Saturday, June 23, 2007

I still wonder how? how? HOW???

To this day, I seriously wonder how and the hell we ended up with this president. I can only assume that the failure of the electorate to even give a shit about what is going on in this country. Now, I understand that most people are busy just trying to make ends meet, working 2 jobs, raising kids - I can forgive that.

What I can't forgive are those friggin' idiots who "proudly" continue to display their ignorance for voting for this idiot of a president. I mean, you see it every day: the bumper stickers proudly stating that they voted for Bush - these are not luxury autos....OH NO....these are the mini-vans: the rusted ones that look like they are only miles away from the final breakdown. These are the people that have been hurt the most by Bush and his anti-family, anti-union, anti-democracy, anti-(insert your own word) policies.

Anyway. I proudly say I NEVER voted for this idiot. I would use more harsh words to describe this pathetic man we call president, but I am a bit afraid of ending up in some concentration camp for dissenters of the government....But I believe that dissent is our patriotic duty, so I do so proudly!

Now on with the show....




Peace.Love.Life.
JPB

Peace Now, Peace Now, Peace Now, Peace Now!

Le Tigre released "New Kicks" in 2004, as a protest against the imperialist, warmongering George W. Bush. I was in the gym today, doing my shoulder workout when this song began to play on my MP3 player (sorry don't have an IPod - but it works just as good); I thought, "wow, this would be a perfect 'reminder' song to put up on my blog!" So here it is...who says that dissent is dead?




***New Kicks***


Peace Now, Peace Now, Peace Now, Peace Now!

We are gathered here, we come from so many different places.
From different identities, different cultures.
Different backgrounds different religions.
And yet we can gather, under the guides of peace....now...
Peace now!

"We say no to war!"
Peace up, war down!
"We say no to war!"
Peace up, war down!
"We say no to war!"
Peace up, war down!

"We made it. We're here. We're here right now and we're not leaving."

Now I feel you, I feel you people.
Now I feel you, I feel you people.
Now I feel you, I feel you people.
Now I feel you, I feel you people.
Now I feel you, I feel you....

"Now, we have reports that more and more people are just taking on ramps onto the bridge and are just taking it over.. it's just...just..."

"I mean, i'm just like..ahh!"

This is what democracy looks like!
This is what democracy sounds like!
This is what democracy looks like!
This is what democracy sounds like!

"Reports from protests from Amman, Jordan... Amsterdam... and Beirut, Lebanon... East Timor... Florence, Italy...London...Milano, Italy...Paris, France...
In dozens of cities in Spain... Reports in Athens, Georgia... and Austin, Texas... Blacksburg, Virginia... Charleston, South Carolina... Colorado Springs... and
Defiance, Ohio... Denver, Colorado as well as Durango... Geneva, New York and Houston, Texas... Hyannis, Massachussetts...In Hawaii as well...
Lawrence, Kansas... Los Angeles, California... AND I AM ONLY NAMING A FEW!"

Peace...now! Peace...now!

And as Eleanor Roosevelt said...
"It isn't enough to talk about peace, one must believe in it. It isn't enough to believe in it, one must work at it"
And we here today... are working at it!

"Peace is possible, and even necessary. So drop the sword, and pick up the hammer and the saw. And let's build a better world!"

No blood for oil!
We will not be silent!
No blood for oil!
We will not be silent!

"We will not go to war, for a selected president, who wasn't even elected!"

We must stand unbroken, unbound and unashamed
We need healthcare!
We need education!
We need freedom in this nation!
Freedom in this nation!
Freedom in this nation!
Freedom in this nation!

"Thousands of people have taken over 3rd Avenue and are marching north. The crowd stretches at least 15 blocks from 44th street to 59th Street.
The police have just simply... given up."

This is what democracy looks like!
This is what democracy sounds like!
This is what democracy looks like!
This is what democracy sounds like!


peace now
peace now
(repeated behind next lines)
"We will not sell out!
We will not back down!
We will not compromise!
We will go forward,
Until peace is on the world's agenda!"

I started to feel that there were no more heroes in the World.
But Today, I see all the World's heroes standing before me.

"We say no to war!"
No war!
"We say no to war!"
No war!
"We say no to war!"
No war!

******(I didn't recieve permission to reprint Le Tigre's lyrics, I hope that they will forgive me.******

Can I trust your Arms

Ok, so I'm going through a tough time right now, and when that happens, I get ONJ crazy. Olivia is a grounding force in my life, she brings me back to earth and reality. The past few years have been very productive for Olivia. She has been touring non-stop, completing new CD's on her new record label, writing new material, staring in movies. She's busier now that she has ever been.

Most people have put Olivia in the 80's bin, and left her there. That is mighty unfortunate. That is why I have decided to add this track here so that you can all see how unbelievably talented and amazing she remains. I found this on youtube (the song "Can I Trust Your Arms" was written by Olivia's daughter Chloe for her CD Stronger Than Before)...her music to animae....amazing!



Enjoy.
Peace.Live.Love.
JPB

Friday, June 22, 2007

The environment...Global Warming...Let's talk about tomorrow

So the subject of global warming has finally hit a stride in the last year. Al Gore has done more for the environmental movement than almost anyone. However, while Al was busy in Congress a well known singer/songwriter Olivia Newton-John was actually addressing this problem with her music.

"Let's Talk About Tomorrow" was a song from her album THE RUMOR, released in 1988, which was also accompanied with an HBO special. Unfortunately, this album did not do well (reached only #67 on the Billboard Charts), though I find it to be one of the best of her long career.



This, of course was not the only song in an environmental vein. In 1994, Olivia penned her most intimate CD, and the BEST CD of her career. The title track "Gaia" in Olivia's own words: "Gaia is the spirit of Mother Earth. She is the giver of dreams and the nourisher of plants and young children. This song came to me at 3:00 AM on a cold winters morning in Byron Bay and I was compelled to write and finish it. I feel the spirit of Mother Earth spoke to me. August 1993." Here is a part of that beautiful song, put to a slide show of wonderous images.




Peace.Live.Love.
JPB

Hate Crimes Legislation

This is being reposted from my myspace blog. My hope is that the more people see it the bigger the difference we can make.

Current mood: hopeful

Ok, so now I get political (as if I haven't before!). But this is extremely important to me, so I am going to write about it. I am hoping that I can put this video in my blog (it is extremely moving)...so if I can it will be right next to this message. This important legislation is currently awaiting a vote in the Senate....we need everyone to call your Senators, write your Senators, email your Senators and DEMAND that they support the Matthew Shepard Act.



If you don't know who Matthew Shepard is, I strongly urge you to google his name and read about him and what happend to him, if that doesn't move you to action, I guess nothing ever will.
For those of you who are a bit on the busy side, please visit this link and sign your name to the letter and it will be delivered courtesy of HRC to your respective Senators. Here is the link: http://www.hrcactioncenter.org/campaign/matthew_shepard

Thank you all for your support. Please, please, please pass along this information to everyone you know. I look forward to everyone's comments.

Peace,
JPB

Not that anyone reads my blog anyway....

So, yet again, I am going to attempt to write in my blog. Currently, there are many things that are on my mind and driving me crazy. So starting to write about any one of these subjects can get the ball rolling.

I guess I will start with my job search. Basically, it sucks. Not much happening on that front. I guess I am really sick and tired of hearing: "We find you to be extremely well qualified, but have decided to hire someone with more work experience...."

So basically, I am book smart, but not street smart. I guess I wonder how anyone is ever supposed to move forward....everyone wants that person that has the degree, but also wants someone with 5-10 years of experience in that field as well. My question is...how is anyone supposed to get that experience if no one will hire you???

So, as the old saying goes............(I can't remember what the saying is actually), but I will keep pluggin' away. I can only hope there is an organization out there that will just take a chance on me, and realize that they have won the lottery.