New Year's Resolutions

It's that time of year again -- resolutions.

I'm incredibly blessed with health, love, purpose, employment, family and friends. Barack Obama's win helped me to realize that I have power as an individual and its spurred me to make the world better. To this end, my year end donations have gone to Wesleyan University, The Greater Boston Food Bank, WBUR (my local NPR radio station) and fulfilling the wish list of a family in transition. I remember this was one of the earliest lessons I learned from grandma Alice. She gave to e'rybody. She sheltered and fed many needy people.

Have taken a scan (physically, emotionally and spiritually). Am thinking that my intention for 2009 is to stop imposing my script on others. Everyone has their own unique set of challenges and experiences. I will work to let others walk their own path without my judgement.

Behind-the-scenes video of Barack & Michelle

The Love/Avon Army of Women

I saw Dr. Susan Love on the Today Show yesterday, talking about her next focus: identifying the causes of breast cancer so one day, we can have a vaccination like exists for cervical cancer. Dr. Love is committed to enrolling 1 million women who are not breast cancer survivors to participate in clinical research. Leona & I just signed up...thought you all might be interested too.

Here's the official blurb from the organization:

The Love/Avon Army of Women offers women the opportunity to partner with the scientists who are conducting research that will end this disease--once and for all.

Breast cancer has been around for decades, but it does not have to be our future. We can be the generation that stops breast cancer once and for all by figuring out what causes this disease and how to prevent it!

Sign up for your sister, mother, daughter, granddaughter, best friend, and the woman you met last week. This is YOUR chance to be part of the research that will end breast cancer.

It takes a just a minute to join. But the impact we will have will last a lifetime.

Please Join Me in Being One in a Million!

Gay Marriage Is As Old As History: When Marriage Between Gays Was a Rite

This is really interesting! I was reminded of Professor Boswell's research when reading a story this evening posted on one of my gay Blogs and felt compelled to share it with you all. I actually have this book but have not read it yet so if you want to read it let me know. Click HERE for a synopsis of what this book is about provided by GayChristian101.com

great new post on J&J Politics from MoveOn.org

http://www.jackandjillpolitics.com/2008/08/excellent-moveonorg-video-about-obama-v-mccain/

BUY ITALIAN VOGUE-BLACK MODEL ISSUE

Hey ya'll...did you hear about the July 2008 issue of Italian Vogue? They used all black models. Folks in the industry were saying that "black" models don't sell very well and that is why we don't see more black women (and I suspect this is the excuse used for all women of color) on the cover of fashion magazines. Did anyone buy the July issue?

Harvard College is one of the "greenest" in America

Who knew mother Harvard had a "caring" or "environmentally conscious/green" bone in it's money hoarding, real estate-greedy body? :-) According to the latest survey by the Princeton Review, Havard was among the top 11 (which included Yale) of "The greenest colleges in America" that all achieved perfect scores. This article is actually quite interesting because it shows some really ingenious solutions to typical campus problems. Of course the bulk of the top 11 are in New England/mid-Atlantic, 2 in the Northwest, 1 in the Southwest, and 1 in the Southeast. Click HERE for more info.

Code Language in the Presidential Campaign

hey y'all..i hate to bump ms. CeCe's picture..she is too adorable :)

Here is a news chat from ABC. I agree with David Gergen here. There is a lot of code language going on in the presidential campaign.

Miss Celia

Could she BE any more adorable and precious? Look at those cheeks and that little button nose! As Shug says, "I just wanna eat her up!" :>)

Top 25 Disappearing Things

• http://www.walletpop.com/specials/top-25-things-vanishing-from-america?photo=2

JMH Sued Over Access To Dying Gay Partner

This story is so infuriating and so scary at the same time. It seems that no matter what precautions we take or what legal documents we sign and/or carry with us to "prove" we are married and therefore entitled to the rights of any other immediate family member, others in states like Florida can deny those rights indiscriminately. The background story can be found at http://www.lesbiatopia.com/2008/07/lesbian-partner-sues-hospital-story.html
You can also watch the video, which is heartbreaking as the surviving partner tries to explain how difficult it was to wait in the waiting room for more than 8 hours as her partner lay dying alone. By the time she was permitted to see her partner (for only 5 minutes, mind you), she was already brain-dead...

jill scott

I just love Jill Scott..however, nothing has been as good as that ""Who is Jill Scott?" CD. I think based on that CD she could get on stage and just sing "blah, blah,blah" and I would still love her..oh, and I also love that she is serving up the girls in this vid ;)

Black opposition to gay marriage remains strong

Despite growing support for same-sex marriage in the United States as measured by several recent polls, black Americans remain steadfastly opposed to gay unions.According to research conducted by the National Black Justice Coalition and several other organizations, as many as two-thirds of black Americans are against gay marriage. Although the numbers vary by poll, research shows most blacks oppose both gay marriage and civil unions. Click HERE for the full story.

Top 10 oddballs of the animal world

Ok, is this not the ugliest animal you've ever seen in your life? It's called the "star-nosed mole" but that's not what I'd call it! : ) Check out the pics of these bizarre animals: Click HERE for the full story.

Heinz: A for Effort, D for Courage

Check this out: http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=kAKYpUo18wU

Heinz pulled this commercial from the air after it received complaints.

I love this commercial. It's clever, charming and fun. What could better? At first I thought: boycott Heinz for not standing up. But I've softened my position. Shame on you, Heinz, for kowtowing to the ignorant masses!

When It Comes To Michelle Obama, Where Are The Feminists?

Reg sent this link to me and I thought it might be worthy of comment on dis-n-dat (fe). Here's the link: http://www.jackandjillpolitics.com/2008/06/when-it-comes-to-michelle-obama-where.html

To me, the Washington Post op-ed piece offers even more evidence of how the supposedly "gay rights" (e.g., HRC) or "women's rights" (e.g., NOW) organizations are all REALLY just about advocating for issues meaningful/pertinent to white gays and white women only. Their hypocrisy is so blatant and indefensible yet each offending organization refuses to recognize the truth and is quick to cry, "foul!" How can they possibly be called, "non-inclusive"? All you have to do is look at their marketing materials and you can see how committed they are to diversity, right? Well, someone needs to tell them that putting pictures of people of color in brochures and on web sites is nothing more than window dressing to create the illusion of inclusion. To use a phrase shouted at the recent Michigan-Florida delegate debate, this is akin to "putting lipstick on a pig!" In other words, the organization might look slightly more attractive [inclusive], but in the end it's still just a pig with lipstick on (kinda like Geraldine Ferraro, huh?).

If one scratches the surface of how gay rights and women's rights organizations have responded to relevant issues involving people of color (such as the recent events involving Michelle Obama), it becomes clear that mere "lip service" has been (and continues to be) paid to the notion of true inclusion/representation. Until organizations such as HRC and NOW acknowledge that mistakes have been made (to put it mildly) and avow to right these wrongs and begin to stand up for ALL their members, then it will be hard for me (and the rest of America) to take them seriously.

"Obama Pride!" 2008

Pam and I had a fabulous time yesterday at Boston Gay Pride staffing the Obama Pride booth. Although there were a few bitter, hateful a-holes (aka former Hillary supporters) who went out of their way to be rude, by and large, the response from the LGBT crowd was positive.

Today is Loving Day!

Fooled you with the picture?! It's not, as the name implies, the June version of Valentine's Day. According to the lovingday.org website "the name comes from Loving v. Virginia (1967), the landmark Supreme Court decision that legalized interracial marriage in the United States. Loving Day celebrations commemorate the anniversary of the Loving decision every year on or around June 12th."

Raise your glasses to legal recognition of interracial couples, ya'll. Today is the 41st anniversary of that decision.

It's hard to believe that >16 states embedded in their constitutions the illegalization of interracial marriage -- even as I look back and recall living a segregated life. Look how far we've come! Barack Obama, the native son of such a union, is likely to be our next president. We have made a lot of progress.

I'm hopeful that one day we'll see this same progress with regard to laws and attitudes towards same sex couples. Now that will be a truly loving day.

Let's all take a trip to "LezTown" and stay in "Lesbiatopia"!

Ok, these sites caught my eye when I was reading a gay news story this evening and I felt compelled to share them.

The first is called "LezTown," where you can learn about "Lez Events," "Lez Poets," or "Lez Mami's" among other things: http://www.leztown.com/

The second is "Lesbiatopia," where visitors are welcomed to "lesbian paradise": http://www.lesbiatopia.com/

Enjoy!

Cayman Dancehall April 2008

So it's not ok for two people of the same sex to kiss in the Cayman Islands but it's ok for two (or more) people of the opposite sex to simulate intercourse in public??? Fast-forward the video about 2 or 3 minutes and you'll see some shocking behaviour by these young men and women (the young lady in the white pants, in particular. Her mama would be mortified if she saw this video!).

Can a Morehouse College Man be Openly Gay?

This is not a very well-written piece but it does touch an interesting topic. Click HERE for the full story.

Eco-Friendly Wines For Under $25 and Organic Beers

Hey, now we can get drunk AND save the planet! : )

Click HERE to see the eco-friendly wines

Click HERE to see the organic beers

To find out what makes a wine "eco-friendly" click HERE.

Gay black political group forms

A new political group for LGBTQ African Americans named the Bayard Rustin LGBTQ Coalition has been formed by Co-Chairs Robert W. Williams III (left) and Andrea Shorter. Membership costs $25 a year and is open to anyone, however, only African American members have the right to vote.
To join or for more information, call Shorter at (415) 786-7779 or Williams at (510) 272-2965. Here's the link to the story: http://www.ebar.com/news/article.php?sec=news&article=2990

Pat Buchanan on Hardball

I try not to use the word "hate" very often...but I really hate that Pat Buchanan...

see this clip on YouTube with Pat Buchanan on Chris Matthew's Hardball:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PlxvJ30Jduc

Beauty at all costs?

http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/04/25/celebrity-plastic-surgery-what-not-to-do/?WT.mc_id=HL-D-I-NYT-MOD-MOD-M042-OP-0408-HDR&WT.mc_ev=click&mkt=HL-D-I-NYT-MOD-MOD-M042-OP-0408-HDR

Manufactured beauty isn't beautiful. As is attested in this article on "What not to do during cosmetic surgery". My boss said something interesting last week that he attributed to Sir Richard Dahl: Die young at the highest possible age. To me this is about living as fully as you can, treating yourself as well as you can, loving yourself and others as well as you can. And not wasting time on creating illusions.

Take a look at the celebrity slide show on "How celebrities are aging". It's entertaining (and in some cases, scary). http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/23359042/from/ET/

And on an unrelated note, read more on Clinton's inelegance:
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/10/opinion/10herbert.html?ex=1211256000&en=1c5fe340a5e46bb3&ei=5070&emc=eta1

Virtual Persona

Was talking to a dance buddy last weekend about an experience she had last Saturday night. She met friends in an upscale coffee shop in the early evening. Everyone there was hooked up to a laptop and/or an MP3 player. They were also mostly alone. She and her friends were the only ones there to enjoy face-to-face contact. She said it was sad to see so many people not engaged in "real connections".

As I sit here in my bed next to Pamela, tapping on my laptop I wonder: What are we seeking with our online interactions? Who are we when we're veiled by our fiber optic cloak? Why are our electronic personas trumping our flesh personas?

And on a completely unrelated note, see this site for some fun faux shizzle (alcohol-free drink) recipes: http://www.sheckys.com/Boston/nightlife/faux_shizzle_non_45_alcoholic_drinks_5489.asp

Lyrics to Calabria

Here's the lyrics to Enur's song, "Calabria," which I got from the link Reg provided in his comment on the video below.

Easy now no need fi(as in for) go down,
easy now no need fi go down,
rock that run that, this where we from (repeat 2x)
Whoop Whoop
When you run come around,
Cu(z) I kno ur the talk of the town yea (repeat 4x)
Easy now no need fi go down
Just walk it gently and no break nah bone,
Cool end-it-ly, you have a style of your own,
Me never kno you saw ya master the saxsaphone
cause u sound like the talk of the town yea,
imma lock u when u run come around yea,
make me wobble, make me whole body bubble,
an me no say ya trouble, when ya ready for the double,
and n u hit that,
no ti-na the mickle (as in nothing in the middle)
play with it a lickle (as in little), why you so na tickle
I'm tellin' you to, hit that
no ti-na the mickle (as in nothing in the middle)
stay with it a lickle (as in little), why you so na tickle
I'm feelin' them (whoop whoop)
easy now no need fi go down,
easy now no need fi go down,
walk it gently and no break nah bone
Whoop Whoop!
When you run come around,
Cu(z) I kno ur the talk of the town yea (repeat 4x)
Best shown overall, shiny and tall,
One touch make a gal climb whoever you are,
Brass hat, hatter (as in hotter) than fireball
Whoop Whoop!
You not small you not lickle (as in little) at all
Dat touch, just dip on me mind yea
The good feelin dip on rewind yea
make me wobble, make me whole body bubble,
an me no say ya trouble, when ya ready for the double,
and n u hit that,
no ti-na the mickle (as in nothing in the middle)
play with it a lickle (as in little), why you so na tickle
I'm tellin' you to, hit that
no ti-na the mickle (as in nothing in the middle)
stay with it a lickle (as in little), why you so na tickle
I'm feelin' them
Walk it gently and no break nah bone
easy now no need fi go down,
easy now no need fi go down,
rock that run that, this where we from (repeat 2x)
Whoop Whoop
When you run come around,
Cu(z) I kno ur the talk of the town yea (repeat 8x)
Whooop Whooop!!!

Girlicious: Like Me

Get Me Bodied (Miss Girrrrrl Style!)

Check out this video: Get Me Bodied (Breakdown)



Add to My Profile | More Videos

Hot Music Video! Enur: Calabria

Great gift idea for Mother's Day

Check out this site called, "TasteBook.com" which allows you to custom create your own cookbook with your favorite recipes: http://www.tastebook.com/

I think I might make one just so I can have all my favorite dishes in one place...

Video posted on Jack and Jill Politics

I know this is long but listen to the whole thing...I love the statement, "It is interesting to me that when white people criticize America, they're critical. When black people criticize America, they're haters of America."...and I love when he tells the reporter that Martin Luther King was more than the one-liner related to judging folks by the content of their character and not the color of their skin....I am less familiar with Louis Farrakhan so I don't know the accuracy of those statements. Nevertheless, I like how the minister challenges the reporter and presents a more nuanced argument about race and racism in America.

Walk the Walk

Walkable neighborhoods offer surprising benefits to our health, the environment, and our communities.

There are a lot of interesting little tidbits in this week's NYTimes magazine. It focuses on bold steps we can take to make our carbon footprint smaller. See: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/20/magazine/20Act-t.html?_r=1&oref=slogin There's a particularly compelling piece on choosing neighbors to live in with a high walk score -- that is, neighbors that you can live in with out a car.

Why Walking Matters*:
Better health: A study in Washington State found that the average resident of a pedestrian-friendly neighborhood weighs 7 pounds less than someone who lives in a sprawling neighborhood1. Residents of walkable neighborhoods drive less and suffer fewer car accidents, a leading cause of death between the ages of 15 - 45.

Reduction in greenhouse gas: Cars are a leading cause of global warming. Your feet are zero pollution transportation machines. More transportation options: Compact neighborhoods tend to have higher population density, which leads to more public transportation options and bicycle infrastructure. Not only is taking the bus cheaper than driving, but riding a bus is ten times safer than driving a car2!

Increased social capital: Walking increases social capital by promoting face-to-face interaction with your neighbors. Studies have shown that for each 10 minutes a person spends in a daily car commute, time spent in community activities falls by 10 percent3.

Stronger local businesses: Dense, walkable neighborhoods provide local businesses with the foot traffic they need to thrive. It's easier for pedestrians to shop at many stores on one trip, since they don't need to drive between destinations.

I compared the walk score of my previous house in Walden, NY to my current house in JP, MA-- it's 11 to 60. In Walden if you were without a car you were *@#! out of luck. A good walk score should be >70 (hey, I'm getting better!).

* Source: www.walkscore.com

Greenest Cars of 2008: Twelve vehicles with the lightest environmental impact.

If you want to drive the most environmentally friendly or "greenest" vehicle, you need to think small or think hybrid. According to the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE), one third of the top 12 vehicles that rank as the greenest of 2008 feature hybrid powertrains. These vehicles combine an internal-combustion engine with an electric motor for improved fuel economy and reduced emissions.
A nonprofit organization, the ACEEE is dedicated to advancing energy efficiency as a means of protecting the environment and strengthening the economy. Each year the ACEEE publishes the Green Book, listing the Green Scores and environmental information about vehicles available in the new model year, as well as a list of the 12 "greenest" vehicles available that year. Click HERE for the full article.

QuoD: Which of the 12 is YOUR favorite car and why?

The Other Obama

http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2008/03/10/080310fa_fact_collins

Michelle Obama is Barack's not so secret weapon. The more I read and hear about her the greater my admiration and enthusiasm for what the Obama's are trying to do -- shift American politics away from business as usual.

Check out this profile in the New Yorker. She's a bad mama jamma!

Grateful?? OR Pat Buchanan has lost his mind!

I have a "bee in my bonnet" and I wanted to share it with all of you:

http://buchanan.org/blog/?p=969

High-Tech Housewares: Compact new housewares designed to please — and to ease your daily life.

Some of this stuff is so cool! A few of my favorites from this list include these cute re-useable shopping bags called MiniMaxi Shoppers by Reisenthel. Who knew "being green" could be so fashionable? : ) I also liked the Lotus Sanitizing System by Tersano, which rids food of toxins and can even be used to clean your house: all from WATER ONLY! The system uses ozone to clean things (I know, weird, huh?). Anyhoo, just thought I'd share. Click HERE for the full story.

5 Ways to Defend Your Online Reputation

Hey everyone, you HAVE to check out this article and tell everyone you care about to look at it, as well. I consider myself pretty Web-savvy but I had never heard of some of the sites this guy mentions that could potentially have bad information about you or info that you probably would NOT want the whole world to see or read. For me, one of the best tips was this one site called ProQuo that let's you opt out of a ton of marketing firms' mailing lists for free. Anyway, see for yourself: http://tech.msn.com/howto/articlepcw.aspx?cp-documentid=6392723

This is OUR America

I was genuinely moved by his speech. I had tears in my eyes at the end of it! The notion that a politician is actually talking about history and anger and the legacy of slavery and the immigrant experience and linking it ALL to OUR America is refreshing, inspiring, and brilliant!

Are you "Fierce" or a "Tranny" or a "Hot Mess"?

Are you an unclutterer or a cleaner?

Un·clut·ter·er ənklətərər noun
1. One who seeks to get rid of clutter and distractions that create barriers to or hinder the formation of a remarkable life.
2. One who unclutters.

After reading this article, I learned that although I aspire to be an unclutterer, (and if I'm being honest, I even aspire to be a mere cleaner), I'm a pack-rat and a "put-it-off-'til-later"-er so things tend to pile up. Maybe when Reg and I get a house and have room to put things I can try some of the stuff this guy does (who, by the way, has a blog dedicated to uncluttering your life: http://unclutterer.com/). So which one are YOU? A cleaner or an unclutterer?


Click HERE for the full story.

Face Book Mania

http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1019065072

Dear Dis-n-Dat-ers,
I've recently discovered facebook and have been obsessed with all the masturbatory activities it offers. It's sort of strange and wonderful. Check it out! Challenge me to a game of Scrabble.
Smooches,
M

Nikky Finney - Poet Supreme

The Afterbirth, 1931

by Nikky Finney

We were a Colored Clan of Kinfolk

Who threw soil not salt

Over our shoulders

Who tendered close the bible

Who grew and passed around the almanac at night

So we would know

What to plant at first light

Black soil and sweet brown sorghum

From the every morning biscuits

Mama Susan fixed

Dripping and mixing

Up under our fingernails

A secret salve

Just like any other

Living simple

And keeping to our proud selves

Quite aware of night riders

Quite aware of men with

Politicious smiles

Cologned with kerosene and match

Aware of just whose feet

Walked across our tin roofs at night

We were such light sleepers

Such long distance believers

We were a family pregnant

Whose water had broke

And for once there was ham money

‘Bacca money

So we thought to do better by ourselves

To begin our next row

We would go and get him

Because he was medically degreed in baby bringing

Because he was young and white and handsome

And because of that

Had been neighbor to more knowledge

Than us way back behind

The country’s proud but inferior lines

And because he came with his papers in his pocket

So convincing so soon

After his ivy graduation

Asking us hadn’t we heard

Telling us times had changed

And the midwife wasn’t safe anymore

Even though we had all been caught

By tried and true Black Grannies

Who lay ax blade sharp side up

And water pan underneath the bed

To cut the pain

To cool the fever

We were a Pregnant Clan of Kinfolk

Caught with water running down our legs

Old family say they remember

Going to fetch him

Telling him that it was time

That he should come now

But he didn’t show right away

Not right away

But came when he wanted

The next day

After his breakfast

But what more

Could we colored country folk ever want

Even if we had to watch the road all night for him

Even if we had to not let her push too hard

When he finally came

He had his papers on him

Something with one of those pretty shiny seals

Old family say they can remember

Somethin’ just wasn’t right

But we opened the screen for him anyway

Trusting

And tendering close what the Good Book

Had told us all our lives to do

Then we made him a path

Where he put his hand up then inside

My grandmother’s womb

Her precious private pleasing place

Somewhere he probably didn’t want to touch

Then he pulled my daddy through

Somebody he probably didn’t care to reach for

And from the first he pulled him wrong

And wrong

Shattered his collarbone

And snapped his soft baby foot in half

And smashed the cartilage in his infant hand

Wringing

Their own sun baked arms

Old timey family

Remember him well

Say they knew somethin’ wasn’t right

As he came through the door

A day later

His breakfast digested now

Somethin’ just wasn’t right

How he had two waters on him

One sweet one sour-mash

One trying to throw snow quilt over the other

As he un-carefully

As drunkenly

He with his papers on him still

Stood there turning a brown baby into blue

Un-magically

And right before our eyes

Hope and Pray

Hope and Pray

Then he packed his bag and left

With all of his official training

And gathered up gold stars left

The Virginia land of Cumberland County

He left and forgot

He left and didn’t remember

The afterbirth inside

Carlene Godwin Finney

To clabber

Gangrene

Close down

Her place

Her precious private pleasing place

To fill the house to the rafters

Up past the dimpled tin roof

With a rotting smell

That stayed for nine days

That mortgaged a room

In our memories

And did not die with her

We were a Brown and Pregnant Family

And he would’ve remembered his schoolin’

And left his bottle

Recollected his manners

And brought his right mind

Had another klan called him to their bedside

He would’ve come right away

He would’ve never had liquor on his breath

If the color of my daddy’s broken limbs

Had matched the color of his own but

We were a Colored Clan of Kinfolk

We should’ve met him at the door

Should’ve told him lean first into the rusty screen

Made him open up his mouth and blow

Breathe out right there

Into all of our brown and lined up faces

In wait of his worthiness

Then just for good measure

Should’ve made him blow once again

Into Papa Josh’s truth telling jar

Just to be sure

Should’ve let Mama Sally

Then Aunt Nanny

Then lastly Aunt Mary

Give him the final once over

And hold his sterile hands

Down to the firelight to check

Just like she checked our own every night

Before supper

Before we were allowed to sit

At her very particular table

We could’ve let Aunt Ira clutch him by his chin

Enter and leave through her eyes

Just like how she came and went through us

Everyday at her leisure

She would’ve took care to notice

As she traveled all up and through him

Any shaking any sweating

And caught his incapable belligerent incompetence

In time

Oh Jesus

We should’ve let Grandpop Robert

Have him from the first

Should’ve let him pick him up

By the back of his pants

And swirl him around

Just like he picked us up

And swirled us around

Anytime he caught us lying or lazy

Or being less than what we were

We should’ve let Grandpop

Loose on him from the start

And he would’ve held him up

High eye to the sun

And looked straight through him

Just like he held us up

And then we would have known first

Like he always knew first

And brought to us

The very map of his heart

Then we would have known

Just what his intentions were

With our Carlene

Before we knew his name

Or cared about his many degrees

Before he dared reach up then inside

Our family’s brown globe

While we stood there

Some of us throwing good black soil

With one hand

Some of us tending close

The Good Book with the other

Believing and trusting

We were doing better

By this one

Standing there

Waterfalls running

Screaming whitewater rapids

Down our pants legs

Down our pantaloons

To our many selves

All the while

Praying hard

That maybe we were wrong

(please make us wrong)

One hundred proof

smelled the same as

Isopropyl

Did you know that black women poets are experiencing a renaissance? Listen to this story: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?sotryId=16404387. Ms. Finney is one of my favorite poets. Her work mainlines my emotional reservoir. It's all the more haunting when you experience it as she's reading it. See what I mean: http://www.spelman.edu/bush-hewlett/linked/nikkyfinneypoem.html).

I had the pleasure of experiencing her at a writer's conference a few years ago. I was deeply affected. Learn more about her at: http://www.kykernel.com/home/index.cfm?event=displayArticle&ustory_id=4d5371a5-4b72-4a56-87ff-a0c4a5c86fae
Poetry is a bit like air to me -- I need it. If you're like me and in need of a daily dose check out the Writer's Almanac at ~8:55 am on NPR.

Homeland Insecurity

Yesterday there was a shooting at Northern Illinois University (See NYT headline: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/15/us/15shoot.html?hp) -- according to NPR it was the fourth such shooting in the past week. WTF?

As our president attempts to expand anti-terrorism laws that will effectively whittle down our basic constitutional rights (See NPR headline: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=19055472), has anyone asked the question: What about the terrorists within our borders? Last week a woman distinguished herself by being the first female shooter in recent history (fact check). Ironically, President Bush is planning a trip to Tanzania (mama Africa, hi!). I heard on the news this morning he's threatening to delay his travel plans if Democrats don't get on board and sign the security bill.

I've always been sort of silent on the issue of gun control but I'm writing to my elected officials. Why should citizens have the right to bear arms in this day and age? What's the point? Why are our leaders obsessively focused on the car bombers in Pakistan and Iran when there are gun toting Billy Bobs and Betty Sues in our own backyards?

Soul Train Gone Wrong! This is pretty funny...

Michael from Goodtimes, singing and dancing??

Toni Morrison's letter to Barack Obama

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New Reading Material

Hey there, friends, just wanted to let you know that the Washington Post, Newsweek & Slate Magazine have started a new online magazine that looks pretty interesting (it launched this week).

http://www.theroot.com/

It's like Tell Me More does Slate Magazine...pretty interesting so far, so I'm keeping my eye on it for now...

Notes from Africa (Tanzania January 24, 2008)

View from the Muhumbili University of Health Allied Sciences/Dar es Saalam City Council/Harvard University (MDH) partnership rooftop.

Satellite dish on the roof of the MDH partnership site.

The Harvard delegation visiting Muhumbili University laboratories.
Muhumbili University building.

January 24, 2008
I was hoping I'd semi-starve to jump start weight loss. No such luck! Even in resource poor Uganda the eating was good for the fat Americans. One night in Uganda I ordered a whole Tilapia -- it reminded of Power Friday night (Friday night dinners at my grandfather's house). The head was on, the skin was rubbed with peppery spices, the eyes were milky white and there were so many bones I had to roll up my sleeves. By the end only a sucked dry carcass remained on my plate. I wasn't playing! There's lots of Mediterraen food choices (hummus, baga ganoush, falafel, grilled lamb/chicken, feta etc.). Today, for the first time, I forced myself to moderate my eating and exercise (did my Forrest yoga tape since there's a DVD player in my room and I went for a swim on the rooftop pool:-/

Dar es Salaam, Tanzania is full of contradictions. When we arrived I was reminded of New Orleans. It's bordered by the Indian Ocean -- and very hot (102 yesterday!). The air smells like water (it's very developed. There are no burning smells though I see did people burning cook fires on the beach). The streets are wide and traffic-filled. The city is old with lots of wrought iron facades and balconies. There are mid-day traffic jams that easily rival any US metropolis.

We visited a premiere clinic yesterday funded by our tax dollars, literally (and our President's promises: PEPFAR). It was absolutely incredible -- better than any clinic I've seen anywhere (Bellevue can learn a thing or two). In the center of the building there was an open-air garden surrounded by wait room seating canopied by an overhanging roof (so that clients don't have to get wet when there's a spontaneous rain shower). The treatment, counseling, reception, data entry etc rooms are on the perimeter - all air conditioned (highly inefficient one of the workers commented to me during lunch). The rooms are walled with frosted glass so there's a lot of light everywhere. The only sadness are the faces of the clients who are managing their illness. But here's the contradiction: only HIV/AIDS diagnoses get these resources.

If should find yourself with cancer (or any other chronic disease) -- kiss your ass goodbye. Seriously, find a gun and end it. There's one radiotherapy machine per 2,000,000 people (compared with one per 150,000 people in the US). Cancer care in Tanzania is palliative -- and this descriptor is generous. Opiates are banned in Tanzania (as in most of Africa) for complicated reasons. Families not resourceful enough to smuggle morphine in must settle for two Tylenols when their loved are writhing in pain as their bodies rot from the inside out (which we witnessed when we toured the Oceanside Cancer Institute today - THE premiere cancer treatment center).

30% of their cases are women with cervical cancer who present (that is, come to the hospital) at the point of no return. To give you an idea of what this means: NO ONE in the Western world dies of cervical cancer! We get annual pap smears to detect changes. Our daughters get HPV vaccinations before they bloom (the human pappiloma virus which is sexually transmitted is the number one cause of cervical cancer).

I refused to go into the men's ward during our tour today because I could see from beyond the glass doors that there were men lying on pads on the floor in immense pain in an overcrowded un-air conditioned, unlighted room with their loved ones sleeping beside them (or tending their needs). There were no nurses. I was sort of rope a doped into entering the children's ward. I cried. Deformed children with massive tumors growing on the sides of their heads, eyes missing, bandages in unlikely places, again tired mother's lying beside them. No nurses. No painkillers. No cure. The director of the Center said they must ration care. 50% of the people get nothing other than Tylenol to treat their cancer.

None of the great HIV/AIDS machinery can be used to treat these other horrible diseases. Just miles away there are state of the art laboratories (and clinics) for HIV/AIDS because of our government gives (but only to HIV/AIDS). Antiretroviral drugs are completely free but no one can get antimalaria medication for free (which is much more pervasive). Or simple antibiotics for that matter. It's strange and sad.

Notes from Africa (Tanzania January 23, 2008)

Pam in the lion's mouth in front of the Kiliminjaro Kempinksi Hotel.
A view of the pool on the roof deck of the Kempinski.
Michelle in the pool.
A glimpse of out hotel suite in the Kempinski.

Jambo!
We arrived in Tanzania this morning (took the red eye from Uganda). We haven't done/seen much but freshen up for an afternoon of introductory meetings. I got a chance to peek at Mt Kilamanjaro on the way to Tanzania. It was an amazing snow-capped thrusting of earth. Tanzania is arid and much hotter than Uganda (102 degrees today in Tanzania vs. 80 degrees yesterday in Uganda). These east African countries are so different.

The earth in Uganda is rust colored clay and densely overgrown with intensely green tropical trees (acacia trees, banana trees, coffee trees, palm trees, etc.). Tanzania, in contrast, has lots of low scrabble trees and bushes in muted greens and is sandy and beige.

We're in Dar es Salaam -- the capital. I'm ashamed to say we're in five star hotel in a suite with two flat screens and over-the-top amenities.

P.S. 1/29/08 Am realizing after 24 hours of being back in the States how liberating it was to be where everyone is black and brown in spite of the intense poverty. All the advertisements, all the authority figures, all the service people -- all the faces: black and brown. For two glorious weeks I had a reprieve from the hard, hostile, fearful, face shrugs that some white folks try to pass off as smiles. I was openly gawked at throughout Uganda and Tanzani but the looks were curious, affirming and friendly. Everywhere I was greeted with: Karibou (Welcome!) and Jambo (Hello!). Am saddened by the condescending looks I get here in my library, in Trader Joe's, at check-out counters and on the walk to work. Racism is so tiring.

Notes from Africa (Uganda January 22, 2008)

A glimpse of Kampala, Uganda.

Makerere and Harvard colleagues.

Children enjoying their school vacation.

Apparently bouncing and behaving hair is important everywhere!

A glimpse of Kampala.
Views of town life on the outskirts of the Kampala.

January 22, 2008

it's hard to imagine we're on the same planet since the NE is experiencing sub zero weather. it's warm but not hot in uganda (maybe 75 -80 degrees) -- very tropical. pam says it feels like barbados circa 1970. but the colors and the smells are very different.

the earth is a rich red color. the trees are dark dark green (and everywhere there is something growing. interestingly it's not as overgrown/land of the giants as in hawaii (where you can probably get a stone to bud). the air often smells burnt. many live without indoor cooking facilities and have outdoor cook fires enclosed in a hut made with with hand-made red dirt bricks, sticks for framing and mud. socio-economic status can be revealed by the roof -- those with grass thatched are lowest on the rung, tin a few steps up, brick even higher.

these structures as you can imagine are not permanent. there are collapsed huts everywhere returning from whence they came -- to the earth. but because the materials are easily accesible, families simply rebuild. i'm trying hard not to judge. fundamentally we share the same core values: we pray for the health and well being of our families and we want to live a purposeful life.

fires are also constantly going in the rural areas. the farmers burn the land to clear it for sowing:-( leeching the land of it's sustainability for short term gain. who's to say i wouldn't do the same if i had many hungry mouths to feed and no money to buy it. the average woman bears 6.9 children. uganda has the fastest growing population on the planet. there's no such thing as birth control here and in non christian families men can have up to 4 wives.

kerosene is a popular transport fuel so it always smells like kerosene in the urban areas (also almost nobody uses deodorant:-( i'm stealing a few moments to be alone with my thoughts. our group is meeting for dinner at 7 pm. even though i am eternally grateful for this experience i want to be alone and quiet. i pulled one of our hosts aside to insist that he schedule some time for shopping today. he agreed to 30 minutes at the end of the day before our dinner meeting so far our days begin at 8 am and end at 11 pm.

the place we shopped today was a craft market where there were 25 or so booths of things of variable quality. i'm not convinced i couldn't have found most of the things on the streets of NYC (for quadruple the price). i was hoping to find a beaded watch band that i saw one of the scientists wearing (no luck!). it was difficult to fully appreciate the wares given the short time alloted (but i made do). now i'm acting out by not showing up for dinner on-time:-)

today i met with my couterparts at makerere university. i was truly impressed with them particularly since i've been warned again and again how incompetent "the administration" is. they are career administrators like myself wondering mostly how to make a dollar out of fifty cents (and how to gain the cooperation of their faculty -- sound familiar?). i gave them a few ideas on how to stretch their resources and how to streamline. they seemed truly grateful. after our break out session we returned to the larger group. my colleague presented a summary of our discussion in an eloquent, energized and cogent way. again, i was impressed.

there were two scientific break out groups who presented their findings too. i was bored stiff! am hopeful something with come of it. this ends our uganda trip. tomorrow we're tanzania bound. our flight leaves at 5 am:-/