This Saturday was the birthday of my great Aunt, Marge Zihlman. She was born in Philadelphia to the Brugger family, and remained there until marrying Uncle Eddie, my grandmother's brother. He was in the Navy during WWII and was stationed in Philadelphia when the war ended (he suspects he was making heavy water for the atomic bomb tests). He met Marge at an USO event, and they were married after his discharge. He and my grandmother had inherited the Zihlman dairy ranch, and moving from Philadelphia to Windthorst, Texas was a big shock to her. Especially the outdoor plumbing (with snakes). She only got occasional glimpses of my grandfather, who apparently never left his bedroom. I asked if he was sick at the time, and Mom said, "No, that's when he was drinking." (I'll ask about that some other time.)
Having a digital camera with a video function has been a godsend. My last trip to Texas I took a 10 minute movie of Marge telling this story, and the medium is so much more revealing than pictures or a written narrative could ever be. She never mentions the obvious culture shock, but its presence is clear in her tone of voice. She may not have been amused at the time, but she put it behind her and can look back on it with a sense of ironic bemusement.
19 June 2007
11 May 2007
Progressive Center
Trying to get back in the habit of updating. No real news except we have finally lost the Progressive Center. They had reached the point of covering the cost for keeping the building open, but never made any real progress towards buying it. Fortunately it's being sold to a nonprofit health center, who are using the space to expand and open a mental health clinic.
We are already looking for a new location, taking with us new lessons in cat herding. Progressive organizations, given the opportunity, will not band together for mutual benefit, and will even conspire to defeat such efforts. New plans will be for a smaller, more manageable building more along the lines of Gainesville's Civic Media Center.
We are already looking for a new location, taking with us new lessons in cat herding. Progressive organizations, given the opportunity, will not band together for mutual benefit, and will even conspire to defeat such efforts. New plans will be for a smaller, more manageable building more along the lines of Gainesville's Civic Media Center.
06 November 2006
Election Day
At last we are here and the questions shall be answered. Can Democrats squander their best momentum in ages, and are Republicans still willing to cling to Rove and Limbaugh rather than reality. I feel kind of left out, other congressional districts have so much more drama going on. I will not be voting for Nelson, but for the independent, Brian Moore. Nelson had a safe race and still made some horrifying votes in the Senate. It's bad enough if he believes he was doing the right thing, but even worse if he felt he still had to pander for the Republican vote. Oddly enough, liberal friends who criticize my Green party leanings have told me they are doing the same.
Davis may be able to pull it off, and I am allowing myself the possibility of maybe having a smell sense of hope. Rich has assured us time and again that Davis has potential, so we will just have to wait.
The only other really big vote is for Referendum #3, a power grab by the Chamber of Commerce, who have too much influence already. Have not seen much support for this outside of the suit-wearin', cigar chompers, but voters tend to vote "Yes" like lemmings on amendments.
Out biggest local race is the City Commission fight between Lightsey and Dr. V. Lightsey, a former environmental champion, voted for Tallahassee to participate in a coal plant. This was bad enough for must of us, but despite excuses that it will be a "clean" coal plant, as more and more information came out, it looked less clean and more of a boondoggle. Dr. V is the only coal opponent to make it out of the primaries, so support for him has been pretty big. Big enough to challenge Lightsey's money and incumbency though? We'll see.
Davis may be able to pull it off, and I am allowing myself the possibility of maybe having a smell sense of hope. Rich has assured us time and again that Davis has potential, so we will just have to wait.
The only other really big vote is for Referendum #3, a power grab by the Chamber of Commerce, who have too much influence already. Have not seen much support for this outside of the suit-wearin', cigar chompers, but voters tend to vote "Yes" like lemmings on amendments.
Out biggest local race is the City Commission fight between Lightsey and Dr. V. Lightsey, a former environmental champion, voted for Tallahassee to participate in a coal plant. This was bad enough for must of us, but despite excuses that it will be a "clean" coal plant, as more and more information came out, it looked less clean and more of a boondoggle. Dr. V is the only coal opponent to make it out of the primaries, so support for him has been pretty big. Big enough to challenge Lightsey's money and incumbency though? We'll see.
11 October 2006
Tacete et Parete
I see that this blog has been cited on the Monarchy Party's page at Wikipedia, so I guess I should post something about the Monarchy Party.
My involvement (as Bucky Goldstein) is listed under the King's English and Crown Dispatch, our satirical newsletter that anticipated the style of the Onion. That is how I got my start in activism, as a comedy writer. However, Monarchy was never really a proper activist organization, most supporters seemed to be part of the campus drug subculture. Those of us who were left after the party disbanded wound up at the House of KAOS, where we tried to revive the activist spirit of the '60's, but with less drugs and police beatings. I have tried to make sure that our core belief -- "A Political Party is Still a Party" -- was kept alive in other organizations I have been involved with.
I was recently visited by Greg Cohen, the chief engineer of the Monarchy Party, who had dropped by to retrieve the Party archives. The usual reminiscing and war stories now include discussion of who had cancer treatment or major surgery. Are we really getting that old? Plans are afoot to hold a Monarchy reunion next year, which I look forward too. Though I have been quite content with my current circle of friends, it has occurred to me that I no longer have contact with anyone creative, which I am now thinking is why I feel creatively drained so much of the time.
My involvement (as Bucky Goldstein) is listed under the King's English and Crown Dispatch, our satirical newsletter that anticipated the style of the Onion. That is how I got my start in activism, as a comedy writer. However, Monarchy was never really a proper activist organization, most supporters seemed to be part of the campus drug subculture. Those of us who were left after the party disbanded wound up at the House of KAOS, where we tried to revive the activist spirit of the '60's, but with less drugs and police beatings. I have tried to make sure that our core belief -- "A Political Party is Still a Party" -- was kept alive in other organizations I have been involved with.
I was recently visited by Greg Cohen, the chief engineer of the Monarchy Party, who had dropped by to retrieve the Party archives. The usual reminiscing and war stories now include discussion of who had cancer treatment or major surgery. Are we really getting that old? Plans are afoot to hold a Monarchy reunion next year, which I look forward too. Though I have been quite content with my current circle of friends, it has occurred to me that I no longer have contact with anyone creative, which I am now thinking is why I feel creatively drained so much of the time.
18 September 2006
"Fish Don't Walk"
This is a bumper sticker I have seen on cars of Christian fanatics who don't believe in evolution. You would think the Mudskipper alone would have exploded this notion, but now there is additional support in the form of a walking shark.
Maybe this will breath new life into the land shark jokes.
Here is a related story I found on a church website, which sums up why I find some Christians very disturbing--
Maybe this will breath new life into the land shark jokes.
Here is a related story I found on a church website, which sums up why I find some Christians very disturbing--
Driving to different things around town usually provides some of the best conversation time between the girls and me. A conversation so perfectly etched into my memory is one from last summer. We were reading bumper stickers and such when Allison noticed the “Jesus fish” on the back of a van in front of us. Brittany quickly explained to her little sister that the fish meant the people believed in Jesus. Allison was so excited to begin looking for other “Christian cars” that it began a game of who can spot the fish first. Not more than 10 blocks, Allison yelled out that she found another fish but this fish had feet. “Fish don’t walk,” she proclaimed. Brittany once again quickly chimed in explaining that this fish meant that they don’t believe in Jesus. Instead, they believe we grew from some “junk” in the water and turned into people over several thousand years. We pulled up next to that little car. The light turned green. They turned left and I went straight. A huge scream sent chills down my spine as Allison shrieked in her definite outdoor voice, “FOLLOW THAT CAR”!
I explained that I couldn’t follow that car as I’m in the wrong lane to turn left and all the cars behind me would run us over and we’d be in a huge wreck. Once we were carefully through the intersection I looked in my rearview mirror to see little tears streaming down her chubby cheeks. “What’s the matter baby?” I asked. “But Mommy those people don’t know Jesus and we need to tell them” she replied.
and even worse . . .
Now I’m not suggesting we all go chasing down cars with the Darwin fish, although I have thought about it a time or two, especially with Allison yelling at me from the backseat. What I am suggesting is that we take the opportunities that God gives us.
Sense the urgency! Chances are you will encounter someone today who will spend eternity in hell. Will you choose to remain silent?
06 September 2006
Local Election Roundup
Record low turnout for the state, but our county had a pretty good showing with 37%. However, I was the 18th of 54 voters at St.Thomas More, which is a mostly student precinct (8% turnout). Fortunately, most of my candidates won. Cliff Thaell won a fourth term, which is good, but Proctor is in again, which is bad. Old hippie Bob Rackleff had five challengers, but goes into a run-off with the lone Republican, so he should pull off a win in November. Our old friend from SGA, John Dailey, easily won his seat on the County Commission, and I look forward to seeing how well he does.
Mixed results in the 3 city commission races. The votes on the coal plant had us up in arms to take out the 2 supporters up for reelection. Katz was the only commissioner to speak against it, and won his seat, but the Mayor, John Marks, got off by having two feeble opponents. Lightsey will be in a runoff, however, and hopefully we have time to send a message by voting her out in November. She is our biggest disappointment. Originally a respected environmental voter, she has alienated progressives with her positions on the coal plant and the sprayfield.
The state races look promising. I supported Smith for Governor, but Davis may be able to make a race out of it. Unfortunately, John Ellis has been more competent than his brother, so the anti-Republican wave may just be directed at Harris. And thank the Lord, Harris has won. It will make things much easier for Nelson. I don't like the way Nelson votes, personally, so I may be able to vote Green without fearing a Democratic loss.
Mixed results in the 3 city commission races. The votes on the coal plant had us up in arms to take out the 2 supporters up for reelection. Katz was the only commissioner to speak against it, and won his seat, but the Mayor, John Marks, got off by having two feeble opponents. Lightsey will be in a runoff, however, and hopefully we have time to send a message by voting her out in November. She is our biggest disappointment. Originally a respected environmental voter, she has alienated progressives with her positions on the coal plant and the sprayfield.
The state races look promising. I supported Smith for Governor, but Davis may be able to make a race out of it. Unfortunately, John Ellis has been more competent than his brother, so the anti-Republican wave may just be directed at Harris. And thank the Lord, Harris has won. It will make things much easier for Nelson. I don't like the way Nelson votes, personally, so I may be able to vote Green without fearing a Democratic loss.
15 August 2006
Return from Family Reunion
Got back from Texas last week, and am now attempting to cope with reality once again. The reunion was pretty good, but not much was accomplished in the historical line. We have made great strides in making the reunions a celebration of our local heritage, but most still show up to eat and leave. The children were given an interesting variation of bingo to play. They had to go around the room and talk to family members who had a specific experience and get them to sign their card. There was also a quilt made up of old family photos that was a popular auction item. We had intended to sit down with some of the older cousins who remember Lukas and record their stories, but we had to cope with some the more bizarre members of the family, as well as a trip to the old farmhouse.
The tour of the old Zihlman farm, was the highlight of the event. My grandfather, Ben Schneider, had sold it to Larry Meurer in 1975, so even some of the Windthorst family members had not seen it in more than thirty years. The place has changed too much to bring back any memories for me. They enclosed the porch that went all the way around, and expanded the kitchen, the features I remembered most from the foggy depths of infancy. Mom thinks Lukas was very ahead of his time, because he designed large walk-in closets. Even so, the house seemed quite small to raise a large family in. Of the outbuildings, the barn and silo were torn down, and only the milking shed and the hog slaughterhouse are now standing. The rest of the weekend was spent with a cousin from the other side of the family, who has joined me in researching the Schneiders. She was able to track down a distant cousin (at 4'10" a literal 'little old lady') who had been to Germany and found the actual house the Schneider's came from in 1835, still occupied by even more distant cousins.
The tour of the old Zihlman farm, was the highlight of the event. My grandfather, Ben Schneider, had sold it to Larry Meurer in 1975, so even some of the Windthorst family members had not seen it in more than thirty years. The place has changed too much to bring back any memories for me. They enclosed the porch that went all the way around, and expanded the kitchen, the features I remembered most from the foggy depths of infancy. Mom thinks Lukas was very ahead of his time, because he designed large walk-in closets. Even so, the house seemed quite small to raise a large family in. Of the outbuildings, the barn and silo were torn down, and only the milking shed and the hog slaughterhouse are now standing. The rest of the weekend was spent with a cousin from the other side of the family, who has joined me in researching the Schneiders. She was able to track down a distant cousin (at 4'10" a literal 'little old lady') who had been to Germany and found the actual house the Schneider's came from in 1835, still occupied by even more distant cousins.
02 August 2006
Zihlman Family Reunion
Leaving tonight for Texas to attend the Zihlman Family Reunion in Windthorst, Texas. Going by bus again, which I am dreading, but this time the route goes up to Memphis, then Little Rock and Oklahoma City, so it will be a change of scenery.
It was researching the Zihlman family that got me interested in family history. While in England, one of our teachers did a family tree of the Queen, and I remember correcting her on two points. British teachers don't like being corrected on British history. After that, I thought why not do my own family, so my mother helped me with the Zihlman's, the only extended family group we could consider ourselves members of. Her memory was incredible, spouting off name after name of one remote cousin after the other. Uncle Eddie was the family historian at that time, and he helped me add to it when we returned to the States.
The Zihlman reunion is held in the memory of Lukas Zihlman (1871-1941), who settled in Windthorst in 1893. He had eight sons and daughters, of which my grandmother was the youngest. She would say "Lucy was supposed to be the baby, but Eddie was a mistake, and I came along so Eddie could have someone to pick on." She was the last to pass away, but Lukas' grandchildren have still kept the traditional family gatherings going. One of my cousins developed an interest in family history, so this time around will be the first reunion in which actual research will be attempted. They managed to persuade the current owner of the old Zihlman farmhouse to allow some tours, and we plan to get some of the older grandchildren together and record some old family stories. A few weeks ago, I finished an 18 page history which we will add pictures to and hand out.
It was researching the Zihlman family that got me interested in family history. While in England, one of our teachers did a family tree of the Queen, and I remember correcting her on two points. British teachers don't like being corrected on British history. After that, I thought why not do my own family, so my mother helped me with the Zihlman's, the only extended family group we could consider ourselves members of. Her memory was incredible, spouting off name after name of one remote cousin after the other. Uncle Eddie was the family historian at that time, and he helped me add to it when we returned to the States.
The Zihlman reunion is held in the memory of Lukas Zihlman (1871-1941), who settled in Windthorst in 1893. He had eight sons and daughters, of which my grandmother was the youngest. She would say "Lucy was supposed to be the baby, but Eddie was a mistake, and I came along so Eddie could have someone to pick on." She was the last to pass away, but Lukas' grandchildren have still kept the traditional family gatherings going. One of my cousins developed an interest in family history, so this time around will be the first reunion in which actual research will be attempted. They managed to persuade the current owner of the old Zihlman farmhouse to allow some tours, and we plan to get some of the older grandchildren together and record some old family stories. A few weeks ago, I finished an 18 page history which we will add pictures to and hand out.
28 July 2006
Local Politics
As far as I can tell, very few of the people I knew from the Student Government days have attempted political office in the real world. Trey Traviesa, who was FSU's student president when I arrived, is now in the Florida House. I was just getting involved, so I don't know much about him, other than he was the nemesis of the Monarchy Party.
Joel Silver, who was our Video Center director, and son of a State Senator, attempted to run in '04 against Susan Buchert, one Florida's most liberal rep.'s in the State House. His reasoning was that in the current political climate, Democrats should be more accommodating of their Republican masters. Fortunately, he was trounced, and a number of voters in that area were wondering what the hell he was thinking.
Ray Malloy is a conservative Republican, but is fondly regarded as my mentor in my first year in Senate, and remains one of the few Republicans I can be civil to. He briefly filed to run against Ion Sancho, our anti-Diebold Elections Supervisor. He felt that Sancho was not taking full advantage of the technology available, a remark I found rather disturbing. I was relieved that he dropped out and saved himself potential embarrassment. If any of our local politicians have untouchable status, it is Sancho.
Our latest entry is John Dailey, who is running for County Commissioner and has a very good chance at getting in. His father was head of the school board for many years, and he was Student President during our more productive years. He was in the party opposing ours, yet he remains the only SGA president I genuinely liked. He's not in my district, but the least I can do is put out a sign; if I can find out what he thinks about the coal plant, that is.
http://www.votejohndailey.com/
Joel Silver, who was our Video Center director, and son of a State Senator, attempted to run in '04 against Susan Buchert, one Florida's most liberal rep.'s in the State House. His reasoning was that in the current political climate, Democrats should be more accommodating of their Republican masters. Fortunately, he was trounced, and a number of voters in that area were wondering what the hell he was thinking.
Ray Malloy is a conservative Republican, but is fondly regarded as my mentor in my first year in Senate, and remains one of the few Republicans I can be civil to. He briefly filed to run against Ion Sancho, our anti-Diebold Elections Supervisor. He felt that Sancho was not taking full advantage of the technology available, a remark I found rather disturbing. I was relieved that he dropped out and saved himself potential embarrassment. If any of our local politicians have untouchable status, it is Sancho.
Our latest entry is John Dailey, who is running for County Commissioner and has a very good chance at getting in. His father was head of the school board for many years, and he was Student President during our more productive years. He was in the party opposing ours, yet he remains the only SGA president I genuinely liked. He's not in my district, but the least I can do is put out a sign; if I can find out what he thinks about the coal plant, that is.
http://www.votejohndailey.com/
27 July 2006
Pictures from July 4th
No news to report, just adding in some pictures from Adam's visit.
Allen does the cooking--
Tammy, Lindsay, and Chrissy
Stumbling to the Warehouse
Allen does the cooking--
Tammy, Lindsay, and Chrissy
Stumbling to the Warehouse
10 July 2006
Visit from "Mad Adam" Kelly
Adam came in to town last Friday, originally to attend Rich's Fourth of July party, which is usually a blockbuster event. Unfortunately, Rich had to cancel due to a family emergency, but Adam already had the plane tickets and was due for visit anyway. Allen took up the idea of having our own gathering, hoping to recreate the KAOS parties of old. Adam spent the weekend visiting old haunts and Monday night we gathered at my place, "Little KAOS." Adam wound up mixing beer and tequila, with the usual results. Fortunately we are familiar with the drill by now, and Geoff was able to secure his credit card when we went to finish up at the Warehouse.
Just as we were driving to the airport on the 4th, Rich called to say he was back in town and wanted to go ahead with a small gathering and fireworks anyway. Adam was disappointed to miss out on the pyrotechnics, but Rich is promising a bigger show in a couple of months to make up for it, and Adam is intent on coming back for it. It worked out pretty well, as we had enough food and beer left over to provide an instant party. All Rich and Grace had to do was light up the neighbourhood with the leftover fireworks from last year.
Took the rest of the week off work to slob around the house. My next vacation is the family reunion next month, for which I am writing the historical narrative. Currently, however, I am spending more time not writing it.
Just as we were driving to the airport on the 4th, Rich called to say he was back in town and wanted to go ahead with a small gathering and fireworks anyway. Adam was disappointed to miss out on the pyrotechnics, but Rich is promising a bigger show in a couple of months to make up for it, and Adam is intent on coming back for it. It worked out pretty well, as we had enough food and beer left over to provide an instant party. All Rich and Grace had to do was light up the neighbourhood with the leftover fireworks from last year.
Took the rest of the week off work to slob around the house. My next vacation is the family reunion next month, for which I am writing the historical narrative. Currently, however, I am spending more time not writing it.
16 June 2006
News from Allen and Cindy
Just received this e-mail. Was not even aware of bombings in Thailand.
"After receiving a few e-mails about our safety let me just reasure everyone that Cindy and Allen are totaly fine, healthy and in good spirits although feeling a little sad about the people living in Southern Thailand. We left Southern Thailand about a week ago so the 41 little message bombings did not hurt a lot of people but they were meant to scare off foriegn tourists and the evil education system that fundimentalists hate.
We are now in Georgetown, Penang Island, Malysisa in a predominantely Muslim Area with great Indian Food. We are the only Americans we have seen in five days - we will be pointing at westerners when we return to Bangkok tommorrow. While in the south we started a working relationship with a tsunami survival group of mostly Muslim women. We are very happy to start importing their goods through the help, development work and guidence of one of the oldest Fair Trade groups ThaiCraft who are the goods and coop developer and exporter of these Saori crafts. These people will now need even more help since tourism was their primary income 2 years ago - pre tsunami - and these mini-bombings are not much help. But we will be home soon - 20th- and after 12 days of jet-lag will be coherent again. (Doctors claim one hour of time change takes a day of recovery and that has been our experience. Although some claim I have been jet-laged for two years straight!!! )
See you soon. Allen"
"After receiving a few e-mails about our safety let me just reasure everyone that Cindy and Allen are totaly fine, healthy and in good spirits although feeling a little sad about the people living in Southern Thailand. We left Southern Thailand about a week ago so the 41 little message bombings did not hurt a lot of people but they were meant to scare off foriegn tourists and the evil education system that fundimentalists hate.
We are now in Georgetown, Penang Island, Malysisa in a predominantely Muslim Area with great Indian Food. We are the only Americans we have seen in five days - we will be pointing at westerners when we return to Bangkok tommorrow. While in the south we started a working relationship with a tsunami survival group of mostly Muslim women. We are very happy to start importing their goods through the help, development work and guidence of one of the oldest Fair Trade groups ThaiCraft who are the goods and coop developer and exporter of these Saori crafts. These people will now need even more help since tourism was their primary income 2 years ago - pre tsunami - and these mini-bombings are not much help. But we will be home soon - 20th- and after 12 days of jet-lag will be coherent again. (Doctors claim one hour of time change takes a day of recovery and that has been our experience. Although some claim I have been jet-laged for two years straight!!! )
See you soon. Allen"
14 June 2006
Hurricane Alberto
The night Alberto came ashore I heard a loud crack, which I assumed was thunder. I thought it was odd that I did not hear thunder again, but it was the middle of the night, so I went back to sleep. Yesterday, during my lunch hour, I walked around the house to look for fallen limbs and found this--
A tree almost fell on the house. Leaning on the house like a pathetic drunk would be a closer description. Can not see much in the way of actual damage at this point, so we got off lucky this time.
About as much damage as Allen did with the truck when we first moved in. And it is on Rob's side, so my only worry is the leaky fireplace (the plastic bag fix did not work). The landlord needs to have the roof fixed anyway.
* * *
No other news at this point, just looking forward to Rich's 4th of July party. Once again, Adam is coming to visit, and hopefully we can persuade him to stay with Allen or Chrissy, and not sleep in his car or the Progressive Center couch. And of course, food, booze, and enough fireworks to liberate a small country.
A tree almost fell on the house. Leaning on the house like a pathetic drunk would be a closer description. Can not see much in the way of actual damage at this point, so we got off lucky this time.
About as much damage as Allen did with the truck when we first moved in. And it is on Rob's side, so my only worry is the leaky fireplace (the plastic bag fix did not work). The landlord needs to have the roof fixed anyway.
* * *
No other news at this point, just looking forward to Rich's 4th of July party. Once again, Adam is coming to visit, and hopefully we can persuade him to stay with Allen or Chrissy, and not sleep in his car or the Progressive Center couch. And of course, food, booze, and enough fireworks to liberate a small country.
29 May 2006
Pvt. George R. Dow-8th New Hampshire Volunteers
Memorial Day was originally created to honour the Civil War veterans, so this post is dedicated to my great-great grandfather's older brother, George Dow. He was the second son of Simon Dow, a shoemaker in Hampstead, NH, and was born in 1842. He enlisted in the 8th NH on 31 Dec. 1861, and his regiment was assigned to Gen. Bank's army in Louisiana. They were part of the campaign to cut the South off from the Mississippi by capturing Port Hudson, while Grant was trying to take Vicksburg. Dow's regiment was involved in a big assault on 27 May 1863 in which almost half of the attacking force was killed or wounded, including Dow. He died in Baton Rouge on 12 June 1863 at the age of 21, apparently from blood poisoning. According to family tradition, his mother nearly went mad with grief on hearing the news.
Unfortunately that is all we know of his story. He lingered in the Baton Rouge field hospital for two weeks, possibly undergoing some amputations before gangrene set in. We'll never know if he was an abolitionist, or a patriot, or just bored with the prospect of making shoes for the rest of his life. Did his parents know he enlisted, or did he go out drinking with friends and wake up in the camp?
On my last trip to New Orleans, I had to leave out of Baton Rouge, so I took the time to locate George Dow's grave site. Lord knows if he's had any visitors over the years. Wherever George is now, I doubt he's waiting in Baton Rouge, but I took time to brush the leaves off the grave, just to show that somebody dropped by.
Unfortunately that is all we know of his story. He lingered in the Baton Rouge field hospital for two weeks, possibly undergoing some amputations before gangrene set in. We'll never know if he was an abolitionist, or a patriot, or just bored with the prospect of making shoes for the rest of his life. Did his parents know he enlisted, or did he go out drinking with friends and wake up in the camp?
16 May 2006
Markos comments on his visit:
"Way too early next morning, I was on my way to Tallahassee. I did a lunchtime event at the Tallahassee Progressive Center, where I picked up some nicknacks at the Fair Trade Store on premises (some masks from Bali). That evening I spoke at the Florida State University law school at an event sponsored by the FSU Environmental Law Students Association and the Democratic Club of North Florida. I lucked out weather-wise. It wasn't hot."
"Way too early next morning, I was on my way to Tallahassee. I did a lunchtime event at the Tallahassee Progressive Center, where I picked up some nicknacks at the Fair Trade Store on premises (some masks from Bali). That evening I spoke at the Florida State University law school at an event sponsored by the FSU Environmental Law Students Association and the Democratic Club of North Florida. I lucked out weather-wise. It wasn't hot."
12 May 2006
Crashing the Gate
Got to meet Mr. Dailykos himself yesterday, Markos Moulitsas. He and another blogger, Jerome Armstrong of MyDD, are on a tour to promote their book, Crashing the Gate. We did not know he would be visiting the Center until Sunday, so the gang had to slap together an event at the last minute. Rich spent his own money so there would be copies of the book available to buy and to have signed, and Adrien set up a lunch gathering at his cafeteria. Despite the short notice, we had a good turnout of at least 30. After lunch, Markos gave a short talk and took a few questions before signing books. I had to leave early to get back to work, so my only contact with him was having my book signed. I have yet to hear if Rich and Allen were able to tell him anything about the Center, or if they had any substantial discussion.
The irritating thing about this is that I had been aware of the book tour for a couple of months. Before they started, they posted a list of cities they would be visiting and asked people to set up events for them. I was ready to volunteer us, but wanted to discuss it with the Center's Board first. Unfortunately, the Board has not been meeting recently, so after a week or so of trying to tell them what was happening, I went ahead and notified the tour organizers that we were interested and sent them a link to the Progressive Center website. I hesitated because the tour organizers were not very specific about what kind of events they would like to do, and what kind of input they would need from us, but I assumed they would e-mail me back to work something out.
Weeks go by and I hear nothing. Finally, I check the tour page and they announce they are not scheduling any more events, and the only listing for the Tallahassee visit was for the Leon County Democrats. Therefore, I had assumed that we had been snubbed. I have not been very active at the Center, and I thought organizing this event would be a good way to start earning my keep. It was not until this Tuesday that I learned that Markos was, in fact, coming, and it was not until yesterday that I learned how much my friends had to scramble to make it happen.
The irritating thing about this is that I had been aware of the book tour for a couple of months. Before they started, they posted a list of cities they would be visiting and asked people to set up events for them. I was ready to volunteer us, but wanted to discuss it with the Center's Board first. Unfortunately, the Board has not been meeting recently, so after a week or so of trying to tell them what was happening, I went ahead and notified the tour organizers that we were interested and sent them a link to the Progressive Center website. I hesitated because the tour organizers were not very specific about what kind of events they would like to do, and what kind of input they would need from us, but I assumed they would e-mail me back to work something out.
Weeks go by and I hear nothing. Finally, I check the tour page and they announce they are not scheduling any more events, and the only listing for the Tallahassee visit was for the Leon County Democrats. Therefore, I had assumed that we had been snubbed. I have not been very active at the Center, and I thought organizing this event would be a good way to start earning my keep. It was not until this Tuesday that I learned that Markos was, in fact, coming, and it was not until yesterday that I learned how much my friends had to scramble to make it happen.
* * *
Kim and Nichole are in town for a wedding this weekend, visiting from Chicago. Rich is trying to get them together tonight, but we may not get to spend any time with them until the big wedding party at Barnacle Bill's on Sunday.
01 May 2006
Colbert
Well, it's been a long week. Most of the time was spent cleaning the house, with a beer-powered Allen turning it into a community event. Felt like more of an intervention than a spring cleaning. Most of the clutter from our activist days is now at the Center, and I will be gradually trying to make an accessible archive out of it. For now, though, so very, very tired. I'm just going to lie back in this snow drift and rest my eyes for a few seconds . . .
I've been a fan of Stephen Colbert since he started building up steam with his new show, but after seeing his performance at the White House Correspondents' Dinner, I now consider him a national hero. Bush and the media got a well deserved thrashing, up close and in person. The mainstream news is trying to dismiss Colbert as just being a comedian, but they are mistaken if they confuse proper satire with a stand-up routine.
I've been a fan of Stephen Colbert since he started building up steam with his new show, but after seeing his performance at the White House Correspondents' Dinner, I now consider him a national hero. Bush and the media got a well deserved thrashing, up close and in person. The mainstream news is trying to dismiss Colbert as just being a comedian, but they are mistaken if they confuse proper satire with a stand-up routine.
19 April 2006
MySpace
In other news, I was browsing through some band sites on MySpace, and found a couple of friends who live in Chicago. I set up an account, and have been gradually running into other people. I'm not sure what else I'm going to do with it, but I've put up some pictures from recent parties.
http://www.myspace.com/house_of_kaos
http://www.myspace.com/house_of_kaos
13 April 2006
Just realized I had not posted for awhile. Maybe I was waiting to post some good news, but lately there has seemed to be nothing but endings.
Mike's Beer Barn has closed down, and it was a shock to learn that after being there for 300 years, he did not own the property. The Barn is no longer a priority in life since I no longer live in that neighbourhood, but in the KAOS era, it was our main supplier. In time, I was even able to lift a full keg by myself. My roommate worked there for awhile, so that was my only glimpse at the inner workings of Mike's empire; sitting up there in the overlook with a shotgun, departing his racism and disgust with the homeless to his employees. Deprived of Mike's, the residents of the Shelter have discovered that the Circle K that opened in the old Bill's Bookstore is the nearest source of beer. The sorority girls will be in for shock.
It appears that the crooked county officials won after all. Posey's is closed as well. They had intended to rebuild after the hurricane, but were denied key permits. The land is now going to be sold too-- big shock-- condo developers. The closing of Posey's also led to Blue Moon being disbanded, as it was their only regular paying gig. Danny and Kelly had a baby recently, plus Danny is more concerned about his other band, Stillwood. So practice started dropping off, as they did not want to rehearse unless there was a show coming up. They will do their final show at the Moon on April 20th, and hopefully, in few years, there will be a Blue Moon reunion tour. Now that they are splitting up, my mother's long shot efforts to get them noticed by Texas musicians will probably pay off.
Closer to home, the Progressive Center is in danger of losing their building. The landlords have been very supportive and patient, but there are two other elderly owners who are eager to sell and a serious offer has been made. After all this time, we were happy to be just meeting building expenses, but no one took initiative on finding the necessary serious investors. Most of the blame belongs to the disunity of the left wing. Two or three of the bigger non-profits could have insured that we could meet rent and plan for acquiring ownership. However, there is so much rivalry amongst the non-profits, no one would even consider sharing resources, and I'm pretty sure some of them were rooting against us as well.
Mike's Beer Barn has closed down, and it was a shock to learn that after being there for 300 years, he did not own the property. The Barn is no longer a priority in life since I no longer live in that neighbourhood, but in the KAOS era, it was our main supplier. In time, I was even able to lift a full keg by myself. My roommate worked there for awhile, so that was my only glimpse at the inner workings of Mike's empire; sitting up there in the overlook with a shotgun, departing his racism and disgust with the homeless to his employees. Deprived of Mike's, the residents of the Shelter have discovered that the Circle K that opened in the old Bill's Bookstore is the nearest source of beer. The sorority girls will be in for shock.
It appears that the crooked county officials won after all. Posey's is closed as well. They had intended to rebuild after the hurricane, but were denied key permits. The land is now going to be sold too-- big shock-- condo developers. The closing of Posey's also led to Blue Moon being disbanded, as it was their only regular paying gig. Danny and Kelly had a baby recently, plus Danny is more concerned about his other band, Stillwood. So practice started dropping off, as they did not want to rehearse unless there was a show coming up. They will do their final show at the Moon on April 20th, and hopefully, in few years, there will be a Blue Moon reunion tour. Now that they are splitting up, my mother's long shot efforts to get them noticed by Texas musicians will probably pay off.
Closer to home, the Progressive Center is in danger of losing their building. The landlords have been very supportive and patient, but there are two other elderly owners who are eager to sell and a serious offer has been made. After all this time, we were happy to be just meeting building expenses, but no one took initiative on finding the necessary serious investors. Most of the blame belongs to the disunity of the left wing. Two or three of the bigger non-profits could have insured that we could meet rent and plan for acquiring ownership. However, there is so much rivalry amongst the non-profits, no one would even consider sharing resources, and I'm pretty sure some of them were rooting against us as well.
19 January 2006
Cassini
I have noticed some people are protesting the launch of the probe to Pluto because it contains plutonium. This is always a conflict for me because I am a great supporter of space exploration, but not comfortable with putting nuclear material on a potentially explosive rocket. Back in '97 we went down to protest the Cassini launch for the same reasons. I think there are more worthwhile things to protest, but hey, any chance to get out of town. Hell, I'll protest just about anything. Anyway, the most revealing thing about the whole event is I got to see firsthand how the press deals with demonstrations like this. It was one of the largest protests I had ever seen. There were at least a thousand people attending, yet newspapers consistently said "hundreds." Not one of the news channels took any wide view pictures to show the size of the crowd. Photographs were restricted to small groups of people, like the Grandmothers for Peace, or the kooks who show up dressed like Uncle Sam on stilts. CNN just showed stock footage of the satellite, but I know I saw their truck there.
Another thing that struck me was how ritualized protests have become. We were allowed to march to the gates and line up outside, while the police lined up inside. A ladder was allowed to be placed on the gate, a blanket was provided to get over the barb wire, and anyone who chose to be arrested could safely climb over. Once they were inside, a policeman escorted them off, then another policeman would take his place and await the next protestor. No fuss, no muss.
Once I got back, I friend of mine said "Well, think about it. Is plutonium over Orlando a bad thing?"
Another thing that struck me was how ritualized protests have become. We were allowed to march to the gates and line up outside, while the police lined up inside. A ladder was allowed to be placed on the gate, a blanket was provided to get over the barb wire, and anyone who chose to be arrested could safely climb over. Once they were inside, a policeman escorted them off, then another policeman would take his place and await the next protestor. No fuss, no muss.
Once I got back, I friend of mine said "Well, think about it. Is plutonium over Orlando a bad thing?"
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