The Elusive Butterfly

2009-08-30T20:49:00.002-04:00

Just a little something pretty, hovering in the garden.

I'm Still Here!

2009-05-10T21:38:00.004-04:00

Taking a long break from blogging. Time flies!

We Did It!

2008-11-05T00:27:00.003-05:00

Carolayun!

2008-06-12T16:06:00.001-04:00

The End of an era.

2008-04-22T15:23:00.002-04:00

Slowly....

2008-04-07T12:33:00.000-04:00

Uh Oh!

2008-02-01T17:10:00.000-05:00

Fourteen Defining
Characteristics Of Fascism
By Dr. Lawrence Britt
Source Free Inquiry.co
5-28-3

Dr. Lawrence Britt has examined the fascist regimes of Hitler (Germany), Mussolini (Italy), Franco (Spain), Suharto (Indonesia) and several Latin American regimes. Britt found 14 defining characteristics common to each:

1. Powerful and Continuing Nationalism - Fascist regimes tend to make constant use of patriotic mottos, slogans, symbols, songs, and other paraphernalia. Flags are seen everywhere, as are flag symbols on clothing and in public displays.

2. Disdain for the Recognition of Human Rights - Because of fear of enemies and the need for security, the people in fascist regimes are persuaded that human rights can be ignored in certain cases because of "need." The people tend to look the other way or even approve of torture, summary executions, assassinations, long incarcerations of prisoners, etc.

3. Identification of Enemies/Scapegoats as a Unifying Cause - The people are rallied into a unifying patriotic frenzy over the need to eliminate a perceived common threat or foe: racial , ethnic or religious minorities; liberals; communists; socialists, terrorists, etc.

4. Supremacy of the Military - Even when there are widespread
domestic problems, the military is given a disproportionate amount of government funding, and the domestic agenda is neglected. Soldiers and military service are glamorized.

5. Rampant Sexism - The governments of fascist nations tend to be almost exclusively male-dominated. Under fascist regimes, traditional gender roles are made more rigid. Divorce, abortion and homosexuality are suppressed and the state is represented as the ultimate guardian of the family institution.

6. Controlled Mass Media - Sometimes to media is directly controlled by the government, but in other cases, the media is indirectly controlled by government regulation, or sympathetic media spokespeople and executives. Censorship, especially in war time, is very common.

7. Obsession with National Security - Fear is used as a motivational tool by the government over the masses.

8. Religion and Government are Intertwined - Governments in fascist nations tend to use the most common religion in the nation as a tool to manipulate public opinion. Religious rhetoric and terminology is common from government leaders, even when the major tenets of the religion are diametrically opposed to the government's policies or actions.

9. Corporate Power is Protected - The industrial and business aristocracy of a fascist nation often are the ones who put the government leaders into power, creating a mutually beneficial business/government relationship and power elite.

10. Labor Power is Suppressed - Because the organizing power of labor is the only real threat to a fascist government, labor unions are either eliminated entirely, or are severely suppressed.

11. Disdain for Intellectuals and the Arts - Fascist nations tend to promote and tolerate open hostility to higher education, and academia. It is not uncommon for professors and other academics to be censored or even arrested. Free expression in the arts and letters is openly attacked.

12. Obsession with Crime and Punishment - Under fascist regimes, the police are given almost limitless power to enforce laws. The people are often willing to overlook police abuses and even forego civil liberties in the name of patriotism. There is often a national police force with virtually unlimited power in fascist nations.

13. Rampant Cronyism and Corruption - Fascist regimes almost always are governed by groups of friends and associates who appoint each other to government positions and use governmental power and authority to protect their friends from accountability. It is not uncommon in fascist regimes for national resources and even treasures to be appropriated or even outright stolen by government leaders.

14. Fraudulent Elections - Sometimes elections in fascist nations are a complete sham. Other times elections are manipulated by smear campaigns against or even assassination of opposition candidates, use of legislation to control voting numbers or political district boundaries, and manipulation of the media. Fascist nations also typically use their judiciaries to manipulate or control elections.

From Liberty Forum

How about you frere Jacques; dormez-vous?

2008-01-08T10:15:00.000-05:00

From Huffington Post. A crowd of very angry Ron Paul supporters, chase Mr. Hannity from a restaurant... down the street and into his hotel lobby; chanting "Fox News Sucks". I think theres a snowball or 2 involved.

Sonnez les matines. Sonnez les matines.

:-)

C'mon Verizon. Stop Playing!

2008-01-07T15:41:00.000-05:00

Lately, I noticed if I misspelled a url, rather than getting the standard Safari/Firefox error message, I was being redirected to a Verizon search page. Out of no where. A Verizon search page... Hmmmmm didn't look good. I came across this article explaining exactly what Verizon has done- without any customer notification that I'm aware of.

While the article says Verizon has added this intrusive, ~~sleazy~~ feature to its FIOS customers, it is also being added to DSL customers as well. (This is at the office where the DSL connection is used for very specific tasks.)

Why make customers "opt out" rather than Verizon asking if a customer wants this intrusion? (Hint, read the article for reasons). Thank you Miss Verizon Girl, but no. I can choose my own search engine.

I made the changes in my router settings... have you?

2008.. now don't get me started.....

:-)

2008-01-04T12:56:00.000-05:00

Happy New Year!

2008-01-01T00:50:00.001-05:00

Soul Train. 'Memba?

2007-12-08T14:37:00.000-05:00

After a brief stint at shopping this morning (post raking every leaf from every tree that likes to collect in front of our gate, as well as push through the gate and collect in the front yard- we won't even discuss the backyard- and stopping off at a well known fast food chicken joint (a rarity, really... no really!), I sat down for a nice saturday afternoon lunch in front of the TV (not so rare). The channel was set to some super station and "The Best of Soul Train" was on. Good lord, I thought, is this the best they can do? And then the R&B group "Enchantment" took the stage and started singing "Gloria". Now I'm hooked. And as the camera pans around the studio and the "Soul Train" dancers go through their 1970's dance routines, I made a few observations. And here they are:

1. The crowd was SO THIN and fit looking. Now it could be because many of the dancers were pros, but overall everyone seemed svelte and well put together. Not a lot of In N Out Burger, steroid heads.

2. No one was doing the robot.

3. Polyester double-knit was made for black men to wear. Good lord!!

4. if you look and let your eyes really focus on the dancers... you'll notice from time to time men are dancing with each other. Who knew?

5. It looked like it was so much fun to be in the studio, dancing in front of the tv cameras, seeing all the incredible music talent perform live, onstage (though most of it was lip-synching),and being able to ask questions, and almost reach out and touch them.

6. Sisters hair was on point. Afros, afro puffs, the "Farrah" all those styles; Hair was Did! unlike today, where I notice with much frequency the numbers of sisters who have these weaves with no particular style at all like so much straw glued to one's head... What is that all about?

7. I'll be watching again!

SOON

2007-12-04T11:07:00.001-05:00

Somewhere Over Lake Michagos: Good Lord!!

2007-11-20T15:26:00.000-05:00

Verbal Skillz

2007-11-12T14:13:00.000-05:00

Two of my favorite clips from one of the best network TV shows, Frank's Place.

Much of the action in the series took place verbally. In each morsel below, Frank is on the short end of the stick I'm afraid, when up against two women with something to say. There is no confusion here.

(i'm still learning how to edit clips and videos so no....there's nothing wrong with your mouse :-)

John and Che Read from Seismosis @BKLYN

2007-10-17T16:35:00.000-04:00

Great Sign... not so great collards!

2007-10-17T16:29:00.000-04:00

Victor @ Juicy Mother II Reading and Signing

2007-10-14T13:55:00.001-04:00

Jamaican Sunday

2007-09-23T23:00:00.000-04:00

Almost Done...

2007-09-23T22:44:00.000-04:00

Dominican Republic in Pictures

2007-09-10T17:04:00.000-04:00

J and I headed to La Republica Dominicana for the Labor Day weekend

As always, we had a ball! This trip, we didn't have any must do things on our agenda so we played it by ear...

A couple of museum visits...

A new hotel to stay in...

We rented a car to head up to a beach we hadn't visited before in Guayacanes. Anthony, gave us a ride to the rental place and once they bought the car around (an SUV because having never driven in DR before, but witness to much of its craziness, i figured the bigger the better) Anthony casually said oh yes, it's probaly stick.. and it was... I haven't driven stick in about 10 years but figured what the hell it's like riding a bike... and it is. Didn't stall once!

Things that kinda dart in front of you as you're driving on THE HIGHWAY :-)

Chillin in Guayacanes

A spot of shopping. Forget spending all that dough on True Religion... same jeans, 1/3 the price

A little partying... :-)

Reconnecting with friends...

And always new friends...

These trips to DR are usually short, long weekends, maybe a week, and end too soon...

But the fun begins with planning the next adventure on the trip home!

Time..goes...by

2007-08-12T12:02:00.001-04:00

I realize my last entry was well over 2 months ago. It also seems like one of my last entries was a post on turning 44. A year later, and yes, this year has flown by.

As I was waking this morning, i noticed the sunlight angle in the bedroom had changed from previous mornings and I began thinking towards the season changing and... time.

Came down stairs, grabbed some coffee and settled down to the morning paper (online) and NPR.... the segment I caught, as I began listening and waking up, was on time and calendars and how societies and individuals kept/keep time; Totally in line with my first thoughts of the morning. Time.

As far back as i can remember, which is probably to age 5 ( I do keep glimpses of earlier years, possibly as far back as an infant-really), as part of my conscious self I've had a time-line chart floating in my head. It's as much a part of me as my smile (see photos). It's just there, kind of floating in the periphery where I see my life- past, present, future, in the form of a two dimensional ladder style graph.

On this chart I can see where I am presently age-wise.

I can see my past behind me (represented in chronological age), In relation to where I am presently age-wise.

I can see my future ahead of me in relation to where I am presently age-wise

I've always used this built-in time measurement as my life guide in relation to time and memory, and it's relationship to aging. If something reminds me of a past event or say, I'm having a conversation with a friend about something that happened when I was 10 years old, my first conscious/subconscious action takes me to where age 10 is represented on the time-line chart, and that becomes my reference point. It's pretty cool really.

When I was younger,
time was kept in a more general sense and measured by school vacations, holidays, what time the street lights came on; sort of a general, abstract feeling. Being young with not much to gauge time against, it was just a thought with very little meaning.

In my senior year of High School,
I remember a feeling of time in the sense of change and a sense of beginning. "Now Voyager". Head out there young man the clock is ticking... but no rush...take it all in.

As a young adult
time was mostly spent in the present with a small part devoted to future and a smaller part to the past. The past was always retrievable, formed a base in my present self, and a firm foundation for the future. No limits, no self prescribed deadlines. I aged yearly, and could see myself progressing on the time-line according to my biological age... until I hit 31.

From the age of 31 until today, rather than seeing my age progress on the time-line, it stayed at the age of 31. Turned 32, 33, etc..., each year, where I would normally see my age progress, I just hung around at 31. I could see my real present age, represented in the future, but I was still hanging around 31. In a sense, it's as though I had stopped aging in some way.

I'm 45 today,
and this is the first birthday, when asked if I feel different, I can say "Yes, I do in fact!". It's a noticeable feeling of the sense of time. That's all I've deciphered about it for now. I'm sure it will reveal itself as to what it means... in time.

This Year's Garden

2007-06-02T22:47:00.000-04:00

Roses.... doing well

Azaleas... popping with life

along with the honeysuckle

Vegetables are coming along nicely...

Fruits as well

Here's the to beginning of a great summer!

Diana Ross @ MSG

2007-04-07T11:07:00.000-04:00

It was her Birthday,

it was Good Friday,

we had good seats,

it was a great show!

More soon...

Paris

2007-03-26T22:21:00.000-04:00

Paris has always been one of my favorite cities. On our first trip, over 17 years ago, I still remember my first impression of this incredibly beautiful city; tired, hungry, just off the plane, onto the metro and stumbling out onto the street in search of our hotel... Paris at that early morning moment was exactly what I imagined it would be.

The streets still wet and sprayed clean, a partially cloudy morning sun just beginning to rise, the first signs of an autumn chill on this late October morning. It was as though my mind had taken this exact picture, though I had never been there before. At least not in this life :-)

All these years

and much travel later-sometimes back to Paris, sometimes just in need of a beach or a couple of hands of black jack,

Paris and everything about it excites me.

My french is awful

(sometimes it comes out as spanish or just plain gibberish),

and here's where having a partner fluent in the language

is most helpful- not to mention being able to hail a taxi waaaay in the early morning hours after hanging out and full of pelforth- and able to give precise directions to the taxi driver to our hotel... but i give it my best effort :-)

The people, the food, the style, the history, the light, oh man the light, the sunlight, especially in autumn. It's like being on a movie set, lit perfectly, balanced.

Go to Paris, young man. Go to Paris.

I know...

2007-02-28T15:31:00.000-05:00

I've been a little behind in posting; I know. Since i'm thinking about it now and i'm at work, here's a little picture of my office,

my "My Space" as it were.. while i'm thinking about it. I know...

Happy Holidays!

2006-12-25T10:19:00.000-05:00

It Works!!

2006-12-14T15:33:00.000-05:00

I was looking for something new to add to my blog and came across blogtunes. Zip, click, enter, enter, paste, point, click, click, save, voila (sorta)!

I only have one podcast going now, it was for testing. It's a great song by Neko Case- Star Witness. Listen, her voice is beautiful. It's a sad tune, but the visuals her voice paint are, well, devine. More to come.

The Perfect Caipirinha

2006-11-27T19:53:00.000-05:00

'Nuff said.

Monday...

2006-11-27T19:48:00.000-05:00

Get DOWN from there!

No, wait a minute...

It's Been So Long...

2006-11-27T16:39:00.000-05:00

Since we threw a party!

Three years in fact.

This was a good one...

The weather held out...

so we were able to use the outside as well.

The incredible photographer Donald Aggarat

spending a moment with the good doctor. (Who stopped in on his way
from upstate ny heading back to the ATL.) Great to see you both again...

It was a great mixture...

friends we've known for years...

and friends we've made along the way...

We'll do it all again...

soon...

...promise

Big 'ol jet airliner...

2006-09-18T14:35:00.000-04:00

Don't carry me too far away...

Sunday

2006-09-10T12:38:00.000-04:00

Liberty

Departures

1181

On time (at first)

But always

Too soon.

Beginning of an Era: 44

2006-08-13T09:31:00.000-04:00

The End of an Era

2006-07-24T16:05:00.000-04:00

It was with deep sadness I read today on Monaga, that David Lee was closing the Sports Bar.

The Sports Bar was a must-do on the continuing journey of all night partying in Santo Domingo.

We always had a great time, met some very interesting people, hung with the locals, the american expats, and everybody else who stopped in. What's the line "The things you remember, the things you don't..." Fortunately, we have photos.

David writes about the closing here (click me).

David, thanks for the memories. The Sports Bar will be missed.

Doors!

2006-07-17T19:30:00.000-04:00

Anyone who has done home renovations will tell you: it ain't no joke. Of all the things we had to do to this house, and there were many, getting the front doors replaced has been the most trying. I won't even go in to the molasses of it all. However, this past Saturday, J and I took a drive down to Barnegat, NJ, with all the other travelers to the shore (a 90 minute drive that ended up taking 3 hours), and finally found the entry doors to the house.

The Doors, the doors, the doors!

See, it's a 110 year old victorian row house. Incredible detail, all intact. Size was the issue, style was the issue, cost for customized, period doors was the issue, getting the contractors to get some fire under their ass was the issue, blah, blah, blah.
but, we finally found them!! Next step is having them restored and installed, and finally removing the covering over the transom. Almost done. Well not really, you're never done.
Yea! Doors!!

Hydrangeas- this is the first year that they've actually grown and flourished. Yea! Hydrangeas!

"The baby Kendall"- Me and Js sixth grand-niece. Yea! sixth grand-niece!

J and grand-niece #1

Proud father, and even prouder sister. Yea! Pride!

The lovelies being lovely. Yea.. well you get it.

Summer hours... In the summer when our production schedule slows down we get.. SUMMER HOURS. Every friday at 1pm, it's bye, bye office, Hello Weekend!

This is my reaction on that very first friday. Yea! Summer Hours!

Seven Whole Days...errr... Trainers!

2006-07-04T13:40:00.000-04:00

In the last 2 years I have gone through 7 trainers... i'm now on my 8th and 9th. Starting on Thursday, I will be working out with two trainers. One, Jose, is a more technical muay thai fighter and the other, Joe, is more of a street fighter.

Each time I get in the groove and learn each trainers style, Oops... they either get fired or quit or go back to school or leave the city or something. It used to bother me. But in looking back, I've picked up some incredible training. Moving from weight and strength training, to cardio and stamina worouts, to boxing and utimately on to kick boxing. It's been great.

My last trainer, Adam, turned out
to be not just a great kick boxing/muay thai fighter and trainer, but a wonderful guy as well. A great spirit. He's moved on to pursue other interests but will continue his training elsewhere in the city. I've worked out with Jose a couple of times before and Joe has given me pointers and such. I think they'll both work out... while they last.

DR!

2006-03-29T19:40:00.000-05:00

This past weekend, me and my bestest bud V, took a little trip to the Dominican Republic. J, tired from a long semester away from home decided to hang out at the house. DR is one of our favorite places and we visit when we can. Continental is my preferred and favorite airline. Once again they prove that good service keeps 'em coming back. They didn't let me down on this trip! Continental, out of EWR... can't beat it to any destination. They do a really nice BusinessFirst service. We were the ONLY ones not having cocktails- at 8 in the morning.

But we had a ball never the less.

NYC, a little hazy at this hour, but still a beautiful scene on take off
somewhere over the caribbean about 20 minutes from landing. Can you ID this island?
Anthony Montgomery, of Monaga met us at the airport and after freshing up a bit n stocking the room, another great adventure began!
A little photo play at a friend of Anthonys'. Beautiful apartment!
Ah, ok.. i'll have ONE more drink and then that's it!!
"Hopefully Mrs. Trumble, I won't have to make that decision. Because, my friend V means more to me..."
An incredible meal at a fantastic Italian restaurant on the malecon. V, me and, "The Anthony"
What? What? Near El Conde.
Boca Chica beach.
Love this hotel. J and I stayed there a couple of years ago. Took forever to find what the real name of it is (The Don Emilio). Perfect; right on the beach!
Early morning after a light breakfast, heading back to Santo Domingo.
You put your left foot in...

It was a great weekend.

Things

2006-03-14T22:58:00.000-05:00

I started working out again oh, about a year and a half ago. Free weights, cardio, it was all good. I have a trainer twice a week and I try to get on my own at least twice a week as well.

About 8 weeks ago I added boxing to my routine. Damn, that is an incredible workout. A week ago I ended boxing and began kick boxing. W-oh! I don't think there's a muscle in your body that doesn't get worked. Great trainer- they've all been great... I've been through seven so far... but that's not for here (thank you, Marjorie Dawes). Purchased a great pair of gloves, which are starting to fit, well... like a glove

trying to take a picture with boxing gloves on is like trying to take a picture with...

The Girls... the mountain lions, are getting huge. Mountain lions, really. They're upstairs now doing what sounds to be, practicing their roller derby routine.
Either that or they really think the bookcase in the hallway would look funny sliding down the stairs. Best to check on what they're up to.

JC's Skyline

2006-03-01T21:18:00.000-05:00

I caught this shot from the upper parking deck at Journal Square. It's amazing how fast and how much this city has grown.

Happy Blogsiversary to JsTheater

2006-03-01T20:29:00.000-05:00

Marjorie Dawes and the Allengallery wish JsTheater a very happy one year blogsiversary!

I'm Baby Jane Hudson! (Or How to Tell the Party is Over)

2006-02-01T10:20:00.000-05:00

What I Want in the New Year

2006-01-03T21:21:00.000-05:00

Happy New Year! Here are a few things I want more of in 2006.

I want more of this

and this

and more of this

and this
and this

and more of this,please

and this

more of this

and this

and some more of this thank you very much please

a little less of this

and this

and this while i'm at it

but some more of this

this

this too, please

and here's something else i want more of this year

and

and this

ohhh yeh

and more of this

and this

this too

and this

more of this

and this

and this

and this

this

and this

and this

some more of this

more, please

and some more of this

2005-11-07T18:51:00.000-05:00

This Is My Life, Rated
Life:	7.7
Mind:	8.2
Body:	8.5
Spirit:	7.2
Friends/Family:	6.7
Love:	7.3
Finance:	7.9
Take the Rate My Life Quiz

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