The day the sun stands still

Yay for Midsummer. Happy Summer Solstice!
Go burn a bonfire, dance and sing and be merry. We are the closest to the sun we'll be all year.

Enjoy the summer and all the brightness it will bring.
Party and celebrate this big crazy spinning ball we call home.
Get dizzy.
Sing an ode to the sun.
Revel in the bright shining ball of light that unites all cultures and peoples from all times past and all those yet to come.
Dance in it's rays
Enjoy it's warmth
Draw life from it's light.

The cycle of life is a beautiful one.

Obama people are cool

Check out these vidz by some kewl Obama folks.


Party Like Barack Does



Baby Got Barack


Yes We Can by will.i.am


I Got a Crush....on Obama


The Barack Song



I'm totally lovin' the fact that so many people are getting SO inspired. Party on, kids!

Go people!
G'Obama!

The Tree is a wise old thing

Stand Tall and Proud
Sink your roots deeply into the Earth
Reflect the light of a greater source
Think long term
Go out on a limb
Remember your place among all living beings
Embrace with joy the changing seasons
For each yields its own abundance:
The Energy and Birth of Spring
The Growth and Contentment of Summer
The Wisdom to let go of leaves in the Fall
The Rest and Quiet Renewal of Winter.
- LLan Shamir, Advice from a Tree

A tree uses what comes its way to nurture itself.
By sinking its roots deeply into the earth,
by accepting the rain that flows towards it,
by reaching out to the sun, the tree perfects its character and becomes great.
Absorb, absorb, absorb. That is the secret of the tree.
-Deng Ming-Dao, Everyday Tao

Indeed, the Tree is a wise old thing.

Score one for Alanis

So, my Alanis theme continues, in honor of today's release of her new album, Flavors of Entanglement. I'm stoked. I heart Alanis. She brings me back to the good ol' days of sitting on the school bus and listening as as her Jagged Little Pill hits came on the radio. By the way, apparently I was a kid blessed with a hip 'n kewl bus driver, since we were actually allowed to rock out to such tunes on the bus. But I digress. Seems most folks let Alanis fall off their radar once her angry-biiiaatch persona got toned down a notch or two. Jagged Little Pill was one of those albums so full of life and vitality, driven by the hardcore raw emotions of a man who did her all sorts of wrong. The upside of all that shitiness, however, was a fantastic album. So naturally, my hopes are high for Flavors of Entaglement. You may recall (thanks, Perez Hilton, for keeping me in the know) that Alanis's once-fiance, Ryan Reynolds, is now fiance'ed to Scarlet Johansen. And I'm gonna just take a shot in the dark here, but I bet Alanis is just a little bitter. Like, just a tad. And, lucky for you and I, apparently Flavors of Entaglement is chalk full of that all that bitter glory. Well, maybe not bitter, per se, according to Rolling Stone's review, "It doesn't rage, like "You Oughta Know" - it sounds more like grief." But still. No matter what the emotion, it's gotta be good. Alanis is a woman who knows how to channel that shit into somethin' really good.
Scarlett Ho-hansen (yes, that was intentional) may have the man, but at least Alanis has the music career. (Clearly not so for Scarlett, in case you've read that she is attempting a music career).

Score one for Alanis. Score none for Ho-hansen.

p.s. Whats so great about this Ryan Reynolds guy anyways???

Utopia

"We'd gather around
all in a room
fasten our belts
engage in dialogue
we'd all slow down
rest without guilt
not lie without fear
disagree sans judgement

we would stay and respond and expand and include
and allow and forgive and enjoy and evolve
and discern and inquire and accept and admit and divulge and
open and reach out and speak up

This is utopia
this is my utopia
This is my ideal
my end in sight
Utopia
this is my utopia
This is my nirvana
My ultimate

We'd open our arms
we'd all jump in
we'd all coast down into safety nets

we would share and listen and support and welcome
be propelled by passion
not invest in outcomes
we would breathe and be charmed and amused by difference
be gentle and make room for every emotion

we'd provide forums
we'd all speak out
we'd all be heard
we'd all feel seen

we'd rise post-obstacle more defined more grateful
we would heal be humbled
and be unstoppable
we'd hold close and let go and know when to do which
we'd release and disarm and stand up and feel safe

this is utopia
this is my utopia
this is my ideal, my end in sight
utopia
this is my utopia
this is my nirvana
my Ultimate"

Utopia - Lyrics by Alanis Morissette

YES WE CAN

YES WE ARE!

...and this is why I support Obama

This was actually a front page photo on CNN.com for about 5 minutes today. What were they thinking? More importantly, what was she thinking?
Happy Sunday Afternoon.

Where I am is a Place to Be

I've been on many a lonely car trip lately, and have allowed my mind to wander. I'm rediscovering the excitement of the small epiphanies that shoot into my mind while driving. The road has a mysterious way of clearing my thoughts and opening up a channel to reflection and deeper thought. One my drive home today, the channel opened yet again and a humble slice of knowledge slid it's way down the slope and into my mind. I realized that the place I am is exactly the Place I need to be. Not necessarily the physical place, mind you, but the mental, spiritual, and emotional place I find myself in at the current time. It wasn't so much that moment when the cosmos align and suddenly confirm to you that your life is on the right path. No, it was more-so a discovery that where I am in space, time, and spirit is a beneficial and fulfilling place for me at the present moment, and it will propel me into finding the next Place I am to be in life.
Each Place, neither necessarily good nor bad, has it's reasons. I may not know what those reasons are, but I trust that I will discover those reasons in due time.
Perhaps even more important is the realization that everyone else is also in the Place they are supposed to be. It is most likely not the same place I am, but that is ok. The place you are is where you are supposed to be, and there is a reason you are there and a reason you will move on to a new place evevntually. I am not to judge why you are at the place you are, or even judge that place itself. It is simply a place you need to be and I am a in a place I need to be.

Chill, relax, and take in everything that is the place you are. I will do the same.

J

The Storm in the Calm

I sit here, anticipating another night of sleep close on my horizon, yet lay awake befriending the roaring thunder outside. Today was one of those cloudy days that get me kinda down and I start to quietly beg the sun to come back and grace me with its illuminating presence. Yet, I fail to remember at those moments, that the night also has an illuinating presence of it's own that I often overlook. The moon is a balance to the sun, just like those energizing days of sunshine redeem the cloudy and dreary days I loathe. It reminds me of my study of chaos theory freshman year of college. I musn't forget that the storm, rain and thunder all bring a balance to the Earth, and a balance to me as well, more than I can fully understand. The sun will stabilize the clouds, and the rain will stabilze the heat, and so on. So, I will now strive to embrace the moon (and the rain), as I fall asleep. Even the worms. God I hate worms. But they need the rain, just as I need sleep.
All is in balance and forever chaos. And to that, I too will sleep.

J

The Geek in the Pink

OMG. Hello, ear orgasm! Have you heard Jason Mraz's new cd? I pine, I obsess, I swoon. You gotta check it out. What comes out of that man's blessed mouth is nothing short of vocal sex.
Double points for the fact that he's a total hottie.

Mraz is the Jazz.

Gotsta go. Peace out.

J

Holy nuggets, batman, is that a blog I see?

Yah, I'm back. It's been over a year. And what has happened in that year? Everything and nothing, chaos and calm, all at the same time. I upped and decided that my new goal-of-the-moment is going to be to pay more attention to that little voice in my head, echoing out from the dusty and dark corners, otherwise known as my neglected and unforgiving blog.

Yah, somehow over the past year it grew legs, discovered its voice, and started nagging me incessantly. Weird.

Anyways. Back to me (some things will never change). I decided that this writers block that I've suffered for so long has got to come to an end. It's not that I've lacked inspiration or idea. Oh no. It's more that these thoughts and ideas rushing through my synapses at Mach-10 oddly dissipate just as I attempt to push them from the comfort of my mind towards the outside world. Sorta like my thoughts are all sorts of new colors, shapes, sounds and scents that I recognize in my own mind but have yet to learn of the word that best define them. Either that, or my lexicon has just completely gone to shit. But I prefer the former.

So that's my story for the past year. And now I'm striving to let those ideas maintain form while finding an outlet to make them known.
That may be through song lyrics that sear from my ear directly to my blood, or a film that encapsules a story more brilliant than I could ever dream. Or even, perhaps from the unexpected introduction to a being I've never met but feel strangely interconnected with.

That, and I gotta get less wordy. More matter, less fart.

Breast Cancer 3-Day

Memory. Honor. Support. Hope. Life.

In August 2007, I'll be participating in a special event called the Breast Cancer 3-Day Walk. Over the course of 3 days, I will walk over 60 miles to raise money for breast cancer research and initiatives.

My mission:
I will walk for breast cancer.
I will walk in memory of all women who have not survived the struggle against breast cancer.
I will walk in honor of all those who have.
I will walk in support of all those who are currently fighting against the disease.
I will walk for all women.
I will walk for hope.
I will walk for strength.
I will walk for courage.
I will walk for a brighter future.
I will walk for the promise of a cure.
Because everyone deserves a lifetime, I will walk.

According to the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation, approximately 200,000 American women will be diagnosed with breast cancer this year, and nearly 40,000 will die from the disease. Breast cancer is a leading cause of death among women in the country.

That's why I'm walking so far. To do something bold about breast cancer. If you are interested in supporting my efforts, please visit my fundraising headquarters at the link listed below. Any little bit helps. Please keep in mind how far I'll be walking - and how hard I'll have to train.

https://www.kintera.org/faf/donorReg/donorPledge.asp?ievent=202293&supid=155336891

For your wife, your sister, your mother, your friend, and you.........I will walk.