authentification

life
authentic inactment
breath hitting the mirror
curses hitting the air
another moment unsensored
ease, comfort, peace
life, nice, cool, unsealed -- real
pfffffffff

Sadie, Sadie -- Married Lady

Funny Girl: Sadie, Sadie Lyrics
Act ii opens with the newly wed fanny and nick arriving at their home in long island.
Fanny’s friends have prepared a surprise party for them. Ziegfeld is there, hoping
Fanny will be in his new show; he’s even hired her friend Eddie as dance director.
Fanny’s Ziegfeld friends ask her what it’s like be married and she replies:

Fanny:
I’m sadie, sadie, married lady,
Bow when I go by.
I’m a corporation now,
Not me, myself and I.
Oh how that marriage license works
On chambermaids and hotel clerks.
The honeymoon was such delight
That we got married that same night.
I’m sadie, sadie, married lady,
Still in bed at noon,
Racking my brain deciding
Between orange juice and prune.
Nick says nothing is too good for me,
And who am I not to agree?
I’m sadie, sadie, married lady, that’s me!
All:
She’s sadie, sadie, married lady,
Fanny:
Meet a mortgagee,
All:
The owner of an icebox
Fanny:
With a ten-year guarantee.
Oh, sit me in the softest seat,
Quick, a cushion for my feet.
Do for me, buy for me, lift me, carry me,
Finally got a guy to marry me!
I do my nails,
Read up on sales,
All day the records play.
Then he comes home, I tell him
Oy--what a day I had today!
I swear I’ll do my wifely job,
Just sit at home--become a slob!
I’m sadie, sadie, married lady, that’s me!
All:
She’s sadie, sadie, married lady,
Boys:
Sadie, you did the trick.
Fanny:
It’s nothing!
Girls:
Not ev’ry girl can get herself
A guy who looks like nick.
Fanny:
Wait, to tell the truth, it hurt my pride--
The groom was prettier than the bride.
All:
Sadie, sadie, married lady,
Fanny:
Husband, house, a mortgage, a baby,
All:
Sadie, sadie, married lady,
Fanny:
That’s who?
All:
That’s you.
Fanny:
That’s me--married lady.
All:
Say hello to ziegfeld’s married lady--sadie!

Sadie, Sadie, Married Lady - Barbra Striesand

pilots n paws -- on a mission

this is a wonderful organization that makes me smile every time i read about it: pilots n paws. an organization that uses private planes and charitable pilots to fly dogs to no kill shelters in different areas across the u.s. according to usa today, they've set a lofty goal to save 5,000 dogs in september. fingers are crossed.

to read more, go to usa today or pilots n paws.

photo contest

In an effort to follow the artist's way...to stop being a shadow artist and become the real artist i'm destined to be, i entered into the "world in focus" photography contest. just one entry, but a starting point to more hopefully.

here's your chance to vote for my photograph: children at play, rio de janeiro. feel free to pass the link along and we'll see what happens when we're done.

next up: the dog stalker exhibition.

carcassonne

jacques prevert

The Garden

Thousands and thousands of years
Would not be enough
To tell of
That small second of eternity
When you held me
When I held you
One morning
In winter's light
In Montsouris Park
In Paris
On earth
This earth
That is a star

Paris at Night

Three matches one by one struck in the night
The first to see your face in it's entirety
The second to see your eyes
The last to see your mouth
And the darkness all around to remind me of all these
As I hold you in my arms.
   

quitting time

i wonder sometimes when the cracking point will come. when the mind will stop working...mush will set in and the quitting whistle will sound. i'm kind of ready for that whistle.

a new stage

this week marks the end of an era for a girl i know well. she has officially moved on from lycee, once her essay is complete. she will walk across the stage and venture into a new world in the green northwest. be lost in library caverns and lush beds of intrigue and adventure. it is a new world she walks in tomorrow. a new experience mixed with wild lyrics of cacophonous emotion. hallelujah. she survived and so did we. tomorrow is proof.

moving foreward

this morning i lie listlessly in bed, seeking the truth of the moment. the thought-provoking testament that will propel me from my back and onto my feet. i'm tired. i'm stressed. i'm anxious -- don't do it. but the sun and the knowledge that i'm one day closer to the weekend does.

on y va, i say...

the beginning.

and this is when adventure grabbed hold. it reached inside my chest, wrapped its vigorous fingers around my slow, pedantic beating heart and squeezed. faster...faster..faster. so fast that the blood flow and energy stream could not be stopped.

at that moment surrounded by the steel gray of office furniture, the blinking light of my phone and the massive books at my feet, it was time to move. embrace the unknown and simply get going.

what can we do? what should we do...

you know economic times are bad when tent cities are expanding. i didn't know these types of communities truly existed, but a recent article in usa today sheds light on the situation and makes me think that we're one step closer to a modern day grapes of wrath.

in this article, emily bazar points out some disturbing numbers about the growth rate of these communities across the country:

• In Massachusetts, a record number of homeless families need emergency shelter, says Robyn Frost, executive director of the Massachusetts Coalition for the Homeless. In mid-April, there were 2,763 families in shelters, including 655 in motels because the shelters were full, an increase of 36% since July, she says.

"We have a high number of foreclosure properties, and many of them are multifamily apartments," Frost says. "We were seeing a great number of families being displaced."

• Reno officials shut down a tent city in October after making more shelter space available, but new encampments are popping up along the Truckee River and elsewhere, says Kelly Marschall of the Reno Area Alliance for the Homeless.

The homeless include "a startling number of first-time homeless," she says. "We asked them what industries they were involved in. The majority were talking about construction, the housing industry, real estate. There was a direct correlation to the housing market crash."

• In Santa Barbara, Calif., 84 men and women sleep in their cars, trucks or recreational vehicles in 17 parking lots around the city, says Jason Johnson with the New Beginnings Counseling Center, which runs the RV Safe Parking Program. The city, which allows the use of three municipal lots at night, supports the program, says city parking superintendent Victor Garza. Last May, there were 58 participants and no waiting list. Now 40 people are waiting.

when you look at numbers like these, the question then becomes for us (those lucky enough to be working): What can we do to help these people who are willing and able to work...but simply can't find a job?

i don't have any answers today but it gives me, and hopefully others, something to ponder. it truly is times like these that the collective (the public and government) should come together to try and make a difference.

to see the complete article, go to usa today.

the mexican burro: a dying icon

as the burro becomes an undesired and unfortunately unnecessary animal in mexico, advocates take action to protect this national icon. usa today shares a compelling piece on what organizations are trying to do to save these animals that have done so much and worked so hard through the centuries. it's an inspiring story that makes you hope their work will continue on successfully...

Mexican icon becoming a vanishing breed

By Sergio Solache, Special for USA TODAY

OTUMBA, Mexico — You can hear the Burroland donkey shelter long before seeing it. The braying mixes with the lonely whistles of freight trains in this small town outside Mexico City.

In a vacant lot beside the railroad tracks, 20 donkeys wander behind a wire fence, munching carrots and leftover tortillas and waiting for pats on the head from the occasional tourist.

This shelter for unwanted donkeys would have once seemed a laughable idea in Mexico, where the hard-working burro is practically a national symbol, manager German Flores says.

But Mexico's donkeys are quickly being replaced by pickups and tractors even in the poorest areas, prompting efforts to save the unwanted animals and to remind Mexicans how much their country owes to these beasts of burden.

"People love them, but there's not as much work for them anymore," says Luis Huerta, a member of the Donkey Sanctuary of Mexico, a group of veterinarians that helps the Burroland shelter.

An important part of history

Mexico's donkey population has plummeted to 581,000 in 2007, from 1 million in 1991, according to Mexican government statistics. Many are killed by their owners or end up in slaughterhouses, Mexico's Society for the Protection of Animals says.

It's a sad end for an animal that once thrived in Mexico. Burros — a Spanish term for medium-size donkeys used as pack animals — were brought to the New World by Spanish colonists, says Leah Patton of the American Donkey and Mule Society.

Otumba, 45 miles northeast of Mexico City, became a major animal market. Burros sold here hauled silver and gold from mines, bringing wealth to the Spanish empire. They also carried silks and spices from the Pacific Ocean to the Atlantic as part of the trade route to Asia. They accompanied pioneers pushing west and north through the Americas.

"These are animals that basically built the continent," Patton says.

Mexican speech and culture is full of references to burros, from the "burrito" style of soft taco to "Burro 16," a game known as leapfrog in English. Every weekend, thousands of Mexicans cheer on the White Burros, the sports teams of the National Polytechnic Institute, Mexico's second-largest college. Burros painted like zebras have become a kitschy tourist attraction in Tijuana.

Otumba holds an annual Burro Festival in late April and early May, with donkey races, a costume contest for donkeys and games of burro polo.

In most parts of Mexico, burros are associated with backwardness and rural poverty, Huerta says. As Mexicans become wealthier, many farmers are getting rid of their animals.

"They're not even worth 500 pesos ($38) these days," Flores says. "The people who have burros are peasants over age 60 who still value the animal's work. The newer generations prefer a pickup or a tractor to a burro."

Efforts to protect the burro

The burros' fate has inspired some action to save them. Donkey Sanctuary sends a mobile veterinary clinic around the country to treat the animals for free because farmers no longer want to spend money caring for them.

The Mexican Society for the Protection of Animals is campaigning to bar the killing of unwanted donkeys and horses at slaughterhouses. The government of Jalisco state imported a few male donkeys from a taller, stronger breed developed in Kentucky to revive interest in the animals for farmers.

Flores, an accountant, bought some land next to his family's home and opened the Burroland shelter in 2006. The place is not exactly scenic. There is no grass, and the donkeys wander among rusting 1940s-era cars scattered around the lot.

Visitors are given fake burro ears and tails to wear as they visit a small museum to learn about the animals' history. Children can pose for pictures with staff members dressed like the donkey from Shrek or Eeyore from Winnie the Pooh. Admission is free.

Flores also plans to sell a comic book he is writing about "Super Burro," a white donkey who works to prevent the extinction of burros in Latin America.

The shelter depends on donations from visitors, local companies and international groups such as Donkey Sanctuary in Britain. It costs about $15 a day to feed each burro, Flores says.

"I'd like to have more burros here, but it would be irresponsible because we don't have the money to keep and feed them," he says.

The animals have colorful histories. Roberto used to pull a junk collector's cart in Mexico City until he was hit by a bus and broke both front legs. Apache was rescued from a forest fire.

Flores says about 30 visitors show up on a good weekend. He wants to add a snack shop, expand the museum and build stables for all the burros.

"We want it to be a sustainable project and leave it as a legacy for Otumba and all of Mexico," he says.

Contributing: Chris Hawley in Mexico City

citizen journalism

until the other day, the question of citizen journalism had never been a topic of consideration. but i read a profnet that perked my interest as it asked if the future of news (and most likely the print industry) relies on the role of citizen journalism, or the collecting, reporting, analyzing and disseminating of news pro.

so it got me thinking, with the continued evolution of media channels, if in fact citizens seeking the truth and a voice are who hold the future in their hands. i hope not. not because individuals of all backgrounds, educations and experiences shouldn't be able to record the facts of the day, but it could mean that hundreds of thousands of people in the journalist space could be jobless. i mean, can you imagine if people across the country and the world take action. find meaning in the who, what, when, where and why of daily events in their own town.

well, if they do, then these are things to keep in mind--thanks to the huffington post:

1) just stick to the facts, no editorializing.
2) avoid hearsay: verify all sources and claims.
3) omit irrelevant opinion: stick to the events.
4) give credit where credit is due: never plagiarize -- you're asking for trouble!
5) use spellcheck: typos are not allowed and proper grammar is not optional (this isn't creative writing).
6) keep the photos real: you may be a pro in photoshop, but save that for your creative projects -- report the facts and only the facts as you see them.
7) never misrepresent yourself to get the scoop: you loose credibility with your sources and show the utmost disrespect if you do.
8) get your sources on the record: it ups the anti on your coverage, but respect them if they say no. also, know the difference between off the record and on background.
9) fact check your sources: which means having more sources in your back pocket, to make sure the information you receive is correct and the information you share is on point...when it comes to reporting sensitive issues, you have a person or a brand's image in your hands. respect the power you hold.

to find out more, check out this recent article from huffington post: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/04/07/citizen-journalism-publis_n_184075.html

ponder imperfections

restlessness

madness grabs hold
as monotony plants itself firmly at my desk.
thoughts scream to be heard
as my heart pounds at the awkward silence.
where is the heartbeat of the leader,
where rests the pool of babbling inspiration
and spirited unrest, outside of me
i seek you, elusive saint.
i hunt you like an endangered beast
to prize, to flaunt
to use for financial gain.
yet you continue to evade my grasp.
come out, come out and play.

silk screening 101

something i've been dreaming about for years...maybe it is time to make it a reality.

book club 101

sometimes i have moments of clarity. and today was one of those days.

as i listened to my colleague discuss her book club and the special evenings they have discussing books, cooking dinner, drinking wine, i decided that one of these may be a good fit for me. but seeing that an invite would not make it's way across desks (not that i should expect such a thing), i finally figured out that maybe i can start my own.

so tonight i began the search, looking for tricks, tips and anything that will help ash and me produce an awesome, inspiring and fun-filled group of passionate readers.

things to consider when starting a book club:

• choose a set number of people you would like to join (not too many and not too few, depending on who will be able to come regularly and where you will meet)
• find a place that is comfortable, conducive to talking and offers space to pull out books, take notes.
• choose how you will make book selections. voting at the end of each book or selecting several books in advance to limit debate and wasting time during meetings. keep in mind the tastes of your readers and consider looking at well-accepted books by critics and the general public.

thanks to book-club-resource.com for getting us off to the right start.

castellane champagne

last night, the evening kicked off with a delicious treat. j popped the cork on a champagne bottle brought especially from france. castellane, the champagne tour most famous for the line: any questions? no. it's that simple, filled our mouths with delight and our heads with might.

taking us back to epernay and the beautiful countryside of champagne, we filled our glasses several times toasting our special guest and the many special moments we've had along way.

check out the castellane site and make sure to say hi when you stop by.

rio de janeiro

the samba beat,

sun thumping heads and feet,

carnival music invades the air,

with people dancing every where.

football legend lives in time,

as flamengos cheer -- now, now.

mountains peak upon the sea,

green hats in clouds circle the streets.

sugar loaf eyes the city from afar

and the redeemer, with hands outstretched

and standing tall,

protects them one and all.

new toys

so...tired of being uninspired with a broken camera. i decided to branch out a bit and look at what i found:

a holga medium format camera and a pinhole camera...two different designs...two messy images that are going to take me to a new level of creativity -- tis time, tis time!

this week, this beautiful toy will be mine! can't wait for the inspiration to begin.