Svastikas

I didn't know this but apparently svastikas are an ancient Asian symbol that predate Buddhism and symbolize the sun. Also, here's a snippet of a thread on svastikas that came from the Sangha discussion group:

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Date: Wed, 31 Dec 2003 01:11:43 -0000
From: "ryhorikawa"
Subject: Re: MICROSOFT PULLS NAZI SYMBOL

--- In sangha@yahoogroups.com, "Ari" wrote: Romaannounced MICROSOFT PULLS NAZI SYMBOL FROM OFFICE SOFTWARE:
Microsoft scrambled yesterday to remove a font from its new
"Office 2003" software that includes two swastikas. The icon is
part of "Bookshelf Symbol 7," which includes a number of Asian
characters. Swastikas are religious symbols in some Eastern
cultures, where they are considered the footprints of the Buddha.
But in the West, the swastika is identified with the Nazis,and
Microsoft decided not to court controversy with its inclusion.

Our yoga school is Hindu influenced and had swastikas in the
building.They also pulled them down. People didn't understand,
and the swastikas goin the opposite direction.
Ari


Thanks, Ari - Hey, isn't svastika-asana (toes are placed inner
hollow of the knees) an important and traditional posture in
Hatha yoga?

It's too bad Microsoft took the quick and easy way out on this one.
As many have already pointed out, the svastika is one of the
oldest and most revered cultural symbols in Asia ..In China and
Japan it (wang-ji in Chinese/ manji in Japanese) has long been
associated with Buddhism (E.g., Even today, a svastika is used
on Japanese maps to designate the location of a Buddhist
temple) I wish Microsoft would have seen this as an opportunity
to educate……

If I may add just a bit to what has been said: It's my
understanding that in India the use of the svastika symbols long
predates Buddhism. It is strongly associated with the sun; in
fact, the svastika is one of the standard "auspicious marks"
(mangala) of all the personalities (divine and otherwise)
belonging to the "lineage" (gotra) of the sun (These include such
figures as Visnu, Krsna and Rama). Clearly, Siddhartha's Sakya
clan claimed such lineage. [For example, in Sutta Nipata 423
there is this phrase: Adicca nama gottena, Sakiya nama jatiya =
"his lineage is that of the sun (adicca), by birth he is of the
Sakya]. For both Buddhist and Hindus, there were two types of
svastikas: A "clockwise" turning svastika (said to represent the
solstitial change of the sun to the Tropic of Capicorn and held to
be " auspicious) and the "counter-clockwise turning svastika
(said to represent the sun during Autumn and Winter and held to
be inauspicious). In Buddhism and Hinduism, the clockwise
turning svastika is the one most commonly used. Interestingly,
the Nazis appropriated the counter-clockwise symbol.

As for Nazi appropriation, it is my understanding that the
formulators of Nazi ideology subscribed to the already debunked
and outdated 19th century linguistic theory that 1) Indo-Aryan
represented the oldest layer of the Indo-European languages
and 2) the original home of the speakers of Indo-Aryan (who
called themselves "Arya" in Vedic Sanskrit and "Airya" in Avestan)
lay somewhere in and around present day Germany. In any
event, the svastika was one of the central symbols of Aryan
rulers and deities in both Vedic and Avestan texts; hence the
misinformed Nazi appropriation.

I'm wondering if Microsoft yanked the swastika symbols only in
the U.S. and Europe versions but kept them in for the Asian
market?

Peace,
Rodney

dragging ass

so i'm moving my stuff to my brother's today and i'm totally dragging ass. after this past weekend and all the emotional stuff that went on, i'm just beat. but i need to get this done so jneal and i are moving my belongings. thank god the next few days involve only riding, eating, hanging with my buds, and recuperating. monday the 5th starts the real work again - gotta find a place and movers. also, gotta get rid of the stuff i need to get rid of...

eastern musings

my friend pstrou died on christmas day. i found out late evening the day after. i'm out here this weekend for the funeral and such. although it's sad, i'm glad i came to see her those few weeks ago because i said my goodbyes then. it's been a bit strange these couple of days because i've seen several of my old fellow martial arts students. some reunions have been enjoyable, some have just been strange. i haven't seen some people i had hoped to see but there's nothing to be done about that.

it got me thinking about the way people pass in an out of our lives, sometimes at our choosing and sometimes not. i met so many people during those years with lstrou and so many remember me. i don't always remember them. many people i remember who don't remember me. i felt like a bit of an imposter sometimes because so many of the people i studied with weren't there. the 'first' crowd of students showed up, the older students, but my crowd didn't have much of a showing. that makes me sad. i wonder if they just didn't know or just couldn't come. i was surpised that tbrit didn't call or show up. also, my ex (stupid bastard) didn't call either. too bad, both strous loved him and lstrou wouldn have enjoyed hearing from him.

this is a bit rambly i know but it still all feels unreal. she was the first person (other than my mother-in-law) that i truly cared about who passed on...

Celebrating the holidays

My holiday celebrations have lasted across three days so far and will probably carry into the weekend a bit. This is because I've had many small Christmas celebrations - one with my 'real' family and others with my chosen family. It's been wonderful! I'm glad it wasn't all on one day because I wouldn't have been able to enjoy them as much. Today, for instance, we had the barn Christmas. All of us got together at cgidu's and ate all kinds of 'bad for you' finger foods and desserts then we all went out and rode!

The weather was gorgeous, unbelievably beautiful so croed and i went and walked the land. it's been logged and is in the destumping process. we walked all over the logged part and she described what it's going to look like after it's done. awesome - i believe she's going to have one of the premier riding/training facilities in the southeast. my only tiny regret is that i won't be here during the last little bit :( However, I'll definitely be coming back for the housewarming party!

Anger and tonglen

I listened to one of Pema Chodron's meditation teachings today in which she spoke about tonglen - the meditative practice of sending and receiving. The link I've provided is actually some of her work that's up on the Shambahala website. It was timely information and I used it almost immediately to help get myself through some terribly unwarrented irritation. This feels like it's going to be a tool I will use often as I move forward and I'm glad the universe brought it my way.

The second thing I learned today was from Thich Nhat Hanh's book Anger. In it, he says that venting (like beating a pillow) is not helpful but harmful. It doesn't actually do anything except rehearse the anger and violent behavior and that that behavior could very well be acted out next time it is triggered. I hadn't thought of it in that way before but I feel he's right. Being angry at someone, going home and beating them up in effigy isn't a constructive way to work through those angry feelings - it's a violent way to reinforce the anger.

Recent interview with T.N. Hanh.

A different perspective

A great article written by Molly Ivins on Bush's uncompassionate conservatism.

Ease your fears...

For those of us who questioned Haliburton's commitment to reconstruction, question no more!

small victories?

The ruling by a federal appeals court in Washington gives some hope that not all our rights will be violated and/or removed! I, for one, am a big fan of file sharing. I probably buy more music now because I have access to a wider variety of artists. I have no problem supporting said artists, so I usually end up buying a couple of CDs. Of course, I also share CDs around with friends and I normally buy them used so perhaps the artists aren't getting as much benefit as they could.

On that thought - why aren't record companies screaming copyright infringement for people who buy and sell used CDs? I mean, it's a similar thing - someone bought one copy of the music and is now trading it around sans record company intervention. This whole thing pisses me off since I know the artists aren't the ones who are really benefitting from the sale of CDs. The record companies spew all this rhetoric to make us think they're all about the artists' intellectual property rights but all they're really about is their own massive profits.

bastards. there's got to be a better way for artists to be compensated for their work but i sure don't know what it is. There's a good article on intellectual property rights (E-text, Who Owns It?) but I can't remember the author. Since all my stuff is packed, I can't find it either. Oh well. It's oriented more towards electronic publications and such but it does touch on copyrighting art & stuff too. It has an interesting little history on how copyrighting came around and it's ALL about certain parties (not the artists) getting paid.

Big decision

I've decided - I'm going to leave for Portland on February 16th. Interviews for the mentoring position begin on the 16th also. I'm absolutely psyched about that and I feel good about my chances of getting a position. All I have left is to write my two papers and get my letters of reference then I can submit my application. I'd like to have it submitted by the first week in Jan.

I'll start looking (seriously) for a place to live on Jan 5th. That's the first working day back after all the holidays and will give me about 5 weeks to play with. If I leave on the 16th, that means I'll double pay rent for two weeks only - not too terrible. I'll also start moving stuff over to my brother's that next weekend. After I get most of that stuff moved, I'll contact a moving company - I should have a better estimate of how much stuff is going with me.

I can also work on selling my dining room set and my washer/dryer. My friend robell is going to take the cubicle. Her hubby and son are going to come up in Jan and pick it up. I guess I'll ask them to mark the weekend of the 31st to come get it.

Note: Although I'm happy, it's also sinking in some...I'm really leaving. I've set the date and it's becoming more and more real....

Our legal system

According to Mediareform.net, Newsweek just published a highly questionable article about our judicial system. Mediareform also lists Public Citizen's rebuke of the article here. As I have little education or knowledge about these matters, I'm not entirely sure how to respond... I'm somewhat biased against our court system so I know I can't really give an objective viewpoint.

What did I say?

To quote Utne, Saddamania hits the press! The Sioux City Journal covers Dennis Kucinich's response to the capture... Here's the statement in full. Remember my concerns about the potential Saddam sideshow? Apparently, I'm not the only one thinking along those lines...



Oh yeah - and I absolutely believe Bush's promise about a fair trial for Hussein. Because he's so trustworthy and has kept all his promises so far...

By the way, does anyone remember North Korea?

Stereotypes

I went to see RoTK and have dinner with jneal, mbent, and jdoe (a friend of jneal's) - had a great time and an interesting conversation about conflict resolution practitioners (crp). Jneal and jdoe both expressed some surprise at my interest in cr. i found this rather puzzling, especially from jneal, but figured i would find out why. when we started talking and they began explaining what they thought about a crp. it was fascinating! i heard comments like "you seem more like the kind of person who would be in the middle of the fighting" and "CRPs are quiet, calm, soft spoken, etc". Once I realized that they were working from some preconceived notion of who can be (or is) a CRP, it was okay.

I had felt a bit defensive at first, thinking they were say that I, specifically, wasn't suited for this type of work. But I realized also that they weren't really sure what conflict resolution is, let alone what type of person would be 'best' for it. This fascinates me. What I kind of got from them as to the 'type' of person is this: Calm, quiet, maybe a bit passive, acts like a psychologist (maybe), tries to make everyone happy, tries to stop anyone from feeling bad or acting angry, tries to smooth everything over.

EWWWW!!! That's not resolution, that's either avoidance or smothering. Either is icky and probably (ultimately) facilitates more conflict! Funny thing is, I don't think most CRPs would be like that! I wonder where that idea comes from? I have a feeling much of it comes from our own experiences with conflict. Most people shy away from anything remotely painful and conflict (i.e. change) often carriers the appearance of pain. Within families, I think we most often see the extremes - lots of useless conflict/confrontation OR a total avoidance of any confrontation at all. Neither is helpful.

There isn't a lot in the media about conflict resolution and there certainly aren't a lot of movies with CRPs. True, the movies that are out there do *heavily* emphasize one side winning and the other losing but none really demonstrate the resolution process in action. From what I can remember, they use the CRP as a mouthpiece for the 'winning' side. Maybe that's it - maybe most folks see CRPs as a mouthpiece for the other side or for their own agenda. They don't see them as truly being able to resolve anything because true resolution looks far far different than what most of us are used to.

Most people are conditioned to the win/lose mentality and anything other than what they consider winning feels like a loss of power (disempowerment). I get this funny image of two people who will only talk to each other through the third person - even though they're all in the same room. I don't want to be that third person - I want to facilitate the two people talking to each other. I want to facilitate people learning their own motivations and then discovering how those motivations either support or resolve their disagreements.

Conflict resolution? I think it should be called change management instead. Conflict is resistance to change, fear of something different. My goal is to help people discover the truths that will help them feel safe enough to move with change instead of fighting it.

hell?

For those of you who are constantly bombarded by religious types telling you how to behave, now you have an option...

slacker

I've been slacking a bit this week - have *just* started looking at the FileMaker stuff for opw. I think I was making it harder than it is but I'm really used to MS type databases and this is a bit different. Going to see Return of the King today at 3:00 and then gaming tonight. Won't be home until late (unfortunately) and will probably be gone all day tomorrow. Saturday is also full and I'm planning to take a trip out to Kinston on Sunday, back on Monday. Good god. None of that stuff sounds relaxing at all. We'll just see how things go.

My best gal pals are going to eat and going bowling with me on Saturday - I think a little happy gal time is definitely in order! My mom is getting me a digital camera for my birthday - YAY! I wasn't sure she would go for it but it seems to be fine. I'm happy - that's one thing I was really wanting but didn't want to buy for myself. Gotta find time to pick up a stomp pad for TyHud for Christmas - he just got a new snowboard & is going to CO after Christmas. Lucky dog!

I've been thinking lately that I'd like to buy myself a small sewing machine after I get to Portland. I'm not much of a seamstress but I really want some great bellydancing stuff and I can't really afford to fork over $40/$50 per piece so I'm willing to learn. Funny, I haven't wanted to sew at all but now I do (sort of) :)

Got some totally awesome CDs recently: Asian Groove, Cafe del Mar #7 and #8 - awesome! Also picked up some other bellydancing music - some drums and another great CD I don't know the name of. Life is good and I'm enjoying it quite a bit right now...

Cost of war?

I just put a counter in my sidebar. It displays a running total of the cost of the war in Iraq. If you click the link, you'll find a list of alternative ways we could have spent the money and how much of each we could have financed. It's absolutely disheartening. Even sadder, this is only the counter for ONE war. This doesn't include money spent on Afghanistan or any other military action, overt or covert.

I can't even say it's mind boggling because I can't really imagine that much money. But I'm constantly reminded that it's got to come from somewhere. As does all the other money needed to run a government. So it looks like everything except war debt payments is going to be down the shitter for the next 100 years. If I wasn't already cynical and depressed about our government, I am now...

Easy polarization

I just got back from visiting an old friend. Tbrit is a reknowned knifemaker and he was here with his booth at a local gun and knife show. Let me tell you, it was not a place I would want to spend a lot of time. Although it's probably true that most of those guys are outdoorsmen who hunt strictly on the legit, there were some scary looking people there. Definitely a look at a strata of the American pie - appearances are almost completely either redneck, survivialist, military or ex-military.

I spoke for just a moment or two with a supplier of tbrit's who imports goods made in China. He obviously knows a bit more about the working conditions & stuff there than I do so I didn't say much. however, he started talking about Bush and the Iraq thing and I had to stop the discussion. I simply wasn't going to get into it with this guy in the middle of patriot America central. God knows if I would have made it back to my car! At any rate, I realized something I think is significant: Once the label 'conservative' or 'liberal' is applied to someone, you're automatically on opposite sides - no matter if you have areas you might agree in or that might overlap, the lines are drawn and most people aren't willing to step across or erase them.

I suppose this is true of any label. Once you identify someone as 'this' or 'that', you effectively eliminate the possibility that they could be something else. There are times when this is necessary - doctors and teachers, for example. A doctor needs to be a doctor and not an attractive, well employed man when he's working to save someone's life. A teacher in the classroom needs to be looked to as the teacher and not the woman who's single and who wears tight sweaters & short skirts (note how i stereotyped the roles?). There are labels that are necessary and effective but I guess my point is this: People are not labels. Even though they may have some of the traits associated with a specific label, that label doesn't definitively outline all of who and what they are.

I have to go back to the concept of being truly present - being in the moment. If we are truly present and truly aware, we would know this. We would realize that this person is 'this' at this moment even though they were 'that' a moment ago. We would probably not even be thinking about the 'that' of a moment ago because it is irrelevant in this moment.

I don't think I'm talking about anything new here - this is stuff we here all the time. I guess it just hit home a bit more today, how necessary it is to be present and not allow my preconceived notions of someone cloud my view of who they really are.

Implications for America?

How will the American people respond to Saddam's (alleged) capture? Will they forgive and forget everything else that Bush and his warmongering cronyistic cabinet have done? What frightens me is that Americans were so quick to believe everything the Bush people told them initially and this one event could be spun endlessly to make them look victorious all around. Will the fact that BushCo has raped and pillaged our country's tangible and intangible assets just get lost in the endless celebration of this one capture?

Another interesting thought - how convenient would it be if Bin Laden were suddenly captured? I realize that I could just be having a case of the 'I hate Bush and don't want to see him successful in *anything*" jitters but I don't know. This is a big deal and the white house has proven themselves masters at spinning anything to their advantage. I wonder how the progressives are going to respond to this? Are we going to be strong enough to continue sending the message that Bush and his pals are seriously damaging our country & have to go? People were sort of starting to listen before this, will they continue listening?

I'm IN!!!!

YAYAYAYAYAYAY!!!!! I got my letter from PSU today and I've been accepted into the Conflict Resolution program!!! I was on the phone with almost everyone I know and almost started calling people at random from the phone book!!! Now that it's official, I guess I can go ahead and get enrolled or whatever...apply for financial aid, get my mentoring application in.

The beginning of the beginnings and the beginning of the endings. It still doesn't feel real. I have flashes, moments of recognition but then they're gone. The true recognition, the realization of what I'm doing still hasn't truly sunk in to the bone. Leaving everything I know to follow my heart. I get that on a surface level but it's not clicking on all those other levels yet.

It's begun. My adventure, my dream, my reality - it's all happening.

Getting their own back

Although I can't say I'm particularly happy the US has been pretty much excluded from the UN meetings on the Internet so far, I have to say that we probably deserve it. American interests have so often acted like a bunch of arrogant pricks I guess it's time they get a taste of their own medicine.

It's funny, I consider the Internet almost as vital a phone now and certainly much more important than a tv but I have almost no idea who runs what and who's responsible for making sure everything works. On a really high level, I sort of know what happens but I'm totally clueless about the politics and power plays involved. I'm guessing this stuff will be made more apparent in the coming months/years as the UN (or its appointees) decide who's going to run what.

I guess I never really thought about who runs the Internet. American minds devised it and American knowledge & technology have been the driving force (so far) behind it's fantastic success. Obviously, I realize that other countries have been involved but it seems that America has been the main player so far. Because I have no idea how American interests have treated the other countries, it would be hard for me to justify feeling angry over the treatment of the Americans at the meetings. However, I find that I do feel a bit miffed...

Stuff I need to do

So I have several little projects I picked up since I'm not working and I haven't really begun working on any of them yet...

Write letters for the Kucinich campaign
Learn FileMaker Pro and eBase
Complete the application for PSU's mentorship program (important!). This includes two pieces of 'new' writing
Balance checkbook/pay bills (argh)
Send what few Christmas cards I'm going to send. These may end up being after Christmas cards...
Go through all my old CDs and floppies
Continue twiddling my thumbs and chewing hangnails until my acceptance letter arrives
Apply for financial aid (see previous item)

A few moving projects:

Find an apartment
Arrange moving company & vehicle transport
Check out my cell phone plan & decide whether or not to get a land line after I move
Sell my dining room set
Move the tv, tv stand, and bookcase(s) down to Jneal's (just before moving)
Get the washer & dryer to mthom's (just before moving)
Get rid of my cat (very important)

What?

So ABC has pulled Dennis Kucinich's 'off-air' producer? Does this mean that ABC will not be giving a fair amount of coverage to Dennis' campaign?

Internet struggles are international

I mentioned earlier that the UN has been talking about forming a group to take over 'ruling' the Internet. Well, remember how many problems we've had in the US over that question (who's in charge, who gets paid, who's responsible, etc?)? Imagine those questions now on the lips of every single country in the world!

Don't get me wrong, I think it's a good idea for all the countries that are interested to be able to give their input and have a voice in what happens but I do think it would be a good idea for countries that have already ironed out some of the problems with both the technology and the surrounding societal and cultural implications to help lay the groundwork. I also realize that this means there is a strong chance that whatever is done will favor the countries who are already in the lead but I'm no genius - I have no good resolution to that dilemma.

I think the important thing to remember is that the Internet is (for now anyway) truly helpful to people who have access to the technology (computers) and who understand how accessing all the information can benefit them. Truthfully, there are many countries and many peoples who need our help to survive - they have more basic needs than being able to view the latests sports scores. It's going to be interesting to see how developing countries balance their government's desire to be more technologically advanced with their people's need to have food, shelter, water, medical care, and other basic necessities.

That's a real question - how do you help a developing country address its most basic needs without leaving them so far behind in other areas? That particular question is played out so obviously on many levels within the US it isn't funny. How do you help your poorest and least educated citizens address their basic needs but still help them take advatange of more advanced aspects of society?

geek writing

PC World's article on geek writing is dead on the money! Also, technical writers do more than just write, they can help revive dying languages. And there's also the question of writing and the electronic medium - how does the new technology affect the culture of western writing?

More school stuff

I finally got the application for the mentoring position I'm interested in. One thing I found out is that the position starts in the fall so I'm responsible for tuition for any terms before then. That means I'll be forking out full price for Spring and Summer. Not to mention I won't get a stipend to help with the rent. Gotta check into the amount of financial aid I can get if I apply in the spring - hopefully the full year's amount. That would get me through with some to spare...

BTW - here's the definition Babylon gives for mentor (I really like it):

spiritual instructor, adviser, counselor, wise man (or woman); one who guides and teaches

Totally cool tool

So I just discovered the Babylon online dictionary software tool - it's SO COOL!!! For a writer (like me) I'm thinking it's just the bomb - so handy! It's for sure worth the $50. I'm actually considering (eventually) forking out the $80 and getting the souped up english/japanese dictionaries. We'll see.

Interesting interview

Mother Jones interviews Tony Kushner. His latest book is Save Your Democratic Soul. Here's part of the interview - it was too good not to put here.

*************************************************************************************
(from Mother Jones' website)

MJ: Save Your Democratic Citizen Soul! is targeted largely at young people. Are young Americans today insufficiently prepared for political activism?

TK: I think the country is undereducating its young. I think it's a deliberate, designed, malevolent project by the right to destroy public education. People are more easily manipulated when they don't have information. If you ensure that kids grow up without basic reading skills, math skills, and so forth, then you ensure that they can't act effectively.

On the other hand, there will always be a strong sense of injustice among the young. When I wrote Homebody/Kabul, I thought it was time to think more internationally in part because of the IMF and WTO protests, because of all these kids protesting free-market capitalism.

There are a lot of politically active young people, but I feel that we've misled them. I have great admiration for the essayists and writers on the left, but the left decided at some point that government couldn't get it what it wanted. As a result, it's a movement of endless complaint and of a one-sided reading of American history, which misses the important point: Constitutional democracy has created astonishing and apparently irreversible social progress. All we're interested in is talking about when government doesn't work.

MJ: When was the last time that a belief in the system paid off?

TK: It was the day they got that fucking Ten Commandments monument out of Alabama. I found that thrilling. With all the blows that the Bush administration has delivered to the separation of church and state -- we have a president who can't stop talking about his relationship to Jesus while he gleefully murders thousands of people -- it turns out that we still kind of get it.

MJ: Your new play, Caroline or Change, looks back on the Civil Rights era through the prism of 1960s Louisiana --

TK: Caroline illustrates one of the ultimate cases in which American democracy achieved something great. I don't see how anyone can read that history and then turn their back on the system -- how anyone can think it's not important who our justices are, who the president is, who's in Congress.

These things, these ideas, these decisions, these elections really do transform people's lives. We're seeing it now, every day: For gay people, the overturning of the sodomy laws is immensely significant. It's why I think politics is so extraordinary.

MJ: What about the Democratic Party? Can it effectively oppose Bush?

TK: I have said this before, and I'll say it again: Anyone that the Democrats run against Bush, even the appalling Joe Lieberman, should be a candidate around whom every progressive person in the United States who cares about the country's future and the future of the world rallies. Money should be thrown at that candidate. And if Ralph Nader runs -- if the Green Party makes the terrible mistake of running a presidential candidate -- don't give him your vote. Listen, here's the thing about politics: It's not an expression of your moral purity and your ethics and your probity and your fond dreams of some utopian future. Progressive people constantly fail to get this.

The GOP has developed a genius for falling into lockstep. They didn't have it with Nixon, but they have it now. They line up behind their candidate, grit their teeth, and help him win, no matter who he is.

MJ: You're saying progressives are undone by their own idealism?

TK: The system isn't about ideals. The country doesn't elect great leaders. It elects fucked-up people who for reasons of ego want to run the world. Then the citizenry makes them become great. FDR was a plutocrat. In a certain sense he wasn't so different from George W. Bush, and he could have easily been Herbert Hoover, Part II. But he was a smart man, and the working class of America told him that he had to be the person who saved this country. It happened with Lyndon Johnson, too, and it could have happened with Bill Clinton, but we were so relieved after 12 years of Reagan and Bush that we sat back and carped.

In a certain sense, Bush was right when he called the anti-war demonstrations a "focus group." We went out on the street and told him that we didn't like the war. But that was all we did: We expressed an opinion. There was no one in Congress to listen to us because we were clear about why they couldn't listen. Hillary Clinton was too compromised, or Chuck Schumer -- and God knows they are. But if people don't pressure them to do better, we're lost.

emoticons

I found this list of emoticons and think it's hilarious! I tried putting the table up here but it kept creating this HUGE space between the text & table and I couldn't stand it. You'll have to go to the website & check it out

Kucinich for President

I've started getting involved in the effort to have Dennis Kucinich nominated as the Democratic presidential candidate. I'm in NC so I do have some doubts about his success in this state but I'm giving it a try. We're working on a letter writing campaign to residents of Iowa and New Hampshire. I've read about political campaigns and the strategies they use to win voters but this is the first time I've participated. You definitely have to believe in what you're writing about. Even though I don't know these people, it feels pretty personal to send them hand written letters espousing a candidate.

I think one of the reasons it feels so personal is that it feels like I'm taking some responsibility if he's totally terrible! I can take comfort in the fact that he could NEVER be as bad as the current administration. It's still a bit disconcerting to read all the stuff he says he'll do if he's elected and KNOW that almost none of that stuff will happen. There's no way it could all happen in just four years (so he could run for a 2nd term true). However, he could definitely get things moving in the right direction and that's what I'm hoping for. I think it's going to take several presidents to straighten out the mess we're in and Dennis could be the one to lead the march.

A few more thoughts on nonviolence

I was out of town this weekend visiting some friends in the eastern part of the state (more on that fab place later) and rbella and I started talking about nonviolence. The main theme of our discussion was whether or not nonviolence gives practitioners a moral edge or any other kind of advantage. I've blogged about this some previously and it seems that my real question around this issue comes down to how we're defining 'moral'. Yes, I realize it's a question of semantics but it seems important.

It seems apparent that a nonviolent reaction would *always* be the best reaction to hope for but I don't necessarily agree. Although I agree that keeping people from smacking each other around is an excellent goal and that nonviolent resolution is almost always a desired means and end, I think that there is a distinct possibility that nonviolence could be transformed into either passivity or apathy. Refraining from any action or taking a stand because you're 'nonviolent' and defending your beliefs could lead to violence.

Okay - I'm obviously not doing too well putting down my thoughts on this. It's late, I've been driving for four hours and I'm going to put this on hold until tomorrow. Sleep well :)

Global Internet governance

Since my knowledge of global politics is embarrassingly small, I almost hesitate to comment on this article about the UN taking over governing the Internet. However, I will risk embarrassment and say that although I believe it would probably be more advantageous to the rest of the world to have a more balanced governing body, I don't know that the UN is the best org for that job. What about creating an international technology alliance to monitor/govern?

There are probably already lots of these types of organizations, why couldn't the UN tap into what's already in place and maybe have some UN members sit on the boards of these orgs or ask the orgs to report to the UN? I'm almost willing to place a bet that there are foundations and researchers already working on the best ways to bring technologies to developing countries and helping them take advantage of the information age. It also seems logical that there would be people already looking at the best ways to govern a more global Internet.

Candidates - speaking out?

It will be interesting to see if this interview affects Dean's ability to reach the masses. It's good that he's brave enough to speak out, wonder if he'd really follow up if he made it to the white house?

Lieberman is now speaking out against 'junk food marketers? I'm feeling a McDonald's lawsuit deja-vu coming on... When will people EVER begin to take responsibility for what they shovel into their stomachs? I swear, to blame a marketing campaign for your inability to stop stuffing Twinkies down your gullet is just beyond my comprehension!

Mundanity

So maybe mundanity isn't a word but it describes my life the last couple of days. Not much deep thought, some good pizza and canoli today but not much otherwise. I'm getting into the 'real' packing now. The packing that includes going through all the debris of my life and deciding what to keep, what to trash, what goes with me and what stays because I can't bear to part with it just yet. I've come across lots of stuff I'd forgotten about from stuffed animals that I've had since I was four to the pictures and mementos of the last few months with my ex.

I've kept so much stuff I'm amazed at myself. Little sentimental things that really don't mean anything now - stuff I can't even remember where it's from. I kept all kinds of stuff from my childhood (I still can't bear to ditch the Van Halen memorabilia) that I have no reason to keep except I don't want to throw it away. The stuff from my marriage is totally different - most of that stuff I can't wait to get rid of. I went through all the wedding doodads and geegaws that I saved and ditched as much as possible. I only saved the veil, bouquet & and buttonaire b/c my mom made 'em and she wanted them back. kind of sad - all that time we spent together and we never really connected.

anyway, this is the tough part of packing. all the major stuff i can pack is stuffed away and now i get a constant memory lane parade...

oh yeah - one thing I'm learning is the benefit to either not buying or not keeping stuff. If you get something you don't want, give it to someone who can use it! If you don't really *need*something (or totally love it) don't get it. It's just a waste of space and contributes to the mondo piles of unwanted junk already polluting our planet.

Life goes on...

Things are moving along - got my unemployment stuff done, am getting some of the specialty boxes I need to move and have started more actively job hunting in the portland area. i'd like to find part time work with a nonprofit - that would be nice. Nice to think I'm doing more than helping some gazillionaire get richer. Nothing wrong with money, I'm just ready to work for an organization that focuses on something else.

On a sadder note, my martial arts teacher's wife is very ill. She was just put in the hospital and they don't know if she's going to be able to come home. They showed me more love and acceptance than my 'real' family and I don't know if I can handle this gracefully. I'm driving up this weekend to see them but I'm scared to death of what I'll find. Will it be any help if I just dissolve into tears? I don't know but I do know that I love them and the least I can do is offer what little support and comfort I can.

ahhh - the joys of not working...

sitting here listening to music i used to listen to all the time when i was working in my darkroom. i really miss it - my darkroom. it just hasn't been the same since i moved into my apt two years ago. i did a small amount of work initially but it was just too much of a pain without running water. not to mention i took some time off from photography in general. i plan on picking that back up again after i move. but i miss my darkroom. it's going into storage so i won't have it again for several years and that makes me sad.

i'm also trying to make sure i've done everything i need to do for unemployment but i couldn't get any answer at the ESC today nor would the answering machine let me leave a message. i know they're so swamped it's not believable but i just want to jump through all the hoops i need to jump through to get paid for the next few weeks. maybe they'll just start sending me checks...