The Midnight Rider

New hope

The Midnight Rider

Scott Brown

So I’m a bit heart broken. The great state of Massachusetts has elected Scott Brown to be their senator. Before saying any more I think that it should be noted that I am conservatively liberal and extremely bias, basically I don’t trust republicans (sorry its a prejudice I know but I have been scared by history). So the news that the great “liberal lion’s” senate seat was to be occupied with an (R) fills me with sadness. BUT! before you write me off as totally emotionally invested in my political beliefs (not that I actually think that’s a bad thing), I have just read a very brief over view of this new Brown guy in the Seattle Times. It suppress me to say this but he doesn’t seem to be that bad of a guy. Now I will admit that I do not have a T.V. (that I can actually watch) so I don’t know anything more about him than what I read today (I am ashamed to say). I have done a bit of research on his political positions though via wikipedia.

His fiscal stance is largely republican (anti tax)

Health care is interesting he voted for the Massachusetts Health Care over hall and is largely in favor of it being a sate issue   (don’t love this but he is in favor of his own states so there is hope)

Foreign policy he was all about sending more troops to Afghanistan and is pro “enhanced techniques” (torture)        (not so cool)

Energy looks like he’s down with solar, and wind power (woo hoo!) but he also is in favor of nuclear and off shore drilling (booo!)

Marriage he kind of doesn’t have a stance he is ok with MA’s allowance of same sex marriage and things it should be up to the states ( honestly that ok as long as he isn’t totally opposed there is hope)

Abortion (this is the best) he has no interest in over turning Roe v Wade (sweet! finally a republican who isn’t a drown but thinks out side the brain trust). He is anti partial birth abortions, but is in favor of parental consent for minors, and voted for a bill that would have hospitals provide contraceptives to rape victims, but did say that if the hospital was religiously agenst it he didn’t think they should be forced. Oh and doesn’t think that abortion should be the end all say all for supreme court justices….. (i’m actually impressed at this).

All in all I am saddened at the loss of such a long standing Democrat seat now being held by an (R) but as of today I’m going to try and lean into bipartisanship and extend a position of hope that maybe he will do the same.

“Let It Be”

So “Let It Be” by the Beatles is arguably my favorite song, arguably only because its so hard to have one favorite. It is a really musically simple song, a very basic chord progression, and basic major minor chords, nothing fancy or complicated, and I think that’s part of its draw. Paul’s opening chord holds weight it instantly plays on your emotions and you know your in for something powerful. It’s a slow song and yet it moves forward pulling you deeper into the song. Then there are the lyrics.

When I find my self in times of trouble

Mother Marry comes to me

Speaking words of wisdom

Let it be

And when the broken people living in the wold agree

there will be an answer

Let it be

And when the night is cloudy

There is still a light that shines on me

Shine until tomorrow

Let it be

Seriously some of the best lyrics, they read like poetry.

Truetrition Facts!!!

Check out this blog its a guy who is a Food and Nutrition major at Appellation State University and is trying to help turn our miss guided diets around. Great stuff!

http://www.trutritionfacts.com/

My Thanksgiving

This is my first Thanksgiving away from home, and being so as with all sentimental things you are hurled back threw a sea of memories of what Thanksgiving means, and what it “should be”. I woke up this Thanksgiving morning and looked out at the world of the North West, my new home. Largely it looks the same as Novembers at home, scraggly tree’s, cool temps, and rain, but then I started to think about what I was missing, iconic images of fall and Thanksgiving and a kick off to the holiday season.

Fist thing I missed was the parade, seeing as we are poor, or selectively so (we spend our money on other things) we don’t have a T.V. antenna so I couldn’t watch the Macy’s day parade. Ever since I can remember on Thanksgiving I would roll out of bed at around 10, throw on some PJ’s (I sleep in boxers), and stagger up stairs, where mom and dad are making coffee and preparing to cook the feast, I lay on the couch for the next hour and watch famous people lip sync their songs on the backs of odd floats designed to look like the sets of kid’s T.V. shows. Odd yes but iconic none the less. So this morning I attempted to watch it online, but seeing as we are so technologically advanced no one was streaming their coverage of the parade live, so I didn’t get to see it.

The next thing was my old man’s turkey’s. Dad likes to experiment with food, and surprisingly he whips up some pretty good stuff, so on turkey day he always gets this wild crazed “gonna conquer the west” look in his eyes and announces some new recipe, or idea he’s doing for Thanksgiving this year. This always sent me into a terror because I’m sentimental and you don’t screw with what is tried, true, and good, but he did and it would work. For a few years now my old man has been cooking us a smoked turkey that I possibly would kill some one I didn’t like for. Its good. So good in fact that we usually cooked two birds because one is never enough.

Then there’ s the stuffing. I am a stuff alcoholic I can admit this freely. You don’t screw with my stuffing. Mom makes it the best, cause she’s mom and knows how to do it. I know every one thinks they can, sorry your wrong, you cant, its mom and mom alone so please stop trying. Many have tried (including my father) they make good stuff sure, but it can all go to hell cause its not right. Mom’s is its one of the magical things that happens when you have kids, you can make damn good stuffing.

So then the next thing that will happen at home is the fam will come over. Now my family is fairly close, but we’re small, like ten people small, and we don’t see each other much. So when the grandparents come over its usually crazy. One because our tiny house is pushed to about 10 above its holding limit, drinking starts at three, and falling asleep by five. The rest is eating loud talking and hilarity. I do love these moments its the way its so pose to be, I think its been going on since the dawn of man.

The last is every one staggering out of the house to drive home (when they shouldn’t) the house a disaster, finishing off the bottles of wine, or beer, maybe some coffee, and whats left of mom’s pumpkin pie (again mom’s = best) and then sleep, with the full expectation of hearing Christmas music where ever you go the next day, and almost being sick of it on Christmas it’s self.

My Mug

I want a coffee mug, not just any coffee mug either I want my coffee mug. It would be the perfect size, just big enough that I could wrap my hands around it so they could siphon warmth from it, yet small enough still that my coffee wouldn’t cool off because of its immense girth. I like clay mugs. Mom use to make pottery dishes when I was a kid, so we always had these very uniquely shaped, hand crafted mugs at the house that I loved. The glaze was very think so it felt almost like cool porcelain against your skin when you touched it, the clay, felt equally thicker then usual, yet it was perfect for a hot cup of coco because it would slowly heat the out side not burning your hands, and be the perfect temperature to hold on to after a long day of sledding and thaw you frozen nose with the steam emanating form the top of the hot chocolate.

The mugs I have now are great. They came in a dishes set my parents bought me when I moved out to Seattle. They have a very hand crafted clay feel to them, but because they were manufactured they are missing important features, such as perfect imperfections. On mom’s mugs, where the handle meets the bowl of the mug the clay doesn’t smoothly flow right into the rest of the cup its sort of chunky almost like it was just glued on. For some reason that has become an enduring feature to me cause its personality. I want a mug with personality, something more unique than a quintuplet from a factory making thousands of quintuplets a day.

I talk to my mugs. Coffee can be a highly intimate time, staring off into the rain on a sleepy day off with no intentions other than really enjoy the cup of coffee and allow your self the moment to be in a moment. Some times I write, writing about what ever comes into my head. I’m very shy about these, even posting a blog is nerve racking for me, y cup of coffee is there for it. When I’m forming thoughts into words I often stair down into my murky black liquid in the cup and look for answers. So eventually you and your coffee cup become attached. You laugh with it, cry with it, are depressed with it, and talk with friends with it. So if you think about it your coffee cup becomes a very important item in your life.

I want my cup to reflect my personality.

I think I’ll go to GoodWill and find a well loved mug.

 

Pandora

New Halestrome

So Halestormrocks.com just posted a new acoustic “I’m not an angel” its great check it out.

Yes We Can

Its not about getting some one elected, it never has been America, its about changing the way of life and the down ward spiral we have been in. Don’t forget that we voted for change not as a slogan but as a belief.

Racism

I just started reading president Obama’s fist book “dreams from my father”, I picked it up for a number of reasons, one I really do like our president and want a better understanding of who he is, and I like to know my facts instead of running off of what other people have told me. So I’ve been reading it, and as I said I still am in the process of reading it i’m only about 100 pages in, but I was struck with a revelation as I was reading it. The book has shined a much brighter light on racism than I knew. I’ve read Dr. King’s biography and learned all about racism in school and from my parents, it always seemed so distant, like some horrible evil that was vanquished in the 70’s and there were only small hold outs left. As I read this book I realized at how ignorant my world view was and largely is. Why was it that I didn’t realize how  hidden racism tends to be, as a kid the president was raised by a white family and in a largely whit environment so like me he too thought racism to be largely finished, but as he entered high school he see’s who wrong we was. See the thing that struck me was that racism isn’t just totally hating black people it’s a “they” complex. Throwing all of a group of people into a group and largely its negative. It really hit me hard because I hate racism yet I have totally done some of these things that president Obama discusses in his book, and I was floored and really opened my eyes to hidden judgments we make every day such as assuming some body likes something or acts. The key is to not get hung up on it and accept that “thats just the way it is” all you have to do is try, and low and behold it wont be that way any more. This thing can be defeated people as long as we become aware of our actions and what that means to other people, and always be willing to change the way you live, act and think.

Peace