Monday 29 June 2009

You Are Heard

missing you

Porch Swing Rhythm- G Clair


Minding our own
makin' it rhyme
it's all coming out
theres dust in the drought
but the rain comes in time~

nothing held back
I've got nothing to say
let it roll off my shoulders
puts less your mind
and it's better that way~

And isn't it nice
you like hot tea 'on ice'
thank you, yes
I can follow directions,
so please,don't think twice~

And isn't it great
we can stay out real late
watching millions
of sparkling stars,
while your're lickin' that plate~

I said nothing at all
it's that horse in the stall
my foot fell asleep
but I'm not gonna weep
I can drag it or crawl~

Now the wind's in the trees
and your hand's on my knees
and the warmth of
your breath on my neck
puts my tired mind at ease~

Distracted, it's true
idle chatter won't do
Better nothing to say
put the music on play
and be quiet with you.

1987

Sunday 28 June 2009

Killing the Blues ( John Prine)- R.Plant and A.Krauss


Leaves were falling ...Just like embers
In colors red and gold they set us on fire
Burning just like a moonbeam ..in our eyes

Chorus:
Somebody said they saw me
Swinging the world by the tail
Bouncing over a white cloud.
Killing the Blues

I am guilty of something
I hope you never do because there is nothing
Sadder than losing .. yourself in love


Chorus

Now, you ask me Just to leave you
To go out on my own and get what I need to
You want me to find ..what I've already had

Chorus

Matthew West- You Are Everything



:) you are.

ILYBT

Friday 26 June 2009

Micheal Jackson



The year, 1988. Another bright and beautiful clear day in San Diego. I'm driving home from church, Horizon Christian Fellowship in San Diego County, located about 10 miles north of the city. My apartment was located on Coronado Island, a beautiful and charming beach town, and highly frequented vacation destination.

Historic Hotel Del Coronado was the setting for the movie classic 'Some like it Hot'. The Wizard of Oz was written in an old Victorian house 'on' Coronado. Popcorn guru Orville Redinbocker also lived on Coronado, along with thousands of locals and military families stationed at the North Island Naval base. It's just a really cool place to live if you are going to live in San Diego.

Lest I forget, there's also a training base for the hunky-dunk Navy Seals out on the 'Silver Strand', a 10 mile strip of glorious soft white sandy beach and highway which connect the 'island' to lower San Diego. Getting to the part about Micheal Jackson. Patience.

Both my sisters were married to military men and took off-base housing on Coronado. And so it was that I wound up there. Come to Coronado. I was actually married in a yard on an alley in Coronado, but that's another eyebrow raising story.

Besides the Silver Strand, the only other way to drive onto the island, and the best road in from the city, would be the The Coronado Bridge. Towering some 200 feet over the San Diego Bay, and running over 11,000 feet long, the Coronado bridge is the only deemed 'scenic' bridge in the country, and sadly third in the USA for free jumpers. That doesn't sound right.

Anyway. it's really something to see, and a bit of a thrill to drive over. No bike or pedestrian lanes. Just 4 lanes, 2 in each direction, with a relatively low side and amazing views.

Now normally, I would be totally enjoying the breathtaking views of the Pacific Ocean and Coronado, however on this particular crossing, I was becoming more uneasy. The traffic over the bridge is normally pretty heavy and going at a good clip. I am about half way up, and quickly approaching the peak. Were it not for the upward pitch of the road which felt as if it required more power than usual to climb, I might be less inclined (no pun intended) to feel this growing trepidation.

"The way you make me feel(the way you make me feel.
You really turn me on(you really turn me on)
You knock me off of my feet(you knock me off of My feet)
My lonely days are gone (my lonely days are gone)

Ah...distraction! I liked the song and reached over to turn it up, careful to avoid making eye contact with the menacing little orange light staring up from my dashboard.

"Gawn, Girl! Wooo-Heee!"

Seconds passed and unable to deny it any longer, I glanced at the gauge, which was now WAY past 'E'. I got that familiar sickening feeling in the pit of my stomach.

Foolishly believing I could make those last 15 miles with far less than a quarter tank, I had willfully placed myself in a bad situation. The 'light' had appeared several miles back, and as I flew up the bridge, I felt my hands tighten around the steering wheel and every muscle in my body tense up.

My sister Elena, knowing something about my predicament was a few cars back, and I hoped that she was praying with me as I chanted my usual "It's going to be OK, dear God please, right? It's gonna be OK..." The music plays on, drowning out some of my anxiety.

Hey, it happens, but at that time, maybe more crap of this nature happened to me than anyone else I knew of. You see, I had this saying "I know my tank" and was quite cocky and stupid about it. A Jackass. Truth is, I rarely had any extra money, and while I still had a quarter of a tank, did not see gas as a top priority.

Twenty years later, I occasionally allow my tank to run dangerously low, putting myself and others, as well as my engine at risk, but back in my 20s I had very little sense for what was important and wise and it was more of a habitual thing. I have to admit that I also seemed to get a thrill out of living that way, you know, by the seat of my pants... by the power of prayer... trusting God to get me through situations which could best be avoided with a little common sense in action. Wisdom comes at a great price for some. OK, I must add that in addition to being a jackass, I was also full of pride and quite defensive about the subject.

So here I am, faced with an imminent and probable scenerio: stalling out and then rolling down the bridge backward, or at least into the car behind me.

I wondered if the breaks would even work without the engine running not that I would have to find out, right? Up until this very moment, I truly thought I might make it. Now, as the little engine that thought it could began to sputter and choke, I knew it was not going to be OK. And then it happened. My engine stalled and I slowed to a near stop just as I crested the peak. Yes, the last few feet to the top with the red light on, and Micheal Jackson urging me on, It was surreal. Alone in a car with no gas, at the top of this bridge, with nothing else to do but to roll down! A skateboarder's dream. Just me and Micheal Jackson's "Whoo-heees" and the cool breeze rushing in.

"Gawn Girl!"

I'd like to say that I was able to control my vehicle, but the initial slow coast quickly gained momentum until I was flying down the other side at about 60 MPH towards the toll booth. There was that familiar thrill as I applied pressure to the brakes, trying to steer, and encountering a loss of power. It felt more like a go cart with more weight behind it. Something out of the Little Rascals. All I needed was a boxing glove on extenders to put out the window as I passed other cars. The brakes and steering were at best stiff and difficult to engage. I was barreling along, hoping the car in front of me would not stop short, dear God, and all the while the music is playing.

"Gawn, Girl! Wooo Hee!!" As if Micheal Jackson himself were riding in the passenger seat,I tell ya! Thriller.

Scary, yes but less intense because of Micheals urging me on. Sure enough, I was somehow able to pull her over to the side and gave thanks as my sister pulled up behind me. Phew. Made it. Another hairy moment which could have been avoided.

My sister and are happy to be able to recall this event with humor. It might not have ended so happily.

In the midst driving through of a terrible electrical storm yesterday, I phoned a close friend, who told me that until God calls me home, I am indestructible. I took comfort in those words. "Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death I will fear no evil for thou are with me". God's words are even MORE powerful and bring peace in the storms of life, even if they are unto death. Oi vey. On that note, I hope Micheal Jackson called out to God, and that he is home with Jesus and dancing with the stars. Amen.

one potato...two potato...

Thursday 25 June 2009

30 days in June

For the Love of Cow


Chesapeake, Va- "EAT MOR CHIKIN" is a slogan tens of millions of Americans have come to know at local Chick-fil-A's across the nation. The successful advertising campaign has spawned off stuffed cow toys, calendars, mugs, and T-shirts that feature cows sending messages to possible customers to ignore beef and eat more chicken.

Now somebody in Virginia has stolen the chicken mascot from a large 50-foot high billboard along Interstate 464 in Chesapeake.

"It's kind of funny," says Mark Baldwin, a spokesman for Atlanta-based Chick-fil-A Inc. "But it's still a crime... it's the first time a cow has been stolen from Chesapeak and the surrounding area but at-least a dozen have gone missing across the country."

Authorities have been notified. The cows cost $3,200 which makes stealing them a felony. No word if any "fowl" play was involved.

Monday 22 June 2009

cell phone taps

dad greets the morning

around 6:30 every morning I hear the bathroom door close. It's my Dad rising early for daily mass and my signal to get up. he's been at it for about a year now. as I walk past the door on my way down the stairs, i get the usual " Be right out", to which i respond, " not necessary". this morning I just happened to walk out from my bedroom and catch him standing in his room. "Good morning, Dad! Hey... it's sunny out!" He stood there for a few moments with a sleepy look on his face, after which he responded, " I wish it were raining."

Good old Dad. It didn't surprise me when on my way into work I ran into more heavy rain.

The Absolute Truth

Sunday 21 June 2009

When You're Gone- The Notebook




...when you're gone.

Bob Dylan- Don't Think Twice It's Alright

Simon & Garfunkel- The Boxer

Simon and Garfunkel-Flowers Never Bend With The Rainfall


Through the corridors of sleep
Past the shadows dark and deep
My mind dances and leaps in confusion.
I don't know what is real,
I can't touch what I feel
And I hide behind the shield of my illusion.

So I'll continue to continue to pretend
My life will never end,
And flowers never bend
With the rainfall.

The mirror on my wall
Casts an image dark and small
But I'm not sure at all it's my reflection.
I am blinded by the light
Of God and truth and right
And I wander in the night without direction.

So I'll continue to continue to pretend
My life will never end,
And flowers never bend
With the rainfall.

It's no matter if you're born
To play the King or pawn
For the line is thinly drawn 'tween joy and sorrow,
So my fantasy
Becomes reality,
And I must be what I must be and face tomorrow.

So I'll continue to continue to pretend
My life will never end,
And flowers never bend
With the rainfall.

Friday 19 June 2009

Soul Patching- G Clair


what can I say that has not yet been said
and where can I go that my heart hasn't led
when faced with the truth, let it go to my head
it hurts, but at least it's an answer
and where is the one that I've wanted to date
yesterday's leftovers still on my plate
coming to grips with the fact that he's late
and probably out with that dancer

Oh they may come and they may go
and I can't follow, I'm too slow
but I can play a song I know, while my soul is patching

and who is this person that I have become
sometimes just lazy, and snapping my gum,
I've tried to play smarter, perhaps I'm just dumb
but I'm all that I've got to deliver
and when will I have what that other girl's got
love for a lifetime, guess this is my lot
I've scared off a few with the end to this plot
and those mystery dates make me shiver

Oh they may come and they may go
and I can't follow, I'm too slow
but I can play a song I know, while my soul is patching

how can I slow what is driving me on
roll down the window, I'm more like a song
Set on the breeze that the wind blows along
with the fragrance of long summer days
So why all the longing when now is enough
precious and sweet are your words off the cuff
i'm happy to have you to read all this stuff
while the worlds smallest violin plays

Oh they may come and they may go
and I can't follow, I'm too slow
but I can play a song I know, while my soul is patching

>object width="425" height="344">

Sunday 14 June 2009

still hopeful

:)

You Are Love- G Clair

You are here
in the light
in the darkest
of the night
and you surround me
You surround me
I was lost
but was found
wandered off again
but you came out and found me
You surround me

speak softly
tell me not to be afraid or to consider
any other way, that which is bitter
keep me from religious law and letter
in You, all things work together for the better
for You are Love, simply Love.

not alone
never was
but I struggle
to be what
they have expected
and rejected~
once again,
not enough
while these words come off the cuff
there's something waiting~
hesitating

speak softly
tell me not to be afraid or to consider
any other way , that which is bitter
keep me from religious law and letter
in You, all things work together for the better
for You are Love, simply Love.

Friday 12 June 2009

what's right.


just when I think can't take it anymore, I have to take it some more. i suppose that moving back in with my parents was a good thing and that i should have done it back in November. it was a very good idea considering i want to move to virginia and need to buy a place. my parents are supportive of my plan and this is the BEST time to buy. besides, i couldn't stay in that old house with it's stinking drippy ceiling any longer. the management were informed several times and ignored my calls until those first 5 days in May where it rained almost non stop. anyway, i left the apartment spanking clean and paid $450 to have the tub reglazed, only to get a letter from the landlord telling me that I owe HIM $338 plus my deposit for overage on utility bills. news to me.

hmm...I paid my rent which included an alottment for utilities, and as the agreement states, he was to make the 'adjustment on the utilities' at the end of each year. nothing in there about waiting until the tenant moves out. never any bills or word from the man or his staff re: mounting bills. This seems more of a ploy to ensure that no tenant ever gets his deposit back. they ( the man and his wife) were hoping i would buy their little scheme.

in fact, i have decided to pursue this issue in small claims court.

still waiting. the weasel's probably ducking under his desk everytime the guy comes to serve the papers. Why I oughta...or maybe there is some other explanation. either way life's hard knocks have taught me to hang onto this one like a pitbull on a mailman's...uh, bag.

the law requires that a landlord return the deposit unless there is damage or money is owed for rent. if he refuses, he will have to pay double plus interest and court costs. i will not let go of this. what's right is right.

ok.... on to next. out to the gym. storage to find a couple of CDs. and sushi. i could go for a cold bud light lime too.

Elton John- Your Song

Close To You- The Carpenters

object width="425" height="344">

Thursday 11 June 2009

City of Blame- G Clair



your memory serves you but mine is so lame
it bothers you still so please tell me again

who took your lunch box and who smashed your toy
who failed to hug you when you were a boy
who broke your heart and who yellowed your tooth
who sapped your energy, who stole youth
who who who who

and who wasn't there when you needed him so
who made you clean up and shovel the snow
who was a meany and who was a Grinch
who took a mile when you gave him an inch
who who wbo who

what is the reason you must take the shame
tell it to get off your back just the same
let out the anger and cut loose the pain
grab onto love, baby, run from this city of blame

who didn't choose you for kickball that day
who left you stranded to walk all that way
who took your Christmas and who stole your pride
who locked the door and then left you outside
in the rain

who robbed your innocence, who stole your crown
promised the moon and took off at sundown
the memories haunt us though we may forgive
forgetting is hard 'cause it is what it is

who took your hopes and your dreams to the floor
a bubble-gum ring when you needed much more
and who said "I Do" with two fingers crossed
then dumped you for somebody better, but sauced

what is the reason you must take the shame
tell it to get off your back just the same
let out the anger and cut loose the pain
grab onto love, baby, run from this city of blame.

Regina Spektor-Laughing WIth

Thursday 4 June 2009

Simon and Garfunkel- Watch Paul Simon very carefully...

here I am to worship

object width="425" height="344">

When It Was Over




“Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.”
–The Apostle Paul, to the Corinthians (1 Cor 13:7)

Monday 1 June 2009

Sara Groves- Add To The Beauty



We come with beautiful secrets
We come with purposes written on our hearts, written on our souls
We come to every new morning
With possibilities only we can hold, that only we can hold

Redemption comes in strange place, small spaces
Calling out the best of who we are

And I want to add to the beauty
I want to tell a better story, oh
shine with the light
That's burning up inside, oh, oh

It comes in small inspirations
It brings redemption to life and work
To our lives and our work

It comes in loving community
It comes in helping a soul find it's worth

Redemption comes in strange places, small spaces
Calling out the best of who we are

And I want to add to the beauty
I want to tell a better story, oh
shine with the light
That's burning up inside oh, oh....

This is grace, an invitation to be beautiful
This is grace, an invitation

Redemption comes in strange places, small spaces
Calling out our best

And I want to add to the beauty
To tell a better story
I want to add to the beauty
tell a better story
shine with the light
That's burning up inside

Sara Groves- It's Gonna Be Alright


It's going to be alright
It's going to be alright

I can tell by your eyes that you're not getting any sleep
And you try to rise above it, but feel you're sinking in too deep
Oh, oh I believe, I believe that

It's going to be alright
It's going to be alright

I believe you'll outlive this pain in you heart
And you'll gain such a strength from what is tearing you apart
Oh, oh I believe I believe that

It's going to be alright
It's going to be alright

When some time has past us, and the story if retold
It will mirror the strength and the courage in your soul
Oh, oh, I believe I believe,

I believe
I believe

I did not come here to offer you clichÈ's
I will not pretend to know of all your pain
Just when you cannot, then I will hold out faith, for you

It's going to be alright
It's going to be alright

Held- Natalie Grant

Glenn Beck: We the Sheeple? (transcript)

America's March to Socialism: Why we're one step closer to giant missile parades
is now available as an audio book...


June 1, 2009 - 12:00 ET
GLENN: Okay, so I'm reading the story in Pravda, 'American Capitalism Gone With a Whimper'. They are telling us that it's happening at breathtaking speed because we're sheeple, that Russia, they already went through this, and you need to learn the lesson. And this is what they say is happening. First, the population in America was dumbed down through a politicized and substandard education based on pop culture rather than the classics. Americans know more about their favorite TV dramas than the drama in D.C. that directly affects their lives. True. They care more for their right to choke down a McDonald's burger or a Burger King burger than for their constitutional rights and then they turn around and lecture us in Russia about our rights and about our democracy? Pride blinds the foolish.

That line sticks out to me: Pride blinds the foolish. We're arguing over things we should not be arguing about. The other line that sticks out to me is the substandard education based on pop culture rather than the classics. I was with George Wythe University who was the guy who was really the mentor to Thomas Jefferson and James Madison, and Thomas Jefferson had a way of education, and it's all based in the classics. At George Wythe University, they only have textbooks. They only use the classics. I've seen the difference.

Pravda goes on and says, "Then their faith in God was destroyed until their churches, all tens of thousands of different branches and denominations were for the most part little more than Sunday circuses and their televangelists and top protestant megapreachers were more than happy to sell their souls in flocks to be on the winning side of one pseudoMarxist politician or another. Their flocks may complain, but when explained that they would be on the winning side, their flocks were ever so quick to reject Christ in hopes of earthly power. The final collapse came with the election of Barack Obama. His speed in the past three months has been truly impressive. His spending and money‑printing has been record‑setting, not just in America's short history, but in the world. If this keeps up for more than another year ‑‑ and there is no sign that it will not ‑‑ America will best resemble the Weimar Republic and, at worst, Zimbabwe."

My friend, I have told you these things were coming. I tell you now, they are coming. We must educate ourselves and be involved and put down our differences and connect with ‑‑ make a vow to yourself today that there are Democrats out there, if you're a Republican, that there are Democrats out there that truly get it. They don't hate America. There are Democrats now that are saying in their own circles, they don't want to say anything. I really, truly believe not enough people are reaching out to the other party and to the independents as well. They are saying to each other, this is crazy. This can't be happening... but they want to believe. There's nothing wrong with being wrong. What's wrong is being wrong and then not admitting that you were wrong and just keep going down the path because you're too proud. Pride blinds the foolish. The media elite will ask me, "Where were you when George Bush..."? Well, for the first half, blind. For the second half, speaking out. It doesn't matter. I'm not on any side. Are you? When it really comes down to it, are you on any side other tha n your children's side? The minute the Democrats say, "Whoa, Marxism, oh, wow," and they turn around and they say small government, I'm with them. I'll call myself a Democrat. I don't care. Minute the Republicans do it, fine. If it's the, you know, Polka-dot Purple People Eater Party, then guess what button I'm wearing? I don't care.

Let's just start speaking the truth to each other. These past two weeks have been the most breathtaking of all, Pravda continues. First came the announcement of a planned redesign of the American Byzantine tax system by the they thieves who used it to bankroll their thefts, loss and swindles of hundreds of billions of dollars. These make our Russian oligarchs look more than ordinary street thugs in comparison. Yes, the Americans have beat our own thieves in sheer volumes. These men, of course, are not elected panels but made up of appointees picked from the very financial oligarchs of their henchmen who are now gorging themselves on trillions of American dollars in one bailout after another. They are also usurping the rights, duties and powers of the American congress. Again congress has put up little more than a whimper to their masters. And then came Barack Obama's command that GM's president step down from leadership of his company. That is correct, dear reader of Pravda. In the land of pure free markets, the American president now has the power, the self‑given power to fire CEOs, and we can assume other employees of private companies, at will. Come hither, go dither, the centurion commands his minions. More advice to us and then to the people of Russia from the editorial this weekend in Pravda, next.

(OUT 10:43)

GLENN: So this weekend I'm reading an article out of Pravda, an editorial, 'American Capitalism Gone With a Whimper', and it has so much in it. They are warning us against Marxism and saying that it is coming at a breathtaking speed here in America. The article continues, "So it's no surprise that the American president is followed up with his bold move of declaring that he and another group of unelected chosen stooges will now redesign the entire automotive industry and will even be the guarantee of automotive policies. I'm sure that if given a chance, they would happily try to redesign for the whole world. Prime minister Putin less than two months ago warned Obama and the U.K.'s Blair not to follow the path to Marxism; it only leads to disaster. Apparently even though we suffered 70 years of this Western‑sponsored horror show, we know nothing, as foolish drunken Russians. So let our wise Anglo‑Saxon fools find the folly of their own pride. But again the American public has taken this with barely a whimper, but a free man whimper. So it shouldn't be any surprise to discover that the Democratically congress of America is working on regulation that would give the American treasury department the power to set fair minimum salaries, evaluate performance and control how private businesses give out pay raises and bonuses. Barney Frank stresses that this only a ffects the companies that receive government monies. But it is retroactive. And taken to a logical extreme, this would include any company or industry that has ever received a tax break or incentive. The Russian owners of American companies ‑‑ listen carefully, America. The Russian owners of American companies and industries should look thoughtfully at what is happening in America and look at the option of closing their facilities down and fleeing the land of the Red as fast as possible. In other words, divest while there is still value left. The proud American will go down into his slavery without a fight, beating his chest and proclaiming to the world how free he really is. And the world will only snicker.

Now, there are going to be those who dismiss this coming out of Pravda as political games. They will dismiss this as, "Well, of course they are saying that because they want to destroy America." Whatever. Sometimes there's a great amount of truth in an imperfect messenger. There is an awful lot of truth in this editorial. We'll include it in our free e‑mail newsletter. Don't have to agree with it, don't have to agree with everything in it. Some of the stuff is pretty harsh. But let's just make sure that the last sentence isn't true. The proud American will go down into his slavery without a fight, beating his chest and proclaiming to the world how freely he truly is. That is why I say we must stop arguing back and forth about the parties because we're not seeing the real issues. They are giving you the scraps off the table and we beat our chest and we say, "We're free. No, but I like freedom because the Republicans." "No, no, the Democratic freedom is better." They are both slavery. They are both slavery. One's just slavery light and the other is socialism.&n bsp; The world will only snicker because of our arrogance for so long. Let's just think the unthinkable. Think of it as an actual possibility so we can avoid it. And unite together and rediscover who we truly are, not what we've allowed ourselves to become.

In Between- Collective Soul


In between us
Good and evil wait
To lie beside us
In our bed we make

In between us
Caution never heeds
We prey on weakness
Then beg for sympathy

In between words
Silence parades so confusion is heard
Our voices afraid
To speak up and reassure
So in between words we remain
In between

In between us
Hope we've yet to see
We long for healings
But the scars never leave

Silence fills the void
Of love and hate
An effective tool
When used to separate
Now separate

For B.T.- The Juice Weasel