"We are nothing,
nothing is ours.
Not even love so sweet
it burns like baby stars.
But this poverty
is our greatest gift,
the weightlessness of us
as things around begin to shift."
from "Everything in it's Own Time"
by Emily Saliers - The Indigo Girls
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
Sunday, July 26, 2009
Why I love Twitter
I have to begin by saying that at first glance the whole idea of Twitter seemed to me like just one of those vacant ideas that today's flaky college students came up with to irritate their elders. But now I have a job that, in part, asks that I find unique ways of promoting Inkwell. And it just so happens the hottest marketing tool these days is Twitter. So a few weeks ago I decided to stick my toe in the water and...suddenly I'm Tweeting. To nobody in particular, granted, but then this blog is about as focused as that, so between the two of them I get to spew publicly and I think, after all, that's the whole point of this stuff. Oh yeah, some people comment on news or sell products but let's face it, it's all just spewing. The thing about Twitter is that, unlike a blog, it requires no small amount of discipline to express a concise thought in a specific number of characters. I think it's this discipline that gets me; a little like writing an haiku. Hey, that's a thought. I'll post a haiku.
Saturday, July 11, 2009
Why I Hate Politics
I promise I will avoid discussing politics whenever possible, but the recent comments by Republican spokesmen have managed to raise my blood pressure to a point where I have to blow off steam, so here goes.
Ever since President Obama took office, the Republican Party appears to have suffered a mass case of amnesia. Apparently they have totally forgotten the unprecedented economic quicksand in which Americans are now mired is the direct result of the economic policies of the Bush administration. While they were all being good little cheerleaders, their numb-nuts leaders were: a) destroying the sound fiscal policies and squandering the budget surplus that was the legacy of the Clinton administration, and b) throwing good money after bad, not to mention the lives of countless American servicemen and women in pursuit of an ego-driven, inherently evil foreign policy. By the time the stock market began tipping south the damage had already been done. America was already billions of dollars in debt. The housing crisis begat the credit crisis that eventually infected the entire world economy. It was just the icing on the cake. Had our economic policies been sound America might have weathered the crisis, even prevented it by stopping the crisis before it got out of control.
And now the Republicans, what few of them managed to survive the '08 election, have the unmitigated gall to complain that the $787 billion stimulus program (which, by the way, was fine when it was proposed by Republican-appointed Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson) isn't creating jobs fast enough for them and must therefore be scuttled. For what? Tax cuts for the rich?
Back in January the Republicans proposed their own $478 stimulus package. What would that have produced? The Obama plan has already helped some companies avoid layoffs and helped some states avoid laying off municipal employees, including teachers, and it's only been in effect for six months.
Yes, Congressman Cantor, it is Obama's economy now. So what are you doing to help? Its high time someone in the Republican party realized that we're not kidding when we say this is the worst economic catastrophe since the Great Depression and it's not over yet! If our ship of state sinks, we're all going down with it. Politics-as-usual has no place in a national - nay, a global emergency and these policitians will serve their constituents best by chipping in and making sure the stimulus package works.
Ever since President Obama took office, the Republican Party appears to have suffered a mass case of amnesia. Apparently they have totally forgotten the unprecedented economic quicksand in which Americans are now mired is the direct result of the economic policies of the Bush administration. While they were all being good little cheerleaders, their numb-nuts leaders were: a) destroying the sound fiscal policies and squandering the budget surplus that was the legacy of the Clinton administration, and b) throwing good money after bad, not to mention the lives of countless American servicemen and women in pursuit of an ego-driven, inherently evil foreign policy. By the time the stock market began tipping south the damage had already been done. America was already billions of dollars in debt. The housing crisis begat the credit crisis that eventually infected the entire world economy. It was just the icing on the cake. Had our economic policies been sound America might have weathered the crisis, even prevented it by stopping the crisis before it got out of control.
And now the Republicans, what few of them managed to survive the '08 election, have the unmitigated gall to complain that the $787 billion stimulus program (which, by the way, was fine when it was proposed by Republican-appointed Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson) isn't creating jobs fast enough for them and must therefore be scuttled. For what? Tax cuts for the rich?
Back in January the Republicans proposed their own $478 stimulus package. What would that have produced? The Obama plan has already helped some companies avoid layoffs and helped some states avoid laying off municipal employees, including teachers, and it's only been in effect for six months.
Yes, Congressman Cantor, it is Obama's economy now. So what are you doing to help? Its high time someone in the Republican party realized that we're not kidding when we say this is the worst economic catastrophe since the Great Depression and it's not over yet! If our ship of state sinks, we're all going down with it. Politics-as-usual has no place in a national - nay, a global emergency and these policitians will serve their constituents best by chipping in and making sure the stimulus package works.
Thursday, July 9, 2009
Another Step
The era of social networking moves on, dragging me along with it. I now can also be found on Facebook and LinkedIn. Just updated my profiles today. Jeez, this is a lot of work. Oh yeah, one more. For those of us with an artistic bent, check out "quarterlife." quarterlife is a website based on the internet series of the same name created by Marshall Herskovitz and Edward Zwick, the creative team that brought us tv shows like "thirtysomething" and movies like "Legends of the Fall" and "Blood Diamond." The site seems to attract a broad range of excellent talent. There's just so much talent out there and so little of it gets the kind of public attention it deserves. What does that say for our society? I think we all know the answer to that.
Which brings me to a subject very close to my heart these days - Inkwell, the literary magazine. We're looking for original, unpublished poetry, stories, essays and artwork. If you're interested, go to our website www.inkwelljournal.org and read the submissions guidelines CAREFULLY!!!. Submissions must be postmarked between Aug. 1st and Nov. 15th, 2009. Got that? Ok, thanks for submitting the best work you've got and good luck to you.
Which brings me to a subject very close to my heart these days - Inkwell, the literary magazine. We're looking for original, unpublished poetry, stories, essays and artwork. If you're interested, go to our website www.inkwelljournal.org and read the submissions guidelines CAREFULLY!!!. Submissions must be postmarked between Aug. 1st and Nov. 15th, 2009. Got that? Ok, thanks for submitting the best work you've got and good luck to you.
Monday, July 6, 2009
Another nod to the new world
I just joined Twitter today at the behest of Barbara (my ex) whose Twitter-handle (is that the right term?) I can't find. I'll have to email her later and tell her I can't find her on Twitter. So far I have three people following me, at least one of which has tried to induce me to look at her (his?) sexy pictures on her/his website. I must be desperate for friends.
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