The girl can't breath.
So young, so intelligent, so creative...
Talent squandered, potential wasted
In minimum-wage monotony, sucking precious minutes
should be spent painting, reading, writing, growing...
Crushing loans
A grandmother's mind gone, heart still strong
Yet.
As the mind goes so does the financial
Assistance.
Indifferent uncles and power plays unseen
'how unlucky' they say
And Civil society pays no mind, so
The girl will not return
To create beautiful things
In the Spring.
Precious minutes. Wasted.
For minimum wage.
I am angry. Beyond words
the beauty lost for a few pennies
Sallie Mae to collect, the pound of flesh
10 years on, and I'm sick
because Sallie has me too.
And my brother.
And my mother.
And so many too many friends,
known and yet to know,
Of such gift and brilliance
Of such seeds that would grow to beauty and value
Incalculable
Squandered. For minimum wage
And pounds of flesh for Sallie Mae
The man drove his ferrari by the shop
Purring
While the girl worked for pennies
And I walked on, sick with worry
Maybe he will take Sallie
To the fancy hotel in the City
And they will laugh and spend
Our blood.
Monday, December 16, 2013
Thursday, October 31, 2013
Wednesday, September 26, 2012
Stop Fighting
"To demand something of someone else is to assume that they have power over you, and ultimately, to grant them power over you. It's time to stop fighting the institutions of the past, bypass them completely, and occupy the future".
- Gary Lachance
in this Sept. 21st online address
Elections for Sale
Bill Moyers interviews former chairman of the Federal Election Commission Trevor Potter, who advised John McCain during both his 2000 and 2008 presidential campaigns, and more recently has gained notoriety helping Steven Colbert form his super PAC and 501(c)(4). An insider with a unique background, Potter explains current problems with campaign finance in everyday language - centering specifically on the effects of Citizens United and the meteoric rise of 501(c)(4)'s in American elections.
Moyers & Company Show 137: Elections for Sale from BillMoyers.com on Vimeo.
More information here
Moyers & Company Show 137: Elections for Sale from BillMoyers.com on Vimeo.
More information here
Tuesday, June 12, 2012
Occupation
Occupation
by Bruce Toien
A linking of arms
Against the brusque rush
Of hooves and batons
Beating on black Lexan shields
Meant for defense …
Against defenselessness.
We feint back
And the line holds,
Face to visored face
With helmeted brothers and sisters
Black clad in the night,
Servants of order …
Whether eager or heartbroken.
(It’s not you, but the machine we’re fighting)
We are the grass under old tarmac,
Growing through sunlit cracks
Crazing the lifeless black …
Asphalt.
We are tender green vines
Twining up through
Imposing dead towers
Of steel and glass,
Ozymandias monuments to mad avarice:
Rapturous, seductive, euphoric …
And deadly.
Yes, a rootling can split a rock
Yes, grass can push through
The brittlest pavement.
Life will not be denied,
As it probes
Patient and persistent …
Reaching for the light.
-:- Bruce Toien
How to Stop the Empire and Keep Your Day Job
How to Stop the Empire While Keeping Your Day Job by Dan Kinch - March 18 2012
Pretty funny, and he makes some good points... #1: "Don't work so damn hard" --- Ha! He starts into his list at 5:16 if you want to jump ahead ~
Pretty funny, and he makes some good points... #1: "Don't work so damn hard" --- Ha! He starts into his list at 5:16 if you want to jump ahead ~
Sensitivity Counts
An Excerpt:
The Upside of Being An Introvert (And Why Extroverts Are Overrated)
by Bryan Walsh - Time Magazine, published Feb 6, 2012 - Full Text
..."Yet he pushes through the constraints of his temperament because the social value of lecturing and speaking--of truly connecting with his students--trumps the discomfort his introversion can cause him. Little calls this phenomenon Free Trait Theory: the idea that while we have certain fixed bits of personality, we can act out of character in the service of core personal goals. The key, he explains, is balancing three equal but very different identities. There's our mostly inborn personality, the one that wants us to be introverted or extroverted; that's the biogenic identity. There are the expectations of our culture, family and religion--the sociogenic identity. And then there are our personal desires and our sense of what matters--the ideogenic identity.
An introvert like Little could live in a way that satisfies his nerves, never leaving the library, but then his ideogenic self would starve. He'd miss out on doing what matters most to him, even if doing it occasionally sends him into a cold sweat. "Am I just going to let things wash over me, or am I going to strike out and change and grow and challenge?" says Little. "The answer depends on what you want out of life."
So it can be for all of us introverts. From the moment we wake up to the second we go to sleep--preferably after relaxing with a book in bed--introverts live in an extrovert's world, and there are days when we'd prefer to do nothing more than stay at home. But while our temperaments may define us, that doesn't mean we're controlled by them--if we can find something or someone that motivates us to push beyond the boundaries of our nerves. I'm happy to be an introvert, but that's not all I am".
-excerpt by Bryan Walsh/ Time Magazine - link to full article here
The Upside of Being An Introvert (And Why Extroverts Are Overrated)
by Bryan Walsh - Time Magazine, published Feb 6, 2012 - Full Text
..."Yet he pushes through the constraints of his temperament because the social value of lecturing and speaking--of truly connecting with his students--trumps the discomfort his introversion can cause him. Little calls this phenomenon Free Trait Theory: the idea that while we have certain fixed bits of personality, we can act out of character in the service of core personal goals. The key, he explains, is balancing three equal but very different identities. There's our mostly inborn personality, the one that wants us to be introverted or extroverted; that's the biogenic identity. There are the expectations of our culture, family and religion--the sociogenic identity. And then there are our personal desires and our sense of what matters--the ideogenic identity.
An introvert like Little could live in a way that satisfies his nerves, never leaving the library, but then his ideogenic self would starve. He'd miss out on doing what matters most to him, even if doing it occasionally sends him into a cold sweat. "Am I just going to let things wash over me, or am I going to strike out and change and grow and challenge?" says Little. "The answer depends on what you want out of life."
So it can be for all of us introverts. From the moment we wake up to the second we go to sleep--preferably after relaxing with a book in bed--introverts live in an extrovert's world, and there are days when we'd prefer to do nothing more than stay at home. But while our temperaments may define us, that doesn't mean we're controlled by them--if we can find something or someone that motivates us to push beyond the boundaries of our nerves. I'm happy to be an introvert, but that's not all I am".
-excerpt by Bryan Walsh/ Time Magazine - link to full article here
Monday, April 16, 2012
love is
Everybody lonely
no one will listen
sad, sad little people
can't see what they're missin'
Love, love is inside
you see
not outside, and away
Its right here, in you, in me,
Three
love is
love is
love is
Don't think too much
Love is a feeling,
not a thought
Kiss me, goodnight.
Connection, we seek. Connection.
All points converge on One.
~
no one will listen
sad, sad little people
can't see what they're missin'
Love, love is inside
you see
not outside, and away
Its right here, in you, in me,
Three
love is
love is
love is
Don't think too much
Love is a feeling,
not a thought
Kiss me, goodnight.
Connection, we seek. Connection.
All points converge on One.
~
Saturday, January 28, 2012
Winner-Take-All Politics
Bill Moyers. God bless the man, even at 77 he just can't seem to retire. Though his infamous "Journal" aired it's final show last summer, Moyers has begun a new series that's digging deep to the roots of political and economic corruption that plague our country and our economic environment.
In this video Bill interviews economists and authors Jacob Hacker and Paul Pierson, who make the case that income and class inequality in America have been intentionally engineered by the strategic collusion of Big Business and the Federal Government over the last three decades. They argue that the extreme wealth currently realized by the top fraction of income earners is no accident - and that the political ramifications for a Democratic society are indeed dire. Going beyond the obvious problems that extreme inequality produce in society, Hacker and Pierson present strong evidence that highly concentrated wealth indeed threaten the very solvency and integrity of a Democratic state. More info and full transcript link here
Jacob Hacker & Paul Pierson on Winner Take All Politics from BillMoyers.com on Vimeo.
Hacker and Pierson co-authored Winner-Take-All Politics: How Washington Made the Rich Richer — And Turned Its Back on the Middle Class
More great info, video, and interviews at billmoyers.com
In this video Bill interviews economists and authors Jacob Hacker and Paul Pierson, who make the case that income and class inequality in America have been intentionally engineered by the strategic collusion of Big Business and the Federal Government over the last three decades. They argue that the extreme wealth currently realized by the top fraction of income earners is no accident - and that the political ramifications for a Democratic society are indeed dire. Going beyond the obvious problems that extreme inequality produce in society, Hacker and Pierson present strong evidence that highly concentrated wealth indeed threaten the very solvency and integrity of a Democratic state. More info and full transcript link here
Jacob Hacker & Paul Pierson on Winner Take All Politics from BillMoyers.com on Vimeo.
Hacker and Pierson co-authored Winner-Take-All Politics: How Washington Made the Rich Richer — And Turned Its Back on the Middle Class
More great info, video, and interviews at billmoyers.com
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
BMX Right to Ride in Gresham Skate Park
It's been awhile since my last post. The new year was busy and I got pretty sick. But feeling better now, and new ideas are kind of backed up in my head, so here we go:
First order of business, kids are supposed to be able to have fun, right? That's what being a kid means, having fun while learning about yourself and the world. When kids' rights to have fun are threatened, then something has gone very wrong.
Things have gone wrong in Gresham, a suburb of Portland. The mayor and the stodgy, stuffy, fossilized old white men of the Gresham city council are doing their best to kill fun for kids in Gresham. They have made it a crime to ride a bmx bike in the city's only skate park.
If you've never been to Gresham, let me tell you something important about the town, as I spent part of my own childhood growing up there: even on a good day, there isn't a whole lot for kids to do. Despite this fact, city "leaders" have decided that banning bmx'ers and spending already-spread-way-too-thin police resources on citations, bike confiscations, and the general harassment of minors is somehow a sensible way to burn taxpayer dollars.
They say bikes are dangerous, they say skaters and bikers can't get along, they say bmx is a public nuissance. Blah, blah.... blah.
Gresham is among the only cities in Oregon that do not allow bmx and skaters to ride together. From other smaller parks like Tualatin and Oregon City to the professional training grounds (and largest indoor skate park in the state) at Windell's in Welches, all manor of riders are able to coexist in peace. Not to say there aren't problems sometimes, but as any athlete knows all sports have some tension and in general folks figure out ways to make things work for everyone - think skier/snowboarder on the mountain or longboard/shortboard in the waves. At Windell's, word is that older riders and skaters actually help and assist younger members to learn the ropes and get along.
Imagine that - kids solving their own problems when air-headed adults get out of the way long enough to give 'em a chance.
So what happened in Gresham? Well, the kids and their parents organized and fought back. On December 17 they staged their first peaceful protest at the park - see amazing pictures here. More at the group's main facebook page here.
An online petition was started after one well-intentioned parent was veritably cussed out of the mayor's office for trying to discuss sharing the park.
Sign the petition!
Not long after this incident Occupy Gresham and the PDX Bike Swarm got word of the struggle to legalize fun, and in support of the BMX riders all three groups held a demonstration for over 4 hours in a snowstorm on January 15th. After which all parties retired to eat pizza at the nearby Wall Street Pizza. And what do you know, the Mayor finally sent one of his city managers to come chat.
Check out the video of the day's events, including the discussion with the manager afterwards.
While some progress has been made, the Gresham skate park remains closed to BMX bikes. The brave riders are not deterred, however, and come Spring I think we can count on a lot more action at the park.
In the meantime, sign the petition and keep an eye out for future events!
First order of business, kids are supposed to be able to have fun, right? That's what being a kid means, having fun while learning about yourself and the world. When kids' rights to have fun are threatened, then something has gone very wrong.
Things have gone wrong in Gresham, a suburb of Portland. The mayor and the stodgy, stuffy, fossilized old white men of the Gresham city council are doing their best to kill fun for kids in Gresham. They have made it a crime to ride a bmx bike in the city's only skate park.
If you've never been to Gresham, let me tell you something important about the town, as I spent part of my own childhood growing up there: even on a good day, there isn't a whole lot for kids to do. Despite this fact, city "leaders" have decided that banning bmx'ers and spending already-spread-way-too-thin police resources on citations, bike confiscations, and the general harassment of minors is somehow a sensible way to burn taxpayer dollars.
They say bikes are dangerous, they say skaters and bikers can't get along, they say bmx is a public nuissance. Blah, blah.... blah.
Gresham is among the only cities in Oregon that do not allow bmx and skaters to ride together. From other smaller parks like Tualatin and Oregon City to the professional training grounds (and largest indoor skate park in the state) at Windell's in Welches, all manor of riders are able to coexist in peace. Not to say there aren't problems sometimes, but as any athlete knows all sports have some tension and in general folks figure out ways to make things work for everyone - think skier/snowboarder on the mountain or longboard/shortboard in the waves. At Windell's, word is that older riders and skaters actually help and assist younger members to learn the ropes and get along.
Imagine that - kids solving their own problems when air-headed adults get out of the way long enough to give 'em a chance.
So what happened in Gresham? Well, the kids and their parents organized and fought back. On December 17 they staged their first peaceful protest at the park - see amazing pictures here. More at the group's main facebook page here.
An online petition was started after one well-intentioned parent was veritably cussed out of the mayor's office for trying to discuss sharing the park.
Sign the petition!
Not long after this incident Occupy Gresham and the PDX Bike Swarm got word of the struggle to legalize fun, and in support of the BMX riders all three groups held a demonstration for over 4 hours in a snowstorm on January 15th. After which all parties retired to eat pizza at the nearby Wall Street Pizza. And what do you know, the Mayor finally sent one of his city managers to come chat.
Check out the video of the day's events, including the discussion with the manager afterwards.
While some progress has been made, the Gresham skate park remains closed to BMX bikes. The brave riders are not deterred, however, and come Spring I think we can count on a lot more action at the park.
In the meantime, sign the petition and keep an eye out for future events!
Wednesday, January 04, 2012
Ceremony
The following poem transcribed from the preface to the book Ceremony, by Leslie Marmon Silko, 1977:
Ceremony
I will tell you something about stories
[he said]
They aren't just entertainment.
Don't be fooled.
They are all we have, you see,
all we have to fight off
illness and death.
You don't have anything
if you don't have the stories.
Their evil is mighty
but it can't stand up to our stories.
So they try to destroy the stories
let the stories be confused or forgotten.
They would like that
They would be happy
Because we would be defenseless then.
He rubbed his belly.
I keep them here
[he said]
Here, put your hand on it
See, it is moving.
There is life here
for the people.
And in the belly of this story
the rituals and the ceremony
are still growing.
- Preface to Ceremony, (c) Leslie Marmon Silko, 1977
Thursday, December 29, 2011
Image is Everything, and an Intro to the DDP
I ran into the top 20 most popular images on Reddit in 2011. A couple grabbed my attention, shared here:
#4 High Speed Rail Map
Full Reddit article here
---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ----
Lastly, let me introduce you to DDP, or the "Decentralized Dance Party", which took Portland by storm tonight as the Vancouver, BC natives brought the magic as they embark on a monthlong tour of the USA. For a full schedule and plenty of pictures that remind us the true scope and meaning of "awesomeness", visit: http://www.decentralizeddanceparty.com/
The Mission Statement says it all:
#4 High Speed Rail Map
#9 Christians Protecting Muslims While They Pray During Protests in Egypt.
---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ----
Lastly, let me introduce you to DDP, or the "Decentralized Dance Party", which took Portland by storm tonight as the Vancouver, BC natives brought the magic as they embark on a monthlong tour of the USA. For a full schedule and plenty of pictures that remind us the true scope and meaning of "awesomeness", visit: http://www.decentralizeddanceparty.com/
The Mission Statement says it all:
"Tom and Gary are two lifelong friends who invented the Decentralized Dance Party and have sworn to deliver it to Every Single Country On The Face Of The Earth".Dust off your old boombox, plug in the coppertop D cells, and don't miss it!
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