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Currents:
::Reading:: The 19th Wife by David Ebershoff (which has led to a whole obsessive fascination w/ Brigham Young, Ann Eliza Young,Lost Boys,beehive stained glass windows and haunted houses of Utah.)
:: Watching:: Season 5 of Six Feet Under…Disc 1 & 2 ,so far. & Yo Gabba Gabba!: The Dancey Dance Bunch!(I seem to have more interest in watching this than the 3 year old.Hmm)
::Listening::
Odetta
::Making::
a crazy quilt using vintage 70’s cowboy & cowgirl fabric,denims & bandannas.
Randomosity for the morning
Today is World AIDS Day. In agreement with Feministing – if you want to donate to the cause, skip the Starbucks 5 cents bullshit and donate directly to The Global Fund.
*edited to add* Once upon a time (before my computer bit the dust) , I had the info for an organization that collected quilts for pediatric AIDS patients. If anyone has that info, could you pass it on to me?
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The Adipositivity Project
Adipose: Of or relating to fat.
Positivity: Characterized by or displaying acceptance or affirmation.
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“The Modern Leper” by Frightened Rabbit
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Name five songs that remind you of the color blue.
- “Wild blue Yonder”, Screaming Blue Messiahs
- “Sea of Love” by The Honeydrippers
- “Forever in Blue jeans”, Neil Diamond
- “Cold Water”, Damien Rice
- “Haze Shade of Winter”, Simon & Garfunkle
Hmmm. No idea why THOSE songs sprung to mind but there ya go.
Brain Crush: Neil Peart
(thank you Debi for the term “Brain Crush”)
I’m not a Rush fan (I am not going to elaborate on this. The last time I spouted off about Rush on my former blog, I received a barrage of hits and subsequent hate e-mails from some Rush fan forum . Those Rush fans…wow. Rabid comes to mind…. ) but after reading his books , I am definitely a Neil Peart fan. Can I be one without the other? Maybe I should listen to more Rush just to make sure.
Squee!: The Other Neil on drums
Ok, so it’s pretend but I love Neil Gaiman …and I guess I have a thing for drummers? Regardless of why I like it, this is still a cool poster drawn by Mark Buckingham to celebrate the 20th Anniversary of Sandman…and it supports the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund
Activism: Cocoa Daisy’s Internet Food Drive
Having been a recipient of food drive goods, I implore you all to keep your cans of creamed corn (I add it to corn bread) and unused cranberry sauce from 2 Thanksgivings ago.
Also please remember that people who are in need of food aren’t just hungry at Thanksgiving & Christmas time. Consider clearing out your cupboards or adding a few items to your grocery cart to donate to a food pantry on a regular basis throughout the year. Or if you garden, food giveaway recipients would be THRILLED (like over-the-moon,gushing with appreciation thrilled) to have garden surplus in the summer & fall.
[title from "Peaceable Kingdom", Rush]
Thanks to Summer for passing this along via Twitter:
Wanted for Christmas: Socks with no Holes
an excerpt:
“To put it bluntly: I have 26 8-year-old kids. 7 of them are homeless: they either live in shelters or with other family members. Most of them don’t have their own coats, boots or enough food to eat at night. 5 of my kids’ families have lost their jobs recently in the tough economic times we are facing and their futures look even more bleak. The school lunch and breakfast that we serve every day is the only times a few of my kids even get to eat. Five of my kids have family members (a mom or dad or brother) in jail, 2 just lost their cars and have no transportation and the vast majority of my kids don’t have enough books, pencils, paper or even crayons at home to do their homework.
It’s not that the parents are deadbeats or don’t care: I’ve met all my parents and you’ve never seen a group of parents that are more devoted to their kids and passionate that their kids MAKE IT: they want their kids to rise above their situation and become better than they themselves have it.”
As I read further, I got tears in my eyes seeing what some the children had requested for A Christmas present in a writing assignment (my sister did not edit their responses):
“…I need some socks because all mine have holes in them.””…I would like two blankets because my house gets cold.”“…I would like a dol becasue I really want one.”“…in the store, I would like new shoes.””…I need some pencils at home because I don’t half any and I half to wait until my couzin is done with his homework. Also his homework has a lot of pages to do and it takes forever and ever and I don’t get to finish not much of my homework.”
“…a beautiful, red, sparkly dress. Like a princess.”
If you don’t feel comfortable sending out donations to random people over the internet, call your local school and ask if there are families who could use some help. From my own experience with donating things , the school nurse or a counselor would be the best contact person who would have a good idea which children need what.
Today I’m bagging up all the kids outgrown winter clothing,snowsuits,hats,mittens,boots and other things I hate because they indicate that once again, winter has arrived here in NY , and donating them to my local Share the Warmth program. Chances are, you have a similar program in your area that collects winter clothing so people don’t freeze their ass off . If not, think about starting one yourself. As Summer said, if we Mamas can bring down the Motrin ads, I think we can make sure kids don’t freeze this winter and have some decent hole-free socks and shoes.
[title from "Stand Up" by The Flobots]
“If you’ve got more to give then you’ve got to prove
Put your hands up and I’ll copy you
Stand up We shall not be moved
Except by a woman dying from a loss of food
If you’ve got more to give then you’ve got to prove
Put your hands up and I’ll copy you”
Dear Dr. Phil,
While traipsing around the blogosphere yesterday, I read that you were seeking stories from homebirthers.I clicked on the link provided by the blogger and was a little confused to find a form that asks only questions related to regretting a homebirth.
Now,I don’t like to jump to conclusions,Dr. Phil …but it appears to me that you’re planning a show focusing on the negative aspects of homebirthng. As a woman who has had a wonderful homebirthing experience (I will spare you the details since you seem uninterested in hearing about it), it concerns me that a mainstream television show with a wide viewing audience comprised primarily of women would choose to show only the ‘cons’ of such a demographically relevant issue.
It would be a huge disservice to women to present a partial sampling of information regarding homebirthing. Sharing stories that focus only on bad experiences perpetuate fear and ignorance about birthing options. As I am confident the Fact Checkers in your employ can confirm, homebirthing is a viably safe birthing option with many more pros than cons. I implore you to aim for at the very least a healthy balance of representation and allow the powerful voices of women who will never regret their homebirthing decision to be heard loud and clear.
