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Johnny Cash was born on this day in 1932. Like a lot of you, I was raised on Johnny Cash. The music my parents liked was like that scene in The Blues Brothers where John Belushi's character asks the barmaid at Bob's Country Bunker what kind of music they play there, and she says "Both kinds. Country AND Western". My dad favored the more jukebox variety of country/honky tonk, like Patsy Cline, Ray Price, Hank Locklin, Don Gibson... and my mother preferred the western sound of Marty Robbins, Sons of the Pioneers, along with the folkier roots... the Carter Family, Tennessee Ernie Ford, Jimmie Rodgers (the singing brakeman) and Bill Monroe. But they both loved Johnny Cash. He just had it all, heart and soul, rhythm and blues, plus you could dance to him. I loved him too, and being the offspring I got exposed to everything and got to pick and choose what I liked. Cash was one-of-a-kind. A real genuine article. With mainstream country radio being the way it is (clear channel cardboard muzak) it's hard for a genuine article to even get played there these days. Hank didn't do it thataway*, and neither did Cash. We'll have to look elsewhere, but keep looking. Keep listening.*We listen to the radio to hear whats cookin
But the music ain't got no soul
Now they sound tired but they don't sound haggard
They've got money but they don't have cash
They got junior but they don't have hank
--- Long Time Gone, by the Dixie Chicks
We got up and out the door really early (the demolition was originally scheduled for 7:00, and there were street closings), stood in place on a chilly morning (OK, that means 40s/50s) for at least an hour to experience 10 seconds of big fun. There was a group of people with 9/11 conspiracy signs who saw a perfect opportunity to make a statement. For me, they are preaching to the choir. I think WTC 7 is the smoking gun. That building wasn't even hit with anything and it went down into a pile of rubble in a matter of seconds. I joked with one of the sign-bearers that it looked like they should've gotten that group to demolish this one, which was expertly imploded -- but look how much of it is still standing!! (see the pic below) Everyone was wondering why it didn't look more destroyed but they are officially saying they meant to do it that way. But hey, what do I know? My opinion on the the demolition of buildings in general is pretty worthless... about as valuable as the next guy's.
Duncan is watching you out there in blogworld. Helllloooooo!!!
Jax won't let you forget that he has the biggest teeth on the block. He nibbled on his human mom's head this week, just being affectionate. Another reminder about the big teeth.
Jax wonders if there's more to life than sleeping, stretching, sunning, and playing with toys. Then he goes back to sleep.He says he has a church-paid salary of $136,000 but lives more lavishly than that. During an interview, he showed off a diamond-encrusted Rolex to a CNN crew and said he has three just like them. He travels in armored Lexuses and BMWs, he says, for his safety. All are gifts from his devoted followers.
Trees of CD teardrops
"That really doesn't have a lot of impact for most people," said Tina Heffernan, a professional event coordinator for nonprofit fundraisers. "Numbers are so random. This is a real visual impact of what a number means.
We've got a new monthly event to attend after going to our first one on Sunday evening. It's called "last Sunday" and is held on the last Sunday of the month unless there's a scheduling problem (which happens a lot, but you can stay informed here). It's not a rally, it's a combination of talks, readings and music on certain topics. This week it was "War and Empire ...to examine not only the current war in Iraq and the ambitions of this administration, but the larger project of dominance that U.S. policymakers have pursued in the last half-century -- and the consequences of that for the world.". The regulars are musician Eliza Gilkyson, Rev. Jim Rigby, and UT prof. Robert Jensen. This week's guests were columnist/author Jim Hightower, author Ana-Maurine Lara and musician Butch Hancock (Flatlanders). There he is in the pic with Eliza and guitarist Robbie Gjersoe.
Happy Mardi Gras to ya'll!! And if you wake up tomorrow, sad, sorry, deprived, and with dirty fingerprints on your head... Happy... er, maybe "happy" is inappropriate... it must be Ash Wednesday! Either that, or you're hungover and woke up by the curb.
1. The history of our race, and each individual's experience, are sown thick with evidence that a truth is not hard to kill and that a lie told well is immortal. -- Mark Twain, Advice to Youth
They talk about those "Hallmark" holidays, the ones made up not only to sell cards but to sell MUCH more stuff... and so there it is. Another day where you can't measure up and can't do anything right. Both sexes (and/or parties) are victims of the retail pressure -- you'd better not show your face unless it's behind a dozen roses or a rock that costs a month's pay. I gave up on this "holiday" about 15 years ago when I discovered that my sweetie was even less sentimental about this stuff than I was.
Take that Toby Keith you war-mongering flag-draped bigotted ass, Dubya (same description), right-wing conservative country radio and all you idiots who smashed up Dixie Chicks CDs after Natalie expressed her disapproval with this Prez. A song inspired by that very backlash, "Not Ready to Make Nice" has just won the Grammy for Song of the Year (and the album took home five Grammys total).
As a follow-up to the last post on Evolution Sunday, here's the "floral display" they had in the UU church today. Actually, it's unrelated to Evolution Sunday. That whole topic is irrelevant to this church, since it (the topic) has to do with reconciling the teachings of science with religious beliefs on how everything got here -- and UU is creedless -- therefore explanations on how all this stuff got here are not given, and definitely not part of a doctrine. Below, after the link, is a listing of what is generally believed there, taken from their website.So, OK, it's a nice little bulleted mix, pick and choose the parts you like. Also, there are other atheists going there, along with Muslim, Jew, Pagan, Buddhist, on and on, you name it... you can believe in as many or as few gods as you like -- your choice -- and it's a liberal haven when it come to social issues and civil/human rights. So, back to the floral display with monkeys -- Dr. Loehr has been speaking on on the topic of animals for a few weeks, with a few to go. All about how their emotions, customs, empathy, even politics relate to our species (they don't call Dubya "the Chimp" for nothing! actually, he could use a few lessons in wisdom and civility from some chimps)
- We believe that we’re a part of Life, and owe something back to the world for the gift of life.
- We believe that almost all religions are saying that we are precious people who need to treat everybody else as though they are precious, too.
- We believe that we are supposed to live in such a way that, when we look back on our lives, we can be proud, and can make those we care about proud.
- We believe that truth, justice and compassion are requirements for living.
- We believe that love is better than hatred, understanding is better than prejudice, and that if there is ever to be a better world, people of widely differing beliefs will have to help each other build it.
- We believe that, down deep, all people of goodwill hold these same beliefs and that every individual should feel encouraged to develop a fulfilling philosophy of life.
February 11 is the 2nd anniversary of Evolution Sunday. Hundreds of churches have stood up against creationism and will hold special services for the purpose of opening up this topic. Over 10,000 clergy have signed The Clergy Letter (linked in text below) stating that religion and science do not cancel each other out (to oversimplify in my own words)On 11 February 2007 hundreds of congregations from all portions of the country and a host of denominations will come together to discuss the compatibility of religion and science. For far too long, strident voices, in the name of Christianity, have been claiming that people must choose between religion and modern science. More than 10,000 Christian clergy have already signed The Clergy Letter demonstrating that this is a false dichotomy. Now, on the 198th anniversary of the birth of Charles Darwin, many of these leaders will bring this message to their congregations through sermons and/or discussion groups. Together, participating religious leaders will be making the statement that religion and science are not adversaries. And, together, they will be elevating the quality of the national debate on this topic.
Flocks of the Christian faithful in the US will this Sunday hold special services celebrating Charles Darwin's theory of evolution. The idea is to stand up to creationism, which claims the biblical account of creation is literally true, and which is increasingly being promoted under the guise of "intelligent design". Proponents of ID say the universe is so complex it must have been created by some unnamed designer.
Support for "Evolution Sunday" has grown 13 per cent to 530 congregations this year, from the 467 that celebrated the inaugural event last year. Organisers see it as increasing proof that Christians are comfortable with evolution. "For far too long, strident voices, in the name of Christianity, have been claiming that people must choose between religion and modern science," says Michael Zimmerman, founder of Evolution Sunday and dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences at Butler University in Indianapolis.
Look what I found! Guaranteed to give your butt a splinter, but it will look cool doing it.
Matching the bench were two "bar stools", although it looks like they've been the victims of either teeth, tools or termites. I don't think they're fixable for sitting, so we will have to get creative about their ultimate destiny.
Move over Nick Nolte and Glen Campbell! Nice mug shot! How do you like this scandal? I hope someone is writing this stuff down for the plot of an upcoming made-for-TV movie. A married, mother of 3 hops in the car in Houston headed for Orlando -- wearing a diaper so that she won't have to stop for a potty break on the 900 mile drive -- (so, OK, I know now that astronauts wear diapers while on their missions, how's that for TMI?) then stalks this woman while wearing a wig and trenchcoat, chases her down and pepper-sprays her through her car window! She was also equipped with a BB gun, steel mallet, knife, rubber tubing, and large plastic garbage bags. (What? No duct tape and velcro? I thought those were astronaut staples.) She claimed that she just wanted to talk to the woman.
It was a beautiful day in Austin, about 68 degrees and sunny. A week ago the weatherpeople were all doomy and gloomy, predicting temps for this day could possibly be as low as the teens... but as usual, it was warmer than you thought it would be.
Right above is a picture of Jim Hightower being interviewed for TV. He has shared the stage with Molly countless times. There was live music at the Garten (of course! It's Austin! and I hear Marcia Ball played "Great Balls of Fire" at the church service!) but it was not a celebrity focus, just a few old gospel and honky-tonk style numbers. I have to point out that this celebration of Molly Ivins took place on Super Bowl Sunday... in Texas... conflicted with the game... and you had to go all the way inside the restaurant to see a TV with the game on. The others were running a Molly slide show. And the place was packed with both men and women. It says a lot.
We've been staying in more these days or keeping it low-key for several reasons. Between having no money for tickets, taking care of sick kitty-cats and my sick belly, and being bogged down with too-much-work, we tend to limit it to once or twice a week. KGSR has a new music series at the Mercury Hall on Thursday nights, it's free, and over by 10:00. Eliza Gilkyson played this week. She's a great singer/songwriter known for an anti-Bush theme or two (plus playing at Cindy Sheehan's Camp Casey in Crawford), and she has the great Mike Hardwick playing guitar in the band. Two Austin treasures.
Friends of Dean Martinez were almost unadvertised. Their booking agent, website, and MySpace page had exactly no mention of this gig. I saw it listed in the Chronicle, so it was decided. It's tonight! Let's go. I believe the band has 3 official members on last count (living in either Austin or Tucson), but last night it was just one guy and a very powerful keyboard/lap steel setup. The sound is very southwest, like Calexico but more ambient/trance/psych (in fact this band has some connections to Calexico but I have trouble figuring out their twisted history with Friends of DM, Giant Sand and others). They have performed at the Alamo Drafthouse a few times, providing a live score for silent movies -- which is what the show was last night. The movie was The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920), which looks like one of the primary influences on Tim Burton. The sets were entirely make of painted paper and made for a very bizarre dark fantasy world. Friends of Dean Martinez' latest project was to provide music for Richard Linklater's Fast Food Nation. I still haven't seen that one, and I even have a friend in it! She plays a nurse in a packing plant or something. So we really have no excuse not to rent it as soon as it comes out on DVD next month. Besides, I think the DVD extras will be worth the post-theatre viewing.
Just when you thought that religious customs couldn't get any more shocking...Children's foreheads slashed in Muslim saint's name
"We're used to it," said Mahmoud Jaber, 43, who brought his five boys and two girls for the ritual. "We've been doing this since we were kids. I started when I was 3. It doesn't hurt because the cry of pain goes away with the faith."
Hussein Shihab, 13, wrapped in a white sheet symbolizing Hussein's burial shroud, said he felt a burning sting -- "from the alcohol" -- as the blade hit.
His father, Jaber Shihab, told Hussein not to be "a wimp," and to "be brave" as a reporter photographed him after the cut.
It was "for the sake of Hussein" that he had his head cut, the boy said. "Because blood came from Hussein's head. They cut his head off and blood flowed."
VoteVets.org, with Americans Against Escalation in Iraq, is leading the charge against the President’s escalation of the war in Iraq with a new television advertisement today. We’re targeting a number of Senators who still have not come out in favor of the strongest Senate resolution, sponsored by Senators Joe Biden and Chuck Hagel. We are backing up the ad with a two-day, seven-city tour, that will take this battle right into the Senators’ back yards.
...or is wrong left?
