bones

i’m excited at this very moment in time. i want to say that in a voice that sounds like rod serling. ‘case in point’, and then be sure to say the word ‘mind.’ in rod serling’s voice, i mean.

....

a man sits in a house, reading a comic book, while outside the winter sun is setting. black tree limbs are silhouetted against the strange blues of the sky and grey of clouds. he feels the world is immense and suddenly infinitely small at the same moment. it’s as if someone is looking down and across a colossal landscape, horizon to horizon. buildings, trees, mountains, cliffs, spires jut up like the ribcage of some immense skeleton, slowly rotting in the vegetation that is steadily consuming the landscape.

a flash of light, perhaps, catches their attention as they huddle around the fire. high up on the edge of the cliff as they are, they can see out across the expanse of jungle as it breaths the evening air. they look up at the flash of light or the sudden, unexpected noise or maybe it’s simply an impulsive feeling of something creeping into the periphery of vision. the warm light of the fire plays across their faces as they look. what lies out there, beyond the ken of their small wilderness and their small lives?

mlk letter

Martin Luther King Day has come and gone. Even as Gaza bleeds, police kill unarmed people of color in US cities, and our communities are torn apart by immigration raids, many believe King’s dream has been realized.

On the morning of the 19th, I used a restroom in a public building that had ethnic slurs and violent hate speech carved into the wall, including threats to murder Latina/o people. We are far from realizing any part of King’s vision, including creating a world free of racism and white supremacy. The message etched in the restroom was a glaring reminder of the mentality of some who live in our communities. While it’s terrible that individuals hold such hateful perspectives, it’s really disgusting that this view is reinforced by wider social and political norms.

The US maintains policies that embody the racist worldview communicated in the hate speech in that bathroom stall. Whether it’s “free” trade policies directed at the global south or the more overt imperialism of invasion and occupation of Arabic people, the US government maintains the oppression of other people and cultures around the world—and here at home. We have to look no further than the nearest ICE raid or prison to realize this intimately affects our local communities.

We should honor Dr. King by remembering the full scope of his vision—a dream that challenges racism, patriarchy, militarism, capitalism, and other forms of domination—and by realizing that the struggle is far from over.

i sing of change

I Sing of Change

Sing on: somewhere, at some new moon,
We'll learn that sleeping is not death,
Hearing the whole earth change its tune.
W.B. Yeats

I sing
of the beauty of Athens
without its slaves

Of a world free
of kings and queens
and other remnants
of an arbitrary past

Of earth
with no
sharp north
or deep south
without blind curtains
or iron walls

of the end
of warlords and armouries
and prisons of hate and fear

Of deserts treeing
and fruiting
after the quickening rains

Of the sun
radiating ignorance
and stars informing
nights of unknowing

I sing of a world reshaped

--Niyi Osundare

thin

well, i don't post much to this place anymore. i suppose there's lots of reasons for that--i've been busy (like everyone, i know), i've been keeping off the internet a bit, and other reasons. i'm not sure i'm really all that enamored with keeping a blog. that's a part of it, too. but i'm writing here now, so i guess i still want to at times at least.

much has been going on globally--gaza and greece come to mind. there have been solidarity actions all over, including here in colorado. the books to prisoner project here is going along pretty well. we're getting books and we are starting to get our name and address out to some prisoners in Colorado.

we're finally gonna eat the pinto beans that we grew in our garden. i remember writing something about that on this blog; the beans are in a pot on the stove right now.

what do people read? i'm curious. write a comment about it if you are so inclined.

i've been swimming lately at a city pool. it's great--it makes my leg feel better and makes me feel so much better in many ways. it's great to find some exercise while i'm getting this leg shit worked out.

now i'm at home and today has been pretty good. the other day i ran into an old friend who i used to work with in archaeology. we were on one crazy project together that went through the winter for months. he doesn't live here and it was really kinda incredible to just see him at this cafe. it was great talking and catching up a bit. lives are maybe more interconnected than i usually realize. or maybe it's mostly random chance, with a few influencing factors.

awhile ago, a person i've been corresponding with who is currently in prison sent me a cd. one of the songs has the lyrics:

until everyone has everything they need

i really like that.

Jewish Women Occupy Israeli Consulate in Toronto

Jewish Women Occupy Israeli Consulate in Toronto

Toronto: Wednesday January 8, 2009 Time: 10:25 am

A diverse group of Jewish Canadian women are currently occupying the Israeli consulate at 180 Bloor Street West in Toronto. This action is in protest against the on-going Israeli assault on the people of Gaza.

The group is carrying out this occupation in solidarity with the 1.5 million people of Gaza and to ensure that Jewish voices against the massacre in Gaza are being heard. They are demanding that Israel end its military assault and lift the 18-month siege on the Gaza Strip to allow humanitarian aid into the territory.

Israel has been carrying out a full-scale military assault on the Gaza Strip since December 27, 2008. At least 660 people have been killed and 3000 injured in the air strikes and in the ground invasion that began on January 3, 2009. Israel has ignored international calls for a ceasefire and is refusing to allow food, adequate medical supplies and other necessities of life into the Gaza Strip.

Protesters are outraged at Israel's latest assault on the Palestinian people and by the Canadian government's refusal to condemn these massacres.They are deeply concerned that Canadians are hearing the views of pro-Israel groups who are being represented as the only voice of Jewish Canadians. The protesters have occupied the consulate to send a clear statement that many Jewish-Canadians do not support Israel's violence and apartheid policies. They are joining with people of conscience all across the world who are demanding an end to Israeli aggression and justice for the Palestinian people.

The group includes: Judy Rebick, professor; Judith Deutsch, psychoanalyst and president of Science for Peace; B.H. Yael, filmmaker; Smadar Carmon, a Canadian Israeli peace activist and others.

Spokespersons for the group are outside the Israeli consulate.

Source: http://yayacanada.blogspot.com/2009/01/jewish-women-occupy-israeli-consulate.html

i am there

I Am There

I come from there and remember,
I was born like everyone is born, I have a mother
and a house with many windows,
I have brothers, friends and a prison.
I have a wave that sea-gulls snatched away.
I have a view of my own and an extra blade of grass.
I have a moon past the peak of words.
I have the godsent food of birds and an olive tree beyond the kent of time.
I have traversed the land before swords turned bodies into banquets.

I come from there, I return the sky to its mother when for its mother the
sky cries, and I weep for a returning cloud to know me.
I have learned the words of blood-stained courts in order to break the rules.
I have learned and dismantled all the words to construct a single one:
Home

--Mahmoud Darwish

hmmm....