Hurricane Katrina

No doubt if you logged on, you saw a link somewhere that allows you to donate to the relief effort for Hurricane Katrina.

I just wanted to second the call to support the Red Cross and its programs.

Many people are at a loss as to how to help from so far away, especially when they hear about the hunger and the desperation.

All donations big or small would be appreciated at this time. Sovereign Bank is matching the first $50,000 donations that are made at their branches that are payable to the Red Cross.

I have often enough said that I had family that came from Mobile. Thankfully, no one was hurt or is suffering. People are down there without power which is actually considered good in comparison to New Orleans and the state of Mississippi.

So...I made my contribution. I hope that others will make theirs if they can: American Red Cross-www.redcross.org

Addendum
Okay...maybe this entry reads a bit like the solicitation letters that organizations send out on a monthly basis but hey, my heart is in the right place even if I am not very original.

Katrina and the Waves

This group has gotten more press lately than even during the time when their song was used in various commericals.

Hurricane Katrina has been making dangerous and deadly waves in the Gulf Coast. May all of our thoughts be with them.

Interesting...

Though I am not the fourth born...

You Are Likely A Forth Born

At your darkest moments, you feel angry. At work and school, you do best when your analyzing. When you love someone, you tend to be very giving. In friendship, you don't take the initiative in reaching out. Your ideal jobs are: factory jobs, comedy, and dentistry. You will leave your mark on the world with your own personal philosophy.

The Birth Order Predictor

Well...

Well...
I'm getting better at coding and cutting and pasting to customize the template for this blog. I do like the fact that you have two chances to view my profile.

Items of interest

1. On July 17, 2005, Tom Peters, the grand poobah of sensible branding was googled 665,000 according to his website.
BTW- his mother died. My condolences.

2. I still can't believe that Ewan MacGregor went from Renton in Trainspotting to Obi Wan Kenobi in the Star Wars prequels.

3. Who knew that Northeastern University offered a certificate in Nonprofit Management.

4. Outback Steakhouse is probably about as authentically Australian as Foster's Beers.

5. A dance song doesn't sing unless it has the best bassline and drumline and they are in concert.

Another Apparently

Apparently I like collecting links. Some of them I got to frequently. Some of them I revisit after a while. So today I add more...

My take on...

-Abortion
It is a woman's right to choose. Period.
In terms of a father's right to the unborn child. Honestly, I think that unless children are a definite in the relationship, a man should use protection. Period.
A woman should be responsible about it. She should tell the man as she sees fit.

-Cindy Sheehan
I applaud her for sticking to her convictions. However, she will not likely get what she is seeking. I think the best thing that she could do is to work with the returning veterans who would agree that we should be out of Iraq.

-Iraq
My money is on the insurgents. History has proven that with few exceptions, that cornered mice are a danger to behold. The insurgents have the advantage of knwoledge of the terrain and of pretty much having nothing to lose. They have lines of communication (that is supplies and support) that have yet to be broken and unlikely won't. Basically we are engaged in a war of resources. It will be a question of who will outlast whom. I would rather we leave with a stable situation in place but that will not be likely I think.

-The Sovereignty Bill for Hawaiians
I'm not Hawaiian so I can only speak on what I read. I agree with the measure to an extent. I find it funny that the US will run over and over again the sins of the another country's past but will gloss over its own with a "well that happened back then and things were different." The fact is that US businessmen supported by US military overthrew the Queen of Hawaii. Period. It became a state due to the support of businessmen and others who were largely not Native Hawaiians. An apology was made, which is good. The bill would be a way to address the inequities in their lives that were caused by racism. The bill would grant Native Hawaiians the rights akin to the Native American tribes and Alaskan natives on the mainland. I find myself however, agreeing with the Hawaiian activists that say that total sovereignty (that is secession) is in order.

The View From Up There

I took one of them new-fangled balloon rides on the Boston Common with a friend. I was hoping that it would be transcendental. It was somewhat.

The two hour wait almost killed us but it was worth it. We went up at night.

The balloon, which was owned by Aeroballoon, is white. The ride lasts about 10 minutes and the balloon basically hovers over the spot that it ascends from.

Boston at night is a photographer's dream. I took some photos with my speak-and-spell camera but a real camera was needed for this task. The sky changed from blue to black. You could see the people on the ground. They were looking up at the balloon. The skyline was dotted with lights and everything seemed cleaned and fresh and limitless.

Best of all, it was so very quiet. It makes one wonder if birds experience the same thing.

I was only unnerved a little in the basket. I had to keep it together because the person that I was with was not keen on going and I knew that if I freaked out, he would too. However, there came a point where I let go and I felt free.

My life as a Frenchwoman

Your French Name Is

Gaye Georges

What's Your French Name?

The All New Updated Links list

http://www.bolt.com/journals/page/kitlat/Weblog
http://rdhigh.blogspot.com/
http://kitlat.tblog.com/
http://ladydayelle.tripod.com/theotherblog/
http://www.livejournal.com/users/ladydayelle/
http://www.xanga.com/kitlat
http://moreexplore.blogspot.com/
http://blog.myspace.com/index.cfm?
http://www.myspace.com/ladyday93
http://kitlat.blogs.friendster.com/my_blog/
http://journals.aol.com/ladydayelle/LoveLetters/
http://journals.aol.com/ladydayelle/MyThoughts/
More Links
http://kitlat.diaryland.com/
http://kitlat.stellarmag.com/weblog
http://www.greatestjournal.com/users/ladydayelle/
http://www.bebo.com/JournalPost.jsp?Ran=988019451
http://amystickalgrove.zzn.com/email/english/login/login.asp?SubDomain=amystickalgrove
http://www.exploration-.blinkz.com/
http://www.bloglines.com/blog/kitlat
http://Greenwalls.iuplog.com/default.asp
http://www.bolt.com/journals/page/kitlat/Weblog
http://www.livejournal.com/users/ladydayelle/
http://blog.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=
blog.view&blogID=9280267&
friendID=3592208&Mytoken=20041206173430
http://www.angelfire.com/zine2/exploration
http://www.angelfire.com/zine2/exploration/kitlat/
http://blog.angelfire.lycos.com/service/blog/
control.blog?a=manage&blog_id=144473
http://www.blogthings.com/whatagequiz/
http://www.angelfire.com/zine2/exploration/volunteer/
http://www.angelfire.com/zine2/exploration
http://www.angelfire.com/zine2/exploration/kitlat/
http://blog.angelfire.lycos.com/service/blog/control.blog?a=manage&blog_id=144473
http://ladyday99-ivil.tripod.com
http://ladydayelle.tripod.com/
http://ladyday99-ivil.tripod.com/theothersite
http://build.tripod.lycos.com/trellix/sitebuilder/f_all_my_sites.html

More Epiphanies

As the day wore on, I realized some things:

-I need to love myself more. Period. It is not selfish to love yourself and to put yourself first if you do not hurt anyone else.

-Every Second of Everyday Everyone does exactly what He Wants. I do have choices here and there. I make many of them all the time. The challenge is to make the right ones.

-The character of Stephanie Douglas Forrester on "The Bold and the Beautiful" is a pretty smart lady when she is not controlling everyone's lives.
Over the course of the year, she has echoed the sentiment about loving yourself and not being needy. She also mentioned that you can't make an informed decision without information. She also reminded someone that you are deserving of respect and that there is nothing wrong with demanding it. She is also big on picking yourself up and carrying on with things.

So I imagine that I have to start applying these epiphanies since epiphanies without action are just...

The Next Day

Well, this is the part in the program where I am thankful for what I have. Such things include:
-Health (pretty much)
-Life
-Ability
-Sanity

Being There and Here

There are some days where you exist in a dead zone. Some people refer to it as being numb. The word 'numb' is not quite an accurate description.
I still feel things. I just don't care about anyone else. Well at the moment.

I recall the movie "Being There" which starred Peter Sellers in one of his better films.
As Chance the Gardner, he was definitely the tabula rasa. He was simply happy just gardening and living. People who had so much, what was considered the American Dream, were so miserably. Chance, the unformed block, provided wisdom and comfort.

I wish that I could be that but I am not.

An Epiphany

According to Avery Brooks is in the IBM commercial, "An epiphany is an awakening to the essential nature of things." Or at least, he said something to that affect.

These days, I don't like epiphanies. I largely don't like them because they mean that whatever paradigm you have been seeing the world through, is suddenly just gone.

For example, someone that you trusted has betrayed you over time. You did not want to see it because since you could not believe that anyone that you could care about or that you expended so much love for could disappoint you so much.

Or, you realize that a situation that you find yourself in is never going to get better unless you let go.

Yes, part of adulthood is dealing with epiphanies.

Luann

This is the story of my life:
http://www.luannsroom.com/comics/luann/
archive/images/luann2005228910811.gif

Poor Luann. She hoped and got lucky and she wished and planned but it looks like her miracle is not to be.

Loss

A few famous people died this week.
-Peter Jennings
-Barbara Bel-Geddes
-Double Duty

Meanwhile Cindy Sheehan is taking her grief public by calling President Bush to task.
MoveOn has a petition. I just said, "do what you think is best."

Random Observations

-Last night I spent more time waiting for public transportation than should be allowed. From here on in, i will work more on walking, at least from home to the train station.

-Law and Order SVU (I always call it SUV)was all right. I always find it funny how the show teases with implications of a relationship between Benson and Stabler or between Benson and a female peer such as a cop or a prosecutor. The only critique I have for the show is MORE Richard Belzer. There was a reason why his character has been the favorite of the "cross over artists." The fact that they took his character from Homicide: Life on the Street and placed him with SVU says it all. I would also say MORE Ice-T too but they have rectified that somewhat. Also as i understand it, he is coming out with a new album so he has been preoccupied.

-Apparently, Bonnie and Clyde have gone multicultural: http://www.tennessean.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050810/NEWS03/508100453/1017/NEWS

It has come to my attention

It has come to my attention that I have neglected many of the goals that I have set for the summer. The summer is coming to an end.

Then again, I need to put in place a real plan.

A real plan with benchmarks and all of those other fun things that are used to measure success.

I am bone tired right now.

I am interested to find out how much I can accomplish from 8-11pm tonight between "choarin'" and writing and laundry and planning.

I am slowly working on rebuilding beneficial relationships. I still have a long way to go.

I believe that part of my dilemma is being caught between extremes a lot.

I think that a colleague said it best when he said that he hoped that I can find what I am looking for. That's the key isn't it?

It's a Small World

I just discovered that there are three people that I would not have suspected of blogging that belong to the Boston Bloggers Meetup.

The state of things-me being jealous of unlikely bloggers.

Apparently I...

Apparently I only have time to...
-update links
-play with the links that I have added
-lament that I haven't added anything new
-be very tired

James "Scotty" Doohan is still dead. He was cremated,and his ashes will go into space. I wonder if all of the cast of 'Star Trek' will choose a similar option.

Well these golden years are passing by...Improve them as they fly.