Friday, October 28, 2011
Thursday, October 27, 2011
Not much to say right now
It's been an odd week. (What else is new?) My neighbor across the street dropped dead at the age of 54. The construction drags on, but we're getting close to the end of it, IF the weather would only cooperate. Except for ONE absolutely glorious week, it has been a really crappy October! It's snowing today.
I'm working on my Halloween costume for a party Saturday night, and starting to make Christmas gifts. I've been keeping an eye on the Occupy movement, amazed at how they've been able to shift the national dialogue over to the REAL issues ordinary people are struggling with, although the corporate media and politicians are still as tone deaf and out of touch as ever.
I'm paying especially close attention to the situation in Oakland, where my son Brendan (an Iraq war vet) lives and works these days. He is outraged at the way peaceful protesters' rights are being trampled on. He points out that although the "hippies" and anarchists and other extremists play better on cable news, "the overwhelming majority of people in these groups are normal people with jobs and families." Got that, FOX?
We live in SUCH interesting times.
I'm working on my Halloween costume for a party Saturday night, and starting to make Christmas gifts. I've been keeping an eye on the Occupy movement, amazed at how they've been able to shift the national dialogue over to the REAL issues ordinary people are struggling with, although the corporate media and politicians are still as tone deaf and out of touch as ever.
I'm paying especially close attention to the situation in Oakland, where my son Brendan (an Iraq war vet) lives and works these days. He is outraged at the way peaceful protesters' rights are being trampled on. He points out that although the "hippies" and anarchists and other extremists play better on cable news, "the overwhelming majority of people in these groups are normal people with jobs and families." Got that, FOX?
We live in SUCH interesting times.
Thursday, October 20, 2011
I am the 99%
While our home renovations continue--and believe me, you haven't lived until you've had roofers and carpenters pounding on your house when you have a blinding sinus headache--I've become captivated, almost against my will, by the Occupy movement, especially now that it has materialized in nearby Erie, PA.
Though I am in recovery from my past as a political activist (and I believe I am done with partisanship for good), I never intended to ignore the moral imperative to live in a manner which promotes equality and justice and the inherent worth and dignity of every human being. And that's what this is about.
The future of the human race depends on humans learning to cooperate with and care for one another. The rapacious callousness and greed that has allowed wealth and power to be concentrated in the hands of the very few AT THE EXPENSE OF the majority has to be called out. And that day has come.
It's fascinating to watch the movement evolve and gain traction as people become aware of what has been stolen from them and by whom. The corporate media continues to play dumb and obfuscate the message because they haven't figured out yet how irrelevant they are. The message is being communicated via the internet and social media and good old-fashioned face-to-face discussion. It's amazing how well people can add 2 + 2 when they tune out the distractions of Lindsay Lohan, Casey Anthony, and Charlie Sheen. When they stop getting bamboozled with buzz words like "socialist" and "real Americans." Ordinary people get smart when they stop feeding stupid into their brains and start talking amongst themselves.
I no longer have the stamina of my youth, so it's unlikely you'll find me camping overnight in Perry Square, but I unequivocally support those who are standing up to tell the truth about the purchase of the US government by corporate power and the systemic looting and gambling away of our wealth by those who just can't get enough.
Though I am in recovery from my past as a political activist (and I believe I am done with partisanship for good), I never intended to ignore the moral imperative to live in a manner which promotes equality and justice and the inherent worth and dignity of every human being. And that's what this is about.
The future of the human race depends on humans learning to cooperate with and care for one another. The rapacious callousness and greed that has allowed wealth and power to be concentrated in the hands of the very few AT THE EXPENSE OF the majority has to be called out. And that day has come.
It's fascinating to watch the movement evolve and gain traction as people become aware of what has been stolen from them and by whom. The corporate media continues to play dumb and obfuscate the message because they haven't figured out yet how irrelevant they are. The message is being communicated via the internet and social media and good old-fashioned face-to-face discussion. It's amazing how well people can add 2 + 2 when they tune out the distractions of Lindsay Lohan, Casey Anthony, and Charlie Sheen. When they stop getting bamboozled with buzz words like "socialist" and "real Americans." Ordinary people get smart when they stop feeding stupid into their brains and start talking amongst themselves.
I no longer have the stamina of my youth, so it's unlikely you'll find me camping overnight in Perry Square, but I unequivocally support those who are standing up to tell the truth about the purchase of the US government by corporate power and the systemic looting and gambling away of our wealth by those who just can't get enough.
Wednesday, October 12, 2011
There's no place like home
Maybe it's a sign of impending old age. But we're really becoming creatures of habit. Disruptions in our routine are discomfiting in a way they haven't been before. We like our small town life in the middle of a big rural county. We're settling into a rhythm much more in tune with the earth. It took us a lot of years to take this step back from the manmade stresses superimposed on the natural world, and it's too bad we were too busy running marathons in our hamster wheels to figure this out earlier.
But with our entire roof being torn off and rebuilt to accommodate a (small) second story, it seemed like a good idea to take a trip for a few days. So we boarded the cat, packed up the dog, and took a road trip to visit my sister. Who happens to live in the nation's capital, one of the most densely packed (in terms of people, vehicles, buildings, and white collar criminals) areas on the planet. It used to be fun to visit--the museums, the monuments, the restaurants, the cosmopolitan vibe--but after a while, the novelty has disappeared and the overall unhealthiness of the environment has become suffocating. DC is about as unnatural as it gets this side of Disney World, despite the small green oasis my sister has created in her back yard. It confounds me that people who have a choice would voluntarily reside in a city where anything not bolted down or barricaded behind triple locks is fair game for thiefs. The roadways are so choked with vehicles (many with only one person in them) that a lane closure due to construction turned the last three miles of our departure from the beltway into a 90-minute crawl. How do you evacuate a place like that in the event of disaster? The answer is, YOU DON'T.
So after our short and sweet visit with people we still love anyway, we thought we'd head for the mountains and camp out. Well, camping in October is way more popular than we ever knew. Especially on a gorgeous holiday weekend, which we somehow overlooked in our plans. It's October, how hard can it be to find a place to pitch a tent? The campgrounds in Shenandoah National Park were full. Plan B was a motel room outside the park. We found a Red Roof Inn, a chain that is dog friendly. Not the camping experience we had hoped for, but it worked. We still got to enjoy the beauty of the mountains and the Shenandoah Valley. And free wi-fi!
We finally got to pitch our tent in Allegany State Park, almost in our back yard. It's an amazingly beautiful 65,000 acres open year round for all kinds of outdoor recreation-- boating and fishing, camping and hiking, snowshoeing and cross-country skiing. Proving it doesn't require a LONG road trip to get away. And the wildlife like it too. You can find deer crossing signs everywhere, and even this sign on I-86 between here and there.
The campgrounds are pretty well populated with people and dogs, not the kind of place a shy black bear is likely to wander into, but we know enough about raccoons to know that you don't leave food lying around your campsite. Heck, you can't trust the omnipresent birds and chipmunks. We keep our site clean. Even the dog food gets locked up.
We had a nice hike around Red House Lake. Conor met lots of other dogs. We prepared dinner, ate, cleaned up, and got settled around our cozy little campfire. It gets dark early in October, but we had a beautiful, clear, moonlit sky, and a fellow camper with a guitar kept us entertained until lights out.
We retired to our tent and drifted off to the soothing night sounds of the forest. Only to be jolted awake by a sudden sharp WOOF! in the dark, which was immediately followed by a direct strike on our tent. Alas! Nailed by the diminutive striped terrorist of the woodland. Conor, responding as good dogs will to movement outside the tent, had unwittingly given away our position to the enemy. The front corner of the tent took the brunt of the chemical attack, but within seconds, the odor molecules permeated everything inside with a gagging stench. Who knew that military surplus gas masks should be required gear for camping in state parks?
We're back home. The new roof has been built, but we'll be dealing with the continued commotion of construction for a while yet. Our days are noisy, temporarily, and there are all these guys with power tools all over the place, temporarily. But the dog and cat are getting used to them, and I can sit on my own couch, sleep in my own bed, and cook in my own kitchen. It's quiet and safe here at night. Oh, Auntie Em...
But with our entire roof being torn off and rebuilt to accommodate a (small) second story, it seemed like a good idea to take a trip for a few days. So we boarded the cat, packed up the dog, and took a road trip to visit my sister. Who happens to live in the nation's capital, one of the most densely packed (in terms of people, vehicles, buildings, and white collar criminals) areas on the planet. It used to be fun to visit--the museums, the monuments, the restaurants, the cosmopolitan vibe--but after a while, the novelty has disappeared and the overall unhealthiness of the environment has become suffocating. DC is about as unnatural as it gets this side of Disney World, despite the small green oasis my sister has created in her back yard. It confounds me that people who have a choice would voluntarily reside in a city where anything not bolted down or barricaded behind triple locks is fair game for thiefs. The roadways are so choked with vehicles (many with only one person in them) that a lane closure due to construction turned the last three miles of our departure from the beltway into a 90-minute crawl. How do you evacuate a place like that in the event of disaster? The answer is, YOU DON'T.
So after our short and sweet visit with people we still love anyway, we thought we'd head for the mountains and camp out. Well, camping in October is way more popular than we ever knew. Especially on a gorgeous holiday weekend, which we somehow overlooked in our plans. It's October, how hard can it be to find a place to pitch a tent? The campgrounds in Shenandoah National Park were full. Plan B was a motel room outside the park. We found a Red Roof Inn, a chain that is dog friendly. Not the camping experience we had hoped for, but it worked. We still got to enjoy the beauty of the mountains and the Shenandoah Valley. And free wi-fi!
The campgrounds are pretty well populated with people and dogs, not the kind of place a shy black bear is likely to wander into, but we know enough about raccoons to know that you don't leave food lying around your campsite. Heck, you can't trust the omnipresent birds and chipmunks. We keep our site clean. Even the dog food gets locked up.
We had a nice hike around Red House Lake. Conor met lots of other dogs. We prepared dinner, ate, cleaned up, and got settled around our cozy little campfire. It gets dark early in October, but we had a beautiful, clear, moonlit sky, and a fellow camper with a guitar kept us entertained until lights out.
We retired to our tent and drifted off to the soothing night sounds of the forest. Only to be jolted awake by a sudden sharp WOOF! in the dark, which was immediately followed by a direct strike on our tent. Alas! Nailed by the diminutive striped terrorist of the woodland. Conor, responding as good dogs will to movement outside the tent, had unwittingly given away our position to the enemy. The front corner of the tent took the brunt of the chemical attack, but within seconds, the odor molecules permeated everything inside with a gagging stench. Who knew that military surplus gas masks should be required gear for camping in state parks?We're back home. The new roof has been built, but we'll be dealing with the continued commotion of construction for a while yet. Our days are noisy, temporarily, and there are all these guys with power tools all over the place, temporarily. But the dog and cat are getting used to them, and I can sit on my own couch, sleep in my own bed, and cook in my own kitchen. It's quiet and safe here at night. Oh, Auntie Em...
Tuesday, October 4, 2011
Gas Facts Fall Fest
There is a fundraiser from 2-5 pm for WNY Drilling Defense and Protecting Our Water Rights (POWR), two grassroots environmental groups, at the Buffalo Irish Center,245 Abbott Rd. in Buffalo.
Tickets: $20 at the door. (pre-sale tickets available at Burning Books 420 Connecticut St, Buffalo, NY.)
The afternoon will feature:
- Film Premiere of a short documentary about Western New York families affected by hydrofracking: "WNY Frack Chat".
- Informative presentations about how high-volume fracking in NYS could affect WNY.
- Live music by Babik.
- Pizza, soda and beer included!
Cosponsored By: WNY Peace Center, Veterans for Peace, Sierra Club Niagara Chapter, Arden Farm, Above & Beyond Tree Expert Company, Rezults Consulting, Body Glyphix Yoga Studio, For the Love of Toulouse: Shiitake Mushroom Pate de Faux Gras, Eco-logic Studio, Burning Books and Peace Education Fund.
Sunday, October 2, 2011
I love this
I found this on the Unstuffed blog this morning and I have to share. I hope you find some little thing here that you can use.
Saturday, October 1, 2011
Rainy weekend
It's cold, dark, and damp, and for the past two days, I have retreated into my cocoon, reading, cooking, and surfing the internet. It hasn't been completely unproductive.
I've been able to try some new recipes --a "dutch baby" apple pancake and a friend's slow cooker Italian beef. Today, I'll be roasting root vegetables...the latest local harvest.
By net surfing and reading my eyeballs out, I've learned a lot about other communities' GO LOCAL programs-- something I would love to see happen here in Chautauqua county. We have some unique locally owned businesses run by community-minded people. They are the ones who build a community and keep it humming. These places are far more interesting to out-of-town visitors than the usual ubiquitous chains. But where do you find critical mass for this kind of GO LOCAL program in a county whose Chamber of Commerce includes the "local" WalMart in its version of a "shop local" promotion? So much to ponder.
It's the "usual suspects" like Bellingham, WA and Austin, TX that have the most fully developed programs up and running. Sonoma county, CA also has some great ideas. Feel free to explore these links and do your own brainstorming and dreaming of what could be.
And I WILL get out of the house this weekend. On Sunday alone, there are choices like Oktobenefest at Southern Tier from noon till 4 to benefit the St. Susan Center; "Seed Saving 101" workshop from 3-4, led by Sharon Reed and Jim Wilmoth, Chautauqua County Master Gardeners, at Friendly Kitchen in Dunkirk; and a 7 pm Music Salon featuring a JAZZ QUARTET at the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Jamestown.
Staying home and watching football is an option, but it's not the only one.
By net surfing and reading my eyeballs out, I've learned a lot about other communities' GO LOCAL programs-- something I would love to see happen here in Chautauqua county. We have some unique locally owned businesses run by community-minded people. They are the ones who build a community and keep it humming. These places are far more interesting to out-of-town visitors than the usual ubiquitous chains. But where do you find critical mass for this kind of GO LOCAL program in a county whose Chamber of Commerce includes the "local" WalMart in its version of a "shop local" promotion? So much to ponder.
It's the "usual suspects" like Bellingham, WA and Austin, TX that have the most fully developed programs up and running. Sonoma county, CA also has some great ideas. Feel free to explore these links and do your own brainstorming and dreaming of what could be.
And I WILL get out of the house this weekend. On Sunday alone, there are choices like Oktobenefest at Southern Tier from noon till 4 to benefit the St. Susan Center; "Seed Saving 101" workshop from 3-4, led by Sharon Reed and Jim Wilmoth, Chautauqua County Master Gardeners, at Friendly Kitchen in Dunkirk; and a 7 pm Music Salon featuring a JAZZ QUARTET at the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Jamestown.
Staying home and watching football is an option, but it's not the only one.
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