January 31, 2011
"If
you would win a man to your cause, first convince him that you are his sincere
friend." – Abraham
Lincoln
"Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man's character, give him power." - Abraham Lincoln
January 28, 2011
First the Nazis came…
First they came for the communists, and I did not speak out —
because I was not a communist;
Then they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out —
because I was not a socialist;
Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out —
because I was not a trade unionist;
Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out —
because I was not a Jew;
Then they came for me —
and there was no one left to speak out for me.
Happy
Friday!
Wow! The
weeks go by surprisingly quick.
We’re looking
forward to a weekend of relaxation, tranquillo and calm.
This week’s “stream-of-consciousness”
writing exercise was difficult but I forged forth. I’ve thought about bringing
out my writing books with exercises and lessons on writing. I have extensive
notes from high school and college about the craft of writing and how to spark
ideas for storyline, subject matter and visual aesthetics. In the weeks to come
I’d like to try a week’s worth of Haiku writing.
I haven’t
written a Haiku in probably fifteen years. The years do go by. So, I’m settling
into writing this blog once more. I draw from a literary “tool-box” (On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft by Stephen King) to
build, construct, develop and convey meaning through the medium of writing.
I’ll have to work myself up to a Haiku simply because to me they require a
great deal of concentration to write.
As for
producing shorts I have a few proposals on the table and a few to write myself.
I’m excited to exchange, barter and contract on some small projects depending
on what they call for and who is proposing. I’m sure and DO have a clear idea
of what I have to propose in return. As for others, I can greatly consider what
they have and want to offer. I simply look at what’s being placed on the table
and if it works with what our needs and sometimes our wants are for the
development of future feature-projects then I do greatly consider any proposal
to film, set-on our table.
We are at a
crossroads.
Amazing, I
didn’t think I’d get to say that in this decade rather in the next, but I’m
writing it: At a crossroads.
We’re at a
crossroads and yes, we’re excited to make a turn in the bend.
Nothing stays
the same. I never thought that it would but sometimes change is abrupt and
sometimes not.
I live for
these types of moments in my life because it means that I get to be a witness
to yet another aspect of maturity. Nine years ago I left an office building
with a business loan in my pocket and I never looked back - most likely will
not be the same again. Friends we’ve made and kept over the years, (correction:
our friends, foes and strangers) we bow our heads in their direction because we
understand the fragility and beauty in life and challenges we climb and find
our way through new terrain. We know where we come from, we know where we are
and we have a great deal of vision for where we are going. I’m inspired daily
to become a better person by contributing to my community at large and by
raising awareness to learning anything new.
Tonight I get
the great honor to film another documentary filmmaker about his interests in
organic gardening. I’m so excited to go and chill with this new friend as of
the past year and a half. We get to discuss organic vegetable growing. I’ve
bought an organic odd-year bottle of red wine to bring to my amazing and
intelligent calm friend. I’m looking forward to peace, patience and clarity of
mind with a chill and relaxed pace as we film tonight. My friend the filmmaker
is bringing in lighting and I’m not above it I’m grateful for his efforts and
consideration. I look forward to his lighting ideas and suggestions.
What a life!
On Monday I’m
putting a counter-proposal on my friend’s table – he made a general
semi-proposal for any filmmaker to make a short film in the exchange of a one
free-of-charge room in his lovely home. Imagine that! Money isn’t everything. I
know the art of bartering and I hold it more sacred than money.
A particular space to create in-is worth more than
gold.
I like the
adventure, insight and connection in friendships. I like free and creative
collaborations inside already establish and respectfulness in regard to the
relationships which uphold dignity, kindness and genuine interest at heart for
the other person.
I like making
animation films, collages, writing, script writing and upholding discussions in
the homes and amongst the intimacy of my closest friends. I consider this man
to be one of my closest friends in the last two years so his semi-proposal to
write one-hour a day in his home is phenomenal to me – I did not think the
thought – he did. He introduced it and made the proposal so I will write one to
counter-offer it. I’m honored and happy for my friend and myself to continue to
grow, develop and be.
That’s an
offer of a lifetime when a writing nook anywhere in the world is sacred, calm and
peaceful and it can be found amongst the thoughtful and creative. The exchange
would prove incredible. Not only is my friend’s house a sacred space, a
sanctuary and an artistic monastery, but his home comes with an “open-door
kitchen policy” to the people in his life. Now, who couldn’t pass up one-hour a
day of a writing studio at a friend’s beautiful home – hopefully for the next
year? No, Sir! I didn’t jump the gun but I’m sure jumping at the chance to be a
part of something creatively revolutionary and vibrant with so many great
thinking humans passing through my friend’s kitchen. It’s quiet, peaceful and
intelligent. I can’t wait to discuss this cushy and creative proposal to barter
with some guidelines and considerations. I have quite a great deal to offer in
the exchange, myself. I always do. I know my strengths and I do most certainly
know my weaknesses. A short in exchange for one hour of writing a day would
prove most creative.
I think about
all of the spaces many writers before my time used to construct novels, poetry
and plays. I lived in the Gaslight District of Iowa City where Kurt Vonnegut
wrote. I looked over every nook and cranny of the house when I first moved in
and I swelled with quiet pride and acknowledgement that Mr. Vonnegut had worked
and lived in a home that I worked and lived in more than a decade ago now. I
will never forget that experience for as long as I live. The
“carriage-apartment” was conducive to analytical, creative and critical
thinking. I’d like to think that Mr. Kurt Vonnegut’s literary spirit lingered
there in that house and that’s why I read profusely in those months because a
great man had created great works of art that changed me for life, forever. I
would never be the same again.
Places call
to artists and in the development and maturity of our human nature we follow
that calling because it’s very rare that we’ll find places where we feel as
though we have arrived home. Our friends are our home, our environments are our
home and our hope for future creativity, sharing, learning and developing ideas
are also our home. I can’t imagine not doing this with my friends by my side,
they are quite lovely people.
I have
responsibilities…
I’m wishing
you an amazing weekend full of consideration, love, kindness and if you wish
happiness.
Peace.
Gabriela
P.S. In the
next week I’ve got to find some musica to go and dance to. Hooray for the arts.
How nerdy is that? Cheers!
January 27, 2011
“Rudeness is the
weak man's imitation of strength” - Eric
Hoffer
Happy
Thursday!
I can only
imagine that preaching a philosophy, crying-out emotional wolf and never having
been taught how to use words rather than rudeness must be difficult for those
who want to accomplish so much in this world but only have a limited finite
ability and skill in how to do so.
Good manners
and kindness are finite skills that can and should be learned and developed by
every American. I understand that we’re lacking in educational equivalency to
many other major world players, still yet good manners have never gone out of
fashion throughout the world amongst great men and women.
Good manners
and kindness are the only ways to keep the peace amongst the sexes otherwise
men should be prepared to be put back on the shelf by confident, respectful and
beautiful women who ultimately won’t have anything to do with overt displays of
melodramatic tendencies like taking objects out of a woman’s hands, rushing off
in huff and cutting off women when they speak or not answering their questions.
I feel sorry for American men when they act this way because essentially and
ultimately they get overlooked by great women.
The History
of women has been one of dismissal, abuse and oppression. Think about how
little girls get treated in America and you will discover a world of hurt from
runaway young teenage girls who’ve described to me their Minneapolis existence
as “nothing to hope for.” My heart hurts just thinking about it much less
writing about it.
As a grown woman
who has everything to look forward to in this new century I don’t share the
same sentiment as my much younger female counterparts but I can truly
understand the sentiment. My heart aches knowing that men exploit, use and
discard woman in everyday life, especially those who are closest to them. It’s
an embarrassment to see a man be curt, ridiculously rude and disrespectful to
any woman especially a complete stranger to him but more so to the women he
loves and knows in his life.
Bad manners
in men have nothing to do with good mannered women.
Bad manners
and a lack of judgment will never have anything to do with anyone except you –
that’s something that you take to the grave with you and that no one will carry
bad manners for you because they know a few things you don’t wish to
acknowledge about yourself - yourself. When you are rude to others then you are
rude to yourself.
Oh, men want
to be treated like grown men but many men lack the judgment as to how to treat
women like grown women. Don’t expect miracles from women especially while
preaching “Random Acts of Kindness”. Sounds good but if a preacher-man can’t
follow his own good example then what good is he, really, to society at large?
A rude man
becomes his voice amongst many other voices that cry out in the night and his
voice will get lost amongst others because well, there is nothing to really
differentiate him from any other man, except for his bad manners but that
already exists and is all too common in America. Of course women expect men to
be rude and that’s a great Shakespearean tragedy. That is something that will
have to change with the evolution of man.
Are humans
still Neanderthals?
It must be
rough for most men living in American because this is not the suffrage movement
any longer and women have evolved especially not by what they say but through
what they don’t say. Most women have the finesse NOT to come out with both
barrels firing because ultimately they know a lot of things men don’t. Like
oppression, dismissal and prejudice. Women live through this everyday and more
often than not executed by our male counterparts who sometimes frankly are not
our equals for simple reasons like not reasoning-out on how to best treat
people.
Good men get
passed up by amazing and wonderful women everyday for one simple reason.
Rudeness. No woman in her right mind will want to have dinner, close-a-business
deal or create anything wonderful in communication and in relationship to a man
who mentally displays his penis and emotionally jerks-off in front of her. She
may not look away but she will definitely not want to participate in his rude
behavior.
Rude behavior
and preconceived notions about women only implies that men believe their
arrogance.
Why should good women invest their time,
energy and efforts in the dreams of rude men?
Why? There
are so many men in the world. Period. It’s not necessary to invest in rude
American men and it never will be a good investment. We live in an age of
technology and having a vast wealth of interest in international change is not
so difficult anymore. Women are changing the world – take notice because it’s
happening although most women who are changing the world will never utter a
single word about it to anyone because they know their standing power and have
no need to make it known. How lovely for these women of power, self-control and
keen intelligence.
No matter how
intelligent a man may be about anything at all in the world he becomes a bigot
when he places importance on a double standard yet he would fight for his right
not to be treated the way he treats others especially women.
A rude man
will not create any change in the world when he can’t even begin to have great
consideration for those women he interacts with daily. You cannot preach one
thing and act another. The discrepancy is too large and too difficult to
believe anything that comes out of such a man’s mouth. Even if it’s not their
fault for being rude and no one ever took the time to teach them any better on
how to treat women it’s still their fault as adults for not learning on their
own especially when they don’t seek the discipline to better and more direct
communication, manners and refinement of philosophy in action.
Women are not
delicate – that’s not the issue here.
Rude men sometimes
get away with being rude in an age of evolution. Now, that’s one down fall of
civilization if I’ve ever thought of one. As a matter of fact many women I’ve
encountered throughout the United States are cynical, angry and often confused
by their male counterparts. I’m not cynical, confused or angry about men in
America but I am sometimes turned-off to the core of my bones with their
inability to relate well to others. Why shouldn’t I be? I’m saddened and
annoyed by the so many skills our American men lack in our culture and I know
good men. Yet, their behavior will not do. Rude behavior will not take us into
the next development of humanity. Think about it, because you can.
No man who
has ever dealt with Nordic beauties, Indianas, Latinas, Blacks and especially
Asian women or of any other cultural variety of women will treat women like
emotional punching bags, emotionally derail them or the easiest thing in the
world to do dismisses a woman who is directly addressing any man. No cultured
man and especially, any well travelled man would ever dismiss any woman
addressing him directly, because he knows all too well that to do so would
prove to miss out on the opportunity to learn, observe and be a part of
something much greater than himself – it would be a lost gift to his deepest
person.
For those of
you who consider yourselves men, if you’re being directly addressed and you
dismiss a woman’s address then I’d say, it better be a matter of life, death,
responsibility and of real circumstance because frankly nothing is so important
that you must consider yourself incapable of spending a minute of your time
being addressed especially by what you know to be intelligent kind women. You
miss out. The joke’s on you when you rush off, slam doors and think women are
intimidated by your non-thinking presence of mind. The only people I know who
rush off to meet their destinies are self-important performers, politicians and
half-witted billionaires without any regard for life. Who are you?
I am a woman
of the world. I know who I am and where I come from and where I’m going forth.
I’ve
travelled extensively to know that the rudeness in American men will not do. It
must not do. In the same way that American dogs are taught to cry wolf when
nothing is the matter. What shame to cry wolf when no body’s going to believe
you the next time there is real danger. It’s a crime and a behavior taught by
owners which puts the owners at danger. But that is mainly an American practice
of owning dogs not a world practice of co-existing with dogs in any tribal
setting.
“Men in these
parts don’t know what to do with that type of enthusiasm.” A man told me after
I ate a mango slice with all of the vigor of the world on my tongue.
I was having
a strong and passionate physical reaction to a mango I was eating but by no
means was I having an orgasm in front of five men. If I were having an orgasm
then you’d know it and it would not be uttered with a single word…
Sexuality is
seriously confused in America - if you’re not thinking about sex then someone
else is thinking it for you – and – if you’re thinking about sex then you
better hide it, cover it up – quick, before someone else finds out that you’re
a sexual being filled with passion, with physical reactions and sensations
which do occur throughout the world. It goes back to the Puritans. Another blog
for another day.
My Father
kept telling me while I was growing up, “You never know who you’re going to
meet so be polite and keep your wits about you.” The moment that you stop
treating people the way-you-think-you-deserve to be treated. Game over. Go
home. You lost big time in the philosophical and emotional world of
communication. The moment you create a gap between yourself and others, then
you’ve created a double standard. A way you command to be treated and the way
you treat others when you’re feeling like a little baby will not do. Others
will want to laugh at you and in some ways the laughter would be justifiable.
There is nothing like watching a grown man throw a tantrum. Its rather amusing.
I’ve been
listening, mainly to American men in my life, tell me that they are well
travelled, that they have seen many wonders of the World but when I witness
them being overtly rude to the grown women in their lives then the possibility
of them seeing the world is slightly difficult for me to believe how they’ve
witnessed any of the world at all when they lack so much cultural astuteness.
Sometimes, it
feels like a lie, because I’ve met many other men of the world and if anybody
has ever met the men of the world then you’d know that they are good men to the
women in their lives not out of duty or obligation but out of honor and
respect. Other men of the world are citizens of the world because their
cultures have thousands of years of development and nothing of value and
importance is rushed. Women are important and so are men.
I like
interacting with some Black brothers because they come from a lineage who
understands slavery, oppression and dismissal and if you have ever had the
honor of getting to know honorable Black Americans then you know that they’re
in no hurry to dismiss anyone because their people were slaves, tormented and
murdered. So, with that little bit of insight intelligent Black men DON’T
dismiss, look down at and act like melodramatic silly little girls at the women
in their lives. I’ve enjoyed the company of well-refined well-oiled men for
cerebral machines. I’ve understood their plights but more importantly I’ve
understood their noble intentions, actions and sincerity.
Culturally,
many American men lack a lot to be desired in good manners, communication and
relating well to others in general. At times, it seems as if they’re animals
trapped in some cultural cage. Neanderthals, in the prospects to live rather
than for the prospects of development.
What gives?
Men want to be treated like grown men yet I’ve watched two men in my life just
recently in the last week and a half be curt, rude and throw temper tantrums
like little boys.
No, I’m not talking
about my husband I married a grown man with all of the sensibility, kindness
and appreciation of women and that’s the only man I... Every other sensation is
either created through touch, taste, hearing, sight and smell or a memory
trigger. It’s funny but more so it’s sad and frankly not something that I trust
as a woman in general when I watch men act self-important towards the plights
of the world. I don’t wonder why American men don’t have life mates. I don’t.
Not for one single moment do I ponder the answer to that. I already discovered
the answer and am arriving at a lot of my own conclusions about that.
I was so
turned off by a friend last night that I did laugh and spit. What else is a
woman to do but to laugh at the absurdity of a man’s rushed and gruff demeanor
towards her?
How’s that
for feminist theory?
Women of
color do understand feminist theory all too well.
Grown men
don’t owe grown women anything just as grown women don’t owe grown men anything
as well.
People give
of themselves willingly. I’d like to feel that my male friends can come to me
at anytime they have a need or a call from the spirit to do so and ask for
help, insight and friendship at anytime. I don’t keep score. I don’t live like
that but I do take notice of the type of men they are in relationship to any
women in their lives. People’s actions will speak volumes to the type of people
they think and feel that they are.
Peace.
Gabriela
January 26, 2011
“Physical
nature lies at our feet shackled with a hundred chains. What of the control of
human nature? Do not point to the triumphs of psychiatry, social services or
the war against crime. Domination of human nature can only mean the domination
of every man by himself.” -
Johan Huizinga
“And for any
victim of a violent crime, when you actually get to go in and realize and see
their faces and know that they can't hurt you any more, there is no feeling
like that. It finally frees you from a lot of demons.” - Patty Hearst
“Violent
crime is a solved problem - all they have to do is repeal the laws that keep
those intelligent, capable, and responsible men and women from arming
themselves, and violent crime evaporates like dry ice on a hot summer day.” - L.
Neil Smith
Happy
Wednesday!
Good
morning!
It’s was a
cloudy dark January morning and still as ice out there around five. No wind at
that time and hopefully it’ll get warmer than yesterday with all of the cloud
formation keeping us insolated. Right? Right.
I’ve got a second
episode of the first season of the “Addams Family” running in the “VCR”.
I like to watch Television with the audio set-on mute
(on the remote control) (imagine, some day this equipment will be obsolete and
disregarded and then what, landfills? – hopefully every single part will be
re-used and re-cycled that’s a hope) with the closed captioning off, as nerdy
as it may seem, to read along with the storyline and figure out what’s
happening. It’s an exercise I remember most about learning how to deconstruct
any visual image.
Filmmaking is
the art of storytelling with running images and inside the frame life is
captured or recaptured.
I regress in
my subject matter because frankly I think about, how-the-moving-image in any
genre and form of picture-making affects Generations?
The “Addams
Family” is an incredible show to me. The first thing that comes to mind is the
level of creativity with so much direction, intension and purpose in all
aspects of “mise-en-scene”. I can understand a moral tale but more importantly
I can respect and appreciate a-time-in-our national Television history that we
can look back-on and speculate what the culture was living through.
What was
culture like when “Addams Family” was nationally broadcasted in the United
States in the year ____?
----------- ------------ ------------
Random Thought: (Simply, amuse me for one moment
here.)
{In research
as with any subject matter studied, if we begin with a year in history in-mind,
then we can place any event, happening and occurrence. Events in the history of
civilizations are not lost especially through oral traditional storytelling
form I have that to thank a close friend who introduced Swahili to me at the
University. Otherwise, it may have been another few years until I stumbled upon
the Swahili language. My favorite aspect of Swahili students is that not only
do they learn a new language all completely but also most students learn that
language and storytelling are one in the same in many oral traditional forms.
Words, in
some cultures are not to be rushed, wasted or used for exploitation or in
self-interest and used to regard only for one’s own but for a much greater
contribution to communication. Is that too idealistically-poetic? Maybe.
Please keep
in mind that most people simply are establishing beautiful forms of
communication through setting up their neighborhoods economically, peacefully
while trying to educate their children, put food on the table and a roof over
their family’s heads.}
A Linking Thought: (to the random thought.)
Life is
incredibly simple for most civilians trying to communicate what works in their
communities and what doesn’t yet there are obstacles such as violent crimes as
in Homicide, Rape, Robbery of Business, Robbery of Person, Aggravated Assaults
and Domestic Aggravated Assaults.
The moment
any citizen enters into crime against another citizen there are serious
repercussion to these actions. Cruelty and violence will be met with the power
of rights. Period. No citizen ought to be demeaned, harassed and have their
person violated by any system, person or government that’s what I learned in
eighth grade social studies. I think I understood all too well.
There are laws
in place to defend the most sacred of national prides in joy, “the pursuit of
happiness” (it doesn’t mean that you automatically get to be happy it means
that you-get-the freedom to pursuit happiness, to go after it without ever
endangering others. Period. Otherwise, history has a painful way of making
itself learned. The Treaty of Versailles is all that just about comes to mind
from eighth grade social studies).
I bring up
the treaty of Versailles only because when a government stops maturing, developing
and starts putting its citizens at any moral and physical danger through a high
violent crime rate and affliction then great measures have been taken in
history this is not so uncommon in the history of laws and justice brought
forth to the civilians of nations.
It’s a
gesture that greatly counts not repeated words.
Source from
Wikipedia
The Treaty
of Versailles was one of the peace treaties at the end of World War I.
Of the many provisions
in the treaty, one of the most important and controversial required Germany to
accept sole responsibility for causing the war and, under the terms of articles
231–248 (later known as the War Guilt clauses), to disarm, make substantial
territorial concessions and pay heavy reparations to certain countries that had
formed the Entente powers. The total cost of these reparations was assessed at
132 billion Marks (then $31.4 billion, £6,600 million) in 1921 which is roughly
equivalent to US$ 385 billion in 2011, a sum that many economists at the time,
notably John Maynard Keynes, deemed to be excessive and counterproductive and
would have taken Germany until 1988 to pay. The Treaty was undermined by
subsequent events starting as early as 1932 and was widely flouted by the
mid-1930s.
-------------- -------------- --------------
Moving on with this writing exercise…
Every
infrastructure begins with a strong concept, foundation and normally a well
laid-out, designed and constructed frame. Art imitates life. Television
imitates life. If that were to be the Hypothesis or the main thesis then let us
speculate that there was something that could have been channeled into the sub
consciousness and moral fiber of the society from storyboard creators to
producers and civilians of the time.
What was
being reported in 1946 when “Addams Family” made its first debut on Television?
Who were the artists of the time, the politicians, the citizens and the
guardians of peace, civility, civil welfare and education?
How does a
Generational culture influence Television?
Mind you, I’m no journalist or artistic
crusader nor have I ever set out to be one.
Nor am I, an
authority on any subject matter simply a human with ideas and sentiments that I
can’t seem to talk about because frankly I lose my voice trying. It’s my nature
to be a snapping turtle when the world gets turned over on its belly. There is
nothing more awkward than watching something else’s awkwardness and struggle.
Life is complex, what more is there to say? Nothing, I suppose.
No, Sir!
I’m a woman
of the world and a thinking breathing writing human.
I can and do
make intelligent decisions about my life and that is something that any
Generation can understand or “tune-into” because frankly we are fully grown
adults, here, many with children trying to make the best decisions for the next
seven Generations of Humanity.
What was
happening in 1946 around the globe?
It might seem
like a mundane, boring or stupid question yet it’s easy to answer according to
the recorded “current events” of the time. Think about it because you can and
if you can’t then look up the year 1946 it helps to be respectful of time, age
and dates.
“She’s not
the best keeper of time.” I’ve been told of a Finn Elder who spoke of me in the
last year and I understood the sentiment from her Finn point of view and
Generation. I understood and I felt loved because she knew my nature to go slow
and keep curiosity and awareness about my surroundings even when I’m focused on
the present I cannot help but get excited for a mature and developed future
without rape, assault and arm robbery.
I remember the day, I decided not to work for
any news source – It wasn’t the people nor the establishment and office
politics that ultimately lead me to make that decision the day I went out into
the field as a “photog” and covered three near-deaths in what I can only
speculate was a matter of an hour. Who
knows? It could’ve been tree hours. Time slowed down for me in the deepest
parts of my soul and I could not have foreseen what I was to witness that day
as the bodies were pulled out from the water on a stormy dark cloudy early
afternoon in August of 2003.
I lost any
and all complete track of time.
Everything
stopped and I wanted to capture that moment but not in the way a newsroom
editor expects of his journalists to do so. I wanted nothing to do with
covering footage of three young people being pulled from the water from nearly
drowning as a segment of evening news that night.
I knew in my
heart that it was wrong to record and capture life on the brink of death.
That day I
recorded the afternoon sky as the clouds eventually broke through and sunlight
sprinkled the beach. Mind you, I had turned off the audio and did not white
balance before taping. Some shots were unusable for broadcast standard and some
shots were so blue and washed-out that they could not be used in that evening’s
news segment.
I had made a
decision and I lived by it. Soon after I left the newsroom I also left the
country and went to the beaches of Costa Rica to pray, look upon the stars,
surf and eat fresh fruits and sit quietly amongst perfect strangers and some
close friends.
I could do
nothing but capture the sky and other news station’s photogs taping the bodies
being pulled out.
‘No, Sir!
That will not do!’ I remember thinking to myself.
My excellent
liberal arts education taught me the moralities, ethics and decision-making
skills necessary to be made when faced with very little options apart from the
conventional consensus and status quo - whatever that may be.
I was
appalled at the situation I was in and I felt that it was not my place in the world
to capture and exploit any human or living organism if I could help it, not on
my time, so I decided to quit and was let go at the same time with a decent
severance package.
I would have
not-a-single part in it because that’s not how I was going to live my life.
Newsroom work
was never beneath me but some of the content was below my moral values as a
young adult of twenty six years of age.
I learned
valuable lessons that day when I met with the newsroom editor. After we
negotiated my exit interview and severance package then he proceeded to ask me,
“What will you do now?” I answered him with a smile, “I’m going to skateboard
home, make a little lunch and take a siesta.” I left the happiest human being
skate boarding the sidewalks of Superior and Michigan Street. I couldn’t skate
any faster to freedom.
The whole
world had been opened-up to me yet again and I could breathe.
I was free of
a structure that was not conducive to creative-thinking and regard for how to
communicate news across to the everyday viewers without selling them something,
exploiting life and advertising false hope. News segments are brought to you by
corporations and mostly local and major advertisers. Everybody knows that but
more importantly news ought to be economically implemented by something more
than funding commercials. I’m not arguing that the government should run
broadcasting news such as in some European countries. National News - Could
that be done in America? Like any structure for development it evolves over time.
Sweet.
Facts are a
must a necessary with regard for subject matter.
I’m not
desensitized to news or any visual realm especially when I did work in News for
three consecutive years and newsroom production work left me exhausted and yet
smarter about what smart, factual and intelligent reporting is and the
difference between self-promotion and public relations.
Working-behind-the-scenes
made me a sharp viewer of news and also I would most likely never work for news
again unless the world was truly coming to an end and there was nobody around
for miles to give the slightest weather report. Even then I can’t really say
that I would…
------------ ------------- -------------
Cheers!
It’s 9:03
A.M. and I’m going about my day slowly with a clear and purposeful pace.
It’s time for
breakfast with the hubby.
May you have
an amazing day!
May you be
guided and guarded by some deeply fundamental moral views where life and death are
concerned and hopefully honor that because what else is there to honor but life
and death?
I will not
fear the news as I do not fear the world.
My place in
the world is as free as any other while I stand on my two little feet. Wherever
I choose to go and be upon Tierra Firma I will not be desensitized to the times
nor will I demoralize the world we live in.
Peace to all
the peoples’ of the world.
I didn’t
waste words I came to the table to write what I meant to write – ideas,
thoughts and more thoughts.
Gabriela
Source from Wikipedia
The Addams
Family is a group of fictional
characters created by American cartoonist Charles Addams. Addams Family
characters include Gomez, Morticia, Uncle Fester, Lurch, Grandmama, Wednesday
and Pugsley. The Addamses are a satirical inversion of the ideal American
family; an eccentric, wealthy clan who delight in the macabre and are unaware
that people find them bizarre or frightening. They originally appeared as a
series of single panel cartoons, published in The New Yorker between 1938 and Addams's 1988 death. They have
since been adapted to other media, including television series, films, video
games, and a musical.
Katarina
Witt (born December 3, 1965) is a
German figure skater and model. In Germany she was commonly called
"Kati" in the past, but today her full name is used more often. She
won two Olympic gold medals for East Germany, first in the 1984 Sarajevo
Olympics and the second in 1988 at the Calgary Olympics. She won the World
Championships four times (in 1984, 1985, 1987, and 1988), and six consecutive
European Championships (1983–1988). Her competitive record makes her one of the
most successful figure skaters of all time.
The German
Democratic Republic (GDR; German: Deutsche Demokratische Republik
or DDR), informally called East Germany (German: Ost-Deutschland)
by West Germany and other countries, was the socialist state established in
1949 in the Soviet zone of occupied Germany and in the East Berlin portion of
the Allied-occupied capital city. The German Democratic Republic, which
consisted geographically of northeast Germany rather than all of eastern
Germany, had an area of 107,771 km2 (41,610 mi2),
bordering Czechoslovakia in the south, West Germany (officially: Federal
Republic of Germany) in the south and west, the Baltic Sea to the north, and
Poland in the east.
In 1989 a
popular uprising overthrew the Communists.
The Soviets
refused to intervene, and the country soon reunited with West Germany and is
now part of Germany.
January 25, 2011
“Figure
skating is a mixture of art and sport.” - Katarina Witt
“I was the very first athlete in East
Germany allowed to go professional.” - Katarina
Witt
Happy
Tuesday!
What a World
we live in no different than any other age in History or any other Civilization.
I had to ask
the "hubby" to put down the tableta late last night.
I could look
no more at the horrors in front of me… My husband told me about the bombing in
one of Moscow’s main airports, Domodedovo.
Reportedly, one hundred and seventy injured and at least thirty five killed.
Murdered through the will and decision of a suicide bomber.
A rush of
emotions went through my body as I looked at the footage of the bombing late
last night when we sat down to connect to international news. I held my heart
with my left hand and breathed in and out and said a silent prayer that rushed
through my entire body.
I prayed for
our Russian friends, their families and all of the Russian citizens.
I breathed in
and took in as much life as one breath is allowed through the lungs.
I prayed
because in times of such horrific violence what else is there to do but to
inhale in a breath of life. No, I’m not being corny or childish. As a grown
woman of the world any violence to anybody of civilians is of the highest crime
and it hurts all of humanity from any cultural civilization, age and era.
Average
civilians are not soldiers nor are civilians trained to be soldiers.
Anytime that
any righteous crusader causes harm and murders another I just can’t seem to know
how that is justified to any “Gods” of any peoples’ ancient and existing
Religions.
I cannot
begin to think that-not-a single “God” from any religious study be it Allah, to
a Roman Catholic and Christian God, to a Jewish God from any and all Hindu and
Buddhist sects of the Religion and any and other peasant “Gods” (rarely
mentioned by mainstream culture) or any Indian Gods for that matter - Would ask
of any thinking / breathing human animal to kill out of revenge, vengeance or
out of sheer hostility.
Think about
it? What “God(s)” ask the human-thinking-race to sabotage, kill and destroy
another of its own kind?
What God(s)
ask of one to kill of another of the same species?
If there is
such “God(s)” then why not eat your young while you’re at it – on a crusade to
save the world from – what? More violence, oppression and cruelty? It will not
do. Killing in the name of anything will not do. Civilians are innocent victims
and must be left alone. Period. Civilians are not a power-play in the war and struggle
for the survival of the human race.
We must
evolve as a human race.
We must.
Murder should not even be a consideration or something that we have to contend
with or address any longer. The human species is smart enough to evolve. So, evolve
I tell you. Funny, isn’t it? Coming from a writer of the world and a citizen of
the United States. What the hell would I know of such suffering? Plenty, as any
other human who has endeavored pain and suffering – Most suffering is the same
in that all suffering must be endured with maturity and grace after life has
been disgraced.
Artists
reflect back on the times they live in and often they have nothing to lose
because they do not shield themselves behind bombs, violence and murder.
Artists
protest with creativity, wit and observation. We must evolve as any
civilization before us has. We must because there are two choices when faced
with fear. Face the fear or don’t face the fear, but most likely life evolves
and life never forgets the innocent nor those who get punished for disturbing
the peace of any civilian. Period.
No man or
woman who creates such devastating destruction through suicide bombing does
rationally believe that they will not pay for such suffering and pain created
at the center of their will and soul.
I come from a
line of people whose ancient Gods were merciless, at times cruel and punished
out of sacrifice. I come from a Heritage of people who outlived the ancients
and peacefully co-exist quietly on the edge of barrios, cities and shantytowns
or the rain forest. I come from a line of people who know all too well about
the suffering and pain of history. Period.
What will it
take for the human race to evolve beyond murder?
Really, can
murder be justified in the name of any Religion?
No, it
cannot.
It will not
do.
Religion is
not the main component that keeps civilians safe from righteous crusaders. Laws
are passed by a governing body of civilians and implemented by public servants
such as politicians to keep civilians safe from each other and any other
unreasonable type of violence.
As a woman of
the world I honor life above all else.
No, I’m not
being naïve. I’m being a citizen of the world and I understand the serious
implications that come with being a grown adult. Life is not fair, it never has
been and it may never be. One thing is certain, to murder another human is to
take advantage of innocent victims and that will not do. Suicide bombing and
crusaders will not do.
I’m a proud
and patriotic American when I hear the American National Anthem. Tears swell up
in my eyes and I stand a little taller and prouder because when I see any
Olympian Athlete stand on any podium throughout the world I can imagine their
hard work, dedication and mastery of their sport.
I cried
watching Katarina Witt take the podium for East Germany when she won the Gold
Metal at the Calgary games in 1988. I’d watched her long-skate performance and
I got chills through my bones watching this angel skate and give the
performance of a lifetime.
I felt in
those glorious yet short moments that she was crying out for the misery and the
beauty of the world. Now, I’m not any expert on any subject, simply a tax
paying citizen trying to hone my skills at writing by building-up some literary
muscle – I’m trying to make sense of this world and to record as much of it as
possible.
Frankly, no
matter how many precise words I may try to use here I will never be able to
correctly express to you that even then at the tender age of eleven I
understood oppression, political injustice and grace while watching Katarina
Witt listen and sing along with the East German Anthem. As my Adopted Jewish
values and Indiana Mayan Heritage I understood that she had skated for the hope
of any future. Any human can see hope not in the things people say but more so
in the artistry of what they don’t say through any artistic medium. To me,
Katarina Witt became a lady of the world in front of the world. How miraculous
and absolutely lovely to have witnessed and lived through such a thunderous
humanitarian moment.
Katrina Witt
stood before the entire world and against all odds showed us a face of humanity
that we can all at least for some fleeting moments grasp and hang onto the
maturity, boldness and frankness of artistry in any artist, athlete and
civilian peacefully co-existing in these trying times.
I have hope
because the grandiosity of beauty and nature exist and I hold onto that as I
pray for the families of these suicide bombers. Imagine, being the parent of
any suicide bomber? There must be so much pain and suffering in that alone that
there is nothing more to say about it.
I’m wishing
you a blessed night.
I have more
words but I have written enough for now. There is no reason for me to waste any
words.
So with that
I bid you goodnight.
Peace.
Ciao.
Gabriela
P.S. I’ve
been reading psychological articles about introverted vs. extraverted. Another
blog for another day.
Source from
Wikipedia
The ton
is a unit of measure. It has a long history and has acquired a number of
meanings and uses over the years. It is used principally as a unit of weight,
and as a unit of volume. It can also be used as a measure of energy, for truck
classification, or as a colloquial term. It is derived from the tun, the term applied to a barrel of
the largest size. This could contain a volume between 210 and 256 gallons,
which could weigh around 2,000 pounds
and occupy some 60 cubic feet of space.
Source from
Answers.com
How much does the average car weigh?
Average U.S. Car Is
Tipping Scales at 4,000 Pounds.
The E.P.A.'s weight statistics show that the average weight of a 2003 car or
light-duty truck, like a pickup, sport utility, van or minivan, was heavier
than in any model year since 1976, when the average peaked at 4,079 pounds.
Just five years later, after the oil shocks of the 1970's, the average had
fallen by more than 20 percent, to 3,202 pounds. The figures take into account
the sales volumes of different models.
January 24, 2011
“The nation that complacently and fearfully allows
its artists and writers to become suspected rather than respected is no longer
regarded as a nation possessed with humor in depth.” - James Thurber
“McCarthyism is Americanism with its sleeves rolled.” - Joseph R. McCarthy
“A fox
should not be on the jury at a goose's trial.” - Thomas
Fuller
“A jury
consists of twelve persons chosen to decide who has the better lawyer.” - Robert Frost
“They’ll nail anyone who ever scratched his ass during the National Anthem.” - Humphrey Bogart
Happy
Monday!
Its five
thirty-one in the evening and the day has gone by all too quickly.
Midday, there
were big beautiful and thick snowflakes hovering the atmosphere.
How about
that moon last week! I had to stop and stare. I could do nothing else but to
look at that large moon and think about the film “Moonstruck”. How about that
moon! Solstice came and went… we look forward to the days getting longer,
celebrating life amongst our closest friends and family… living for the present
and letting the future unfold.
I have still
yet to plug into any news source…
For now I’ve
been going-on the basis of what I hear out and about town from people who
contribute to their small and large communities. It’s quite interesting. I’ve
yet to run into anyone who knows anything about Futbol. I’m aware that there is
no World Cup since we celebrated it this summer in the pubs but like any
televised sport in the world there is always a tournament, match, play-off and
some type of contest going on when it comes to world sports.
The first
topic that comes to mind since many discussions, statements and commentaries
have been made about Hu Jintao, the President of the People's Republic of China
visiting the United States in the last week. According to others and their tone
in conversation it seems to me that President Hu Jintao presented the United
States with several challenges. According to others’ conversations and insight
both Presidents displayed their diplomatic missions, it seems, like a scene
from the film “Love Actually”.
It seems that
President Hu Jintao did not come to visit the United States to be bullied into
any sort of negotiation, yet to pose questions and solutions.
There is a scene
from the film “Love Actually” where the character of Prime Minister speaks in a
press conference about the arrived negotiations between the United States and
the United Kingdom and the following speech is delivered by the main character
of Prime Minister: “I love that word
"relationship." Covers all manner of sins, doesn't it? I fear that
this has become a bad relationship; a relationship based on the President
taking exactly what he wants and casually ignoring all those things that really
matter to, erm... Britain. We may be a small country, but we're a great one,
too. The country of Shakespeare, Churchill, the Beatles, Sean Connery, Harry
Potter. David Beckham's right foot. David Beckham's left foot, come to that.
And a friend who bullies us is no longer a friend. And since bullies only
respond to strength, from now onward I will be prepared to be much stronger.
And the President should be prepared for that.”
Other aspects
of news people spoke about in the last week was about the Australian floods, storms
in the East Coast, in the Southern United States people were still digging
themselves out from snow and cold, flooding in many different parts of the
world.
Closer to
home in the news people sadly with disappointment and anger spoke about the
Minneapolis case against a group of professional male citizens who ran a
prostitution ring and called themselves “Minnesota Nice Guys”. The ring leader
of this professional group of working men will not be sentenced with any prison
time due to his health and having polio. Another blog for another day!
Even closer
to home 28th Street South all-the-way to Cedar Avenue is torn up
like it’s been gone through with a cheese shredder. Please be careful out there
are gouging holes of pavement missing. The same can be said for on Franklyn
Avenue from Cedar to an Uptown Avenue South. Please keep in mind that it’s the
time of year. Also, we have a lot of outstanding inner high school and college
students who frequent the West Bank, being that the streets are as bad as they
are please drive slowly and watch out for the bicyclists and walkers.
As for those
aggressive pedestrians who don’t follow street lights and traffic flow, please
be aware that people drive about two tons of machinery (average cars) that can
out-crush your little one-hundred and fifty pound bodies to two-hundred and
some pounds. Please, do the mathematics. Any civilian that jumps out in front
of traffic and expects no repercussion to their actions is a “fool-of-a-took”
without any real power in the world and arrogant enough to think that only you
exist in the flow of traffic of the world. Please. If you’re not in any hurry
then cutting traffic off is something that you can refrain yourself from.
I understand
for those pedestrians who cut drivers off in traffic, who don’t have any
courtesy or mindfulness about co-existing in the city that if you’re not a
savvy pedestrian then most likely you won’t survive the city. You will come
across a lot of foolish lessons to learn and savvy-city folk will consider you
foolish and without reason.
The city is a
gritty, dirty and smart place for any human who can co-exist and survive. I
don’t find Minneapolis the most metropolis pedestrian savvy of places because
if you visit other metropolises twice / three times as large as Minneapolis you
will learn one thing, smart city people in other places don’t jump out in front
of moving traffic because they’re smart, savvy and frankly urban cool as hell.
This is not
only my personal sentiment this is the sentiment I hear by-and-by from people
who move here from well-oiled-machined metropolises. Cheers for that!
If you’re a
driver who cuts people off and drives backwards into traffic on one-way
streets, on your cell phone or selfishly distracted by anything other than the
responsibility of your driving then “fool-of-a-took” to you as well. What more
can be said until accidents become larger problems to anybody of citizens. It
is not necessary.
I’m in love
with the thought the city of Minneapolis gave into making room on the streets
for bicyclists, yet it leaves much to be desired in design and layout. The
bicycling lane used to be laid-out on the middle of Hennepin Avenue downtown.
Now the bicycling lane is on the right hand side of traffic. First off,
Minneapolis Streets are quite narrow and more so in the winter with three foot
snow banks. Bicyclists simply do not fit on the right hand side of our streets.
When the infrastructure of Minneapolis gets rebuilt and restored as the decades
go on hopefully the tax payers will consider making more room for a large
growing bicyclist population in town.
My only
constructive criticism of the bike lane that was reinvented this summer is that
it was painted in green and at dusk, in snow and rain - green is a very
difficult color to spot. So, I thought maybe neon orange or red would be a far
more distinctive color and drivers could really differentiate the bicycling
lanes. It could be a matter of life and death for that matter. Yearlong
bicycling is not going away and it has taken Minneapolis by storm. People want
different modes of transportation in a beautiful city that has so much to offer
so offer it.
As for the
FBI and the head of it Mr. Patrick Fitzgerald, Knock it off! I’m joking yet not
really. Contemporary Americans don’t live in times where witch hunts are legal,
Nazism and McCarthyism exist.
People have
the right to freedom of speech, the right to organize, oppose war because
that’s what this great country of ours was founded on. What a joke to think
that peaceful demonstrators, students and activists should be subpoenaed to
stand before a Grand Jury when their homes were raided.
Who do you
think you are? We do not live in the times of Maoism nor is this Cold War
former U.S.S.R.
Anybody who takes
the rights of the Nation’s citizens for granted is nothing but a bully and a
“fool-of-a-took”.
We do not
live in times of McCarthyism and this is not the film “Brazil”.
All there is
to say as any intelligent taxpaying citizen is that Mr. Patrick Fitzgerald is
taking some serious steps to being close to facing a Grand Jury himself. No
citizen will be bullied and raided in their homes: “I pledge allegiance to the Flag of
the United States of America, and to the Republic for which it stands: one Nation under God, indivisible,
With Liberty and Justice
for all.”
I
pray Indiana prayers for the following anti-war and solidarity activists facing
a Grand Jury: Tracy Molm, Anh Pham, and Sarah Martin along with nine other
activists. I wish you peace, love and support from many people who bravely are
responding favorably on your side. We’ll think of you on January 25, 2011 as
you face a Grand Jury. May you be justly judged, guided and delivered from any
falsity, prejudice and misjudgment. May you be fairly treated as you should be.
“Innocent
until proven guilty” is the saying in these parts.
Peace.
I’ve
got to literally run out and meet the hubby.
Cheers!
Gabriela.
Source
from Wikipedia
McCarthyism is the practice of making accusations of
disloyalty, subversion, or treason without proper regard for evidence. The term
has its origins in the period in the United States known as the Second Red
Scare, lasting roughly from the late 1940s to the late 1950s and characterized
by heightened fears of communist influence on American institutions and
espionage by Soviet agents.
Originally
coined to criticize the anti-communist pursuits of U.S. Senator Joseph
McCarthy, "McCarthyism" soon took on a broader meaning, describing
the excesses of similar efforts. The term is also now used more generally to
describe reckless, unsubstantiated accusations, as well as demagogic attacks on
the character or patriotism of political adversaries.
Maoism, also known as Mao Zedong Thought (mao zedong sixiang 毛泽东思想), is a form of Marxist communist theory,
derived from the teachings of the Chinese political leader Mao Zedong
(1893–1976). Developed during the 1950s and 1960s, it is widely applied as the
political and military guiding ideology in the Communist Party of China (CPC)
from Mao's ascendancy to its leadership until the party was taken over by Deng
Xiaoping, who implemented Deng Xiaoping Theory and Chinese economic reforms in
1978. Nonetheless, although not fully adhered to by the government of the
People's Republic of China anymore due to the reforms, Maoist parties and
groups exist throughout the world, most notably in Peru, India, and Nepal, in
the latter of which, the Maoist party won the elections in 2008.
The Cold
War (Russian: Холо́дная
война́, Kholodnaya voyna, 1947–1991) was the continuing state of
political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition
existing after World War II (1939–1945) between the Communist World – primarily
the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies – and the powers of the
Western world, primarily the United States and its allies.
Although the
primary participants' military force never officially clashed directly, they
expressed the conflict through military coalitions, strategic conventional force
deployments, extensive aid to states deemed vulnerable, proxy wars, espionage,
propaganda, conventional and nuclear arms races, appeals to neutral nations,
rivalry at sports events, and technological competitions such as the Space
Race.
Source from A
Teacher’s Guide to the Holocaust
The years 1927-37 were critical for artists in Germany. In 1927, the National Socialist Society for German Culture was formed. The aim of this organization was to halt the "corruption of art" and inform the people about the relationship between race and art. By 1933, the terms "Jewish," "Degenerate," and "Bolshevik" were in common use to describe almost all modern art.
In 1937, Nazi officials purged German museums of works the Party considered to be degenerate. From the thousands of works removed, 650 were chosen for a special exhibit of Entartete Kunst. The exhibit opened in Munich and then traveled to eleven other cities in Germany and Austria. In each installation, the works were poorly hung and surrounded by graffiti and hand written labels mocking the artists and their creations. Over three million visitors attended making it the first "blockbuster" exhibition.
January 21, 2011
“In the End, we will
remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends.” – Martin Luther King, Jr.
Happy
Friday!
Its quarter
to twelve and we’re on the couch with a David Lynch film.
Many
different aspects of life occurred at a human friendly pace.
I did not
make the time to blog as I would have liked but I did sit and journal for a
complete hour.
The writing
made me happy, clear headed and in the moment.
I fulfilled
many responsibilities that I wished to do before the end of the week.
We’re heading
into a weekend full of relaxation, gentleness and comfort.
It’s the type
of cold in which the difference between life and death may occur. I came in and
out of many establishments today and each time I felt the intensity of this
cold.
I took time
to help out a friend, text, e-mail and respond to many different people and
hold dialogue about future projects, ideas and considerations.
We’re working
on phase one of an animation film that will take us into the next decade -
stop-motion. Need say more? It’s a very slow moving process but we’re not going
any faster than need be. We’ve got another project on the table to animate a
film about a WWII POW based on an individual and his journal entries – a film
we began to storyboard five years ago. We’re beginning to conceptualize a
series of films on parenting styles, immigration and different species of
flowers. We’re working on finishing up our shooting schedule for the year of
our latest feature doco on food, and then we go into full post production.
We’re six months behind schedule and it’s anybody’s guess if we’ll be out of
post production in time to feature a film this year.
We hope that
we will premiere but we’re not under any deadlines.
Since, we can
premiere anywhere in the Western Hemisphere to enter into the world film
circuit we’ve been looking to premiere anywhere from the northern tip of the
North Pole to the very southern tip of Antarctica. Some of the places we’ve
begun to look into are Missouri, Texas, South and North Dakota, Minneapolis,
Iowa, Duluth, Moose Lake, Costa Rica, Panama, Paraguay, Uruguay, Argentina and
Peru.
We’ve got
time and we’re in no hurry.
One of the
prerequisites to the world film circuit is to have the premieres open and free
to any public, so we figure a premiere in a different city every year could be
a great potential for diversity, learning and travel. We’re excited there are
many possibilities and much communication must take place before we produce any
of these concepts and ideas to life.
We’re excited
as any creator, filmmaker and producer ever can be.
Wishing you
an amazing night.
We have big
ideas and dreams with the hopes for development and learning.
We’re excited
just to be doing what we do and with one foot in front of the other.
Cheers!
Gabriela
January 20, 2011
"Nothing in the world is more dangerous
than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity." – Martin Luther King, Jr.
Happy
Thursday!
No time to
blog today.
Most of my
afternoon was wasted.
I was prepared
to write but rather I ran around town, got stuck paying for someone else’s meal
and came home and still could not catch up with my daily responsibilities. The
thirty minutes I had set aside for a late tapas – (afternoon snack) were taken
up by my eating companion who was on the phone the entire thirty minutes. Then
proceeded to ask me repeatedly why I was ready to get up and leave right after
thirty minutes and like any mature adult I had responsibilities. When it came
time to pay the bill then my companion left and was nowhere to be seen.
How should I
have answered that?
Sometimes, no
answers are necessary.
The most
valuable aspect of my life is my time.
Ciao.
Gabriela
January 19, 2011
“Lukewarm acceptance
is more bewildering than outright rejection.” – Marin Luther King, Jr.
Happy
Wednesday!
The days move
quickly.
It’s a cold
day out there…need say more?
As
Minnesotans we’ve hunkered down for the long haul.
We don’t mind
otherwise we wouldn’t choose to live here.
Since jury
duty as a literary exercise I’ve stayed away from magazines, newspapers and
Television news as well as International News simply to experience the
“reports” from other sources, mainly the folks in many different types of local
communities and discussions.
News doesn’t
affect everyone, but - how, people’s interpretation of what’s being reported
does. I stay tuned to the local co-ops, groceries, markets, fisheries,
panederias, carnecerias, tents and shops anywhere I go. People have voices and
they are voicing their needs, wants and frustrations with budget cuts.
Yes, this is
a topic of conversation because it affects people’s way of life, education and
medicine. The average citizen is being squeezed so tight and no one will stand
up to dispute how budgets are made, kept and divided amongst many different
parties.
If the system
in the distribution of wealth is archaic then I suggest a suggestion box. Citizens
could e-mail to suggest new ideas on how we’re going to distribute wealth into
this new century – the government is finally tech savvy enough to implement an
online suggestion box that could display a public forum of suggestions. The top
suggestions from all over the world could be put on the table as an offer to
passing new laws that would prohibit large corporations and oil and medicinal
manufacturers to stand in the way of any citizens’ three meals a day and
shelter.
Nothing
should ever stand in the way of food and shelter in this new century of ours.
Not in-an-age where we have so many resources and technologies available to us.
The structure is crumbling and either we perish with it or we decide to make
changes that are frightening yet exciting to think about. No citizen, ever be
called a “bottom feeder” because frankly the human animal is just too
intelligent for that. Resources are in abundance but the cost of living has not
matched wages for many Americans and so forth on with a realistic struggle of
many.
We’ve
witnessed three centuries of North American struggles, malcontent, racism,
classism, gender and age biases; Why not begin a new century with the citizens
coming up with the ideas and politicians passing new laws in the equal distribution
of wealth starting with the minimum wage to twelve dollars ($12.00 per hour)
raise because that’s the average living cost to any working class citizen yet
most make it on $7.25 per hour beginning July 24,
2009 in Minnesota.
Recently, I
was told by a man that the middle class was anywhere from twenty thousand
($20,000.00) to two hundred thousand ($200,000.00). I was astounded to here
such a wide range. I’ve learned from teachers that many barely make thirty
thousand in some rural areas of the United States.
Teachers
wished they made two-hundred thousand a year, and then the job would prove
rewarding rather than difficult, without resources and over filled classrooms.
What a joke to ask our educators to endure physical and verbal abuse, threats
and violence in the name of education. No, Sir. Who wants to sign up for that?
Just like who signs up to be a soldier? The Patriotic do, because they can see
a long term vision of a world and a life of literacy and thoughtful humans who
will prosper from human advancement, development and maturity.
For those of
you who are outside of the middle class and into the realms of the upper class
status – reportedly two-hundred thousand ($200,000.00) or more per year is
considered upper class - Can you imagine living with the struggles of American
families who live on minimum wage ($7.25) on one or two salaries?
Imagine,
because you can. Imagine your life this way if you are of the upper class? Why
is the middle class being taxed like the upper class when there are budget cuts
made to the middle class citizen, their families and communities? The middle
class and the upper class should never be taxed the same because we speak of
two distinctly different types of survivals. Period.
Imagine, many
children who attend the public school education system and who hope to learn as
much as they can from art, math and science programs but if these programs
don’t exist then we won’t have future writers, stock market experts and
chemists.
The world is
run by local middle class citizens and I would not dismiss their voices if our
government expects to survive over population and wreaking havoc on the
environment. I don’t believe physical education should ever be cut from the
school systems - we are faced with the difficult problem of obesity in our
young. Bring back the arts and art education that is not a luxury that is a
discipline to future leaders.
Where did we
go wrong? Why is the upper class willing to accept tax breaks and incentives
when they know American children starve every single night and day? What will
give? Money is not enough of an incentive to accepting bribes and benefits
while others suffer at the very extend of that. We left Clinton’s
Administration with an erased deficit for a while and then what? Yes, 911 and
here we are a decade later – ten whole years later at war in the Middle East.
Where did we go wrong and more so when will we begin to look to new prospects,
solutions and abilities?
People are
brilliant out on the streets but they’re also shy because most middle class
citizens live quietly and peacefully amongst their own. If any Nation under
“God” is cruel to their citizens and overlooks the needs of its people then
that particular government is choosing to do so. Choosing to overlook, dismiss
and misguide the needs of the people such as National Free Health Care and
National Free Education for all citizens for the entire of their lives is to be
ignorant to those very needs that will only benefit beyond the survival in the
struggle of the human race. We need the human race to get smarter about
distribution of wealth, medicine and education. This can’t be all there is in
store for us? Can it?
People cannot
afford Health Care as it is - not even Government Health Care as it has been
changed. Free National Health Care and Free National Education should be
“Birth-Given-Rights” to the citizens of any Nation. Don’t forget people work
hard, too-hard in America and they have real and true health worries about
their families and loved ones as it is. Americans worry too much as it is about
everything – imagine a mentally healthy society where people are present,
focused and dedicated to their communities. This kind of mental acuteness only
comes with a human friendly pace and a positive attitude about relaxation instead
of seeing Holiday as something of a negative outcome. As Americans we’re not as
classy as the Europeans in the approach to sit back and relax. We’re a new
country so we feel that we must prove ourselves to the rest of the world but
with that we take every aspect of our worker’s souls and we dispense them at
will and over work our civilians and that’s called economical slavery. It’s an
institution that must change for the betterment of people’s health. Period.
If middle class citizens continue to be squeezed
then we won’t have a future. We won’t have anything to set our sights on
because people will be too worried in the struggle to survive and struggle for
basic necessities rarely brings development, production and maturity to any
civilization in the long run. This is how civilizations die off when a
government – any government overlooks the rights of its people. It’s not enough
for the middle class to get by. It never is. It will not do. Every living human
has a right to education and medicine at no cost. Let that be a futuristic
outlook because if you can think it - then it can happen. What are we being taxed for and what are our
soldiers fighting for if not the care of their citizens and their many
freedoms.
Citizens
struggle in their jobs and placement in life. They suffer from frustration,
physiological and mental stress because more often than not their jobs don’t
even pay enough to cover the so-called-benefits employers provide. Something
must change because our citizens are frustrated of being marketed to, sold on
ideas and advertised false hope. People want to believe that the human race
will survive and at this rate the environment is being destroyed. Why won’t the
government take responsibility for its citizens? When did government become a business?
Has government been in business since the beginning of time or is greed more
ramped when corruption rules Nations? This is nothing new - History has taught
us many difficult lessons whether we understand them that's quite another thing
altogether. What will bring change?
America has
lived through many difficulties – horrors, unimaginable to many of us today but
we have in our socio-physics the history of slavery, genocide and encampment of
our citizens. What a history already! We must learn as any difficult lesson
proves to be worth of value.
People are
frustrated as they should be. When budget cuts are made and still citizens
continue to pay high taxes, in the everlasting financial demand that comes with
higher lifestyle costs, education and healthcare. “Who’s looking out for the
little guy?” That’s a question I heard recently while running errands around
and about town. Incredible. People are raising questions. The system will
change, but how?
Civilians are
impacted by the decisions our government makes now. We’re entering a new modern
era. We live in a new age of technology, creativity and intellectual property.
This contemporary era has the capacity to bring the end of many world problems.
An abundance of ideas are out there, search, explore and adventure. Creative,
intelligent and dedicated people from many fields are raising questions, ideas
and thoughts on how to better the future so that the human race survives
itself.
We fight ourselves
as a human race.
Nothing will
get in the way of our survival except us.
We are not
the Industrial Revolution anymore.
We are not
any other revolution.
We are
citizens in the struggle to live.
We live in
this new era and we will bring the human race into a future.
Whether we
survive that’s anyone’s hope that we do.
I have all
the confidence and hope that we will survive because we are not cockroaches or
mice, yet here we stand at the crossroads of evolutionary development once
more. Imagine, because you can. Believe because change is around the corner… It
always is.
Peace.
Ciao.
Gabriela
P.S. The sky
this afternoon was a perfectly bright baby-blue with all the potential to dress
any human in royal garment. If there were such material in such color I
would’ve worn that blue as the daughter of the world.
Okay, so now
I’m getting too poetic.
Next.
January 18, 2011
“Injustice anywhere
is a threat to justice everywhere.” –
Martin Luther King, Jr.
Happy
Tuesday!
May you be
safe, respected and regarded with reason anywhere you go, travel or pass
through on your errands, journeys and paths may you be judged not by the words
of others and their preconceived notions or suffering and pain but by your character.
As travelers
and citizens of the world everyone has a right to non-violence, a right to
think logically and to make sense to communicate to-the-best of our abilities
with reason, fairness and to the best of our knowledge. Anytime, any human violates,
misguides and misjudges a situation creating disorder, harm and pain to the
wellbeing of others that is a human who not only violates a code of conduct but
also a great code of honor to never forget to always conduct, oneself with
regard for others no matter how uncivilized a situation may occur.
People,
civilians everywhere come to the grace of others – those considered “Good
Samaritans” are by law regarded above all others, those who do nothing in a
time of crises. It is a responsibility for certain to volunteer one’s knowledge
and assistance, but also a responsibility that comes with a title and without
blame of all and any responsibility to mistakes if they happen. This is an
example of civility and justice in America. Thank Goodness this law still
applies because for the most part the world is still a safe place for
strangers, travelers and part-time residents who reside throughout the world.
Truly, think of all of the people who travel every-and-each day at anytime and
anyplace in the world. People on bicycles, by foot, car, mass transit, plane,
boat and any other justifiable way of travel. People take that risk and that
freedom to exercise a “Birth-Given-Right” to come freely in and out of
civilizations without any harm to their person, body and spirit.
I’ve met
cruel strangers on my travels. Strangers who had but little heart for the
consideration of others and the manner in which they interacted with their
fellow humans. I’ve met people who give the human race a terrifying name.
People without the ability to hear all matters in point have jumped to
conclusions and wished for something close to witch hunts, Lynching’s and
murder. I’ve met people who’d probably considered scalping another if they
didn’t trust. I’ve met others who’d put a bullet through another’s belly if
they so much as stepped one foot onto private property.
Mistakes get
made.
Severe and
serious mistakes become larger problems for citizens, but sheer and pure random
violence leaves citizens frightened and worried. To create fear in any
community is to commit spiritual-genocide the moment one creates fear in the
minds of others for their wellbeing. No human may resort to that kind of
spiritual violence it is not for any one person or persons to create such
destruction and injustice.
Recently, I
heard of a crime that occurred here in Cromwell, Minnesota.
I’m glad I
was sitting otherwise, that very story would’ve brought me down to my knees.
I was
horrified hearing of such a murder, but more so appalled for the living.
Correction: ALLEGEDLY, a couple – man and woman
committed two murders in Cromwell, Minnesota in the last two weeks. These
murders were not the crimes by Native Teens, but by the hands of a grown
Caucasian and Native Peoples.
ALLEGEDLY,
the crime seemed something of... The murders took place in a trailer home, one
white man was murdered, a husband. The man and woman proceeded to cover up the
man with a blanket and became pre-meditative while they sat around waiting for
the wife of the murdered man to come home. The couple captured the wife and
left her for dead.
In the
account of the story I’ve heard when the woman came home she sensed something
was wrong the moment she proceeded to enter her home so she made one call and went
in through a basement door and that was the last time she was heard from while
alive, she was caught and murdered by this particular man and woman. (Wow. Not
as incredible, but as in I have no words here at this point… what were they
thinking? Have our citizens lost their minds at this time in history? What a
shame. What a tragedy. What a travesty for all cultures of all lands when our
citizens kill their own species for sport. I’ve never seen or heard of one
buffalo killing another buffalo.)
My Gods. I
held my heart and could barely breathe hearing something so tragic and painful.
People,
civilians come in and out of cultures constantly and believe it or not people
do co-exist peacefully but for those times when a human commits arm robbery,
arson, battery, murder and rape, that’s when I’m glad that laws apply because
retribution is not essential ultimately but rather reconciliation. Creating a
balance in the culture through laws is a significant way to keep citizens at
peace and with civility.
What is but
human life if not something living, thinking and developing.
I’m greatly
saddened by the violent behavior of our Native teen brothers in these parts.
Native
Peoples will you not become contributing citizens to this country of ours? I
implore all Native Peoples to consider but this: If you don’t like the system
then why not participate in it and bring change because you can? Will you not
look to alternatives and consider yourselves a part of something rather than
apart? Why must you be so violent and cold in your brutality? Why do you not
think for yourselves and make different decisions? Murder is taught, we are not
born hating, discriminating and evil. We are born and out of that may stem
greatness. I write to all Peoples of America – will you not show us something
great – greater still yet?
Not all the
stories of warriors, great men and women have, yet been written. Your name has
a slot in history. Your name, deeds and contributions for the betterment of the
human race will not go unnoticed even if you’re never acknowledged in this
lifetime. Will you not lead us into greatness? When is it time for any eagle to
soar? Does the eagle not know its place in history and its silent ability to
look throughout the land and know its truth in times of great harvest and in
times of great need. We need you to become leaders of yourselves. We need you
to look into your deepest natures and give the world something that it has
never seen before such as your wisdom, knowledge and timing. A lot of hard work
will be required of you. You will have to prove yourselves ultimately as
contributing citizen adults who can and will co-exist amongst your species, the
human race.
I implore
you, I challenge the Native Peoples of America to show the world the decency,
honesty and honor of all those who’ve come before you in the past seven
generations prior to your birth. Will you not think of your ancestors – those
who lived, learned and did not destroy life for the sport of killing. Every
time, a man or a woman dies by the very hand of a Native Person I shall say a
prayer to my Mayan Gods, because my ancestry knows bloodshed all too well. I’m
one citizen of this world as you are and may we all co-exist and continue the
human race, peacefully, respectfully and with regard for all living things.
We live in
troubling time but no more and no less than any other time in history.
Be not afraid
of this country of ours, I’ve spoken directly with citizens of small
communities. Take back what is rightfully yours under the law and find peace.
Be smart and do not allow for hatred to take over your communities or you will
find yourself in a world of trouble fighting regret, wasted time and energy.
Neither blame, accuse nor judge another unless you would yourself or as your own.
Life is full
of pain and suffering, indubitably.
Buena Noche.
I’m trying to
meet with a friend but I’m an hour and twenty minutes behind schedule today.
It’s 5:14
P.M. wishing you a great evening. The sky was a glorious bright baby blue color
this afternoon.
Ciao.
Gabriela
January 17, 2011
“Every man
must decide whether he will walk in the light of creative altruism or in the
darkness of destructive selfishness.” –
Martin Luther King, Jr.
“Character is
much easier kept than recovered.” -
Thomas Paine
“I am America. I am the
part you won't recognize. But get used to me. Black, confident, cocky; my name,
not yours; my religion, not yours;
my goals, my own; get used
to me.” - Muhammad Ali
“I never had a policy; I have just tried to do
my very best each and every day.” -
Abraham Lincoln
“But there are certain
very practical things American Negro writers can do. And must do. There's a
song that says, "the time ain't long." That song is right. Something
has got to change in America — and change soon. We must help that change to
come.” - Langston Hughes
“Love all, trust a few, do wrong to
none.” - William Shakespeare
“One ever feels his
twoness-an American, a Negro; two souls, two thoughts, two unreconciled
strivings; two warring ideals in one dark body,
whose dogged strength
alone keeps it from being torn asunder.” -
W. E. B. Du Bois
“Character is higher than intellect.” - Ralph Waldo Emerson
Happy Monday.
For those of
you, who had Martin Luther King, Jr. Day off I hope you’ve had a great time
celebrating your many -freedoms, such as all race-intergraded public places,
equal opportunity and the right to live anywhere in this great country of ours.
Hooray to you and your neighbors for being civilized for forty-three years
after the African-American Civil Rights Movement ended.
For those of
you who did not have the day off from work but did manage to celebrate the many
freedoms founded on our great system of justice and pursuit of happiness, I
implore you to take the time to consider anybody’s history and the humanity and
justice served by this great judicial country of ours. People, civilians can
and have always made a change, if not for their children, than for anybody’s
children to continue the human race. Cheers! Cheers to that! That, will do.
My
generation, The X Generation, I grew up in a time of profound music and life
changing lyrics. I’ve always been a great believer of music and the greatest
manifestation of universal understanding. I came to understand political
activism at the tender age of fourteen because of the alternative undertones of
our political and social generational culture at that time.
My generation
was active in creating music videos. I did not rush off to concerts but I kept
interested in music videos wherever anybody had cable in their homes,
newspapers and magazines. I might have gotten a chance to see a great music
video once every six months and that would change me for a whole year. Consumed
by the creativity of how music videos were shot and their many messages, I’d
have writing material to deconstruct because some of the musica I’d grown up
with was profound and there is no other way to put it. Profound. Period.
I took great
courage to step out of my comfort zone and listen to anything from rap to
country, classical, opera, jazz, instrumental, electrica, house, reggae, salsa,
tango, meringue, campasino, underground vs. commercial, nationalistic, and
world musica. I mean, I took great interest but had no idea what any of it meant
as a kid who happened to be English as a Second Language. I didn’t get it at
the time, but I most certainly could sway and dance to any tune worth dancin’
to in my living room with my sister in tow. We danced for hours and listened to
the lyrics. I was fourteen and my sister was seven. The whole world stood
before us in that living room and we wore our flannel shirts and baggy “skater”
clothes to represent that we were outside the norm. We wanted to change the
course of the future in the same manner a great vessel changes course, slowly
and directly.
We understood
at a young brave age that we would step out into the world and we would become
a part of it fully dressed in our character no matter how many people disliked
us for the color of our skin.
I hoped that
my sister would not have some of the same difficulties that I had had as a
teen.
I was
followed around in clothing stores and asked to hang things up or commanded to
bring a smaller size shirt to a woman in a dressing room when it was clear to
me that I did not work there. It was assumed that I should service another and
so I would. I’d run right over and get a shirt but rather than in a smaller
size I would bring in a much larger size. Finally, exhausted of the game after
handing the woman the wrong size three times she finally stepped out of her
dressing room and said to me, “Do you even work here!” “No, no I don’t.” Her
face went the hardest shade of red lipstick I’ve ever seen because she had
assumed a position for me in the world.
Many assumptions
have been made because of my Latina-Indiana approach to the world. I wasn’t
sure what it was all about but I knew one thing for certain that my dada kept
telling me, “Don’t worry what others are thinking about you because more often
than not, others are mainly concerned with how others think about them.”
His words had
struck me like an arrow through the heart and I understood that I was free to
be a lady – a woman, like any other citizen of the world. I would carry forth
and never turn my back on justice, political meaning and social activism even
if it was only a practice in my own home… but that’s what meant, something –
anything, to overcome the racism of my youth. How could I not be political?
Down to what I purchased, regarding politics and race? Please. How could I not
consider the whole world around me while looking out from behind large dark
brown eyes that were judged and sometimes badly treated?
I endured, as
I endure anything that must be endured like a grown and mature woman.
Racism has
taught me that.
I live by the
common sense and good will of my character and my actions, everything else is
simply a slice of the American Apple Pie. I get to live. I get to let others
live. Live and let live. I have a motto and that’s it. Any man or woman has the
right to freedoms due to their character, person and deeds. Period. Everything
else is human made. The rules don’t apply to hatred, disobedience and ignorance
out of sheer comfort and laziness to break down stereotypes and prejudices.
I wanted to
believe that I, too, could make a change no matter how small. I wanted to be a
participant in the civility of being a citizen and being judged by my actions
and by my character not by other’s ideals, notions and prejudices of how I
should act, behave and be. Change, occurs when we begin to shed our
preconceived notions, attitudes and prejudices towards others. Just when we
assume that we know everything there is to know then something naturally occurs
and humbles us because ignorance is not bliss, it’s tragic.
And, if I had
not had musica to help me make it through those years where my English was more
than sufficient but my accent got in the way and I felt embarrassed so I would
try to sound as much as I could like a textbook. I stripped myself of all
culture except this: culture of consideration, common sense, courtesy and good
manners as well as decency for my neighbors, my community, friends, family and
strangers, other civilians and citizens of the world I believe everyone has the
right to such rights.
Like any open
minded individual and a bi-product of my generation I witnessed the “L.A.
Riots” on the Tele, “Rodney King Beatings”, “O.J. Simpson’s Trial” and hardcore
rap that was making its way across from the West Coast through the Mid-West to
the East Coast and back again from 1990-1996 and then I dropped off the planet
and went twelve years without Television.
I won’t
forget the musica of my youth. If anything it gave me hope to hope for a better
future. A future with less racism, more activism, National pride and equal
opportunity for all. I believe in these principals because I want them to be
around when my children are in their early thirties as I am now. I’m glad to be
alive in this modern era. I’m glad to be a witness to this magnificent history
we’re making now and to be a free woman of color of the world.
I believe in
Martin Luther King, Jr. and his dream.
I believe
because he believed it for his children’s sake.
Wishing you
an amazing night.
The word
“amazing” I reserve for when I have not another word to describe the intensity
and grandiosity of change.
Peace.
Gabriela
Source
from Wikipedia:
The African-American Civil Rights Movement
(1955–1968) refers to the movements in the United States aimed at outlawing
racial discrimination against African Americans and restoring voting rights in
Southern states. This article covers the phase of the movement between 1954 and
1968, particularly in the South. By 1966, the emergence of the Black Power
Movement, which lasted roughly from 1966 to 1975, enlarged the aims of the
Civil Rights Movement to include racial dignity, economic and political
self-sufficiency, and freedom from oppression by white Americans.
January 14, 2011
“In human intercourse the
tragedy begins, not when there is misunderstanding about words,
but when silence is not
understood.” - Henry David Thoreau
Happy Friday!
It’s been a
long day.
I’m wishing
you a happy night with your loved ones, friends and familia.
We’ve settled
into a night of Brit Dramas, movies and discussion about our days.
I feel like I
haven’t seen the hubby all week.
The hubby and
I are happy to be back together on the couch doing absolutely not a thing.
I’m
exhausted.
This week
took more effort, communication and understanding even when I was being judged
for not being
understanding enough, but I think I’m reasonable and keep an open mind
especially when I challenge,
question and
oppose the approach of anything I don’t agree with otherwise I become
completely apathetic if I don’t care.
I have that
right in any relationship, friendship and interaction to question anything
especially an approach to professionalism.
I have the
right to question, challenge and oppose and so does anybody else.
The last
thing an open minded person is afraid of is misunderstanding.
Anyway, I
regress.
More blogs
for later… Many more blogs to come about this week…
I didn’t make
much time to blog this week, but I did take an hour a day and wrote down
dictation about life in general.
I’m wishing you
an amazing weekend.
I’m so glad
to be home and to be relaxing.
It’s close to
midnight and we are ready to close our doors to the world for the next two
days.
Ciao.
Gabriela
January 13, 2011
“Justice
consists not in being neutral between right and wrong, but in finding out the
right and upholding it, wherever found, against the wrong.” - Theodore Roosevelt
Happy
Thursday!
It’s been a
long day.
Many
responsibilities were met at a slow and consistent pace, with focus and
intention.
We’re not
making films for the muse of it but for the work of it, storytelling and
teaching of it.
Although,
I’ve been contemplating on shelving our latest film…being that we’re six months
behind schedule.
We make films
because they’re important and they don’t come cheap but we make them anyway.
We’re in the
business of
making one feature a year.
I’m looking
forward to my work as a producer, filmmaker and storyteller.
We’re making
headway – little by little.
Another personal
goal is to write another screenplay this coming year. I wrote two fiction
screenplays last year
and they are
no good so I’m continuing to better myself as a writer.
Nothing more
nothing less.
I’ll take an
hour here or there when I’m not working and I’ll play with imaginative
screenplay ideas.
I do it more
as an exercise than to get the screenplays made into films.
I’m building
literary muscle if you will.
Jury duty is
over and I’m so grateful for the experience.
It’s eleven
thirty at night and we’re watching “Downton Abbey”.
Wishing you
everything you dream for and more.
I took ten
minutes to look through social media today at noon and the structure and layout
has changed yet once again.
Funny thing
on-line social media. I love looking through people’s fabulous lives and their
pictures of recipes, dogs, kids and more life.
Cheers to
you!
Gabriela
January 12, 2011
“Great men in judicial places will never want
authority” – Proverb Quotes
“The judicial system is the most expensive
machine ever invented for finding out what happened and what to do about it.” -
Irving R. Kaufman
Happy
Wednesday!
It’s been a
long day while fulfilling jury duty.
I’ve never experienced
our judicial system so close and in action as I did today.
I’m exhausted
in ways I haven’t ever been in years.
I’m wishing
you an amazing, cozy and wonderful January night.
I look
forward to getting back on schedule after jury duty is over and continuing our
work.
I’m mentally
exhausted…
More next
week on the many notes I’ve made this week about life in general.
Salud.
Cheers to
your health.
Cheers!
Cheers to
you!
Cheers to us!
Ciao.
Gabriela
January 11, 2011
“There is hardly a
political question in the United States which does not sooner or later turn
into a judicial one.” - Alexis de Tocqueville
Happy
Tuesday!
It’s been a
long day.
Jury duty…
I look
forward to discussing the process of being on jury duty once I’m done.
I’m wishing you
an amazing Wednesday tomorrow.
The days are
passing by quickly.
I’m taking
them one day at a time.
Gabriela
January 10, 2011
"It is not only his
[the juror's] right, but his duty . . . to find the verdict according to his
own best understanding, judgment, and conscience, though in direct opposition
to the direction of the court." –
John Adams
Happy Monday!
It’s been a
long day.
Jury duty…
I’m wishing
you an amazing week ahead with much responsibilities, happiness and common
experiences.
Good night.
Gabriela
January 7, 2011
“We keep
moving forward, opening new doors, and doing new things, because we're curious
and curiosity keeps leading us down new paths.” – Walt Disney
“All the
adversity I've had in my life, all my troubles and obstacles, have strengthened
me... You may not realize it when it happens, but a kick in the teeth may be
the best thing in the world for you.” –
Walt Disney
Happy Friday!
We’re on the
homestretch towards a long two days of relaxation, tranquillo and calmness.
I’m hoping
your week was full of wonder, questions, curiosity and learning.
As I
travelled throughout the city in the last week I didn’t assume anything about
people, because frankly who am I to know what others have lived through and
understand the world to be? I simply watched people’s actions, civility and
interactions and that spoke more about them than most words uttered.
Everywhere we
go we meet nice, incredible people. The world is this way. Truly. The world is
full of hard-working people hoping to put food on their tables and a roof over
their heads while everything else is simply homemade apple pie. For those who
are difficult to get along with and have power issues and pushiness embedded
into their cultural or gender systems, well, here’s a kiss blown out to you
across the atmosphere. Life is far more in depth than our intrinsic ego-powered
struggles so when we walk out our door in the morning and go and face a
civilized public we do have responsibilities and civilities that must be
maintained in any civilization. I wish you the same…
I have two
personal goals set aside for the next two months. I’ve got a sewing machine
that’s been sitting out for almost two full winters now. I’m still trying to
make sense of the silly thing. I learned how to turn on the sewing machine but
I’m having troubles with feeding the thread through the eye of a mechanical
needle. I’ve watched others do this process, they’ve given me auditory
instructions and frankly I just need to make the time to get a manual or look
at an instructional video several times until I make a connection and then I’ll
never look back again. This process of a sewing machine and thread and needle
is something that I’m stubborn to learn – not because I don’t want to but
because it’s confusing, too many parts and I just need to learn this one part
for now.
I sow by
hand. I have for twenty seven years. Sometimes, I have great ideas and other
times I have awful design and construction ideas. I play. What’s a woman to do?
I’d love to make clothes, ultimately – someday that are tailored to me. I’d
like to use incredible materials and lines to shape clothing that could fit
like a glove. For now, I’m content learning the sewing machine. Someday, that’s
a lovely goal for me. I love designer clothes that I don’t buy but frankly
there is nothing like, tailored-clothes that fit you to perfection.
Two, my
reading list is well, juicy.
Oh, gods, I
love to read. I used to read three novels a week. I used to have a collection
of a thousand mind provoking books. I read all of them at least once. Seven
years ago I gave all of the books away. No, I did not sell the books.
I was
considering a move back to the East Coast and I decided that I did not want to
carry the books with me any longer. If you’ve ever moved across country by
plane several times, or car or any other transport than you know that stuff
weighs even if you ship it and it tends to need to be carried from one flight
of stairs to another. So, I let them all go to bookstores in my hometown. I
have this habit of writing my name inside my books, so there are one thousands
little books out there floating around in the universe and hopefully someone
will see the value in them that I did.
Before I left
as a young adult I burned ten boxes of journals with a close friend, we shared
a cheap bottle of white wine and we hauled boxes one December night down to a
beach and set a most tremendous and glorious bonfire.
We laughed
and read through some of the silliest things ever written. Oh, we came short of
swimming in the ice and stopped cold in our tracks and went home. We hugged
each other under a yellow street lamp against the backdrop of a warm cloudy
night and we knew that nothing would ever be the same again because we
understood that what we had lived through three hellish years of poverty had
licked us good, but we had also survived and nothing would ever get in the way
of life again. If he didn’t know it then I did, but by his touch and mine he
understood that it was the end of a creative era in our hometown for us. We
were going to get out as adults in our late twenties before it consumed us and
we lost our way inside other people’s dreams of success, drama and
self-promotion.
Anyway, I
regress. The books. I can’t wait to be enlightened. I don’t read the way I used
to anymore, but I’ll pick up free reading material everywhere I go. The market,
galleries, museums, rock shows, bars, theaters, restaurants – anywhere. I read
whatever appears to be local and accessible wherever I am even if it’s in
Korean, Russian and Portuguese. I like free local reading material because it
helps me understand where culture is at in the hands of the people. Hell, I’ll
read anything at least once from front to back. I take free reading materials
home and pile them up on my desk until I make time at the end of the week to go
through everything. It’s fun to me. It gives me quite a bit of thinking
material. I found forty new “Zines” this week. I can’t wait to read through
forty hardcore anarchist ideas and poetry.
I’m simply
throwing out random thoughts.
I’ll continue
with “So Dear to My Heart.” I’m not doing this film any justice there are just
too many parts to cover but I’ll continue to give it the good old try.
I’m wishing
you safe, lovely, kind and considerate lives this weekend.
We’re excited
to “chillax”.
Tonight, I’m
taking my butt dancing in boots and not in stilts.
I tried on a
pair of stilettos for the first time ever in my life this week.
I felt
powerful.
Powerful.
Incredible
and definitely a woman.
I look forward
to red lipstick, comfortable clothes and gear for this cold weather. You will
not catch this woman in a short skirt, tank-top and purse running around the
club scene in the middle of winter. No, Sir! This is Minnesota and the women
here are strong and lovely and also smart about how to dress in such cold
conditions. It’s the difference between life and death sometimes.
I’m wishing
you everything you wish for and more.
I hope that
you don’t make any assumptions about the lives of others. You never know what
people go through.
I can’t wait
to sweat out a long week of long hours and hard work and sleep in really late
tomorrow with the hubby.
Cheers!
Cheers to
you!
Cheers to us!
Ciao.
Salud.
I’ve got to
run…I’m meeting friends. Wow the day flew by – it’s already five at night.
Gabriela
January 6, 2011
“I do not
like to repeat successes, I like to go on to other things.” – Walt Disney
“I have been
up against tough competition all my life. I wouldn't know how to get along
without it.” – Walt Disney
Happy Thursday!
It’s been a
fast and furious week at a slow pace…
Much is
happening…
Part II:
“So Dear to My Heart”
“So Dear to My Heart” a 1948 feature film by Walt Disney concentrates
on the daily adventures of Tildy and Jeremiah. Tildy and Jeremiah are two
children who aside from all of the freedoms and responsibilities of growing up
in rural America at the turn of the last century are surrounded by the innate
significance of their environment, a swamp. The greatest aspect of their
relationship is sincere care and trust between the two cousins.
Tildy is not only “girly”, soft spoken, kind and generous, but also
truly curious and lovely in her ponytails with the intelligence and know-how of
when to and how to travel through the swamps of Indiana with the help of
Jeremiah. Jeremiah is a character who looks out for the best interest of his
younger cousin but also argues with some of her sentiments, mistakes and ideals
about the world. In other words, Jeremiah’s character is the portrayal of an
adventurous and open minded child but also a dedicated one to those who are
significantly important to him.
The story ultimately unfolds into the last peak of four major plot
points (there are others minor subplots but the main points carry the story
forward) and the last one deals with Jeremiah given permission by Granny to go
to the Pike County Fair and enter his sheep into a contest.
Jeremiah does not win the blue ribbon for best sheep rather he wins a
Special Award of Merit not granted to anyone else in four years at the Pike
County Fair.
The top judge awards Jeremiah with a purple ribbon and the judge says
in front of a crowd just as Jeremiah is about to walk out of the ring, “Just a
moment, son. It’s a fine lamb you’ve got there. I want to compliment you on it.
It’s fine a greater wool as I’ve ever come across. The only trouble it’s a…
It’s black. There ain’t much market for black wool. I’d put your lamb in a
class by itself.” The crowd laughs. “I’m not trying to be funny folks. This
lamb is the class by himself. And while he has no pedigree it just goes to show
what extra special care will do when raising a fine life stock. It’s what you
do with what you got that counts. This little lamb is a champion in every sense
of the word.”
The Pike County Fair’s band explodes into an uplifting musical score
and our protagonist finally accomplishes those goals which he set out from the
beginning to raise a winner lamb and Jeremiah does. Jeremiah and his family are
greeted by the town’s people at the rail station and Grundy’s Mercantile Store.
The closing scene is of the town’s folk going to Grundy’s for a celebration, a
musical track syncs into a pep song and the dogs enter frame-left fade to
Jeremiah adding his purple ribbon to a scrapbook, fade to a wide-shot which tracks
backwards away from the scrapbook to two closing credits, fade to black, The
End.
-----------
--------------
-------------
I’m in love with “So Dear to My Heart” for so many significantly
obvious reasons but mainly with the struggles our main character faces,
addresses and confronts. I love stories of those protagonists who can harness
and channel a strong will and much creative energy into something tangible and
worth fighting for even when others find it silly to even consider entering a
black sheep into a lamb contest at the Pike County Fair. I was fascinated with
all the elements of “mice-en-scene” from beginning to end. I could’ve studied
the intro credits for about an hour alone. I enjoyed seeing stills of quilts
used for backdrops over credits.
For me, aside from all of the filmic structures I love that this was
Walt Disney’s favorite film. He fought for the Christian content and moral
fables to be intertwined with music, animation and real time lessons of this
little boy’s main character’s obstacles and challenges.
As a producer of indie films I can only begin to try to understand the
content struggles which Walt Disney Studios must’ve had to overcome in a world of
so much religious content to choose from, thoughts and ideas. I like that
Disney himself green lit such religious content for the preservation of his
“Black Sheep” tale. He would not have it any other way and found it essential
that the religious overtones would not be eliminated nor changed for the
development of the storyline and it’s moral lessons.
I was fascinated to watch the transition of Jeremiah going from blaming
Tildy for letting his sheep get lost one stormy night to walking proud and
sincere out of the ring with his reward of something greater than greatness for
merit – in other words for trying to do well by the sheep.
Not only was Granny proud of Jeremiah, all his hard work and his
efforts but also his recognition that all things of value are undertaken with a
great deal of consideration, love, want and need for their survival and not for
recognition, greed or pride.
I’ll pick this up again…
I must go onto other responsibilities in my day.
My day is far from over yet but I’m on the homestretch now that it’s
seven at night.
Wishing you an amazing cold and dark January night.
Peace.
May you be blessed where ever you are and wherever you go…
I’ve got to run…
Gabriela
P.S. Some random thoughts: {The
hubby bought a desk calendar and I’m set for the year – I’ll make it a point to
get the date right, with the exception of taking long camping trips and getting
lost in the beauty and time of nature. A personal goal is to drive through the
South of the United States this year. I may still yet get out and see the
buffalo while winter camping through any rugged element and environment. I got
boot-cleats for the ice and I’ve got rugged cooking and sleeping gear to hold
up through these temperatures. I dictate time by the sunrises and sunsets,
everything else is ________.
I’m back on
track with the date because frankly dates, titles of books, places and time
seem quite arbitrary to me while in post production, sometimes I have to look
up the date as much as ten times a day if I’m writing something official or
dating food especially in the dark days of winter against the backdrop of
bitter cold. Once we start creating the rolling credits then I’ll really need
to know the dates on that phase of post.
Although,
(numbers are quite essential and so are titles of books, time and places) I
find that life is full of stories and inside those stories we begin to get lost
through the timing and rhythm of numbers and how they get applied to the
significance of life. Otherwise, numbers on-their-own stand on their own, apart
from the complex weave of an entire rug. I’m not a mathematician by any means
but I can use math to my benefit and safety. One of the main reasons as to why
calculated risks are as such is because well, truly, numbers can dictate the
outcome of any story. I’m in love with storytelling but much more so with the
poetry of mathematics, social physics and psychology especially cognitive
thinking and behavior modification. I’m not an expert in any of these fields
nor am I striving to be one but I do take them into daily consideration.
Furthermore, I can and do decipher intellectually through any of these concepts
whether I agree with their specific forms, structures and processes is quite
another matter and another blog for another day.
I’ve got about
ten books on my desk since September 2010 that I’d like to get through in the
next four months. Along with titles of books strangers have recommended on the
journey. I’ve written them down in my journals and will go through 2010
journals to take down these titles and create into a list for 2011. Those are
just little things that help get the year going with organization, structure
and anything else that comes along the way…}
January 5, 2011
“If you can dream it, you can
do it. Always remember that this whole thing was started with a dream and a
mouse.” - Walt Disney
“Crowded
classrooms and half-day sessions are a tragic waste of our greatest national
resource - the minds of our children.” - Walt Disney
The days have
been long already this week and I’m going at a slow pace with great nutrition,
H2O and some hard rest…
I meant to
get back to Walt Disney’s production of “So Dear to My Heart” 1948, but frankly
I ran out of time yesterday. The day blended into a long night and my body
ached for sleep, nutrition and rest so I went at an extremely slow Tortuga pace
while burning the midnight oil.
So, with that
said…
What’s an
adult to do but begin someplace?
(From Memory
what comes to mind about this particular production “So Dear to My Heart” will
be a bias perspective but I’ll try to deconstruct the film positively on the
subject matter as well as some minor points.)
Let us begin
someplace…
------------ ------------ ------------
Part I:
“So Dear to My Heart”
Source from
Wikipedia: Plot for the feature film “So Dear to My Heart”.
Set in early 20th century Indiana (in 1903), So Dear to My Heart tells the tale of Jeremiah Kincaid (Bobby Driscoll) and his quest to raise his 'champion' lamb, Danny (named for the famed race horse, Dan Patch, who is also portrayed in the film). Jeremiah's dream of showing Danny at the Pike County Fair must overcome the obstinate objections of his loving, yet strict, grandmother Granny (Beulah Bondi). Jeremiah's confidant, Uncle Hiram (Burl Ives), is the boy's steady ally.
“So Dear to
My Heart” is a feature film produced by Walt Disney and premiered in Chicago on
November 29th, 1948 a story by Sterling North is a film that illustrates
many aspects of animation technology of its time, religious (prominently
Christian) subject matter with old folklore of “The Black Sheep” tales braided
into the storyline.
The film “So
Dear to My Heart” depicts the main character “Jeremiah ‘Jerry’ Kincaid” as a
ten year old boy who happens to live on a farm in rural America at the turn of
the last century along with his family.
The
supporting characters are by name “Granny Kincaid”, “Uncle Hiram Douglas”, “General
Jackson” is the family’s farm mule, “Danny” (literally the family’s barn animal
a twin lamb who happens to be born with a black coat and gets rejected by its
mother after birth), and finally but not least his younger cousin “Tildy” and
his human companion through swamp excursions looking for honey to sell Mr.
Grundy at Grundy’s Mercantile Store to make enough money (eventually as the
storyline unfolds) to take the whole family to the “Pike County Fair” a few
towns over by train to compete in a sheep contest.
“So Dear to
My Heart” begins with an introduction of a wide-shot of an ornate forgotten
scrapbook in an attic of an old house and the narrator sets the tone to the
wisdom of the tale, “The greatest wealth a man may acquire is the wisdom he gains
from living. Sometimes, out of the small beginnings come the forces that shape
our whole life.”
In a
transitional medium-wide shot a page of the scrapbook turns over into an
animation sequence and the camera slowly trolleys forward into a short animated
montage set against the backdrop of the main score of the film which sets an
endearing sentiment of the coming-and-going of the seasons portrayed in
timeless ornate flowers and Victorian looking cutouts and distinctly hand-drawn
animations.
“I can still
see the old Kincaid homestead…” The narrator brings us back to his story with a
first person approach looking back on his boyhood life with a medium-wide shot
of a fence and a cow standing in a pasture in front of a barn. “Just the way it
was then with split rail fence, a red barn…” "...Where I used to do my
dreaming.”
The film
develops into a series of scenes that go back-and-forth between real time and
animation. Hilarity ensues when “Danny” the black sheep gets himself into a
heap of trouble by going through four screen doors, running through Granny’s
vegetable garden and breaking her rocking chair. Granny steps in at this time
and decides that the lamb must be on a trial basis. Jeremiah makes up his mind
that he will enter the sheep contest at the Pike County Fair and win the blue
ribbon along with his black sheep and its black coat even if his contemporaries
and town’s children tease him a bit.
Ultimately,
“Danny” gets lost one stormy night and Jeremiah spends most of it looking for
his lost companion out in the swamp. Granny, sick with worry goes and finds
Jeremiah shivering and cold in the rain. That night as Jeremiah is about to
fall asleep Granny comes into his loft and delivers the following lines to
Jeremiah. “Oh, this is all my fault. I’ve seen it coming. I’ve seen it coming
all along. You’ve turned your heart away from the things I’ve taught you ever
since you were a little baby. No, Jeremiah. You can’t do this. It’s one thing
blaming poor little Tildy for letting your lamb get away when all she was
trying to do was to help you to feed him, and it’s one thing blamin’ me, but
it’s another thing when you start blamin’ your maker!”.
Because I’m
so exhausted I’d like to pick this up tomorrow.
Wishing you
an amazing night…It’s close to ten and we’re ready to fall into comfort,
relaxation and tranquillo.
Gabriela
P.S. I
Volunteered to cook a dish at an organic food share today with their staff. I
tasted the most amazing Squash-vegan and Tomato Bisque. Oh, gods it was
incredible food. I made rice with cut-up tomato and Mate tea. It was that
simple for me but I made it well and dunked the rice in tortilla and the bisque
to make it saucier instead of dry. It took me forty minutes to cook four cups
of rice. I’ll be cooking on Wednesdays at noon for the next few weeks possibly
even months. I’m excited to be volunteering again and to be learning to cook
more vegan dishes.
January 4, 2011
“It does not matter how slowly you go
as long as you do not stop.” – Confucius
“In the long run, we
shape our lives, and we shape ourselves. The process never ends until we die.
And the choices we make are ultimately our own responsibility.” - Eleanor Roosevelt
A New Year!
It’s Tuesday,
January 4th, 2011!
(Okay, I’m
still mentally on Holiday – the days are moving by quickly).
I’m getting a
desk calendar today…
Wow, the year
started out with a bang and here we go on a roller coaster ride.
I look
forward to the adventures, growth, open mindedness, understanding and civility.
“May the peace
be with you.” Said a Lutheran Minister in a Northern, Minnesota church.
“And also
with you…” Answered a small congregation Christmas Eve.
I’d like to
deconstruct a film produced by Walt Disney titled “So Dear to My Heart” 1948.
I’ll try to
come back to it later on today…I’ve got many responsibilities to meet before
the day is out.
Cheers!
Wishing you a
crisp, clean, clear and windless cold January morning. It was cold out there
around seven
and the light
was a beautiful baby blue and orange.
Gabriela
January 3, 2011
“We never really grow up, we only learn how to
act in public.” - Bryan White
A New Year!
It’s 2011 and
I’ve got to get the date right on the blog…
So much
happened in 2010 and we’re looking forward to what’s ahead.
Happy Monday!
The day was
furious and fast.
So many
things happened.
It’s close to
midnight now and well, we’re starting to get ready for bed and winding down
with a little Tele. I just saw my first two episodes of “The Partridge Family”
tonight.
I’m looking forward
to continuing our work, meeting new personal goals and being inspired in a
brand New Year. We eased ourselves into today with Fair Trade Organic coffee
and oatmeal for breakfast but eventually we hit the ground running once we left
the house and stepped outside into a Brave New World.
It was the
first Monday of 2011 and people were out and about running errands, going back
to work and school and we went along with the flow of the world. It was nice to
be out amongst people. For the Holidays we holed up and did not leave our home
unless we had to go someplace, but not even then did we try to make an effort
to go outside unless necessary. We entertained one of our closest friends for
New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Night. It was a blast! We watched the ball drop
on Tele and drank, ate and were merry!
I have some
thank you letters I look forward to writing to the elders in our family for
some of the very wonderful gifts we received. Amongst the adults in our familia
we don’t do too many gifts but the few gifts we did receive were nothing but
astonishing and quite thoughtful. We had a blast for the Holidays. We loved
giving as much as we received… It’s all part of the fun of gifting.
In 2010 we
had four family members retire and enter the world of elders. I look forward to
seeing these four individuals slow down, enjoy themselves, continue old hobbies
and pick up new ones, along with other interests and outlooks. We’ve dealt with
health concerns and deaths in our familia in the last year. We lost some elders
along the journey of 2010 and we pray for their lives, deaths and kindness. We
shall never forget the elders of our past. I’m honored to have met and have
held such intimate relationships with my adopted Grandparents.
I finally
gave in and bought an all vegan, organic tube of bright red lipstick. Get this:
It cost me a whopping seventeen dollars at the local Co-Op. No, I’m not
complaining about the price. I made the conscientious choice to make such a
purchase. For those of you who are makeup experts this may not seem like much
money for a nice cosmetic product, but truly this is the most I’ve ever paid
for a single tube of lipstick and if it will truly make a difference in the
world then more power to it. Plus, lipstick is the only makeup I ever wear, if
I’m going to wear makeup at all.
I bought Mate
Tea, hemp vegan lip balm (my hubby is terrified that I’m going to turn into a
“reefer addict” J -
mind you, I’m wearing the stuff not smoking it being that it’s lip-balm) and I
also bought organic platanos. That was a very intimate yet small portion of my
day but also significant because I’ve been thinking of switching over to these
organic / vegan / hemp products for about a year.
Here it is to
a brand new year with new personal goals. Cheers!
I learned to
make Monkey Bread and caramel sauce from memory. I just recently had Monkey
Bread at my dear sister-in-law’s at Christmas brunch. I had never had Monkey
Bread before in my life and it changed my life. So, from memory I made it for
First Day brunch and it was a hit! The caramel sauce took no time to melt in
low heat in a sauce pan with olive butter, a little nutmeg and cinnamon. My
mouth watered as I ate this new favorite food.
Next week I
have jury duty and I have never done that in my life. I’m mentally preparing
for it, even though I don’t know what to expect.
All is well.
Many thoughts
floating around as always. Many questions as well.
I’ve written
a lot in my chicken scratch journals, and I look forward to deciphering them
for blog ideas of the future.
I wish you a
beautiful night with amazing sleep, happiness and kindness.
We feel truly
blessed.
We hope you
are as well.
Cheers!
Gabriela
P.S. More
blog tomorrow when it’s earlier and I’m not so tired. Buena Noche.