, we finally encountered the National Guard. The Guards told us we would not be allowed into the Superdome as the City's primary shelter had descended into a humanitarian and health hellhole. The guards further told us that the City's only other shelter, the Convention Center, was also descending into chaos and squalor and that the police were not allowing anyone else in. Quite naturally, we asked, "If we can't go to the only 2 shelters in the City, what was our alternative?" The guards told us that that was our problem, and no they did not have extra water to give to us. This would be the start of our numerous encounters with callous and hostile "law enforcement".

We walked to the police command center at Harrah's on Canal Street and were told the same thing, that we were on our own, and no they did not have water to give us. We now numbered several hundred. We held a mass meeting to decide a course of action. We agreed to camp outside the police command post. We would be plainly visible to the media and would constitute a highly visible embarrassment to the City officials. The police told us that we could not stay. Regardless, we began to settle in and set up camp. In short order, the police commander came across the street to address our group. He told us he had a solution: we should walk to the Pontchartrain Expressway and cross the greater New Orleans Bridge where the police had buses lined up to take us out of the City. The crowed cheered and began to move. We called everyone back and explained to the commander that there had been lots of misinformation and wrong information and was he sure that there were buses waiting for us. The commander turned to the crowd and stated emphatically, "I swear to you that the buses are there."

We organized ourselves and the 200 of us set off for the bridge with great excitement and hope. As we marched pasted the convention center, many locals saw our determined and optimistic group and asked where we were headed. We told them about the great news. Families immediately grabbed their few belongings and quickly our numbers doubled and then doubled again. Babies in strollers now joined us, people using crutches, elderly clasping walkers and others people in wheelchairs. We marched the 2-3 miles to the freeway and up the steep incline to the Bridge. It now began to pour down rain, but it did not dampen our enthusiasm.

As we approached the bridge, armed Gretna sheriffs formed a line across the foot of the bridge. Before we were close enough to speak, they began
firing their weapons over our heads. This sent the crowd fleeing in various directions. As the crowd scattered and dissipated, a few of us inched forward and managed to engage some of the sheriffs in conversation. We told them of our conversation with the police commander and of the commander's assurances. The sheriffs informed us there were no buses waiting. The commander had lied to us to get us to move.

We questioned why we couldn't cross the bridge anyway, especially as there was little traffic on the 6-lane highway. They responded that the West Bank was not going to become New Orleans and there would be no Superdomes in their City. These were code words for if you are poor and black, you are not crossing the Mississippi River and you were not getting out of New Orleans.

Our small group retreated back down Highway 90 to seek shelter from the rain under an overpass. We debated our options and in the end decided to build an encampment in the middle of the Ponchartrain Expressway on the center divide, between the O'Keefe and Tchoupitoulas exits. We reasoned we would be visible to everyone, we would have some security being on an elevated freeway and we could wait and watch for the arrival of the yet to be seen buses.

All day long, we saw other families, individuals and groups make the same trip up the incline in an attempt to cross the bridge, only to be turned away. Some chased away with gunfire, others simply told no, others to be verbally berated and humiliated. Thousands of New Orleaners were prevented and prohibited from self-evacuating the City on foot. Meanwhile, the only two City shelters sank further into squalor and disrepair. The only way across the bridge was by vehicle. We saw workers stealing trucks, buses, moving vans, semi-trucks and any car that could be hotwired. All were packed with people trying to escape the misery New Orleans had become.

Our little encampment began to blossom. Someone stole a water delivery truck and brought it up to us. Let's hear it for looting! A mile or so down the freeway, an army truck lost a couple of pallets of C-rations on a tight turn. We ferried the food back to our camp in shopping carts. Now secure with the two necessities, food and water; cooperation, community, and creativity flowered. We organized a clean up and hung garbage bags from the rebar poles. We made beds from wood pallets and cardboard. We designated a storm drain as the bathroom and the kids built an elaborate enclosure for privacy out of plastic, broken umbrellas, and other scraps. We even organized a food recycling system where individuals could swap out parts of C-rations (applesauce for babies and candies for kids!).

This was a process we saw repeatedly in the aftermath of Katrina. When individuals had to fight to find food or water, it meant looking out for yourself only. You had to do whatever it took to find water for your kids or food for your parents. When these basic needs were met, people began to look out for each other, working together and constructing a community.

If the relief organizations had saturated the City with food and water in the first 2 or 3 days, the desperation, the frustration and the ugliness would not have set in.

Flush with the necessities, we offered food and water to passing families and individuals. Many decided to stay and join us. Our encampment grew to 80 or 90 people.

From a woman with a battery powered radio we learned that the media was talking about us. Up in full view on the freeway, every relief and news organizations saw us on their way into the City. Officials were being asked what they were going to do about all those families living up on the freeway? The officials responded they were going to take care of us. Some of us got a sinking feeling. "Taking care of us" had an ominous tone to it.

Unfortunately, our sinking feeling (along with the sinking City) was correct. Just as dusk set in, a Gretna Sheriff showed up, jumped out of his patrol vehicle, aimed his gun at our faces, screaming, "Get off the fucking freeway". A helicopter arrived and used the wind from its blades to blow away our flimsy structures. As we retreated, the sheriff loaded up his truck with our food and water.

Once again, at gunpoint, we were forced off the freeway. All the law enforcement agencies appeared threatened when we congregated or congealed into groups of 20 or more. In every congregation of "victims" they saw "mob" or "riot". We felt safety in numbers. Our "we must stay together" was impossible because the agencies would force us into small atomized groups.

In the pandemonium of having our camp raided and destroyed, we scattered once again. Reduced to a small group of 8 people, in the dark, we sought refuge in an abandoned school bus, under the freeway on Cilo Street. We were hiding from possible criminal elements but equally and definitely, we were hiding from the police and sheriffs with their martial law, curfew and shoot-to-kill policies.

The next days, our group of 8 walked most of the day, made contact with New Orleans Fire Department and were eventually airlifted out by an urban search and rescue team. We were dropped off near the airport and managed to catch a ride with the National Guard. The two young guardsmen apologized for the limited response of the Louisiana guards. They explained that a large section of their unit was in Iraq and that meant they were shorthanded and were unable to complete all the tasks they were assigned.

We arrived at the airport on the day a massive airlift had begun. The airport had become another Superdome. We 8 were caught in a press of humanity as flights were delayed for several hours while George Bush landed briefly at the airport for a photo op. After being evacuated on a coast guard cargo plane, we arrived in San Antonio, Texas.

There the humiliation and dehumanization of the official relief effort continued. We were placed on buses and driven to a large field where we were forced to sit for hours and hours. Some of the buses did not have air-conditioners. In the dark, hundreds if us were forced to share two filthy overflowing porta-potties. Those who managed to make it out with any possessions (often a few belongings in tattered plastic bags) we were subjected to two different dog-sniffing searches.

Most of us had not eaten all day because our C-rations had been confiscated at the airport because the rations set off the metal detectors. Yet, no food had been provided to the men, women, children, elderly, disabled as they sat for hours waiting to be "medically screened" to make sure we were not carrying any communicable diseases.

This official treatment was in sharp contrast to the warm, heart-felt reception given to us by the ordinary Texans. We saw one airline worker give her shoes to someone who was barefoot. Strangers on the street offered us money and toiletries with words of welcome. Throughout, the official relief effort was callous, inept, and racist. There was more suffering than need be. Lives were lost that did not need to be lost.

Ganked from Warren, Long but worth it.

2005-08-31T08:05:00.000-07:00

THE MAYONNAISE JAR AND COFFEE

When things in your life seem almost too much to handle, when 24 hours in a day are not enough, remember the mayonnaise jar...and the coffee.

A professor stood before his philosophy class and had some items in front of him. When the class began, wordlessly, he picked up a very large and empty mayonnaise jar and proceeded to fill it with golf balls. He then asked the students if the jar was full.

They agreed that it was.

So the professor then picked up a box of pebbles and poured them into the jar. He shook the jar lightly. The pebbles rolled into the open areas between the golf balls. He then asked the students again if the
jar was full.

They agreed it was.

The professor next picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar. Of course, the sand filled up everything else. He asked once more if the jar was full.

The students responded with a unanimous "yes."

The professor then produced two cups of coffee from under the table and poured the entire contents into the jar, effectively filling the empty space between the sand. The students laughed.

"Now," said the professor, as the laughter subsided, "I want you to recognize that this jar represents your life. The golf balls are the important things--your spirituality, family, your children, your health, your friends, and your favorite passions--things that if everything else was lost and only they remained, your life would still be full.

The pebbles are the other things that matter like your job, your house, and your car. The sand is everything else--the small stuff.

"If you put the sand into the jar first," he continued, "there is no room for the pebbles or the golf balls. The same goes for life. If you spend all your time and energy on the small stuff, you will never have room for the things that are important to you."

He continued on as the students thought about what he was saying. "Pay attention to the things that are critical to your happiness.

"Play with your children. Take time to get medical checkups. Take your partner out to dinner. Play
another 18. Stop and watch a rainbow and listen to the rain. Call your parents and other loved ones.
There will always be time to clean the house and fix the disposal.

"Take care of the golf balls first, the things that really matter. Set your priorities. The rest is just
sand."

One of the students raised her hand and inquired what the coffee represented.

The professor smiled. "I'm glad you asked. It just goes to show you that no matter how full your life may seem, there's always room for a couple of cups of coffee with a friend."

Letter for Self Nomination

2005-08-20T10:37:00.000-07:00

Merry Meet,

Hello, my name is Alyx Reese. I am self-nominating myself for the upcoming Board position. A few of you may know me. I joined the Pagan Community in Colorado in 1991, originally in Colorado Springs. I’ve been a Dragonfest member since 2000. For the last three years I’ve been a Merchant on Merchants Row, my booth is the Witch’s Broom.

I am married and have two teenagers and one eight year old step-daughter. My husband Merrick volunteered in 2003 to help Elizabeth with Teenfest and then was one of the Sponsors for 2004 and 2005. My daughter Kiki has been coming to Dragonfest with us since 2003, and this year volunteered to be one of the Teenfest Co-coordinators.

This was the first year that I was able to volunteer for staff. I thoroughly enjoyed being one of the Publication editors. Working with the community, staff members and Ops to help prepare all of the packets was a great deal of fun and a learning experience for me.

I am a full time student at CU Boulder with a double major, Literature and Women’s Studies. In 2006 I plan to attend CSU Fort Collins as a graduate student to pursue a Master’s Degree in Literature as well as a Master’s certificate in American Sign Language and Women’s Studies. My ultimate goal is to teach at Front Range Community College. Teaching is one of my principal passions, I believe through teaching we can not only educate the next generation but also help restore understanding and balance in our communities. Part of that has been working within my local community with different Literacy programs. I also work with adolescent girls who come from abusive backgrounds. I am active with other programs as well, Habitat for Humanity’s Women Build program, the Adopt-a-Silo program, and this last spring I was invited to become a summer intern in Washington D.C.

Previously I worked for a coffee company for 5 years, and was a store manager. I’ve acquired a variety of business, organizational, and financial planning skill that I believe could be valuable to our community. As a merchant at Dragonfest I’ve also had the opportunity to interact with a majority of our community and hear what they have to say about the direction and growth of Dragonfest. This year I worked with my daughter Kiki helping her find members to organize workshops, helped her with a workshop, organized the Teenfest Taco Bar and Raffle, as well as beginning an e-group for parents to talk.

I have watched as Dragonfest has continued to grow and change, helping when I could. I would like the opportunity to serve our community and assisting in its continued growth and sustainability. We have a bright future and we have a growing number of young people who are stepping up to ask for the responsibility of getting us there.

Any question, please do not hesitate to ask, I can always be reached at: alyx.reese@gmail.com.

Thank you to everyone that votes and helps make our community strong and lasting, we need you far more then you need me. I look forward to seeing you all in 2006.

Alyx Reese

I think I might be crazy

2005-08-18T14:57:00.000-07:00

Okay, what on earth posssed me to run for the Board???

I can already feel the evil eye.........

But I gave my word, so am going to do this.

Bah

2005-06-16T16:18:00.000-07:00

Why are some people so stupid?????

I told him that he needed to get a lawyer, file for emergancy custody or visitation on the grounds of custodial interference, and does he listen??? Hell Fuck NO!!!!!!!!!!

and he whines and wonders why no one will give him any information.......well DUH!!!!!!!!!!

In other news, the autopsy report on Terry Schiavo is back, her brain is withered to HALF its normal size, in other words, there was NO HOPE OF RECUPERATION!!!!!!!!!!!!

Again, stupid people make me crazy.

Bush Aide Softened Greenhouse Gas Links to Global Warming

2005-06-08T11:02:00.000-07:00

You have to sign up, but its free, http://www.nytimes.com/2005/06/08/politics/08climate.html?th&emc=th

A White House official who once led the oil industry's fight against limits on greenhouse gases has repeatedly edited government climate reports in ways that play down links between such emissions and global warming, according to internal documents.

In handwritten notes on drafts of several reports issued in 2002 and 2003, the official, Philip A. Cooney, removed or adjusted descriptions of climate research that government scientists and their supervisors, including some senior Bush administration officials, had already approved. In many cases, the changes appeared in the final reports.

Now this just pisses me off. No fucking wonder we are in a war for gas, they've set it up so everyone believes not only do we need it, but that it isn't harming our planet, the stupid fucks...

This is yet another example of why our world and country is going to hell in a handbasket.

Fucking stupid ass men

2005-05-29T22:25:00.000-07:00

I have this friend, and I really care about him. But he is a stupid ass moron some days.

He thinks he is in love.

Her home life sucks, her family is trying to put him in jail, and she does nothing.

Okay, so life sucks, but my friend thinks this girl is his soul mate.

So now, her parents have called in the State police, and the FBI.

But, Gods forbid he walk, nay run, away from this girl.

I fucking give. I refuse to participate in this kind of insanity.

Stupid people really piss me off.

Bah

2005-05-29T16:03:00.000-07:00

So, Dragonfest is moving right along. There has been some drama of course, but it seems to be finally quieting down. My current goal is still the same, am hunting for an RV. It is so hard for me to camp out in the cold, I'd much rather have something with heat. It would help quite a bit, much less pain.

I've looked at a few, those that are within my price range, of course are either too big, too small or in absolutel crappy shape.

I'm beginning to think I won't have a choice but to tent camp again, another festival getting sick, BAH!!!!

Disillusioned

2005-05-12T21:09:00.000-07:00

So, today I was so lucky to watch someone graduate, (yeah that was sarcasm).

You know, I've struggled for so long, and this person isn't even fucking done with school yet, so why in the fuck is it necessary for her to do this TWICE? Cuz you know most people are happy doing it all at one shot, but no she had to do it tonight.
Now am waiting to hear it "I graduated before you. "

which better not happen cuz i will fucking kill her.

On another lovely family note, my family is making me fucking crazy. I can't take much more, or i am going off the fucking deep end.

No money, so am stuck in the house ALL FUCKING DAY LONG.

Oh that isn't all, but is enough for now....

Procreation

2005-05-03T10:30:00.000-07:00

Some days I have to wonder why people procreate.

I love my kids, and for the most part they are good kids, they have good sense, and good manners, but apparently only with other people.

So my oldest is almost 19, and he wants me to buy him a 500 digital camera for his birthday. Mind you this year my birthday falls on mother's day, but according to him that is too bad for mom, he is only getting me one present.

It isn't the present, its he lives at home, I pay all the bills, and he acts like he is entitled.

Now where in the fuck did that come from????

I look around and I see all these boys, and all of them seem to be suffering from the common delusion....they are entitled. To special treatment, special privilege, special whatever.

Not too long ago, I was reading another friends journal in which he bitched about his racist mysoginist friend.

That guy isn't much older then my son, same attitude, only worse.

So is it me, am I crazy, or is there something in our society that has taught these kids that they are owed something?????

racist mysoginist pigs

2005-04-28T18:49:00.000-07:00

It never ceases to amaze me, fucking white supremist pigs actually think they are better then everyone else for no other reason then the fact that they are white males.

ASSHOLES, like their genetic code is any different then anyone elses???? I don't fucking think so.

The reality is finally they are losing their "privilage" of being "The Man", finally the rest of the world is saying, Fuck you, just because your white does NOT make you the boss. So go fuck yourself.

ggggrrrrrrr

Worst Customer service....EVER

2005-04-14T22:29:00.000-07:00

From

http://www.gnn.tv/headlines/2054/Two_Dollar_Man_jailed_in_Baltimore_County

excerpt; For Baltimore County police, said spokesman Bill Toohey, “It’s a sign that we’re all a little nervous in the post-9/11 world.

EXCUSE THE FUCK OUT OF ME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The fucking ARREST this poor guy, put him in handcuffs and legirons...
and NOW they want to fucking blame 9/11?????????

WTF?????

Personally, that store manager that called the police needs to be fired, the cop that arrested this poor guy needs to be fired, and if I were Bolesta....I'D SUE THE FUCK OUT OF ALL OF THEM!!!

See, I told you, the human race sucks shit!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Super Volcano in Yellowstone

2005-04-07T20:50:00.000-07:00

WOW!!!
And it's just over the hill from me. Its absolutely amazing to me, and a little scarey.

But I found the entire article facinating.

........................

http://dsc.discovery.com/convergence/supervolcano/under/under.html

Yellowstone National Park sits atop a subterranean chamber of molten rock and gasses so vast that the region, known for its geysers and grizzlies, is arguably one of the largest active volcanoes in the world.

........

The 1980 Mount St. Helens eruption blew 1,300 vertical feet off the mountain, sent an eruption column 80,000 feet high in 15 minutes, ejected 1.4 billion cubic yards of ash detectable over 22,000 square miles, and killed 57 people.

But the last major eruption at Yellowstone, some 640,000 years ago, ejected 8,000 times the ash and lava of Mount St. Helens.

................

A modern full-force Yellowstone eruption could kill millions, directly and indirectly, and would make every volcano in recorded human history look minor by comparison. Fortunately, "super-eruptions" from supervolcanoes have occurred on a geologic time scale so vast that a study by the Geological Society of London declared an eruption on the magnitude of Yellowstone's biggest (the Huckleberry Ridge eruption 2.1 million years ago) occurs somewhere on the planet only about once every million years.

..........................................

At the other extreme is the Yellowstone eruption of 2.1 million years ago, which is described on the VEI as an eight: mega-colossal, with a towering ash cloud 10 miles high that pours out at least a thousand cubic miles of ash. That Yellowstone eruption had 10 times the ejected material as a VEI 7 volcano, which modern humans have never seen either.

In fact, the last VEI 7 eruption was in Toba, Indonesia, 74,000 years ago, and it caused such global cooling that some scientists think it nearly drove humans to extinction.

..................................................................

Cheap rat bastards

2005-03-15T21:26:00.000-08:00

Okay, I am just a tad pissed off...

ever notice how the people you live with can be the worlds biggest self-centered, selfish, self-absorbed Pigs!?!?!!?!?!

And their my family to boot...

I admit it, I am picky...I absolutely HATE dark chicken meat....

Fuck it.... It's my (or my hubby's which for all intents and purposes is the same as mine) money. I shouldn't have to eat it...

Now every single person in this house will eat any of the fucking chicken...But hell fuck no...

They ALL ate all the chicken breasts......

And then when they realized how badly they've fucked up...and how truly pissed I really am, they offer their already bitten into finger fucked chicken.........

WTF????

Like what? Am I the family dog now???

So that of course only served to piss me off even more...

The mashed potatoes sucked beyond belief, the gravy was congealing...

BAH!!!

So whose the bully?

2005-03-12T12:26:00.000-08:00

Iran Defiant in Face of United US, EU Approach

Sat Mar 12, 2005 05:53 AM ET

TEHRAN (Reuters) - Iran defiantly insisted Saturday it would never give up its nuclear fuel program despite a new united policy of incentives and threats from Washington and the European Union.

"The Islamic Republic of Iran is determined to use peaceful nuclear technology and no pressure, intimidation or threat can make Iran give up its right," Foreign Ministry spokesman Hamid Reza Asefi said.

Tehran says its nuclear facilities will only be used to generate electricity and never diverted to weapons production.

http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=topNews&storyID=7883149

** Okay so my question is this: exactly what excuse are we going to use this time? Iran has not done anything aggressive towards the US or Europe in a decade. But the US and the EU want to prohibit them from developing and using nuclear energy. No instead they want to FORCE Iran to PAY for it from them. So yeah, I have a small problem with this. Of course I would rther Iran build windmills and use wind generated energy, it ain't like they don't have the free space to do it in.

Who died and appointed us the World Police?

Virgin

2005-03-10T22:19:00.000-08:00

yeah yeah yeah...can't wait till the alpha geek sees this, he is so gonna laugh his ass off.