Tuesday's recess was a full half hour of dancing. All over the house. In my striped athletic knee socks, and with Jack jumping along beside me. We danced in the living room, we danced in the kitchen, we break danced in the hallway, and moonwalked through the laundry room. We did the chicken dance, and we walked it out - and I laughed and laughed when I saw the UPS guy looking through the door at Jack and I - as we danced to MGMT. Dancing is one of the best ways that I know to lift my mood - in just a few seconds. It raises my heart rate, gets my mind thinking on other things entirely - (like the beat of the song) - and gets your blood flowing - which lifts my mood, so quickly. You don't have to dance for an entire half hour. It was kinda difficult to do that...honestly, I kept hearing the phone ring - or thinking of other things to do: but, when I was just letting go and dancing - I was having so much fun! I think that's part of the challenge with recesses, for me: Letting go and allowing myself to have fun. By allowing, I mean - actually giving myself permission to be silly for 30 minutes before I get back to the "serious" work at hand. Like emails, and expense reports, and budgeting. Etc, etc. To inspire you: here's one of my favorite dancers of the moment - in two of his performances from Ellen. You're gonna love this kid: Now, go-dance!

(Spoiler Alert: Don't read this if you haven't seen the movie, yet.)

I saw it Saturday night with Elliott and I thought it was FANTASTIC!



It has been a LONG time since I've gone to see any sort of Super Hero Flick. I haven't seen any of the Spiderman movies, and I don't really care for Hell Boy or any of that shiz-but, being as macabre as I am, I had to go see Heath's last performance.

Heath did an incredible job with the Joker - you're going to be hearing this over and over-and that's because it's true. He truly chilled me. He was very convincing as a lunatic, and I can absolutely see how his immersion in this role was the beginning of his end. He was literally sick with sleeplessness and had been medicating himself to find any sort of rest - all of which supposedly started during his role at the Joker.

The entire plot line seemed to ask the question "is man really inherently bad or good?"-This really resonated with me. What a powerful message for Heath's last role. Throughout the film we get to examine what it is that occurs when man is faced with difficult decisions. Sadly, we often saw the nastiness of human nature. I'm glad they still encourage us to hope for man's better tendencies, but I find myself leaning more toward believeing that the darkness in the human race is winning - kinda like the Joker was saying...

I was wondering why they decided to make batman ride a motorcycle this time (the pod) - but figured out why in that really cool sequence when he ejects from the batmobile tank looking thing! That rocked! His cape flapping in the wind behind the "Bat Pod"- visually, it was just incredible. In that instant, Christian Bale epitomizes Super Hero to me.

It's interesting the way the left the Joker hanging, literally, in the end. Makes me wonder what they had intended to do with that character, and if they'll bring back a different actor to carry the role. I doubt seriously if they'd ever do that - unless they figured a way to do it tastefully.

Same thing with Two Face/Harvey Dent. I don't follow all the Batman movies, so I really don't know the backstory of Two Face, but I can officially say the twist in that plot: That was CRAZY! I'm wondering where that's gonna lead-but, I'd say the good side-Harvey's side is dead, wouldn't you? Quite possibly, he'll be the next nemesis.

Overall, I loved it! I am so glad we went to see it!

Who knew that modern day movies can play out like a morality play?

Did you see it? What did you think?

Recently, I was at the Hair Stylist, and ran across the December 10, 2007 issue of Time Magazine. Inside, Time had asked several prominent individuals whom they would choose for the 2007 Person of the Year.

Stephen King's response captivated me. 
"Britney Spears and Lindsey Lohan symbolize the media's growing obsession with issues of personality over substance. People care more about the details of Spears' child-custody case than they do about where the billions the U.S. government has poured into Iraq have gone. It's time for a discussion about whether the news media have chucked their responsibilities and run off to Tabloid Disneyland."

Man, I'd love to brew a pot of coffee and just listen to him talk about this. I suppose this speaks, furthest of all, about our macabe and morbid fascination with social and mental illnesses...but, it's hard to not look at a train-wreck occurring in front of your face.

That being said, I must counter to Mister King that I have personally have always distrusted the media, therefore I cannot accuse them of chucking any responsibility. I've never considered them to be a completely responsible resource anyway. I suppose the point here is this:

No one source or conglomeration of informational resources can be considered responsible for society's ills. Our media is simply a mirror of our society, at large. We are not a necessarily independent and socially conscious society. Not currently, anyway...and, for that we can only blame ourselves. 

If the media is covering Britney's Breakdown more than the Ron Paul Newsletter Melt-down, it's because their customers (us) are demanding that sort of coverage, and are tuning in for it.

Now, media is responsible for providing metaphorical food for a social dialogue and because so many of us blindly tune in-we also regurgitate whatever it is we've been fed. But, it's up to us to restrict our diet, and vary the food we give our brains. I know this is the last thing you want to hear, Mr. King-but, if you're upset by the media's "shirking" of responsible dialogue, I encourage you to start that dialogue yourself. (Which, I know you have just done, and for that I thank you.)

Mr. King, you do your thing, and you do it well. But, in response to your question about if the medai have chucked their responsibly and run off to "Tabloid Disneyland" I must say this: I will no more consider you responsible for my childhood nightmares of rabies-ridden Cujo dogs, than I consider NBC responsible for informing me, wholistically, about my society.

It is my job as a human being to seek out information for all sources, and to determine which areas I am going to devote my time and energy towards.

And, I think you and I both agree that good things happen when people are proactive, rather than reactive.

We do need variety in our news sources, just as we do in our news coverage. But, I think the greater idea here is to just ask the people of the US to consider diversifying their dialogue, refocusing their consciousness, and subsidizing their efforts in a positive direction. 

Let's DO talk politics.
Let's DO talk religion.
Tell me about your aspirations, 
ask about my political affiliation.

Let's have a social dialogue,
Let's stand up and fight for something.
Let's go to the shelter to adopt a dog,
Let's tithe that $50 instead of sushi.

I am feeling a real awakening inside of my spirit and my mind. A longing for deeper meaning-and a more engaged experience within my world.

I no longer want to anesthesize myself with tabloid gossip, tv news, and fast food...

I want to slow down, breathe deep, and look within.
I want to frame up, and center down-to reconsider different perspectives.

Join me, if you will.
Or, help me catch up with you if you're willing.


:)

Good Afternoon, Mr. King. Thanks for the meaningful, imaginary conversation.

Tonight, I turned it all away.
Tonight, I just unplugged.
Turned off the phones-
Left the door knock, unknown.
Found myself drifting into an early evening sleep.

The voice over the answering machine was warm
it felt as though it were speaking right to me
from within the room
the person vibrating in that tone
is one of my favorite people on the planet.
I relax deeper into the softness of the bed.
I begin to feel the pulse in my neck-
and feel the scratch of my breath
in
and
out.
my nose is a little crooked, you see.
and it tends to feel like its sideways,
the air scratching its way into my chest
rather than free-flowing.

i rather like it.
it's unusual.
atypical.
like me.

the neighbors tonight are arguing.
only one's not a neighbor to me.
just someone whos here in this moment
contributing to this one scene.

she's obviously upset with him
and they jolly the blame back and forth
when my ear picks up on their frequency
the sinking of my stomach
gets the best of me

i refuse to get back on the internet.
i must not try to check on my phones.
i will not pull out those files.
i will stretch and be conscious of my bones.

i will dive into the consciousness of my breathing.
i will lean into the curve of my thigh.
i will breath into the stretches along my back
and become concious of myyyyyyyyy spine.

the television is keeping me company.
offering something above the neighbors shrill cree
and i am sinking into the stillness
and the exhuberant experience of being with
me

"...and, the terrifying calls for help when a bridge 
collapses - in Minneapolis. 
That's next on your evening's News. 
Your News, First."


That's not news.

That happened like 2 weeks ago.

We've all heard the story, and lived the horror of the rubble.
Because you play it. Over and over, again.
And, it frightens us.
And it de-sensitizes us.

It sedates us.

we are all sedated.
by fast food and tv news
"ain't nothing goin 
that my mind needs to ponder on.
life like thst is overrated." ---
i wanna be sedated.

it's time we see
that the vulgarity
and the fighing that goes on
between
neighbors.

is the world we've created
and the lives we've all waited
and, that global warming is something
from you and from me.

that iraqi war is really happening
and young men are really dying
the ocean is being polluted
and the ozone is burning- as we're tryin'

to buy the new magazine
or find that new Coach
to read about Lindsey
or to eat another double Sonic Burger on Texas Toast.

the lives that we are living
you know 
the one that's happening now?

it's the world that we've created.

we are all sedated.
by fast food and tv news

and she says, 
"ain't nothing goin 
that my mind needs to ponder on.
life like thst is overrated." ---
i wanna be sedated.