I saw these pics and they made me think...

 ...about our perspectives...

 ...our beliefs in the possible, and the impossible...

 ...our need to make order of a thing that needs no ordering from us...

...and our need to make things conform to our understandings.

  The worst thing we can do as a people is to look up into the sky and no longer wonder, dream, or try to understand.  Believing we have all the answers necessary for our lives is a self imposed lobatomy, shutting off the aspect of being human that is so incredible:  the desire to understand and the joy of wonder.

  Some time back, in an art appreciation course that I really didn't appreciate, the instructor gave me my one and only A in that course for a paper on a local artists painting.  It was abstract, colorful, and had a great deal of movement.  The assignment:  "what does this picture mean to you?"   I took a cop out on this and wrote "I don't know.  It has me captivated and looking into it for what's behind the brush stroke, and yet I no more than think I've got an answer then I find it slipping away into other questions".    The thing was, I had no idea what I was supposed to write and so I wrote the first things off the top of my head. 

  It's now close to 25 years later and I think back on that picture and the response I gave.  I never understood why I got an A, but I didn't complain.  I still see that picture in my mind at times, and I still have no idea what the artist was trying to convey.  What I do hope, now that I've grown to understand life just a bit better, is that I wouldn't try.  Seeking to look beyond the brush strokes is wonderful, seeking to parrot someone else's understanding is a cop out.

Peace?

and, a very touching song by Ronan Parke at http://www.milkboys.org/article/jar-of-hearts/ 

see it now while still available.

The institutionalized and politically acceptable face of hate.

Hello Friends,

  I was just perusing "The Price of Hate", a blog I link to via Billy Lucas's shoes picture.  I was watching a video there, specifically this story:  http://thepriceofhate.blogspot.com/2010/11/aiden-rivera-schaeff.html  and I began to think on not only the price of hate, as the blog title mentions, but the manner in which the focus and source of hate seems to be changing.  And, it all stemmed from the vid in which Ava said "no one seemed to care" that this wonderful young man had become so desperate to escape the hate that he chose suicide.
  Politicians were typically known for not wishing to alienate any group lest they lose whatever votes could come from that group.  Lately, things sure seem to be changing.  And, I wonder if this change is not so much due to the politician, or the people he is trying to persuade to vote for him.  One thing that has really stood out over the last three years:  there are a whole lot of people who see President Obama first and foremost as a black man in the White House and feel a great deal of offense at this.  I heard a joke the other day that Air Force One now has curb feelers and spinners.  I thought what would be funny is for the President to embrace these jokes and do just that, but too many wouldn't get the joke.
  Another form of hate that is blatant, and yet hidden in the "focus on the family" bullshit, is the DOMA and other such prejudiced rants.  To blame the gay community for the downgrade of America seems to place a great deal of power in the hands of a fairly outcast group.  As an adult, struggling with my own "ok'ness", this has been felt.  I cannot imagine the manner in which the teens deal with it.  For that matter, perhaps better.
  So, here we are, an America of the Free, as long as you are hetero christian.  The funny thing is, the phrase "yearning to be free..." seems to have no impact on how some will treat others in their own bid to express thier "freedom", including the institutionalized and politicized prejudice and bondage of those that don't fall into lockstep with their same vision of "freedom". 

So, for the record, you republicans and tea baggers:  you aren't fooling God.  Stop the hate in His name.

Daddy's Pride and Joy

Four friends, who hadn't seen each other in 30 years, reunited
at a party....



After several drinks, one of the men had to use the rest room.


Those who remained talked about their kids.

The first guy said, 'My son is my pride and joy.
He started working at a successful company at the bottom of
the barrel.
He studied Economics and Business Administration and soon
began to climb the corporate ladder and now he's the

president of the company. He became so rich that he gave his

best friend a top of the line Mercedes for his birthday.'

The second guy said, 'Darn, that's terrific! My son is also my

pride and joy. He started working for a big airline, then went

to flight school to become a pilot.
Eventually he became a partner in the company, where he
owns the majority of its assets He's so rich that he gave his

best friend a brand new jet for his birthday.'


The third man said: 'Well, that's terrific! My son studied in the
best universities and became an engineer. Then he started his

own construction company and is now a multimillionaire...

He also gave away something very nice and expensive to his

best friend for his birthday: A 30,000 square foot mansion.'


The three friends congratulated each other just as the fourth returned
from the restroom and asked:

'What are all the congratulations for?'



One of the three said: 'We were talking about the pride we feel

for the successes of our sons...


What about your son?'


The fourth man replied: 'My son is gay and makes a living
dancing as a stripper at a nightclub.'


The three friends said: 'What a shame... What a
disappointment.'

The fourth man replied: 'No, I'm not ashamed. He's my son

and I love him..

And he hasn't done too bad either. His birthday was two weeks

ago, and he received a beautiful 30,000 square foot mansion, a brand

new jet and a top of the line Mercedes from his three boyfriends.'



reposted with permission fromThe Dave From 1952
 http://thedavefrom52.blogspot.com/2011/09/daddys-pride-and-joy.html

A very brave man Dances.

Hello Friends;

  There are those in this world who stand up, and in the midst of handling their own issues, their own trials and struggles, declare themselves ok.  They are ok to be them, and it really doesn't matter if Sister Beulah Betterthanyou (yes, that was a music reference to this) and all the others in the front row of the First Self Righteous Church approve or not.  From my little closet, I applaud you Chaz, and I thank you for having the great courage to stand.  In your strength do I find courage for myself to stand, and that is a rare gift to give another....and I'm angry that there are those who would steal that gift.
  The incredible irony of these fools who would thump their Bibles and declare Chaz wrong for even being alive is that, having the surgery, Chaz is now 'heterosexual'.  Isn't that what these Tools want?
  The sad truth is that these wolves claiming to be sheep in God's pasture who go about condemning and screaming about "Christian Values" seem to forget that Jesus, the very Christ in "Christian" only had one moment in which he became angry and lashed out at the people:  when the Temple of God was being used by moneylenders.  Yep, using God's House as a profit center and affiliating oneself with Him as some sort of cosigner for the misdeed is what truly angered Christ.
  Since Christ's other messages were of love for fellow man and love for God, not judgement, not 'standing in the doorway' and declaring who may enter heaven and who may not, I would say that Chaz will be welcomed into Heaven...... and yes, I understand that some do not believe this religion, but bear with me..... and held in Christ's loving arms, and those who would condemn the man for being himself would find a different sort of response from on high.

Chaz;  I hope you Dance