“As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them.”
-John F Kennedy
Nov
01
I have been more neglectful than I want to think about to my poor blog…but I found this poem by e.e. cummings (one of my own personal favorites) and knew it needed to be shared…
…I thank you God for this most amazing day;
for the greenly leaping spirits of trees,
and a blue true dream of sky;
and everything which is natural,
which is infinete,
which is yes…
Sep
25
I’ve been inspired to write a little haiku…defined technically by 3 lines, beats 5, 7, 5, but in America more loosely defined as a 3 line poem with less then 17 syllables, usually the middle line being the longest…this is 2 haiku, but it almost fits as one long poem too…
Memories alight
in an unfettered mind
frozen hearts unfold
The sky is open
Nothing falls, nothing is cold…
Brace yourself for more
Sep
25
So, I’ve decided that since I do so much reading, I’m going to start keeping you all up to date on what I am reading and give you little “mini-reviews”! This sounds like fun to me, and I hope that you will enjoy reading about what I’m reading about…
I am currently in the middle of a book I’ve read at least 5 times previously, and adored each time. The great thing about re-reading something is that you can skip right to the best parts without feeling like you missed anything.
The Witching Hour, by Anne Rice, is the book, and even though I’m only half way through it, I’ll do a mini review now anyway.
Anne Rice is among the best authors that I have ever had the pleasure to read. She is almost excruciating in her detail, but the beauty of that fault is that she truly takes you there. This book is the reason that I wanted to (and did) visit New Orleans back in 2000 – pre Katrina and 9/11, in the innocence, if you will, of The Big Easy. Of course, that’s completely off the subject of the book…
Plot – The basic premise is that there is a family who has been haunted by spirit for 13 generations, and this spirit has taken over their decision making and led them to greed, incest & murder, all to it’s own end, which is to eventually become flesh. This is to happen with the 13 “witch”. Anne Rice takes you back all the way to the first witch, in the 17th century, and gives vigorous details of every generation, right up until the most current one. The history is a little much to muddle through, but you miss a lot without it.
Characters – Obviously, there is a ton of characters, alive, dead & entities. The main couple that the present story fixes on is Rowan & Michael, who each have super natural powers. The POV of the book is 3rd person, so you are really able to get to know these characters and Ann does a great job of bringing them to life.
Series – There are 2 books to follow this, Lasher & Taltos, both excellent. I would highly recommend this series to anyone who has the patience to get involved without taking the story to seriously (there are definitely offensive parts).
I’d offer to lend you my copy, but both the front & back covers are long gone and the spine just broke recently J
A note on Anne Rice…she wrote this series, and also the Vampire Series (Interview with a Vampire, the movie with Tom Cruise & Brad Pitt, was based on her book, as was the more recent Queen of the Damned) and even some erotica. However, in recent years, she has become Christian, and wrote a very vivid fictional account of a young Jesus in 2006 called Christ the Lord – most excellent as well. If I re-read it, I’ll review it as well…
Sep
20
I am SOOO excited! In just a few days, I will be seeing my favorite artist, Ani Difranco, live and in concert at the Michigan Theater in Ann Arbor. I saw Ben Folds (also awesome) there not too long ago and it is a fantastic small venue!
Reasons why I am inspired by Ani – she started her own record company, Rightous Babe Records, at the ripe old age of 20, and in the last 17 years she has put out 19 studio albums, and numerous bootlegs. She also is pretty much constantly on tour, although she did take some time off when she was pregnant in 2006, but is already back (with fewer dates, I think) after having her daughter in January.
Ani is the most amazing lyricist that I have ever had the pleasure of hearing – she pours her passion for life into every song and every topic she tackles. I may not always agree with her, but I certainly respect the way she says things. Thought provoking and talented! I had a really hard time picking only one song – considering how many I had to choose from and that they all rock – but I’ve been thinking about this song a lot lately, and how this is how I felt when I met my husband – - so, following is an example of some Ani lyrics…
falling is like this
you give me that look that’s like laughing
with liquid in your mouth
like you’re choosing between choking
and spitting it all out
like you’re trying to fight gravity
on a planet that insists
that love is like falling
and falling is like this
feels like reckless driving when we’re talking
it’s fun while it lasts and it’s faster than walking
but no one is going to sympathize when we crash
they’ll say you hit what you head for
you get what you ask
and we’ll say we didn’t know
we didn’t even try
one minute there was road beneath us
and the next just sky
i’m sorry i can’t help you
i cannot keep you safe
sorry i can’t help myself
so don’t look at me that way
we can’t fight gravity
on a planet that insists
that love is like falling
and falling is like this
© 1993 ani difranco / righteous babe music
Sep
19
From Bob Moawad, whoever that is…
Sep
14
Something I wrote a long time ago, that still rings so true…
In this place,
everything you thought you needed
to make you the you
you thought you wanted to be
is stripped away
(not ungently)
from your soul – -
leaving you with only
your beginning and
all your endings
(and everything in the middle)
in your back pocket -
leaving you to build your house of cards in
any fashion you like…
Sep
14
I have started writing again, inspired by a great book that I got for my birthday…let me qualify this by saying that I am strictly a poet, in most cases, and that is probably what I’ll be sharing here…I wrote this one following after reading some of my old stuff…
It is apparent that I had been seeking…someone
to fill in the blanks,
as if my life were a
Mad Lib
–someone out there knew exactly what adjective I was looking for,
but my tounge would never find it…
without you..
Sep
14
I haven’t gotten to this in way too long, so I’ll try to post a few – way back on Labor Day weekend, my one and only niece (for now, nudge nudge, Elizabeth 
) and myself finally met – I was also surprised because my sister & brother in law from NC showed up unexpectedly! Wahoo to a great Labor Day…photos to follow…
Adison is just beautiful and it was so awesome to enjoy her for the day…it would have been great to be able to spend more time…
Adison & myself, above, the very first time I got to hold her…
Marc & Adi (getting good practice for his next niece or nephew
Grandma & Grandpa, looking like old hats at this…
Matthew & Elizabeth, holding not their baby… 
Kim & Mike, the proud mommy & daddy…
