Today, was another exciting day for me. I heard my cousin, Kweisi on the Marc Steiner Show. Back in the day whenever Kweisi was on TV or the radio all my relatives would call up each other with the news. Today, I couldn’t call anyone up because I was at work. However, I’m hopeful that my father listened in because he likes the Steiner Show.

All in all Kweisi sounded great! I think I might volunteer to be a part of his Senatorial campaign. Also as I was browsing his website I was surprised to find that he has a blog on it.

WHAT I AM WEARING:
Today, I have on a new pink long sleeve top along with new green khaki pants. The shoes I have on are old beige canvas tennis shoes. I think I will have to replace both my canvas tennis shoes. They are beginning to get holes in them.

Today, I have been literally walking on air. It all started today a little after 1pm when I heard the news that House Majority Leader Tom Delay had been indicted for criminal conspiracy. I let out a whoop from my cubicle and did a seated Snoopy dance. Thankfully, no one at work noticed....

Hopefully, Delay’s indictment will be the beginning of the end, of the Bush regime. HALLELUJAH!!! & BLESSED BE!!!

WHAT I’M WEARING:

Today, I have on a white button down cotton shirt that has white embroidery on it, sky blue slacks and a red Mr. Rogers style sweater. The shoes I have on are beige canvas tennis shoes.

Today, I am feeling shocked and dismayed. I just heard that Brownie was rehired as a consultant to FEMA! What the heck is wrong people! You do not rehire the guy who screwed up your organization as a consultant!

WHAT I AM WEARING
Today, I have on a short sleeve magenta top, green pants, and black canvas tennis shoes.

This morning I was unsure if I got up on time because I was still feeling slightly disoriented. I know that this was all caused by being thrown off of my regular sleep schedule on Saturday. In the end I did get up at the right time. However, when I got over to the Timonium light rail stop I transferred over to the wrong bus. It took several stops for me to take notice that the bus was headed in the wrong direction. Despite this set back I was on time for work.

I’m sorry to report that yesterday I did not go to the movies. The main reason was that I was sleepy. Oddly enough, I did make it over to church. I think I went to church primarily out of force of habit. Throughout the service I was fighting to stay awake. I didn’t really come to until the end when the service ended with this guy on guitar singing John Lennon’s, Imagine. I recall thinking to myself, WoW! This is so cool! Here I am sitting in church listening and singing along to a John Lennon song. Heck, not any old John Lennon song but Imagine! CooL!

Then after the service still feeling sleepy and disoriented I walked over to the annual Baltimore Book Festival. Walking did not do anything for making me feel fully awake. I felt as though I was walking through a dream. The only thing I recall about the festival is that there was a person walking around dressed like the cartoon character from the The Dummies Guide To.... books. I have to say it felt a little disconcerting walking around seeing a person with a giant triangle face and two bulging eyes walking about. Also at the Book Festival I saw my childhood neighbor Quinton. This marks the second time this year that I have run into him.

The one thing I surmised while walking through the Book Festival was that I desperately needed sleep. So I promptly went home and fell immediately to sleep. I slept for a very, very long time. I woke up once and that was 4 am the next morning. When I woke up I was feeling disoriented. I wasn’t sure what day it was, where I was, or if I had to go to work. This of course brings us back to the beginning of today’s entry..... Perhaps, I will be feeling a little more sleep oriented tomorrow.

WHAT I AM WEARING:
Today, I have on blue pants and a denim blue henley along with black canvas tennis shoes.

DC PEACE RALLY FINAL REPORT

Yesterday, I went to the big anti-war rally in DC. As some of you probably know the AMTRAK trains on the east coast were mysteriously shut down yesterday. The conspiracy theorist in me believes that this was no mere accident.

Luckily, I bought my bus ticket for the rally last week and did not miss a thing. I boarded the yellow school bus at the American Friends Service Committee on York Road. The bus was scheduled to leave at 9am but did not leave until 9:55am. The majority of people aboard the bus were students from Towson State University.

While on the bus I though it would be picking us up from DC at 5pm but it turns out that the bus I was on was the party bus. It would be picking us up at 10pm instead of 5pm. The people who scheduled the buses had another one over at the Stony Run Friends on Charles Street. This was the bus that would be taking people home at 5pm. Instead of speaking up saying I was on the wrong bus I decided to keep my mouth shut. Besides, my name was already on there roster and I felt it would be a more interesting day if I stayed in DC longer.

The bus dropped us off at the DC New Carrollton subway station. While there I saw the other group of people from the Stony Run bus. I’m sure it must have been them because I noticed people from the demonstration on Thursday as well as people from my church.

While on the subway train headed to the demonstration there was a man who recognized me from the demonstration on Thursday. He was handing out handouts of the song that they sang on Thursday in front of Congressman Elijah Cummings office. Here without further adieu is the song that we fellow Baltimoreans and other peace demonstrators sang on the DC metro train headed to the march.

(Sung to the tune of “We Are Off to See the Wizard”)

WERE HERE TO TELL THE CONGRESS

ITS TIME TO GET OUT OF IRAQ

OUR SONS AND DAUGHTERS WERE SENT TO SLAUGHTER
ITS TIME TO BRING THE BACK!!

IF EVER A HORRIBLE WAS THERE WAS

THE WAR IN IRAQ IS ONE BECAUSE

IT NEVER HAD A GOOD EXCUSE OR CAUSE
ITS A PRODUCT OF BROKEN LIES AND BROKEN LAWS!!

WERE HERE TO TELL THE CONGRESS

ITS TIME TO GET OUT OF IRAQ!

WERE HERE TO TELL THE CONGRESS

ITS TIME TO GET OUT OF THE WAR

IRAQ WAS CURSED BUT NOW ITS WORSE
THAN EVER IT WAS BEFORE!
ITS TIME TO THE TERRIBLE FACTS WERE FACED
THE WAR IN IRAQ IS JUST A WASTE
OF LIVES AND WEALTH THAT CANNOT BE REPLACED
A TERRIBLE HORRIBLE STUPID WASTE!!

WERE HERE TO TELL THE CONGRESS, ITS TIME TO GET
OUT OF IRAQ!

When I finally got off the DC subway train at the Smithsonium stop I was surprised that there was a greeter there. She pointed to the right if you were headed to the book fair and to the left if you were there for the demonstration. The vast majority of people were headed to the left. Gee, that sounds so symbolic....

As soon as I saw the other demonstrators I started taking photographs. It was literally wall to wall people. Unfortunately, I ran out of disk space on my primary digital camera before the march even began. In total I snapped about 15 pictures on the good camera. I had to switch over to the crappy digital camera when the march began. It’s not crappy per se, it is just very old. It can hold 26 photographs. However, you can’t do picture previews like you can with the other camera.

When I finally made my way to the march I saw legendary TV infomercial man Matthew Lesko. I was surprised to see someone like him there. Then again when you look at the books he writes you get the feeling that he’s not a let them eat cake type of person. I also saw Billionaires for Bush there. I snapped a picture of them with the older digital camera.

Also at the demonstration was a block of pro-war demonstrators. I could not help but notice that every last one of them was white except these two asian women who were carrying pro-war signs. I wanted to get a picture of the two pro-war asian women but I was running low on camera batteries. I wanted to take there picture because it was just so weird. The anti-war protesters were a multicultural group and there on the side of the street were two asian Republicans.

When the march finally made its way over to the White House I began to notice this very acrid scent of vinegar in the air. I am not sure were it was coming from. The next famous person I saw was Jesse Jackson. I wanted to get his picture but he was swamped by reporters and bodyguards. WoW! Who would have ever thought that Jessie Jackson and Matthew Lesko would be at the same demonstration!

After my leg of the march was over I headed over to the stage to hear Joan Baez sing. Afterall, a peace demonstration is not official unless Joan Baez is there. Unfortunately, she was singing her last song when I arrived it was a Bob Dylan tune, A Hard Rains A Goin To Fall. While standing near the stage I noticed that this guy who was a part of the stage crew kept staring at me. He looked very familiar but I could not place him. Then I looked up at the stage and noticed the rest of the stage crew. WoW! It was the same stage crew that handles ArtScape every year. It was even the same stage setup. I guess he was looking at me thinking, “BALTIMORE!!! BALTIMORE!!! Baltimore in the Hiz-ouse!!!”

Of all the performers that were there my favourite was Steve Earle. I would describe Steve Earle as being a borderline Marxist. He is a hardcore liberal with a country twang. I have always been meaning to buy a Steve Earle CD....

Of all the speakers my two favourites were Etan Thomas from the Washington Wizards and journalist Greg Palast. Thomas was electrifying while Palast was inspiring. The legendary Jello Biafra did a great job MC-ing the event. Jello Biafra ROCKS!!!

The only thing I found annoying was this rap group I had never heard of before called, The Coup. They were annoying to me because in between songs they kept saying, “How Ya Doing DC!!” I found this annoying because this was a peace rally and not everyone there was from DC. It made me wonder if he had even fully though about whom he was addressing and where he was at. Yes, he was aware of the fact that he was in DC but not aware of why. By the way the music was great, it was just the, “How Ya Doing DC!!”, that grated my nerves.

I left a little before 8pm because I was getting a massive headache and felt violently annoyed by the male singer of some duo called The Evens. I was annoyed that before every song he spent a half hour explaining the song. I wanted to shout out, “Enough Already!!! Sing the Damned Song You Asshat!!!

In the end I got back to the New Carrollton Metro stop just as the yellow school bus was arriving. I was surprised that I wasn’t the only one from the bus that was on the same Metro train. It was about three of us that arrived back at 9:00pm to leave DC at 10pm.

I made it back into the city around 11pm. I was home around midnight. All in all it was a fantastic day. If I had to do it all over again..... I would do it again!!

DC PEACE RALLY

Yesterday I went to the big peace rally in DC. I took lots of photographs. Below are some of the photographs I took from one of the two cameras I bought with me. I'll upload the pictures from the other camera later today. Peace!

This image is from the DC Peace Rally on September 24, 2005. It's one of my favourites. I like it because of the upside down American flag. When the flag is displayed upside down it represents that our country is in distress.

This is of a young man who was shouting anti-war and anti-Bush slogans from a street sign.

This is a group of kids from the Baltimore Urban Debate League. They are a group of High School Students who like to well....debate. They have been on the Marc Steiner WYPR radio show countless times.

WoW!! King of Late Night TV infomercials, Matthew Lesko, was at the rally.

This is a picture that represents the wall to wall people I saw. I never knew that so many folks were against Bush and his war.

This is a beautiful peace flag that I saw on the ground. I believe that the woman you see raising a corner of the flag either made it or participated in making it.

This is just a group of college students I saw. I saw a lot of people on cell phones as they were marching. I don't know why but I found that pretentious. I know that the kids probably meant well but it just seemed, well.....

This is another of my favourite pictures.

Here, again is another picture that gives that wall to wall people feel that I felt.

I photographed this one because I liked the sign in the background.

I had to photograph this! It was a Veterans For Peace Impeachment Tour Bus. How could I ever resist?

This is a group pf crosses that someone put up to represent the war dead.

SUMMER POST MORTEM

Since yesterday was the first day of fall, aka Mabon, I feel it appropriate to do my What I Did Over the Summer post.

This summer the Towson Commons and The Charles Theatre were practically my home away from home. I spent many hours over the weekend whiling my time away in those movie theatres. I feel as though I know every square inch of those places. I am also starting to recognize the staff by face. I wonder if they look back at me and think, there she goes again!

Also this summer I feel sad that the book store that was down the street from The Towson Commons is now closed. It appears that the big bad Barnes and Nobles that opened up across the street a couple of years ago has finally gobbled them up. I feel even sadder that I can’t remember the name of the store that I feel sad about....

The fashion trend for me this summer was that I wore skirts and sandals nearly every day. On the weekends I wore shorts. I even wore them to church.

The absolute highlight of the summer for me was having two paintings that sold in the real world as opposed to the virtual world of eBay! One was a poster I did for the Sowebo Festival the other was a painting that was in the members only Big Show at the Creative Alliance. Also this year I was in three gallery shows, two at the Creative Alliance and the other at Sowebo Fest.

All in all it was a summer of art, movies, skirts, and sandals.

The above picture is a mixed media piece that I completed the other day. The media used in the painting consisted of acrylic paint (black suit, grey belt, white shirt), oil pastel (blue background, all elements of face, hair, and shading of belt and shirt), and regular chalk pastel (paper foundation colour of orange and yellow).

WHAT I AM WEARING:Today, I have on a pink shirt sleeve floral blouse, beige cotton shorts, and tan leather sandals.

Happy Mabon!!

Since it is Mabon I have a pre-scheduled day off from work. I also have tomorrow off as well. I am doing this so that by the end of the year I am not feeling a sense of horror and shame that I neglected to use up all my vacation and personal days. Last year if you can recall I had three days that I did not use. I felt horrible realizing in the last week of December that I was needlessly in the office. I could have taken three days off but it was too late to do anything about it. So this years goal has been to use up all my vacation and personal days.

THE PEACE PETITITION TO ELIJAH CUMMINGS

A couple of weeks ago on Patriot Day I signed a petition and got a leaflet from one of the peace activists that I photographed. The leaflet mentioned that the petition I was signing would be given to Congressman Elijah Cummings on September 22, 2005 at 4PM. As luck would have it that day coincides with Mabon and thus, I was off work.

I have never been to Congressman Cummings office. I only vaguely know of its location as being near the Cultural Center light rail stop. The only thing I know about Cummings is that he is a Democrat, he represents me in Congress, and that he succeeded my cousin, Kweisi Mfume, after he left office to head the NAACP.

When I made my way over to Cummings office I did not know quiet what to expect. I was not sure if anyone would even be there. For all I knew the woman who handed me the petition could have been a crazy lady who liked to collect signatures.

When I finally got there there was a group of people gathered on the corner outside of Cummings office. They were carrying Anti-War signs. I also saw a woman who looked to be a newspaper reporter. She had a professional looking camera around her neck, a notepad, and every now and then she spoke into a small white tape recorder.

There were also people there from an organization that I believe is called Power Speaks. They wore bright orange t-shirts and also carried signs. Unfortunately, I can not find any information about them on the web. A little later in the afternoon a guy showed up in a lion costume carrying a sign that said US Congress. I tried to take his picture but he kept turning away. I guess he did not want his picture taken in such a silly outfit.

The next thing that happened was that the protesters gathered in a circle and a man with a Power Speaks t-shirt led a prayer and then a man who was a veteran of the Iraq war sang a song. The veteran looked pitiful. He was in a wheelchair and his legs were amputated.

After the veteran sang his song the protesters placed a mock up of the signatures on the ground to form a yellow brick road then the guy in the lion outfit and a woman in a Dorothy costume did an Anti-war skit about the US Congress role in the Iraq War.

Then finally the group of protesters went over to Cummings office and handed the petition with over 2,000 signatures over to two representatives of Elijah Cummings. One representative was male the other was female and wore glasses. The representatives then had the protesters sign a sign in sheet then they were allowed to tell the representatives their feelings about the war. The protesters one by one chimed in on their feelings about the war. The representatives assured them that they were preaching to the choir. The female representative told the protesters that Cummings had attended the funerals of many who died due to the Iraq war. She told that crowd that, "He knows what is going on." Just then one of the protesters said that he just wants Cummings to publicly come out and say that he was against the war and to bring our troops home by December! He felt that Cummings was the one to spearhead a movement in Congress to bring the troops home.

Personally, I felt a little let down that Cummings was not there to speak to the protesters. It almost felt as though he was in hiding. Then again it could have been that he was still in DC. All in all I hope that he finds the courage to publicly speak out against the war on Iraq.

WHAT I AM WEARING:

Today, I have on an olive green short sleeve shirt, blue pants, and beige canvas tennis shoes.

I do not normally post polls, quizzes, or do 100 Things About Me posts, on principle. The principle being that if everyone else is doing it, then it must be nothing more than inane blog filler. The type of material that people post when they lack the imagination to write anything original. I have been blogging since 2001. I am proud to say that I have not stooped once to post blog filler..... until now.

I finally found a quiz that I am awe struck by. The reason being is that purple is my favourite colour and the background colour for my blog has consistently throughout the years been purple.

Your Blog Should Be Purple

You're an expressive, offbeat blogger who tends to write about anything and everything. You tend to set blogging trends, and you're the most likely to write your own meme or survey. You are a bit distant though. Your blog is all about you - not what anyone else has to say.

WHAT I AM WEARING:
Today, I have on a tight short sleeve grey henley, dark blue slacks, and black canvas tennis shoes.

The above is an oil pastel painting I completed while listening to a new cd I bought.

The other day I was at the mall and on a whim I bought a New Age meditation cd. I have always wondered if meditation cd’s worked. The one I bought is supposed to help you access artistic vision, spark spontaneous insight and discover your inner genius. The cd I got is called, Creative Mind System 2.0 by Dr. Jeffrey Thompson. I figured that if it does not work then I am just out 12 bucks.

The cd claims to use something called entrainment. It also claims that the music on the cd is derived from a common pattern of brain wave activity found in highly creative individuals. I do recall a couple of years ago reading a story about how scientists can transform brain wave sound into music. However, I’m not sure if the technology used on the cd is legitimate or not because 99.9% of the websites that mention entrainment are trying to sell you meditation cd’s.

Also, I’m absolutely surprised that I found it hard to find any type of University studies on the web that either confirmed or denied the efficacy of listening to meditation cd’s that are based on principles of entrainment. Oh, well......

All in all the music on the cd is very pretty. It’s reminiscent of the stuff you might hear on NPR’s music from Hearts of Space. I’ll report back on this topic in six weeks to let you guys know if it’s all just New Age Music or if I’ve created my Mona Lisa just by listening to the cd. Then again it might just have a placebo effect on me.... Only time will tell.

WHAT I’M WEARING:
Today, I have on a floral short sleeve top that almost reminds me of the type of floral design you might see on flannel night gowns. The pants I have on are green and the shoes I have on are generic beige canvas tennis shoes.

Ahoy Mateys! In honor of International Talk Like A Pirate Day I made this oil pastel sketch of a pirate!

WHAT I’M WEARING:
Today, I have on a brown short sleeve henley along with a brown African print skirt. The sandals I have on are tan and brown slides.

This is an oil pastel I did a while ago. I'm including it with this post because the girl in it reminds me of the girls who constantly flanked the African dictators son in Lord Of War.

AT CHURCH;

Today, I walked over to church. I’ve never done that before. Since I walked all the way over there I was sweating profusely when I got there.

I liked the fact that today’s service opened up with Pachbell’s Canon in D. Canon is D is one of my all time favourite classical music pieces. Today’s sermon was called, Sharing the Dream. It had something or other to do with being called to your own ministry. I wasn’t quiet sure if the message was to go out and become an official Unitarian minister.

AFTER CHURCH:

The movie I saw after I left church was Lord of War. I found it to be a very powerful and though provoking movie. If you are against guns and war this is a movie you have to see. The movie was even endorsed by Amnesty International.

The movie is an action adventure story set in the world of international arms dealers. Nicholas Cage plays Ukranian-American arms dealer, Yuri Orlov. The movie follows Yuri from the start of his operation in the 80’s up till present day. Cage’s character declares in the movie that he has sold guns to very army but the Salvation Army. Also in the movie he said that he never sold guns to Osoma Bin Laden, not on any moral grounds, but because he had a reputation for bouncing checks.

Two of the scariest characters in this movie that will stick in my head for ever are Eamonn Walker as the self declared President of Liberia, Andre Baptiste Sr. and his trigger happy son Andre Baptiste Jr, played by Sammi Rotibi. Those two were absolute psychopaths. They would kill people sport. The scenes in this movie of Liberia were like postcards from hell.

Overall, I would recommend you see this movie if you are anti-gun. If you are pro-gun then you might feel comfortable with the movies anti-gun message.

WHAT I’M WEARING:

Today, I have on a magenta short sleeve top along with green khaki shorts and beige canvas tennis shoes.

The above is a watercolour pencil drawing I did. I don't normally work with watercolour but I think that this one came out pretty good.

If you’ve come by here often....., Yes, your eyes are not deceiving you! I have redesigned the layout of this blog. OK, I didn’t do it myself. I’m not that adept at web design. But what I did do was go over to BlogSkins to pick out a new design. The one you are looking at now was designed by a 30something Hawaiian kid named Mela.

I always feel a little guilty while browsing for new skins on Blogskins because at times it seems as though the designers are high school students. Every now and then you see a comment like, “I designed this skin when I should haver been studying for my algebra exam.” Or maybe you see designs that include a place to enter your age or school activities. Seeing things like that makes me feel uncomfortable as though I’m skirting child labor laws. Luckily for me, I’ve avoided that Kathy Lee Gifford stigma by unwittingly choosing the design of a fellow 30something. I didn’t choose the new skin soley because Mela is around my age but because I liked the simple design and purple is my favourite colour. It’s just turns out that it’s an extra bonus that the person who designed it is a fellow 30something.

WHAT I’M WEARING:
Today, I have on a blue shirt that has a design of white flowers on it. I also have on stone washed denim shorts and tan flip flops.

The above is a quick oil pastel sketch I did one Saturday evening.

Recently, I’ve found myself wanting to get more politically involved. One thing I would like to do is participate in a peace march. I want to do this because I’m not very happy with Bush’s ineptitude as a leader. These feelings for me were brought to the forefront with his handling of the Hurricane Katrina rescue effort.

Recently, I’ve found out that the United For Peace Organization is holding a massive rally in Washington, DC on Saturday September 24, 2005. The march is to protest the United States’ involvement in the war on Iraq.

Since I live near DC and am not happy with the Bush administration I think I just might participate in it. If I do go it would be my very first protest march. This of course makes me wonder if anyone out there reading this blog has ever participating in a march? If so do you have any advice for someone new to marches? Should I bring a lunch? How much cash if any should I have on hand? etc. Any suggestions would be welcome! :)

WHAT I’M WEARING:
Today, I have on a peach coloured short sleeve blouse along with a denim overall dress with tan and brown sandals.

MORNING COMMUTE:

I know that it’s been a while since I’ve written about my morning commute. The truth is that everything has been running smoothly until today. The morning shuttle bus to the light rail station was crowded. It was so crowded that people had to stand up. This was extremely unusual because I get on the very first stop that the bus pick ups. I hope that this is not the start of an unfortunate trend.

CONCERN OF THE DAY: Bush Takes the Blame

Today, on the morning news I learned that Bush finally decided to take the blame for the horrendously bad Hurricane Katrina rescue effort. At first I thought, “Hey, that’s great! He’s finally growing up!” Then I thought a little more on the subject. Bush is the President of the United States of America and it took two weeks for him to realize that he should take responsibility for the FEMA debacle. What kind of a alleged leader does that?

Based on his past judgement decisions I shudder at the possibilty of John Roberts becoming Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. Bush after all appointed the inept Michael Brown, as head of FEMA. Brown as we have learned falsified his resume and his only previous experience was 11 years as commissioner of judges and stewards for the International Arabian Horse Association.

Bush’s refusal to release all of Robert’s legal documents has me worried. I am afraid of what’s hiding in John Roberts closet. If appointed I fear he would be as inept as old Brownie or a shameless corporate opportunistic stockholder like Dick Halliburton Cheney.

WHAT I’M WEARING:
Today, I have on a short sleeve white blouse along with a brown skirt that has a multi-coloured circle and square design on it. The sandals I am wearing are beige and tan slides.

You know I can’t help but notice that over the past few days my blog has taken on a slightly political bent. The main reason for this is that I am fed up with Bush’s handling of the Hurricane Katrina disaster which only reminds me of the wonderful job he’s done with the war on Iraq.

I feel sad to admit this but I come from a very political family. I have a former Maryland Congressmen, a former Baltimore City Council President, two former Baltimore City Councilmen , as well as the former head of the NAACP in my family. So I suppose being political unbeknownst to me has been second nature. Or perhaps having an opinion be it on politics or whether or not Paul McGann should appear in the next season of Dr. Who, is just part of being human. I have heard a saying many times that opinions are like assholes, everyone has one.

So below is my opinion on the progress of a local Baltimore afternoon radio show....

Former Baltimore Police Chief and convicted felon, Ed Norris

THE ED NORRIS SHOW.....11-3 PM on WHFS 105.7

Today’s show was fantastic. Ed Norris hit the ground running. He was angry about something and boy did it make for great radio.

In my opinion this show has improved by leaps and bounds. I believe the key ingredient to the show’s improvement was allowing designated bad boy, Chad Dukes, to be on from beginning to end. In my opinion the show goes from black and white to colour whenever he’s on.

I also like the interesting team up of the former police chief with the overly opinionated 20something. It gives you an interesting dynamic of the voice of experience versus the brashness of youth.

I hope that they will continue to have good shows like they did today. Then again since the station is owned by Infinity Broadcasting they just might get replaced next week. Oh, well..... My only question is, “What became of Chad Dukes former on air partner of two weeks ago, Oscar, aka The Big O?”

WHAT I’M WEARING:
Today, I have on a dark paisley skirt along with a short sleeve denim coloured henley and tan flip flops.

A banner that says it all, Peace Is Patriotic!

Yesterday, on the anniversary of the 9/11 tragedy there was a Peace Path in Baltimore that extended along Charles Street from the Harbor to the Beltway. The event ran from 12 to 3 pm and was sponsored by Women In Black, an international network for peace.

Since the activists were there and I had a camera I took there picture. No fisticuffs were exchanged.

Below are six more pictures that were taken along the Peace Path. I wanted to join them but didn’t have a sign...

WHAT I’M WEARING:
Today, I have on a short sleeve brown henley along with a plaid denim skirt. The shoes I have on are multi-coloured brown and tan slides.

SIX MORE 09/11/05 BALTIMORE PEACE PATH PHOTOS

A group of protesters with a very colourful flag.

A large group of peace protesters standing on Charles Street.

A trio of silent protesters standing vigil on Charles Street.

A man chats with two peace activists standing at the foot of Washington Monument on Charles Street.

Two peace activists and a very colourfully dressed dog standing on Charles Street.

A group of exuberant peace activists standing on Charles Street.

PATRIOTS DAY

Today is Patriots Day also known as the 4th year anniversary of the 9/11 tragedy. I spent the day as per usual at church and then over at the movie theatre..

AT CHURCH TODAY

Today, at church we had something called called a Homecoming and Water Communion. As I’ve written virtually every Sunday I’m new to Unitarianism. Heck, I’m new to church period.

I think one of the main reasons I find myself attending this church on a regular basis is because Unitarian Churches for the most part are liberal. They are pro-choice and are for gay and lesbian rights including marriage. None of that love the sinner but hate the sin crap. It’s nice knowing that not all churches are conservative and close minded in there thinking.

The church for the most part is non-denominational. So I know that on Sundays I’m gathered with people of different faiths; Wiccans, Liberal Christians, Jews, Buddhists, etc. , the type of people who might cause Pat Robertson to writher in convulsions. I also like the fact that Sunday sermons are not bible based. There sermons have the feel of a liberal political pep rally. I also like the fact that from time to time sermons might end with Blessed Be, or So Mote it Be. I’ve even heard services end with a double hitter of Blessed Be and Amen. Ok on to Homecoming and Water Communion.....

I got there late because today was the annual time switchover for church services. In the summer they start at 10 am during the rest of the year they start at 11-am. So today was also the start of trying to figure out how public transportation really runs on Sundays. To give you an idea in the summer the #11 bus according to the bus schedule arrives at 10-am but in actuality it arrives at 9:45. Today since I didn’t see a bus at the later start time I tried the subway which got me 10 minutes late.

When I got there I was surprised to see the place was packed. There were people there that I had never seen before. I suppose Homecoming and Water Communion services must be very popular amongst Unitarians.

I didn’t get a sense of anything different going on for Homecoming except that there were children there who would ordinarily be in the church’s Sunday school. Then again I might have missed something by coming in late.

Water Communion consisted of parishioners bringing in water from a place that had special meaning for them over the summer. If they forgot to bring water, water was provided by the church. I didn’t participate in this because it was so crowded and I was afraid that as I was about to pour water into the big crystal bowl I might fall trip and knock over the bowl. Oh, well maybe next year...

Also a little later in the service Rev. Hubbell read a deep and meaningful letter written by William G. Sinkford, the head of the Unitarian church, about his feelings of the blatant racism and classism he saw occurring with the Hurricane Katrina coverage. I found myself nodding in agreement with every word she read of Sinkford’s letter.

AFTER CHURCH

The Sunday movie today was Red Eye. To be absolutely honest I was ambivalent about seeing this movie. I thought it would be a good diversion since it got an 81% approval ratting on Rotten Tomatoes. I also felt that since it’s directed by Wes Craven, who’s known for great horror flicks like Nightmare on Elm Street, Scream, The Serpent and the Rainbow, etc., it would be a sure thing. Boy was I wrong!

Overall, l I found the movie to be both claustrophobic and boring. Claustrophobic because for the most part the movie takes place in a plane and boring because I didn’t really care about the man who had an assisination plot against him. I didn;t care if he lived or died because you don’t see him until the last half of the film. The movie never really conveyed why it was so important that he lived. Also it never explained why their was a plot against him. Who knows maybe he was a bad guy who needed to be taken out? If I had had more facts I would have cared more.

The only good part in this movie is towards the end when it veers into classic Wes Craven thrills and chills territory.

One strong feeling I got while watching this movie is that Cillian Murphy is the successor to Ray Liotta as the quintessential creepy guy. Gee, I’d really love to see those two in a movie as father and son, psychopaths.

WHAT I’M WEARING:
Today, I have on a nautical themed outfit. I have on a t-shirt that has stripes of navy blue and white on the top and a sold block of navy blue on the bottom. In the center of the shirt is a gold anchor. The pants
I have on are navy blue cotton shorts. I’m also wearing tan leather flip flops.

EYES WIDE OPEN

Today, I moseyed on over to Johns Hopkins University to see the Eyes Wide Open exhibit which is sponsored by The American Friends Service Commitee. It is an exhibit that memorializes the lives lost in the Iraq war and occupation. The exhibit features pairs of boots memorializing each military personnel killed in Iraq as well as a field of shoes memorializing citizens who lost there lives.

As I was taking photos of the exhibit I looked around and noticed that I heard a familiar voice in the air announcing some of the names of the dead. The voice was that of the Reverend John Manwell of the First Unitarian Church of Baltimore. After he finished reading his section of names I should have went over to him and his wife and said, “Hi!” Unfortunately, I became afraid that I might do or say something stupid.

Below I've posted additional photos of the exhibit.

WHAT I’M WEARING:
Today, I have on my infamous turquoise pineapple. It’s not really infamous for anything other than that I like to wear, a lot. I think I like to wear it because it’s studded with rhinestones. Anyway, I also have on stone washed denim shorts and beige leather flip flops.

SEVEN ADDITIONAL EYES WIDE OPEN PHOTOS

A man stands and stares at the symbolized devastation.

This is a photo of one of the many fields of shoes representing civilian victims of the war. This one memorializes the children who died.

Reverend John Manwell of the First Unitarian Church of Baltimore reads the names of fallen soldiers.

A teddy bear in the field of boots.

This is photo of the east side of the exhibit.

The view from the north-west of JHU.

The view from the south end of JHU.

IMPEACH BUSH

Frankly, I feel that Bush should be impeached. His actions relating to the war on Iraq and Hurricane Katrina prove time and again that the only people he cares about are the rich. I feel that it is no accident that oil prices have steadily rose and will continue to rise after the effects of Hurricane Katrina are over. After all, Bush has to take care of his friends, the oil companies. Speaking of his friends, Haliburton, is poised to start work in not only Iraq but Louisiana! Coincidence I think not!

Would impeachment mean immediate removal from office. No. In case every one has forgotten Clinton was impeached and remained in office. So thus impeachment does not necessarily mean the immediate removal from office. Impeachment would mean that there would be an indelible mark against the Bush Presidency. Besides if Bush were removed then the guy who has really been running the show, Cheney, wouldn’t have the village idiot to hide behind any more.

Do your part today and join the Impeach Bush Coalition.

WHAT I’M WEARING:
Today, I have on a militant black t-shirt along with a black skirt that has a pattern of beige circles on it. The shoes I have on are black slides.

JEWS FOR JESUS?

Recently, in Maryland we have been inundated with radio ads for Jews For Jesus. I am not Jewish but I have felt deeply offended by these thinly veiled proselytizing ads.

A fundamental belief of Judaism is that the Messiah will come when all people everywhere perform deeds of goodness and kindness. While the name Jews For Jesus overturns this precept by advocating Jesus as the Messiah who has already come. I feel that this strikes at the foundation of Judaism negating, to a certain extent the perseverance with which the Jews endured such persecution as during the Crusades and the Holocaust.

It appears that the Jews For Jesus’, Behold Your God campaign is primarily targeting alienated and unaffiliated Jews. According to a 1992 issue of Moment magazine between 60 to 70% of Jews are unaffiliated and do not belong to a synagogue. I feel that it is wrong for JFJ to prey amongst this group. Especially since this group is primarily funded by Evangelical Christian groups. These are the types of groups that want to bring about a United States of Jesus. A country where one religion, one belief, one god rules.

As you have probably guessed I am not a supporter of Jews For Jesus. I feel that they are out to destroy the Jewish faith. I feel sickened and angered whenever I hear there ads or see their vans riding around town. I also can not believe the gall they have to run ads in Baltimore of all places. Baltimore is the headquarters for Jews For Judaism.

Argggg! I can’t wait until the Christian Right Jewish conversion team leaves town.

WHAT I’M WEARING:
Today, I have on an aqua green top, Yes, you read right, aqua green not blue. The top I have on has beige and white flowers on it. With this top I have on a black skirt. The shoes I have on are black slides.

THE WORLD MOURNS.....

Today, I like the rest of the world was in mourning over the news of Bob Denver’s death. Denver has kept me as well as countless others around the world entertained for years with his antics as Gilligan on the aptly titled Gilligan’s Island. It’s kind of nice to know that even after his death his work will live on in syndication for several generations to come. Despite Denver’s cultural and international triumph as Gilligan I will always remember him for something that happened in 1998.

In 1998 Denver was arrested for possession of marijuana. I remember feeling shocked because the thought had never crossed my mind that senior citizens smoked pot. I always thought of pot as something that only teenagers, college students, and people who followed the Grateful Dead or Phish did.

As you can imagine Denver’s arrest was a major eye opening experience for me. It also opened up my eyes to the realization as to why it was difficult for the castaways to leave the island.... Gilligan was a pothead!

DUKES IS BACK.....

I don’t know why I did it today. I suppose it was force of habit. During my lunch break I tuned into WHFS and heard Chad Dukes back on air! However, the Big O and Dukes Show is still defunct. It appears that Ed Norris has him on as member of his. Dukes will also have his own show on AM with Bill Rohland. Rohland, ironically enough auditioned for the show that Dukes won then lost out to Ed Norris. Ed Norris was a regular guess on the show that Dukes got fired from.

Either Dukes is well liked at the office or Maynard let him on the damning photos he might have of upper management....

So far there’s no word on Big O’s fate.

WHAT I’M WEARING:
Today, I have on a striped pink and orange v-neck shirt and a beige skirt. I feel like a walking scoop of orange sherbert. That’s OK because my favourite flavour of ice cream is sherbert.

END OF A BRIEF RADIO ERA.....

It’s now official Big O and Dukes are off the air on WHFS and Ed Norris has taken there place. Somehow, I’m not shocked or surprised by this change of events. It was inevitable. When Ed Norris came back off of house arrest you just knew that there show would be toast. Who’s the bigger draw two unknown twenty-somethings or the ex Baltimore Police Chief who happens to be an ex-con?

While listening to Norris fly solo I felt bored out of mind. There was nothing upbeat or funny about it. It sounded like and other random talk show on the dial. The only reason I listened to the show in it’s past (Miles and Thrill) and post-present incarnation (Big O and Dukes) was that it was different. It was a local talk show that didn’t take itself too seriously. It was a talk show that prided itself in having a sense of humor. I’m afraid that the Ed Norris Show will take itself too seriously and be just another glum, doom and gloom local talk show.

So I guess I’ll be going back to listening to the old iPod through out my work day. Well up until 10 AM. I still need my daily dose of Josh Spiegel doing the news.

You know after all that’s happened today, there’s one thing I can’t figure out. Why is it that Maynard is still employed there? He used to work on Rouse and Company morning show then everyone on the show got fired earlier this year, except him. Then later this year he’s the producer for O and D now they’re gone yet he remains. The guy must be made of teflon or something. Personally, I think he’s got photos of all the higher ups in compromising positions. I don’t know, I just find it weird that the guy survives every major shake up at Infinity Radio.

WHAT I’M WEARING:
Today, I have on an olive green shirt that has thin stripes across it of blue, dark blue and charcoal grey. Along with the top I have on a dark blue skirt.

This is a picture of two statues that overlook Baltimore's Hopkins Plaza.

LABOR DAY THOUGHTS....

On this bright and sunny Labor Day, I’ve come to the conclusion that the internet for autistics like myself, is a lot like sign language is for the deaf. The internet has given us a powerful mode of communication that no other generation of autistics has had before.

I can not begin to fathom what my life would be like without it. I imagine that if the internet were not invented I would probably be still living at home with my father. I would not have even considered the possibility of pushing forward with a career in art.

I would probably be still living a very sheltered life. OK, well....I’m still living a sheltered life but at least now I can quickly research things on the net before weighing the pros and cons of trying something new.....

Steve Carrel, Paul Rudd, Romany Malco, and Seth Rogen from The 40 Year Old Virgin

Today at Church

This morning I was running a bit late for Church. I really wanted to get there because I saw on their web site that they would be doing something called a Blessing of the Hands ceremony. Since I’m new to Unitarianism I was wondering what that was all about. It turns out that all it was, was that the Co-Ministers poured water over your hands then the water was toweled off.

The earlier part of the service was primarily devoted to the recent tragedy that swept through the Gulf Coast Region of our country. I don’t have anything to say about the devastation that Hurricane Katrina left in her path. I feel that all that can be said has been said more eloquently by other bloggers.

Today after Church

After church I as usual went to see a movie. This weeks movie was, The 40 Year Old Virgin. Thank goodness no one has been reading this blog since it’s inception. Then no one knows about my apprehension towards seeing the film. Hmmm, let’s see I’m 35 year old woman who lives in an apartment primarily populated by action figures, Barbie dolls, and comic books and I don’t have any children. You do the math.....

The only reason I went to the movie is because it is the most highest rated movie in the history of Rotten Tomatoes dot com. In case you do not know, Rotten Tomatoes is web site where they compile all the reviews that a movie has received. With there compiled data they then give the movie a numerical ranking. The 40 Year Old Virgin got an approval level of 85%. So I rationalized that if you can get 85% of movie critics to agree on something then it must be pretty darn good. So thus I toughened myself up to get past the movie title and the geeky ass poster. Just seeing that poster makes me cringe.

Surprisingly I found that the movie was good! I enjoyed myself! Yes, it was raunchy at times but it was also sweet. It was a movie with a heart. Steve Carrel portrayed the 40 year old, Andy as a very nice guy. You were really rooting for him and Trish played by Catherine Keener to get together. I thought that it was interesting that Trish was a grandma, albeit a youngish one. The 40 Year Old’s co-workers were also good in the movie. They didn’t feel as though they were cardboard comedic cutouts. You really cared about them. Let’s see there was Romany Malco as the womanizing Jay, and Seth Rogen as Cal the burly every-man type, and finally, Paul Rudd as the terminally heartbroken David.

In conclusion I highly recommend that you go out and see The 40-Year Old Virgin. Is is both a sweet and funny movie. In my opinion it ranks right up there with The Wedding Crashers as one of the must see movies of the summer.

The above photo was taken on the grounds of the Towson Courthouse in Towson, Maryland.

Yesterday, I only got about 3-4 hours of sleep. I was surprised how quickly I perked up after drinking the SoBe Energy drink. Ordinarily, after getting such a small amount of sleep I would have been fighting to stay awake. SoBe is incredible!

Anyway, since yesterday we are now all caught up at work. So right now there is nothing left for me to do but relax and take it easy. Ahhhh, the joys of a relaxing three day weekend await me!

This is another photgraph of one of the many crab sculptures that has invaded BaItimore this summer. This crab was photographed in front of the Inner Harbor's upscale Gallery shopping mall. On with the blog.....

It was nice to see this morning another woman carrying a SoBe Energy drink. Oh, no could it be that I’m at the start of a trendy?! OK, the woman didn’t look the slightest bit trendy. Heck, neither do I. She was however, a female construction worker.......

WHAT I’M WEARING:
Today, I have on a bib overall mini-dress. Under the bib overall mini dress I have on a short sleeve pink and orange striped top.

At work today the higher-ups gave the OK for us to wear shorts for our annual labor day cook out. I don’t believe in wearing shorts to work. I feel that that would be mixing business with pleasure. Also they rarely serve anything I’m interested in. So this year like all the other ones, I’ve skipped the free barbecue meal.

SoBe Energy drink tastes great! Over all it has a nice sweet fruity flavour to it. I thought that maybe I’d be wired all day and find it difficult to sleep at night. I was pleased to find that this was not the case. I think I have found my new beverage of choice. However, I’m not entirely giving up on my first love, Mountain Dew.

Yesterday, after work I was hanging with the Quakers. I went over to The American Friends Service Committee on York Road because they were holding a forum on the application of the death penalty in Maryland. I learned about the meeting from a flyer that came with Sunday’s church service handout.

I have always been against the death penalty and I thought that it might be interesting to participate in something for a change. When I got to the meeting I was surprised to find that the room was packed. The only place left for me to sit was in the first row. So there I sat feeling uncomfortable with no one in front of me.

From the forum I learned that there are were many steps involved in over turning a death sentence. I also learned about the significance of the analysis of Maryland’s death penalty that was done by University of Maryland’s Dr. Paternoster. The results of the Paternoster study succinctly proved race and geography determined who got the death the death penalty in Maryland.

The forum seemed to be taking the cause of overturning Vernon Evans death sentence. I was looking around the web to find more information about his case. I was surprised to find that he has a blog. OK, he doesn’t maintain the blog himself. After all he’s a prisoner on death row and does not have internet access. The blog is maintained by a woman named, Ginny Simmons. You type in questions on the blog while while Ms. Simmons prints them out for Vernon to answer at a later date.

The next meeting for the Committee To Save Vernon Evans will be held on October 4, 2005 at the AFSC on 4806 York Road at 7PM. I think I’ll go there as well as be a part of the vigil that they hold every Monday to abolish the death penalty. The vigils are held from 5-6 pm outside the prison complex on the corner of Madison and Fallsway.

WHAT I’M WEARING:
Today, I have on a white t-shirt and a black mini skirt that has a design of beige circles on it The shoes I have on are black slides.