The roll-up and roll-out song of the weekend

Tare Group Panda

Road Trip to Phoenix: The beginning

Morning errands -- Galco's for snacks and soda pop where I heard:

The checkers and I talked about love vs. marriage and roadtrips.

Cafe de Leche (http://www.cafedeleche.net/black.html) for Agave Mochas:

I paused to read some Neruda:

Tonight I can write the saddest lines.

Write, for example, 'The night is starry
and the stars are blue and shiver in the distance.'

The night wind revolves in the sky and sings.

Tonight I can write the saddest lines.
I loved her, and sometimes she loved me too.

Through nights like this one I held her in my arms.
I kissed her again and again under the endless sky.

She loved me, sometimes I loved her too.
How could one not have loved her great still eyes...

I no longer love her, that's certain, but maybe I love her.
Love is so short, forgetting is so long.

And, lastly, paused at Sarah's for a listen to Keith Green on her record player:



Then, our odd family was on the road.

Anticipation

Dance me very tenderly... to the children who are asking to be born..
dance me through the panic...dance me to the end of love.

Bicycling Diaries: Santa Monica to Manhattan

It's dangerous out there, and I have the battle scars to prove it. While biking about the shore, many things happened, including:
-Oliver jumping out of the basket while still attached and us crashing on the curb (both O and I are recovering)
-A spin out just ahead of us while we biked through Marina Del Rey
-A car accident
-The Venice beach dog locals barking after Oliver
-The lifeguard at Manhattan beach telling us to feel free to stay on the beach with Oliver but to just hide him
-Using Aloe Vera for the wounds

Unladies Night #2

At Daisy Mint, Pasadena.

The five of us talked about -- You deserve to be happy. -- and I want you to do what you want.

Her kiss was a question he wanted to spend his whole life answering.

An hour or two went by. It must have been a good conversation because the next thing..he knew [she] had told him to close his eyes. Then she kissed him. Her kiss was a question he wanted to spend his whole life answering. His felt his body shaking. He was scared he was about to lose control of his muscles... For anyone else it was one thing - but for this man it wasn't so easy, because this man believed - and had done for as long as he could remember- that part of him was made of glass. He imagined a wrong move in which he..fell and..shattered in front of her. He pulled away even though he didn't want to. He smiled apologetically at [her] feet, hoping she'd understand. They talked for hours.

He ran his fingers down her spine, over her thin blouse, and for a moment, forgot the danger he was in. But before he knew it, he was shaking violently. He seized his muscles to try and stop. {She} felt his hesitation. She leaned back and looked at him with something like hurt, and he almost but didn't say two sentences he'd been meaning to say for years: Part of me is made of glass, and also,..I love you.

Living Christ, Living Buddha

"You do not have to to go to Heaven or wait for the future to have refuge. You can take refuge here and now. You only need to dwell deeply in the present moment."

Age of not believing

Patrick Doyle

Driving to meet an old Biola friend at Fix in Echo Park:

I heard Patrick Doyle's Sense and Sensibility on 91.5. It made my day. Doyle is pretty amazing.

Tuesday Night: Lamb Shanks, Red Wine, and Palestinian Music

Oum Kalthoum

Good things...pretty things, like:

Singing loud in the car and Billy Joel

I have an old Billy Joel record I listened to in High School. I remembering hearing My Life, Don't Ask Me Why, and Honesty:


But, I think it's Piano Man that moves me the most. Something about "it's better than drinking alone."

In my search for the video, I found this keeper. I'm a fan of crop-circles too.

To Andrew Wyeth and...

A day in Highland Park, Filipino Town, and South Pasadena

This day began with a trip with Oliver and Smokey to the dog park along the 110 in HP. In the small dog pen, Oliver met Betty Boop and Lola. When they left, Oliver and I moved to the big dog pen, and Oliver stayed very close to me because the huge German Shepherd and Pit Bull were, well, huge. Smokey, who had been in the pen all along, admonished the other big dogs for picking on Oliver. We thought that was cool.

Dad then came for lunch, and we went to Chico's (props to Mel, Daniel, and Diana) because I adore his Cafe de Olla. It reminds me of living in Guanajuato when my house mother would roast the coffee beans, we'd help peel them, and she would make for us every morning the nummy concoction of coffee, cinnamon, sugar, and milk. Dad advised me to be more confrontational.


The afternoon was spent running some errands for Tribal friends near Filipino Town and Silverlake. We visited http://www.thinkspacegallery.com/ as well and lingered in the "Sins of Atticus Finch" Gallery.

The day concluded with a visit to the Farmer's Market in Old Town South Pasadena. I LOVED buying these flowers. There is something lovely about carrying fresh flowers in an outdoor market.


Some amazing girlfriends and I finished the evening by listening to soft jazzy renditions of "Rainbow Connection" as well as James Taylor tunes at the Firefly on El Centro. I don't remember hearing "Pure Imagination," but I'm pretty sure it was there in spirit. We listened and shared. We remembered goodness in ourselves by recognizing the goodness in the other.

Reminds me of: "I need your grace to remind me to find my own."

Little Tokyo and friends

After visiting the Artwalk in L.A. -- saw this fabulous artwork that incorporated roses into everything! --headed to Little Tokyo.



We took over the Far Bar on 1st Street to hear our friends perform. We listened and we danced. The venue reminded us of "Rent" and "Breakfast at Tiffany's."

Hiking in Griffith Park

Last Friday, Mel and I took Oliver and Smokey hiking in Griffith Park with a couple of her friends -- Breathtaking all around.



Mel, Smokey, Oliver, friends, and I.

Bicycling in the city I live in, the city of angels

Bicycling about town, especially with Oliver in a basket, I feel like a little kid, a hippie/gypsy, and an explorer.  I've been hitting the pavement around Highland Park, Echo Park, the L.A. river, Olvera Street, Chinatown, and Little Tokyo.  I was amazed to find one can take a bike and a dog on the metro. 

Cheers to Synchronicity L.A.

A good place to be. 
Sometimes, it reminds me of:

And, sometimes, it reminds me of:


But, overall, it reminds me of:

Traveling...

A friend pointed out that I prefer photographs of movement, travel, action.

Photo Booth: I <3 you.

Gael Garcia Bernal

Nothing is so beautiful as spring

NOTHING is so beautiful as spring—
When weeds, in wheels, shoot long and lovely and lush;
Thrush’s eggs look little low heavens, and thrush
Through the echoing timber does so rinse and wring
The ear, it strikes like lightnings to hear him sing;
The glassy peartree leaves and blooms, they brush
The descending blue; that blue is all in a rush
With richness; the racing lambs too have fair their fling.

Gerard Manley Hopkins (1844–89). Poems. 1918. Spring

They came; they saw; they conchord.

Fashion's a stranger

All in a golden afternoon...

Yesterday,
just before dinner,
we two,
sitting outside on the porch stairs and
watching friends bicycle by...

Oliver sits on the grass, and
we talk about golden moments, nostalgia, and family.

And then the ice cream van passed by.
We didn't have any money -- bummer --
but just then our friend ran out of the house, passed us, and toward the ice cream. We said, 'You have money?"
She said, "Yes!"
"For us?"
"YES!"

It was brilliant as we skipped after her, Oliver in tow,
and then we ate ice cream on the porch,
sitting in the sun and
shootin the breeze.

Horoscopes horoscopes horoscopes

Got these two today.
Virgo --
All of your plans are going to go perfectly today -- and if any obstacles do appear, they will be the kind that are going to fizzle out on their own soon enough. So the only way you can fall into a bad mood today is if you let your mind wander to problems that you can't fix. Dwell on things beyond your control, and you could start feeling blue. Instead, let yourself be happy. Keep your mind on all the good news in your life right now -- there is so much of it!

Emotional Priorities
Virgo Daily Horoscope --
Your moods can fluctuate wildly today, leaving you to wonder why your emotional keel is so uneven. You may be able to overcome your temporarily temperamental nature, however, by looking critically at all of the factors influencing your feelings. If you are facing a number of challenges while also attempting to meet personal goals and see to mundane chores, you may simply be feeling overwhelmed by all the obligations currently on your plate. To ease your distress and regain control over your emotions today, try to fix your attention in the moment by focusing only on those elements of you day that are most vital to your wellbeing or health.

Rapidly changing moods are frequently a sign of over-stimulation, as there is so much going on around us that we are unsure as to what the best overall response might be. During these periods, we likely have a great deal to do, yet we may find ourselves unable to focus on any one task or problem. One easy way to cope with a temperamental mood is to prioritize our feelings just as we prioritize the items on our daily agendas. We may feel quite a few conflicting emotions, but we should concentrate on those that are related in some way to the challenges we must address quickly and decisively. When we have dealt with that which we consider most important, we can begin to think about the other issues weighing on our minds. Because you do not let your emotions overwhelm you today, you will be less apt to be moody.

Songs that make me cry...Willie Nelson

When I hear Willie Nelson, I'm reminded of one of my favorite places in the world: Tinker Town. http://www.tinkertown.com/
Quotations, displays, and Willie in the background. Sometimes that sounds like heaven, and I think that's why I'm sometimes called a nerd (beyond my Star Trek fascination, harry potter glasses, and love for words).

I plan to visit Tinkertown this year. Maybe, this time, I will be inspired to actually go -- and sail -- around the world.

This is how I felt yesterday morning.

I thought of this song when I was waking up yesterday, and it followed me for a while as I walked to my car and drove through L.A. Perfect song after a crazy Saturday night. Crazy lovely of course.


On a Sunday morning sidewalk,
I'm wishing, Lord, that I was stoned.
'Cause there's something in a Sunday
That makes a body feel alone.
And there's nothing short a' dying
That's half as lonesome as the sound
Of the sleeping city sidewalk
And Sunday morning coming down.

Sometimes, songs like this just make me cry.

we are healers. we are creators

Dancing Sarah's Circle

Today Sarah and the myth-busters gang went to see Ched Meyers and Elaine Enns. I heard..."We are dancing Sarah's circle" as a verse from Jacob's ladder. Although I don't believe in ladders as much as webs, I really liked that verse. I believe in Sarah's circle. I feel it is connected to story-telling as an end in itself -- communal being is the cause.

She wants to go home...

For a while now, my spiritual director has been asking me to visualize what my "home" looks like. While driving home from the Artwalk and Little Tokyo last night -- good times with good friends and good music -- I heard this song. So many covers of this song by young women on youtube; I particularly liked this one.

Great Grandma Rose

I hear my great grandmother is amazing -- spunky, strong, and a free-spirit. I am her namesake. I feel close to her.

Discovering Los Angeles, discovering the unattached self

Today explored Mt. Washington and took fotografias. Then, made my way to downtown for "Magic" Coffee at http://www.lot44coffee.com/ and met Julio in the midst of an in-depth conversation on attachment. Then, happy houred at http://www.theredwoodbar.com/site08/homewiframe.htm and conversed about the fear of loneliness and letting go.

A good day all around.

The Power of Now....again

Heard this on the morning drive:
Most people are in love with their particular life drama... The ego runs their life. They have their whole sense of self invested in it. Even their--usually unsuccessful---search for an answer, a solution, or for healing becomes part of it. What they fear and resist most is the end of their drama....You cannot have an argument with a fully conscious person. An argument implies identification with your mind and a mental position, as well as resistance and reaction to the person's position.

Then, I had a long conversation with an old friend about control and personality conflicts and rhetoric used for persuading instead of creating a forum for finding truth.

Lastly, I'm having my students analyze the rhetoric of high pressure groups on campus.

I think I'm heading for a belief crisis.

Manu Chao

Ah....World Music Videos

BEYOND!

Leaps of Faith in L.A. (http://www.greatleap.org/)

Attended a celebration for http://www.internationalwomensday.com/. Sister Deema http://www.myspace.com/deemadabis from Unity Bridges was performing. The synergy was immense; I heard Rumi --

"Out beyond the ideas of right-doing or wrong-doing there is a field- I'll meet you there" --

talk of Mary Magdalene, the Fire/Ruach, and words like --

"My messenger too."


Speaking of Rumi:

Love Said to Me

Last night
I lost my grip on reality
and welcomed insanity...

I said, O Love
I am frightened,
but it's not you.
Love said to me,
there is nothing that is not me.
be silent.

I will whisper secrets in your ear
just nod yes
and be silent.

A soul moon
appeared in the path of my heart.
How precious is this journey...

I said, O Love,
tell me this:
Does God know you are
treating me this way?
Love said to me,
yes God does..

Friendswithacommonlanguage

sharing and singing

Unconditional love, undeserving of judgement, and Iron and Wine

Yesterday was really lovely. Spent the morning focusing on learning unconditional love,
stopped by Grass Roots http://www.grassrootsnaturalmarket.net/retailer/store_templates/shell_id_1.asp?storeID=FE37DD3DABC14A398DFEFCE5499F7C81,
and paused for a good long conversation about passing no judgements, hearing stories, and listening --
All the while, hearing music like this:


I feel it was a different kind of extraordinary golden day.