I've mentioned before that over on Flickr, I've been doing this "take a photo a day" project, which I'm now continuing into year 3. After 2+ years of taking your own photo every day, you are desperate for new ideas. In September I discovered that there are actually holidays to be celebrated in this country every single day of the year. Wonderful holidays like National Step in a Puddle and Splash Your Friend Day (January 11), National Garlic Day (April 19), Wiggle Your Toes Day (August 6), etc. It's wonderful reading.
So I've been using my daily photograph to celebrate that day's holiday. Many of them have been fun to work on, with the help of PhotoShop, like this one for "World Smile Day" (October 3)
A couple of days ago was "Increase Your Psychic Powers" Day and I did my best to represent that.
It was the next night when I had the dream I talked about yesterday, which began with my being so depressed that I drove off the road and into a body of water. This morning I'm thinking that maybe I actually did increase my psychic powers, 'cause I sure am depressed this morning.
Maine joins the host of other states where gay marriage has lost by only a few percentage points. How would you like to have only 5% of the population of your state decide whether you can be married or not? Think it can't happen to a nice heterosexual couple like you? How about that judge who decided that he shouldn't marry an interracial couple. Who is next? Maybe some day they'll decide that since the bible refers to left-haned people as "evil," only right-handed people should marry...and my nearly 45 years with Walt will be dissolved. Civil rights should not be up for a vote, or be decided at the whim of someone else.
(Someone is collecting signatures to get a petition on the ballot to outlaw divorce in California. Let's see how serious those right wingers really are about preserving the sanctity of marriage!!)
I'm not listening to the news today. It's all too depressing. I'm one of those who had the audacity to hope and I haven't given up hope yet that Obama can be viewed by history as one of the great presidents, if he manages to follow through on his promises. But we live in an instant gratification society and everyone expected him to "fix everything" overnight. ("it's been a whole week since the inauguration and he hasn't done anything yet!") Remember the Patriot Act? And how aghast we were to discover that this sweeping intrusion into our cherished freedoms was passed without anybody having the opportunity to read it? It is my fervent hope that the slowness with which Obama seems to be doing everything comes from his wanting to get it right. I continue to hope, but talking heads make it difficult.
Then I watched Al Gore on Letterman last night and heard about the continuing erosion of our earth, the probable irreversible death of coral, the animals species which are on the brink of extinction, the island of garbage twice the size of Texas floating in the Pacific ocean, the sinking of the entire country of Bangladesh, and most of humankind's indifference to it all.
One of my blogging students from the other night has started a blog about the conditions in Congo right now. Reading that is also enough to make you depressed. I have friends from Congo who have family there now.
This morning I listened to NBC's financial expert talking about the astronomical rise in interest rates and annual fees that banks have decided to charge and how we are essentially helpless to do anything. Call the banks and protest, but if they ask you for information, don't give any or it can be used against you. Don't start a new charge account because it can show up as a negative on your credit report. Don't stop using credit cards because that can show up as a negative on your credit report. It's the ultimate Catch 22 situation.
No good news ever comes out of the Middle East.
Sometimes it just seems like there is nothing good to live for...and maybe that drive out into the wilderness and into the body of water was prophetic.
5 comments:
Mingle****
Depressing huh! Obama has an uphill battle. I saw on Fox that Glen Beck is actively trying to undermine Obama at every turn. I understand that the Republican have a different point of view than the democrats but what he is doing is treasonous, or at least If the democrats did it to the Republicans they would call it that. I am a middle of the road republican and what is going on now makes me ashamed to be a republican.....I will never be a democrat, however.
Bev: Here's what I do -- I walk into my classrooms every single day and I teach diversity. When I hear a kid use "faggot" I stop and I say "10% of the population is gay, which means that 2.3 people in this room might be gay -- would you say that if they were standing in front of you -- you will NOT say it in my classroom" -- that's what I do. And I make them read literature that questions their beliefs and I make them write papers without the security of being right and I make them listen to me because ultimately! I give them a grade and I can tell them to do whatever I want to do -- do I have an agenda? Your damn right I do -- it doesn't have a damn thing to do with being gay, though -- it has to do with being humane! That's what I do to stave off insurmountable odds and obstacles ...
Just how good are your psychic abilities? And did you say you have blogging students?
:mingling!: Thanks again for the button.
And every single day that you speak up you do the same thing!
Indigo -- generally my psychic abilities are nonexistent! And yes, I've taught a blogging class a couple of times. I'm terrible at it, but the students (mostly retired folks) seem to like it.
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