Huntress Di

Boundaries

2011-06-20T20:42:00.005-05:00

“Come to the edge.”
“We can't. We're afraid.”
“Come to the edge.”
“We can't. We will fall!”
“Come to the edge.”
And they came.
And he pushed them.
And they flew.

Guillaume Apollinaire

zion: the descent from angel's landing, a photo by manyfires on Flickr.

2011-06-05T13:49:00.002-05:00

Tina Fey on being a female comedy writer (in a male comedy world):

“I know older men in comedy who can barely feed and clean themselves, and they still work. The women, though, they’re all [considered] ‘crazy.’ I have a suspicion that the definition of ‘crazy’ in show business is a woman who keeps talking even after no one wants to f—k her anymore.”

—From The New Yorker via

Speaking of not wanting to f--k someone, a mini-doc on how women are regarded by (male) strangers depending on whether they project their "plain jane" or "bombshell" selves.

P.S. Currently reading (and recommending) Bossypants:

Hesitation

2011-06-05T13:39:00.009-05:00

"He who deliberates fully before taking a step

will spend his entire life on one leg."

-Chinese Proverb

Porch steps in Goult, a photo by Velda Ruddock on Flickr.

Rawr

2011-06-05T12:57:00.002-05:00

Push it

2011-06-01T19:07:00.000-05:00

source: rhythmandfinesse on tumblr?

In honor of Oprah's final bow

2011-05-30T21:55:00.000-05:00

source?

When I grow up, I wanna be a...

2011-05-30T21:52:00.000-05:00

Stuff No-One Told Me

Caminante, son tus huellas, el camino

2010-11-06T16:14:00.000-05:00

via bluebicicletta at etsy

Don't forget to vote on Tuesday

2010-10-31T19:46:00.000-05:00

...but preferably not for any of the crazies, like Emmer or Bachmann.

Find your polling place and voting information

Happy Halloween, from Christine O'Donnell....

By RJ Matson via PoliticalCartoons

Some prodding from Ayn Rand

2010-10-31T19:34:00.000-05:00

via

The less fortunate candidate

2010-10-31T19:26:00.000-05:00

source unknown?

Love is always the appropriate reaction

2010-09-08T23:54:00.000-05:00

Williamsburg Bridge, Brooklyn N.Y.

via Just Seeds

Plans

2010-07-01T00:12:00.000-05:00

onethirtyfive

Stunning street "crime" by Banksy

2010-06-25T14:23:00.001-05:00

See more images here..

See more images here..

See more images here..

The way to love

2010-06-22T15:41:00.001-05:00

"The way to love anything

is to realize that it might be lost."

– Gilbert Chesterton

Santorini splendor.

2010-06-18T09:49:00.003-05:00

photo by thrshr
Click to enlarge...whoa.

Proposed law would deny citizenship to children of undocumented immigrants

2010-06-15T13:17:00.000-05:00

Here we go again with Arizona's anti-immigrant rampage. A law has been proposed that would deny citizenship to children born in the United States to undocumented parents.

TIME:

The law largely is the brainchild of state Sen. Russell Pearce, a Republican whose suburban district, Mesa, is considered the conservative bastion of the Phoenix political scene. He is a leading architect of the Arizona law that sparked outrage throughout the country: Senate Bill 1070, which allows law enforcement officers to ask about someone's immigration status during a traffic stop, detainment or arrest if reasonable suspicion exists - things like poor English skills, acting nervous or avoiding eye contact during a traffic stop.

CNN:

John Kavanagh, a Republican state representative from Arizona who supports the proposed law aimed at so-called "anchor babies," said that the concept does not conflict with the U.S. Constitution.*

Huffington Post:

Constitutional experts say that if Arizona really goes after "anchor babies," the courts will quickly strike it down. But that's not the point. The point is, Arizona will have moved the needle so far to the extreme on the issue of immigration, SB 1070 will start looking fair and balanced. Activists and politicians will think they have scored a victory because they beat back the attack on the 14th Amendment, while SB 1070 remains in place.

Already in post-SB 1070 days, you hear less about all those other agreements already existing between sheriffs' departments and ICE, where sheriff deputies can act as ICE agents. At least they are just checking once they pick up someone for some crime. We think they aren't just demanding papers because you look illegal.

*14th Amendment grants citizenship to anyone born in the U.S.

Superhero amore

2010-06-13T16:50:00.001-05:00

via onethirtyfive

Vibrancy of Venezia

2010-06-11T13:12:00.000-05:00

"The colors are so sumptuous, the shots so lovingly composed, that it is immediately apparent that the filmmaker, Icam, has a special affinity for Venice and Murano. With no voiceover and music by Cat Power, this really is a perfect Friday video. It will leave you feeling a little bit better about the world."
via The New York Times' Lens blog

Around Venezia from Icam on Vimeo.

Nifty thrifty do-good fashion

2010-06-11T11:06:00.000-05:00

Uniform Project Picture Book from The Uniform Project on Vimeo.

"The objective was simple: one girl exercises sustainable fashion for an entire year by wearing one dress that’s decked out differently each day with recycled jewelry and other accessories. The result: a stylish and unique outfit for every day of the year! The project was also a fundraiser for the Akanksha Foundation, a movement that donates money to fund uniforms and educational expenses for kids living in Indian slums. The project started in May 2009 and just finished this month, raising a total of $80,579 in donations."

via catrina

Throwing caution to the wind

2010-06-08T21:09:00.002-05:00

"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover."
-Mark Twain

Leap of Faith, Adelie Penguin, originally uploaded by Andre Boffin.

Equilibrium

2010-06-08T20:12:00.002-05:00

“For everything you have missed, you have gained something else, and for everything you gain, you lose something else.”

– Ralph Waldo Emerson

Bricksbalancing, originally uploaded by rebranca46..pausa fine anno sc..

The ridiculously misplaced priorities of the feds

2010-06-05T21:17:00.000-05:00

NEW ORLEANS —Federal immigration officials have been visiting command centers on the Gulf Coast to check the immigration status of response workers hired by BP and its contractors to clean up the immense oil spill.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in Louisiana confirmed that its agents had visited two large command centers—which are staging areas for the response efforts and are sealed off to the public—to verify that the workers there were legal residents.

Read the rest, co-produced by Feet in Two Worlds and El Diario/La Prensa.

The joys of returning to your high school town

2010-06-04T20:43:00.003-05:00

When the day is done

2010-06-01T21:32:00.006-05:00

source: unknown

Awaiting the movie release of Eat, Pray, Love

2010-06-01T16:10:00.001-05:00

A few book excerpts to hold us (me) over:

“But is it such a bad thing to live like this for just a little while? Just for a few months of one’s life, is it so awful to travel through time with no greater ambition than to find the next lovely meal? Or to learn how to speak a language for no higher purpose than that is pleases your ear to hear it? Or to nap in a garden, in a patch of sunlight, in the middle of the day, right next to your favorite fountain? And then to do it again the next day?"

"[My guru] says that people universally tend to think that happiness is a stroke of luck, something that will maybe descend upon you like fine weather if you are fortunate enough. But that's not how happiness works. Happiness is the consequence of personal effort. You fight for it, strive for it, insist upon it, and sometimes even travel around the world looking for it. You have to participate relentlessly in the manifestations of your own blessings. And once you have achieved a state of happiness, you must never become lax about maintaining it..."

"Still, despite all this, traveling is the great true love of my life. I have always felt, ever since I was sixteen years old and first went to Russia with my saved-up babysitting money, that to travel is worth any cost or sacrifice. I am loyal and constant in my love for travel, as I have not always been loyal and constant in my other loves. I feel about travel the way a happy new mother feels about her impossible, colicky, restless, newborn baby--I just don't care what it puts me through. Because I adore it. Because it's mine. Because it looks exactly like me. It can barf all over me if it wants to--I just don't care."

Currently reading the sorta-sequel, Committed.

elizabethgilbert.com

still relevant, unfortunately.

2010-05-30T23:35:00.002-05:00

Little do men perceive what solitude is,
and how far it extendeth.
For a crowd is not company,
and faces are but a gallery of pictures,
and talk but a tinkling cymbal,
where there is no love.

- Francis Bacon

Lonely woman in the medina of Sefrou, originally uploaded by catarinamaria.

Kids throw "green cards" onto soccer field; Obama sends troops to border

2010-05-25T22:42:00.003-05:00

A championship soccer game between two high schools in Nebraska reminds us that intolerance and ignorance are not ghosts of our elders' pasts.

Lincoln East High School students made and distributed fake "green cards" which they threw onto the field after their game against Omaha South, where sixty percent of the students are Latino. Obviously a derisive gesture meant to ridicule and demean their brown neighbors. Yes, the perpetrators are teenagers; yes, they probably are grossly uninformed as to the dynamics of immigration, but no, this should not be dismissed as a childish prank. It's a frightening indicator of this community's divisive future --and an opportunity for progressive dialogue.

Photo: Erin Duerr

This story deflates some hope that arose from reading a recent NYT article regarding a supposed generation gap over immigration, which suggests that today's youth may be more accepting of their neighbors with recent immigrant roots. Not to say that this is false, but it certainly is not the case across the board, as we see with this green card demonstration.

In other news, according to CNN, President Barack Obama will deploy up to 1,200 more National Guard troops to the U.S. border with Mexico and will request $500 million to supplement current spending for enhanced border protection and law enforcement activities. Just more border games, which fail to address our nation's demand for cheap, exploitable labor and good ol' drugs.

Shadow optimism

2010-05-19T16:34:00.000-05:00

via icanread

Rainy jeté

2010-05-19T16:23:00.001-05:00

Annmaria Mazzini by Jordan Matter

Check out the rest of the series, Dancers Among Us.

When attempting dance photography, the challenge is to find a new way to see an old subject. The idea for this body of work came during a performance by the Paul Taylor Dance Company. I was inspired by the dancers’ stunning combination of artistry and athleticism. Their commitment obviously extends beyond the rehearsals and performances- it is a way of life.

I began to photograph these dancers as everyday people. In the photographs they are away from the stage, yet they cannot leave dance behind. As they go about their daily routines, they do so as dancers. This speaks to the power of a passionate life; if you’re fully invested in something, it is always with you.

I began this project in the spring of 2009, as a recession had spread across the world and millions of people were losing their jobs. Dance was no exception- times were very difficult for the arts community. In the midst of this chaos, I wondered about the impact of the recession on people’s identities. If a woman loses her job, does she lose a part of her identity as well? Who is the journalist, if he is no longer employed to write? Who is the chef without a kitchen? Is our identity formed by our passion, or our employment?

I believe in the strength of a life’s mission. If you dedicate yourself to a career that inspires and excites you, this commitment will be your foundation. As these dancers ride the subway, go to a baseball game or cross the street, they remain dancers; it is their lifeblood.

Basta ya, pendejos.

2010-04-28T15:01:00.000-05:00

via Ricardo Levins Morales Art Studio

origins

2010-04-24T15:03:00.000-05:00

"I love her and that's the beginning of everything."

-F. Scott Fitzgerald

via

Props to my German roots

2010-04-21T20:54:00.002-05:00

The historic street Weissgerbergasse in Nuremberg, Germany

Weissgerbergasse Nuremberg, originally uploaded by Habub3.

May 1st March

2010-04-20T14:25:00.000-05:00

English:

Can I feel your hair, Mr. President?

2010-04-19T21:47:00.001-05:00

President Barack Obama bends over so the son of a White House staff member can pat his head during a family visit to the Oval Office May 8, 2009. The youngster wanted to see if the President's haircut felt like his own. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)

P050809PS-0264, originally uploaded by The White House.

I'd piss my pants if I had that construction job.

2010-04-19T11:34:00.002-05:00

...but, wow.

Huangshan (Yellow Mountains), originally uploaded by Aaron D. Feen.
via ThingsSheLoves

Kristin in the City

2010-04-18T18:11:00.000-05:00

Oh so majestic! Makes me want to speak with an Audrey Hepburn accent.

via

Sleeping above the sink

2010-04-18T12:54:00.002-05:00

What a creative utilization of limited space. So cozy, magical.

Loft bed over the tiny kitchen., originally uploaded by noodylicious.

Wrinkles in time

2010-04-17T20:44:00.002-05:00

I wonder what stories she has to tell.

The Old Lady, originally uploaded by DufferLong.

March for Immigration Reform images

2010-04-16T12:16:00.001-05:00

March 21, 2010 in Washington, D.C.

Photos from Casa de Maryland's flickr page.

In the news:

Los Angeles Times, Big Immigration March in Washington.

CNN, Immigration Rally draws thousands to Washington

The Washington Post, Immigration Reform: Stuck in the Shadows

Bonded

2010-04-15T21:38:00.005-05:00

Lovers Throw the Key, originally uploaded by jeremymasonmcgraw.

"Legend has it that lovers visiting the city of Florence can seal their love forever by affixing a lock to the Ponte Vecchio and throwing it’s key into the Arno River below. Every year thousands of such titanium bonds are locked here, adding mass to the countless keys of testament in the water."

Romanian woman or la befana?

2010-04-14T10:49:00.003-05:00

asteptare ( waiting...), originally uploaded by tonica.

See the resemblance?

Peace in Greece

2010-04-14T10:02:00.003-05:00

I would love to sit on these steps and stare.

uploaded by CromagnondePeyrignac.

Tears

2010-04-04T16:16:00.000-05:00

“There is a sacredness in tears.

They are not the mark of weakness, but of power.

They speak more eloquently than ten thousand tongues.

They are messengers of overwhelming grief…and unspeakable love.”

- Washington Irving

Photo taken at Cimitero Monumentale, Milano, Italia

A presto

2010-03-31T16:43:00.000-05:00

"We only part to meet again."

-John Gay

nephi niven

Happy International Women's Day

2010-03-08T11:25:00.001-06:00

Viva el femenismo

Never thought I'd be quoting Eliot Spitzer

2010-03-05T15:44:00.000-06:00

"Fundamental reform doesn’t come from bipartisanship.

And it seems to me, bipartisanship has become appeasement.

Barack Obama won an election based on a set of principles.

Fight for them."

- Eliot Spitzer

Jack Ohman

Preparation is overrated.

2010-03-02T15:14:00.000-06:00

via

Hoping it's the latter.

2010-03-01T19:20:00.000-06:00

“Procrastination is typically a fear

that the process will be too difficult

or possibly that it’ll be so good

you’ll actually have to take yourself seriously.”

-Jordan E. Rosenfeld

Oh thesis of mine. How you torture and enlighten me.

The more I learn, the less I trust.

Viva la revolución.

Was that a haiku? Ok probably not.

Happy Friday

2010-02-26T12:42:00.002-06:00

via

Sipping some Rumi

2010-02-19T20:31:00.000-06:00

Any wine will get you high.

Judge like a king, and choose the purest,

the ones unadulterated with fear,

or some urgency about "what's needed."

Drink the wine that moves you

as a camel moves when it's been untied,

and is just ambling about

-Rumi

photo via

Hunting for Jose

2010-02-18T12:41:00.000-06:00

Read more about the profitable sport of immigrant hunting. And here.

When I grow up

2010-02-13T16:45:00.000-06:00

via

Abominable snowpeeps

2010-02-09T12:42:00.000-06:00

Google Love Story

2010-02-08T19:22:00.004-06:00

The Girl Effect

2009-12-22T10:45:00.000-06:00

www.girleffect.org

another wonderland

2009-12-21T20:15:00.001-06:00

milena r

impossible things

2009-12-20T23:52:00.000-06:00

Tim Burton's adaptation of Alice in Wonderland

2009-12-20T23:46:00.002-06:00

...aka Alice on Shrooms. Coming March 2010. Looks pretty fascinating; teaser shots:

2009-12-20T23:25:00.000-06:00

le love

Had my first glass of egg nog this weekend.

2009-12-12T14:17:00.000-06:00

bliss

2009-12-12T14:11:00.000-06:00

i can read (by pnrdandrd)

Downtown Milano's Albero di Natale

2009-12-12T14:07:00.000-06:00

Que block

2009-11-29T15:36:00.001-06:00

I used to write all the time. With actual words. Actual thoughts. I'm not sure what has happened. Mhh.

The ability of writers to imagine what is not the self,

to familiarize the strange and mystify the familiar,

is the test of their power.

- Toni Morrison

Honey, I'm home.

2009-11-24T21:58:00.001-06:00

click

2009-11-23T15:08:00.007-06:00

“I tried to look, really look, as though this took a kind of effort
far greater than the movement of my eyes. You are here, I would say to myself,
no part of this moment melting into the future. You are only here and nowhere else.
But I could never believe it.

So I would take a photo, to stop the world,
so that I could keep moving.
The photo was just an approximation,
the world flattened and made small.
But I could paste it in an album,
put that album in a box,
pack the box in my car,
and drive.

The best I could do was record where I had been before I kept on going.”

Leah Stuart
The Myth of You and Me

photo

The trouble with life

2009-11-22T17:34:00.000-06:00

Because poor women don't need reproductive health care?

2009-11-07T23:44:00.007-06:00

Pre-tonight's passing of the health care bill in the House with the Stupak amendment:

"If this amendment passes, it will mean that virtually all women with insurance through the exchange who find themselves in the unwanted and unexpected position of needing to terminate a pregnancy will not have coverage for the procedure. Abortion coverage will not be outlawed in this country. It will simply be tiered, reserved for those rich enough to afford insurance themselves or lucky enough to receive from their employers." Ezra Klein; The Washington Post

“To say that this amendment is a wolf in sheep’s clothing would be an understatement of a lifetime." It “will be the greatest restriction of a woman’s right to choose” passed by Congress “in our career.” Diana DeGette; Colorado Representative

Representative Barbara Lee, Democrat of California, said the amendment would take women “one step back” toward the dark days of back-alley abortions.

"But the law is the law. They should've gotten in line."

2009-11-07T19:35:00.008-06:00

"...In reality, however, the avenues for lawful entry into the U.S. by the lower-skilled, lower educated immigrant that makes up the vast majority of the undocumented population are virtually non-existent.

Despite the clear demand of U.S. business for relatively lowskilled, immigrant labor that cannot be met by native-born workers, the number of permanent visas available for the lawful entry of less-skilled workers is limited to 5,000 per year. Similarly, the ability of lower-skilled workers to obtain temporary works visas is constrained by numerical caps and substantive limitations.
Family sponsored admissions are also limited and plagued by bureaucratic delays often decades in length. Moreover, a U.S. citizen child under age 21 has no ability to seek legal immigration status for a parent or other family member.
In short, the oft-stated refrain that the undocumented immigrant should have simply “gotten in line” for a visa and entered lawfully is based on a false premise –
there was and is no meaningful line for the immigrant to “get in.”

Full Report - Dorsey & Whitney LLP

que suerte

2009-11-07T19:23:00.003-06:00

One day we'll get outta this shitty apartment
One day is all it takes for things to turn around now
All I know is I got you and you got me, babe

And when that morning comes
I'll make coffee and you'll read the paper
We'll talk about our plans
And I'll keep saying how lucky we are

One day we'll get in the car and drive anywhere we wanna go
And then we'll stay in a five star, mini-bar, luxury hotel room
Cuz all I know is I got you and you got me, babe

meiko

Happy Halloween

2009-10-30T22:22:00.003-05:00

Latin American women and ethnic workers earn less than male/white counterparts

2009-10-16T10:09:00.004-05:00

CNN : Survey of 18 Latin American nations by the the Inter-American Development Bank

Selected excerpts:

Women earn less than their male counterparts even if they are more educated.

Average wages: men earn 10 percent more than women.
Males/females of the same age and education level: wage gap = 17 percent

Seven countries where ethnic data was available: indigenous and African-descendant minorities earned an average 28 percent less than the white population when individuals were of the same age, gender and education level.

Brazil has the largest gender gap of the 18 countries studied, with men making nearly 30 percent more than women of the same age and education level.
Bolivia and Guatemala had the smallest, with men and women making about the same.

The study found that men earn more than women at any age, for each level of education, in any type of employment and in large and small companies.

Brazil also had the largest ethnic wage discrepancy, with whites making about 30 percent more
Ecuador had the smallest, with a 4 percent gap in favor of whites.
As for the United States, the Bureau of Labor Statistics says if women earned the same as men who work the same number of hours; have the same education, age and union status; and live in the same region of the United States, then working women’s annual family incomes would increase by $4,000 and poverty rates would be cut in half.

Read more here, along with some offered explanations, and comparison within U.S.

antigone

In Minnesota sin papeles

2009-10-16T09:50:00.004-05:00

"If all unauthorized immigrants were removed from Minnesota, the
state would lose $4.4 billion in expenditures, $2.0 billion in

economic output and approximately 24,299 jobs.

- New report by Immigration Policy Center

photo via mnadvocates.org

Are you a legal human being?

2009-10-15T21:21:00.002-05:00

via Minnesota Advocates for Human Rights

Haze

2009-10-14T01:00:00.012-05:00

Photo: Nephi Niven

Little do men perceive what solitude is,
and how far it extendeth.
For a crowd is not company,
and faces are but a gallery of pictures,
and talk but a tinkling cymbal,
where there is no love.

- Francis Bacon -

Riotous and endless waves

2009-10-14T00:24:00.003-05:00

"The Augusteum warns me not to get attached to any obsolete ideas about who I am, what I represent, whom I belong to, or what function I may once have intended to serve. Yesterday I might have been a glorious monument to somebody, true enough – but tomorrow I could be a fireworks depository. Even in the Eternal City, says the silent Augusteum, one must always be prepared for riotous and endless waves of transformation.”

Elizabeth Gilbert - Eat, Pray, Love

roma

Chris Rock on Roman Polanksi

2009-10-03T22:22:00.001-05:00

"Ten minutes later, it was dry hump heaven"

2009-10-03T22:14:00.002-05:00

Coming soon

2009-10-03T21:50:00.001-05:00

soledad

2009-10-01T23:37:00.003-05:00

The simple lack
of her is more to me
than others' presence.

- Edward Thomas -

An effective cheering up process usually includes a lolcat or two...

2009-09-29T18:14:00.006-05:00

icanhascheezburger.com

Investing in women - "key to progress and prosperity around the world"

2009-09-26T23:40:00.006-05:00

September 24, 2009
Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton speaks at the Female Heads of State and Foreign Ministers Luncheon:

...I have advocated for many years that women are the key to progress and prosperity around the world. I believe that. I know that many of you do as well. And the evidence increasingly supports that assertion. We know that investments in women yield very big dividends, and we want women to be given the tools so that they can make the most out of their own lives – run for office to be president or prime minister, work your way up to be appointed to a position of foreign minister, so many opportunities, because we know there is so much talent.

But what I have concluded over the years is that talent is universal, but opportunity is not. And in many places, opportunity is still out of reach for women, no matter how smart they are, how hard they work, how much encouragement they might be given even by their own families, that it is still a very difficult task.

Read the rest of the speech here.

Thatta girl, Indiana Jane! Keep those Nazis away from our shampoo!

2009-09-26T23:28:00.000-05:00

Because single women are like tomatoes at the market

2009-09-26T23:21:00.001-05:00

Because crop pickers and meat packing plant laborers are the source of America's problems.

2009-09-25T22:38:00.006-05:00

Feminism in Malaysia

2009-07-14T13:40:00.003-05:00

via peterkellystudios

Mind > Body

2009-07-12T11:53:00.002-05:00

via antigone

Rosaries off the ovaries.

2009-07-10T12:29:00.002-05:00

Via Feministing:

On Wednesday, an appeals court ruled that despite two Washington pharmacists' lawsuit saying that their religious beliefs should allow them to refuse to stock and provide emergency contraception to their customers, personal convictions doesn't trump a patient's right to timely medication.
This decision is huge as it could affect policy across the Western U.S. regarding the "right to conscience" nonsense that has been gaining momentum over the past few years, particularly with the help of Bush implementing the anti-choice HHS regulations before he left office (which we're still waiting for Obama to rescind like he intended). But this ruling creates a precedent for future cases around the issue.

While the pharmacists won a temporary injunction by the U.S. District Court in Seattle under their claim that they should be protected under the First Amendment right to free exercise of religion, the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals wasn't having it. They lifted the injunction, saying that a person's religious beliefs "does not relieve an individual of the obligation to comply with a valid and neutral law of general applicability":

"Any refusal to dispense -- regardless of whether it is motivated by religion, morals, conscience, ethics, discriminatory prejudices, or personal distaste for a patient -- violates the rules."

Casserole

2009-07-09T21:46:00.006-05:00

This blog lacks focus. Sometimes it's current events, sometimes its personal events, sometimes it's nothing, sometimes it's literary snipits, sometimes art. I suppose this blog's lack of focus reflects this blogger's perpetual mindset. Hang in there with me, if you dare.

Finally secured three faculty members to supervise my thesis. This should be a blast! Stop with the sarcasm, I say. No I do hope I actually get some enjoyment out of it. Whatever "it" is. It's going to be something Latino-related, with a likely focus on immigration policy, rights of the undocumented, and whatever else crops up before May 2010. Let me know if you have any brilliant thoughts, 'kay?

There is much I want to say about my personal-personal life, but I hesitate to type -- as if each key stroke will erode a bit of the magic. Perhaps one day I'll feel capable of reproducing such insanely euphoric thoughts via the written word. Or maybe I'll be one of those writers who becomes posthumously famous. Then I'll have nothing to blush about and my descendants can reap the benefits of my ridiculously profitable love stories. Vamos a ver. Until then, a few words from Jalal ad-Din Rumi:

"Something opens our wings.
Something makes boredom and hurt disappear.
Someone fills the cup in front of us:
We taste only sacredness."

Edward Martinez

viaje

2009-06-20T13:19:00.003-05:00

shortymv

"A good traveler
has no fixed plans,
and is not intent on arriving."

{Lao Tzu}

la llave

2009-06-20T13:09:00.004-05:00

“The key is to keep company

only with people who uplift you,

whose presence calls forth your best.”

{Epictetus}

100 year old smile by LeahPhotography

Service schmervice

2009-06-17T15:26:00.002-05:00

The U of M Minneapolis Arby's has the worst service ever. But I just can't resist those curly fries. I wait 10 minutes for them to be fried each time. Damn you, Arby's.

Latina artist Nuvia Crisol Guerra

2009-06-16T17:53:00.004-05:00

From her series Corazon de Siete Años, which feels quite relevant to me right now.

Buscando con lentes rosados (Searching Through Rose-Colored Lenses)

Abrazos Transcontinentales (Transcontinental Hugs)

Amor estrecho (Love Stretched)

See more at Arte Crisol

Unrest in Tehran

2009-06-15T20:04:00.001-05:00

A supporter of defeated Iranian presidential candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi shouts slogans during riots in Tehran on June 13, 2009. Hardline incumbent Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was declared winner by a landslide in Iran's hotly-disputed presidential vote, triggering riots by opposition supporters and furious complaints of cheating from his defeated rivals.
(OLIVIER LABAN-MATTEI/AFP/Getty Images)

via The Boston Globe

Sarah Haskins: Lady Friends

2009-06-15T11:22:00.001-05:00

Suck-up waitresses & kiosk salespeople

2009-06-10T20:01:00.003-05:00

When waitresses/waiters are overly friendly, like you can tell they have their heads so far up your ass in order to earn a few extra bucks, it makes me want to leave them less. You can be a normal, tip-worthy amount of friendly -- but your excessive brown-nosing makes me want to punch you in the nose.

I'm feeling hostile today, it seems.

One job A) I would hate to have & B) whose employees I hate = mall kiosk workers. I didn't come to the mall to visit your kiosk. I don't want a pair of Crocs. I don't want any of your lotion. I don't want to purchase a piece of glass with my name engraved in it. Please let me ignore you in peace -- it makes me feel less bitchy and is less humiliating for you. I like those kiosk employees who sit on the computer looking at Facebook until a customer taps them on the shoulder. That is the ideal mall-hall worker. "You approach me if you want some Crocs," they convey. Not great salesmanship, but totally preferable to the incessant "Excuse me miss!" and "Can I ask you a question?" interjections.

I must add, those seem like horrible positions -- I imagine the majority of people the salespeople pursue are either blatantly rude or completely deny their existence. How many people are really dying to be pursued by the lady who sells fake ponytails by the escalator next to Hooters?

I haven't whined this much in an entry in quite a long time. Clearly these two issues are a threat to humanity. Or at least my own sanity.

Trying to keep some paz in the alma.

2009-06-09T22:08:00.011-05:00

Full poem by Max Ehrmann here

I went shopping with my grandma today. I pointed to a canvass on the wall with the above words printed on it. So wonderful, we reflected. She kindly snagged it as a gift for her granddaughter, along with a candle on sale. They both have taken up residence in my room -- one burns on my windowsill, the other graces my wall.

I was driving back to my apartment when I decided I needed a plant. Right now. Right this moment. Or at least some flowers. I bought myself a bouquet for $4.99 at Target. So thoughtful of me, I know, I know. Made myself smile. Felt quite lovely. Thank you, Me. And thank you, You, for making me believe that "with all its sham, drudgery, and broken dreams, it is still a beautiful world."

Be yourself.
Especially, do not feign affection.
Neither be cynical about love;
for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment
it is as perennial as the grass.

In the beginning stages of "The Thesis"

2009-06-07T21:00:00.002-05:00

World Trade Center Memorial

2009-06-07T18:49:00.004-05:00

You can more that I took here.

Visit to the United Nations

2009-06-06T15:28:00.008-05:00

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