Silver & Lilac

GOGOL BORDELLO - Trans-Continental Hustle (official video) (by...

Tue, 07 May 2013 19:23:58 -0400

GOGOL BORDELLO - Trans-Continental Hustle (official video) (by GogolBordello)

Why can’t I hear this on the radio?

Well, at least I can hear it somewhere…

crashinglybeautiful: Drifting pitifully in the whirlwind of...

Fri, 03 May 2013 16:30:32 -0400

Drifting pitifully in the whirlwind of birth and death,
As if wandering in a dream,
In the midst of illusion I awaken to the true path;
There is one more matter I must not neglect,
But I need not bother now,
As I listen to the sound of the evening rain
Falling on the roof of my temple retreat
In the deep grass of Fukakusa.

—Eihei Dōgen (1200 - 1253)

Image by Hasui Kawase, Rainy Night at Maekawa, 1932

from parabola-magazine.

Sublime.

ppgfreak85: One of the BEST ad campaigns about representation I...

Fri, 03 May 2013 15:59:42 -0400

ppgfreak85:

One of the BEST ad campaigns about representation I have seen.

Everyone has a backbone. Use yours.

Amazing PSAs. I want to see these around Miami. Do they have versions in Spanish, Kreyol and Portuguese? Those would be awesome.

carriemp: Yuck. The sickening irony here: if anyone had...

Thu, 25 Apr 2013 13:46:01 -0400

carriemp:

Yuck.

The sickening irony here: if anyone had suggested wiretapping churches, or imprisoning nuns for wearing habits, the howl of “Anti-Christian persecution!” would not stop.

Moods swing; poetry remains.

Wed, 24 Apr 2013 17:48:10 -0400

I’ve been very, very moody of late.

Much of it has to do with the balance between work and personal time—or the lack thereof. I’ve been at _____’s Market nearly three months now. So close to accruing bennies, yet so far…!

I’m not sorry to be working. It beats the days of staying in my bed, sleeping the afternoons away, or going on the pavement chase, classifieds and resume in hand.

I am, however, not fond of the micromanagement, the feeling that I am at the company’s pleasure, the need to “present” as pleasant, cheerful, and ready to help at a moment’s notice.

Shiny happy I’m not. And finding a balance between personality and professional behavior is trying.

This month—so far—I’ve kept to my goal of writing at least one poem a day.

I’ve also been experiencing mood swings, some of which probably have little to do with hormones. The days when I’m not crying I’m irritable, if not downright angry.

I’ve promised myself to see a doctor sometime in May or June. If, however, things get worse, I may just march myself to the ER at Coral Gables Hospital—insurance be damned. I hope I can hold out a bit longer.

Years ago, I received a diagnosis of Bipolar 2 Disorder.

It may be time to revisit that diagnosis.

In the meantime, I’ll keep writing.

A Principled Man - Steve Taylor - “I Predict 1990”...

Tue, 23 Apr 2013 19:15:39 -0400

A Principled Man - Steve Taylor - “I Predict 1990” (by Rafaeldamian)

I don’t listen to a lot of CCM(Contemporary Christian Music) these days. Much of it I find too treacly, formulaic—just flat out dreadful.

For Steve Taylor I make an exception…

Yes, indeed.

Fri, 12 Apr 2013 14:42:06 -0400

Yes, indeed.

The Smiths {Jensen} Pretty Girls Make Graves {1983 HQ Audio} (by...

Tue, 09 Apr 2013 19:12:47 -0400

The Smiths {Jensen} Pretty Girls Make Graves {1983 HQ Audio} (by hipsterdisco)

The story so far

Tue, 09 Apr 2013 19:07:22 -0400

Thus far…I have been working on my writing and creating poems. Time, work, and stress have deviled me.

I have no idea where this month will lead. But I’m determined to see the goal of a poem a day through…

Write one leaf in the form of a review of dill pickles.

Fri, 05 Apr 2013 13:08:42 -0400

writeoneleaf:

^{Write One Leaf}+^about+^ask+^random+^facebook+^twitter
^sponsors+^{You Are a Dog [ Kindle | Google | B&N | Kobo | iBookstore ]}

Whenever I eat at a deli, I always look forward to the round of relishes and pickles that kickstart the meal.

And I especially look forward to the pickles: something about the tang, the crunch, the sharpness stimulates my appetite in ways that few other things do.

I especially like pickles made on site: the brighter green of the Kirby cukes, the flecks of dill, garlic, pepper (black or red flake, sometimes both), and the brine create an amazing alchemy. Here is a pickle that can cut through the fattiness of, say, a hot pastrami, or the creaminess of a Reuben on rye!

The results are in: we’re a nation of idiots.

Fri, 05 Apr 2013 12:45:37 -0400

The results are in: we’re a nation of idiots.:

kateoplis:

“Well, that might overstate the case a bit. But some of the latest polling data does seem to show that at least 30 percent of American citizens—and maybe lots more—are as dumb as a bag of inbred hammers.

The poll in question is a delightful one put out this week by Public Policy Polling, a concern ranked by Fordham University as the best out of 28 organizations for the accuracy of its national pre-election estimates in 2012. […]

How many of you think Barack Obama is the Antichrist? You know, the fella (or fellas, depending on which part of the Bible you’re reading) confronted by Jesus in the Second Coming? Twenty-six percent of Americans either believe that the president is preparing for war with the Messiah or aren’t sure that he isn’t. (Of course, since Obama has been in office for five years, these yahoos should really start to wonder what’s taking Jesus so long to get back to Earth to confront the demon president.)

Hopefully, these are the same 26 percent of wackos who believe that the government puts fluoride into drinking water not for dental health but for “other, more sinister reasons,” as the P.P.P. question read. It was all a communist plot, you see, to do … something.

Stanley Kubrick did a delightful send-up of this conspiracy theory in the film Dr. Strangelove, with a main character who declared that fluoridation was designed to contaminate the “precious bodily fluids” of Americans. He started World War III because of his beliefs; fortunately, most of the 26 percent probably couldn’t even start a math test.

That doesn’t mean that these uninformed folk are harmless. Fifty-four percent of Americans—more than half the country!—either believes that childhood vaccinations cause autism or aren’t sure whether they do. Never mind that study after study, including one just released by the Centers for Disease Control, say this belief is uneducated malarkey. Why should anyone consider that when we have former Playboy model and B-movie actress Jenny McCarthy disagreeing? Yes, that is where we are: Americans are more likely to believe a nursing-school dropout than PhDs from America’s most prestigious institutions of higher learning.

Which brings us to the next absurdity: climate change. Forty-nine percent either believe the college dropouts and billionaires or aren’t sure if they should—that global warming is a hoax. Not simply that scientists are in error (which they aren’t) but that they have orchestrated the most expensive, wide-ranging, and mind-numbing fraud in the history of the world, just ’cause.”

The Creeping Danger of Conspiracy Theorists

Just read it.

What the....

Fri, 29 Mar 2013 14:27:37 -0400

Previous post was about National Poetry Month. It’s frustrating trying to get these things down. Urgh!

National Poetry Month starts Monday.

Fri, 29 Mar 2013 14:26:18 -0400

“And your point is…?”

Sorry. Not shiny-happy today.

Mon, 18 Mar 2013 15:18:31 -0400

Feeling depressed of late. Not so much over work as, well—the fact that this month marks the fourth year since my mother died; I have to come up with $2000 in addition to backpaying rent; and I just don’t like going to church and putting on a demure face for the parishioners.

Not much else to say at the moment. If time and thought permit—maybe later.

Okay, I know what I'm doing tonight...

Fri, 08 Mar 2013 17:45:15 -0500

Accessing the USA On Demand and playing catch up with Psych.

I need a little Shassie.

Great Northern - Numbers (by vintagetrees) Shoegaze splendor....

Wed, 20 Feb 2013 20:25:27 -0500

Great Northern - Numbers (by vintagetrees)

Shoegaze splendor. I’m enthralled.

Big Star - Kangaroo (by MFFilms815) More uneasy listening for...

Wed, 20 Feb 2013 20:13:12 -0500

Big Star - Kangaroo (by MFFilms815)

More uneasy listening for Wednesday night…

Augie March - One Crowded Hour (by augiemarchVEVO) I’ve...

Wed, 20 Feb 2013 20:08:35 -0500

Augie March - One Crowded Hour (by augiemarchVEVO)

I’ve had this song on my mind much of today.

“Flow my tears” by John Dowland | Valeria Mignaco,...

Wed, 20 Feb 2013 20:04:18 -0500

“Flow my tears” by John Dowland | Valeria Mignaco, soprano | Alfonso Marin, lute (by lutevoice)

John Dowland - Semper Dowland Semper Dolens (by...

Wed, 20 Feb 2013 19:58:17 -0500

John Dowland - Semper Dowland Semper Dolens (by Trinitrotolaissance)

Having reread Adam Brent Houghtaling’s This Will End In Tears, I am now quite curious.

Sad music does not faze me. And I do find it more soothing when I’m in the downs.