Stuck at airport... Options:

Do you feel safer?

And now
Open your eyes and see
What we have made is real
We are in Xanadu

Why is Jenna wearing Condi's suit?

System Failure

What are you doing today?

Today's word of the day: subaltern

I've also been dreaming about icebergs and volcanos.

Do we seek that which will repair us, balance us? Or are we drawn to the familiar?

More Laurie Anderson:

Desire! its cold as ice and then its hot as fire. ah desire! first its red and then its blue. and everytime I see an iceberg it reminds me of you. doo doo doo doo doo. doo doo doo doo doo. Que es mas macho: iceberg or volcano?

It has taken twenty years, but I think I finally get her.

I choose volcanos.

Pulling a doll part

Tonight I felt a longing like the power of the ocean's tide pulling the water from a river, drawing it from the farthest mountain top, to the shore... pulling

...blood through my veins, breath through my skin, through my bones, from the outside in, energy drawn from my heart... down... to pour myself into love's ocean.

***
it was pretty cool.

***

he said: history is an angel being blown backwards into the future he said: history is a pile of debris and the angel wants to go back and fix things to repair the things that have been broken but there is a storm blowing from paradise and the storm keeps blowing the angel backwards into the future and this storm, this storm is called progress

--Laurie Anderson

the one-armed man walks into a flower shop and says: what flower expresses days go by and they just keep going by endlessly pulling you into the future. days go by endlessly endlessly pulling you into the future. and the florist says: white lily.

--Laurie Anderson (again)

More Collections from my Unconscious

So, last night I dreamed about my dad. I was yelling at him. I told him he chose the dad path, and then he chose to leave it. I was screaming at him I hate you! and hitting his big belly. (This is my usual approach to Dad in my dreams.)

Usually I wake up about that time. But this time something different happened. He grabbed me and took a potato peeler and threatened to scrape the skin off my left arm.

It was the first time he ever fought back. It was truly terrifying.

What do you think that means?

Morning thoughts from Rumi

The morning wind spreads its fresh smell.
We must get up and take that in,
The wind that lets us live.
Breathe before it's gone.

Remembering someone I never met

I received a gift from someone I never knew: the celebration of a man's life among people who knew and loved him. He was honored for the brilliance he created out of all the frailties and injustices and shortcomings of a human life.

It reminded me to pay attention.

Things you can buy at BWI

Pretty opalescent mugs and ashtrays. Very nice. I like.

Sparkly watches for $16.95. Very nice. High five!

Crabby things for crabby travelers.

I think I'll have nightmares about this.

Missing my grrrl cat

Speaker Pelosi

Courtesy Women's E-News.

Are you sure it wasn't the Yes Men?

This landed in my inbox today. Damn, they're good.

November 13, 2006
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

WTO ANNOUNCES FORMALIZED SLAVERY MARKET FOR AFRICA
US Trade Representative to Africa, Governor of Nigeria Central Bank
weigh in at Wharton

Philadelphia - At a Wharton Business School conference on business in Africa, World Trade Organization representative Hanniford Schmidt
announced the creation of a WTO initiative for "full private stewardry of labor" for the parts of Africa that have been hardest hit by the 500 years of Africa's free trade with the West.

The initiative will require Western companies doing business in some
parts of Africa to own their workers outright. Schmidt recounted how
private stewardship has been successfully applied to transport,
power, water, traditional knowledge, and even the human genome. The
WTO's "full private stewardry" program will extend these successes to
(re)privatize humans themselves.

"Full, untrammelled stewardry is the best available solution to
African poverty, and the inevitable result of free-market theory,"
Schmidt told more than 150 attendees. Schmidt acknowledged that the
stewardry program was similar in many ways to slavery, but explained
that just as "compassionate conservatism" has polished the rough
edges on labor relations in industrialized countries, full stewardry,
or "compassionate slavery," could be a similar boon to developing
ones.

The audience included Prof. Charles Soludo (Governor of the Central
Bank of Nigeria), Dr. Laurie Ann Agama (Director for African Affairs
at the Office of the US Trade Representative), and other notables.
Agama prefaced her remarks by thanking Scmidt for his macroscopic
perspective, saying that the USTR view adds details to the WTO's
general approach. Nigerian Central Bank Governor Soludo also
acknowledged the WTO proposal, though he did not seem to appreciate
it as much as did Agama.

A system in which corporations own workers is the only free-market
solution to African poverty, Schmidt said. "Today, in African
factories, the only concern a company has for the worker is for his
or her productive hours, and within his or her productive years," he
said. "As soon as AIDS or pregnancy hits--out the door. Get sick, get
fired. If you extend the employer's obligation to a 24/7, lifelong
concern, you have an entirely different situation: get sick, get
care. With each life valuable from start to finish, the AIDS scourge
will be quickly contained via accords with drug manufacturers as a
profitable investment in human stewardees. And educating a child for
later might make more sense than working it to the bone right now."

To prove that human stewardry can work, Schmidt cited a proposal by a
free-market think tank to save whales by selling them. "Those who
don't like whaling can purchase rights to specific whales or groups
of whales in order to stop those particular whales from getting
whaled as much," he explained. Similarly, the market in Third-World
humans will "empower" caring First Worlders to help them, Schmidt
said. (http://www.policynetwork.net/main/article.php?article_id=505)

One conference attendee asked what incentive employers had to remain
as stewards once their employees are too old to work or reproduce.
Schmidt responded that a large new biotech market would answer that
worry. He then reminded the audience that this was the only possible
solution under free-market theory.

There were no other questions from the audience that took issue with
Schmidt's proposal.

During his talk, Schmidt outlined the three phases of Africa's 500-
year history of free trade with the West: slavery, colonialism, and
post-colonial markets. Each time, he noted, the trade has brought
tremendous wealth to the West but catastrophe to Africa, with poverty
steadily deepening and ever more millions of dead. "So far there's a
pattern: Good for business, bad for people. Good for business, bad
for people. Good for business, bad for people. That's why we're so
happy to announce this fourth phase for business between Africa and
the West: good for business--GOOD for people."

The conference took place on Saturday, November 11. The panel on
which Schmidt spoke was entitled "Trade in Africa: Enhancing
Relationships to Improve Net Worth." Some of the other panels in the
conference were entitled "Re-Branding Africa" and "Growing Africa's
Appetite." Throughout the comments by Schmidt and his three
co-panelists, which lasted 75 minutes, Schmidt's stewardee, Thomas
Bongani-Nkemdilim, remained standing at respectful attention off to
the side.

"This is what free trade's all about," said Schmidt. "It's about the
freedom to buy and sell anything--even people."

# 30 #

One of my sheroes, still speaking her mind!

Last night I got to honor a good friend and a living legend. 87 years old, Charlotte Flynn is still a sign-carrying, slogan chanting street activist.

Here's Charlotte last spring protesting the state's amendment to ban gay marriage.

(Don't let her sign fool you. She's being ironic.)

Charlotte Flynn introduced me to the Gray Panthers. The event last night was to honor her upon her retirement from their national board after 30 something years of service to that organization.

The room was filled with local luminaries--long-time dedicated Austin activists, non-profit veterans and a handful of elected and formerly elected people. There were lovely centerpieces and a big long table of food and wine.

It set out to be a lovely event. But -- if you ask me, something wasn't quite right. The other national board members who were there (and who were in charge of the program) didn't quite get it. One of them even displayed a book profiling 50 human rights visionaries and said: "Charlotte should have been in here, but she's not, so let's all sign this book and tell her about it."

They could have produced a booklet for her. They could have made a little video tribute, or given her a plaque or a damn watch (so she could count the minutes to her obviously imminent demise).

It felt somber. It felt more like Charlotte were visiting her own memorial service attended by a mess of ungrateful children and greedy distant relatives. "Charlotte was" this (fill in your own worn compliment), "Charlotte was" that (sappy sentiment).

Damn it, I thought. Charlotte STILL IS!

Instead of celebrating the inspiration that she has been and still is, we're all sitting here enduring this gawdawful program like we're at church and can't wait to go home and watch football.

So, when the master of ceremonies offered time for friends to come up and say nice things about Charlotte, I went up last and told them a little sumpin sumpin.

I said, when I think of Charlotte, I think of fire and fight! I think we should honor her now by doing the Gray Panther growl!

And at first, everybody just looked at me... But Charlotte was totally there. Charlotte grabbed her walker and came up and made everybody stand up, and she lead them in the Gray Panther Growl... and it was awesome!

Maggie Kuhn's motto was: "Do something outragreous!" So I did.

*****


"Learning and sex until rigor mortis."
--Maggie Kuhn

Here's Maggie Kuhn doing the Gray Panther Growl.

Don't date him, grrrl

Tonight I went to my favorite little cafe to enjoy a yummy salad and wine, and watch the tango dancers, and I saw a perfect candidate for the website Don't Date Him, Girl.

These two were obviously on a date. It was a sort of 50-somthing couple, dressed to impress (she, voluptuous in a hot pink fitted top, black circle skirt, high heeled slippers revealing her perfect pedicure, well managed face and hair; he sort of suave, like Don Johnson with the color turned off).

I was sitting at the next table. They had a bottle of wine and were flirting and giggling. They danced (they didn't know how to tango) and then went out for some fresh air. I saw them through the window chatting with two youngish women (like, late 20's) who were eating dinner outside.

A little bit later, the woman came back in and sat... and sat... and sat... alone at her table. I finished my dinner and decided to leave. On my way out, I saw Mr. Johnson sitting outside with the two younger women, flirting and teasing them and having a great time while his date sat inside... waiting.

I wanted to tell him what an ass he was...

****


When I googled boyfriend from hell, I found a T-shirt that says "I taught your boyfriend that thing you like."

Now that's just mean.

Who needs gravitas when you have tits?

Washington Post:

"Dismissed by her critics as too liberal, too elitist and too lacking in gravitas, Pelosi, serving her 10th term, has proved to be a tough-minded tactician who
has led her caucus from the political center and kept the fractious House Democrats in line."

Enrique:

"Heh, indeed. What is it about being female that keeps
you from being taken seriously?"

Only Grrrl:

Answer: Misogyny. This was actually the first image that came up in my Google image search for Nancy Pelosi:

Sick.

Did you know that somewhere in America, a woman is raped every 2 minutes, usually by someone she knows?

One in three American women will be sxually assaulted sometime in her life.

The United States has the world's highest rape rate of the countries that publish such statistics. It's 4 times higher than Germany, 13 times higher than England, and 20 times higher than Japan.

Collections of my unconscious

Last night I dreamed that I was taking a shower. Something wasn't quite right. I washed my face, washed my hair. And then I realized, I hadn't taken off my clothes.

What do you think that means?

What a weekend

Pastor Hagee said God told him He wasn't a Democrat or a Republican... but you'd never know it from the sermon he gave later. (That's Rick Perry on the left, by the way. Rick thinks non-Christians are doomed.)

Hagee's Gawd hates gays, Gawd HATES gay marriage, and, although Gawd might forgive you (espcially if you put a bunch a money in tray as it goes by) but He doesn't just forgive anyone. Gawd supports the death penalty. If you're on death row, Hagee said you should strap yourself to the gurney and THEN we'd see if you really found Gawd. You owe a debt to society, so pay up!

And Gawd wants you to be rich. When you go to heaven, you get a big ole diamond to wear around your neck. It contains the meaning of your life. Here's Hagee's wife, dreaming of trading her pearls for that big white rock. (what about covetousness, greed, gluttony?)

The Cornerstone Church has a membership of around 17,000, and MILLIONS more nation-wide watch the services on tv. Lord, help us.

If we're backing, up it's just to get a running start

After a brief hiatus in blogging, this Only Grrrl is (still anonymously) back... well, I will be later.