OT ~ Welcome to Saturday!

Submitted by smiley7 on Sat, 06/22/2019 - 4:00am

The heart knows first.

“Hope is a tiny, glowing thing that takes root,” ~ Sylvi Stein

“Hope is a tiny, glowing thing that takes root,” Sylvi Stein says into the microphone, her words echoing through the nearly empty cavernous church. The 16-year-old is practicing her poem, titled “The Great Barrier Reef is Dead,” one last time before she performs it in front of a crowd at Harlem’s historic Apollo Theater on Friday.

“The door is locked, and we have no seat at the table,” says Andreas Psahos, a 17-year-old from Queens. “In fact, we aren’t even allowed into the room, clawing at the wood and peeking through the keyhole.” During his practice performance, I happen to look back at some of his peers, clustered in the first few pews. They’re staring transfixed, quiet, some smiling, some snapping their fingers at particularly poignant lines. https://grist.org/article/theres-a-new-act-at-new-yorks-apollo-theater-c...

My father raised me to know
that I am not different
from anyone else. This knowledge
makes me respond to you all
with doubt.
If you dreamed
as an eight year old
of shoveling coal into a furnace
and the furnace exploded
blowing you sky high,
and you saw from up there
while hanging to a stove pipe
the entire city, then
came down slowly
to the basement again,
why don’t you wish
to be a bird as I do?
And assuming
that you discovered around fourteen
that your parents were nice
but not your own
and you watched every night
for a starship to arrive,
why aren’t you aware of how alien
we all are to this planet?

Perhaps most confusing
is that I know you have spent
as many days and nights
as I have fearing death
and dreaming of a private escape
or of a discovery to save everyone,
yet still you seem to forget
what heroes and heroines we are
to get up every morning,
to go to bed every night.

~ Ross Shideler, What My Father Knows

A new scientific study shows that petting your dog or cat can have just about the same effect on your mood as being around your infant. Scientists were able to conclude that the hormone oxytocin is released in similar quantities in both cases, triggering feelings of happiness, stress and depression relief, as well as an increased feeling of trust. The chemical also plays an important role in social memory and helps facilitate pair bonding, which is crucial for humans.https://news.softpedia.com/news/Petting-Pets-Releases-039-Love-Hormone-0...

'He was a legend': Pedro Silva, longtime leader of N.C. Shakespeare Festival, dies https://www.greensboro.com/blogs/gotriad_extra/he-was-a-legend-pedro-sil...
RIP good friend.

Lede photo: A team from the Danish Meteorological Institute travels across the melted sea ice to retrieve equipment. ~ Steffen M Olsen

Second photo: the beaches of Midway Atoll, USFWS

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Comments

Submitted by HenryAWallace on Sat, 06/22/2019 - 6:23am

Good morning smiley7.

I am going to wish everyone a good weekend and paste here what I posted on another OT:

Smiley7, your goodness, exquisite taste, intelligence and creativity shines through your fonts and we bask in the glow whenever you post.

Life is an often difficult, yet incredible, journey. At times, I've figuratively shaken my fist at, well, who knows what, if anything? I would not want to have missed out on it though, despite some truly awful parts. Trite, I know, but, unlike you, I'm nowhere near a poet.

If you have time, the entire film (Lovers and Other Strangers) is on youtube, no doubt in violation of our ~~Disney corporation~~ copyright/anti-terrorism laws. If the alligators don't give you any time off, though, this much briefer clip provides as good a primer on happiness as anything written by a shrink that I've read. Finally, never forget: "Ya gotta take the good with the bad." (Keyboarded as the characters in the film mangled the aphorism.)

[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xI3zPShdjYo]

Submitted by smiley7 on Sat, 06/22/2019 - 9:08am

"We are content." Good morning, Henry.

@HenryAWallace

Your kind words pause me before coffee; not really, just an ordinary bloke treading water, but i sure do appreciate the thoughts as we can hope, can't we?

Saving the movie, thank you and have a splendid weekend.

Submitted by mimi on Sat, 06/22/2019 - 5:29am

I just said on gjohnsit's last post I wanna have a noose

to hang myself, but then I remembered Alligator Ed's last post and Joe's exceptional EB yesterday on Friday evening and then I wondered what about your quote 'the heart knows first' and '“Hope is a tiny, glowing thing that takes root,” ...

I realized that my brain is tiny, housed in a small head and that's why it would slip through the noose and I would just bruise my hip falling down and limp on with a bad knee. That made me marvel at the wisdom of all the unintended consequences I can't imagine yet, but know they will there, which gives me this tiny glowing thing of hope, that the great spirit will never allow to die.

Your musical offerings and those of Joe Shikspack are the best love inducing offerings.
.
Thank you for them and your Open Thread and poetry. How often would I like to share posts here with my son and hesitate. May be this one I could send him. That would be a day to remember. But I am still scared that too many things he would read here trigger memories he would like to forget. I want peace more than everything and peace of his mind specifically.

I wish you all a glimpse of glowing hope for the weekend.

Submitted by smiley7 on Sat, 06/22/2019 - 9:22am

Good day, mimi,

@mimi
Our children are special and i think they understand, in time, especially.

I need to dig up the research article about the heart knowing first, sending signals to the brain; maybe after coffee.

Germany is a beautiful country, hoping you've the pleasure of enjoying these newly minted summer days.

Submitted by Raggedy Ann on Sat, 06/22/2019 - 7:30am

Good morning, smiley ~~

Hope
Without hope
I could not live.
Without hope
I could not breathe.
Hope is what
gets me up everyday.
Hope is what
carries me forward.
Without hope
I cannot soldier on.
Hope is what
lets in the sun.

Have a hopeful day, everyone.

—

"The “jumpers” reminded us that one day we will all face only one choice and that is how we will die, not how we will live." Chris Hedges on 9/11

Submitted by smiley7 on Sat, 06/22/2019 - 9:26am

Good morning, RA,

@Raggedy Ann

May your poetic words travel with you as you journey.

Hoping you've a marvelous vacation.

Happy trails.

Submitted by The Aspie Corner on Sat, 06/22/2019 - 8:59am

A Cat and Her Yellow Feathered Kittens

[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K83BKNxgg7w]

—

Modern education is little more than toeing the line for the capitalist pigs.

Guerrilla Liberalism won't liberate the US or the world from the iron fist of capital.

Submitted by smiley7 on Sat, 06/22/2019 - 9:35am

The video makes our day, Aspie,

@The Aspie Corner
Thank you for posting.
Precious.

Submitted by WaterLily on Sat, 06/22/2019 - 10:04pm

This is so sweet.

@The Aspie Corner Thanks for posting.

We humans would do well to take cues from our fellow animals.

Submitted by mhagle on Sun, 06/23/2019 - 4:21pm

wonderful

@The Aspie Corner

Really wonderful. Thank you!

—

Marilyn

"Make dirt, not war." eyo

Submitted by enhydra lutris on Sat, 06/22/2019 - 9:17am

Good morning smiley. Hope. Hope is a thing I don't really

know how to address, at least not this morning. My mind reminds me that I have known two people named Hope, and none named fear or fatalism, though it doesn't tell me what insights I might draw from that. Routine, OTOH, often carries me through, like Farmers' market today. Today things start getting hectic, so anticipation and activity simply drown out all else, my escape from anticipating a is anticipating b and the herenow of preparation overwhelms the herenow of all else. I dunno if hope dwells in there except as a non focal low level background layer that says "yeah, go on, continue, you might as well and you never know...".

Gotta stop reading and responding before fully awake, that much is certain, the mind ever wanders like the wild geese in the west, as they say.

Have a good weekend.

—

That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --

Submitted by smiley7 on Sat, 06/22/2019 - 10:09am

Good morning, el,

@enhydra lutris

Vegetable truck man is back in our community on Friday and Saturday, he's less expensive than our farmer's market, so i'm happy to see his return for the summer.

Happy trails to you, too.

Submitted by eyo on Sat, 06/22/2019 - 9:50am

Ukiah celebrates its newest well Thursday

Good morn smiley7 and c99 poets. I met some one who knows some one who touched this jar. big smile

17 Aug 2018
seek and ye shall find
---
Oops, looking at today's horoscope I realized the solstice is cancer, not gemini. summer vertigo

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Go over the logistics of continuing down your current path or making a change that offers more free time to pursue a lifelong ambition. Don’t wait for an opportunity to come to you; seize the moment. Celebrate with someone you love. 5 stars

CANCER (June 21-July 22): Look at the past, compare and make plans that will activate something you want to pursue. A positive change will take place if you include someone you love in your latest pursuit. Romance is on the rise. 3 stars

back to the well
gawdess bless our russian river watershed

White described the well as a “ridiculously robust producer” capable of delivering 1,300 gallons per minute, but that staff like to keep the production at about 1,000 gallons per minute. The city’s other wells produce a range of abut 300 to 800 gallons per minute.

And all of them can easily have generators plugged into them in the case of power outages, White said, adding that one of his priorities when he began his job with the city was making sure all the wells had the same hook-ups.

When asked if the city already had generators on-hand, White said it did not, “but we have a standing order with an equipment rental company for them, so we can call and have them here within the hour.”

PG&E: Prepare to lose power for five days

“Forty-eight hours is a reasonable number, but there is nothing wrong with being prepared for five days,” said PG&E representative Alison Talbott at the Ukiah City Council meeting June 19, adding that everyone should be preparing for all types of outages. “Go ahead and be mad at PG&E, but use this as an opportunity to prepare yourself; because an emergency can happen at any time that isn’t fire-related.”

Oops I am not prepared for five days without power, how much would it cost? don't answer because the fixed income budget has no line item to further subsidize capitalist investors and their crony political pals. oh well shrug
blast blast blast

Trying the built-in video link, embedding so broken:
Peter Wolf "Lights Out" 12 inch mix extended version
[video:https://youtu.be/f2Oerurly60 width:450]
let's dance

Doobie Brothers UKIAH
[video:https://youtu.be/J95mk1mOr2c width:450]
reverse haiku
PEACE

Submitted by smiley7 on Sat, 06/22/2019 - 10:16am

Good morning, eyo.

@eyo

I'll pm my address to you so you may ship the mason jar.

Power companies behave like their name; Duke dominates in NC, but thankfully, TVA is close by.

Thank you for the haiku and good vibes.

May the Russian river deliver it's splendor to you this weekend.

Good morn smiley7 and c99 poets. I met some one who knows some one who touched this jar. big smile 17 Aug 2018 seek and ye shall find --- Oops, looking at today's horoscope I realized the solstice is cancer, not gemini. summer vertigo GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Go over the logistics of continuing down your current path or making a change that offers more free time to pursue a lifelong ambition. Don’t wait for an opportunity to come to you; seize the moment. Celebrate with someone you love. 5 stars CANCER (June 21-July 22): Look at the past, compare and make plans that will activate something you want to pursue. A positive change will take place if you include someone you love in your latest pursuit. Romance is on the rise. 3 stars back to the well gawdess bless our russian river watershed White described the well as a “ridiculously robust producer” capable of delivering 1,300 gallons per minute, but that staff like to keep the production at about 1,000 gallons per minute. The city’s other wells produce a range of abut 300 to 800 gallons per minute. And all of them can easily have generators plugged into them in the case of power outages, White said, adding that one of his priorities when he began his job with the city was making sure all the wells had the same hook-ups. When asked if the city already had generators on-hand, White said it did not, “but we have a standing order with an equipment rental company for them, so we can call and have them here within the hour.” PG&E: Prepare to lose power for five days “Forty-eight hours is a reasonable number, but there is nothing wrong with being prepared for five days,” said PG&E representative Alison Talbott at the Ukiah City Council meeting June 19, adding that everyone should be preparing for all types of outages. “Go ahead and be mad at PG&E, but use this as an opportunity to prepare yourself; because an emergency can happen at any time that isn’t fire-related.” Oops I am not prepared for five days without power, how much would it cost? don't answer because the fixed income budget has no line item to further subsidize capitalist investors and their crony political pals. oh well shrug blast blast blast Trying the built-in video link, embedding so broken: Peter Wolf "Lights Out" 12 inch mix extended version [video:https://youtu.be/f2Oerurly60 width:450] let's dance Doobie Brothers UKIAH [video:https://youtu.be/J95mk1mOr2c width:450] reverse haiku PEACE

Submitted by WaterLily on Sat, 06/22/2019 - 10:09pm

Ah, that Peter Wolf song!

@eyo Haven't heard it in ages. Brings me back. Let's dance, indeed; it's better than any alternative.

Thanks for posting. Hope you're having a good weekend!

Good morn smiley7 and c99 poets. I met some one who knows some one who touched this jar. big smile 17 Aug 2018 seek and ye shall find --- Oops, looking at today's horoscope I realized the solstice is cancer, not gemini. summer vertigo GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Go over the logistics of continuing down your current path or making a change that offers more free time to pursue a lifelong ambition. Don’t wait for an opportunity to come to you; seize the moment. Celebrate with someone you love. 5 stars CANCER (June 21-July 22): Look at the past, compare and make plans that will activate something you want to pursue. A positive change will take place if you include someone you love in your latest pursuit. Romance is on the rise. 3 stars back to the well gawdess bless our russian river watershed White described the well as a “ridiculously robust producer” capable of delivering 1,300 gallons per minute, but that staff like to keep the production at about 1,000 gallons per minute. The city’s other wells produce a range of abut 300 to 800 gallons per minute. And all of them can easily have generators plugged into them in the case of power outages, White said, adding that one of his priorities when he began his job with the city was making sure all the wells had the same hook-ups. When asked if the city already had generators on-hand, White said it did not, “but we have a standing order with an equipment rental company for them, so we can call and have them here within the hour.” PG&E: Prepare to lose power for five days “Forty-eight hours is a reasonable number, but there is nothing wrong with being prepared for five days,” said PG&E representative Alison Talbott at the Ukiah City Council meeting June 19, adding that everyone should be preparing for all types of outages. “Go ahead and be mad at PG&E, but use this as an opportunity to prepare yourself; because an emergency can happen at any time that isn’t fire-related.” Oops I am not prepared for five days without power, how much would it cost? don't answer because the fixed income budget has no line item to further subsidize capitalist investors and their crony political pals. oh well shrug blast blast blast Trying the built-in video link, embedding so broken: Peter Wolf "Lights Out" 12 inch mix extended version [video:https://youtu.be/f2Oerurly60 width:450] let's dance Doobie Brothers UKIAH [video:https://youtu.be/J95mk1mOr2c width:450] reverse haiku PEACE

Submitted by eyo on Sun, 06/23/2019 - 8:35am

And when the 'equipment rental company' burns down? oops

@WaterLily thanks, and I was hoping someone else might catch how great our new emergency planning has become since the "biggest fire in CA history" (caused by a human acting dumber than a hammer, not PG&E for once).
Nobody 2020

When asked if the city already had generators on-hand, White said it did not, “but we have a standing order with an equipment rental company for them, so we can call and have them here within the hour.”

Cloverdale is "within the hour" of Ukiah. The 101 shrinks down to two twisty lanes with a center turn lane and no divider. It is rough terrain, dry fuel all around. Maybe an hour north is better... Willits? omg lol "that's the system" BOHICA good luck

wet bulb
boiling frog
go in peace

Submitted by Lookout on Sat, 06/22/2019 - 10:30am

A late good morning

...been to town to trade day and to run errands. Need to touch up the roads today after all our rain. It is bushog removal, box scrape hook up, and back again after the grading. The nature of life's necessary shuffles.

Blueberry season is in full swing. A thrasher has her nest in one of our bushes, and fusses the whole time we pick. There's plenty to share this year. Often the turkey's work the bushes too.

Perhaps hope is the result of believing in yourself and your ability to handle all the curves life throws at you....a result of confidence? Somehow I think there is also a relationship with acceptance and peace....accepting what happens and being at peace with it all. For example we all know death awaits us, so enjoy every day rather than dread the final outcome. That breeds hope.

Wish you all hopeful pleasant days!

RIP Tommy Thompson...
[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4gI2AAqKs98]

—

“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”

Submitted by smiley7 on Sat, 06/22/2019 - 11:07am

Good morning, Lookout,

@Lookout

Blueberries do well here as well; freeze them for pancakes in winter.
Lazy day with cloud cover and rain, later; nice and cool.

Hoping you've a marvelous weekend.

Submitted by Unabashed Liberal on Sat, 06/22/2019 - 12:34pm

Greetings & Happy Saturday! Echo HAW's sentiments,

Smiley--thanks for your consistently 'uplifting' OT's. Know that all of us can, especially, count on you and Janis for kindness and encouragement. Thank you both!

Foul weather cancelled travel plans. A good thing. Soooooo excited about some of the info I'm gathering about SA. I'll wait until I have a bit better grasp of a few issues, then, I'll share some of it.

Since Mr M's tasked me with getting us outta here, think I'll concentrate on commenting about SA and retirement, and, of course, dogs and/or animals! I'll probably still occasionally post a Tweet about 'entitlements,' though, since that's clearly a topic very near and dear to my heart.

Gotta run couple errands, once the storm passes. But, wanted to mention that I absolutely luv the mushing photo, poems--can't imagine not having hope, BTW--and, last, but not least, the excellent blurb about the super positive effect that petting/interacting with animals has on humans. I can vouch for that!!!

Everyone have a nice weekend!

(Apologize in advance for typos--fingers stiff, today.)

Mollie

“Dogs have given us their absolute all. We are the center of their universe. We are the focus of their love and faith and trust. They serve us in return for scraps. It is without a doubt the best deal man has ever made. ”
~~Roger Caras

—

Everyone thinks they have the best dog, and none of them are wrong.

Submitted by smiley7 on Sat, 06/22/2019 - 2:17pm

Afternoon Mollie,

Bet those doggie feet are cold in the melt on top of the ice sheet.

SA excites, looking forward to hearing all about it.

Cooking squash, corn, cornbread, tenderloin, with fresh cukes and tomatoes, a southern day.

Hugs to you three.

Submitted by mhagle on Sat, 06/22/2019 - 3:30pm

Yum . . .

@smiley7

I also thank you for the wonderful healing OT with poetry and music. The comments are always nice too.

Planted peanuts this morning and started a batch of rutabaga greens kraut this afternoon.

Wishing you all a splendid weekend!

—

Marilyn

"Make dirt, not war." eyo

Submitted by smiley7 on Sat, 06/22/2019 - 3:54pm

Freshly dug peanuts, so good, Marilyn.

@mhagle
i can see you sitting in the shade of the willows thanks to your sharing garden photos.

Have a wonderful weekend and 'krauting.'

Submitted by magiamma on Sat, 06/22/2019 - 7:42pm

late afternoon hello, smiley

Thanks for an absolutely great ot...

He's more good news for you and all of us. At least one is speaking out

War Survivor Ilhan Omar Makes Impassioned Case Against Iran Attack

“Mr. President, as a survivor of war, I want to tell you: going to war does not make you strong. It makes you weak,” Omar wrote in a series of tweets. “Sending teenagers to die, or return with lifelong wounds seen and unseen, does not make you a bigger person. It makes you smaller. Risking a regional or even global armed conflict does not strengthen our country. It weakens us.”
...
“I have seen firsthand the effects of war. Even in the best of cases, it never has the outcome you expect,” Omar wrote. “War is death, displacement, and terror. War is hell.”
...
Omar also urged the American people to take action by speaking out against war and contacting their elected representatives.
...
“Let all our leaders know that a war with Iran would be a catastrophe,” she said.

—

Stop Climate Change Silence - Start the Conversation

Hot Air Website, Twitter, Facebook

Submitted by smiley7 on Sun, 06/23/2019 - 10:16am

Late reply, good morning, magi.

@magiamma

Go Omar! Thanks for bringing this, "no more war."

Glad you enjoyed this OT, would have loved to see the climate crisis play at the Apollo written by our kids.

See you Thursday, 'if the creek don't rise.'