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Big birds flying across the sky, throwing shadows in our eyes…

Filed under: Art & Literature, Being Mom, Love, Musicness — Leave a comment
August 29, 2013

A somewhat maybe not-so-random mix for you tonight…

Things are good. Things are getting better. I’m practicing being patient. Always. I’m always practicing being patient.

But I have to give myself some credit this week. I feel like I did a pretty damn good job. I was supportive, honest, and firm. I listened, I validated, and I explained. I gave leeway when necessary, which can be so difficult…that line between nudging and coercing…that line between allowing for expression and asserting expectations…I’m not perfect, but I did alright. I’m proud of the boys through all of this. It can be so easy to get caught up in the personality traits of my children that are more challenging, and forget about all of the wonderful things about them. The fact is, if I could mold their personalities exactly they way I wanted them to be, that would pretty much go against everything I’ve ever tried to teach them. My hope for them is that they grow up and they aren’t total assholes. There’s a lot of room there for a variety of outcomes. ❤

I’m pretty sure they’ll do ok.

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Heir to a Future You Never Made

Filed under: Art & Literature, Being Mom, Musicness, Nerdgasm, Uncategorized — Leave a comment
August 27, 2013

Today was…interesting.

The Tao of Bird started school yesterday. He’s been really anxious about it, but I have been doing my best to get him prepared. Slowly over the preceding weeks we’ve worked on desensitizing as much as we can, and I’ve tried to remain positive with him even though my fucking heart is breaking about this and I think it’s totally dumb. I’ve reassured him that he’ll be fine, that he’s prepared, that he’ll make friends…that there’s nothing to be afraid of, and that, regardless, just about everyone else there has the same fears.

My plan was to get to the school early Monday morning to get his schedule so I could at least make sure he knew how to get to all of his classes. Unfortunately, the registrar had other plans, and we spent all the time I had intended to spend further preparing him for a successful first day sitting in the office (yet again) because there was some question about our paperwork. Oh, the endless freaking paperwork you have to fill out to go to school these days – most of which seems to center on keeping certain students OUT of certain schools.

But we got it figured out, and we were directed down the (wrong) hallway to TOB’s first class, corrected ourselves, and I shooed him in the right direction before going home.

I spent the whole day expecting to get a call from the counselor…or someone. But, nothing. It seemed like this school thing might take. TOB came home in a somewhat upbeat mood, and managed to maintain that for several hours before breaking down in tears, telling me how stressful it was, telling me he couldn’t even eat lunch because the cafeteria stressed him out so bad. Telling me he wasn’t going to go to school anymore. And I gave him the pep talk. And I went over the routine for bedtime, breakfast time, school time, and after-school time.

And this morning when I tried to wake him up…he didn’t want to get up. Then he got up…but he didn’t want to get out of bed. Then he got out of bed, but he was ABSOLUTELY NOT GOING TO SCHOOL. And over the period of an hour, we inched closer and closer to the door…me alternating between attempting to encourage and trying not to scream at the top of my lungs. Closer to the door. Closer. Closer. Until I was able to get him out. Said goodbye. Locked up. Went to my office. Came out to check 5 minutes later, and he was gone. “Phew.” I thought.

On my break, I felt a twinge of sorrow when I exited my office and there was no TOB flinging himself at me from some corner of the house.

I went to the back door to let the cat in…

And there was TOB.

“What the…?” I opened the door. He said “Hi mom. I’m going to school tomorrow. I thought about it. I’m sorry. By the way, while I was out there the cats and I started a cult of Carl Sagan. Tiny Cat is a bad disciple, though.”

You know…sometimes you look at your children, and they seem so much BIGGER than they should be. Today I looked at TOB – who is pretty much as tall as me now. And I couldn’t get over how tiny he seems. I gotta say – I think he’s a tough kid. I think he’s a lot stronger than he should have to be at his age. Don’t get me wrong about that. But after all of the phone calls and conversations with counselors and emails to his father and tears and discussions and agreements…all I could think about was how very much I love that little guy. Like, with all my fucking heart. And I just don’t want anyone to fuck with him. I want him to be as HIM as he possibly can be. Silly, smart, brave, kind, strong, sensitive, sweet…HIM.

So, I’m trying to remain honest. I’m acknowledging that I’m not feeling great about all of this, but that it will be good for him to be settled into a routine. This whole year has been a huge disruption in the life of our family. In the lives of these children. They’ve been through the ringer. Being in school gives TOB a good neutral ground to stand on and cultivate his own identity independent of his overbearing mommy and his know-it-all big brother. He has a foundation of learning, and love of learning, that I know will persist. And he has some pretty significant obstacles he needs to overcome. I’m not averse to having a team of experts helping me support him in dealing with those obstacles.

I’m trying to focus on these things, but I will still visibly flinch when I read teacher handouts that contain misspelled words. And I will still audibly complain when I’m filling out YET ANOTHER FUCKING FORM, especially if said FUCKING FORM is on treated paper that’s impossible to actually write on.

Onward and upward. Tomorrow is another day. I’ve been assured it will be better. Cross your fingers for us, plz.

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All Things Go. All Things Go.

Filed under: Art & Literature, Being Mom, Musicness, Nerdgasm, zines — Leave a comment
August 23, 2013

Lately I’ve been dancing. By myself. In my room. Because I don’t feel like being outside walking. And because it feels good to move. And to be alone. And have I mentioned I have pretty lights on my bed? Hehehe.

I’m writing the Lexicon of Lainie. I’ve always threatened to write a Lexicon of the Duro Landry family, but I never get around to it, so I’m writing the lexicon of Lainie. This is the idea for the zine. It’s evolving.

A sampling of the lexicon:

A – Artichoke

B – Birds

C – Chicago

D – You get the drift…

The lexicon for our family would include a lot of potty humor and all of the foibles of my awkward mothering moments with my boys. Like the time I burst out laughing the first time I saw a sign for “Fallas” and when the boys asked why, I responded with factual information about the meaning of the word “phallus,” which was totally scandalous of me, apparently. They will never let me forget that, among other things.  And the various words and phrases…like the way Monk once said “pickle” by sticking his tongue out at the end…or how Cole used to like to squeeze the fat on my arm…which he would frequently request to do by asking me “Can I pinch your arm have?”

Among other things. Hahaha. You know? I’m a pretty darn lucky mama.

 

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The Lost Art of Keeping a Secret

Filed under: Art & Literature, Love, Nerdgasm, zines — Leave a comment
August 19, 2013

I found this in an old journal…

And today I heard this:

and…yeah. Pretty much. Thank you for that validation.

In other news…I’ve been thinking about getting a tattoo. Actually, I’ve been thinking about it for awhile, but I feel like all of this year’s transitions warrants a commemorative permanent engraving on my arm. So, I’m thinking artichoke. I have an idea for pomegranates on my back, but I’m not ready for that yet. So, artichoke.

I also think I want to do a zine. Full Color. I’m not sure if I want to do art cards or one big zine or a series, but the above is an example. It would be an alphabet of my favorite quotes, with drawings. A huge challenge for me, because I am not a great artist…but I think it would be fun to challenge myself to draw. And, since I love to alphabetize things…the idea of doing an alphabet is appealing. We’ll see. My last zine idea – an account of my last trip to Chicago – is still sitting there, being sad. With only a page or two done. This one seems easier somehow. Less personal. Less dramatic. Defined parameters with some creative wiggle room. I could maybe do a letter a month of subscription postcards, do a biannual zine with 6 or so letters, and put a book out with the whole alphabet after 2 years. Hehehe.

If I did that , would you subscribe?

❤

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There’s no Black Ops, Yeah Nobody’s Reading Your Mail

Filed under: Love, Musicness, Politics — Leave a comment
August 14, 2013

 

I can’t remember what I came here to say. Just that I wanted to write something. Because it’s the end of the day. Because these next few weeks are going to be difficult. Because the last few weeks have been difficult. Because I’m telling myself I have nothing to complain about. But I do. Because anyone can engage in comparative anguish and come out feeling not-so-anguished…but sometimes it’s important to feel the anguish. Just a little. Not too much.

Did I ever tell you about the time that I declared the word “Bitch” a forbidden word in this house.

My eldest son must have been around 7 or 8.

So, when he would get mad at me, he would say “You are a FORBIDDEN WORD!!!”

Sigh.

Also…did you ever think the New York Times would run a story that basically confirms what formerly used to be dismissed as paranoid fantasies?

For the next week, their preparations followed a similar pattern — when they entered Snowden’s room, they would remove their cellphone batteries and place them in the refrigerator of Snowden’s minibar. They lined pillows against the door, to discourage eavesdropping from outside, then Poitras set up her camera and filmed. It was important to Snowden to explain to them how the government’s intelligence machinery worked because he feared that he could be arrested at any time.

Meaning this song needs a serious lyrical adjustment…

And, in looking for that song, I stumbled upon this article:

THE NSA KNOWS YOU’VE GOT AWESOME TASTE IN MUSIC. 10 SONGS FOR THE SURVEILLANCE STATE. #SOUNDCHECK

And, with that…

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to learn compassion by trial and error…

Filed under: Art & Literature, Being Mom, Love, Musicness, Nerdgasm, Politics — Leave a comment
August 8, 2013

Things are gearing up in Chicago. It’s going to be difficult to keep my eyes off of my feed and on my work tomorrow.

Right now, I’m freshly showered and staring at tiny lights in between words/thoughts.

Being a mama is so freaking difficult, you guys. My goal, as a parent, is to allow my children to have as much freedom as I feel like they are capable of handling responsibly, and to allow them as many choices as I can.

Sometimes, that makes things a lot more difficult. Sometimes…I’m not entirely sure I’ve made the right choices as a parent, so how can I expect my children to make the right choices as children?

I found this poem fragment in an old journal:

Usually my relationships die like Elvis

on the toilet.

This one

Kurt Cobained – offing itself

before it had a chance to become what it swore it never would be.

(I’m glad I still have heroes. I’m glad I still have dreams)

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Bella Ciao. Bella Ciao. Bella Ciao Ciao Ciao

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August 2, 2013
Image by US Action: http://usaction.org/

Image by US Action: http://usaction.org/

 

Dear Friends,

In solidarity with those who will be attending the 40th annual meeting of the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) in Chicago on August 7-9, local Austin activists are hoping to build a coalition in opposition to ALEC’s influence over our legislative process in Texas.

For those who are not aware, ALEC is an organization that promotes a pro-corporate agenda by way of aiding big business in drafting bills that our legislators then attempt to pass into law. On ALEC task forces, corporate lobbyists and special interests vote as equals with elected representatives on templates to change our laws, behind closed doors with no press or public allowed to see the votes or deliberations. This agenda is orchestrated on both a state and national level, and has been the process by which problematic laws have passed through the legislatures of several state governments.  For example:

• Anti-women’s health bills like HB2 in Texas (introduced by Rep. Jodie Laubenberg, ALEC’s Texas Chair), SB 353 in North Carolina, SB 206 in WIsconsin and HB 200 in Ohio

• Anti-justice legislation such as “Three Strikes”, Stand Your Ground”, and mandatory minimum sentencing laws

• Healthcare proposals to weaken FDA drug regulation, privatize Medicare and Medicaid, repeal laws that expand public access to health care, and bar the families of Americans injured or killed by drugs and medical devices from holding manufacturers accountable in courts of law

• “Ag Gag” laws that prosecute whistleblowers for even so much as taking photographs of feedlots and factory farms to expose animal cruelty and food safety concerns

• Anti-environment legislation to roll back pollution regulations and health safeguards, eliminate clean energy competition, and allow drilling and extractive mining on protected lands

• Privatization of public services including but not limited to public schools, foster care, adoption and child support enforcement, Social Security, correctional facilities, environmental research facilities and public utilities

• Opposition to initiatives to roll back the Citizens United v FEC decision or fix the worst aspects of it

• “Jobs” legislation that would lower wages, eliminate employee rights, bust unions and ship more American jobs overseas

• Voter ID and other voter suppression legislation

• Opposition to comprehensive immigration reform and a pathway to citizenship

• And much, much more.

Since ALEC has its fingers in so very many pies, this is a great opportunity to connect the dots between all of the various grassroots organizations in Austin, and provide space for everyone to work together to oppose corporate influence over our representative democracy. Toward that end, you and your colleagues are invited to a meeting on Monday, August 5th at 7 PM on the Austin City Hall Plaza to plan a visual solidarity action aimed at building the coalition and educating the public about the various ways our issues are all connected.  This action will tentatively take place under the Rotunda at the Texas State Capitol on Friday, August 9th at 1 PM.  We’ll also discuss plans for the future.

Let’s show our legislators that Austin is united in opposition to corporate influence on our state Capitol.

If you are unable to make the meeting on the 5th or the action on the 9th, you can email me at lainie.duro@gmail.com for more information about future meeting dates and actions.

Here’s the Facebook event for the action that will take place on August 9th: https://www.facebook.com/events/493662220715367/

 

Sincerely,

 

Lainie Duro

Occupy Austin participant

Unruly Mob Media Team member

Rise Up/Levanta Texas participant

Mother of 2

❤

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Like a glamour billboard on a battlefield

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August 1, 2013

There is SO MUCH organizing going on in Austin these days. There are SO MANY things to be pissed off about. There are SO MANY ways to act upon creating a better world.

Since I’m feeling like I’m in Calendar mode, please allow me to map out the next few days for you – both personally and politically:

THURSDAY

(I’ll be working through most of these)

9-10:30 AM: Budget out Acevedo! (first of 2 events) @ City Hall – https://www.facebook.com/events/498508403561139/?suggestsessionid=6f0565fc5d7f29911673e8caea6e028d

1st event, 9-10:30am/City Hall
2nd event, 5:30-7pm/APD HQ

PROTEST AT CITY COUNCIL BUDGET WORKSESSION—to “budget out” our Police Chief/budget for a police chief search:

After Byron Carter’s unjust murder and subsequent cover-up, some folks wanted to call for Acevedo’s firing, since that made it clear he is not the chief we thought we were getting (it proved his poor handling of Sanders was a pattern; not an isolated event). When he started, he made some good changes-on paper and in practice; built up some community trust simply by being present and responsive, then after the Sanders shooting/cover up, resorted to old skool bad-cop-no-donut chief, which only worsened with Carter’s death.

We can now see APD struggling GREATLY to justify the foot chase of Eugene Jackson; and therefore justify the killing…when it may even be that the gun went off accidentally! Of course, they know if it did or not by now, so the lies/spin has DEFINITELY begun – there is no more “waiting for the facts.” The fact is they are lying…the truth is now immaterial from an accountability standpoint.

This is the final straw for many…it’s time for Acevedo to go. He’s wiped away any good deeds from his first couple of years of his tenure, and now many feel we’re worse off than we were before he came.
==================================
Austin City Council has notoriously been silent when police shoot unarmed black men in our town. They are the boss of the City Manager, who is the boss of the chief. As our elected leaders, they have a duty to publicly ask questions/hold the chief accountable during these crucial community times.

THEY must make the decision to fire him, ultimately.

Thursday, starting at 9am, is Council’s first 2013/14 budget presentation/worksession. Let’s go for the 1st hour or so, while tv cameras are about, and hold signs demanding they budget for a new police chief search so they can fire him and we can move on as a community.

We can stand inside the boards/commission room at the back, or outside, holding signs up to the windows of the room.

Noon: Texas Solidarity Singers @The Capitol – https://www.facebook.com/events/525129900874018/

NOTE – 2 seperate sing-alongs are at:
Noon to 1pm and 8pm to 10pm
Come join our Solidarity Sing Alongs every Thursday at noon and/or evening during the 3rd Special Session of the Texas Legislature. We’ll have songbooks and smiles. You bring a voice, good, bad, or ugly. It all sounds good in the rotunda. You don’t have to stay the whole time, just as long as you can.Our purpose is to stand with Wisconsin and North Carolina and let the Texas Legislature know we haven’t gone away; we’re still watching. Wisconsinites have been doing this every weekday since 2011. North Carolina’s Moral Mondays just ended with about 1,000 people turning out for the last day of their legislative session.These singalongs are modeled after the Wisconsin Solidarity Sing Alongs. They designed and sent us this logo and shared their songbook. Our support means a lot to them.Noon sing alongs start at, well noon or as soon as you can get there from your lunch hour. You’ll get a musician with his instrument!Evening singalongs start at 8 p.m. The Capitol closes at 10 p.m. We will sing until then. Those who wish to keep singing can continue outside.Parking is free in the evenings in the visitor parking lot at 12th and Trinity.

5:30 pm: FIRE Austin Police Chief Acevedo – https://www.facebook.com/events/601762469869120/

2nd event:
After countless cover ups by the APD to protect criminal cops, the community is rallying to demand that the Mayor & City Council fire Austin Police Chief Art Acevedo. The rally will take place at the steps of the Austin Police Department on Thursday, August 1st at 5:30 pm. This is a community effort.

The latest killing of an innocent, unarmed, African-American man (Larry Eugene Jackson, Jr.) by APD compels us to say enough is enough. Art Acevedo and his cronies have once again come out and made up excuses for why his cop (who broke policy) ‘had’ to kill an unarmed man, and as per standard operating procedure, they have been working overtime to slander the victim of police brutality. The buck should stop with the city council and the police chief.

7 PM: Justice for Trayvon Organizing Meeting – https://www.facebook.com/events/295948833883408/

Organizing to plan for the national march on Washington and local events related to Trayvon Martin’s case and other cases of racism in ATX.

8 PM: Texas Solidarity Singalong, Take Two – https://www.facebook.com/events/525129900874018/ (See above description)

FRIDAY

(I’ll be doing mom/kid stuff all day)

SATURDAY

(I’ll be working most of the day, but this is going on…)

12:30 PM: Stand Up Against APD Brutality – #JusticeForJackson – https://www.facebook.com/events/171535619693256/ AS you may or may not have heard, the Austin Police Department is responsible for yet another death of an UNARMED, African-American Male.

Details on shooting:

1. Jackson was unarmed.

2. Detective Charles Kleinert enlisted a ride from a citizen to track down Jackson.http://www.statesman.com/news/news/crime-law/police-investigating-detectives-tactics-in-shootin/nY7Wb/

3. Kleinert broke APD policy 216.

4. Jackson was fatally shot in the back of the neck.

ENOUGH IS ENOUGH!

Calling all activists, community leaders, church members, students, allies, and anyone that cares about this ongoing INJUSTICE SYSTEM here in Austin, TX to join me THIS SATURDAY @ 12:30pm in front of the Austin Police Department (8th and I-35) as we call for the following actions:

– Detective Charles Kleinert be punished and/or fired for his abuse of power and lethal force to an unarmed individual who was not being legally detained.

– An investigation into the ENTIRE Austin Police Department for police for their history of wrongful deaths caused by police officers

– Suspension and/or removal of current Police Chief Art Acevedo for his lack of leadership and failure to address these issues as they continue to happen.

– JUSTICE FOR LARRY EUGENE JACKSON!

SUNDAY

7:30 PM: 1984 Day Movie-Watching Party @location to be announced Join us on August 4th to watch We Are Legion: The Story of the Hacktivists- a 2012 documentary film about the workings and beliefs of the self-described “hacktivist” collective, Anonymous who organize online and offline protests in efforts to protect free speech, internet freedom, and personal privacy.

This will be a fun opportunity to bring your friends to talk through the current level of surveillance present in all of our lives, so invite anyone affected by the NSA’s disregard of our fourth amendment rights- which is to say, invite everyone!

More details regarding event-specifics to come, but mark the date and time on your calendars folks! Our journey to restoring the fourth amendment is just beginning and we need one another’s support to continue fighting the good fight. Your presences makes a difference.

MONDAY
(more mom stuff for me, and…)

7 PM: Planning Meeting for ALEC Protest Solidarity Action and Coalition-Building @Austin City Hall (Facebook page not yet created.)

THURSDAY
(Worky worky…and then…)

5:45 PM: ACTION: Stop Marriott Developer from Cheating Austin!! @Austin City Hall – https://www.facebook.com/events/447144502047573/ The developer of the Marriott is lobbying City Council to get around the law and not pay workers their fair wages. Cheaters don’t get to change the rules of the game!! Come support workers and their allies on August 8th at City Hall!

Last month, we celebrated that the City of Austin had cut off all tax breaks to developer White Lodging, the largest hotel developer in Austin, because it failed to keep its promise to workers and taxpayers to pay fair wages to the workers building the JW Marriott. However, White Lodging’s high-powered lobbyists are pushing city council to re-write the law, so that the developer can get $3.8 million dollars in tax breaks without having to pay workers their fair wages.
Basically, White Lodging got caught cheating and now they want to change the rules of the game!

We need YOUR SUPPORT to tell Council on August 8t that our community expects them to uphold the terms of the original agreement: pay workers a fair wage in order to receive tax breaks.

Make sure our City leaders do the right thing!
EMAIL MAYOR AND COUNCIL MEMBERS the message below by clicking here: http://www.austintexas.gov/mail/all-council-members

Dear Mayor Leffingwell and City Council,

I respectfully urge you to defend workers and taxpayers, not back room developer deals. City Staff has already ruled that White Lodging failed to pay workers wages in accordance with the ordinance. If the city gives in to White Lodging and re-writes the rules of the game, we allow this developer to get away with $3.8 million in tax dollars while breaking their promise to the men and women who are building our city.

We should invest in responsible businesses; however, Austin needs to hold developers accountable who don’t uphold their end of the bargain.

FRIDAY

1 PM: Solidarity with ALEC Protest Action @TX State Capitol (Facebook event not yet created.)

Phew!

Also, look at this awesome sandwich. Best veggie sandwich in the world is at Little Deli right here in Austin. Not to be all advertise-y or anything, but I’m just saying…

Also…it took me far far too long to write this post. I’d like to post on upcoming activist events more often, but it’d be nice to know if it’s helpful…so let me know!

Also also…don’t even ASK me about the italics. Somewhere in the middle of this post, the formatting got all screwed up, and I’m too tired to fix it now. Hahaha. Deal with it!

 

❤

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New Clear Daze

Filed under: Being Mom, Love, Musicness, Nerdgasm — 2 Comments
July 30, 2013

So, this is what today is all about:

sweet, happy, fairy bed. ❤

 

*bliss*

In other words – today hasn’t been much about anything. But these pretty lights make me happy, so I’ll make the day about them.

Did I mention the lights?

Also, Tao of Bird and I made Beignets today. They were super yummy, and so fun and easy to make I decided I’m going to have a mimosa and beignet brunch next week.

beignets and coffee with whipped cream

There’s lots going on here. Birdy is going to be starting school this year. Public school. In 7th grade. I am at odds with that decision philosophically, but it’s one of those times in life when I had to make a choice based on nothing but bad options. My job now is to prepare him the best I can for that transition and be here to support him as he goes through it. I’m certain…beyond certain…that he is a wonderful, brilliant, charming boy who will adapt wonderfully and have tons of friends. And I know he has a good sense of who he is. He’s a strong little fart, in spite of his occasional bouts of insecurity. ❤

So, we’re preparing for that. In a variety of ways.

Buddha the Grouch, on the other hand, is getting ready for his own leap into more formally-structured schooling by enrolling in the Early College High School program at ACC.

I don’t want to talk too much about them, because they are getting older and they have their own lives, and they don’t need their mama blogging about them out in public, but I’m proud of both of those guys. They each have unique challenges and strengths, and it’s delightful to watch them both become the people they will be. Gradually and non-linearly. Being a mom is really fucking difficult, yes. But it’s hella rewarding to get to see personalities forming right before your very eyes – even when those personalities seem to conflict with each other’s and mine to a frustrating degree…hahaha.

As for me…my work week starts in the morning. 3 days on. 1 day off. 1 day on. 2 days off. It’s not a bad schedule at all. Totally bearable. I kind of hate that I’m growing to really enjoy this job, because I think I still have residual shellshock from how abruptly I was vacated from my last job (and, yet, when I look back at my last job, I realize I had not been happy there for YEARS…so it was actually a relief to be let go, even though it seemed like a terrible tragedy at the time.) It’s like a bad breakup that makes you feel insecure right on into the next relationship, even though the previous relationship wasn’t all that great in the first place and the breakup was probably long overdue.

I’m really fucking awesome at romanticizing something while it’s going on. Just being ok with it, because security. Even when it becomes practically unbearable and what sense security when you’re not safe where you are?

How is it possible that I am also a pro at romanticizing after the fact something that was totally shitty for the duration. WTF, me? Can you please maintain a level of consistency in your ability to turn shit into shinola?

But, whatever. As one of my favorite mentors once told me “Worry is negative goal setting.”

I’m just going to lay back and stare at little colored lights until they blur and fade to black.

❤

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…and left you with sweet fuck all.

Filed under: Musicness, Politics — Leave a comment
July 26, 2013

I haven’t much to say, really. It’s been a tough week.

I took a short walk tonight. Did some writing. Am in the process of dying my hair again. I didn’t have gloves, so I thought “fuck it. I’ll just have to deal with having purple hands for a bit.” And I can do that, because I am working from home now. Yay.

Not sure how long it will take for that to come out. hahhahaha.

I’m thinking tonight’s blog post will be one of those long, rambling, music-filled posts. In honor of my brothers and sisters in Wisconsin, who were arrested for SINGING in their capitol building.

The police come in waves, five times in the noon hour of singing. There are dozens. They surround a singer (why that one?) and grab him, grab her, asking if they are dispersing. No one consents to disperse. Zipties are ratcheted around wrists. I watch a cluster of black shirted black gloved grim men surround a middle-aged woman. They perform their wrist-twist jobs with the satisfaction of bondage well done. Craft. Take pride in your work. After all, she knew the new rules, and she was singing. We cannot have people expressing dissatisfaction with our government without permission from our government.

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2013/07/25/1226622/-Songs-in-the-Key-of-Resistance-The-Police-Came-in-Waves-Today

The Solidarity Sing Along began in March, 2011, as a way to maintain an oppositional voice to Scott Walker’s government and policies after they rammed through Act 10, the law that all but busted public sector unions in the state. The law is being challenged and is still working its way through federal and state courts.

People who came to the capitol to sing in those early days did so out of a deep sense of frustration that the legitimate concerns of hundreds of thousands of people in the state were simply disregarded by the Republican controlled legislature and governor. If they had no power to influence legislation through their elected representatives, they would bring their concerns directly to the public forum that is the capitol rotunda in the form of song.

http://www.progressive.org/why-my-parents-got-arrested-in-madison

Dude. That’s fucked up.

So, in honor of the Solidarity Sing Along, I’m posting some non-political songs that I like to sing along to. Badly. Because it’s not illegal to sing in my own home…yet. And some songs that I just like to listen to. In no particular order, except they sounded good together…

 

Have a lovely today and a lovelier tomorrow… ❤

 

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