I have to refer you to a dense little article on my good friend, Jeshua Erickson’s blog http://www.jeshuaerickson.com/blog — he beautifully sums up the difference between politicians by quoting Natan Sharansky…

Sharansky has pulled the entire administration to a new understanding of itself, and it ain’t that great… To quote Jeshua’s new blog entry, “The Iraq war continues indefinitely and Bush’s latest hobby appears to be finding authors who support his disasterous foreign policy decisions.”

What I find the most interesting is that Mr. Sharansky likens our government’s pursuit of terrorists with World War II, the Holocaust and the pursuit of the ‘evil empire’ — while at the same time, so many folks around the world (much to the horror of our president and his cronies) liken the present American administration to the Nazi government.

Hey folks — thought I should share my interest in a few Iraqi blogs that I found out about in the NY Times today — I’m sure some of you have seen the article already — but it talks about the sites being perhaps some sort of covert effort on the CIA’s part to uncover folks up to no good — anyway — of course I read that and went straight to check out what the sites were all about… actually very very interesting… there is link after link into a huge network of information straight out of the heart of the region — from soldiers and folks living there — from pictures off the streets of election posters to personal stories and political rants…

Anyway — the most interesting jumping-off-point blog for me was the Iraqi Blogger’s Central:

http://jarrarsupariver.blogspot.com

From there are many interesting sites about the situation right now, and about the way folks are thinking there — things we can’t find very well in the media — and there are both sides pretty heavily represented — soldier blogs and such as well as political blogs from this country and from over there…

I know very little about Iraqi folks, but have spent a lot of time in the middle east, mostly in Jerusalem and Bethlehem, in Palestine — and I know to some extent that the media coverage really hits different things than are part of daily life — even with the bullets flying, there is a different reality going on — and it is important, and vital for us as citizens of the world, and especially now, as occupiers, who really have our dollars and our kids in this part of the world — it is important that we hear what the real situation is like…

One really interesting offshoot from this little blog search I undertook was a site by a woman in Texas, who married a man down there, and writes as an Iraqi Christian woman about the situation — and about the feelings she has from this country about the Iraqi situation (her biography is very interesting…) Her blog is at:

http://fayrouz.blogspot.com/

Goodnight, friends. It is much too late.

Do you know the way snow squeaks when it’s really cold outside?

I love that sound…

That’s the kind of snow we have here at the moment, and it makes me exceedingly happy. The kind of snow that is warm and sticky and thick is what most folks like, but I really have to say I like the squeaky kind.

Maybe it’s the fact that the snow maintains so much of its own integrity… the flakes don’t just give in — they don’t just mold to the earth’s idea of what they should land, melt and congeal like.

Maybe I should learn those hundreds of words that Eskimos have for snow — maybe that would change the way I think about the stuff — it’s like water — there’s so many kinds of water — high mountain water that looks green because of the glacier mineral content — tap water that looks brown from the iron in it — the water that comes squeezed out of your socks when you take a new pair of black or brown boots off that you just went sledding in and hadn’t ever worn in the snow before (kind of nasty brackish black)…

Wouldn’t it be cool if we knew how to use our vocabularies better — (that was a sort of subtle joke — I seem to say cool as often as R-rated movies say *&%$) — and spoke of panoplies and jiggersycthabbits?

Stay warm (and for goodness sake, squeeze that nasty black brackish goop out of your socks!)…

Brrr! It is really chilly outside!

Kathi (my charming girlfriend) has aptly labeled this picture ‘Sunshine’ on her blog — I was really really trying to smile — this was the best I could do, sunglasses-less and FREEZING!

I have no idea how I used to do it as a kid — I distinctly remember the time that I rode my bike to school and still had wet hair, and by the time I got there I could break it off like little icicles — very cool, I thought at the time…

And, yes, I did put my tongue on a post once — I remember very well exactly where and when. The funny thing is — I knew what would happen — but I tried it anyway — and there weren’t even any kids watching or telling me I should try it — so, all alone, I eventually had to tear my tongue free and run home half-tongued.

Ahhh, the joy of winter — it really is a glorious time, crisp air that makes your lungs earn their keep — and makes your body really feel alive and kicking. And an evening of playing games and sipping tea becomes the true pinnacle of life’s ecstasy.

And I got a new pair of mittens — and now I stand an extra several minutes out in the cold just to prove that they work well!

Stay warm!

Hey folks — thought I should share my interest in a few Iraqi blogs that I found out about in the NY Times today — I’m sure some of you have seen the article already — but it talks about the sites being perhaps some sort of covert effort on the CIA’s part to uncover folks up to no good — anyway — of course I read that and went straight to check out what the sites were all about… actually very very interesting… there is link after link into a huge network of information straight out of the heart of the region — from soldiers and folks living there — from pictures off the streets of election posters to personal stories and political rants…

Anyway — the most interesting jumping-off-point blog for me was the Iraqi Blogger’s Central:

http://jarrarsupariver.blogspot.com

From there are many interesting sites about the situation right now, and about the way folks are thinking there — things we can’t find very well in the media — and there are both sides pretty heavily represented — soldier blogs and such as well as political blogs from this country and from over there…

I know very little about Iraqi folks, but have spent a lot of time in the middle east, mostly in Jerusalem and Bethlehem, in Palestine — and I know to some extent that the media coverage really hits different things than are part of daily life — even with the bullets flying, there is a different reality going on — and it is important, and vital for us as citizens of the world, and especially now, as occupiers, who really have our dollars and our kids in this part of the world — it is important that we hear what the real situation is like…

One really interesting offshoot from this little blog search I undertook was a site by a woman in Texas, who married a man down there, and writes as an Iraqi Christian woman about the situation — and about the feelings she has from this country about the Iraqi situation (her biography is very interesting…) Her blog is at:

http://fayrouz.blogspot.com/

Goodnight, friends. It is much too late.

The Associated Press broke a story today about a man in Littleton Colorado, Patrick Lawler, who was complaining about a toothache, and found out that he had shot a nail into his skull 4 inches long!

What!?

I guess this is the way life is. We do this to ourselves… We walk through the routine and ignore the signs…

This is the modern day ’stop and smell the roses’… Stop to get the nail pulled out of your brain!

When we drive those nails into our mouths, let’s take some time and visit the dentist today! Take some time to breathe today. Take some time to tell folks you love them.

Be well.