Weblog 99

December 30, 2007~ 5:45am
Whenever there is an image that captures tragedy symbolically and completely in one fell swoop, I find it so compelling I can't stop staring at it. This image does that for me-



The torn and bloodied poster of this murdered leader has such a palpable sense of sorrow and destruction, that as another year of world unrest draws to a close, I can't think of anything more horrific in my own lifetime than the reality of suicide bombers. How can one protect one's self against those willing to turn themselves in human hand grenades?

I remember the self-immolating Buddhist monks from the sixties setting themselves aflame and turning to ashes before the cameras. Shocking, yes. Tragic? absolutely, but they took no one else with them in their protest. They chose a quiet martyrdom that, despite its horror, seemed to transcend mere flesh to become a statement of spirit. They harmed no one else. People were moved by their sacrifice and perhaps in its own way, it helped bring people to their senses about the war in southeast Asia.

What they did meant something.

The fanatics blowing themselves up here, there and everywhere today, claim many innocents, so I ask: is this about religion? Hardly. This is the most suppurating type of extremist hatred possible, hiding behind 'Allah's will'. It's hatred, through and through-- it is NOT martyrdom. Martyrs are not murderers; any Islamic fanatic who proffers that suicide bombing is a statement of faith is a goddamned liar. Period.

It's a hideous way to die with parts strewn everywhere like human jigsaw puzzle pieces mixed in with brick and steel-- and it's so epidemic that hardly a week goes by we do not hear of yet another one.

What will this new year hold?

I am not hopeful of much change. I see things becoming even darker and more chaotic. Benazir Bhutto was an insanely courageous woman. I think she must have known it would come, how could she not? Money, power, beauty...courage...nothing saves anyone when there are extremists the globe over, gone rabid with the desire for retribution, or enflamed with religious zealotry.

People become victims if they are seen as targets, if they happen to be bystanders, if they are simply in the wrong place at the wrong time when a plan is executed- (or some bad wiring goes off in someone's head, as we saw with random shootings this year in Blacksburg or in the mall in Omaha)- these incidents keep happening over and over.

What will this year bring?



I believe it's all written out. Hold out your hand. Look. It's a human palm. Human hands hold everything. We need to take great care. We need to not do harm. We need to protect one another.




December 31, 2007~ 9:30pm
The LAST day of the year! And yesterday was my sweetie's birthday- (we've both been holed-up, enjoying our time off...both of us very lone wolves in our way) --but what is shared, is shared together. Laughter (LOTS)... times with family, and all that entails...common points of reference, knowing each other's likes and dislikes, being as compatible as two people such as we can be.... for the last 25 years, so Wayne, for all the years shared, for putting up with me and making my life feel 'whole'.....thank you, sweetie




........and happy birthday. You are indeed, my 'one'....my fellow Gettysburg tromper, my sounding board, my confidante, my deepest love. Many more, dear one. Many more. 'K' XOXOXOXO




January 1, 2008~ 10:00am
Well, the new year's been 'rung in'. Last night I was reading in bed, and I heard its first volley- a shot went off at precisely 12 o'clock midnight. I glanced at my watch and said goodbye to 2007. I slept soundly, and on into the nascency of this new one on my last day off from work. Put a pot of coffee on, and fiddled for a bit with the art.generator site.

The thing about eccentrics is that they have a strange frame of reference- they make odd connections and take runaway trains to places other folks don't consider.

Now me........I've begun to use the generator as a kind of Tarot. (Don't laugh. Why should combined images be any less weird than dealing from a deck of cards?)



So the first image that came up when I typed in 'moon lover' -- was a beauty... a peaceful and lovely, calm little horse bathed in a buttery glow, with a ghost of a blue heart in the center of the picture, I took it to be a good omen.

Interpretation: "You will work hard and patiently this new year, without complaint. And what is your heart's delight will be different from what others cherish, but it will cover you in moonglow color that stands out like the blue moon mist over a field and upon a horse who waits for you to ride him into what brings golden joys. Whenever you need him, whistle..."

How's that for fortune-telling? LOL!!! Wheeeeee!! The new year is a HORSE of a different color.....oh, I hope.




December 31, 2007~ 10:00pm
I simply have to share what may be my favorite editoral article, found in the Washington Post. It sums up so much of my own thoughts about this particular point in history contrasted with what's gone before. It's the way we've lost.. oh.....substance, I suppose...and depth. Perhaps a goodly portion of 'humanity' itself in favor of surface trivialities, along with a shallow pursuit of pleasures of every kind. Instant gratification....a new shallowness that frightens and angers me, and I do think, as I've said before- the internet has a good deal to do with this in the way it delivers the basest and most frivolous mind-popcorn at every keystroke.

If you want to have an article bitchslap that complacency right out of you, read this, and yes- perhaps weep a bit. We can do better, folks. We can do a lot better.





***

(Return To Weekly Archives)