A couple of things

Post about Patti Smith here. Clearly I was affected. See next line.

A couple of decent poems here and here.

Mad Men is absolutely tearing me to pieces. If you haven't watched, get the DVD's and catch up this winter! Flash Forward is good too (NOTHING on television compares to Mad Men, though. Everything seems amateur in comparison).

OMG! A Classic "Tool"

When Ryan was a teenager, he taught me the word "tool". I save the word "tool" because I think it is so special and fantastic. Per Ryan's definition a "tool is generally male, the guy who thinks he's funny but no one else does, the guy every one tries to get away from but he never picks up on their not-so-subtle clues". A tool differs from an asshole only slightly but there is a slimy quality about the tool that the asshole may not have (after all My Russell Crowe and Colin Farrell have both been referred to as assholes. I don't think they are tools).

I work with a real tool. I MEAN CLASSIC. He is an ex-Marine. He is the guy that has so many nervous tics and subtle (or not so) issues that when he had a minor blow up at work, everyone was afraid of what was in his backpack. He goes up to all men and shakes their hand, looks them in the eye and says "I'm a tool, nice to meet you." (He really gives his name which of course, I cannot) as they stand there going "why are you talking to me?".

You can't say anything to him without him getting painfully defensive and agitated so constructive criticism is out of the question. He lies chronically, takes excessive lunches and is always schmoozing with someone. He has a cruel streak and his sexism is dripping out of each pore. EWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW.

Why do these people last in any business? Why do we cower to these kinds of people who cause our whole culture to stink? FIRE THE TOOLS OF THE WORLD or threaten them with therapy.

End of rant (I'm working with the tool today. It was this or have a conniption fit.

Singing High Praises: The Bloggess

NOT me! Her.

SO:

I started off the day like this:

(missed alarm so overslept, spilled coffee down my shirt, unexpected ice on windows, temporary crown fell out again and there was FOG the whole way to work so I had to drive 40 for 1/2 of my 45 miles, got to hospital, ER full, cover front where I actually TOUCH everyone who says they think they have swine flu, and then the creepy volunteer wants to sit by me and do nothing...you get the picture, right?)

Anyone who can get me to laugh out loud from cyberspace, repeatedly, when I haven't eaten since my tiny, but yummy serving of Bertollis Chicken Florentine last night and with crying babies everywhere, deserves big kudos.

In case you don't have the energy to actually go read it, her is a snippet:

So this weekend I leave for Japan. ”Why?” you ask? Because it’s there. And also because I got drunk one night and Victor asked me if I’d go to Japan with him and apparently I said yes. This is what happens when you get drunk around Victor. You wake up in the morning and need a passport. Whenever I mention it to people they’re all “JAPAN! THAT’S AWESOME!” but to be honest I’m a terrible traveler and Japan scares the shit out of me and all I really know about Japan is that Godzilla was born there. Also, I may be mixing Japan up with China. Which I think makes me racist. Or just bad at geography. Possibly both.

I don't think I know her name, I have yet to follow on Twitter (I'm going to but I'm at work and there are restrictions), and she has a SEX COLUMN to boot (obviously, I can't read that here either).

She doesn't need it (uber popular) but show her some love anyway....

New Stuff and Silly Lovely Humans

Have had some great feedback on some recent posts over at the AROnetworking blog. Check them out.

So You Think You Can Dance has rolled out its new fall version (enough viewers that they could move from summer to fall). I'm consistently touched by this show. Not just the talent but the REAL mentoring these extremely powerful and motivated young dancers receive. They don't have their egos torn down (ala American Idol), but are given concrete feedback as needed and loads of genuine praise.

This year sees the addition of 3 tap dancers. Now, I'll be the first to say that tap gives me the snoozies. BUT I am just amazed at the wealth of curious little passions of the human spirit. Tap, remote control airplanes, peace, cake design, PowerPoint presentations, license plate collecting, building monuments to things we care about...we may not be making the best decisions for our fellow creatures or planet, but we sure are entertaining and silly.

And speaking of passion and American Idol, MY Adam Lambert's upcoming albut (release date 11/23) has more pre-ordered sales than the current albums by Barbra Streisand, Mariah Carey and Madonna. GET OUT! SHUT UP! I'm so happy for him. He was on Oprah briefly this week and they showed a clip from Idol and I got goosebumps again. His photos in Details magazine are hot, hot, hot. I will see him in concert and I might toss some panties. I know. It makes NO SENSE. But hey, he's got that thing!

Embracing My Pooh...?

You can read about it here.

Libraries Under Attack

The Philadelphia library system: CLOSED. As a self-described library whore, this is almost as disturbing as the fact that the award-winning, top-rated Cincinnati library is in danger of deep, massive cuts if a levy isn't passed on 11/3. A small levy of about $2.50 per taxpayer per month from a community who, up til now, hasn't paid one cent towards library funding. Ever. My heart is broken, people's jobs on the line so, for once, this "non-joiner" is rising at 630am to pass out leaflets. Don't applaud me. I'd be a true hypocrite if I didn't do something, as much as I've sang library's praises through the years.

Chris Brogan, who most of you don't know but is a big deal in my social media world, wrote a brilliant post on libraries. Check it out. If you are reading this from Cincinnati, get your butt out and VOTE YES on 11/3.

It rained, but...

we finally managed to have everything converge so we could get away to the cabin in Pennyrile a bit ago. I found a bit of my soul again, drawing in the drizzle while M took photos and we watched and pondered bird species (we party HARD!). Regardless, no cell phone (ok, a little), no TV, no makeup, NO COMPUTER and loads of quiet healed us both significantly from feeling frazzled and overwhelmed.

We talked a lot and read and dozed and hiked. It was heaven. More photos coming to my flickr account soon.

Relevant Mag, Christianity, Lesbians and One Cute Dog!

Confession. This dog has NOTHING to do with this post. I had the post in mind when M sent the photo and why not spread some doggy love? I think it is via @thedogmeister on Twitter. Regardless. Jesus would LOVE this dog ;-)



Relevant magazine is a total stereotype buster. Yes, we left-leaning (I don't actually lean that way...I'm fully reclined on my left side) lesbians stereotype you white Christians. I'm ashamed to admit it but it is true. Speaking for myself, I don't stereotype Christianity or Christ himself, just the fishy folks who think their way is the only way.



I'll confess I didn't know what Relevant was when I picked it up at the library. Had some band on it. I started reading and, well...I highly recommend it. The tagline is God.Life.Progressive Culture. It is hipster meets Jesus, the MTV generation meets Ghandi. It is what we left-leaners hope the next generation of right-leaners become...and stay.



The reality is Jesus loved everyone...and when I mean loved, I mean actively loved as in a verb. You can't "love" someone while you put them out of a job, prevent them from visiting someone they love in the hospital, prevent them from providing homes to needy foster kids, etc. etc. etc. WWJD? Uhm. I don't think he'd do that. The hard-core stuff is almost all Old Testament. Jesus is part of the new which I think is, well, more relevant.



Relevant IS NOT a left-leaning magazine, but it is progressive. And it is full of strong, thought-provoking writing. One blurb talks about a young man asking his minister how he can be a Christian and have never heard of the atrocities in Darfur. Mickey Rourke discusses his faith in a recent issue, Kings of Leon grace another.



I'm of the bleeding heart variety that thinks it is ok for conservatives and liberals to disagree on some things...but not the basics of humanity. I hope more of the next wave of Christians look for places to compromise and I hope we will. I'm ok (prepare to gasp) that most Relevant readers don't want me to marry. I'm only 46 and I remember when everyone kept hidden the fact they were gay. That wasn't that long ago people and some Louisiana judges still refuse to marry interracial couples! I think we need to be a bit patient. But that's just me (and I think marriage is a wishful crock anyway).



Lots of music and pop culture at relevant but only in doses small enough it doesn't obscure the important messages. Check it out!

Current Favorite Poem

EVERYTHING IS WAITING FOR YOU

(After Derek Mahon)

Your great mistake is to act the drama
as if you were alone. As if life
were a progressive and cunning crime
with no witness to the tiny hidden
transgressions. To feel abandoned is to deny
the intimacy of your surroundings. Surely,
even you, at times, have felt the grand array;
the swelling presence, and the chorus, crowding
out your solo voice. You must note
the way the soap dish enables you,
or the window latch grants you freedom.
Alertness is the hidden discipline of familiarity.
The stairs are your mentor of things
to come, the doors have always been there
to frighten you and invite you,
and the tiny speaker in the phone
is your dream-ladder to divinity.
Put down the weight of your aloneness and ease into
the conversation. The kettle is singing
even as it pours you a drink, the cooking pots
have left their arrogant aloofness and
seen the good in you at last. All the birds
and creatures of the world are unutterably
themselves. Everything is waiting for you.

~ David Whyte ~

Photo: Misty Mawn-check out her amazing site and photography

My "faux" Interview with White Hot Truth's Danielle LaPorte

I do oh-so-love to share, right? I have a new super-heroine. When I grow up (hell, I'm probably older already) I want to be the MizK version of her bad self, although I'm not sure dreds would work on me. (That's ME on the left, not HER. To see her click on the link above.)

She asks some killer interview questions and, in the spirit of manifesting my reality, I'm going to be FAUX interviewed here (questions lifted from Danielle's site).

FULL DISCLAIMER. SHE DID NOT REALLY INTERVIEW ME:

1. What do you hope is true? That tattoos do not look gross when we are old, that you really can do what you passionately love and have plenty o'money, that love conquers all.
2. Does your alter-ego have a name? Not yet, but she is part Emily Strange, part Maya Angelou...Emily Angelou?
3. What are you trying to discover? How to allow the Universe to provide me with ample income. I'm very resistant.
4. What book are you always recommending? It changes but for sure The Art of Possibility is going to be a constant.
5. When was the last time you thought "Yes! that gal has got it going on!" Duh. Yesterday when I "found" DL.
6. How do you get shit done? I have clients with deadlines. They make sure I get paid. The shit gets done.
7. I'm going to give you a word. What's the first thing that comes to mind? Ready? MONEY. Greed. See #3. Ok. A nicer word? DEVOTION. Passion for a child, art, books that keep you keepin' on.

I heartily recommend taking a few and reading some White Hot Truth.