September 26, 2005
Category 5 Outrage
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September 21, 2005
classy is to billboard as...
beautiful is to coldsore.
your turn~
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September 18, 2005
Pope's envoy bashes USA
Check it out inTODAY's QUOTE plus lots more links and views.
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September 15, 2005
W says:Begin Rebuilding Immediately
Rhetoric. Unwise. Nonsense. No one even knows what long term health hazards will remain deep in the terrain injured by katrina and insulted by the neglect of our leaders. Dead bodies, oil, feces and whatever else coagulated for days into the toxic stew that is the Gulf region. Its bad enough they are pumping this stew into waterways already without thought for the eco/ environmental impact. I'm not an engineer, an urban planner, or an ecologist - but surely it can't be as simple as drain the city, pump out the water, level what's destroyed and just build on top of whatever is there now and forever hold your peace?
Posted by mary at 09:20 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
September 14, 2005
Preserve or Reconceive?
What to do with New Orleans, and more Katrina links, quotes, relief info.
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September 12, 2005
Al Gore Speaks
Al Gore's speech on Katrina and much more. Find it under Opinion and Worldviews here.
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September 11, 2005
a Collection of Katrina Links-Views and more
It all starts HERE
(check back often)
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September 07, 2005
LOUISIANA 1927
Louisiana 1927
by Randy Newman
The lyics, by singer/songwriter Randy Newman, tell the story of the Louisiana flood of 1927, which killed hundreds and displaced hundreds of thousands across six states. The disaster is credited with sparking one of the great voting movements of the 20th century -- the shift in Southern black allegiance from the Republican to the Democratic Party -- and with spurring the New Deal politics of big government. Will history repeat?
What has happened down here is the winds have changed
Clouds roll in from the north and it started to rain
Rained real hard and it rained for a real long time
Six feet of water in the streets of Evangeline
The river rose all day
The river rose all night
Some people got lost in the flood
Some people got away alright
The river have busted through clear down to Plaquemines
Six feet of water in the streets of Evangeline
Louisiana, Louisiana
They're tryin' to wash us away
They're tryin' to wash us away
Louisiana, Louisiana
They're tryin' to wash us away
They're tryin' to wash us away
President Coolidge came down in a railroad train
With a little fat man with a note-pad in his hand
The president say, ''Little fat man isn't it a shame
What the river has done to this poor crackers land."
Louisiana, Louisiana
They're tryin' to wash us away
They're tryin' to wash us away
Louisiana, Louisiana
They're tryin' to wash us away
They're tryin' to wash us away
They're tryin' to wash us away
They're tryin' to wash us away
Check out more on RELIEFNET
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RELIEFNET: Relief+Worldviews
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LOOK DEEPLY INTO THE EYE OF KATRINA
"If I could get the ear of President Bush, for just a moment, here’s what I would say. Mr. President, if you had looked deeply into the eye of the storm, what you would have seen was the future demise of the planet we live on. It’s time to tell the American people and the world that the real lesson of Katrina is that we need to mobilize the talent, energy, and resolve of the American people and people everywhere to weaning ourselves off the oil spigot that’s threatening the future of every creature on earth. President Bush, spare us your homilies about American grit and determination to “weather the storm and persevere.” Instead, tell us the truth about why Katrina really happened. Ask all of us to consider a change of heart about our profligate energy-consuming lifestyles. Call on us to conserve our existing fossil fuel reserves and make sacrifices in our future use of energy. Provide us with a game plan to move America beyond fossil fuels to a new sustainable energy future based on renewable sources of energy and hydrogen power. We’re waiting."
READ JEREMY RIFKIN'S ENTIRE ARTICLE about our self-induced stupor from the effects of global warming.
EVEN MORE ON RELIEF AND WORLDVIEW @RELIEFNET
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September 05, 2005
RELIEFnet - a growing collection of Katrina links to get or give help and more...
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September 04, 2005
RELIEFNET - a growing world of links to get and give relief
I'm gathering as many mainstream and alternative opportunities to receive or give help for Katrina victims as I can to post in this one place. I'm only just beginning but there is some good info there now. Please check it out and suggest more.
Posted by mary at 04:35 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
August 31, 2005
Local relief efforts
Hurricane Katrina relief efforts along the Gulf Coast from the Tennessee Emergency Management Agency (TEMA), the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) (through the Chattanooga Manufacturers Association) and United Way. There is also a local opportunity to help scheduled for Thursday, September 1 that is sponsored by WGOW and WRCB. While there will be many other opportunities to help, this is what we have as of now.
FROM WGOW AND WRCB:
Talk Radio WGOW and Channel 3 WRCB will be setup in the Velocity Sports parking lot (old Sam's Club / Circuit City) on Lee Highway at 153 Thursday from 5 a.m. - 7p.m. for a hurricane relief effort. TranCo Logistics in Rossville has donated use of a truck, pallets, shrink wrap, and manpower to deliver a load of bottled drinking water to the disaster area. DONATIONS ACCEPTED ARE SHRINK-WRAPPED CASES/FLATS OF BOTTLED DRINKING WATER ONLY! No gallon jugs, singles, etc. Monetary donations by check will be accepted. Make checks payable to: "Red Cross Louisiana Disaster Fund". Items not needed/accepted include: food, clothes and cleaning supplies.
FROM TEMA:
If anyone or any organization in Tennessee wants to go to the Gulf Coast to assist in relief efforts, THEY MUST BE CREDENTIALED FIRST. This means ANY ORGANIZATION, GROUPS, LAW ENFORCEMENT... ANYONE. People and organizations who travel to the Gulf Coast without proper credentials first will be turned back before they get close to the area. Failure to acquire the proper credentials will create more problems and slow the delivering of aid.
The credentialing agencies for Tennesseans seeking to help are the Tennessee Emergency Management Agency and the Tennessee Red Cross. They can be contacted at 615-741-1496 and 615-741-0343. If you are solicited for volunteers, please make sure these agencies are contacted and the proper channels are followed. These groups are coordinating with Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana officials about what they need.
FROM NAM:
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) contacted the NAM early this morning and has activated the Homeland Security Information Network (HSIN) in an effort to expedite response efforts and save lives. We join the DHS call and urge our members to log-on to the Homeland Security Information Network (HSIN) web portal (www.swern.gov ; www.nwwarn.gov ; www.ian.in.gov ; and www.seern.gov) to access the National Emergency Resource Registry (NERR) by clicking on the link in the upper right corner of the page. Once registered, this resource allows HSIN-CI members as well as the general public to submit information about resources that may be used to support on-the-ground recovery efforts.
This is a secure, Official U.S. Government system to facilitate the marrying of capabilities and supplies with needs. As of this morning, the highest priority needs are for emergency supplies of non-perishable items that can be made available to Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama.
We also encourage members to continue to check the site, as more specific needs will be posted as they become known.
FROM UNITED WAY:
The United Way Hurricane Katrina Response Fund is an easy way to help people in affected communities to begin rebuilding their lives. All funds will be allocated for both front-line disaster relief and long-term recovery needs, as determined by local United Ways in affected areas in coordination with a vast network of human service agencies and volunteer centers. United Way of Greater Chattanooga has posted a link to the United Way Hurricane Katrina Response Fund on its website at www.uwchatt.org for anyone wishing to make a credit card donation. Donations via check are being accepted at the following address: United Way of America, P.O. Box 630568, Baltimore, MD 21263-0568.
Please see the links below for some of the organizations assisting with relief efforts:
American Red Cross: www.redcross.org
Federal Emergency Management Agency: www.fema.gov
Tennessee Emergency Management Agency: www.tnema.org
Salvation Army: www.salvationarmyusa.org
National Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster: www.nvoad.org
Catholic Charities USA: www.catholiccharitiesusa.org
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August 30, 2005
Katrina you thoughtful sexy beast
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August 16, 2005
The balanced life of george bush
Did everybod see what President Geo WB told Cox News about why he could find time for a bike ride on Saturday but not to meet with Cindy Sheehan, who is camping out near his Prairie Church getaway in a grieving anti-war protest at the loss of her soldier son :
"I think it's important for me to be thoughtful and sensitive to those who have got something to say. But I think it's also important for me to go on with my life, to keep a balanced life ... I think the people want the president to be in a position to make good, crisp decisions and to stay healthy. And part of my being is to be outside exercising. So I'm mindful of what goes on around me. On the other hand, I'm also mindful that I've got a life to live and will do so."
mindful, balanced, and damit people like me.
i'm frightened.
Posted by mary at 08:11 PM | Comments (3) | TrackBack (0)
August 03, 2005
What unites us
This may blow the roof off the Presb.-based blogging community here. don't mean to. This article is interesting to consider when thinking about opening our hearts and minds to what different believers have in common at a root level. When I think about what i believe we are here on earth to do/be and how universal some of those ideals of compassion, intention and connecting to the divine really are - hopefully in that context this article will be digestable for everyone. ITS ALL ABOUT PRACTICE
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July 26, 2005
WRCB fails on Holmberg story
blogging to nightly news is a dangerous combination. proceed with caution. tonight on local nbc news while reading that Bill Holmberg had died - they of course reference the Holmberg Bridge. But they show old video of the thing under construction covered in tarps and crews. Show the man a little respect, guys, and get out there and shoot some new beauty shots in his memory.
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Discovery Liftoff pick-your-own multi-camera-views interactive...so really very cool
This is ver cool. Today's shuttle launch wasn't like back in elementray school when everything stopped to watch the countdown. so i missed the liftoff and al the news coverage... well, good ol msnbc wasn't gunna let that happen.
TAKE OFF FROM HERE!
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July 21, 2005
The mindfulness of limited means
I hate this. When i am of limited financial means, out of necessity i become completely conscious of my consumption needs and impulses. Consumption of food, electricity, gasoline, household items, gifts and other materialistic acquisitions are micromanaged to the extent that even if somewhat by default, creates a really great habit of mindful living. though not my favorite way, the hand-to-mouth lifestyle does afford me this one luxury of staying conscious. Its the best thing about it. What sucks is, how easily it can slip away as soon as a little extra cush comes in. OOOH - some extra bucks so i can buy $5 coffees and eat lunch in restaurants all week. Mindlessly "treating" myself to these indulgences since i'd been so disciplined and frugal all month. It makes no sense that i would choose as my reward a habit energy that is ultimately punishing. The real rewards actually come out of having much less. That is not just some trite romantic notion about being a starving artist. it is an unfortunate state i find myself in as i stay in search of both: a little more consiousness and a little more cushion.
Posted by mary at 04:50 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
July 14, 2005
BLOGS as news source?
What do we think of this? A reporter using someone's personal blog as a source of information to extrapalate and report a story using the content from the blog as news. even attributing quotes - even using the pictures posted on that blog to accompany that story. I'm speaking of on-line or printed press in this example, not broadcast media.
For me this is indeed irresponsible journalism (and this has nothing to do with our beloved JQR - any likeness to his blogname is mere circumstantial) It is lazy, disrespectful and seems just plain wrong.
Do we invite this by being self-publishers in the blog set? perhaps.
But should a reputable provider of news help himself to someone's personal entries to allow himself access to intimate details of one's life and report it - simply because it was already published on the web somewhere? I don't think so.
Seems like the reporter lacks the courage to go direct and deal with the discomfort of asking for the information directly.
Why bother when you can get the scoop without any of that pesky interviewing.
it pisses me off!
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July 01, 2005
now 36 inches from heaven
i just got another bible tract from that packing company today inside an order confirmation. thats two "Missing Heaven by 18 inches" leaflets in the same number of days. Now that puts me 36 inches further away from heaven - and i haven't even done nuthin but open the mail.
actually the message inside this tract - yes i did take time to read it completely - is the notion that the head is 18 inches away from the heart. the point being that if you are too/only intellectually responding to "the way" and not coming from a place in the heart - well, that creates distance, aproximately 18 inches - from really getting "it".
i understand. and i agree full heartedly with the heart/head combo deal necessary for maximizing what works in this world. but its not just heaven or necessarily simply a fab relationship to jesus specifically that i'm being denied if i deny opening my heart to life and how to live it.
regardless, i wish they had a variety pack of those tracts - i mean if they're doing consecutive mailings, like any good direct mail campaign should - they need to rotate some other key messages.
...i still want to know what happens if i sign my name and check the box...
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June 30, 2005
Bubble Wrap for Jesus
So i get an invoice today from a local company where i buy shipping materials for the business i manage and this month includes a bill stuffer. you know - those little marketing attention getters so artfully designed with useful information on, oh, say, how to keep your energy bills low. That is the kind of stuffer that the electric company sends. you know the deal. well, inside our bill from the bubble wrap vendor is a 3.5" x 5.5" leaflet titled "Missing Heaven by 18 Inches."
What if i sign my name in the space provided and check the box marked "I do believe with my heart! I have decided to accept God's offer of eternal life through Jesus Christ." - - what will happen?
do i win something? does a sales man visit my door? Could i be awarded an all expense paid trip to Garland Texas, where the American Tract Society is located? Maybe free bubble wrap and packing tape for one full year?
And would they mind terribly if i offered some alternate reading material stuffed inside when i mail them our check?
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June 28, 2005
They travel on and on..
Hey - did anybody else catch this? its pretty cool - the footage of a comet kickin tail across the universe.
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June 26, 2005
the downside of documentary boon
Here is what the International Herald Tribune wrote this month about the subject. As someone inspired and intent on becoming a most excellant documentary "film" maker i am compelled to keep this article where i know i can read it again. It is telling me i need to push a little deeper on a doc that is in my hands right now. the story in my project is only so far self congratulatory and has yet to delve into the tense substance that is surrounding it. Its the thing no one wants to talk about. Those are the documentaries i want to make.
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PINK ROBOTS BENEFIT July1&2
FRIDAY JULY 1 noon til 10pm - SATURDAY JULY 2 6pm-10pm.
$5 donation please.
The prices shown on the flier are entry fees for skaters. It only costs five bucks to attend. Chattown Skate Park, formerly Sanctuary Park, located next to The First Tennessee Pavilion and new Dog Park.
Watch regional competitors. Listen to music. Enjoy some time with your family while helping another family.
If you're a local filmmaker get in on Camjam 2005 taking place at the skatepark during the competition.
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June 25, 2005
SKATER FILM FEST!
Check this out and plan to attend or submit something. The location has not been announced yet but I think the vibe is going to be early urban subterranean. You can leave questions and interest on festival blog.
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June 24, 2005
SEE7WALMARTS
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"Micro Movie" Competition
Who is interested?
There will be a very cool first of its kind event/exhibit here in chattanooga this coming August. You should be a part of it. Creative tension at its very finest and most immediate. And if that isn't enough it's also a benefit for a really good cause.
Has anyone ever done a micro movie film lab before? That isn't my term, but i'm borrowing it and i'm using it as slang. i've seen other names for what this is in other cities.
basically you make a short movie in 24-48 hours. digital media is best. working in teams makes it challenging. short means anything you know you can completely conceive, shoot, edit and deliver within that timeframe. Short usually means 5 minutes. If you can do more do it!
In this competition you will be asked to shoot your movie at a skater competition, and plan on it being screened with others at an upcoming film event.
Everyone who wants to put together a project will be asked to do so in the same timeframe and at the same location. what you do within those two parameters is completely up to you. It can be fiction, documentary, music video... great!
So you wanna put together a team or get on someone else's team and try it? its fun as long as you have a digital video camera and editing software that you know how to drive fast!
If you are interested at all in the exhibit event or/and want to hear about the CAMjam competition leave your inquiry here, ok?
IMPORTANT NOTE: the micro movie location-assignment that will be used in this benefit competition is time sensitive. participants must be available to begin shooting friday, july1 and saturday, july 2 at the Pink Robots Never Die Skating Competition, have their movie finished by sunday july 3rd. all submissions will be automatically eligible for screening at the upcoming superfantastic august benefit event. Sorry for the last minute but, you know, that is kind of the point with the way this instant-video-movie-lab deal works
Posted by mary at 09:46 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
June 21, 2005
Alabama Avenue Sees All
what the?!!? so, i have the luxury of sitting on my front porch in lesiure at 10am on a tuesday and what do i see - a CARTA bus heading northbound? i know they are repaving stelmo avenue and that is why and all. but i still didn't like it very much.
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June 07, 2005
Steve Jobs Glam
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Nature's Own Compliment
duality exists in all things. this is one of the things you can count on. that and impermanence. to deny this is to prolong personal suffering and to deny the true nature of reality. duality exists even when it is a struggle to accept the terms - as when one side seems to have reign over the other. this morning when i left the house duality stared me in the face but in it i saw beauty in the conflict. The complimentary colors of deep blue hydrangeas and dark orange day lillies competed for my attention in my front yard as both began their first blooms of the season simultaneously. Opposite and Complimentary. Duality manifesting in such lovely accord reminds me that sometimes things that seem in tension actually do great work to create a beautifully balanced universe. In tension IS as intended.
Posted by mary at 05:38 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
June 06, 2005
Oh mac gurus - i'm freakingout!
HELP!
i'm finally on deck to buy a macG5, plus final cut pro and memory et al - i mean i JUST got the money (grant! thanks.) and now this very moment is perhaps the worst time ever to buy a new mac. what do i do? i need a work station NOW for digital media projects/documentaries and can't wait for the blinkin' rollout of the new intel processor to come around - are we talking two years from now - one year from now? WHAT NOW THEN?!?!?!?
Posted by mary at 08:57 PM | Comments (8) | TrackBack (0)
June 05, 2005
ANOTHER REMINDER
This helped me today as i began again feeling helpless for my friends in such pain for their fragile son. wondering what can i do with my own broken feelings and my thoughts that are with them constantly now. I was comforted to find this and strengthened by the universal sentiments shared and happy to see so many similarities between my path and theirs. because it is intention, and it is the deephearted goodness which inspires service to others that matters most -and we see we can all learn the same lessons on our individual climbs to the peak.
"...Sogyal Rinpoche suggests that seeing someone in pain, in person or on the news, could inspire us to meditate on compassion. 'Any one of these sights could open the eyes of your heart to the fact of vast suffering in the world. Let it. Don't waste the love and grief it arouses; in the moment you feel compassion welling up in you, don't brush it aside, don't shrug it off and try quickly to return to 'normal,' don't be afraid of your feeling or embarrassed by it, or allow yourself to be distracted from it or let it run aground in apathy. Be vulnerable; use that quick, bright uprush of compassion; focus on it, go deep in your heart and meditate on it, develop it, enhance, and deepen it. By doing this you will realize how blind you have been to suffering, how the pain that you are experiencing or seeing now is only a tiny fraction of the pain of the world.
'All beings, everywhere, suffer; let your heart go out to them all in spontaneous and immeasurable compassion, and direct that compassion, along with the blessing of all the elders and wise, to the alleviation of suffering everywhere.
'Compassion is a far greater and nobler thing than pity. Pity has its roots in fear, and a sense of arrogance and condescension, sometimes even a smug feeling of 'I'm glad it's not me.' As Stephen Levine says: 'When your fear touches someone's pain it becomes pity; when your love touches someone's pain, it becomes compassion.' To train in compassion, then, is to know all beings are the same and suffer in similar ways, to honor all those who suffer, and to know you are neither separate from nor superior to anyone.'"
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June 03, 2005
WHO HAS 100 WORDS ABOUT CHATTABLOGS?
Well it seems there is a documentary being done about this blogging lifestyle and the director is looking for cities to visit to include in the story. CHECK IT OUT!
Will someone please nominate Josiah and crew and get this universe on the global beat!!
How can you be part of this wild, history-making event?
Read The Rules, The Documentary, and Who Am I, listed under PAGES, upper right corner of the filmmaker's blog. Then, register and enter a 100-word or less comment to his post, and he’ll take a look at your blog. apparently.
P.S. To leave your nomination comment, click on the headline of his post, then scroll down to see the comment fields. You must be a registered user of his site to participate. That is no big deal. just creating a name and password.
Posted by mary at 11:36 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
June 02, 2005
FREE TO GOOD URBAN HIPSTERS
There is a world premiere of an independant film being shown tonight at the Chattanooga Theatre Centre. You might already know this - and perhaps this reminder should have posted a few hours ago - and it seems many here are parents which means spontaneity is an impulse best squashed. But please hop on outta yo box tonight and head on down to this Shaking Ray Levi's produced event/film, "He Who Is Blessed"
There is alot going on in indy film in chattanooga right now - a ground swell even. best to support it with free events like this so it keeps happening. And we can never complain that there's nothing cool to do around here. gotta go!
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May 28, 2005
TOTALLY GREEN
welcome
this is a place to find recent visual ventures and dime store diatribes all in varying stages of emergence or erosion.
coming soon
documentary projects; adventures in wabi sabi; selects from the image bank...
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