The Swopistas make me happy

Maggie says...

You guys rock!

Palin Poetry

Mikaela says:
Thanks to Maggie Mae, the Freckled Citizen, for posting this. It was too good not to throw on the old m-pyre.

As a dabbler in poetry myself, I thought I could recognize a good poem when I heard one, but apparently not. Leave it to Conan O'Brien and William Shatner to uncover the poetic heart in Palin's dumbass farewell speech.

Verbatim transcript provided below for you to follow along!

"[S]oaring through nature's finest show. Denali, the great one, soaring under the midnight sun. And then the extremes. In the winter time it's the frozen road that is competing with the view of ice fogged frigid beauty. The cold, though, doesn't it split the Cheechakos from the Sourdoughs? And then in the summertime, such extreme summertime, about a hundred and fifty degrees hotter than just some months ago, than just some months from now, with fireweed blooming along the frost heaves and merciless rivers that are rushing and carving and reminding us that here, Mother Nature wins. It is as throughout all Alaska, that big, wild, good life teeming along the road that is north to the future."

Friday Funny

Mikaela says:
I work at a Native-American owned company, and one of the things I love is the paradigm shift that occurs here, where white is NOT the norm and shouldn't be.

My coworker, who happens to be part Navajo and part Cochiti, sent me this Top 10 List of Things Native people should say or ask white folks. It's funny because it's true!

1. How much white are you?
2. I'm part white myself, you know.
3. I learned all your people's ways in the Boy Scouts.
4. My great-great-grandmother was a full-blooded white American Princess..
5. Funny, you don't look white.
6. Where's your powdered wig and knickers?
7. Do you live in a covered wagon?
8. What's the meaning behind the square dance?
9. What's your feeling about Las Vegas casinos? Do they really help your people, or are they just a short-term fix?
10. Hey, can I take your picture?

(This also reminds me of a similar list of things people ask when you say you're from New Mexico... Maybe I'll share that next Friday!)

...watching the advent of medical marijuana...

marjorie says...

A friend of mine has qualified for a medical marijuana license, or maybe it's called a prescription. He recently got his official card in the mail. The email from the non-profit that he'll be able to purchase marijuana from sent an email with program details, and signed off, "we look forward to serving you."

He was rather incredulous when showing it to me, noting that he'll be in on the first crop produced by the non-profit.

It is rather eyebrow-raising to see it in action up close and personal. For so many people who have illegally medicated themselves with pot for years, there must be a significant element of relief involved with the state no longer treating them like criminals.

I've been intellectually on board with pot legalization forever, frankly, but seeing this up close and personal drives home for me how important it is for many who have serious illnesses.

There are a lot of advocates in the state who deserve credit, but I still chuckle when I recall the simple one-liner uttered by Gov. Richardson back in 2007 on the topic. "My God, let's be reasonable," he said. Indeed.

I'll keep you all updated on any interesting details about using the program as he mentions them.

Women and our "temperament" problem

Maggie says:
Let's review yesterday's gems from everyone's favorite Southern gentleman, Lindsay Graham, in which he uses phrases such as "nasty," "fiery," "a bit of a bully," "a terror," and asks that very gendered question, "Do you think you have a temperament problem?" As you can see in the following clip, the only temperament I see in effect here is the graceful, calm restraint used to respond to such questioning.



Oh, Lindsay. Let's expand this a bit. Might I remind you of some of the other women in U.S. history with "temperament" problems?





It takes a certain temperament to achieve great things, wouldn't you say, LG?

Harry Time!

Mikaela says:
Oh my. Feels like I can hardly wait the 2 days until Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince is here! But I hate crowds. I hate crowds of fans even more, so my wait is even longer. Add to that wait the factoring in of a viewing with audience small enough that I can risk taking my 3 month old! We're talking Monday night, now, people! Can I make it?

In preparation, I listened to the audio book again. Love that Jim Dale*! I will admit that I like the audio book more than reading it myself because it actually stretches the experience out longer. It took me about 2 weeks to get through the audio book, listening mostly on my way to work and on walks. Reading the book takes about a night. That would be all night, and now that my baby sleeps through the night? I want to, too!

I'm reading reviews, but you know what? Critics are too critical, and fans are too breathless. All fans care about is how much the film deviates from the book. All the critics care about is how slavishly the movies follow the books at the detriment of making a good movie.

Me? I see the movies as an added bonus to a literary and cultural event that's made me happy for 10 years. I'm even glad they're splitting the final book into two movies, just so the series won't end for that much longer. What on earth will I ever be this excited about again? We've gotten to build excitement and anticipation for 8 movies! That's incredible.

The C.S. Lewis Narnia series might work well as a movie experience, but they need to get their act together a little more. Actually, the first couple Harry Potter's weren't that great, either. The first installment in Narnia -- The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe -- was pretty good, mostly because of Tilda Swinton (love her).

But the books? I read them as a kid and was a fan... right up to the moment I heard they were all a big Christian parable. Bleck! Even if you are a Christian, isn't THE BIBLE good enough for you? Why pollute children's books with MESSAGES? Harry Potter's got its share of morality -- the deadly battle between good and evil -- but it's somehow specific to itself and therefore not just a thin veneer for a deeper message. Aslan's a great character, but he's a pretty poor Jesus, if you ask me.

But that's neither here nor there. What matters is that Harry's almost here. And even after I finally see the movie, there will be 2 more installments to come! Woo-hoo!

(After that, do I have to stoop to reading the Twilight series? And yes, I know how that sounds. I was all uppity about Harry Potter, too, until my little brother's fan-dom forced me to read the first one, after which, of course, I was hooked!)

[Trivia via Freakonomics blog: Dale was given only 100 pages of manuscript at a time to read and then record, so he never knew what was coming; in order to keep track of the 146 voices he’d created for all the characters, he often pre-recorded a bit of the characters’ voices and then held a tape recorder up to his ear in the studio to remind himself.]

Memories of Palin

marjorie says...

I figured we needed to save the highights of the Sarah Palin comedy year here on m-pyre, those moments that have really sent us collectively over the edge into flabbergasty. Yes, that's a word. It may be a touch uncharitable (there goes my Christian upbringing again), but on the other hand...this is the woman who McCain thought could be president. It pretty much boggles the mind.




I would love to hear a defense of this kind of delivery, keeping in mind that this is the person McCain wanted to have in the wings, ready to represent us on the world stage.




This is probably my all time favorite Palin clip. She did a staged press event where she "pardoned a Thanksgiving turkey" and then gave a bizarre interview in front of turkeys being slaughtered around back. It was November 20...and many of us thought it was all over.



In the interest of space, and not burying Mikaela's stellar blogs by a kazallion clips, here's a greatist hits put together by Talking Points Memo. Now, granted, this is an edited montage with a clear editorial bias (they felt they needed to tell us how to feel at the beginning--which for the life of me I can't understand the need for), but on the other hand it has some real golden moments that we all remember.

Ira Goes to Moscow with a Clean Heart

Mikaela says:
A link on This American Life.org sends you to Yahoo's Babel Fish (Yay Douglas Adams fans!), which translates literally from Russian into English. The blurb describes Ira's upcoming trip to Moscow to speak about the power of radio. That's not the fabulous thing.

The fabulous thing is this line, which needs to become a poem immediately:

Here is man,
which speaks before you
from the clean heart -
there is nothing better
than this.

Voces 2009

Mikaela says:
Another year, another successful wrap-up to Voces: Writing Institute at the NHCC. This year's challenges? Teaching with a baby on your hip while corralling 26 (!) creative minds to think past cliches in expressing your deepest feelings.

Another change this month was the introduction of a blog by the kids, for the kids, put together with the help of dynamo Kenn Rodriguez, who in addition to being a great poet & performer brought his journalism and technological skills courtesy of Americorp. You can see blog entries, poems, and performances here. Pretty cool window into the creative world of Voces!

My friend Lisa came to the final performance, as she has each of the past 4 (?) years. Listening to 2+ hours of teen poetry can be a bit trying at times, but Lisa seems to see past the occasional groan moment to get charged up with the energy and passion these young folks shower on the crowd.

My daughter didn't last past the first two applause moments. She's not big on whistling, it turns out. Daddy whisked her home, so Momma got to go out for a well-deserved cider after the show! Woo-hoo! There, she caught a glimpse of the famously fabulous Gene Grant, who applauded seeing me "out" late on a Friday evening. Gene was a part of Voces again this year, taking part in a journalism panel with Kenn and a young woman from the Alibi. The kids adored him, of course.

And me? I didn't get much writing done this year. Between caring for an infant, editing 26 kids' poems (up to 4 pieces each turned in each Friday and returned each Monday), and working on another consulting gig report also due at the end of June ... I was pretty tapped out. I did get a good dose of writer's guilt, though. A certain little lady in Texas needs a certain wedding present poem that's been brewing slowly since April. At this point, the poem will probably have the gestation of a real baby, and the labor will probably take about as long as Umea's: a solid five days. Such is the price of life, I guess!

I also got a happy dose of pride in this program. So many of the kids mentioned how much the program has meant to them personally and how influential it's been in their lives, showing them a world where they can be honored for who they are and what they think, not for their stereotypes or their "cool" factor. As one of our success-story kids told me: "It's so sad that not giving a shit is cool." Well these kids learned that caring and succeeding can also be cool and feels a lot better, even though -- and maybe especially because -- it's hard work.

That same student came to Voces three years ago unable to read or write. He just won the state Slam competition this year. He now goes to the schools with Carlos Contreras -- mentor of the Voces program -- and performs his poetry to inspire other students to share their voices, too. For him, the knife edge of his previous life -- slinging and gangs -- is always there, but he tries to remember how much better it feels to be a poet than to be "hard," acting the badass to intimidate others not to fuck with you.

He told me his story over lunch one day. We both had tears in our eyes, and I felt for a moment how high the stakes were for him, how much he clung to the world opened to him through poetry, how much he appreciates the window of opportunity Voces provided him. All I could say was that the work had all come from him. All we did was set the expectations and encourage him that he could do this: speak with power. The rest was all his voice and his bravery and hard work to use it.

40-something in San Antonio

marjorie says...

Just got back from turning 40-something in San Antonio. Whenever I go there, I'm reminded what a great city it is--even if it is 106 degrees with 28 percent humidity.

We stayed in this seriously retro hotel called El Tropicano, one of the originals on the River Walk. Totally killer restored mid-century modern splender. They played an Elvis movie by the pool one night on a huge screen they dropped from the roof, called it the Drive-In by the Pool. My mother was stumped, because she had never seen it which totally surprised her, being the Elvis fan that she is.

The kids were out of control in the heat, and the river walk was mobbed with tourists--from the looks of it, not a whole lot of San Antonio residents go there--but it was a great time.

My dad gave me the Sam Houston army base tour, which is where he was stationed right after he and my mom got married. She lived in an efficiency apartment in an old house about a block from the base. He'd eat in the mess hall, then sneak some food over to her since they had no money. Apparently, a oujia board told them they'd find the apartment on that street--that was the last time they ever played a ouija board. They took the apartment, but didn't like it that the devil--or somesuch--told them where to find it.

Anyhow, maybe I'll post some pictures later. For now, here's a little thing...

From a Texas quotation book chapter called "Not limited by facts," comes this quotation: "Remember the Alamo". Of course, I know that saying, but was amused that I read it in a book bought at the Alamo.

NM SOS website missing in action

marjorie says...

hmmm...

How can the SOS website be down more than a day or two, at the most? What's wrong with it?

I need to check some records...

Sophie's (Job) Choice

Mikaela says:
I don't know about you guys, but I find myself thrust into a decision between 1970 and 1990.*

(*I admit I don't truly understand that choice, but I've heard two super-smart friends make that distinction, so if you'd like to quibble - take issue with them!)

• Do I keep (or try to keep) the security of my full-time job with some health insurance and a 401K, despite the fact that it's not really what I want for myself personally or professionally?

• Or do I throw caution to the wind and risk a part-time job that could give me just enough income to cover personal expenses and the cost of adding myself to my husband's health insurance? This isn't really what I want to do with my life, either, but it would only be a part-time waste of my life, leaving more time to try to fill in the blanks with gigs, paying and no, that include things I love.

I recognize that I'm lucky to even have this choice. Both have risks, and either one would ultimately be okay (probably).

It's been a fun opportunity to think about what skills I have that I'd like to use more, and what services I could put on a personal business card (no longer an oxymoron):

• Meeting planning, facilitation, & recording
• Technical & creative writing
• Teaching & training
• Desktop publishing
• Visioning & planning workshops
• Project management
  

(Am I missing anything?)

I'd love to be an ad-hoc consultant for any of these in alternating months, with home as my base from which to work.

Do you think it's possible? Do people pay for these things? Can you get hired just to be a smart, organized person?

Any advice?

Musings by a reporter on Twitter

marjorie says...

Trip Jennings has a great commentary over on the Independent today about how Twitter is changing the face of journalism.

In light of the remarkable use of Twitter and other new media, like YouTube, by the demonstrating hordes in Iran, Jennings gives an anecdote about a recent "scoop" he thought he had in Santa Fe until one of the lawmakers present decided to "tweet" the news as well. Within minutes, another reporter showed up...

Twitter comes of age in Tehran -- and Santa Fe

by Trip Jennings

If you think Twitter is just a way for American techno geeks to navel gaze, how mistaken you are.

Watching protesters in Tehran use Twitter and other social networking services to tap out messages and share photos of impromptu demonstrations has put that myth to bed, hopefully forever.

Read the rest here.