Apr. 13, 2008
cool bumper sticker
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I saw a cool bumper sticker today:
 Turns out the author of the quote, Maggie Kuhn, was quite the activist in issues ranging from opposition to the Vietnam War to ageism. She was a founding member of the Grey Panthers. Initially formed in response to her own forced retirement at age 65 the group went on to advocate for social change in many different ways. The full quote that the bumper sticker comes from is: "Go to the people at the top - that is my advice to anyone who wants to change the system, any system. Don't moan and groan with like-minded souls. Don't write letters or place a few phone calls and then sit back and wait. Leave safety behind. Put your body on the line. Stand before the people you fear and speak your mind-even if your voice shakes. When you least expect it, someone may actually listen to what you have to say. Well-aimed slingshots can topple giants." |
Apr. 4, 2008
spring poem
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Sarah has posted a spring poetry contest on her blog - read all about it here. Here's the deal:  In celebration of "the white cloud's intricate maze, And the blue sky's beautiful sheen," I am hereby announcing SmallWorld's In Just-spring Mudluscious Poetry Contest. It's really quite simple. Just copy and paste this I'll be running this particular contest until April 10, so you've got plenty of time to find just the perfect poem. I will randomly choose a winner, who will receive a box in the mail filled with some of my favorite spring things (think gardens, good smells, and prettiness, unless the winner is male, in which case, scratch the good smells and pretty things). So here's my entry. Robert Frost is my favorite poet, being a man of, and writer about the woods. Here he is welcoming the onset of spring, and yet mourning the loss of the spring pools... Spring Pools These pools that, though in forests, still reflect The total sky almost without defect, And like the flowers beside them, chill and shiver, Will like the flowers beside them soon be gone, And yet not out by any brook or river, But up by roots to bring dark foliage on. The trees that have it in their pent-up buds To darken nature and be summer woods -- Let them think twice before they use their powers To blot out and drink up and sweep away These flowery waters and these watery flowers From snow that melted only yesterday. Robert Frost, 1928 |
Apr. 4, 2008
Dr. Martin Luther King
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"early morning, April 4. a shot rings out in the Memphis sky"
U2 - Pride (In the Name of Love) To the memory of Dr. Martin Luther King, killed 40 years ago today. He is indeed free at last. |
Feb. 8, 2008
bye-bye Johnny Fairplay
The new season of Survivor snuck up on me. Either there haven't been as many commercials as usual leading up to the premier, or I just haven't been watching as much TV. Regardless, last night was the first episode of the "fans vs. favorites" season. I was excited to see many of the favorites, like Yau-man, James, Parvati, Ozzy and Amanda. They're definitely some of my favorites from the last few seasons. Others I could have done without. Eliza was whiny, Jonathan just stupid, and Cirie a self-described couch potato. Ami was a decent player, but not very dynamic to watch.  And then there's Johnny Fairplay. What a complete dork. I didn't like him before, and I don't like him any better now. Did he REALLY want to leave, or did he get caught up in Parvati's little web? Either way, I don't care. I'm just glad he's gone! As I was looking for a picture of him to post I came across a video from the 2007 Reality TV award show. Johnny Fairplay gets dumped on the floor by Danny Bonaduce (aka Danny Partridge from the Partridge Family TV show). This is just too hilarious! |
Feb. 2, 2008
Blog Poetry Slam
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According to Sarah today is Blog Poetry Slam Day, in addition to Ground Hog Day (apparently we're in for six more weeks of winter). While I pondered this and considered what poem I might post I wandered far and wide on my virtual poetry shelf. My first thoughts went to Robert Frost who is near the top of the list of my favorite poets. I considered e.e. cummings - another of my favorite poets, but Sarah already posted him. I considered Jabberwocky by Lewis Carroll. A few years ago Jesse memorized the entire poem and astounded and amused everyone who heard him recite it. But I decided to post a poem by my all-time favorite poet: Sarah. This is a poem she wrote for me. It was written at a time in our lives when we were "exiled" in Iowa during graduate school, and longed deeply for a return to our beloved Tennessee. It turns out the poem was not only wistful, but prophetic as well. Seventeen Hours, Give or Take We count on someday, coffee on the front porch, Buffalo Mountain still in its own black shadow. We live now for the next vacation and the next, driving southeast and then south and east, shedding these strange selves as the farms turn to forests, corn to tobacco. Two hours to go and we are easy again, as if some lethal spell has been lifted. We unzip our stiff suits at the state line and toss them out the window. Our skin beneath is warm and smells greenly of wood. We can't stop breathing. |