"Back from the dead!" the story of a ticketing zombie brought back to life...

Yes, so I'm back. From outer space. I just walked in to find me here with that sad look upon my face. I shoulda changed that stupid lock...

I have survived.

I'm free from the job I shouldn't have taken. Beginning to settle into my "normal" life again.

The veggie garden is flourishing.
The iphone has new gadgets.
The new David Sedaris is mostly read.

And, I've finally chosen the perfect song for Cahen and I...



(First discovered on Big Action!)

I'm an angel. You can be, too.

our earth

It is our earth,
not yours or mine or his.

We are meant to live on it,
helping each other,
not destroying each other

- Krishnamurti

Can a virus be a good thing?

Last week, someone sent me a rather racey text message:
"I want to go down on you, then slowly rise up and f*ck you real good"

It was signed "Gas Prices".

My first thought was "great, they've figured out how to send annoying forwards via text now". They're no longer limited to your email in-box.

Then, the more lasting thought crept into my head. If we can get upset about the price of gas in the US and take the time to try to make a difference, by complaining about it and by sending clever little text messages to everyone we know, why can't we try to solve the world's problems in the same way?

We've been staging protests against the Iraq war since before it began. I don't think protests work like they may have in the past. Protests are easy to ignore.

We need to be more annoying if we want to see any change.

I'm always open to hear a good joke. But, beyond that, I don't care how expensive gas is. I'd rather not be dependent on my car, so gas prices don't matter. I do care about the Tibetans' oppression, the continuing genocide of the black Africans in Darfur, the homeless population in the US and US healthcare - and I want to do more than I do to make it better. I want you to tell me what you care about, so I can help you try to make a difference.

We need to know our local representatives' faces, so we can tell them our concerns when we see them around town. We need to get our hands on US Officials' email addresses and start writing emails. And, I want their cell phone numbers, too. I'm working on a few really funny text jokes about the economy that I'd like to forward.

Tibet
Darfur
US Homeless Shelters

(The health care issue's too complex to provide a link, maybe that's my next topic...hmmmm)

in the middle

I think I'm feeling a little low today, but not sure...maybe I just need a vitamin.

Since I'm not sure, I've set the ipod to shuffle Ani DiFranco's music for me all day. I'll leave it in her hands to either pick me up or take me the rest of the way down...

2008 Olympics in China

"You know, Huey, those of us who do adhere to the philosophy of non-violence frown upon the throwing of furniture to resolve our political differences." - Martin Luther King, Jr. (as imagined by Aaron McGruder, writer, The Boondocks)

I am torn.

As Tibetans, the victims of 50 years of violence and oppression, begin to rise up and become violent against the Chinese government I find myself wondering if they're wrong. China raped, murdered, tortured and imprisoned the Tibetan people in the 50's. Their leaders were driven into exile in another country. Thousands of monasteries were destroyed. The Tibetans remained peaceful. In recent years, they haven't slaughtered the Tibetans en masse. There has a been a much more sinister method of committing genocide in Tibet. The Chinese get rid of the Tibetans by starving them to death and by diluting their population with the Chinese people from the lower cities. The mystical land of Shangri La has been turned into a land of hungry vagrants and tourist attractions.

The Tibetans are and have been a peaceful people. They have spoken out about their oppression, but never fought back. Then, just recently, they have begun to rise up - their protests are more aggressive, attacking Chinese guards, tearing down Chinese flags and replacing them with Tibetan flags. The Dalai Lama has said he'll resign as their leader if the violence doesn't stop.

Fifty years of peacefully asking for freedom all the while the hand of your oppressor is firmly pressing on your head...at some point that hand has to be slapped away and the oppressed must stand up. That time is now.

I am a peaceful person. I would like to think that I would keep peace in my heart if I suffered the way the Tibetans have suffered. And, on the other hand, I celebrate their recent defiance. It's been a long time coming.

I am joining the boycott of the Olympics in honor of the Tibetan's fight against their oppressors.

Or maybe it's time to start throwing furniture...

Free Tibet.

Gimme banana

Thank you, Lil Jen, for the sillyness.