December's Blogthings

Your 1996 Theme Song Is: Macarena by Los Del Rio

When I dance they call me macarena And the boys, they say that I'm buena They all want me, they can't have me So they all come and dance beside me

What's Your 1996 Theme Song?

dresses

As much as I like formal occasions-dressing up and all. I hate the part where you have find a dress and shoes if what you always wore is no longer available.

I've been looking online and found the following links for formal and party dresses for people of a certain size or with a a certain amount of modesty:

http://www.latterdaybride.com/magazine.php
http://www.sydneyscloset.com/asp/category.asp?categoryid=35
http://www.curvyandchic.com/index.cfm?page=plus-size-womens-clothing-formal-chic
http://www.chadwicks.com/product.aspx?PfId=37107&DeptId=9703&producttypeid=1&PurchaseType=0
http://ullapopken.com/special-occasion/c/217/c2c/ln/
http://www.pyramidcollection.com/itemdy00.asp?c=a&T1=P9648+2X&GEN1=All+Apparel&SKW=apparel&PageNo=4

http://www.promgirl.com/shop/pretty_princess_plus/ballgowns?sr=1&VA=TRUE
http://www.promgirl.com/shop/dresses/viewitem-PD200672
http://www.promgirl.com/shop/plus-events/holiday?sr=1&VA=TRUE


I chose the beautiful burgundy dress sold at the Pyramid collection site.

Robert Altman is dead

One of the last American film mavericks has died at the age of 82.

I became aware of Altman's work in the usual fashion-I saw a movie of his when I was a child and only understood what I was looking at when I got older. The movie was "Popeye" and at the time it was a big thing because Robin Williams was starring in it. As a very small child, I did not like it because it was not animated.

The next Altman movie I saw was "M*A*S*H*," which was a little hard to watch initially because I grew up with the tv series and so seeing Donald Sutherland as Hawkeye and a different Henry Blake was weird. I also was not ready for the meaness and the daily brutality that the characters dealt with. I think in many ways the movie made the better case for how people create a livable situation out of the unthinkable, simply because Robert Altman was able to elicit stories and reactions that were definitely not allowable on television during the time period of the tv series.

I then saw the "Long Goodbye " and "Nashville", both of which I think were as much a commentary on the 1970s as they were their own narrative. I remembered when "Tanner '88" came out, I cursed the fact that we did not have cable. I remembered thinking that it had to be more interesting that some of what was on tv at the time. I am pleased that Altman was able to do an update to Tanner.

The last Altman film I saw was "The Prairie Home Companion" and I was not disappointed. I think that it was a fitting end to a strange and wonderful career. I wonder if Sweet By and By was sang at his funeral.

Pair Use The Force For Jedi Religion

Leave it to Britain to work hard at making Jedi a religion. I heard tell that many answered this on their census in regards to a religion.

I don't know that I see 'Jedi' as a religion but more as a philosophy, much like Taoism. It is composed of a code of behaviour that yes, was started by a Hollywood movie director but that has been expanded and that has been based on other "real world" practices.

I read their letter and I shudder when I read, " We have a proud heritage dating back 195,000 years to our first Jedi, the blue haired, blue eyed Kaja Sinis, who was born on Coruscant."

First of all, none of that is founded in reality-at least that we can measure. Second, the "blue haired, blue eyed" but sounded like greying Aryan nation members.

I applaud them for wanting more Religious Tolerance. I just don't know if they will be taken seriously.

The World of 'The Outsiders'

Well I found out that the author of 'The Outsiders' has a website : http://www.sehinton.com.
It's simple and clean, but leaves an impression just like her novels. I think I will revisit it frequently as I work on my own website.

NOLA-Final Day

With a sense of sadness, I woke up and got ready. I knew that it would be my final day here at the HandsOn New Orleans base camp and that I would need to return back to my life in Massachusetts-work, lousy public transportation, chilly weather, dear friends and all.

I just saw another team member off. It's funny-we are all going back to Boston but not together and though we will be a phone call or an email away, we will likely fall into being so busy that we won't have that shared time like we did during this trip. We definitely will get together to see off two of our team before they return to Korea in December.

We are also going to establish a flick'r account so soon you will all see photos that I and the group took during our time here. As Jamie and Ethan both said it will be interesting to see the different perspectives in shots of some of the same sites taken by different people. A photographer's composition is unique. My photos of the Lower Ninth Ward may convey a different sensibility than say those taken by Joey and Justin-the two engineering students from Korea.

I am looking forward to trying to get in on a last gut today since those can be completed in the morning time. My flight is not until later in the afternoon and I really would like to get one more physical job in.

While he was waiting for his taxi, Brian used Google Maps and information from the New York Times coverage to show how Katrina affected the areas we've been working in.

Tomorrow I will definitely be able to post some reflections hopefully along with whether or not I was able to make a last gut!

NOLA-Day Five

Well, it's the fifth day and in keeping with its original mission, Sunday was a day of rest.

As mentioned before, HandsOn New Orleans operates out of a church. The First Union Methodist Church located on Dryades. Reverend Eden, a young and dynamic preacher, preached quite the sermon today. We could hear it in the bunkhouse and it reverberated off of the walls. The "breast" reference turned quite a few heads. I thought about attending. I laid back down in my bunk somewhere about 5:30AM after I showered.
6:00AM rolled around. Then 7:00AM. Then 7:15. Then 8:00AM appeared, when is when the service began. I could hear it lound and clear. in fact, I thought for a moment that it was on the radio. Somewhere in my early teens, my mother took to listening to religious services on the radio. The station was WILD, which unlike NOLA, was one of the very few stations devoted to a format that serve a Black population. Sunday began with Christian services and ended with Islam. There was the usual mix of gospel songs. Then there were the news programs. I was surprised that I had forgotten all of that until now.

After getting ready, I walked around the neighborhood with one of the members of our team named Christy. She was one of the members of the group that I spoke to the least, even though her name was familiar to me. I found that we had more in common than one would think and that she was a great charmer of cats. There was a black cat that looked at us and that definitely did not want a part of me. Seh

The Boston Cares group went to have brunch at the Columns Hotel located at 3500 St. Charles Avenue. Two benefactors from Boston set it up as a 'thank you' to us before we all left on the trip back home. The hotel is beautiful. The paneling alone makes you feel that this is a special space. It definitely This hotel was also the setting for Louis Malle's movie with Brooke Shields called "Pretty Baby."

Brunch was wonderful. I had the smoked pork tenders with sweet potatoes and REAL key lime pie. It was nice to have champagne for breakfast on a day that was not New Year's Day.

We all took a group photo on the steps as well. It was a bittersweet moment because it would be the last time that we would all be together.

Later on we were left to our own devices. Those who had not seen the Ninth Ward took a tour there. Others went on the Riverwalk and others went downtown. I went downtown. I thought that I had joined the group that intended to go downtown. I was mistaken and mad at myself for not paying attention. I consoled myself with the fact that I got to change into my jeans, which was an opportunity that I would not have had.

I walked part of the way downtown and took a cab the rest of the way since I was unsure. I also figured that I would memorize the path and walk it on my return. My cab driver was another Katrina victim. No house really to speak of left. He had to resort to renting. I was dropped off near Jackson Square.