Scorpio

You know how it is when you see an actor in a certain role, and then think of them as that character? When they play another character, you’re kinda wierded out? That was me with Andy Robinson playing the Scorpio killer in 1971′s “Dirty Harry”. Anything I saw him in after that I was forever tarnished by the frightening man on the rooftops of San Francisco.

If you’re going to survive, you HAVE to know where your towel is.

Ford, “The Hitchiker’s Guide to the Galaxy”

Sunday Night

I didn’t watch all the Grammys. I saw what who I wanted to see. In a word: Coldplay. And they rocked and they were awesome. Their video wall really reminded me of U2′s Zooropa tour. Para… para… paradise… I saw the Foo Fighters and that was cool too. They played in a tent outside.

It is freezing in Albuquerque tonight. I want to say for those of you out there dealing with your arthritis, in the cold, I get it. If you’re out there dealing with fibromyalgia, and your muscles tightening up, I get it. And the little pinpricks in the fingers and in my feet and my knee swelling up, I get it. It’s cold, and I hurt. I’m in my room, with the space heater, heating pad close by, I turn down the lights. stretch, work out some of the spasms. It’s just something I want to mention, in case a passer by with arthritis reads this, I can let them know they’re not alone.

I have something to say about Whitney Houston. Her death made me sad. It hurt a little piece of my heart. I cried. It’s true. For a time in my life, she was a part of my life. A part about love, and beauty and grace. I remember Whitney’s face and music in the clubs I went to. I remember her videos. How can I forget “The Bodyguard”? One of the most romantic movies, ever? Songs of hers made me and make me want to dance and sing. And she was 48 years old and died way too soon. And why is it that the tortured souls make such incredible music, and art and burn so bright, and then are extinguished? I watched some of her videos today… the visuals… the songs… they’re so familiar to me… so much a part of my life. “I wanna dance with somebody… somebody who loves me.” Rest in peace, Whitney.

I’m going to watch “The Hitchiker’s Guide to the Galaxy” tonight, because it is endlessly entertaining to me. It’s my second favorite movie now, right after “Airport”, with a bullet.

Syria

Why it is that Bashar al-Assad continues with impunity to unleash his military on his own people. Why is he allowed by the UN and the world to do this? He has no credibility. Is it because he doesn’t bring the insane like Gaddafi that we don’t get that he’s insane?

I think about this, living in Albuquerque, New Mexico, as I do, wondering what it would be like to have our government unleash the power of the military on us. This is the heart of compassion. What would it be like for you?

The military SHOULD be there to protect the people. It isn’t there to protect despots. What would it be like to see a tank roll up the street? Aircraft menacing in the air? Snipers? Rockets? With children? Old people? No weapons to defend yourself? No medical care? No escape? Praying to God because God is all you have left?

This is what Bashar al-Assad, the criminal murderer Syrian President is doing every day: Under his direction his own people are being mercilessly attacked, beaten, raped, tortured, starved, denied medical care, driven from their homes and having everything they own stolen and destroyed, by the military. And then, the state TV in Syria goes on to claim that the regime of Bashar al-Assad is protecting citizens from oh, you name it, Americans, Israelis, terrorists, whatever, never admitting that the people spoke, the people asked for reforms, simply, peacefully.

It all started peacefully. And now, because Bashah al-Assad, the tyrant, like his father before him thinks only of himself and his power and his ego, and not the Syrian people, the situation has convulsed by fits into this. And now, every day, I read and hear that it’s gotten worse, and it’s getting worse, and it is a humanitarian crises in Syria, with corridors not being able to be opened up to get people basic needs, like water and bread. Children, old people, men, women, Syrians are human beings.

Shame on Russia and China for blocking the UN resolution to help these people. And the Arab League? What are you doing? Do you ever do anything constructive when people need help? Why is it that Assad said he would adhere to the resolution by the Arab League, but didn’t. Why is it that he said he would stop the violence, but he didn’t? He won’t.

Every day, I pray the world will do something to help the Syrian people. What’s happening there isn’t right.

Complete and utter randomness

I may be in Albuquerque, New Mexico, but my heart is in Syria. Today I watched the live comments from representatives of the member states of the UN Security Council concerning Syria. And my heart broke. China and Russia vetoed a very watered down resolution. Double veto. My heart broke again. The comments made bye the representatives were basically expressing their frustration and disappointment at the decision taken by China and Russia to veto, what basically is a plan that Bashir Al Hassad already agreed to.

The man is a butcher. Today the phrase ‘crimes against humanity’ came up while I was watching coverage on Al Jazeera. I believe and have felt for some time that he is committing crimes against humanity, and now, the UN Security Council has given him carte blanche to be more callous, more vindictive, more bloodthirsty, more destructive and more horrible to the innocents.

And what does this mean to Syria, this lack of a resolution at the UN?

I thought what the Ambassador from the United States said was best. China and Russia’s veto is ‘disgusting’.

And I pray, and I pray, and I pray for the people of Syria, every day. Let God never abandon them. And let the power brokers of the world do something besides talking and playing games with people’s lives.

That being said, I went to see a truly frightening movie today – “The Woman in Black”. I went because Daniel Radcliffe is in it. I’m a fan. I’m grateful he’s an adult, and while the whole watching him when he was on “Harry Potter” kind of thing gets to me when I watch him now, and think he’s smoking hot, but he’s a man now and every little bit the leading man. No kidding, I was jumping out of my seat in fear, my heart was pounding, I was clutching the popcorn bucket. It’s a dark movie, dealing with death and the afterlife and the death of children. It has some difficult scenes and it’s not for children. But wow, it’s frightening. I’m still paranoid.

I’m watching “The Hitchiker’s Guide to the Galaxy” (again). It’s entertaining every single time. Genius.

I went to Albertson’s today, but they were out of shopping carts. I had to fit everything into a basket. That saved money, and also created a situation where I was doing a balancing act with a bag of frozen chicken and a bag of spinach atop my basket of groceries.

It’s freezing cold tonight in Albuquerque, New Mexico, here in the high desert. For a few days, it felt like spring could be coming, almost like a teaser, but then, boom! And we’re freezing, and it’s snowing, and the wind is blowing, and there’s no rest for the wicked kinda cold! It’s lovely to be inside and next to a space heater watching HHGttG.

42 is the answer, man.

The Hobbit thing is happening again.

Martin Freeman
“The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy”

When “The Lord of the Rings” was released, I became a hard core “Lord of the Rings” fangirl. I became a fan of Elijah Wood, Dominic Monaghan and Billy Boyd. I had already liked Sean Astin. I went into the deep end of the pool with the boys – you know the drill, following their TV shows, appearances and movies, downloading pictures, watching their TV shows and movies (by the way, “Wilfred” with Elijah Wood is hilarious). And I was like that for years. It didn’t wind down until a few years ago, and I told myself, my Hobbit days are over. I won’t turn into a fangirl over “The Hobbit”. Right. I told myself that.

It was the whole “Doctor Who” thing that lured me in. Since “Doctor Who” and “Sherlock” shares producers and writers, I gave “Sherlock” a watch. I was instantly wanting to watch all of its episodes, and I followed Martin Freeman to “The Hitchiker’s Guide to the Galaxy” and loved the movie, and I’m reading the book.

And when I see Martin Freeman dressed up like Bilbo Baggins? Lets just say I turn into a Japanese schoolgirl. The Hobbit ‘thing’ is happening again. And it’s good. It’s so, so good.

Occupy

“There is nobody in this country who got rich on his own. Nobody. You built a factory out there — good for you! But I want to be clear. You moved your goods to market on the roads the rest of us paid for. You hired workers the rest of us paid to educate. You were safe in your factory because of police forces and fire forces that the rest of us paid for.”

U.S. Sen. candidate Elizabeth Warren, speaking in Andover, Mass., in August.

Some of my favorite Christmas programs

1.  “The Bells of St. Marys”

2.  “A Bundy Christmas” – “Married With Children”

3.  “The Little Drummer Boy” (claymation with Greer Garson’s narration)

4.  “Regional Holiday Music” – “Community”

5.  “Die Hard” (it’s a Christmas movie!)

6.  The Mormon Tabernacle Choir’s PBS Christmas special

7.  “A Charlie Brown Christmas”

8.  “The Christmas Toy” (the Muppets) and… It’s on Netflix!!!

9.  “Santa 85″ – “Amazing Stories”

10. “The Nutcracker” (with Mikhail Nikolaevich Baryshnikov)

11. The “Gavin and Stacey” Christmas special

12. “A Christmas Carol” – “Doctor Who”

13. “A Christmassy Ted” – “Father Ted”

Random Considerations

It’s cold tonight.  And raining.  And we might possibly have snow in Albuquerque.  I remember growing up in northern California, rarely seeing snow in Sacramento.  There was one time I remember, when a light sheen of the white crystals could be seen on a neighborhood driveway and hoo boy, did we not think that was just about the most exciting thing we had ever seen.  You could drive to Lake Tahoe to see snow from my home town, or you could drive to the Sierra Nevada to see snow.

And low and behold, now that I live in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and get snow, sometimes when I talk to people out of state and tell them it’s been snowing, they don’t believe me.  Flat out.  It doesn’t snow in New Mexico!, they inform me.  It does snow in New Mexico, I am a living witness.  It’s the high desert.  It’s so different here, the geography from New Mexico to California and the Sierra Nevadas.  We have the Sandia Mountains, and I love them.  They are incredible, and when topped by snow, breathtaking.  And, if you’re in Albuquerque and you can’t see the mountains at all?  That means you’re looking at some nasty weather coming your way.

I use the Sandia Mountains for guidance in Albuquerque – spiritual, like Maria von Trapp going to the hills… and for navigation.  If you can see the mountains, you can figure out where you are.  Albuquerque is built on a grid.

I’m voraciously watching “Sherlock”, the BBC Sherlock.  And, I’ve become a fan of Benedict Cumberbatch.  I mean come on, how can you not like a guy with a name like that?  I watched the Christmas episode of “Family Matters” this week, the one where Laura told Steve he couldn’t come to their home for Christmas.  And, in the end, Steve did come to their home and I cried like a baby.

The Christmas episode of “Community” was just so clever!  It is a smart comedy.  Troy and Abed did a rap about Troy infiltrating as  Jevohah Witness to find out what Christmas was all about, and Shirley singing gospel with the little kids?  Genius.

I watched “Cowboys and Aliens” and found that the most powerful aspect of the movie was one about reconciliation.  Enemies became friends in the end, with a common enemy – the aliens.  And the older Harrison Ford gets, the hotter he gets.  This doesn’t happen to every man, but God has made an exception in his case.  One of the characters reminded me of Junior Rennie from “Under the Dome”.  When they make “Under the Dome” into a movie… Junior Rennie is going to be t-e-r-r-i-f-y-i-n-g.

“There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy.”

William Shakespeare, Hamlet

Photo – David Tennant

Britcoms Rock

Julian Barratt and Noel Fielding
The Mighty Boosh

My Self Induced Hot Flash

Richard Ayoade

Moss, “The IT Crowd”

Be

Sing

As a song in search of a voice that is silent

 

Neil Diamond

Norma Rae

Remember “Norma Rae”?  Sally Field standing courageously for worker’s rights.  I haven’t seen it in forever.  It’s time to watch it again.

 

Random Considerations

I had a great time hanging out with my son today.  He always sparks such interesting conversations/debates.  He’s a good, kind man.  I’m very proud of him.

That being said, the word “Hippie” comes into play when my son thinks of me.  It comes up when other people who know me think of me.  I’ve known I was one since the 1960′s really.  The thing is, I was born in 1959.  I was born into the movement.  I was born into that time of change between the restriction of the 50′s and the free love of the 60′s.  Add to the mix, the fact that I was raised in a conservative Republican household.  (My grandpa who raised me changed his voter registration to Democrat days after he retired).  The way I grew up was very white bread in affluent neighborhood, but I was, even then, a flower child – volunteering to sew diapers for homeless kids, volunteering to play the piano for the elderly in senior citizens homes, volunteering to visit the disabled in the hospital.  I started early, loving peace.  War was out of the question to me.  Those people I heard bits and pieces about on the evening news (back when that’s the only news sources I had) – the Hippies – they were my people.  My high school social studies teacher was a Hippie, and one of my favorite teachers.

And what’s so bad about peace, love and understanding?

For me, systems of government and banking around the world are corrupt and dysfunctional.  Back then, it was “the man”  Hippies railed against.  Now it’s the government and bankers.  Still the man.  And I think back to my Hippie high school teacher talking about renewable energy and I thought then, in 1977, how exciting, and yet, at my tender age knowing no one would seriously go for it.  No one seriously has all these years later.

As a self identified Hippie, that’s what I want people to do:  I want people to get that children go to bed hungry.  I want people to get it that the elderly often can’t afford a place to live and necessary medical care.  I want people to get the fact that jobs are so hard to find for so many, many people.  I want people to get we’re wasting lives and money in American imperialism worldwide.  I want people to get it that our rights are being eroded every day.  I want people to get it that if we keep on this path, the outcome will be devastating in many ways.

Bring on the peace.   Bring on the love.  Bring on the understanding.

Remembering where the Arab Spring began

Tunisa

Photo Credit: Al Jazeera

Nob Hill Art

 

Occupation

I want to give a shout out to those people who are occupying around the world.  Their taking to the streets has renewed my faith in my fellow man, and in the system.  Because, the system, whatever it is, whatever country it is should be flat.  And, by flat I mean, it should be BY the people and FOR the people.  I’d like to know with the corporations and governments and mega-rich around the world, how the people fit into the equation.  They don’t.  And the people have risen up.  The people want a system that’s flat.  They want everyone to have a voice.  There are so many times when I feel as though I don’t have a voice in the United States.  The people who are occupying around the world want to be able to express what they want out of their country.  It is, after all, their country.  Somewhere along the line, the train slipped the track and the wants and needs of mega-rich persons and corporations hijacked the system.  This is an occupation.  Perhaps the United States government, after checking the history books, can see how they are prone to occupation – holding the ground (however for vastly different reasons, and that is a different topic).

 

A tractor, in Nob Hill

This tractor sits about a block south of Central in Nob Hill in Albuquerque, New Mexico – promotion for a tractor themed bar.  It’s an odd place to have a bar, a block from a residential neighborhood on one side and retail/restaurants on the other.   We’ll see how that’ll go.

“A good head and good heart are always a formidable combination. But when you add to that a literate tongue or pen, then you have something very special.”

Nelson Mandela